The Guarded Princess

XXI

Upon returning to Sindria, they were glad to hear that nothing major had happened during their absence. The citizens of Sindria welcomed their King and generals back with open arms of joy and relief, including their Princess, Lucy. Nothing had changed and they went back to their daily lives around the palace. They had initially thought that a few months had passed but in fact, only a month had which meant that they didn't lose much time.

Flashback~

"It might be because your Djinn extorted most of its magic towards the dungeon rather than time," Kouen said.

Lucy tilted her head, confused.

Weaving his hand through her hair, he rested his face on his palm and explained. "In the dungeon, one's sense of time is slowed down, making them believe that there isn't a time lapse between the dungeon world and the outside world. Whether or not there is a large time lapse or not entirely depends on the djinn."

"I see..." Lucy said, beginning to understand.

"For instance, in Sinbad's case, during the time he conquered Valefor, a few months had passed by the time he exited," Kouen said. "Though it might also be due to the fact that Valefor is the Djinn of Falsehood and Prestige and one that specializes in Ice Magic which requires the factor of time."

End of Flashback~

With them being back in the country, they continued on with what they had always done. Though now, Lucy seemed to be able to move more freely around the castle now. Masrur stayed by her side throughout the day and never left her and Lucy was content with it as long as Masrur was. Having captured one of the most powerful Djinns, each and every one of them was eager to find out what kind of power the Djinn held.

But, having been gone from the Kou Empire for a month, Kouen, Koumei, Kougyoku, and Kouha didn't spend much time with her for they were all busy reading the documents and scrolls that had piled up during the months that they were gone. Sinbad and Ja'far, too, were busy enough and since they were short-handed on people, Lucy decided to help them out. Within a week, they had finished.

Now, Sinbad, Lucy, Masrur, Aladdin, Alibaba, and Morgiana sat in the Palace Garden, contemplating over a rather difficult problem.

"Have you gotten hang of your Djinn yet?" Sinbad asked, sitting down on the grass beside her.

Lucy shook her head in dismay. "No."

"Well, don't look so down," he ruffled her hair. "It's normal to not be able to use it to your will."

"But, it's been two weeks."

Sinbad stopped and looked down at her bracelet. "That is true," he reached out to hold her hand. "And I don't feel any abnormalities with your flow of rukh either. In this case, even I'm at a loss."

"And I sense the Djinn in the bracelet, too," Aladdin remarked.

"Doing a Djinn Weapon Equip should be relatively simple since it only requires the user to concentrate their magoi in the metal vessel," Alibaba added, remembering how much trouble he had to go through to attain a Full Body equip. "This is complicated."

"Or could it possibly be that the Djinn doesn't wish to?" Sinbad furrowed his eyebrows.

"That's not possible," Aladdin countered. "Once a Djinn chooses their Master, they're absolutely loyal to their words and orders. Whether or not their Master is right or wrong, they continue to follow them. If Lucy-neesan wants to do a Djinn Weapon Equip, it should be possible."

"Then something's preventing her from doing so?" Morgiana spoke up.

They narrowed their eyes further, beads of sweat starting to form on their foreheads. They thought about this during their own times, brooding over the fact as to why Lucy couldn't do a Weapon Equip despite the fact that she always managed to concentrate her magoi into the vessel without fail. It just didn't seem logical.