DAKU
Kana's theories about Kenshi's curse were just hunches with no concrete evidence and support. We couldn't just accept the claim that something evil was inside Kenshi, making him resistant to ordinary healing magic and healing potions. However, it was not impossible that it might be the case. Kana's statement made sense, and if it was indeed true, our search for the method to lift the curse was just a reach of our hands.
We finally reached the city gate but it wasn't Yukio who was stationed there. After securing the papers, we wasted no time going to the shop to let Shiro and Grosi know of our arrival. Although we already knew that only Shiro would greet us with a warm welcome. It wasn't Grosi's personality to do such.
Kenshi decided to go home to distance himself from the artifact. We both agreed that I should guard the artifact since his reaction to it would just cause him pain and discomfort. Imagine him enduring the pain throughout the day.
When Kana and I reached the shop's street, we were greeted by a pool of nosy bystanders peeking through the windows of the shop. It was also difficult not to notice the luxurious golden carriage in front of the shop's entrance. A royalty, perhaps. But what would such a noble person be doing in a place like this?
Kana and I shared a perplexed look before approaching the shop's entrance. But we were surprised when the two guards stationed on both sides of the door suddenly blocked us.
"The shop is currently unavailable to accommodate customers. Please go back tomorrow," the one on the left said.
"Customers? Us? Excuse me, we live here, you stupid guards," Kana protested. She tried to pass through again, only to be stopped for the second time. "Are you deaf? We live here! How could you stop someone from entering their own house?"
"Customers or not, no one is allowed to enter in the meantime." It was the one on the right who spoke this time.
The door suddenly flung open, revealing a woman in heavy armor. Even from afar, anyone could tell that she was a knight. But she was not just an ordinary knight. She was the leader of the elite group who swore to protect the kingdom from any form of threat.
"Great Knight Suzune, the leader of the Pillars of Thorn," I mumbled.
"What's the problem here?" Suzune asked while looking down at us. She was an S-Class after all.
I spoke before one of the guards could, "I'm Daku, and she's Kana. We are residents of this shop. We apologize for causing such a ruckus, but we humbly request you to allow us to enter into our own house."
"Are you not aware that we are in the middle of a crucial discussion? The ruckus you just caused delayed the conclusion of the discourse, and we can't afford any delays," Suzune pointed out.
This was testing my patience. I needed to keep myself from bursting out.
"As I've said, we apologize. We didn't mean to cause such trouble. If you will allow, we'll do anything to make up for our lapses," I apologized. Only humility could end this stupid argument. I didn't think she would let down her pride knowing that she was an S-Class and everyone looked up to her.
"We'll let you in once we're done talking with the shop's ow-"
"Is that Daku?" Grosi's voice asked from the inside. Suzune moved a bit to the side to clear the way for Grosi to see. When our eyes met, he gestured with his hand to come inside. "Get in here! They were looking for you!"
I hesitated at first. Ignoring Suzune's warning was like asking for a fight from her, and I couldn't go against her if we were going to have a duel. So I looked at her, waiting for her approval to enter. When she jerked her head as a signal, I humbly and carefully walked into the shop.
When I got inside, I realized that it was not just Suzune who was here but all of the members of the Pillars of Thorn: Marika, the Great Mage; Kasuke, the Great Marksman; Asano, the Great Assassin; and Shiyo, the Great Vanguard.
It was Marika who was close to the counter, probably the one who had a conversation with Grosi. Kasuke and Shiyo were in the middle of a talk when I came in, but they stopped when they saw me enter. Lastly, Asano was in the darkest corner of the shop, leaning with his eyes closed.
"So this is the Healer everyone is talking about?" Kasuke said as he looked at me from head to toe. Shiyo, on the other hand, just stared at me stoically.
"What is happening, Grosi?" I asked.
"Hello, Daku!" Marika greeted. Among the five, Marika was more friendly. Her wide smile made sure of that. "I'm Marika, in case you don't kn-"
Suzune cleared her throat, which surprised Marika. "Just get straight to the point, Marika. We can't delay even more."
"Ah, right! Sorry!" Marika looked me in the eye, and her friendly demeanor changed into something serious. "Our King needs your help, Healer."
***
Two days ago, I was busy healing a bunch of people from the Tragifa Village. Now, I was on my way to heal another sick person. But not just any person, but an important one. Someone whose life was far more important than everyone with me right now.
Marika briefed me about the condition of the King, and his sickness was kind of familiar. The illness started a few weeks ago, and it was just headaches back then. Then it progresses into a fever, colds, and later on, muscle pain. The pain was so intense that the King screamed in the middle of the night, waking everyone in the castle. Marika had to put the King to sleep to relieve him from the pain. But one thing that made the King's case a familiar one was that no healing magic or healing potion was working on him.
Just like Kenshi's curse.
Because of this, I failed to notice that we were already inside the castle and we were walking on this red-carpeted hallway to go to the King's bedroom. The walls were embellished with images of previous monarchs and sophisticated glowstone torches. Intricate and fragile vases decorated the path, each containing a living indoor plant.
I never felt this alone in my life. Although I was not literally alone and yet it felt like I was. Was it because the people who were always by my side were not here with me? I wanted Kenshi to be here. I needed him.
Being surrounded by these strong people made me feel weak and small, but it also made me feel proud and honored. Chances like this were rare. This didn't happen every day. Before, I would just watch and admire them from afar whenever they made an appearance along with the King, but now I was walking beside them. This was every adventurer's dream.
Though what happened earlier disappointed me a bit. I understood why they acted like that-doing whatever they wanted just because they ranked higher than us. But we were still human, and that alone made us equals.
"You three, guard here," Suzune ordered the three: Kasuke, Shiyo, and Asano. "Marika and Healer, come with me."
"I'm pretty sure I introduced myself earlier," I mumbled, getting everyone's attention, especially Suzune, who was about to touch the door's handle. She looked at me with her brows slightly furrowed. "Instead of calling me by my class, why not call me by my name?"
"You dare-"
Kasuke was interrupted when Suzune raised her hand to shut him up. "Very well, Daku. Follow me."
Suzune finally pushed the door open, and the moment it was open I suddenly felt an ominous feeling as if something evil was waiting for us inside. There was no doubt that it had something to do with the Evil Remnant.
"It always gives me chills whenever I enter the King's room," Marika commented and looked like she felt it as well.
The King's bedroom was simpler than I expected it to be. There were no lavish decorations, but only seemingly ordinary furniture, but I was pretty sure it cost a million doquis. But one thing that overruled them all was the bed at the center of the room. Its size was beyond my lowlife mind could describe.
But I was not here to admire the bed but to heal what was on it. Suzune led me close to the bed until I was able to see the king peacefully sleeping. No one could tell he was in pain by how he slept.
But I noticed something on his forehead. A mark. It resembled a bruise, and it circled the forehead.
"Permission to touch the king," I requested.
"Go ahead," Suzune approved.
I leaned closer to the king's forehead to take a closer look on the mark. I ran my finger on it, but didn't notice any deformation.
"That's where his crown goes. It was not there before. It appeared at the same time that his headaches started," Marika narrated.
"Can I see the crown?" I favored.
Suzune's brows furrowed. "Why?"
I looked at her. "Mark such as this can be caused by poison or toxin. Whatever is in that crown, it poisons the king."
Suzune stared at me for a few seconds before walking toward the other side of the bed.
"The crown is here. Come look," she said, and I trudged toward where the crown was.
There was a small table just beside the bed holding a glass case. Inside the case, resting on the cushion, was the crown. I expected it to be black, but it was not. It was gold. Or was it?
"This is not real gold," I declared. I couldn't believe I would find an artifact in a place like this. This made me wonder who was behind the hiding of these artifacts.
"What do you mean?"
"The crown," I answered while pointing at the object inside the glass case. Suzune's forehead creased even more while Marika showed worry. "Take a closer look. The gold is shedding off the metal. The crown was only painted in gold."
"That's impossible! Saying such a thing is a sin, did you know that?" Suzune threatened, but instead of cowering in fear, I looked at her with determination.
"See it for yourself," I challenged her.
Suzune pushed me aside and almost tipped over if it wasn't for Marika, who caught me before I fell. We both watched Suzune remove the glass case and grab the crown from it. She held it closer to her face, scrutinizing it meticulously.
"Shit!" Suzune cursed. "He's right."
"But his Highness has been wearing that crown ever since. It was passed down from the previous king to the next? How did they not notice it?" Marika wondered.
"The king is a busy person. He has no time to care about his crown. That's probably why he failed to notice the golden paint being shed off."
"But how does the crown have something to do with the king's illness?" Marika asked.
"Actually, I-"
I got interrupted when the bedroom door suddenly burst open, getting the attention of us three. It was Kasuke, and he looked scared and worried. Asano shared the same expression as well, but Shiyo showed the opposite.
"The kingdom is under attack by corrupted monsters!"