A Distant Reverie

Chapter 24

Vesper stared blankly at the cobblestone ceiling. Hints of the morning wind snuck through the gaps of the windowsill beside his bed. The cold breeze was chilly, but Vesper didn't care to mind. He was sprawled out on his bed inside the medical bay, his arms and legs stretched out to the bed's corners. Bandages covered his body; some plastered over the scars on his otherwise deathly pale face that seemed devoid of life. He was exhausted. In pain. And very, very uncomfortable. An aching soreness permeated his entire body, right down to his bones. His muscles complained of overwork, throbbing, buzzing with numbness. Perhaps it was a silly thought, but Vesper genuinely feared that if he moved, his body would spontaneously collapse and crumble into pieces.

As if his current afflictions weren't enough, a caustic burn continued to boil in the pits of his stomach, accompanied by a relentless headache. Symptoms of mana poisoning. He had long overexerted the limits of what his body could handle within the elven grove. Vesper was already a defective product to begin with, born with a body that was overly intolerant to mana—a trait that made his life as a spellcaster excruciatingly difficult.

Vesper wanted to moan and protest, something to vocalize his discomfort. Unfortunately for him, there was another person in the room.

Sitting idly by his bed was a familiar blue-haired young lady. Silently, Suisei stared at the floor, her eyes aloof and distant. Vesper thought about saying something to make conversation, something to fill this strange silence that was slowly becoming stifling. After some thought, however, he decided to remain silent. His penchant for small talk was sorely underdeveloped. And since they returned from the elven grove, Suisei didn't seem like herself. Her usual cheery, energetic nature—whether it was genuine or not—was nowhere to be found. Instead, the young lady seemed to be brooding, withdrawn into her own thoughts.

Can't say I blame her.

The affairs of the elven grove were particularly brutal. If he had to wager, Vesper bet that it was probably the first time Suisei had killed someone. It was a traumatic event that no one should have to go through. Especially for a young lady. And especially since Suisei did it in order to save him. Vesper was eternally grateful, and as such, he wanted to at least offer some words of comfort and reassurance. To let Suisei know that things will be okay. To let her know that even if it's not much, he'll at least be here to hear her out. Those words, however, remained at the tip of his tongue. He was never good at these sorts of things. And rather than potentially embarrass himself, he decided to let his feelings remain unspoken.

...I'm just full of deficiencies, aren't I?

Vesper let out a drawn-out sigh, partly lamenting his pathetic self and partly because he was overwhelmed recalling last night's events.

At least everyone survived, somehow.

He could feel his heart reveling up, thumping anxiously as he relived the horrible ordeals. They came close to death too many times. If it weren't for Marine and Noel's combat skills, if Noel didn't foolishly dive after Marine, if he didn't notice what was happening, if Suisei had missed her shots—so many tiny coincidences and things left to chance had to go right for them to escape the elven grove unscathed.

And for what?

Vesper later learned that their misfortunates in Azure Woods wasn't due to bad luck. Noel had sent them with Enya and Cyrus, knowing that they were likely elven spies. Vesper and his companions were essentially bait, used to drawn out the location of the elven grove. The sigil imprinted on their wrists ensured their compliance with this terrible role, but it also had a secondary function. The spells woven into the sigil allowed Noel to track their location and status, which was how the Knight Commander managed to infiltrate the grove right after they were taken in. Finding the elven grove was her aim from the beginning. Everything had been planned and designed with this goal in mind.