Paralyzed (Tboah!AlbeCale)

31) Cale drinks some water, but make it spicy (with a sprinkle of trauma)

A/n: includes slightly gory/potentially disturbing nightmare, and depictions of a panic attack

Click. The door shut behind the elf, who was the last person to enter the room.

"Excuse me, your highness, but may I ask what young master Cale was doing here?"

Alberu internally sighed. They didn't give him any time to breathe, did they? It was Ron who asked the question as well, which made the atmosphere strange for a moment.

"... I'm afraid that is not related to any of you, but if you still wish to know, you could ask young master Cale the next time you see him."

"Ahem." Choi Han cleared his throat with the clear objective of stopping that conversation from developing any further. "Your highness, we have a few urgent topics to discuss, so we thought coming in person would be more efficient."

"Of course, so what is it that you wish to talk about?"

Alberu walked over to his desk and sat down properly as if he had never been hunched over on the couch at all. The heroes all stood in front of the desk, spread out so that all six of them were visible.

It was Rosalyn who shared the first few pieces of news.

"Your highness, my abilities have overcome their limits and I have recently become a highest grade mage. Because of this achievement, I have begun crafting plans for a new Magic Tower, as well as ways to put the mages who were lucky enough to escape the Whipper Kingdom's civil war to use."

Alberu was pleasantly surprised. He was already thinking of collecting the leftovers from that war, but the heroes had already started.

"Yes, I will gladly support the future Tower Master and the creation of a new Magic Tower. I assume that is not all you wished to share?"

He glanced at each person, stopping his eyes on the new member of their team, who took that as a sign to introduce himself.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, your highness. My name is Pendrick, and I joined this group as a healer after they passed through my village."

Alberu was naturally more wary after realizing he was an elf, but after hearing Pendrick speak, he seemed much more humble and reasonable than a regular elf.

"And it's a pleasure to meet you as well. I thank you on behalf of the heroes and this kingdom for your services; they are highly appreciated. I'm sure the journey hasn't been easy for you all, so please make sure to rest here for as long as you can. The palace can provide you with anything, so again, please relax for a while."

Ron, who had been observing Alberu since he entered the room, thought that the crown prince was a little rushed. He usually oiled up his tongue for a good while before ending the conversation, but this time he seemed a little annoyed, or maybe frustrated by their presence.

'Interesting... Just what was the young master talking about with him?'

Lock glanced at Rosalyn while Ron was still staring at the crown prince. He thought Alberu was acting differently as well.

Rosalyn felt his stare but didn't glance back. She had to seem overly confident in order to distract from how large of a declaration she had made earlier. Her nerves were acting up from the announcement of a new Magic Tower, but she was good at keeping her outward appearance neutral.

Alberu then stood up and smiled brightly. "I will begin preparations for rounding up the Whipper mages immediately. You all should rest for a while, and let's chat again before you leave."

Choi Han, who had become momentarily lost in his thoughts, responded with a very small smile. Rosalyn and Lock always told him he frowned too much and that it made him seem unapproachable, and the Molans just called him ugly.