The young siblings who had gotten lost in the town were safely returned to their parents by Nel’s hand.
There was an incident where they cried out that they were hungry along the way, but they managed to get by with the princess’s homemade egg sandwich.
Thus, they reached a cliché but universally desired happy ending.
However, for Nel, the price she had to pay to reach that ending was far too great.
“Wow~ what should I do? The match has already started~ hee~”
Just after saying goodbye to the lost family with her usual shining royal smile, Nel ran through the town of Spada, where the sun had already set and a starry sky spread above, half-crying.
The people of Spada, walking along the streets, turned to look back in surprise at the sight of the princess rushing by with her wings spread wide.
However, there was not a single person who called out to her.
Thus, Nel dashed past the main gate of the Second Barrier, which separated the upper and lower districts, and finally laid eyes on the towering ‘Great Arena’ ahead.
If she could confirm her destination with the naked eye, even Nel, notorious for her terrible sense of direction, could not get lost.
With her worry about making a wrong turn finally dispelled, Nel sprinted at full speed down the main street of the upper district, where foot traffic had begun to thin out now that night had fallen, using her speed enhancement magic in conjunction.
As she approached the looming giant stone wall that curved gently, Nel heard the enthusiastic cheers of the audience erupting from within.
Even someone as inexperienced in sword fighting as Nel could tell that the match was probably very exciting.
No, it was precisely because she had some telepathic ability that she could intuitively understand the straightforward emotional shouts of support coming from the crowd.
However, what surprised Nel was not the excitement of the audience but the name “Chrono” heard among the mixed shouts of encouragement.
“What? Chrono-kun is already fighting!?”
Nel began to panic.
Maybe Chrono’s match would be later and she would still make it, she had been holding onto that faint hope, but it was shattered into pieces by the intense Chrono call echoing from the Great Arena.
“Please wait for me, Chrono-kun!!”
However, since the healer’s turn comes after the match, having the match ongoing meant it was the right timing for her role.
Nonetheless, Nel had no mental space to think calmly about such things now.
“Chrono-kun is waiting! Please let me in!!”
The receptionist at the entrance of the venue was perplexed by the incomprehensible statements of the neighboring country’s princess, but somehow, after Nel submitted her proof of participation as a healer, she was finally allowed entry into the Great Arena.
However, even though the path to getting here was perfect, the internal structure of the arena seemed incredibly complicated and incomprehensible to Nel.
Feeling as if she had wandered into an underground ruins-type dungeon, Nel pressed forward, trusting her intuition, which was the most unreliable thing to trust.
Eventually, she found herself in a certain spectator seat.
“Ahhh! Chrono-kun――!”
“Go for it, Chrono-sama!”
“Don’t lose to that creepy Evil Eye!!”
“Oh, I’ve run out of popcorn…”
It seemed that there were many young female spectators here, sending yellow cheers to Chrono who was embroiled in fierce battles in the arena.
Among them was the guild receptionist Elena, famous for her beauty, who had just been smiling next to Chrono.
Watching them ardently send love calls to Chrono, an indescribable feeling began to swell up inside Nel, but there was no time to dwell on it.
“The Evil Eye… could it be Hydra’s!?”
Without even needing confirmation, a gigantic message board displayed in the arena read in radiant magical light:
‘Black Nightmare Berserker Chrono VS Mad Evil Eye Sayed Maya Hydra’
And that the Evil Eye was indeed real was confirmed to Nel when the face of a large man gripping a black naginata emitted an ominous purple flash of light.
“No! Chrono-kun, dodge!!”
In that moment, Nel was filled with certainty.
She had witnessed the true master of the Evil Eye, Safi Maya Hydra, the awakened one, using the ‘Purple Crystal Eye’ passed down through the Hydra family in battle.
The memory of when she played a part in bringing down the injured Raspun in Galahad Mountain was still fresh in her mind.
However, it seemed that Chrono was about to be hit by that terrifying crystallization light, unable to escape due to the three undead clinging to him—a severely dismembered Orc, Elf, and a female Human.
It was hopeless; as despair crawled up from her feet and froze her spine, she thought.
“Devourer, take this!!”
With a massive sword believed to be made from the fangs of a large monster, Chrono had unexpectedly shielded himself against the Evil Eye’s flash of light.
After that, Chrono launched an all-out offensive.
Even Nel, a seasoned Rank 5 adventurer who had fought with numerous monsters, could only hold her breath in awe at the intensity of his assault.
No, one could even say she was enamored.
For someone like Nel, who disliked fighting, sword fighting had always been hard to accept, but at that moment, like the thousands of Spada people gathered there, she was intoxicated with clear excitement and exhilaration.
“Give me strength―― ‘Strength Enhancement'”
Especially, the moment Chrono activated the enhancement magic he had learned during their special training together, Nel trembled with joy.
He was now fighting a formidable opponent, the Hydra’s Evil Eye user, using the enhancement magic she had taught him.
In her instincts, she understood that she had been useful to none other than her dear friend Chrono――giving her a joy she had never felt before.
It was incomparable to the emotions she had felt when she safely returned the little lost ones to their parents.
“Chrono-kun――”
Chrono, who activated ‘Strength Enhancement,’ was powerful. To the point of being overwhelming.
He faced the Evil Eye user, displaying a clearly inhuman strength, exchanging blows and skillfully wielding the dual cursed swords.
“Double Black Slash”
Finally, with a strikingly fast black martial art, Chrono decided the match.
An arm was blown away, a head rolled.
Even to an amateur’s eyes, it was completely settled.
After all, the only species that could continue living after having their head cut off would be pureblood vampires.
However, what was happening here was not an ordinary sword fight; the opponent used a cursed weapon, meaning he was not a proper ‘human.’
And in that instance, the abnormality of the Evil Eye user named Sayed was fully displayed.
“Ah… Ahhh… Aaaahhh! Nooo!!!”
A purple flash erupted, the output higher than ever.
Chrono’s counterattack was executed immediately, but it was a fraction too late, to the point of being critically delayed.
“Damn it, I messed up…”
The barrier covering the arena, commonly referred to as ‘the Screen,’ reflected Chrono’s anguished face, furrowed brows, and suppressed grimaces right before Nel’s eyes.
And his crystallized right arm, which had caused his suffering, was also clearly shown.
“Ah, no… That can’t be…”
The crowd erupted in cheers over Chrono’s victory after defeating Sayed in a fierce battle.
However, a dark, cold shadow named regret dwelled in Nel’s heart.
“Chrono-kun’s… right hand…”
She should have stopped it; she knew all too well the threats posed by the Hydra’s Evil Eye.
Regardless of how unreasonable or selfish, even if it was an act of royal tyranny, she should have forced Chrono to quit the match.
She had the power to do so.
However, now it was all too late, regretting it afterward was precisely what regret meant.
“It’s because I… couldn’t stop it… because I was late… Chrono-kun is…”
In other words, the root cause lay in her being late for the promised time.
“I have to heal you! I must… hurry… to heal Chrono-kun…”
Stumbling forward like a somnambulist, Nel took a step ahead.
The passage leading to the arena could only be accessed by a long route around from the spectator gate she had just passed through.
Yet she had no intention of following that convoluted official route; in fact, that idea had completely slipped from Nel’s mind.
“Chrono-kun, I’m coming right now――”
Nel’s eyes could only see Chrono enduring the pain of losing an arm.
That was precisely why Nel moved forward, straight through the shortest path.
“――Chrono-kun!!”
And just as someone might have attempted to stop her, the sudden dive of the princess of Avalon from about ten meters above the audience seats made for a shocking intrusion.
The angel who descended into the arena, Nel, wore a beautiful face fit for her gentle smile, now twisted with sorrow.
From her large blue eyes, tears glistened faintly.
This is troublesome; it’s the second time I’ve made her cry.
“I’m sorry, Nel, it’s quite a serious injury.”
I honestly report my injuries, smiling ironically at my own negligence.
“Ah, ahh… I’m sorry, Chrono-kun, I’m sorry for being late――”
“No, it was just my lack of caution.”
With a gentle nature like Nel, she’d likely feel even more responsible for an injury that was clearly her fault.
But I couldn’t find the right words to reassure her.
Then, in the end, tears flowed from both of Nel’s eyes… ah, damn it, the guilt is tearing me apart.
And surely, she would be saddened by my self-loathing as well.
So, I purposely acted as if I hadn’t noticed those tears.
“By the way, Nel, will my right arm heal?”
I didn’t really know the level of medical care in Spada.
However, since Nel possesses the healer class, she should be knowledgeable in that area, or so I thought.
“Yes, Chrono-kun’s arm will definitely be healed by me.”
The answer I received was beyond my expectations.
With a firm expression, Nel’s face was no longer one of sadness but rather that of a seasoned surgeon determined to perform an emergency operation in front of a critically injured patient.
“Will it really heal?”
“Yes, don’t worry. With the blessing of ‘Healer Princess Aria,’ I will heal you right now!”
Then, as Nel raised her hand in the air, a white magical circle resembling the one Lily used for spatial magic appeared instantly.
“I command in the name of Nel Julius Elroad――appear, ‘White Winged Scales.'”
From within, she took out a long staff.
It shone in pure white radiance like a first-class work of art rather than a magical wand.
The material seemed like holy silver, but no, it looked similar yet different, perhaps some other kind of metal.
On the tip, white wings spread out, precisely mimicking her own.
As expected of a Rank 5 adventurer, it was some impressive equipment.
“Chrono-kun, can you extend your arm?”
I touched it again with my left hand and manipulated the tentacles that were tightly wrapped around my right arm to expose the affected area.
Looking closely again, it really was terrible. The space between my elbow and wrist was entirely crystallized, transparent enough to see through to the other side.
It looked as if I had a fake arm hidden by some trick magic, but this was the real deal, which made it all the more difficult to deal with.
“Don’t worry, this level of crystallization can be perfectly purified without leaving any aftereffects.”
“Oh, really? Thank you, Nel, you saved me.”
“No, I’m the healer for you, Chrono-kun.”
How true to the nature of an angel she is, Princess Nel.
However, does treating me right now mean she will do it right here in the middle of the arena?
Normally, I thought such things would be done in a medical room after exiting, but… well, seeing that Mordred isn’t complaining about it, it must be accepted as part of the show.
Since the princess of Avalon suddenly crashed onto the stage, the audience must be curious about what she intends to do.
“Now, I’m going.”
Holding the ‘White Winged Scales’ staff in her right hand, Nel gently placed her left hand on my affected area, then slowly closed her eyelids, invoking the name of the god to grant blessing.
“Pure, holy healing―― ‘Healer Princess Aria.'”
When her eyelids opened again, the color of her eyes, resembling blue skies, turned to a crimson hue reminiscent of sunset.
Black hair and red eyes, similar to Mia Elroad; thus, it was possible that her real sister Aria also possessed the same hair and eye color.
From the appearance alone, it was only a change in eye color, but the atmosphere and aura of magical power emanating from Nel standing right beside me were extraordinarily different.
When this sensation reaches its peak, she might radiate an overwhelming sense of presence like an apostle.
In any case, Nel was now one of the rare ‘Healer Princess Aria’ bearers among the five in Avalon, intending to dispel my curse with her healing power.
“إلهة يبارك شفاء الضوء الأبيض”
The incantation of the magic began, as always, incomprehensible to me.
The magical formula embedded there functioned correctly, or perhaps resonated with the power of blessing. The ‘White Winged Scales’ she held began to flicker.
“أنا أطلق العنان لعنة جميع”
And thus the incantation lasting several seconds finally reached its end.
“――’White Clear Dispelling.'”
She activated the healing power.
“Whoa!”
In that instant, a brilliant light emanated from the crystallized right arm――damn it, I’m getting hit by bright lights all the time today!
Thinking such trivial things, I instinctively closed my eyes.
God is saying, “Please give me popcorn”…
October 29, 2012
Actually, last time I accidentally clicked ‘publish immediately’ instead of ‘schedule post’, and it got uploaded late at night on Thursday.
“How do I delete that again…?” After several minutes of wrestling with it, I finally managed to delete it, but reading the comments, it seemed many readers witnessed that mistake… I apologize, it was my error. I will be more careful from now on!