A P H I A
"Clovis is badly hurt. He is in a critical condition." Howard's report keeps ringing in my head until we reach the infirmary. Prince Kalmin and I came together to see him and the rest of the knights.
"We used your healing potions to heal the rest of our knights, but it can't heal the severe injuries that our men got from those monsters. Clovis is one of them. His head is badly injured; he got burns all over his body, and his eyes are damaged." Howard explained Clovis's condition once we reached his room.
"We placed all severely injured knights in this room," Elbrus said. I am scanning Clovis's body, and I feel terrible about what happened to them.
"Gunther, details please." I heard Prince Kalmin order Gunther tell us what happened.
"We were fighting against a chimera. There were three of them in the woods. They were destroying our forest, so we had to stop them. Clovis got severely injured because he saved a couple of hunters that caught up in our battle. One of the chimeras took the advantage and attacked him." Gunther stated.
Chivalry is not yet dead in this world, and Clovis is ready to sacrifice himself to save other people.
"Wait, what is a chimera?" I asked curiously. It must be different from the chimera I know.
"It's a fire-breathing female monster with a lion's head, a goat's body, and a serpent's tail," Elbrus answered my question, and I nodded.
I think I already heard the word chimera in an anime Full Metal Alchemist, but that one is different. In anime, it's a combination of a human and a dog. I sigh. It's a tragic story.
"Are you alright, Lady Aphia?" I heard Aloisia's voice, and I quickly looked at her.
"How are you? Are you alright?" I asked Aloisia, she just came, and I want to know if she's injured as well.
She chuckles. "Yes, I'm fine. I'm the strongest female knight." She announced.
"You are the only female knight, Aloisia," Howard commented, and Aloisia threw him a bandage, and he caught it easily while chuckling.
I turn my attention back to Clovis. He has an injured head, burns, and damaged eyes. I should use my prowess heal and cure at the same time to make sure he will be back to what he used to be. "Prince Kalmin," I said without tearing my gaze away from Clovis. "I will try to use prowess cure on Clovis," I announced.
"Are you sure? You haven't tried it yet." He said.
I nod. "I am sure. I will do my best to save him." I heard him sigh before patting my head.
"Do your best, Aphia. All of us are rooting for you." He gives me encouragement and pressure at the same time. I place my hand over his chest, not touching it, just over his chest. I shut my eyes close and started using heal to heal his physical wound, and while doing it, I focused my mind on curing his eyes.
While using cure, I feel a warm sensation that ignites inside me. I feel like my magic has progressed to another level.
"Woah!"
I heard Howard, Elbrus, and Aloisia's reactions at the same time. Several people around us gasped in surprise.
I guess it's working.
"A-Aphia?" I open my eyes. I was stunned to see Clovis looking at me. His eyes healed! I'm so glad those beautiful eyes were healed!
Aloisia removes his bandages, and his well-toned body exposes in front of me until someone covers my eyes using his hand. "I am protecting your innocence, Aphia." Prince Kalmin said, and I hit his stomach using my elbow. "That hurts." He commented.
"You did not tell me that when you suddenly stripped off in front of me last week!" I roared, and he chuckled.
"Clovis put your clothes on quickly." Prince Kalmin ordered, and I heard movements around me.
After a few seconds, Prince Kalmin removes his hand that is covering my eyes. "I'm glad you are safe." He said to Clovis. I immediately scan his head, his eyes, and his arms. All of his injuries have healed. He has no trace of any wound. I breathed out in relief. Prince Kalmin pats my head. "You did a great job, Aphia."
"Tss. Stop patting my head like I'm your pet." I complained before shoving his hand away from me. It became his habit.
"Thank you for healing me, Aphia," Clovis said while smiling, and I couldn't help but get speechless at his beautiful smile.
Gosh! He's more handsome whenever he smiles!
"What now?" I heard Prince Kalmin ask before he moved his face near my face. "Cat got your tongue, Aphia?" I quickly push his face away from me in disgust.
"You are too close!" I complained.
"You are spacing out. Some other knights are waiting for you." He stated as he moved to show the rest of the knights lying on the infirmary bed.
I breathed out before moving to the next bed. The knight on this bed has an amputated leg. His facial expression shows he is hoping that I can still heal him, and I will. I have to because it's my role. I need to because it's what my magic does.
I place my hand over his thigh and focus on regenerating his bone, tissue, joints, and muscles. Please heal him. "Heal," I uttered, and the magic poured out of my hands, flowing to his leg.
After a few seconds, I heard him sobbing. "What? Why?" I asked before I looked at his leg. My smile widened when I saw his leg regenerate.
"T-Thank you, priestess! Thank you so much!" He said while wiping his tears. "I can still serve the kingdom as a knight." He became emotional.
"I'm glad to help," I said while smiling at him.
I healed every knight in the room, and all of them were gravely injured. Most of them have burns and amputated legs or arms. There are some with a head injuries and internal bleeding. I use my prowess heal and cure to all of them.
I breathed out after healing the last knight. My exhaustion is nothing compared to their smiles now that they can still serve as knights of this kingdom. They are very dedicated to their job, and I am very grateful for being able to help.
"Can you still continue?" Prince Kalmin asked. "There are still four rooms left. They are knights with mild injuries."
I nod. "Of course," I said before standing up to follow him.
"Thank you so much, priestess!" I was startled by the knights. They shouted before bowing their heads, and I chuckled awkwardly.
"It's my pleasure to help all of you," I said while smiling. "Please just call me Aphia," I said, and they all smiled at me.
Prince Kalmin clears his throat to catch my attention, and he motions me to come with him. The knights in the other rooms have deep physical wounds that my potions failed to heal. I wonder why it did not work. Should I put stronger healing magic on the potions that I am going to make?
"Use Circle of Healing or Area Heal, Lady Aphia." Erskine just came in. "The radius of circle healing will cover this whole area." He said, and I nodded.
I position to the center of the room. All knights are looking at me in curiosity. I close my eyes and feel the magic inside me. Instead of putting magic in my hands, I focus my magic on my feet. I will create a magic circle on the ground using my feet.
"Area heal!" I uttered, and I could feel my magic emanating from my feet, and it filled the whole area. After a few seconds, I heard gasps and murmurs around me.
I opened my eyes, and Erskine's face suddenly appeared in front of me. "Wonderful!" He exclaimed in amusement. "What a fantastic magic circle! It's the first time I've seen that kind of magic circle! Gold dust surrounded the area while you were healing the knights!" He explained, and my mouth gape open in amusement.
"Gold dust?!" I asked.
He nods while smiling from ear to ear. "I wonder if it's related to the golden potion you made." Yes, the golden potion. I wonder what happened to that.
"Did you learn how it might affect humans if we tried to use it? Perhaps we could use it to heal severe wounds and cure illnesses." I suggested. "I want to produce a potion that can heal any kinds of wounds and any kinds of illnesses," I announced.
Erskine looks at me in amusement. "Magnificent idea! Let's do it as soon as possible, Lady Aphia!" He exclaimed in excitement.
"Thank you so much, priestess!" The knights' way of thanking me might give me a heart attack. They shouted all of a sudden and at the same time. Gosh.
"It's my pleasure!" I said while smiling at them. At least I can easily recover from the shock.
I did the same thing with the rest of the rooms where the knights are taking care of. It was already dark when I finished healing all of them, and I was starving.
Prince Kalmin and Erskine took me to the castle's dining hall and spoiled me with delicous food. Erskine told me that I needed to regain my strength and magic for tomorrow's training.
"Slow down, will you? No one's gonna take your food away from you." Prince Kalmin scolded me, and I just ignored him. It's my food and me right now. No one can disturb our intimate moments.
"I did not know that you can also regenerate human body parts," Erskine commented.
"I did not know as well. I just tried, and it worked, luckily." I answered.
"Probably it's one of the abilities of healing." He said, and I nodded.
The next day…
"I need bow and arrow." I requested, and Prince Kalmin looked at me in confusion.