Chapter 56: Sun Elixir (8)

✦  Chapter 56 – Sun Elixir (8)  ✦

The Past.

— This is your final mission. Get everything ready and prepare.

I thought I’d be overjoyed to face my last mission, but instead, I felt numb. 

Will I truly be free once this is over? What should I do after gaining freedom? It’s all pointless anyway, given my limited time left.

“Master!”

The wooden staff flew through the air with impressive force, striking Ezekiel’s right shoulder with precision.

Thwack—!

And a dull sound echoed.

However, the one who received the blow seemed unfazed. If anything, it was the First Imperial Princess who wielded the staff who appeared startled.

“What’s this? You weren’t concentrating just now, were you? You were thinking about something else!”

Ezekiel slowly blinked, snapping out of his reverie.

Before him stood Ether, a girl barely reaching his waist—the First Imperial Princess of the Empire, her cheeks puffed out in indignation.

“…That’s not the case,” Ezekiel said, shaking his head and pressing his fingers against the bridge of his nose. Perhaps it was the looming final mission, or the fact that this was their last lesson, but he kept falling into contemplation.

“It’s because Your Highness has grown remarkably strong,” Ezekiel offered a polite white lie. Ether, resting the wooden staff on her shoulder, shot him a skeptical look.

“…Is that really the reason? You’re not just going easy on me, are you?”

“I couldn’t possibly do that. If I didn’t give it my all when facing Your Highness, I’d end up severely injured.”

“Hmm.”

“I was truly taken aback. You continue to improve with each session.”

“Hmm! Ahem…!” Ether’s face flushed as she cleared her throat a couple of times. She seemed ready to puff up with pride, her shoulders nearly touching the sky, “…It seems I’ve genuinely defeated you through sheer skill. Perhaps I should have held back a bit? I must have been too harsh.”

“……………”

“That was my secret technique, so your injuries must be severe. I’m thinking of offering you an elixir—what do you say?”

“That won’t be necessary.”

“Master, your reaction is most peculiar. Most people would be ready to lick my feet at the mention of an elixir. Perhaps you don’t know what an elixir is? E—lix—ir.”

“I understand perfectly well.”

“And yet?”

“It’s something I dare not covet.”

“Shall I speak to His Majesty the Emperor about it? Nothing would be impossible then. I might even bring out some Sun Elixir. We have more than enough of that stuff—our bathtubs are full of it.”

At this, Ezekiel could only offer a bitter smile.

“…I’m grateful for your words alone.”

Ether still didn’t understand.

Because she had easy access to elixirs, and because Sun Elixir wasn’t particularly rare in her world, she thought it was natural for others to be the same.

She didn’t know that it was an elixir that no one had ever been able to obtain, even though countless people had applied for it and been rejected, and that they had never even seen a single drop despite wishing for it for their entire lives.

The Emperor had not granted Ezekiel permission to use Sun Elixir.

Just one word about offering an elixir, just the question of whether he wanted one… Ether didn’t realize how these words could make Ezekiel’s heart ache.

The young girl casually plopped down beside Ezekiel.

“Master, I’ll become even stronger in the future, won’t I?”

“Of course, Your Highness.”

As Ether sat with her legs stretched out, gazing at the sky, she suddenly felt a cool sensation near her calves. Ezekiel was applying an elixir to her wounds.

Soon, the small scratches on her calves were covered with the elixir.

“First aid should be administered promptly.”

Ether furrowed her brow. “Why bother treating such minor injuries?” Sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ NʘvᴇlFirᴇ.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

“Even small things can become significant when they accumulate. It’s best to treat what we can when we have the chance.”

Ezekiel’s large hands were surprisingly gentle.

“The wounds aren’t shallow, but how fortunate that the Imperial family has such precious elixirs. It’s truly a blessing.”

“You don’t even take what I give you, but you use it generously on me. You’re really strange, Master. Why don’t you take one yourself?”

“How could I possibly compare myself to Your Highness?”

Ezekiel continued slowly, “Your Highness will become a pillar of the Empire in the future. You must regard your health as the Empire’s strength and take utmost care of it.”

“I don’t know about all that. It sounds bothersome,” Ether stuck out her tongue. “So, can we play together today?” She gestured with her eyes towards the pile of weapons nearby. Spears, one-handed swords, two-handed swords, daggers, bows… An assortment of various types was gathered.

“I want to try all of those with you, Master.”

“I’m afraid that won’t be possible today.”

“Hmm, you must be busy as usual.”

The young princess nodded nonchalantly, but couldn’t quite hide the slight disappointment that flitted across her face. After a moment, Princess Ether spoke again. “Master, I’ve been thinking about this lately.”

“What about, Your Highness?”

“I’m thinking that if I become stronger, infinitely stronger, I can share some of the work that you have to do. Then you’d have more free time, and we could play together, couldn’t we?”

“You shouldn’t say such things. The work I have to do and the work Your Highness has to do are clearly different.”

“Hmm.”

Ether looked at Ezekiel with a slightly embarrassed expression.

Her Master seemed different today. He appeared lost in thought more than usual, and he wasn’t indulging in her playful banter as he normally would, instead maintaining an uncharacteristically serious demeanor.

“The weather is particularly nice today,” the First Imperial Princess said, awkwardly scratching her cheek. “Anyway, I’ll continue to grow stronger. I’ll grow up quickly and become your spear and shield.”

“I should be your shield, Your Highness. How could it be the other way around?”

“That’s enough for the rebuttal. You have to keep getting stronger too, so that you can be my rival no matter what my martial arts are, so that we can spend time together and get stronger while having fun.”

Ezekiel nodded slowly.

Looking back on his life, there were very few times he had been properly rewarded, but if the kindness that the princess occasionally showed him was a kind of reward, then it was a precious recompense.

‘If the final mission ends safely…’

And if his body remained healthy…

Perhaps they could spend time together again.

“First Imperial Princess.”

“Hmm?”

There was something in this world called intuition.

Even though he had only called her name, she immediately sensed that whatever he was about to say would be ominous. The First Imperial Princess Ether’s intuition instantly kicked in.

It was a very bad feeling.

“Would you make a promise with me?”

“What kind of promise?”

“Please continue your diligent training, even without me.”

“…What nonsense are you talking about all of a sudden?” Ether’s voice instinctively grew sharp; anxiety was the cause.

“I’m not always by your side even now, am I? I’m simply asking you to continue as you have been doing all along.”

“If I’ve already been doing it, why do we need to make a promise about it?”

“Because it’s not a difficult promise to keep.”

“No. I won’t do it. Something feels off.” Ether instinctively rejected the proposal, “Master, you’re strange today. Really strange.” The princess deliberately stood up from her seat. To shake off her unease, she began swinging her wooden staff.

Of course, Ezekiel was still smiling.

“So, you’re making the promise?”

“I did not.”

“To think that the great First Imperial Princess would hesitate over a mere promise.”

“Silence!”

Ether aimed at Ezekiel irritably.

Their eyes met, and for a moment, Ether tried to steady her ragged breathing.

“……….….”

Eventually, she lowered the tip of her wooden staff, utterly drained of strength.

“…Master, you’re going away somewhere, aren’t you?”

“That is correct.”

“What’s the reason? Is it because your health is poor?”

Ether’s intuition was unparalleled.

Her ability to absorb and manipulate energy made it trivially easy to read others’ energy. She had long known something was amiss with Ezekiel’s health.

“It’s just a mission I must complete.”

“Don’t go.”

“I must. But I promise to return once it’s finished.”

The First Imperial Princess instinctively knew she couldn’t stop him.

“…I’ll become stronger. I’ll destroy everything in my path, becoming so powerful that you won’t need to go on missions anymore.”

“Haha, if Your Highness goes around destroying everything, it might create more work instead. Please focus on your training.”

“Hush.”

Ether cut off Ezekiel’s words abruptly.

“I’ll work hard, so you…”

The princess struggled to continue speaking.

“Make sure to rest well. And take care of your health, without fail.”

However, no answer came.

“That’s a promise, right?” Ether pressed, but Ezekiel only offered an impossibly kind smile.

“We’ll see.”

“My words are imperial decrees.”

“But Your Highness rejected my promise earlier.”

Ezekiel extended his pinky finger once more.

“Then, shall we each make a promise to the other?”

“…Forget it. You’re an idiot, Master.”

Was it pride? Ether turned her back abruptly.

“Fine, do as you please.”

The promise remained unsealed.

And afterward, Ether never heard news of her Master again.

• • • ₪ • • •

Bang!

Ether’s feet struck the ground with terrifying force.

She was carrying Ezekiel’s body. Despite the considerable distance to the Imperial Palace, space seemed to compress in an instant as she ran.

As she continued to run, she stole a glance at Ezekiel’s condition.

“…………….”

It was dreadful.

He was in a defenseless state with all his mana depleted and had been hit by an arrow. It was natural that his condition would not be good. However, what was more concerning than the external injuries was…..

‘Why is his energy so chaotic?’

She had no way of knowing how Ezekiel had been doing.

However, just by holding his body, she could tell that he was in a very bad state. His energy was as unstable as a candle that could go out at any moment.

‘I’m sure I told him to take care of his health…’

How did it come to this?

If only they had made a definite promise back then, would things have been different?

Ether was very happy when she received his letter. She thought that he was just doing well, having gone through so much.

But the reality was devastatingly grim.

Whoosh!

Ether leapt over the palace wall in one bound and bounded across rooftops. Moving like a flash of light, her final destination was the temple.

Despite the First Imperial Princess’s clamorous arrival, a woman stood with her back turned, offering prayers.

“First, I was defeated,” Ether announced.

“As expected. Your opponent was quite extraordinary.” 

Ether pulled Ezekiel closer to her.

“I lost miserably. The problem is, Master is gravely injured. This too is my fault, of course. I failed to anticipate how the scout unit would be affected.”

“………….?”

Only then did the Third Imperial Princess, Solana, turn around.

“Save Master. Please, I beg you.”

The sunflower-like face blinked a couple of times.

“Wh-wh-what…!”

Solana’s expression turned to one of shock.

70,000 views. And it still has 70 ratings on NU. Kinda saddening. I hope we at least reach 100 ratings on NU before September 01.