Thoma's daily routine had become fixed. He would wake up, pray, eat lunch with the children, pray again, also going to the city every now and then to buy groceries or to learn a bit more about carpentry. He prayed earlier than he used to in the evening in order to go with Ellie to meet Ellin. He always looked forward to watching them play well into the night. The last thing he did every day was take his medication before bed, falling into a deep sleep until the next morning. This routine had come to feel natural and he felt that life would continue on like this forever. However, that belief would not last long.
***
"… Eh, Sister Ellie-?! Are you sick?" Thoma asked in concern. "Why are you…!"
"No, I've just had a minor fever recently… I'm fine. I'll get over it soon."
She was leaning against a tree, her face pale and her breathing ragged. Her body was also drenched in sweat.
"Sick? Ellie, sick?" Ellin asked.
"Hm? No, look, I'm just fine!"
Ellie stood up straight, put some strength into both of her hands, and shook them in exaggerated excitement. But just doing that much caused her to lose her breath, and she staggered back against the tree.
Seeing that, Ellin turned to Thoma in panic.
"Ellie, sick!"
Thoma placed a hand on her forehead.
'… There is no fever. She's actually freezing! Also, why is she sweating so much?'
"Wait a moment."
Thoma placed a hand over her head and cast healing magic. Specks of light rained from his hand, like snow, fading away as they touched her body. Her ragged breathing calmed and her pale face regained some color. Ellie looked at Thoma in awe as she felt her feeble body growing stronger by the second.
"A-amazing! Was that magic? I've heard that magic's amazing, but to be able to…!"
"Haha!" Thoma chuckled cheerfully. "Isn't that obvious? I was once a Hero, after all. Something like healing magic is-Ook!"
Thoma was struck by a sudden wave of nausea, quickly placing his hand over his mouth. Something came rushing up his throat. He couldn't taste anything, but there was a familiar metallic scent tickling the end of his nose; it was blood.
'… I've overdone it.'
His body wasn't doing well lately. It almost felt like his blood was getting thicker; he'd started suffering from poor circulation as well as chronic stiffness. Because of these health issues, the backlash from using magic had only grown more severe. Thoma knew that if he wasn't careful, he might actually end up coughing up blood in front of her.
"Huh? What wrong, brother?"
Thoma glanced at Ellie and Ellin, who was standing behind her. Even she seemed to be concerned, wearing a slight frown rather than her typical blank expression.
Forcing himself to swallow the blood, Thoma spoke with a smile. "Oh my! It's late. We should hurry back before people start looking for us.
His effort to avoid the topic didn't slip past Ellie, but she decided against pressing the issue further.
"Yes, you're right. Goodbye Ellin! Be good!"
Ellie hugged Ellin tight, and Ellin hugged her back with a faint smile on her face. However, the young girl noticed something while in Ellie's embrace and tilted her head curiously.
"Ellie, are you…"
"Sh…!" Ellie placed a finger over her lips. "I'm fine." She smiled brightly before releasing Ellin and walking toward the door. "Sleep tight. I'll come again tomorrow!" Ellie waved her hand and left to head back to the abbey with Thoma.
As Ellin helplessly watched the distance between them grow, she quietly muttered to herself. "Ellie, are you… sick?"
***
Thoma stopped and narrowed his eyes once they were near the abbey, looking at an unexpected crowd gathered at the entrance. There seemed to be two distinct groups of people, the monks and nuns of the abbey, and a band of knights. They wore long black cloaks that reached down to their feet, with hoods pulled up. Underneath they had on sturdy looking full-bodied plate armor and full-faced metal helmets. All of the knights had a large stature, taller than any of the monks even without their armor on.
"Who could they be?" Ellie asked nervously.
Thoma didn't know why they had come to such a remote abbey, but he did know who these knights were.
"… Royal Knights from the Kingdom of Lome."
Each one of them were powerful warriors capable of holding their own against the Holy Knights of the Holy Kingdom.
'Why would knights from Lome be here?!' No, before that, how could these knights get here in the first place?'
To visit this abbey so openly meant that they had received permission from the Holy Kingdom, but why travel all the way here in the first place?
One of the knights finally noticed their approach and turned to face the pair, immediately heading straight for Thoma. His steps were heavy, leaving gouged out holes in the ground with every stride. It was clear from how he carried himself that the knight was overflowing with dignity and pride.
"We've come from the Kingdom of Lome," he announced.
"… Is that so?" Thoma said. "Why are knights such as yourselves in this place…?"
"We've come here after being told that a criminal of Lome is hiding out in this abbey."
"…What?"
'A criminal…? In our abbey?!'
Thoma shook his head in disbelief. How could a fugitive possibly be in hiding here? The only visitors they'd had recently was an elderly group that had come to pray earlier this week. Other than them, nobody else had come to this remote place.
'Could someone be sheltering them in secret? Like I'm sheltering Ellin?'
Thoma gulped nervously. This was troubling. If they were here to search the area for a criminal, Ellin was bound to be discovered in the process. If that happened, not only would he be severely punished for harboring a demon, but Ellie as well.
'No, Sister Ellie should be safe. I'll just take on all of the blame!'
Thoma spoke with feigned confusion. "A c-criminal…? Just who could you be referring to…?"
"Who, you ask?" Knight spat out the next words mockingly. "It's you."
"…What?"
Thoma's eyes grew wide, and Ellie shouted in surprise.
"Brother! You're a criminal?!"
"No, this can't be!" Thoma yelled, just as surprised as her. "What crimes am I guilty of…!"
It was at that moment a female voice interjected. "That's too much for a joke. Even Sir Hero is flustered."
Thoma turned his head in surprise, seeing someone completely unexpected. She was a beautiful mage wearing a plain black robe, looking to be in her 30s. Her violet hair matched her eyes, and she held a mage's trademark staff in her hands.
"It's been a while, Sir Hero."
"Akareal?" Thoma called out her name in shock, and the knight who had been interrogating Thoma snickered before his body shook with uproarious laughter.
"Hahahaha!! Look at this man! Truly! For his panicked face to be this funny! How have you not changed at all?"
The knight draped his arm over Thoma's shoulder.
"Can't you recognize me? Hm?"
"This voice… could it be, Oskal?"
"Haha!"
The knight took off his helmet. He was a man in his mid-40s with reddish-brown hair and dark brown eyes. He had a gruff beard—the same reddish-brown color—and wore a broad grin as he looked down at Thoma.
"You finally recognize me, you criminal! Even after your time as the Hero was over you never came to visit us. Isn't that too cruel!"
"Calling me a criminal…"
"Of course, you are a criminal! The crime of not paying your senior a visit is great! We're going to drink all night, so be ready! Hahahaha!"
Ellie was watching Akareal and Oskal from behind Thoma, wide-eyed.
"Brother, who are they?"
"My old companions." Thoma smiled nostalgically. "The ones that defeated the Demon Lord alongside me."
***