I plotted Valo's just desserts as I changed, the crime of tainting sweet little Fala an offense demanding retribution. My mind was trying to decipher the best course of action, but I found myself suddenly realising that I didn't feel any stronger as I had done upon unlocking other memories.
With curiosity whetted, I wondered if perhaps my healing had returned, distracting myself with the subsequent realisation that the healing ability I had originally seemed even greater than it was after being made a judge. The implications of that fact made thinking in itself quickly become a headache, which made me give up and prioritise getting food sorted instead.
As I half rushed downstairs, I greeted the array of guests with a finger to warn them to keep their imaginations to themselves. I produced a memory orb with the other hand and threw it to Kriel, immediately turning my back to them to project how little I was in the mood for jokes.
Not to say I was in a particularly bad mood, rather I didn't feel it appropriate to joke in light of certain developments, I fully expected Eve to be considerably more sensitive. I remained silent as I prepared the most important meal of the day and they passed the orb around.
My attention was stolen suddenly however by the sound of grown men crying, I spun around to take in the sight, but immediately wished I hadn't. I would usually enjoy and make light of their somewhat pitiful showing, but they were tears shed by friends unable to avenge my suffering and as such left me unable to do so.
The truth was that at that moment, the only harsh words I had were for myself. 'What kind of moron makes the people he cares about feel like this first thing in the morning… I deserve to be alone if this is what I do.' I thought bitterly as I realised the heartache I had inflicted on everyone.
"Think nothing of it, I certainly claimed back every ounce of flesh they took. Besides, I apparently had Ever by my side and now have all of you, so think not of the past for I am a lucky man." I joked, desperately trying to lighten the mood, preferably before I got scolded by Eve.
"I'm glad you had a friend through it all, as I am you now have my Eve by your side, I pray you one day make it a world void of such dire violations." The final word was spoken with far more venom than I had thought Vedna capable of producing. It was the venom of a man choosing the most disgusting descriptive he could think of, but also believing the word didn't do the subject justice.
Halsan, Byurik and Leeson were the worst affected by far, their frustrations ignored simply because no one was prepared to acknowledge them. Only I had the power to speak without risk of understating them, so the responsibility fell to me by default. The issue was that I couldn't quite think of what to say and I hesitated far too long.
Before I could do or say anything however, they stood and moved to prostrate before me. They then aired the root of their guilt, they felt even pretending to punish for what happened was a grave betrayal. I couldn't help but release an outburst of awkward laughter, but the sight was almost poetically beautiful.
Between the four of us we perfectly represented the four humours. Leeson was sanguine, Halsan was phlegmatic, Byuril was Melancholic and I was choleric. I was undoubtedly angry at everything, despite what I had said and desperately wanted to just have all my memories back. Having those three so low, whilst I stood tall, was the perfect representation of how I felt, with the added bonus of the double entendre considering how low they were feeling.
Simply put it tickled me and since I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, laughter seemed like it could help them more than watching me break down. Like it or not, I was their king now, it was my duty to raise them up and put their minds at ease.
"What I would consider a grave betrayal is someone not doing what they think is right, merely to spare my feelings. I will always do what I think right, even if that means doing horrible things for the greater good, I need men I trust to temper that and ensure I am not led astray by my singular perspective."
Eve suddenly appeared and smacked me in the head. "Cut the grand standing, start cooking. The rest of you, not a damn word, truth be told I'd rather you didn't know any of that." She started making coffee for everyone, unencumbered by the weight of the tension she had summoned upon the room.
Vedna stood and approached her, then embraced her as she tried to ignore his presence, then he reminded me of her ability for empathy.
We had been ignorantly making her suffer, the issue was that declaring it would make the others feel guilty and worsen the situation. The complexity of the issue would have been beyond me before the previous day, but now I had a way to help her.
As I continued cooking, I focused on all the joy these people have given me, the hope they have given me and how I felt giving her my first kiss.
She suddenly turned and hit me again, knocking her poor father to the side and startling the others. As much as the hit hurt, I savioured every second as the comedy brightened everyone's mood naturally which in turn improved hers, making her realise my scheme.
She started to thank me, but I shook my head and told her the coffee wasn't going to make itself.
It didn't bother us that as we prepared breakfast everyone was joking that we should open an eatery called "Emotionally distressed dining" and other just as unfunny titles. We were happy because we were together, our friends and those we called family by our side.
Of course we had lots to discuss, but to me it scarcely felt real. I had never dreamed the day would come where I would enjoy such trivial joys as a hectic home.
When I finally served up breakfast we all began discussing important matters, our schedule was first and the most important topic, in particular whether we wanted to have the wedding or official inauguration to happen first. Of course when I asked if we could do the two ceremonies together, I was shot down immediately and told to leave the grown-ups to talk.
Luckily I foresaw that answer and had a "proper suggestion" prepared for when my personal choice was rejected and my competence called into question.
"Fine then, we will have the wedding first, can't have anyone saying she married me just because she missed status after her excommunication. That could cause an international incident in itself, but marrying an adventurer slash healer she worked with as an equal would put most of that to rest. It also means Eve can enjoy it as her big day, rather than a public spectacle." My words managed to redeem me in everybody's eyes.
Halsan pointed out that that would drag out the whole schedule, but when I said that our town wasn't big enough yet to support the numbers the official event would necessitate, he succumbed to my logic.
I proposed that to speed things along slightly I would travel to some of the nearby Kanelsian villages and ask if they would be amenable to sending men to help with construction efforts, fair pay and the food of Eden would surely entice them.
Byurik shook his head though. "May not be wise, it could be seen as subterfuge. We still aren't on great terms with Kanelsia and pushing our luck too quickly could cause a knock-on effect."
"Then I'll run over to Kanelsia and ask, offering to make a donation to their rebuilding efforts at the same time."
"You want to disappear for that long?" Eve interjected, the concern of her newly betrothed disappearing was evident.
"I think with Tyrland's help I can set up a teleportation circle in the larder, then they won't need to risk panicking people when their group marches south. Besides, I need to warn them about Sil, the last thing we need is another war with the north. You heard Byurik, it wouldn't take much of a spark to light that powder keg." Aside from the idiom which went completely over their heads, I could tell by the puffy cheeks on my fiancé's porcelain face, that I was making far too many good points for her to argue with me.
Tyrland nodded, telling us he could set up a circle without issue, but I would still need one to receive me at the other end, a concern I waved away as I babbled about quantum physics.
When everyone said that it would revolutionise the world I had to disappoint them, stating it would take a massive amount of magic still and exact a heavy toll on the user. They seemed less enthused about the idea suddenly, so I said I might have my original healing factor back.
"But you don't know for sure, so don't get reckless." The statement fair, the point, completely reasonable and I must admit it was spoken completely clearly. So…
I-don't-know-why, but for some reason, the way Eve said "don't be reckless" sounded a lot like "Stab yourself in the hand and check first". Of course the miscommunication was entirely my blunder and I paid for it, but the fact it had healed almost as quickly as it was made was enough to satisfy her.
With the matter settled however, Eve had one more concern. She asked me to swear I was going to warn them about Sil, not hunt her.
"It's a bit early to play the jealous wife card isn't it?" Eve wasn't amused by my joke. "I swear, I truly hope I don't run into her. I might accidentally activate that weird power from the memory, or the one that erased those bandits and cause harm to bystanders. I need to wait until I'm sure I can stay in control."
"Or just leave her to me and Ever, Ever would very much prefer that." If I believed that was the case, I might have agreed, but I could sense Eve wanted it just as much as the lines between them blurred ever greater.
"Neither of you are strong enough quite yet, with my healing restored so completely, I may win a battle of attrition now, but there are still too many unknowns to consider instigating a confrontation." I could tell Ever was annoyed at my evaluation by Eve's expression, the honesty of it the only thing keeping her from retorting. "I'd much rather focus on the wedding than vengeance anyway, truth be told I'm more husband than hunter these days thanks to you."
My casual reference to me being her husband dulling the edge of her sharp temper, allowing discussions to move on. I truly was looking forward to it though, growing more excited with every mention of it. A bizarre feeling was washing over, I didn't recognise it, but the idea of promising my life to her just felt… right.
When we were done eating, we all headed over to the hall to bid farewell to the officials that were taking their leave, except rein who went to work.
Farewells were kept brief but we did explain that the wedding would be held first and why that was the case, indicating a certain need for discretion. They only seemed concerned about their invites however and had departed as soon as they were promised, I then took Fala and the other clinic staff to work, leaving Eve to bid her father farewell after saying my own to him and shocking everyone with a genuine bow of respect.
I picked Fala up when she began to slow down, asking her if she was still adjusting to a full stomach first thing in the morning, promising to prepare her special breakfasts which would be less bloating for her.
Unfortunately I didn't know the structure of any children's cereal to conjure them, but I did know several porridge recipes that I could teach her to make herself when I'm not around.
Lost in thought we arrived before we knew it, as we opened the door however my heart sank. I suddenly realised I had not informed Askel of events and asked Fala to watch the clinic, turning and fleeing to my friend, desperate to see how he fared after the change.
My path was suddenly blocked by a wall of light however, with my fiancé asking where I was rushing to. It quickly became apparent that she didn't want me heading there alone, scared in some way by the events of my last excursion, though she would need to let it go eventually I appreciated the freshness of the wound.
We came to mutual agreement to head there together the following day, though Eve was going to be heading out with Fala for the day to train her in magic control which meant I would also need to be alert. As a result I found myself educating Kildra on human anatomy, individual organ function etc.
It was a long in depth lecture and when Fala returned in Eve's arms I think he was happy not to have to think for the rest of the afternoon. That said we did have a few patients still, but they were all too happy to let Fala practice the conventional medicine and suturing, even if only because I had promised a recipe to the guild chefs for every twenty which did.
Apart from my steadily growing surprise and concern in regards to the lengths people were willing to go to for my cooking, things were fairly easy and with no major incidents our services were mostly unrequired. Fala began to complain of boredom, but I tousled her hair. "A bored healer is a good thing, it means no one is suffering."
The thought made her smile, then I stood and asked what she thinks a good healer does when they aren't healing. "Practicing for when they need to?" She spoke with determination and I couldn't help but smile.
I conjured a mannequin, a special one of incredible realism. It contained a synthetic blood substance that represents a lethal amount to lose, which means when the blood stops the patient would be dead. For extra realism, it can even be hooked up to a real blood donor or blood bag, for the simulation of transfusions.
Its skin was a special nutrient compound and a perfect copy of human skin, in an emergency she could even use it for grafting onto a person. Doing so causes the nutrients to feed the bodies natural healing, meaning it gradually dissolves as real skin is formed to replace it.
The most important thing it possessed by far was organs. The reason that was important is because there was zero record of internal human anatomy, that means Fala had no way to learn that stuff through studying books. I also put Kildra in charge of documenting the procedures I demonstrated to rectify that issue for the world at large.
I then gave it the same kind of minor lacerations she had sutured earlier that same day and told her to tend it. I added that while she was working with the doll, the others would be trying to distract her with increasing obnoxiousness until she could block it out. Her first distraction was a simple metronome that made a soft dinging noise at every interval.
Her focus was admirable, but dangerous, just as she made another puncture I yelped and caused her to not only flinch but nick a vein. She started to panic as blood jetted upward, then quickly began to sob until I approached and petted her hair, taking over to save the procedure.
Fala apologised but I told her not to, reminded her to stay relaxed. With the patient 'saved' I hooked up a synthetic blood bag to refill the dummy, then asked her what helps people who have lost blood.
She scampered off and returned quickly with a small plate of biscuits. "The best thing we have for blood production is fifty-cc's of cookies." It was a sight so precious it nearly made us all weep and I took one before telling her to enjoy the rest and let me know when it was full.
While I left her to observe, Kildra asked what lifetime I got the doll from and I said it was compiled from several. "The skin was from the same lifetime Ever was born, the blood was from the one I was born to, the concept of the doll was from a civilisation that was sometime between the two and the organs were from the same. I was simply the one who perfected the design, but only because I was motivated for Fala's education."
He then asked why I favoured practical healing over magical and I asked Eve if I could demonstrate, to which she reluctantly agreed. I produced a small glass pane and cloth which I wrapped the glass in and crushed, before pushing one of the bigger shards into my arm.
When the wound closed, it sealed the shard inside, which was unpleasant to say the least. "If I was normal and hit with glass, someone using magic would seal the glass inside. If I was lucky the glass would slowly work itself out, painful but little in the way of long term damage. If I'm not, it gets infected and I slowly die of painful infection. If I'm unlucky, splinters get stuck in my blood stream and shred blood vessels, possibly organs repeatedly. Just because they aren't bleeding, doesn't mean they aren't injured."
Eve looked a little put out by the comment, which was kind of a good thing as she turned away whilst I dug the glass out. I then pointed out however that if someone was ever severely burned, or hit with fast acting poison or bitten by a venomous animal, magic is definitely the more reliable option.
That opened up a whole new avenue of educational interrogation and I found myself realising I would have to explain the dangers associated with practical cures like antivenoms and the such which would spiral into answers branching into new questions. With no reasonable start point from his current position, I ended the conversation on the grounds that when they had been copied, my works would be a better foundation for discussion.
"I forgot to mention, father said that he would like to bring you a patient next time, an old friend who has a magic resistant ailment." Eve mentioned it casually enough that I could tell the ailment wasn't life immediately life threatening, but a magic resistant ailment was typically hard to treat.
"When I finish the teleportation circle we can go to them." I replied, forgetting that I had told Tyrland only I could use it due to the strain it would cause.
Everyone looked at me, accusing me with their eyes until I snapped that I didn't lie, pointing out that Eve was close with Ever who used to teleport without any circle and stating that I think I can reinforce someone to accompany me. I then clarified that it was simply unlikely anyone else could use it alone.
They still weren't happy I gave such an incomplete answer to Tyrland and I promised to write to him and explain fully, but that would have to wait until later.
Fala suddenly called out that it was done refilling and I returned to my duties. She performed much better the second time round, with all sincerity and personal opinion aside, Fala was a truly gifted girl, her compassionate nature seemed to fuel her supernatural talent for such work. Her rate of practical improvement, the humbling amount of effort she put into studying and the lengths she would go to for the sake of improvement, they were awe inspiring to witness.
I picked her up and spun her around, making her chuckle proudly, as the childish glee reminded me that she was still a child and by the time she was grown she would surpass even me if her improvement kept pace. I told her to focus on studying for the rest of the day whilst Eve and I went to run some errands.
As we left Eve asked what I had planned. "I thought we might go check on the temple's progress, see how the laborers are doing… Truth be told, I just wanted to be alone with you for a bit, is that bad?" I genuinely wasn't sure if I was in the wrong or not.
"Not at all, I just wish we could hold hands." A dual purpose statement she made that reminded me we had another memory on the back burner, as well as my promise not to keep her at arm's length.