Wondering what Nainiae was getting at, the woman was not able to respond right away. She was deep in thoughts to figure out the reason why Nainiae asked this. Nainiae judged that the silence must be the answer. She made a proposal right away.
“In that case, I’ll go with them too.”
<Pardon?>
“The burdens that Young Master is shouldering… The things to worry about… Allow me to shoulder them with him.”
* * *
“Nainiae is… not waking up.”
It was at the Duke Philisneon mansion’s infirmary.
A boy and a girl were lying next to each other on the bed. Sera was looking at them. With her head supported by her palm, she sighed deeply.
<It’s only been two days.>
“It’s already been two days.”
<We have no other choice but to wait.>
“Ugh…”
<Ah! Would you stop sighing! That’s going to reduce lifespan!>
“That’s because you are a summon spirit, Ms. Heliona! I am a human. I grow ever so anxious with passage of time, so I cannot stand still!”
Heliona flinched after hearing Sera’s shouting. Heliona realized that the passage of time felt by a human being was different from a summon spirit’s perspective. Feeling awkward, Heliona scratched her cheek.
.bg-ssp-10081{margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;display:flex;justify-content:center;} <Calm down for now. It’s still true that there is nothing we can do, isn’t that right? Are you going to learn Seven Circles magic like Nainiae and take on the challenge?>
Heliona mumbled as she proposed the idea. Sera shook her head to say that was beyond her. Sera said,
“No, that is…”
It was said that even talented ones took five years to get to Three Circles, yet going for the Seven Circles?
Sera came to sudden realization just what kind of incredible height Nainiae reached. With disappointed look on her face, Sera dropped her head.
<See?>
“… Yes. I am sorry.”
It seemed Sera was thinking what she said earlier was too much. Sera lowered her head and apologized. Heliona blushed as if she got embarrassed. She fetched another idea.
<Why don’t you try praying!>
“Pray?”
<You guys have that goddess Irenetsa or whatever, right? I heard that humans do things like that and hold out when going gets tough.>
“Well, that is true, but… I’m the kind that doesn’t exactly believe in religions, so…”
Sera explained that she came to not believe in the existence of the goddess while she lived in the Lower Solia. Sera then asked a question that came up in her head.
“By the way, where did you hear that? Sighing will reduce lifespan, and people pray when things are tough.”
<That? My master, obviously…>
Her master… She was talking about Andal, the dragon who transformed into a human form to be on an amusement tour in the human world. She had picked up all sorts of stuff about humans from him. Heliona stopped in middle of the sentence.
“… Master?”
It was because she was not supposed to disclose things about her master.
<Nainiae! I’ve heard them from Nainiae!>
She quickly changed her words. Instead of Andal, Heliona now said that she heard it from Nainiae. Sera was accepting her response, saying ‘I see.’ Having noticed that Sera bought it, Heliona secretly sighed in relief.
<… Phew…>
Sera was nodding as if she believed her, and Heliona was sighing. At that moment, sounds of steps could be heard outside the door. It was coming closer to the room.
“Um?”
It sounded like the steps belonged to a woman. It made tap sounds. Sera turned her head toward the door and went ‘sniff sniff’ with her nose to check the smell that was approaching.
‘This scent… Is it the Princess?’
Sera got up from the chair that she had placed at the front of the bed. She then carefully approached the door.
Knock Knock
As soon as Sera got to the door, two or three knocks could be heard.
“Excuse me. Are you there?”
“Yes. What is it?”
“For the past few days, both Sera and Nainiae… I don’t think I have seen any of you. I came to ask if things were all right. Is Young Master’s condition still the same?”
Nainiae was practically like a lifeline. Now, even Nainiae was at a state where they had no way of knowing when she would wake up, just like Riley.
So, they decided to keep this a secret. Sera even decided not to leave the room for the time being. Having heard Reutrina’s question, Sera pulled her chin and said,
“Yes. His condition worsened, so…”
“Ah…”