Princess Ayaka. She's pale. She's 12 years old (she'll be 13 in a few months as the year goes on), 2 years older than me and 2 years younger than Dana. I thought there would be others guarding her when I met her, but there's only one guard who goes by the name of Sakura. She's strong, yes strong indeed, as strong as Jean, but considering the status of Princess Ayaka, I thought there would be more guards here, moreover.
"So this is THE THING? Pretty nasty even by my standards" [Elizabeth].
"Believe me, it can be worse" [Diana].
"Really? Interesting" [Elizabeth]
"No. I hate it. Even my two friends who were once affected by it almost died from it" [Diana].
"Who do you think is responsible?" [Sakura]
"Who knows. I certainly don't" [Diana].
And the Empress of the Kingdom of Sky, a very powerful vampire, is right next to me. She's intimidating at first glance, which made Dana flinch as she tried to shield me, but
"You really are fearless, aren't you, brat?" [Elizabeth].
"Well, when you have met the Devil King, everything else is tame in comparison" [Diana].
(She really is fearless...) [Ayaka, Dana, Sakura]
The more I examine Princess Ayaka, the more I am convinced that I can definitely heal her. It's not that hard for me anymore, considering that I literally thwarted a much more powerful one. Still, I am cautious. I don't want her to suddenly pass out. That would make things more difficult for all of us. If possible, I would like to do this with a healer or someone from a nearby church, but Princess Ayaka requests that this be done in secret (though how Empress Elizabeth managed to find out is beyond me).
As I begin to use my blessing to cleanse THE THING from her, we have a little chat. I was just remembering how the doctors and nurses do their jobs when I was in the hospital. They usually make small talk so that I don't get nervous, and also to distract me from a procedure.
"The performance is really very beautiful. I envy you for being able to move around freely" [Ayaka].
"It's okay. You will be able to once Diana heals you" [Dana].
"And when you do, come visit me. All of you. I'll make sure you're welcome in my kingdom" [Elizabeth].
"Ooh! Can I? I'll definitely come" [Diana].
"Good. Good. You're an honest one. I like you" [Elizabeth]
"Hehe thank you" [Diana]
Princess Ayaka likes the part where Miss Vita and Grandma Farhah sing a duet. Even though she couldn't understand the lyrics, she said it was the most beautiful melody she had ever heard. Due to her condition and upbringing, she couldn't really attend the South Island Music Court, so this is her first time. She said that she had to make several excuses just to get out of the Southern Island Emperor's house.
"What an idiot your father is" [Elizabeth].
"Excuse me?" [Sakura]
"I mean what I said. Even I give my son and daughter more freedom" [Elizabeth]
(This is... She's too intimidating... I can't) [Sakura]
"Wait, you're married?" [Dana]
"That's what piqued your interest? I'm not. They're my foster children. There's no male vampire strong enough to be my husband." [Elizabeth]
"What about Mr. Alaric?" [Diana]
"That guy? The one who cannibalized his father? Well, he's strong, but not nearly strong enough. Besides, he's even tame now compared to before." [Elizabeth]
"Wait... WHAT?" [Dana, Diana]
I wanted to ask more, but she just kept silent. She thought we already knew since we are close to him. I am curious, but like she said, just ask the person directly next time.
"What about you, what part of yesterday's performance did you like?" [Diana]
"I'm not the type to watch that kind of thing. I just go on a whim because Amleth gave me a free ticket. Still, I am impressed with Little Neloufa's performance. I can tell she's a very shy girl and yet she's able to make it" [Elizabeth].
"You can tell that? How?" [Dana]
"Simple observation. For example, you use spear and thunder spell the most right? [Elizabeth]
"That's impressive! Teach me! Teach me!" [Diana]
"There is nothing to teach. It's just observation after observation, be it on the battlefield or in one's daily activities. Whenever you look at someone or something, make it a habit to analyze their breathing patterns, their movements, their behavior, their mana, everything. Once you do this until it becomes something you can do subconsciously, then you'll pick up on things that most people wouldn't even notice" [Elizabeth].
"I see..." [Ayaka, Dana, Sakura]
"Does this mean that you have noticed what is inside of me?" [Diana]
"I do. A lot of it inside of you, isn't it" [Elizabeth]
"!" [Dana]
?" [Ayaka, Sakura]
"No wonder they don't want me to meet you alone" [Diana]
"Well, when you're old and strong enough, how about a spar. I already got one with the elder giant after all this is over, so next on the list will be the Vars family" [Elizabeth].
"Sure!" [Diana, Dana]
"Are you going to be okay?" [Ayaka]
"I will. Fighting someone strong makes me a lot better. Besides, I will beat the Devil King one day, so..." [Diana]
"If you couldn't defeat me, there's no hope of defeating the Devil King. That's what you're implying. Hahahahaha. You really are fearless. That's that. I'll make sure to have a fight with you one day" [Elizabeth].
And that is the end of my treatment.
"I can breathe... I can breathe freely... I... I don't even have to be afraid to breathe or cry... I'm happy... I'm so happy" [Ayaka].
"Princess... I'm happy!" [Sakura]
"You've been through a lot, haven't you pale princess. Well, your father is still an idiot. I didn't like him when I first met him, but you're different. You may be physically weak, but you're still strong. I'm proud of you for making it this far" [Elizabeth].
"I... I... Thank you. Your words make me very happy. Thank you too, Diana Vars" [Ayaka]
"You're welcome. How about a little walk to the festival to celebrate your health" [Diana]
"I think it would be better for the princess to rest" [Sakura]
"Nonsense. She can finally cry without fear of fainting, she can finally breathe normally, and the first thing you wanted to do was lock her in her room. Come on. Let's go and greet those succubi" [Elizabeth].
"But!" [Sakura]
"Alright, let's go go go!" [Diana]
With that, the five of us went to the Succubus Culture Festival. We still have to watch our step around Princess Ayaka, but she's undoubtedly the happiest girl in the world right now. The succubi greet us, although they flinch when they see Empress Elizabeth. Miss Eisheth doesn't, though, and even jokingly asks her why she isn't in the conference with the others. To answer her, she simply says that at the moment, I am more interesting to her than the conference. As we buy a demon juice, my blessing warns me.
"There you are!" [Diana, Elizabeth].
The two of us managed to capture a suspicious person. Dana, though confused, quickly follows us and makes sure the parameters are safe. Valerie, who happened to be there, also captured another suspicious person.
"Is that the kidnapper you mentioned yesterday?" [Dana]
"Probably. Looks like my intuition was right" [Valerie].
"Interesting, another strong looking person" [Elizabeth]
"?" [Valerie]