A week had passed since the Fairy's last visit, and she hadn't been back to see him since. She had to go about much more important things than chatting with him or going to see people much more important than him to her - after all, her lover had accomplished the feat of keeping her in line despite her natural weakness. The boy must have gone up quite a downhill slope in the girl's heart after all the evidence of his cowardice.
The Hero would like to see him to say a few words, the Fairy had told him that he could hear through this magic diamond block when he had asked about her by calling her a "fool", which did not fail to be very severely reprimanded by the Fairy. He learned a lesson that he would strongly remember: "Girls forgive the mistakes in their hearts more easily than anyone else.
After all, he had to meet his predecessor as a courtesy.
He tried to get up but the nurse who was in charge of taking care of him prevented him from doing so, he was not yet in a condition to get up, his wounds were much more serious than he would have thought, his vision was also affected, fortunately he had the glasses that the fairy had offered him during her last visit. The nurse had caught up with him just as he wanted to put a foot on the ground, she had dropped the lunch tray she had brought him to prevent him from falling on the ground.
- Mr. Hero, you must not move so you will not be able to move without my help.
This nurse's name was Flora, a therianthrope doe that is more commonly known as Niaagin, a race of zoanthrope that was categorized as pacifist, warm and sometimes fearful, but they were known to help anyone lost in the forests where they dwell, whether human or not. The valiant male Niaagin are the guardians of the forests, although they are massive, they have hearts in their hands and are easily petted and ridden to carry children.
They are very much appreciated by Men for their strength which allows them to be very good slaves, being able to push carts instead of oxen, and to be used as "white legs" during hunts, their females are often prostituted at very good prices. But don't be fooled, the Faerics spit on an activity that they themselves had initiated since they were the first to enslave them, but Men have managed to capitalize a lot on these brave beasts, and above all, "no Man or Faeric can resist the delights that are the Niaagis, both male and female" - a slogan in front of a brothel in Jistine, a town twinned with Vicenti.
Flora was one of those therianthropes that draw their appearances more towards the human than the animal, so to speak. Most of her kind have the legs of their animal counterparts but she only had the hooves, she had a tan complexion and white spots from her face to her legs, and she also had pointed ears different from elves and fairies, they were those of deer and she had big eyes - not as big as the Fairy's but still - and had a slender body with some areas with reddish-brown fur and a small, very short tail at the back.
She placed the Hero back in his bed and saved what little food she could and put it on him.
- But you know that.
The Hero breathed out in exasperation, he was firmly bored and the bandages that covered his body bothered and irritated him horribly.
- Is it true that you are human?
The boy nodded as he looked ahead. He intended to avoid talking to himself in unnecessary pain and spit out his vocal cords. It's still strange that he can communicate a little with the Fairy or when he is in the presence of the Fairy.
- This is the first time I've seen one with my eyes, you know. They often say bad things about you in the kingdom, but you don't look so bad.
He shrugged his shoulders and saw the Niaagi's enchanting face, he saw no malice in her eyes and saw no lies in the way she spoke, she seemed to be telling the truth, but it was common for the Hero to be wrong. In any case, he would not trust her easily, what could she repeat with the words he could tell her?
- I see it in your heart," she smiled at him.
The first thought he had was:
What the hell is she talking about?
To read his heart, and then what? He had no heart for a long time, he was the Abomination, the Demon-Without-A-Face, the one whose face was covered with that "blackness" to prevent pregnant women from giving birth to monsters, he was the monster hidden under the children's bed to devour their protruding feet, he could not have any heart as this woman claimed. He could not have a heart.
Faced with this statement, he stared at her wickedly.
- Why this black look?" the half-doe wondered, "maybe you think I'm lying? However, it is the strict truth, like most of my kind we are able to read people's hearts, but we don't use this ability because we prefer to trust everyone, because feelings are volatile.
Which makes you the sex slaves of powerful men who repress their natures or the sex toys of orcs and savage ogres, thought the Hero.
- You see, even though you're particularly upset now, it's only in the moment. And anyway, I've seen how you act with the Fairy. It's very sweet.
Cute?" exclaimed the Hero extremely embarrassed by the nurse's remark.
- Now you're embarrassed! But you don't have to be. It's good that you are good to her considering the remarks and the contempt she has been subjected to since she was born.
It's true that he had witnessed how mean the other fairies could be to her. Maybe that's why he'd been nice to her in the first place - he'd forgotten that he'd used her as a hostage to escape from Limbo - he must have seen her silent sadness when their eyes met on the day of the parade of the princesses and their champions, but it was more than that, it was as if he too had been able to read her heart.
- And she must have noticed this kindness you are showing her. Women see more than you imagine," she said, tapping her nose. And it's not only her who must have seen it, the queen too.
The Hero had a wary chuckle. The queen, seeing that he had an honest heart?
No. This lady was completely out of her mind, her brain must have been smoked by all the herbs the Niaagis used to smoke. She had tried to kill him with all her might.
- I witnessed the strength of the queen when she saved us from the poachers," Flora explained, "even though you are the hero of the legend, you would not be able to move at all if she had wanted to kill you specifically. Even if she has her temper, she is the kindest person I have ever known in my short life. And I can swear to you that when she has her face on someone truly evil, they don't get away with it like you did.
As if she had balked at hurting him. His arms were in tatters, his wounds had reopened and he was tingling all over, she was so fierce against him that he had had to use Ymir's true form and use the powers of the Nemesis to fight against her, causing his heroic regeneration to be hampered by the evil energy of the sword. He had never been in such bad shape in his life and bitterly regretted confronting this madwoman.
But she had regrets so it didn't matter.
However, he could not prove Flora wrong, she had managed several times to knock him out in a flash, whether he was hungry or not, did not change the fact that with simple gestures, he had several times ended up on the ground without him being able to do anything. They had both held back from fighting at the height of their strength because they had to be aware of the danger they posed to the people around them.
He was going to give her the benefit of the doubt.
The Hero picked up his slate with difficulty and tried to write something.
- Wait a minute! Give me that, I'll make it easy for you. Who gave you this slate? The wingless princess? She could help you by enchanting it. Intrusive thoughts, invasive thoughts, let him speak, let what he wants to say be written on this slate: Written Thoughts.
She touched the slate and was covered with a pink aura before disappearing, and she gave the slate back to the Hero.
- This will prevent you from wearing out your joints while they recover.
He then tried what the humanoid doe had given him and it worked.
You really think I'm the hero? And how do you know that?
- Hallway noises," the nurse hissed, "you know what it is: one maid talking to another, and so on.
Why does she justify herself to him? It is not he who will reproach her for inquiring although he hates gossip.
- But don't worry, things in the castle stay in the castle, especially with the queen's powers. And I saw your fight against the lizard man in the arena, you are not an ordinary person, especially for a human, but I don't know if this is true, but if it can give hope to this girl who dreams of acquiring wings.
Do you know about this?
- The whole kingdom knows it! This is one of the most famous stories here! The queen promised the winged fairy that if she became queen, she could get wings, but this is just a guess, some think she deliberately lied to her out of compassion and now she was caught off guard as her ouster is assured and scheduled, but she had always denied this false claim.
This is where she got her strength of conviction to realize her dream, from a promise with or without foundation from Queen Audisélia. Did she really lie to the Fairy so that she could reassure herself that one day she would be like the others? This is the kind of lie he is incapable of telling, which is why he finds himself in situations where girls as young as eleven start to hate him because he has brought back the bodies of their inert parents.
She was an adult! She couldn't afford to lie to a child who was now convinced that she could one day be like the others. But if it's true... He'll do anything to make this girl's dream come true and sport beautiful wings like her fellow birds, not like the other idiot.
Can you take me to Beneltig, the lover of the wingless fairy?
- I don't think that's a good idea. You're not really in any condition to move around, plus you have some tests to run with Dr. De Brunsmark.
From Brunsmark? He had heard that name somewhere, not so long ago. His curiosity would take a back seat, he wanted to clarify something with Beneltig first.
This is really important.
The therianthrope nurse flatly refused to allow her patient to move, especially to argue with a block of precious stone. But in view of the human being's insistence, she finally gave in and went to get a wheelchair and put him in it. The hero held back from screaming in pain as Flora carried him to the chair.
She took him to the room where the Fairy Hero was stored. On the way, he noticed that this hospital really looked like the ones in the human cities, there was the same smell of antiseptic and disease. The floor, walls and ceiling were immaculately white and clean, only this hospital reminded him more of a psychiatric cell than a real hospital, with their turquoise green doors. Maybe it was because he hadn't seen his entrance and was on the bedroom floor, but somehow it scared him.
They finally arrived in front of the door of Beneltig's "room", the Hero asked the doe-woman to open the door and to stay outside, what was going to be said was rather confidential and had to do with the secrecy of the high authorities. She reluctantly accepted and left him alone in front of the diamond block, she warned him that she was going to see other patients, she would be back in about thirty minutes, otherwise he just had to press the toad next to the door, when it croaked, she would come and get him through a nurse. He nodded and thanked her for her thoughtfulness.
Here he is alone in the company of the most cowardly of all champions and the one who sold and abandoned the Fairy for his own life.