"…Are you okay?"
Gilbert's inquiry was sincere, but to Colt, it sounded more like sarcasm.
He drew in a sharp breath as his tears silently escaped, "I…could be better."
Colt was rationalizing everything to not freak out and have a worst experience than he was having. While in that state, Colt asked Fluff, "Hey, can't you suppress this pain? Turn off my pain receptor to free me from this fate."
"Nyaaa." Long story short, Fluff couldn't do that. So, Colt would have to suffer some more. But then, the Chick snuck up on him and hit the back of his head, putting him to sleep.
Colt blacked out with a thud, leaving Gilbert and the two little Soul Partners to stare at one another.
"Human, can you pick him up? I can't exactly drag him with his current state." The Chick ordered without so much as a hint of respect.
"O-okay." Gilbert didn't mind and did what he was told.
Colt was his savior. If not for his timely arrival, then whatever it was Horus was planning would have come to be. So, despite his injury, Gilbert willed through it and picked Colt up.
Gilbert took Colt inside the room. Colt was placed in an empty room; the bed quickly dyed with his blood.
A bone sticking out, three holes on the right arm, and a swelling left arm with ruptured veins was not something a normal person could survive from.
Gilbert looked at Colt with worry in his eyes.
"Are you sure he'll live? I know the Master of the Magic Tower; she's someone proficient in the use of Healing Magic."
The Chick gave Gilbert a quick glance as it hopped on top of Colt's chest, "He'll live, don't worry. Back home, his wife always heals him when he gets so much as a tiny cut, so he can't get used to my Gift. Having him on the verge of death will grant us a better connection."
The Chick sat on Colt's chest, and a bright crimson and purple light appeared. From underneath its soft body, a mix of crimson and purple mark reminiscent of fire became a source of his life.
A giant source of vitality appeared inside the room. It alleviated Colt's pain and even affected Gilbert's weary mind.
The Chick slept together with Colt. Gilbert could see that a large amount of vitality circulated inside Colt's body. It was an amazing amount, beating even Gilbert's own.
'Amazing.'
It was truly a sight to behold.
While all that was happening, a tiny wolf cub strolled in the house. It was Fer, the red wolf returning from its patrol.
"They managed to escape. The golden-haired woman was indeed at Pantasia-Class."
"She set up a Domain on the trail?"
"That's right."
"A Pantasia Illusionist and a Sorcerer, what an odd combination. Sorcerers and Illusionists rarely get along, and yet two Masters of their Paths attacked me tonight."
It was a weird encounter, and it proved that Gilbert was not a proper match for them. He may have been unprepared, but still, the combination of the two was not something to be messed with.
Gilbert went to get a bandage and pain killers. The stab wound he got was not a laughing matter.
"This would take at least a week before it gets better…I better go to the Magic Tower before Elpyie wakes up."
Gilbert tried to patch Colt up as much as possible, but his hand was slapped away by awakened Chick.
"Let it be, he won't die, that's good enough!"
The Chick was not going to take no for an answer, and Gilbert was left with his head hanging. He became depressed. All the while all of this happened, the passage of time continued.
Before he knew it, nine hours already passed, and then, he heard it, a scream of pain.
"Elpyie!"
His tiredness went away, and Gilbert slipped out of the situation. Gilbert took the vial he already prepared and rushed to Elpyie's side.
Gilbert disappeared to the second floor, leaving the still sleeping Colt and the two Soul Partners. Fer was outside, keeping watch of the surrounding. It chose to stay out for obvious reasons.
Fluff was also awakened from his slumber. At first, it was annoyed, but something suddenly that caused its ears to shot up. It did something rare, move in haste.
It left Colt and everything else in search of a source. It was led to an open room. Peeking from the gap, Fluff saw Elpyie. Its eyes strangely shrunk for a moment, but also recovered just the same.
"What happened to your shoulder, Gil?"
"It's nothing, I was hunting earlier and encountered a Brizza. It caught me off guard, you know how sneaky the bastards are."
"Is that…so?"
A quick exchange was given. Elpyie didn't return to sleep as fast as before. For a good hour, she and Gilbert talked for some time.
Gilbert talked about the untimely visitor they had downstairs but made sure to not speak of what happened earlier. The fight could not be disclosed to Elyie, for it might add to her stress.
'She's already suffering just staying awake.' Gilbert wanted to keep his wife's load as light as possible.
Fluff remained outside the door; it had stopped peeking at them for some time. It was in deep contemplation and with a shoulder shrugged, it though, 'It's no longer my problem.'
Fluff turned its back on the door. He had no intention of getting involved. However, a few minutes after leaving, a commotion echoed from below.
"Brother? Where are you taking that?"
"Somewhere, it could be used."
"Wait, brother, I was using that to calm his mind!"
"Shut it, I'm going to activate my Gift, so it won't be a problem!"
After the little exchange of the tiny creatures on the first floor, Fluff returned to the second floor with the box containing an evergreen colored leaf.
The door opened with a creaking sound, catching Gilbert's and Elpyie's attention.
As soon as Elpyie saw Fluff, her eyes shone brightly, "EEEEEE, it's, cough*, cute."
Elpyie somehow powered through coughing up blood. She extended her hand and called for the flabby cat to enter her embrace.
Fluff meowed and jumped on the bed. It got on Elpyie's embrace. Upon getting close, Elpyie felt lighter than before. A nice and cool feeling assailed her; it was a refreshing feeling she had not felt days prior.
Fluff held the box near to Elpyie as closed as possible. It didn't care what Elpyie did; it stayed there without so much as a sound of displeasure.
"Whose cat is this?"
"I-it belonged to the student who visited. It's rather friendly, isn't it?"
Elpyie clearly knew that the disease could not be contracted by an animal, and with such an adorable being visiting her, Elpyie couldn't help herself from hugging it.
Gilbert, however, could not help but feel flabbergasted at the sight of Elpyie acting so energetically.
Gilbert looked at the cat whose action he could not comprehend.
'I-it's a miracle.'
Gilbert had the urge to bow before this cat. It wouldn't be weird if Gilbert was to enshrine this cat and have this Dragon Slayer treat him as the Apostle.
An hour later, Elpyie felt tired and fell asleep. Fluff escaped from her embrace but left the ancient wooden box.
Gilbert was just about to beg it to stay by Elpyie's side as it feared that the 'miracle' it witnessed may disappear. He couldn't bear to see his wife suffer once more.
Fluff, however, beat him, "I know what you're going to say, and yes, I can talk, and as for how she got better, that ancient box is special. I'm going to leave the ancient box here, don't open it or it will stop working. Just hang on, the cure is being worked on by the Jin girly-boy."
Gilbert watched Fluff exit. This would be an experience he would never forget, and right then and there, Fluff reached the top of the board Gilbert respected.
However, one question remained, how did the cat know that his wife loved such species?
That was a silly question that the Lord Phat Fluff could easily answer.
"No one can resist this Lord."