The people Bazack wanted me to heal turned out to be a former prince of Illumasia, an oracle, and what I assumed to be more people from the empire. After examining them to see what their symptoms were, I noticed that there was miasma leaking out of the prince and the oracle. If I hadn’t already cured Lord Wisdom—who had been in a similar condition—in Neldahl, I likely would have been a little hesitant to heal them, as I wouldn’t have known what would happen.
I decided to tackle the matter right there and then, but before that, I cast a quick Purification Wave on the town square just in case there were some demons or people involved in demonization cases hiding among the crowd. Purification Wave didn’t hurt humans, so I figured it wouldn’t cause any harm to the innocent bystanders. The prince, the oracle, and the other injured people from Illumasia must’ve felt like they were being attacked, though, because of the magic stones in their bodies. I immediately cast Dispel and Recover on them, and was about to use Extra Heal when...
“Watch out!”
The moment those words reached my ears, I was shoved from my right-hand side.
“What the—?! Extra Heal!”
Bazack was the one who had pushed me. But when I turned around to protest, I saw a dagger planted deep into his back, the tip protruding from his chest. His robe was turning darker as it soaked up the crimson blood that flowed from the wound. I caught him right as he was about to fall and, praying that the dagger hadn’t killed him instantly, cast Extra Heal.
A pale light enveloped his body, and I asked, “Are you all right?”
“Y-Yes. It doesn’t even hurt. A holy oracle’s healing magic is truly remarkable,” he said.
“Thank you for protecting me from the attack.”
I hadn’t noticed the multiple daggers flying around and, as such, hadn’t been able to react in time. As for my companions, Brod, Lionel, Ketty, and Kefin had immediately jumped in to attack the demonized bystanders who had fallen when I’d cast Purification Wave, while Dhoran and Estia were busy protecting Pola, Lycian, Rina, and Nanya. As such, Bazack had been the only one there to save me.
“Please don’t mention it. It’s my fault that you were in danger in the first place. I apologize for the trouble, but could you please heal them now?”
“I will.”
Thankfully, it seemed that he had made a full recovery. The way he had shielded me with his own body despite being a sorcerer and having immediately apologized for what had happened reminded me of Brod and Lionel in a way.
Pulling myself together, I finally cast Extra Heal on the former prince and the others.
As a side note, the man who had thrown the daggers was one of the people Bazack had asked me to heal, one I assumed was a knight. After suffering damage from my Purification Wave, he had somehow managed to rise to his feet, pulled a handful of daggers from who knows where, and hurled them in my direction. Estia had incapacitated him, and I had no doubt that the Spirit of Dusk, Ketty, and Kefin would be torturing—ahem, I mean interrogating him later.
“I’m done healing them,” I told Bazack.
“You have my thanks, and I apologize once again for what just happened. I never expected someone would try to attack you,” Bazack said, bowing deeply, nearly at a ninety-degree angle.
“You already apologized earlier, and you saved my life, so it’s all good. I was so focused on my healing spells that I didn’t notice the daggers. Plus, it looks like there were some dangerous individuals hiding among the crowd.”
Other than the man who had thrown the daggers at me, a few of the town’s residents had reacted to my purification spell, but none of them had attacked me other than the knight. Either way, it meant that the former prince and the other wounded from Illumasia had been in danger. Still, I wondered why the people of Ebiza were so attached to them.
“Lionel called those two a prince and an oracle earlier. Why are so many of the town’s residents so loyal to them?” I asked Bazack.
“His Highness former Prince Albert and Lady Melphina have been questioning the current state of the empire for quite some time. They shared their concerns with the emperor, but it only strained their relationship with him further. The rift between them deepened to the point where Prince Albert ultimately rebelled, demanding that the emperor abdicate. However, the operation ended in failure. He became the one hunted by the empire, and eventually, he was imprisoned.”
Yeah, that was pretty much what happened when you attempted a coup d’état and failed.
“Do you know how they managed to escape from the empire?”
“Lady Melphina helped him break out of prison, and we all left the empire together.”
Lionel, whose return I hadn’t even noticed, clenched his teeth at Bazack’s words. Brod’s gaze fell on the prince, and he immediately shut his eyes, his frown deepening.
“Can you tell us how you escaped from the empire?”
“Illumasia has signed a temporary armistice with Luburk because they haven’t been able to win the war yet, despite all the budget they’ve allocated to it,” Bazack said.
Things had likely reached that point after Lionel had left. But was that enough of a reason to sign an armistice?
“Is that how you managed to escape? Because of the ceasefire?”
“Not quite. You see, the empire has not only been imposing heavier and heavier taxes on its people to fuel its military efforts, but it’s also begun to give better treatment to those who can fight while neglecting the civil servants. As a result, a lot of them have decided to side with former prince Albert.”
The intense pressure that I’d been feeling from Brod and Lionel grew even more palpable as Bazack spoke. Based on his words, it seemed that the empire would soon collapse all on its own, without us lifting a finger.
“Wouldn’t that throw the power balance out of whack, though?” I asked, referring to the empire’s favoritism of military officers.
“Indeed. And that is why those who were dissatisfied with the situation helped us escape the imperial capital.”
It made sense. But based on the state the former prince had been in and the fact that there were spies mixed in with the crowd, it was likely that the empire had willingly let them escape and was keeping an eye on them. It would be too dangerous to take everything Bazack said at face value. Either way, I still didn’t know why the people of Ebiza respected the former prince of Illumasia so much.
“Ebiza is part of the Republic of Saint Shurule. So why are the people of this town so worried about a prince of Illumasia?” I asked.
There were too many things I didn’t know. If only there had been someone as knowledgeable as Dongahar in my group, I could’ve discussed the situation with them.
“The empire’s reputation has been getting worse and worse since we took refuge in Ebiza. As such, many people who shared the former prince’s opinion decided to move here to join our faction in hopes of putting an end to the emperor’s tyranny.”
“So you’ve absorbed Ebiza as part of the resistance?”
“No. We have built a cooperative relationship with the townsfolk by forming a vigilante committee.”