The sudden flash of light from the teleportation faded completely away from our vision, leaving our entire group standing firmly on the solid ground of the town streets. The massive and mostly empty arena where the battle had just ended was completely gone, replaced instead by the familiar sights of the local buildings, the winding pathways, and the ordinary houses of the settlement. We did not spend any time standing around the open streets or looking at the surrounding scenery, because the extreme urgency of our situation was weighing heavily on our minds. Every single second mattered to us, so we immediately took action to lead the way through the town. We guided King Nishighi through the streets, directing his steps toward the specific inn where our sick classmates and Ma'am Cherha were currently being kept. The powerful ruler walked alongside us with an incredibly steady and calm pace, his tall figure moving smoothly over the ground as he followed our direction without any hesitation. Beside him, his maid Celes walked silently, keeping perfect pace with her master, while Sir Vael and the rest of our close companions stayed tightly grouped together so that no one would fall behind during the journey. As we navigated the familiar layout of the town, we turned left and right down several different paths, passing by the walls of various local shops and ordinary residences that lined the edges of the road. The daytime surroundings were quiet, and the few people we passed along the way looked at our group with mild curiosity, but we kept our eyes fixed straight ahead. My thoughts were completely occupied by the desperate condition of the people waiting for us at the end of this walk, making the short journey feel incredibly long and filled with anticipation. We continued to walk with quick, purposeful steps until the recognizable exterior of the inn finally appeared directly ahead of us. The building stood quietly in its place, a simple two-story structure that held the very people whose lives depended entirely on the help we had just secured from the arena victor. We walked right up to the main entrance of the building, our heavy footsteps sounding against the ground as we approached the front door. I reached out with my hand and pushed the large wooden door open, stepping through the threshold first to lead our entire gathering into the indoor space. The air inside the main lobby of the inn was completely still and quiet, providing a stark contrast to the open streets outside. We did not stop to talk to anyone at the front desk or look around the main lobby area, keeping our attention fully fixed on our primary goal as we guided King Nishighi directly toward the specific part of the inn where our companions were resting.
We moved as a quiet and focused group through the hallways of the ground floor, our shoes creating a soft, repetitive sound against the wooden floorboards beneath our feet. I led the way toward the wooden staircase that connected to the upper levels of the inn, stepping onto the first step and beginning the climb upward. King Nishighi followed right behind me, his heavy and confident footsteps echoing softly in the narrow stairwell as he ascended the stairs without uttering a single word. The rest of our companion group, consisting of Tokine, Celdrich, Euphyne, and Elphyete, walked closely together right behind the king, their faces filled with serious and deeply concerned expressions as we drew closer and closer to our destination. We reached the top of the stairs and stepped out into the long upper corridor of the inn, where several identical doors lined the walls on both sides of the hallway. The floorboards here creaked slightly under our weight, but we kept moving forward without slowing down or stopping. We walked down the corridor with steady steps, passing by the closed doors until we finally arrived at the exact room where our group was being sheltered. I stopped directly in front of the door and placed my hand firmly onto the handle, turning it slowly and carefully to make sure we did not create an abrupt or jarring noise that could disturb anyone. I pushed the door open, allowing it to swing wide and reveal the interior of the room to everyone standing out in the hallway. We stepped across the threshold and entered the space, completely guiding King Nishighi into the room so that he could view the situation with his own eyes. The interior of the room was dimly lit, as the curtains hanging over the windows had been partially drawn to block out the bright light from outside and create a peaceful atmosphere for the individuals inside. The air in the room felt heavy, completely still, and was filled only with the quiet, repetitive sounds of slow and shallow breathing coming from the beds. King Nishighi stepped fully into the center of the room, his large and commanding presence completely filling the small space as he turned his head to look around at the scene before him. He stood perfectly still, his sharp eyes taking in every detail of the room's occupants with a completely calm and unreadable expression on his face.
Inside the room, several beds were arranged neatly against the solid walls, and on top of those beds lay our unconscious friends. We looked over at the beds where our classmates and Ma'am Cherha are, all of them completely motionless and entirely unaware of our arrival. They looked as though they were locked in a deep, unbreakable sleep, their eyes tightly closed and their facial expressions completely blank and peaceful. Ma'am Cherha lay resting on one of the main beds near the window, her breathing slow, even, and shallow, showing absolutely no signs of consciousness or any indication that she might wake up on her own. Her hands were resting quietly at her sides, and her face was pale, reflecting the severe toll that the situation had taken on her. Scattered across the remaining beds in the room were our various classmates, each one of them suffering from the exact same quiet condition that had left them completely helpless and incapacitated. Some of them had blankets pulled up to their chests, while others lay perfectly straight, completely frozen in their deep slumbers. The sight of our vulnerable classmates and our respected teacher lying there in such a state brought a heavy feeling of deep worry back into our hearts, reminding us exactly why we had gone to such great lengths to find assistance. We stood quietly around the perimeter of the room, making sure to leave a completely clear and open space in the center so that King Nishighi could observe the sick individuals without any distractions. The entire room fell into a profound and heavy silence as we all stood there waiting to see what the powerful king would do next, now that we had successfully brought him to the precise location of our medical emergency. He stood completely still for what felt like a very long moment, his intense gaze scanning across the row of beds, looking at each unconscious classmate and then at Ma'am Cherha, evaluating their silent forms one by one with extreme care.
After observing the quiet room and looking closely at the unconscious people lying perfectly still on the beds for a short while, King Nishighi finally made a distinct physical movement. He reached into his clothing with a very slow, deliberate, and smooth motion, and he brought out a bottle from his possession. The bottle was small but looked entirely solid, well-made, and secure as it rested in the center of his large hand, holding the vital liquid substance that we had desperately asked him for back at the arena. He held the bottle up slightly in front of him so that it was clearly visible to every single person standing inside the room, letting all of us see that he truly held the means to help our suffering friends. The faint light coming from the partially covered window reflected softly off the smooth surface of the small container as he held it perfectly steady in the air. He turned his head slowly to look back at our small group, his sharp and serious eyes locking onto us as he prepared to speak to us. The room remained completely and utterly silent as we waited for him to say something, everyone holding their breath in nervous anticipation of what he would tell us. He did not smile, frown, or show any visible sign of emotion on his face, keeping his expression completely firm, serious, and authoritative. King Nishighi opened his mouth and spoke to us in a clear, deep, and commanding voice that easily filled the quiet space of the inn room. He addressed our entire group directly and he said, "I can only cure one person per week. Who will go first?" The statement was incredibly direct and left absolutely no room for negotiation, laying out the precise limitation and rule of his assistance. His words hung heavily in the still air of the room, presenting us with an immediate, massive, and incredibly difficult choice that we had to make right then and there. We all looked at the bottle in his hand, then back at his face, realizing the gravity of what he had just spoken.
The immense weight of his sudden words settled deeply upon all of us as we processed the strict limitation that the king had just announced to the room. Knowing that only a single person could be saved right now meant that we had to make an immediate choice among our beloved teacher and our numerous suffering classmates who lay unconscious around us. Tokine, Celdrich, Euphyne, Elphyete, and I looked at each other, our eyes moving quickly from one face to the next as we sought to find a mutual understanding. No one spoke a single word out loud at first, as the sheer importance of the decision required us to communicate entirely through our facial expressions and glances. I looked over at Tokine, whose face was filled with deep thought and serious concentration, and she gave a small, almost imperceptible nod of her head. Then my gaze shifted across the space to Celdrich, who looked equally serious and completely focused on the problem before us, his eyes reflecting the same internal struggle. I turned my eyes toward Euphyne and then toward Elphyete, seeing the exact same heavy realization and deep concern reflected clearly in both of their expressions as they looked back at me. We stood close together in a small circle near the middle of the room, looking back and forth at one another, sharing the unspoken burden of the monumental choice that had just been placed directly upon our shoulders. As we continued to look at each other, a collective and silent understanding began to form among us, a shared conviction that did not require any loud arguments, disagreements, or lengthy verbal debates. We all knew who needed to be saved first, and the same name was clearly written on everyone's faces. Without needing to say anything far from what we all felt deeply in our hearts, we reached a complete and total consensus in our minds. After a long, quiet moment of intense visual communication through our shared glances, we've agreed on one thing, Lucian would go first. The decision was absolute, firm, and completely unanimous among the five of us, as we all silently arrived at the exact same conclusion regarding who should receive the very first cure from the bottle. We stood firmly by this collective choice, turning our heads back toward King Nishighi with determined expressions to signal our final answer.