After drying himself and his new companion, Lucas checked the little fox's wound and was astounded to discover that it had nearly completely healed.
He knew that beasts tended to recover from injuries faster than humans did, but this was on a completely different level. What must have originally been a large gash that was still oozing blood an hour or so ago, was now just a small cut.
Perhaps by morning there would only be a scar left.
Maybe it has something to do with her bloodline being special? Lucas thought to himself.
Although this new development was unexpected, it didn't affect Lucas' plans too much.
Picking up the fox kit, Lucas turned off the Spirit Lamp inside the bathhouse before making his way around to the furnace and dousing the flames. Given the hour, he was fairly certain that no one else would be using the showers tonight, so it was his job as the last one inside to ensure the fire was out.
Next, Lucas headed into the Manor and made his way to the infirmary.
Aside from the main kitchen, the infirmary was probably the busiest place in all of Redwood Town, and not for good reasons.
The number of wounded and injured from the first night of the disaster was enormous and many of them were still being treated even now. On top of that, more people had naturally gotten hurt during the continued siege of the town.
The doctors, herbalists, healers, and volunteers had all been working non-stop to treat everyone, but they still couldn't keep up with the volume of patients.
This late at night, most of the lights were out, with many of the wounded having fallen asleep, but Lucas could still see some Spirit Lamps lit up in the back of the infirmary, where old Doctor Thompson seemed to be performing some kind of examination on a newly arrived patient.
Not wanting to disturb anyone, Lucas quietly made his way over to the medical supplies where he grabbed a few clean bandages and carefully wrapped up the fox kit's paw wound.
Given the importance of the pup, Lucas wouldn't have hesitated to use some blood-staunching paste as well if that had been necessary, but clearly it wasn't.
All kinds of medicines were in short supply currently, so being able to save even a tiny bit of this paste was something Lucas was more than happy to do.
Once he had finished bandaging the fox cub, Lucas left the infirmary and headed towards the backroom of the Manor where he had been spending the last few nights.
Arriving at the room, Lucas was greeted by an unexpected sight.
"There there, don't cry," Christina gently comforted a sobbing child, "I know you want to see your mommy, but she has something very important to do right now in order to keep everyone safe. Your mommy is very brave, so you need to be brave too. Can you do that?"
Through some intermittent whimpers, the young boy, who couldn't have been older than 5, looked up and nodded weakly.
Seeing this, Christina smiled warmly and patted his head, "Good boy. You're a strong one, aren't you?"
The little boy was clearly too young to be falling in love, but being smiled at and complimented by the beautiful princess naturally felt good, so he tried to put on a smile too and nod.
Seems everyone's evaluation of her is correct, Lucas thought to himself as he quietly observed the touching scene. All the people he had spoken with who knew about Christina had said that while she was could be a bit proud and naïve, as any princess probably would be, she was also kind at heart.
Even Lucas' own observations had led him to a similar conclusion. Christina might have been a bit… or rather, very quick to use her fists, but for someone of her status, strength, and age, she was still remarkably upright in her behaviour.
In Lucas' mind, anyone who was a cultivation genius and a royal should be insufferably stuck up and arrogant, looking down on anyone and everyone while thinking themselves infallible.
Christina, on the other hand, was none of those things, despite having the capital to be more than a bit haughty.
Smiling lightly, Lucas suddenly felt like he should apologize to the princess for all the unpleasantness that had happened between them today, even if he didn't believe any of it was really his fault.
That is, until Christina continued speaking, "En en, you're much cuter than a certain other boy I met today. He was mean and bullied me."
"Someone was mean to Big Sister Tina?" One of the other children spoke up upon hearing this, while another chimed in, "Are you okay, Big Sister?"
Several more children in the room, both among the younger ones and the older ones, began raising their voices to support the 'weak and pitiful girl' who had been bullied by the 'evildoer'.
Many offered comfort, while some even volunteered to teach whoever the bad boy was a lesson.
One of the few people who didn't join in this chorus of support was Eris, who seemed to be trying her best to hold back her laughter.
As for Lucas, who was watching this whole farce unfold, he felt like coughing up blood as all the friends he had grown up with immediately betrayed him as soon as they saw the 'sad' look on the princess' pretty face.
I take it all back, she's not just a violent princess, she's an evil one! Evil I say! I'll get back at her for this! Mark my words! Lucas swore to himself.
As the voices of indignation grew louder, and the calls for retribution became stronger, Lucas knew he couldn't just stand idly by anymore and cleared his throat loudly to announce his presence, drawing all eyes to himself.
All the kids in the room turned to the door, and upon seeing who it was, each of them smiled and called out to Lucas, completely unaware that he was the 'bad boy' who had bullied their new Big Sister.
The only exceptions were Eris and Christina, the former who had now burst out into a fit of giggles, much to the confusion of everyone around her.
As for Christina, she first appeared a bit panicked, then a little embarrassed, then ultimately settling on resentful, probably thinking Lucas had again arrived at just the wrong moment, causing her to show a shameful side of herself once again.
As a Royal Princess, Christina would typically maintain a certain degree of vigilance, and with her Sea Establishment Realm strength, it should have been impossible for Lucas to sneak up on her without her noticing. However, since arriving in Redwood Town, she had lowered her guard substantially, leading to this unfortunate scene.
He really is my enemy! The princess thought to herself.
All throughout the evening, she had been trying to bring herself to apologize to Lucas about how she had been acting since they first met, but now he had snuck up on and embarrassed her again!
I'll apologize first, then challenge him to proper duel!
Needless to say, Christina was feeling a complicated set of emotions right now.
When Lucas saw a fierce, nearly threatening glint in Christina's eyes, his brow twitched as he grumbled to himself, This darn princess, she really is so much trouble!
In any case, after saying hello to all his friends and making sure he had all of their attention, Lucas announced, "Everyone! I have good news! Eris' great grandmother, the one who came here a few days ago, has agreed to let all the children in town take a ride on her flying ship!"
When Lucas said this, gasps were heard all around.
With two noticeable exceptions, all the kids in the room were oohing and ahhing in wonder, their eyes filled with anticipation.
Those who had seen the Sunchaser when it first flew into town had naturally been awed by this fantastical Skyship, while those who had not been fortunate enough to witness it firsthand had heard many tales about it by now.
None of them had ever thought they would get a chance to ride this flying ship, but now their reliable leader, Lucas, was telling them that was exactly what would happen.
"Are you serious, Lucas?"
"Can we really ride on that big flying boat?"
"Do we have to pay some big price to ride it?"
A flurry of questions was soon hurled at Lucas, all of which he answered as best he could whilst avoiding certain things that were best left unsaid.
The more questions he answered, the more excited the other kids became, and it wasn't long before cheers went up, sweeping away all the sad and distressed looks on the children's faces.
Lucas couldn't help feeling a bit complicated as he observed this scene, as there was naturally a significant downside to this escapade through the sky, one he had intentionally hidden.
Yes, all the children gathered together here were going to take a trip on the Sunchaser, but what Lucas hadn't said was that once they reached their destination, they wouldn't be coming back to Redwood Town for a very, very long time, possibly forever.
Taking a trip through the sky was something to look forward to, no doubt; but, being forced to leave your home definitely wasn't a welcome prospect.
As the crowd of kids immersed themselves in celebration, Christina and Eris both excused themselves, dragging Lucas along with them as they had some questions for him.
When some of the older boys noticed this, they couldn't help feeling jealous, wondering why Lucas was always the one who got to be with the pretty girls.