Once they went back to the town, Kael immediately headed to the tent. However, once he entered, he found all the medics pacing around the patients, panickingly checking on them.
He tried to stop one of the medics multiple times, but no one was giving him any attention and kept their focus on the ground.
"How am I supposed to find her when no one is even speaking back to me?" Kael mumbled under his breath as he slowly shifted his gaze around, looking for the medic from earlier.
"Oh, sir hunter!" Kael immediately turned around as he suddenly heard her voice coming from behind. She sounded desperate as she immediately asked, "Did you bring the flower I asked you for?"
Kael calmly nodded as he opened his hand, showing her the bunch of flowers he had tied with a thin string before saying, "Yes, here they are. Are these the ones you are looking for?"
"Oh, thank god!" She instantly breathed a sigh of relief before reaching his hand, "You are a lifesaver, sir hunter!"
She then rushed to the back of the tent, leaving Kael standing dumbfounded near the entrance. A few moments later, she called for all the other medics to go to the back before she went back to Kael.
"Again, thank you, Sir Hunter." She said as she bowed slightly, her voice more relaxed now.
"What happened?" Kael simply nodded before asking calmly.
"We ran out of that flower's extract, so some of the patients started getting worse, and more and more patients started arriving after that." She answered as she slowly lifted her mask. "We lost some patients, but thanks to you, we can help the other."
Under the mask, the face of a beautiful young lady was hidden. She had long, silver-colored hair that immediately dropped on her back once the mask was lifted, alongside sharp, crystal eyes with a color that matched her hair's.
As she smiled, the patches of crystal on the far edges of her face moved slightly with her cheeks.
As she looked at him, Kael noticed that she looked to be the same age as Aksa, but he didn't give it much thought and quickly asked, "Will that much be enough?"
The medic smiled as she saw the concern in Kael's eyes before she nodded and said, "Yes. Actually, that would be enough for a month at the very least, even if things got worse."
"Usually, the guards and soldiers would bring us just one flower, because they don't want to face any abnormalities at all," she added.
"I see..." Kael gave a grunt before nodding.
"You haven't told me your name yet, have you?" The medic suddenly asked. "I'm Iriel. Iriel Thorne. I'm a medic from the royal family of the crystal kin."
"The royal family?" Kale looked at Iriel in confusion, "What is someone like you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be helping in the capital right now?"
"Lady Kaelith saw that it was best to send us here since there are enough medics helping in the capital right now," Iriel answered, "I will head there after this town is evacuated completely."
Kael gave a grunt of understanding before adding, "I'm Kael."
"It's a pleasure to know you, Mr. Kael," Iriel said as she bowed slightly. "Now then, I suppose you want to go have some rest. Please follow me," She added as she stepped outside, gesturing for Kael to follow her with her head.
Once Kael stepped outside, he saw one of the guards holding Aksa's arm, trying to pull him towards the gate as he spoke, "Come on, kid. We need to move."
"No, I-uh– I'm not one of the town folk," Aksa tried to get the guard's hand off him as he explained, but his body was still weak, so he couldn't resist much and was slowly dragged away.
"That's fine, but we need to get you to safety," The guard quickly explained as he started to pull his arm harder.
Kael sighed before calmly approaching them and asking, "What is going on here?"
"Sorry for the disturbance, sir." The guard raised his hand slightly as he apologized, "I was just trying to help this kid join the others so we can finish evacuating soon."
"Don't worry, he is with me," Kael uttered calmly, "We were heading to the capital as well, but we needed to rest, so we thought we could stop here for the night and then hit the road tomorrow."
Upon hearing Kael's words, the guard immediately let go of Aksa before starting to apologize, "I'm so sorry, sir, I thought he was just a lost kid."
"No need to apologize," Kael tapped the guard's shoulder before adding, "I know you were just trying to do your job."
"Thank you, sir." The guard quickly nodded before he walked away from them.
"Thanks, Kael. I really couldn't convince that man to let me go," said Aksa as he slowly rubbed where the guard was holding his arm.
"Don't give it much thought. He was just trying to help," Kael explained as she slightly messed with the boy's hair.
"I know, but–" As Aksa tried to speak, Iriel suddenly interrupted him as she peeked at him from behind Kael, "Oh, hello there, I'm Iriel–"
However, her face suddenly turned pale, and her eyes widened before she rushed to check his face and asked, "Mr Kael, why is his body so weak like this?"
"I-uh" Aksa tried to give an excuse, but Kael cut him as he explained loudly, "He used to be a slave."
Iriel's face twisted as anger filled her eyes before she asked, "Who is this filth that can do this to anyone?"
"I don't know, but my best guess is some nobility," Kael answered.
"I'm sorry that you had to live like that." Iriel tilted her head down and grabbed Aksa's hands as she spoke. She then quickly stood up and turned to Kael, "Please follow me. There is some food in the room that I prepared for you."
Kael nodded before following after her. She guided them to a back alley that was filled with dead corpses, where she opened an old wooden door that revealed a staircase leading underground.
As they descended down the stairs, Kael and Iriel were speaking about something, but Aksa wasn't focused on them at all.
His mind was filled with thoughts as he suddenly became conflicted. Back when he was talking with Zephyr, he was certain in his heart that he wanted people to suffer like he did.
However, seeing how Kael was treating him, and watching Iriel's reaction when she saw his state and when she knew he was a slave, made him question himself.
Suddenly, he felt his shoulder being shaken with someone calling him. Aksa lifted his head to see Kael grabbing his shoulder as he tried to talk to him while they were standing in front of a narrow door..
"Are you okay, kid?" Kael asked as he looked at Aksa, worried.
"Uh, y-yes" Aksa answered as he rubbed the bridge between his eyes, "I was just lost in my thoughts."
Kael remained silent for a bit, staring at the boy while still skeptical, but he then sighed and said, "Come on, we've reached the place."
Aksa nodded before stepping inside. It was nothing but a simple room. The basic brick walls were stained with dirt and moisture, but they seemed to hold their shape together.
There were four beds pushed into the corner, with each two of them stacked on top of the other.
A simple wooden table was placed against one of the walls, with an ignited candle that looked to be made of beeswax placed on top of it.
Above the table, a small cabinet with two doors was hung on the wall. Iriel immediately headed towards the cabinet to pull the food she mentioned out of it.
"This room looks well prepared," Aksa remarked as he looked around the room. "Was this meant for someone else?"
"Ah, yes," Iriel answered while she put a plate of bread on the table, "This was meant for me and the medic's head and another two of us, but we haven't used it one since we came here."
"Really? Is it okay to let us stay here?" Kael asked.
"I asked the medics head before you came back and she agreed, so don't worry about it" she added as she pulled a plate of fruits out of the cabinet "I don't we would be able to use it in the first place since we have too many patients we have to cater to"
"By the way, what's your name?" Iriel turned her head to face Aksa, who had taken a seat on one of the beds.
"I'm Aksa," He quickly replied, "Thank you for helping us with this room."
"Nice to meet you, Aksa," She said, "No need to thank me, we just did a fair exchange."
"I think I told you my name earlier, but still, I'm Iriel Thorne," she added.
"Nice to meet you too, Iriel," Aksa nodded slightly.
After she put all the food on the table, Iriel wanted to stay and chat with them for a bit, but she heard a voice calling her from outside.
She quickly headed to the door, but before she stepped outside the room, she turned to them and said, "I have to go back to work now. Please eat and rest here as much as you want."
Kael nodded as he watched her close the door behind her. He then turned to Aksa and said as he pointed at the table, "Why don't you have some food?"
Aksa nodded, but then he asked "What about you?"
"I'm just gonna sleep right now" Kael answered as he layed on the bed, "I really feel tired right now"
"Okay, then, I'll just eat a bit and then wait for you to wake up so we can eat together" Aksa said.
Kael gave a small chuck before he turned to face the wall and said, "Don't worry about me, kid. Just eat as much as you want. I don't think I'll wake up until tommorow morning anyway"