~ Chapter 108: Orphans ~

[Alkelios’ point of view]

 We followed the young Amadeus through the busy streets of Mathias Town, and for every step we took we felt as though we were moving closer and closer to some abandoned hellhole where no speck of civilization could be found, an abandoned twilight zone.

From the outside, it didn’t look like there were that many problems with this place. The nice buildings at the edge were made in such a way that the passing visitors could simply ignore or walk past these contorted and confusing hidden streets. The guards immediately tossed us a weird gaze the moment we followed young Amadeus into one of these narrow streets, while a greedy smile formed on the lips of those who looked like ruffians and scoundrels.

There was a big difference between those two types of individuals and the poor folk who had no choice but to make a living in this god forgotten place, and that was the look in their eyes. One gazed upon the world through the spectrum of opportunity and money, while the others through that of desperation and suffering. The poor people who were living here wanted to have what he had by earning it or by having the chance of being reborn into one of our families. The poor didn’t think about robbery, they just wanted salvation from their suffering state.

As such, I knew well enough onto whom to cast my killing intent and towards whom to direct my compassion.

“The first time I came to a place like this, I couldn’t believe it myself in what sort of horrible conditions these people lived.” said Ildea as she looked around with eyes that reflect her pity for them.

“They didn’t attack you?” asked Kalderan.

“No.” Ildea shook her head. “I already looked like a woman who was cast off by the gods, poorer than they were and barely hanging by a thread to life. They had nothing to rob from me.” she explained.

“If anyone tries, I shall stop them.” declared Coshun.

“Thank you.” she replied with a soft smile at him.

Meanwhile, Risha was holding onto Tamara’s hand, who was staying close to me. She had her cute brown ears flattened on her head since she knew that in the eyes of these folk, she was just another prized possession they could sell off to some rich slave trader. With Coshun around, however, they probably thought they could not stand a chance if they dared to attack us, so they could only glare at us from afar or try to scheme of a way to get her away from us.

“Are we there yet?” asked the impatient Kalderan.

“Not far now, mister. Just around that corner.” Amadeus replied and pointed at the end of the street.

The houses were looking even worse over here. One of them was half-burned to the ground and only the porch was left intact with half of its front door dangling in the wind on its one remaining hinge. Next to it were the remains of a dead horse from which only the bones remained. Some sort of rodent was munching on them, but it didn’t seem to be a rat, it was too big and scruffy, plus it had a forked tongue like a snake.

The house at the corner reminded me of an abandoned haunted mansion that could barely withstand its own weight. It was very spooky, but I couldn’t help but wonder how all of these buildings ended up like this. They had to have some sort of story behind them, but what I really wanted to ask was why would the people who lived inside didn’t bother to take care of it?

Maybe because he saw me staring at that house, Amadeus told me “That place belongs to the Black Company. During the day there’s not much activity going around here, but at night, there’s this big scary mister who asks for a password from those who want to go in.”

“Hm?” I cast a long glance at the building.

“That place must be a Black Market Auction House.” said Coshun.

“Auction House?” I raised an eyebrow at him.

“Yes, but for illegal stuff like forbidden items, magic, or even noble blood slaves. Although it’s technically legal to sell and buy slaves in this kingdom, it’s illegal to do this with someone who comes from a noble family. They fear that if a foreigner gets their hands on a noble, they could get their hands on this country as well through their blood connection.” he replied.

“Isn’t that a bit ridiculous?” I asked.

“It is, but who do you think bothers to check this out. Just like it was back on our world for most people. It didn’t matter if someone was truly evil, they just needed to look the part to help you point at them.” said Kalderan.

“I guess I know the feeling...” I said as I looked up at the sky.

There were those moments back on the Dragon Continent when I realized that being a human being in a land where draconians ruled was a bit scary. True, I was far weaker than a lot of them back then, but this did not stop even some of the strongest to look with worry and fear at me. Those who suffered in that great tragedy 42 years ago held a bit of fear for mankind in general. Although, now that I have seen this part of the world as well, I can firmly say that they had nothing to fear. Unless they were dragged around in a slave collar, there was no way the mighty dragons and dragonesses of the Dragon Continent could be restrained by these weak humans.

Those who attacked Albeyater back then were definitely not among the weakest mankind had to offer, and the fact that out of all of them only one human Breakthrough-er came here showed that the human kingdoms lacked the confidence that this campaign would be a success.

If they did send more than one Breakthrough-er, or as the humans call them Heroes or Awakened, then maybe the Draketerus lands would still be under their dominion and the three-day war would have become something like a thirty-year war. The Embryger Empire might have had a good excuse with this to send over their armies and establish dominance over a much weaker and badly organized Albeyater Kingdom that was unable to protect its borders anymore.

If that would have happened, it was hard for me to picture myself as becoming Seryanna’s husband. It would have been literally impossible for me to become what I was today. Although maybe that God-like would have sent me to some other country like Shion, Ozur, or Novarak, which were to the far East of the continent. Or maybe to Olvia or Parand, which were too far South.

Then again, this made me wonder about something else.

“Hey, Coshun?” I asked him.

“Yes? What is it?”

“Why is it called Eastern Draconian Language and not Western Draconian Language? Albeyater isn’t exactly on the East coast of the Dragon Continent...” I looked back at him.

“Because Eastern Draconian is merely the name of the dialect which originated from the Eastern parts of the continent. There’s also Western Draconian, which can mostly be found in the South-Western part of the continent. The areas around our ports in Albeyater also speak it. There’s also Southern Draconian, Northern Draconian, and Center Draconian, which are spoken more often in the Embryger Empire.” he explained.

“Can you show me an example of Center Draconian?” I asked raising an eyebrow.

“Why certainly, kind dragon. I am but humbled to speak in Center Draconian as you can currently assert for yourself.” he said.

I looked him straight in the eyes and blinked twice.

“Isn’t that just plain... noble speak?”

“No.” he shook his head. “The words are slightly different from those used in Eastern Draconian.”

“Huh?” I then looked at the others for confirmation.

“Hey, don’t look at me, I can’t tell the difference even if I wanted to.” Kalderan shrugged.

“I don’t understand, you three just talked in a weird language.” Risha said.

“I don’t understand either.” said Ildea.

“Naturally, humans don’t think it’s useful to study and learn the Draconian Language.” Coshun said with a wry smile in the Ten Swords Language.

“True.” the princess nodded.

“We’re here.” Amadeus interrupted our small debate, and when I looked forward, I saw a house which I was 100% sure it was both a fire hazard and an earthquake hazard.

The house itself was leaning slightly towards the right. The doors and windows were cracked and crooked, letting the air come in. They were not that good for keeping the cold out during those cold winters. The floorboards looked like they were going to break if either me or Coshun stepped on them, and there were two big spiders in the corners of the rooftop staring back at us with all of their eight eyes. If my guess was right, then those two arachnids were probably of a higher level than most ruffians around here.

“You live... in there?” I asked.

“Yes... I couldn’t afford that much after my trip here...” the boy replied and lowered his head.

“Your trip here? From where?” Ildea was the one who asked.

“Akutan. We’re... refugees.” the boy looked away as he said this.

“Why do I feel like they are the victims of human heroes?” Kalderan asked raising an eyebrow.

The boy didn’t answer, but Ildea replied what was on my mind “Maybe they are. But this is not the right place to talk about it.” she then looked to our left at several individuals who kept looking at us in a strange way.

They knew we were not from these parts, and our gear denoted our strength, which was far above theirs. We could defend ourselves in a battle, but we couldn’t avoid their stares.

“I agree. Lead us inside, Amadeus.” I told him.

The boy walked up to the door and slowly pushed it towards the inside. It creaked loudly, scaring off a bird that was perched up on the rooftop.

“Little sister! I’m back, and I’ve brought guests.” he called as soon as he stepped inside.

Ildea was the first to follow after him, she stepped carefully on the creaking wooden boards and entered the house. Risha soon followed, but she looked worried that the building might fall on top of us. Tamara, who was right next to her, didn’t even flinch as she stepped on the porch and entered the house. Her steps were so light that not even one creak was heard, but when Kalderan walked after her, the house began to cry again.

Coshun tried to go in next, but the moment he made his first steps on the porch, the boards gave away under his weight and his foot was swallowed by the floor. He looked down once then tried to get out, but he ended up putting another hole in the floor with his other foot.

“This... will be impossible.” he grumbled and then flapped his wings two times to fly back and get out of the floor. “I’ll... I’ll stay outside and guard.” he said.

“Alright.” I nodded and then carefully stepped around the holes the big draconian made while praying in my mind that I won’t make another pair.

After I entered, I saw that everyone was already in the next room, where the boy’s little sister was most likely resting. I was imagining her to be around seven or eight years old since he looked to be around ten, so when I walked up to the door, I wasn’t expecting to see a little girl of around twelve years old.

She’s the little sister? I wondered and then looked at the boy, who was clearly younger than her.

The little girl had shoulder-length black hair and deep black eyes just like her brother, but she looked weak and sickly almost as if she were barely hanging by that last thread of life. She could barely hold her head up now and despite the state she was in, she still tried to show us a gentle smile.

“I’ve brought help, little sister...” Amadeus told her.

“T-Thank you... for... taking care... of my... older... brother... I... I’m... Drumora.” then she looked up at the little boy, but the question of why he was called the older one never popped up in our minds “Brother... you... are rude... spell... undo...” she told him.

Spell? I wondered and then we all looked at him.

The boy gazed back at us and bit his lower lip. He appeared to be unwilling to do it as if not knowing whether to trust us or not, but his little sister, with her skinny and weak hand touched his right cheek to let him know that it was alright.

The boy closed his eyes for a moment and when he opened them, he got up and looked straight at me. I could see there was determination in his eyes, but at the same time worry.

Let’s see what’s going to happen now... I thought as I observed him.

“I didn’t want to be rude... It’s just that, the doctor wouldn’t have even looked at me if I came as my normal self.” Amadeus told us as he grasped his shirt with his hand.

“Normal self?” Kalderan asked as he narrowed his eyes at him.

The boy nodded and then closed his eyes.

“Reveal thyself onto the world...” he chanted and then the field of Magic Energy that was covering him released him from the illusion.

Before us, the ten-years-old child was suddenly turned into a sixteen-years-old teenager with handsome features and a strong sharpness in his gaze. He was 1.64 meters tall; his hair was still black and cut short, a bit uneven along the edges, which showed that it wasn’t done by someone with an experienced hand. He had a fit body, and his hands were covered in fresh calluses. The boy wasn’t used with field work.

Other than his age and a few minor details here and there, Amadeus didn’t change by much. The innocence he displayed a moment ago had vanished alongside that spell, and for a moment, I did feel as though I had been scammed, but I knew this wasn’t the boy’s intention. I could sort of guess why he chose to use this spell, especially given his current circumstances.

“I... I’m sorry I deceived you all.” he said and looked away, showing that he was ashamed to have tricked the people who wished to lend him a helping hand.

“There’s no need to worry about it.” Ildea told him.

“It was just... a bit unexpected.” said Risha with an awkward smile.

“Nya... Boy turned big... Boy eat more fish than I do? Where boy get fish? That many fish? Nya... Tamara’s head is dizzy...” the nekatar complained as she flattened her ears and rubbed her eyes.

“Did you think that the doctor wouldn’t have helped you if you didn’t show the innocence of a child?” I asked him right away.

The boy looked down, avoiding my gaze.

“Sigh... It doesn’t really matter for us, you know?” I told him and then shrugged.

“Nya~ Master is kind!” Tamara said with a bright smile and twitching whiskers.

What I said was the truth, whether or not this boy was actually teenager or just a child of only ten-years-old, it didn’t really matter to me. I was here now, and I did not see him trying to trick us with a hidden evil intention. Seeing his little sister in this weakened and sickly state, I could understand that he was afraid he was going to lose her.

For him, it didn’t matter what he had to do as long as he could save her, as long as he could gift her with another day to live.

“So, do you know why you are sick, Drumora?” I asked the little girl as I walked past Amadeus and knelt next to her.

“We don’t know. She fell ill on the way here, and the previous doctor who saw her said it was only a minor cold, but she got weaker and weaker until she couldn’t even get out of bed.” the boy answered instead of her, his gaze beaming into the ground and his hands tightened into fists. He was furious of his own bad luck. “And now... now she’s like this... and I... I don’t know what to do.” he continued as tears gathered in his eyes.

“There. There, it’s going to be alright.” Risha walked up to him and gently patted him on the head “Alkelios here is definitely going to help her.”

“Really?” the boy asked as he looked up at her.

“Why are you making promises for me?” I asked her with a raised eyebrow.

“Well, you aren’t?” she asked casting me a quick glance.

“I didn’t say that...” I grumbled as I looked back at Drumora.

If she was a dragoness, I could have simply asked her to become my friend and then I would have looked at her status, but she wasn’t. I couldn’t see the status of human beings, just guess their own levels at most and that was it.

“I’m not a doctor, that’s certain.” I said as I then opened my [Black Hole].

“Then...” Amadeus looked at me.

He didn’t appear to be all that surprised by my skill, and neither was his little sister, who made me wonder if they were used to seeing strange new abilities and spells.

“But it just so happens that I am a Godlike alchemist and craftsman in general.” I showed Drumora a quick smile.

She was looking up at me with her weakly gaze, struggling to stay awake and coughing from time to time. This little girl of only twelve years old didn’t have that much longer to live, this was something even I could tell without the need of a status screen.

From within the [Black Hole] I pulled out two Cure-All potions I made back when I was in the Seculiar Forest. This thing could heal almost anything, and it worked wonderfully with the Rotiqus Potion, of which I grabbed one bottle as well.

“Kalderan, can you please take this potion to Coshun and tell him to drink it? It’s for his injuries, just in case there’s something that we don’t know about.” I handed him the potion.

“And what should I tell him if he asks what it is?” Kalderan asked raising an eyebrow at me as he took the potion from my hand.

“Cure-All Potion.” I replied.

“I see... Wait, WHAT?!” he rebuked, and the potion almost slipped through his fingers, but he managed to catch it.

“What’s wrong?” I asked him.

Everyone in the room was now looking at me in a strange way.

“Hey, sorry, but I don’t think I have the advanced potion here... That requires a few more herbs, but, if necessary, we could brew some Cure-All tea to drink. It helps a lot. Or maybe you also want a Rotiqus Potion? Dragons mostly use this thing as an energizer.” I explained.

They weren’t saying anything, they were just looking at me as if they had swollen a frog.

Tilting my head to the left, I looked over at Amadeus and asked him if he has any idea. The boy simply shook his head and shrugged.

“C-Cure-All? Isn’t that... Isn’t that a... Legendary healing herb?” Ildea managed to ask.

“I think so, yeah. Why?” I replied scratching the back of my head as I looked at the potion in my hand.

For me it wasn’t something that special, I had a like a bunch more in my storage. It was like an entire potion factory in there. If I didn’t have the potion, I most certainly had all the necessary ingredients to brew it. Back when I was in the Seculiar Forest, I used to run around picking herbs and whatnot as soon as I spotted them. I would never know when I needed them, so it was better to have them now than regret it later on.

“Wait? What? There’s an advanced version too?” Kalderan just now realized what I said.

“Yes.” I nodded, but I refrained from saying there were potions out there where the Cure-All was just one of their many ingredients, and in some of them, it was used more for its catalyst effects than healing properties.

“Sigh... You and your broken common sense... I’m gonna go give this to the Prince of Albeyater...” Kalderan walked outside mumbling something while looking at the potion in his hand.

If he wanted one too, I could give it to him, it was not that big of a deal.

“Prince of Albeyater?” Amadeus asked as he furrowed his brow at me.

“Yeah, but never mind that. Let us see... I think I have a few spells that could help Drumora here get better. I think it was [Purify], [Heal], [Area Heal], and [Restoration]. If I use [The Pope], I’ll just be zapping beams out of my palms, so that’s no good... Yeah, I’ll go with two out of all of those for now.” I said to myself as I tried to remember what healing spells I had.

Those four should have been more than enough. The first one was good at removing curses and stuff like that, while the other three could easily heal severe and even fatal injuries. The last one was especially good for natural healing. The amount of damage these spells could heal depended on the Magic Energy I put into it.

Since I had no idea how much that meant, all I could do was moderate the flow and try to guess when too much was too much. In case of [Purify], when there was nothing to dispel or purify, my Magic Energy would feel like it was flowing unrestricted until it simply vanished into thin air. In case of [Heal] and [Restoration], the same thing would happen if there was no injury left to heal, the difference between those two situations was that in the case of the latter, there was a chance this Magic Energy would be used to continue healing as a rejuvenation process, basically keeping her at her current age, unchanged. Or at the very least, that was what I thought was happening. I didn’t really get the opportunity to try it out.

There were probably better ways of measuring this and maybe even better ways of using these spells, but this was what I knew so far, and it wasn’t as though there was someone within our group who excelled as a healing mage.

On this note, before I started this healing process, I decided to ask them: “So what do doctors do exactly in this world?”

“Huh? You don’t know?” Ildea was the one to ask.

“Not really. I’ve never been sick enough to require a doctor, and if anything happened, I knew how to make myself a potion to cure whatever I had.” I replied with a shrug as I prepared to heal Drumora.

“A doctor will use his vast knowledge in medicine to find out what ails you and then prescribe a potion or send you to a mage with healing magic.” she explained.

“So... technically, I’m a doctor?” I asked pointing at myself.

“No. From the looks of it, you lack the said knowledge in medicine.” she replied shaking her head.

“Oh, bummer.” I shrugged and returned to work.

With my question answered, I looked back at Drumora and placed my hands above her. I closed my eyes and then chanted the names of the two spells I decided to use: [Purify] and [Restoration].

In the next moment, I felt as my Magic Energy washed over her body and began to little by little piece back her tissue together. The cells began to heal and return to normal functionality, her heart was speeding up, and her breath was returning to normal. All spells reacted to her body, which mean that not only she was cursed with something, but she was also suffering from a severe illness which the curse only made worse.

Even if the doctor came by, he probably wouldn’t have been able to figure out what was wrong with her with just a simple check-up, someone who could take a look at her status window was required. Unfortunately, only us earthlings had the unique skill of [Hero], which allowed us to look at our own status window. There was no such spell for everyone else, and the temples could at most only guess what Power Number or Level each individual had. That was still better than nothing.

Once I felt like my Magic Energy was evaporating into thin air, I stopped the flow and opened my eyes. When thinking about it, for someone else to do what I just did, besides having healing magic, they would require to have a good feeling of the flow of Magic Energy within them and in their environment. At the beginning, I was kind of bad at this, alright... I was downright horrible, but the Seculiar Forest kind of forced me to speed up my training. It wasn’t all that fun to go and take a dump only to find out that I was sitting right on top of a big giant monster.

Yeah, those were some rather awkward moments of which I was happy nobody got to find out about. It was MY embarrassing little secret.

“It should be done now, but just in case, drink these two potions as well.” I told Drumora, who was already recovering her color in her cheeks.

With a nod, she picked up to Rotiqus Potion and drank it all to the last drop. It was very good for everyone since it could help them restore their strength at a fast rate. Dragons had a lot more vitality, so when their health went down, they would require more than just one of these potions. It was maybe the downside of living in that sort of environment.

After the Rotiqus Potion, I gave her the Cure-All Potion, which had a better taste than the first one. There was a happy smile on her face after she drank it all, and she even let out a cute burp, which I found to be quite cute all in all.

As I gently patted Drumora’s head, she showed me a happy smile, and I could see it with my own eyes that her color was returning to her cheeks, and she was starting to feel much better. In but a few moments, she didn’t look any different from a healthy twelve-years-old little girl ready to spring back into action and go have fun outside.

“So, how are you feeling?” I asked her.

“Better!” she replied with a big smile.

“Alright! I think our job is done!” I declared to the others.

When I turned around, I saw several people with mouth agape looking at me, and a cat was dancing with a spider in the corner of the room.

What’s Tamara doing over there? I hope she doesn’t get bitten... And is that spider... courting her or threatening her? I wondered, then when I looked back at the comedy group, I asked them “What’s wrong? Why are you all staring at me like that?”

At that exact moment, Kalderan returned.

“So, Coshun is acting like a hyperactive squirrel...” he pointed at the door.

“HUO!!! TRAIN! TRAIN! TRAAAIN!!!” shouted Coshun from outside.

“Is he... alright?” I asked furrowing my brow.

“Well, yes... the potion healed him quite well, but it also energized him a lot. He immediately started training like mad... as you can hear.”

“Ah, that’s good... Reminds me of Brekkar.” I said.

“So... what’s happening here?” he asked as he waved his hand in front of the dumbfounded-looking Ildea.

She slapped his hand away; she coughed once and the straightened up.

“It appears you were right in regard to Alkelios having a broken common sense. As for Coshun, I’ll go and watch over him... and make sure he doesn’t wreck the slums.” she said and then carefully made her way out.

“Drumora... are you? Are you... feeling alright?” Amadeus asked as he approached her one step at a time.

Tears began to form in the corners of his eyes to show how much his emotions overcame him. All that was happening right now was far beyond what he had expected to happen when he called us, a bunch of strangers, into his home. His little sister, who he thought was going to die, which he thought he was going to lose forever was now looking healthy and strong, probably more than she ever did before.

It brought a feeling of happiness to my heart to see these two smiles so happily and embrace each other like that. They were both crying and knew that they still had a lot more time to live together on this world. To each other, they were irreplaceable family, and this was the most important thing of them all.

I took a step away from the two and moved in line with my companions. Kalderan was smiling as well, it was an emotional scene, after all.

“You are a good person, Alkelios.” Risha told me in a whisper.

“I just consider myself to be lucky enough to have the means to help those around me.” I said.

“Have you figured out why she was sick?” Kalderan asked.

“She was cursed and sick at the same time. I removed the curse with [Purify] and then healed her with my other spell. The Rotiqus Potion was used to restore her strength, and the Cure-All Potion was used to make sure that there was no disease left within her body. It was a good thing she didn’t have a magical condition like the [Berserker’s Burst], although for that one, it would have meant that she was of at least Level 200 at one point.” I explained.

“So besides normal medical conditions, we need to worry about magical ones too?” Kalderan asked as he furrowed his brow and looked down at the floor.

“The diseases we knew back on our world are quite easy to cure with this world’s magic and potions. Here, cancer and aids have a cure, but there are some conditions which are far more dangerous than them. [Berserker’s Burst] is just one of many. Some can be cured with a good potion, others through magic treatment, but I am quite certain there are some conditions out there which not even I with all of my skills and knowledge can cure.” I told him.

“I see...” Kalderan didn’t say anything else after this.

We waited patiently until the siblings stopped crying from this overwhelming moment, then while wiping away his tears, Amadeus approached me and took a bow before me.

“I don’t think I can ever thank you for what you did! If there’s anything I can do...” he said to me.

“Well, it’s not that big of a deal, besides, what I need right now might not be that easy to acquire even for me.” I said and then looked down as I remembered the Queen’s condition.

I wonder what I can do about her that? Did my friends manage to get all the other ingredients required for me to make her the cure? I’m worried... What if I don’t reach her in time? I don’t want to lose a friend because of this... Elleyzabelle will be sad. Feryumstark will probably be devastated... I thought and for a moment there, I got lost in my sense of worry.

Amadeus picked up on this, he was a smart kid, and then with determination in his eyes, he told me “Sir, whatever it is, absurd or not, maybe... maybe I know of a way to acquire it or have heard of it. I may not look like much, but I do know a lot of things... In my travels I heard lots of tales and met many people.” he told me, although I felt as if the source of his information was something completely differently.

“Mister, thank you for healing me, and you have my word that you can trust my honored brother.” Drumora told me.

“By the way, where are your parents?” Kalderan asked all of a sudden.

“We’re orphans.” she replied to him with a soft smile that hid a lot of pain behind it.

The circumstances under which the two had lost their parents was probably not the type of sensitive subject that had to be discussed right now. Kalderan took the hint from the little girl and simply apologized with a nod of his head.

“Well...” I scratched the back of my head, but I didn’t know how to say it.

“Please sir... Allow me to somehow return at least the tenth part of this favor you’ve given me!” Amadeus told me with unwavering determination in his eyes.

“Sigh... I guess I can’t ask for money from you, that would be ridiculous, so maybe... who knows? Maybe you really do know something?” I shrugged.

“Yes, sir!” he nodded and then a bright smile appeared on his face.

“I am on a quest, you see, and what I require to find in order to heal a very important individual for me is well... an Orange. You know? It’s an... well... the orange fruit is the size of an apple; it has a sweet citric taste.” I told him and then tried to explain as best as I could.

Still, how could you describe a fruit that they most likely had never seen before? Oranges, after all, weren’t fruits that grew naturally in the wild. They were a hybrid fruit from a pomelo and a mandarin, and as far as I knew so far only the Akutan Imperial Family knew how to make them. Maybe if I got my hands on a couple of them, I could experiment and figure out how to grow trees from its seeds, but if that was impossible, the only option was to attempt hybridization myself, but who had the time to spare for such an enormous project? The Queen’s life, my friend’s life was at stake here.

When I said what I was looking for, there was a certain change in Amadeus’ eyes, he knew what I was talking about. He knew what an Orange was, but if he came from the Akutan Empire, it wasn’t that improbable for him to know. After all, it was their national secret, one of the many things the imperial family prided itself with.

Maybe he realized how impossible it is to find that which I’m looking for? I thought and then let out a sad sigh.

I couldn’t force a child like him to tell me where to find the Orange or how to break into the Imperial Palace, after all.

“Brother...” Drumora called out to him, and Amadeus looked back at her.

The little girl showed him a smile and then nodded once.

Amadeus then looked back at me with the same determination as before and clenching his hands into fists, he told me “You followed me when I asked for your help although you knew nothing about me. You healed my little sister with expensive potions when you had no reason to use such treasures on us. And I promised to help you if I were to know anything about that which you are looking for.” he looked down. “Oranges... I know of them.” he said.

“Huh? What?” I said as I made my eyes as big as onions.

I was surprised... in a good way. It seemed as though my Luck wasn’t maxed out for nothing.

“Please wait a moment.” the boy said and walked over to the table in the kitchen.

He stopped and looked back at us for a moment, checking his resolve, making sure if he really wanted to go through with whatever he wanted to do. Then, he turned around and knelt on the floor. With his two hands, he pulled back one of the loose planks on the floor and revealed a hidden compartment. He rummaged through its contents and when he found what he was looking for, he picked it up.

With the object in his hands, he walked back to me and then showed it to me.

It was a black box with a bunch of red symbols carved into it for decoration. It was a writing I was unfamiliar with, but which by all accounts reminded me of Earth’s mandarin language. Maybe I was mistaken, and they looked more similar to Korean writing? Or maybe it was Japanese? I couldn’t tell, it’s been so many years since I last had a good look at any of those characters.

“Here.” the boy told me.

I picked up the box and inspected it carefully on all sides before I figured out how to open it. When I did, and I saw the contents, I ended up being the one with tears in his eyes.

Inside... was an actual Orange.

“B-But how?” I asked as I looked back at the boy.

Amadeus looked back at his sister one last time and then back at me.

“Please, allow us to introduce ourselves. I am Prince Amadeus Akutan, and this is my little sister Princess Drumora Akutan. We are the children of the late Fourth Princess of the Akutan Empire, her esteemed Highness Miskara Akutan and Duke Manimersa Wazui of the Akutan Empire.” he introduced himself with the tone of voice and mannerism befitting a young prince.

At this time, Kalderan had only one thing to say:

“You have got to be shitting me!”

“But I shit you not.” Amadeus replied in a serious tone of voice.

“No that’s... ugh... Forget it.” he groaned and shook his head.