Chapter 74: Final Plan (I).
Kein's POV
The two princesses who were staring at each other were found guilty when we- by 'we'.
I mean Kazari and I, confronted them on whatever inappropriate talk they were doing and managed to get them to behave.
I took a few chairs and dragged them over to Cecilia's bed. The maid who realized that we needed another table near to set the tray, leaves the said tray into the far small table by the living room.
Kazari went and teleported somewhere before dragging a folding table placing it right beside Princess Cecilia's bed.
"Please use this as your table."
"O-Oh um thank you."
I know she's a considerate person but she's on a whole other level.
"Please have some tea." (Kazari) looks towards where the trays were placed before chanting, "[Teleport]."
Suddenly the tray teleported in her hand as if it was some sort of magic trick and I was impressed. Kazari would go on to hold a jade cup filling it into the brim.
Every time I came here I was always served some jasmine tea or earl gray, seeing that it was something that the first princess enticed herself with.
The way Kazari would handle the tea is very similar to how the Japanese would do it, elegance and with a sense of pride for their craft.
I didn't realize I was staring too long not until the first princess decided to snap me out of my trance.
"Easy there, traveling artist. This one is taken." (Princess Cecilia) teases with a smile on her face, telling me that I have taken interest in her maid. She was staring at the plate of biscuits looking famished.
I blinked a few more times realizing what she's just said. I quickly shake my head on her words.
"I'm not interested in her that way-" I defended myself while taking a sip of my tea.
I'm just interested in her lineage that's what!
It doesn't always happen where you'll find a descendant of a hero and interview her if she took on any knowledge about her ancestor. So if there were some hero that wanted to stay, Kazari's grandfather was one of them.
"That's right Cecilia, she has me and therefore stop with your silly jokes!" (Rose) takes a biscuit right from the plate, the one that Cecilia was eyeing on from the start, most likely because of its perfect shape.
"Be thankful I got you two together, I swear it seems like you lost your sense of your humor just after getting laid." (Princess Cecilia) takes the other imperfect biscuit with a frown but not before giving Rose a quick burn.
She takes a bite and I hold down myself.
"Urk-" I almost spat out my tea due to that burn- ouch!
"Cecilia..." (Rose) grumbled on angrily.
I held down Rose by the arm and laughed nervously feeling that these two are chaotic twins, bonding over the dirty talk a few minutes ago and now they plan on hurling insults at one another.
Being an only child, I've only grown and observed from afar those who have sibling dynamics like these.
"Just in case you two get into some other talk again, I'll go ahead and start first on the plan- the thing that I came for."
I tell them feeling that I need to do the meeting really quickly because for all I know Vanilla could be sulking outside and if she gets too bored she'll quickly take off without me and that would be a problem. "The plan to get the cure must not get delayed any further."
"The princess' condition is worsening, please we have to leave as soon as possible. Whatever your plan is, if you require my assistance I will do my best to answer quickly." (Kazari) tells me looking serious, I've felt it and seeing Cecilia's condition I'm surprised that the first princess was acting like everything is alright, still going on with the teasing.
Kazari's strong will to save the first princess, I could feel it.
"The hero and I decided in three days time we'll be preparing everything that we'll need for the demon lands."
With the new information being told, it seems that Princess Cecilia has this side untouched.
"Didn't I give you a map of where the dragon has its regular cave areas? Why must you go in the demon lands?" (Princess Cecilia) asks, it seems that her information is a bit late in that one seeing that it's only a year since the dragon got promoted as the newly appointed Demon lord.
"The said dragon got a promotion and is acting as the new demon lord and if we want the dragon's heart, we have to go there."
"Where did you get your source of information? And how come I hadn't known?" (Princess Cecilia) asks, with the tone of her voice sounding disappointed with herself but after a while the expression on her face changed.
"I'm not sure if I have a map for that area... I wasn't expecting such and the maps here are horrible when it comes to the demon lands." The first princess holds her chin and sighs in disbelief not being prepared. "I would've ordered one in advance in [Sprivanto] if I knew this would happen."
"The hero is well acquainted with the demon lands. Sister, you can trust to leave it all to her when it comes to the landscape." (Rose) having heard stories of how many times Avery has fought the demon lord was giving her faith that the girl knows what she's doing.
"And the demon lands right next to [Sprivanto]." (Kazari) voices out suggesting that we use her teleportation magic in order to get there faster. "I can only teleport to places I have been in, apologies I cannot teleport us directly to the demon lands."
"If we travel by foot in three days there will be other extra days. I can teleport three people or more but it will cost... a lot of mana and rest."
"That's okay- um... Kazari. Some of us either have our contract familiars and steeds, I plan on bringing Vanilla for the ride, if you need rest you can hop on her back while we travel the demon lands." I told her, she'll be needing to replenish her mana when we go back because we'll be needing a one teleport trip back into the castle.
"I wish to not be a burden."
"No, no it's alright! You see we'll be meeting another hero [Sprivanto] so you're doing a good job."
"Ah... Thank you, that gives me such assurance."
I slightly pat her back feeling that today I've bonded a lot with Kazari, "Yes it's no problem. I should be thanking you for teleporting us all the way to a far place but in any case we must prepare for the harsh heat there."
"I will make sure to pack lots of water and dried foods that will last long in the journey ahead." (Kazari) and I would go on to talk and list things that we'll possibly need for a long trip, since we don't know how long we'll be back.
"I'll do the same." I nodded, taking note of what I'll ask Alfred to bring.
The next topic, I wanted to bring up to the first princess... but it would be hard to explain when I have to worry about not blowing my cover that I'm someone from another world. "Ahem, another thing I would like to add is that the hero gave us an interesting theory upon your sickness."
Princess Cecilia's ears perked up looking interested in the theory the hero might have come up with. "Continue..."
"Mana Deficiency, something inside your body is eating your mana to the point of death but there hasn't been any magical cure to it. Doctors have been rare and the only medicine practices there was from [Winshern]." I've never seen much of their medicine capabilities, since I was tasked on guarding Rose but now after knowing I wish I took upon the chance to see their way of the medicine.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, that's the whole reason why your father wanted Rose to be engaged?"
Princess Cecilia sighs and nods looking solemn. "They promised a cure... a medicine combined with magic and several natural ingredients for Mana Deficiency."
"Trials have already been made on my mother, the Queen but nothing worked." she laughs a little looking down on the lower half of her body that was covered by a white silk blanket.
"What unbelievable luck for me to have gotten it too and now I'm making my little sister pay the price for an engagement she doesn't want to have." (Princess Cecilia) looks down before apologizing to Rose with a genuine look of guilt.
"I'm sorry."
Rose shakes her head and I could see her playing with her hands not keeping it still. "I... I know, you have told me countless times but it's my choice and it's nothing you have to be sorry about."
I took Rose by the hand, feeling her warmth.
Her hands stopped shaking and I understand why she did it. She loves her sister, and it was just the wrong time for me to confess my love back then.
Though in Cecilia's case, I'm still a bit bitter that she told her little sister to drug me to sleep and leave me alone in that color changing tree.
The first princess coughs, it was as if she was trying to not cry herself by telling me to continue with the theory talk. "Ah- right, she wanted to know and maybe see if it's not Mana Deficiency instead what if it's something similar like a sickness from their world?"
"There were viruses, parasites, cancer and other things- she told me about!" I almost went into full blown explaining which each one are.
"Hmm..." (Kazari)
We could hear Kazari humming in thought before she decided to place some of her interesting input. "I have heard of those terms said by my father. His old world he would tell tales of how magic is convenient, but there were still some sicknesses that can't be easily healed by magic."
"Ones that need surgery, he would often say."
"Yeah that! Surgery! The hero said something about that too!" I shouted pointing at Kazari, she looked shocked for a moment and the first princess sighs with a tired smile.
"I won't rule the hero's theory out, anything is possible when you're living in a world like ours but surgery is... something I haven't done." (Princess Cecilia) gave a tired smile, it seems that she's looking so tired in this state.
"When it comes to this world we rely too much on healing magic blessed by the light and all is not easy. Ones that can be easily healed- overshadows rare diseases like these that only a few can get."
"Light magic is capable of healing wounds from the outside but when you're hurt on the inside you would need such extreme skill and knowledge put into it." (Rose) tells us and I remembered how easily she healed Avery in a matter of minutes. "Curses are another case of something being put inside of you an annoyance to remove."
"If it's something similar to her world, I'm afraid in order to get cured I would need to go to another world but the only option we have at the moment is getting the dragon's heart." (Princess Cecilia) turns to me with the same tired smile.
"We'll be doing our best to get it." I replied and I seemed to have earned Kazari's respectable stare.
In the meantime while we're away I wonder what these two light princesses will do?