“Good day, Mr. El.”
Meira greeted El, who was stretching in the courtyard.
“Good day, Meira.”
“Your recovery is incredible, Mr. El. It’s only been a week, and you’re already able to get outside.” Meira chuckled softly as she watched him repeat the training methods from his homeland in the yard. “I originally thought it would take you longer to recover.”
“That may be, but I still feel weak these past few days.” El stood up and stretched his body. “It feels like I’ve been completely drained. When I wake up in the morning, my back and waist ache.”
An uneasy expression appeared on his face. “Meira, do you think I might have some lingering aftereffects?”
Listening to his description, Meira was a bit puzzled.
Judging by his complexion, he didn’t seem very well.
“There shouldn’t be anything wrong!” she said. “Is something going on?”
She stepped beside El, grabbed his arm, and infused a bit of natural magic.
A warm green glow flowed over El’s arm. Meira sensed the magical feedback but found nothing unusual.
She offered her conclusion.
“Sorry, El, natural magic can’t provide a deeper examination, but one thing I’m sure of—your body is perfectly normal.”
“Really? That’s quite strange.” El stroked his chin thoughtfully, his eyes wandering around the courtyard as if searching for an answer.
Suddenly, his gaze locked onto a black-and-white figure not far away washing clothes.
“Nia, any ideas?”
Nia’s movements froze upon being called.
She put down her work and looked up at them.
“I think it’s because you were training consistently before, but you’ve been bedridden this whole week without exercise, so your body got weak. Now that you’re suddenly exercising again, your body naturally can’t keep up.”
Nia’s voice was calm, but if one paid attention, they’d notice her hands tightly clutching the lace edge of her maid uniform.
Her legs swung back and forth nervously.
Fortunately, neither the prince nor El noticed her odd behavior.
“Nia makes a good point. Lying in bed for so long does affect your muscles.” El agreed. “Then from today onward, I’ll slowly resume my training.”
…
With El’s rehabilitation training underway, the day he had arranged with Frank finally arrived.
Nia could feel a clear festive atmosphere radiating from El’s expression.
In his words, once spring ends, the next time they’d celebrate the Harvest Festival in Belron Town was uncertain.
Nia understood his feelings.
So when El knocked on her door early in the morning, she had already prepared everything with the prince.
They were ready to depart.
“Mr. El, you look much better these past couple of days.”
Seeing him at the doorway, Meira smiled warmly as she chatted.
“It must be because I’ve been training diligently these days.”
“Your leg injury has healed, but you shouldn’t overexert yourself.”
“I’ve got my eye on him, so no worries, miss.”
Nia interrupted Meira while also scrutinizing El.
Now that his leg was fine, she had no reason to linger in his room anymore.
Their nighttime raid plan had to be postponed for a couple of days due to El’s “aching back and waist.”
But it seemed this kind of injury was only temporary?
She wasn’t too sure.
If she’d known this would happen, she should have studied her own body more beforehand—not like now, barely understanding male or female bodies.
Maybe this trip to Belron Town was a good chance to ask someone?
Lost in thought, Nia barely noticed El and Meira continuing their conversation.
“Mr. El, are we really going together?”
“Of course. Staying cooped up at home isn’t good. Come have some fun with me. I already told that brat Frank in town; no one will care about your status.”
Since El said so, Nia didn’t refuse anymore.
At one in the afternoon, the three of them arrived in Belron Town.
Unlike the solemn atmosphere during the last dragon demon invasion, today Belron Town was clearly filled with festive joy, with everyone on the streets beaming smiles.
In the town’s center, piles of firewood stacked into a huge heap.
Next to the woodpile, many people busily prepared various foods.
The celebration wouldn’t start until evening, so before that, Nia and Meira were pulled by El to Felt’s Tavern.
Probably due to the festival preparations, the tavern was empty except for Felt himself.
Just as the three thought the tavern was closed and prepared to leave, Felt suddenly appeared from the cellar.
He was carrying a large wooden barrel.
Even from seven or eight meters away, Nia could smell the alcohol from the barrel.
Seeing guests at the door, Felt put down the barrel, turned toward the bar, and greeted them cheerfully.
“Oh, our great hero has arrived.”
“Keep it down, keep it down.”
El said that, but Nia could tell from his expression that Felt’s praise pleased him greatly.
His eyebrows and mouth practically lifted to the sky.
“What will our great hero drink today?” Felt took out several wine glasses and generously said, “Tonight’s on me.”
“So generous today?” El raised an eyebrow. “Then I won’t hold back.”
“You can’t be stingy with a hero. The usual?”
“Then the usual it is.”
“And Miss Nia?”
“I’ll have the same as last time.”
Felt nodded and then turned his gaze to the newly arrived Meira.
He hadn’t expected that after just a few days, El would bring along another beautiful young lady.
Compared to the icy aura of Nia, this lady seemed more like a gentle noblewoman.
“And who might this lady be?”
“She’s Nia’s younger sister, Meira.”
El answered Felt.
This was the identity the three had agreed upon beforehand.
“So she’s Miss Nia’s sister? No wonder she’s so pretty.” Felt nodded and his face returned to its trademark smile. “Such a beautiful Miss Meira, what would you like to drink?”
Meira glanced at Nia beside her. “I’ll have the same as… my sister.”
“Alright, please wait a moment. I’ll bring your drinks right away.”
While Felt prepared the drinks, El looked toward a row of oddly marked barrels arranged neatly nearby.
“Are these the festival wines? If I’m not mistaken, these barrels are part of your private collection, right?”
Felt behind the bar didn’t even look up.
“That’s right. To celebrate you, our great hero, I’ve brought out all the best wines I’ve been saving.”
“When did you become so generous?”
“You’re talking nonsense. I’ve always been generous.” Felt’s face was full of smiles. “Tonight, we’ll drink till we’re merry!”