Inverse System

A soft rustle emerged as they landed from their teleportation, all of them, with the exception of Rein, landing on their bottoms.

"Yo. Sorry to interrupt your date," Rein greeted casually as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening.

"Wh-wha?! How did you get here?!" Xenia yelled out as she jumped back in surprise, to which Rein laughed innocently.

"Haha, thanks for looking at that ring for so long. It gave us the perfect opportunity to escape," Rein pointed to the ring on her finger, to which she tilted her head in confusion while staring at the ring, then remembered that he'd done the same thing before.

"I wish you'd given us a warni—" Xenia scoffed, her speech suddenly interrupted as she saw the group he came with, with Sho lying there, half-dead on the ground. "Oh my goodness! What happened to Sho?" She asked in concern.

"It looks like both his arms are broken…" Clyde analyzed, ducking down to the immobile prince. "The foe you were facing must have been incredibly powerful," Clyde surmised as he stood back up.

"We really need to get him in stable condition as soon as possible," Chloe asserted as she got up on her feet.

"Right, we're currently at the gates of Tura. There should be a suitable hospital within the city," Clyde informed, to which the group nodded, opening the gates of the city as Rein carried Sho on his back.

As the gates slowly inched open, so did the sunlight that was being blocked by the wall they stood under, as they entered the quiet, serene, and peaceful lakeside town of Tura. As they looked around the enchanting atmosphere, many shops and buildings of note could be seen in the scenic town, yet it didn't feel noisy or busy. In fact, it was the opposite. The town exuded a sense of calmness, which is contrary to what a large city such as this would normally exude.

Perhaps the source of that tranquility was to their left, a breathtakingly beautiful lake, the clear water that formed ripples through the wind, and the soft crashes of the minuscule waves caressing the edges of the shore, composing a soothing melody that rung through everybody's senses.

But all of that would have to wait. At that moment, their entrance caused quite a stir within the not-so-dense crowds in the city square. With no time to enjoy the cities pleasantries, they wandered around the grounds, asking the townsfolk for directions to a hospital or a medical institute. Eventually, they were pointed towards a small inn in the southwest end of the city, by the lake.

Without hesitation, the group made their way there, arriving at the small, cozy-looking lakeside inn. They knocked on the old-looking wooden door, not even 3 seconds later did someone answer, an earnest-looking young man who met them with a smile.

"Granny! We have visitors!" He yelled back into the building.

The man welcomed the group into the inn and they all sat in the main lobby as Rein carried Sho to one of the rooms, shortly followed by an old woman, one that looked quite healthy for her age. Her hair was fully grey, with wrinkled skin, however, her posture suggested that she was 20 years younger than she was, as she entered the room with several medical tools.

"Well, it looks like my patient today is our very own prince Sho Econ," the old woman remarked as she set her tools down and faced Sho, who had just awoken from his unconscious state, along with Rein who was sitting beside his bed.

"Yes…" Sho wearily uttered with a look of shame creased into his face. "If you have any problem with treating me, please do not force yourself," he apologized with grace, a guilty pitch to his weak voice.

"Please, raise your head, your highness. I've nothing against you or your father, his majesty the Emperor," the old woman smiled at him warmly, to which he raised his head. "I'm sorry, you must be his friend, right?" The woman turned her gaze to Rein.

"Oh, I guess you want me to leave the room," Rein stood up and walked towards the door. "Take good care of him," Rein remarked as he stepped out of the room, leaving Sho with a sense of fulfillment as Rein prayed for his wellbeing.

As he walked back through the clean, well-kept hallways of the inn, he eventually made it back to the main lobby, where he saw Emria, Chloe, and Zane all sitting there, with Xenia and Clyde nowhere to be seen.

Rein darted his eyes around the room, then looked at the others with a glint of confusion.

"Did the other 2 go to fulfill their request?" Rein posed, having come to that conclusion after looking around the room.

"Yeah, they left just a little bit ago. Is Sho okay?" Chloe queried in worry as Emria and Zane stayed silent, with troubled expressions written on both of their faces.

"Yeah, Sho's fine. He actually just woke up," Rein assured as Chloe gave a sigh of relief, Rein finally noticing the turmoiled looks on the 2 green-haired people in the room. "What's up you 2? Got something to say?" Rein brought up, which surprised the both of them, snapping them out of a trance.

"O-oh… No, it's nothing—" Emria feigned as she was interrupted by Zane.

"Rein Xilris, right? We haven't really been introduced yet. I'd like to talk," he proposed, standing up from his seat and looking at Rein in the eyes.

"Sure thing. Sorry Chloe, Emria, but we'll be going somewhere else for a bit," Rein informed.

"No… Actually, I want the 2 of them to hear this," Zane put down as he turned his head to the girls still sitting down, then back to the counter, where the young man who greeted them sat.

"Sir, would it be okay if we used one of the unoccupied rooms?" Sho requested, to which the man nodded.

"Of course. And free of charge too!"

"Oh no, I couldn't possibly," Rein insisted, to which the man shook his head.

"I couldn't possibly charge someone for temporarily using a room, especially upstanding people like yourselves. Please, take the offer…"

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