A few days later, the heat Ruri felt in her stomach seemed to be growing into a larger and larger mass. One night, she was beginning to worry about her own health and decided it was time to consult someone about it.
“Jade-sama, I need to talk to you about something...” she said as she sat next to Jade while he lay down, placing a hand on her stomach.
“What’s the matter?”
“It’s probably not a big deal, but...”
“Hmm?” He looked back in confusion.
Just as Ruri was about to explain, a loud crash could be heard. Ruri jumped at the sudden sound, and Jade leaped up.
“Huh? What?!” Ruri exclaimed.
“No clue. It sounds like something broke,” Jade said, getting out of bed and putting on his shoes. “Ruri, come with me. I can’t leave you alone here, just in case.”
“Oh, yes!” Ruri followed him out of the room.
Kotaro and Rin followed soon after. There were other soldiers on duty running around too, but there were fewer people present now than in the daytime.
“Kotaro, Rin, do you know what happened?” Ruri asked.
“It sounds like the spirits are making a racket,” Kotaro answered.
“Spirits?”
“You’ll see when we get there.”
Ruri and Jade followed him to a room nearby that was normally unused. Troops had already gathered there and were making a fuss, but they weren’t attempting to go inside; they were only watching.
“What’s going on?” asked Jade, as the troops opened a path at his arrival.
Ruri peered into the room as soon as she was able to and found a huge bird.
“Wow, I’ve never seen a bird this big before. So, this is what crashed in here,” she deduced, looking at the broken window.
The bird had to have rammed into the window at great speed, since there was shattered glass all over the floor. Although not as big as a dragonkin in their dragon form, the creature was limp and covered in scratches.
As Ruri stood, unable to wrap her mind around the situation, Jade shouted out, “Celestine!”
“Huh?!” Ruri exclaimed, unable to believe her ears. She looked back and forth from the bird to Jade.
She was shocked, but then she remembered that Celestine was a bird demi-human. That meant it wasn’t strange for her to take the form of a bird just like Jade turned into a dragon. Upon closer inspection, her plumage was the same tender green as Celestine’s hair.
“What is Celestine-san doing here?” Ruri asked, baffled that not only was the other Beloved here, but she was covered in scars.
However, that question would soon be answered.
“Celestine-san, we have to tend to your wounds at once—”
“Wait, Ruri!” Jade quickly grabbed her arm to stop her from running over to Celestine. That was when a fireball hit Celestine’s body.
Celestine unleashed a pained scream as she spread her giant wings as if to protect someone or something. Ruri had been so focused on her that she had neglected to see there was a person underneath her wings. Although someone else being there was shocking enough, the more shocking thing was who was attacking Celestine. It was the spirits—the beings that were usually allies of the Beloveds.
“But why?” cried Ruri, shocked. She made a frantic dash between Celestine and the spirits trying to attack her, standing between them, arms raised. “Stop!” Ruri yelled at the top of her lungs, causing the spirits to halt abruptly. She was both relieved that the spirits had stopped and enraged at the same time. She yelled as though scolding them. “Why are you doing this?!”
The spirits informed her, as if it were perfectly normal, “Well, ’cause we were asked to.”
“They said not to let ’em get away.”
“And to attack them but not bad enough to kill them.”
“Uh-huh, uh-huh, we had a majority vote!”
The spirits innocently nodded, as if they hadn’t done anything wrong.
“Majority vote?” repeated Ruri, confused about what that meant.
Kotaro and Rin came over to her side.
“Get a doctor here at once!” Jade ordered as he stood behind Ruri. Not having to worry about Ruri’s safety now that Kotaro and Rin were by her side, he decided to prioritize tending to the injured Celestine.
“Perhaps there was a dispute between Beloveds,” Kotaro said.
“You’ve seen it before, haven’t you, Ruri? Spirits don’t fight among each other. They decide which wish to grant through discussion,” added Rin.
“Oh...” Ruri blurted, her memory jogged. Back when Cerulanda’s Beloved and Celestine had fought, the spirits had decided whose side they would take by majority vote. “But Celestine-san is a Beloved.”
“If it’s the wish of a Beloved higher in rank, then the spirits will attack, Beloved or not.”
Ruri was so taken aback that she couldn’t speak properly. She could only imagine how terrified Celestine must have been, being attacked by the spirits she thought to be her friends. It was likely a huge shock to her system.
“If I ask you all to stop attacking Celestine-san, will you all listen?” Ruri asked timidly.
The spirits laid down their arms with no resistance.
“Sure!”
“You’re number one, Ruri!”
“Yup!”
There was no malice in any of these innocent spirits’ replies—they were just trying to grant the wishes of a Beloved. That made it all the more terrifying. However, the issue was the one who asked for this in the first place.
“There shouldn’t be any Beloved who would want to attack Celestine-san...” Ruri trailed off as she jogged her own memory mid-sentence. “Was it the Beloved said to be a transmigrator that grandpa wrote about in his letter?”
“Urk...” groaned Celestine.
The noise snapped Ruri back to reality. “Celestine-san, you’re all right now.”
Celestine stared at Ruri before closing her eyes in relief, turning back into her more familiar human form at the same time.
“Celestine-san?!”
As Ruri panicked, the doctor Jade had sent for ran up and checked Celestine. “Looks like she just fainted. However, these wounds are bad,” he stated, turning to Jade. “Your Majesty, may I use the dragon’s blood?”
“Yes. Heal her right away,” Jade replied.
The secret medicine made from dragonkin blood was never used outside of special exceptions. Since it cured any wound or sickness, they took the utmost care in using it. However, there was no need to be frugal when using it to heal a Beloved—a literal world treasure.
“Hurry!” said one soldier.
“Be careful with her!” said another.
“Easy does it!” said yet another.
The few soldiers carefully placed Celestine on a stretcher and carried her away. Ruri and Jade were left in the room, their eyes converging on a single point.
“Are you okay?” Jade asked, kneeling in front of the woman sitting on her knees on the ground.
This unfamiliar person was the one Celestine was so desperately trying to protect from the spirit’s assault. With her big belly, it was clear at a glance that she was pregnant. Unlike Celestine, who was covered in scars, she had no noticeable injuries to be found.
“I’m fine... Lady Beloved protected me,” she replied. Celestine had endured attacks from the spirits, which had left her in her current state, so the look on this woman’s face was far from fine.