-Quest Received-
▣The Doctor Princess's Worries▣
Instructions: Find the Elven Princess and encourage her
Rewards: ???
…What is this?
After excusing myself from the crowds of humies infesting the area due to the Saintess's miracle, I found myself a nice, quiet alleyway and blinked at the pop-up I got.
Leaning against the wall, I was trying to process what exactly was in front of me.
Didn't the system specifically tell me that the quests in this area were done?
But now, suddenly, this showed up?
…
…
…Eh, must be a mod conflict.
I reasoned to myself, shrugging carelessly.
I mean, if I really wanted to know what's happening, I could ask the system directly, but if I did that, I'd have to talk to the system, and I don't want that.
So, I'll just leave it as is.
Besides, this quest does sound familiar—a character recruitment quest, to be precise.
Now, in the normal game, this quest would've showed once you fulfill the conditions of:
-Getting high favorability with Doc—er, the Princess.
-Hear about her dream of becoming a healer
-Her running away from the court after getting her proposal rejected
Then you'd get this quest, and another one, but that one didn't show here so I won't talk about it.
If you get this quest, you finally have the chance to bring Elara with you.
And, well, she has her own storyline that you can finish that turns her, who's already OP as-is, into someone waaaay stronger.
So, with that said…
Of course, I'm going to do the quest!
I glanced back towards the bustling crowd, where Saintess Isabelle stood, her aura a beacon of holiness, attracting followers like moths to a gloriously bright flame.
The Doc—no, Elara Agnos Serana Yggdrasila, the Princess—had been standing beside the injured party, unresponsive to everything.
I scanned the area again, letting my eyes glide over the masses.
She was gone.
No sign of the dark, practical robes or the signature beak mask.
The surge of holy energy from the Saintess was enough to make anyone feel like repenting then and there, but the Doc was usually unflappable.
I frowned and pushed myself off the wall.
This sudden absence, right when a Character Recruitment quest popped up, was a bit too alarming, since I didn't know where she'd go, unlike the usual quest, because this isn't exactly where she'd usually be at during the normal quest.
I focused my senses into finding her, letting my Survivalist's Instinct and Shadow Hunter skills trace her recent presence.
The faint echo of her steps led me away from the commotion, past the quieter section of the settlement, and straight to the currently most secluded building in the entire settlement: the private library, where she had begrudgingly taught me how to read.
I approached the small, solid wooden door with the soft footfall that's surprising for a guy of my size.
I paused, my sharp hearing catching a faint sound from inside.
Sobs.
From a voice I would usually hear act calmly or just timidly at least.
A voice that was—although usually timid in front of me—controlled.
That voice was broken; crying.
I pushed the door slowly.
The wood let out a low, drawn-out creeeak, loud enough to drown out the crying.
The Doc was sitting at the small wooden table; the same one where we painstakingly sat on when I was learning how to read and speak humie.
Her head was bowed over her arms, but the movement of the door caused her to stiffen and look up quickly.
I thought I'd be greeted by the bird mask once more.
But I was wrong.
Completely, utterly wrong.
What I was greeted with was the picture-perfect face.
A face that rivaled that of the Saintess.
Deep, green emerald eyes that have a downturn shape.
Luscious, blonde hair.
Wide, high cheekbones.
Thin lips.
And the iconic Elven knife-ears sticking out from the sides of her head.
It took a moment for me to register that face, and when I did, a flurry of questions ran through my mind.
Why does she look like that?
Where's her mask?
Does she know her face is showing?
How can she be crying when she has a face like that?
Isn't life a bit too unfair?
My brain sputtered, but my body, fortunately, could act on its own.
And it did so, by stepping forward into the library.
Elara didn't move to cover herself; almost as if she couldn't summon the energy.
Her voice, stripped of its timid cadence, was thin and brittle, yet undeniably regal.
"Grul. You should have come here later…"
If I did that, the quest would've failed, though?
She wiped her cheeks with the back of a hand, revealing a shaky breath.
"Tell me, Grul. Why…why should I continue being a physician? Why endure the muck, and the despair, the endless labor, the risk of disease, the countless times I have to watch myself fail…"
Her gaze drifted toward the window and outside, where the sun shined high.
"Everything I do, the hours I spend grinding herbs, the days I spend agonizing over a diagnosis…Priests can do better with a prayer. Alchemists can concoct healing potions. Even mages can fix themselves and others with a single spell! What is the point of my craft, if all my effort is easily eclipsed by the rest of the world? Am I…merely wasting time?"
I stood perfectly still, my lips shut tight.
I was waiting.
Waiting for the transparent dialogue box to appear, with options like 'Noble effort is its own reward', 'Your life is valuable, Doc', or even just '…' to appear.
But it didn't.
My vision was frustratingly blank.
My brain, conditioned by years of game logic and no intimate contact with other people, had no script for this moment.
Elara probably mistook my long silence for profound disappointment or judgment, because she sank back down, letting out a fresh wave of quiet, heart-wrenching sobs.
The silence stretched, interrupted only by her weeping.
This…
This is going worse that I had hoped.
Alright, Grul, just talk.
Talk!
Can't be that hard to point out the good things the Doc's done for me or for the rest of the settlement, right?
"Ah—ahm…Ela—Doc, effort, not wasted. Effort…good."
My speech was clumsy, yeah.
I sounded like a confused bear trying to imitate an opera singer's vocals.
"Priest…need faith. Alchemists need…spices. Mages…mana. Doc needs…Doc."
And that was all my tiny mind could muster up.
Could it work?
Did it work?
I didn't know.
All I know is that her weeping stopped now.
I saw her shoulders tense, and she went unnervingly still.
I was beginning to believe, with a deep sense of dread, that my cloddish, impromptu compliment had offended this Elven princess greatly.
But then, Elara raised her head.
The emerald eyes, still wet but now cleared of confusion, fixated on me.
She slowly extended her delicate hands towards me.
"Could you…hug me?"