Chapter 210: Sacrifice

"Get out of my head!!!" I get chased away instantly. "Also, I take back my tearful apology for berating and beating you up! You had it all coming! I can't believe I embarrassed myself in front of everyone by crying like a distressed kid when I was in the right all along!"

I let my buck naked samurai to brood in her lonesome on the cold floorboards, as I know whatever I do would just get me cursed out of my existence. She will calm down soon enough, as always.

Instead I focus my attention on my dog-girl who is slobbering me in kisses and replicate her actions as we soon begin sending each other verbal love letters through our telepathic link, using it to multitask in the most pleasant manner possible.

I then ravaged Blossom's divine body for an hour straight to let all the steam out of my body, as Ayame only made me release once, which was basically nothing but a pre-warmup.

By the end of the hour Ayame's whining session seemed to have come to an end as she finally stood up and began dressing herself into her civilian clothes. I followed suit and went to visit my alchemist, whose door I'm standing in front of right now.

It's barred, but that shouldn't be a surprise, after all she's a weak civilian sleeping alone. I knock, and get no reply.

The three of us indulged ourselves well into the late morning, so she should be up by now even if she's a bad morning person. I knock again, with more force this time.

Nothing.

I put my ear to the door and knock for a third time.

Dead silence.

I back away from the door to ramp up my speed as I dash at it, kicking it down. The wood breaks apart into splinters, the lock mechanism similarly giving up right away. My 50 Strength is way too much to be held back by such mundane means.

I swiftly scan the room and see no signs of intruders, then I notice Aurora. I rush to her side and grimace involuntarily by what I'm seeing.

She lies motionless on her bed, her body twisted in a sickly display of discomfort. Her once fair skin pulses with strange, unnatural colors- blotches of green, purple, and blue ebbing and flowing as if something was crawling underneath her flesh. The hues seem to shift rhythmically, throbbing in time with her shallow breaths, like a storm barely contained within her.

Her eyes, normally so full of life and curiosity, are now dull and exhausted beyond reason. Dark circles mar the skin beneath them, and her eyelids flutter as though she's struggling to keep them open. There's a faint sheen of sweat covering her, and her body trembles constantly, as if she's caught in a feverish battle.

Her veins are protruding, making it seem that they are trying to escape from under her skin, glowing faintly with a sickly, greenish light, tracing chaotic patterns down her limbs. Her lips are cracked, dry, and slightly parted.

She's dying.

I wrack my brain for a solution, to quickly nurture her back to health. "Girls, come here!" I shout for them hastily. First to arrive is Blossom, followed by the still grumpy Ayame, who instantly shifts her mood once she sees the severity of the situation.

"Blossom, bring clean water, Ayame, we still have the lesser health potions somewhere in our bag we got from the hobgoblins. Hurry!"

They both nod and rush off. Aurora meanwhile speaks up in a raspy, lifeless voice; "Quinlan… I'm sorry… for causing you trouble again… I drank one of the elixirs." She then begins laughing dejectedly, in a self-mocking fashion. "Looks like… my parents' research… is a failure.

I'm so glad… that it was me… who drank it first… and not you…" Each sound comes out of her throat with obvious pain, and she needs to take a deep breath after mouthing a few words.

I sit down next to her on the bed and lift her into my lap so that she sits on my thighs sideways, and I envelop her in my arms.

So that's what happened. She wasn't confident in the elixir's safety and decided to become her own test subject instead of possibly bringing harm to me. What a beyond kind person.

"You really shouldn't have done this, Aurora." I chastise her softly.

"Did you forget…? It was also… our agreement… That I would drink it first…"

Hmm? Oh. I completely forgot about it. I said that back when we just met and I didn't trust her entirely.

"You know I wouldn't have forced you to go through with it, right? You have earned my complete trust." seaʀᴄh thё NôvelFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"I know… That's exactly why I… drank it in secret… before you could…"

Before I could respond, the two ladies came back and we began administering first aid.

There were some immediate effects, but she only got ever so slightly better. 'A lesser potion only amounts to this much, huh…'

"Ayame, please go and buy a few high tier health potions. Blossom, find one of the innkeepers and tell them that we need a small portion of easily digestible food prepared right away, porridge ideally."

After they departed once more, we sat in silence as I listened to her ragged breathing's rhythm.

It was heartbreaking to listen to.

I didn't expect her to sacrifice herself for my well-being in such a fashion.

I was just having hedonistic fun for hours on end in the room next door while she was here, getting weaker and weaker. If I came an hour later she would've already been deceased, I'm pretty sure.

Be that as it may, I can't really blame myself here. She is an adult woman who made her own decisions. All I can do is be grateful that I'm surrounded by such amazing people and try my best to save her life.

Blossom arrives soon with Lucille in tow who is carrying a large pot. Looks like she was already cooking lunch for the guests.

She speaks up; "Quinlan, what's happening? Luna told me that you need light food urgently. Oh! Aurora! What's going on with her?!" By the time her eyes landed on us she went from inquisitive to straight up horrified.