🐾🐱🐾
WHEN Amy returned to the first-aid room, Sir Dion wasn’t there. He had been called away to the tournament headquarters. With the nursing assistants also out on break, the only one there was Finneas.
“Boss, do you have a second?”
“Sure.”
Amy probably didn’t have much time before everyone else returned.
Finneas wasn’t overly fond of idle chit-chat, but Amy knew he would respond if she initiated a conversation and that he knew much more about the affairs of the royal palace than she did.
When Amy told him everything about what had just happened, including the fact she had been given a ring from the queen, his expression remained unchanged.
“That’s not particularly unusual,” he said.
“It’s not?” asked Amy.
“No. When the kingdom officially recognizes you as a healing magician, you’re given some sort of proof.”
Amy tilted her head. She had never heard of this before.
“It’s probably the same as this. Here, look,” said Finneas, rolling up the sleeve of his robe and showing her his bracelet.
A magic stone and a jewel decorated either side of the bangle, but Finneas was pointing to the center, where there was an engraving of the royal family crest.
“Is there a crest like this on your ring?”
“A crest?”
Amy took a closer look at the ring she had been squeezing in her palm. On the spot where a stone would normally go, there was a crest! It was like a signet ring. The design of the crest looked a little different than the one on Finneas’s bracelet, probably because of the constraints of a smaller surface area.
Both designs, however, clearly had a crown, which was a crest element that could only be used by the royal family.
“This crest is also a special identifier. If you have something with this on it, you can freely visit places like the Grand Bookshelf and Greenhouse One. It’s pretty useful.”
“Really? That’s amazing!”
The Grand Bookshelf had the most extensive collection of books in all of Luducia, but the ability to borrow the books or even to enter the building was strictly controlled. Even scholars had to apply in advance to be able to use it.
“I’ve heard there are tons of books on animals at the Grand Bookshelf!”
“Animals? Really?”
The Grand Bookshelf stocked a plethora of books that were highly sought-after by researchers, like ancient spell books and books on history, but Amy’s interests were drawn, as ever, toward animals.
Greenhouse One was relatively easier for people to get access to, but because there were some peculiar medicinal herbs grown there, it wasn’t open to the public.
Being able to enter those two places whenever you wanted was a pretty good perk. That’s how well-treated recognized healing magicians were in Luducia.
Amy nodded along as Finn explained all this, deeply impressed.
“I didn’t know anything about being recognized!”
“That’s because it’s different than getting a license as a healing magician. Very few people receive recognition, so it’s not very well-known. The proofs are usually staffs or jewelry—not items that immediately scream out ‘royal recognition’—which probably makes the whole thing even more obscure.”
Amy was silent for a few moments before quietly asking, “…Is it really okay for someone like me to accept such an amazing honor?”
Finneas had told her that it was incredibly competitive for a healing magician to receive recognition from the kingdom, with at most one person receiving it every few years. Amy may have been skilled in healing magic, but she was still just an assistant—still learning.
Finneas looked at her strangely.
“Why not? If you had applied for a recognition, even as you are now, I’m sure you would have gotten one. You might’ve just received one a little earlier than expected.”
“I think you’re overestimating my abilities, Boss.”
“There is high demand for healing magicians in foreign kingdoms, as well. I think she may have given it to you in advance, before you came of age, to discourage you from going somewhere else—or rather, for insurance that you would stay in Luducia.”
“Leaving the country…”
Amy couldn’t exactly say those plans were totally off the table. She really didn’t want to run away and leave all the friends and animals she had grown so close to over the years.
But…
Just as Amy remembered the game and a sudden rush of anxiety welled up inside her, she chased the feeling away by shaking her head.
“A-Anyway,” Amy said, changing the subject, “I was just shocked that the queen even knew who I was.”
“Do you have any self-awareness at all?” Finneas asked, looking shocked.
“What do you mean?” Amy asked, tilting her head.
“You’re famous, you know.”
“What?! No way. You’ve got to be pulling my leg.”
There was no way that Amy, who exclusively treated animals, stood out to anyone in any way. She chuckled to herself at the idea. Scott was unable to hide his knowing grin, and Finneas sighed, readjusting his monocle with a finger.
“Just take the ring. Don’t think too hard about it. And don’t lose it.”
“Oh! You’re right! It would be terrible if I dropped it!”
Amy was chubby, but she wasn’t very tall, and her hands were on the small side. The queen’s ring, which had been made for a grown woman, didn’t come close to fitting her fingers.
Moreover, Amy touched afflicted parts of the body with her bare hands when performing healing magic, so it would be best if she didn’t wear any jewelry on her hands.
Amy pondered it for a bit before she remembered the pendant necklace she got from Edward, which she wore under her clothes. She put the ring on the chain alongside the pendant. That was a much safer place than her pocket!
Oh? Is there something on the inner part?
As she was threading the chain through the ring, Amy turned the ring and saw the inside of the band. There was something small on the opposite side of the engraved crest. At first, Amy thought it was some surface unevenness caused by the engraving, but it wasn’t—it looked like writing of some kind.
Just as Amy held it up to get a better look at it, the doors to the first-aid room flew open with a bang!
“It’s starting!” Sir Dion said in a booming voice. Assistants filed in one after the other behind him, returning from break.
“Oh! Sir Dion!”
From the other side of the door, Amy could hear loud trumpets announcing the start of the matches, followed by the rumbling sound of the audience’s cheers.
“We’ll have our hands full before long. Everyone, to your stations.”
“Yes, sir!”
Cramming her necklace back under her clothes, Amy donned her healing magician robes.