Ferdinand's Rescue

"Ferdinand!"

He appeared to be lying face-down, his body weakened from having his magic power continuously drained by the active magic circle. I had to remove him from the circle and cut off the magic supply. I rushed over, set down my medicine chest, reinforced my body, and flipped Ferdinand from his prone position onto his back. Slipping my hands under his sides, I dragged him across the floor and over to the wall where the magic circle didn't reach.

"This growth spurt of mine really came in handy… Even with body reinforcement, there's a limit with a child's physique."

I thanked Anvarach, the God of Growth, made a small prayer to grow a little bigger, and then checked his breathing. It seemed to be going normally for the moment, so I shifted him into the recovery position on his side before reaching for the medicine chest.

"Right, when the person is unconscious, you start with Yurleve first…"

Using the suction device Justus had explained to me, I poured Yurleve down his throat. Given that I had spent two years dissolving clumps of magic power, if he'd been poisoned with something lethal that would petrify him into a magic stone, Yurleve would be the most effective treatment.

I'd had medicine forced on me countless times while unconscious myself, but this was my first time doing it to someone else. My heart pounding, I funneled the Yurleve into his mouth.

…The clump should dissolve easily since it just formed. Hang in there, Yurleve.

While thinking this, I layered the healing of Fryuleme and the Ring of Schmerl over him, hoping at least some of it would help ease the poison and aid his recovery.

"Next is the antidote."

Just as Ferdinand had done to me, I stuffed a cloth soaked in antidote solution into his mouth. Apparently, if the paralysis of his tongue eased even slightly, his breathing would improve and it would become easier to swallow medicine.

…Wait. Did the corner of his mouth just move?

I watched him intently and noticed a faint movement. I pulled the cloth out, soaked another piece in the antidote, and tucked it back into his mouth to observe. The corner of his mouth twitched slightly, and I thought his breathing grew a bit shallower.

I withdrew the cloth once more, then took a dropper-like tool and carefully dripped the intensely foul-tasting recovery medicine into his mouth, a little at a time. When he woke up, his mouth would be filled with an awful taste, but this would powerfully restore both his magic power and stamina. That should do it, I thought—just before Ferdinand began choking violently.

…Wh-why!? Did I do something wrong!?

I'd experienced the horrible taste of waking up to a mouthful of disgusting medicine many times myself, but I'd never seen someone choke and thrash about while still unconscious. It seemed my method had been a failure.

"S-sorry! I-I didn't mean to!"

I peered anxiously at Ferdinand as he coughed in distress, rubbing his back—and suddenly, my arm was grabbed.

"Huh?"

Before I could even think that his consciousness had returned, my arm was yanked and, in a flash, our positions were reversed. Still blinking in confusion, I was pinned down by Ferdinand—the very same Ferdinand who'd been unconscious moments ago—with both my wrists trapped and his full weight pressing down on me. The chain connecting his shackles dug into my neck.

"Who are you?"

Between labored breaths, a voice dripping with wariness was uttered, and his eyes narrowed sharply as he looked down at me as though I were an unrecognizable stranger. Ferdinand clearly didn't recognize me as Rozemyne. With the chain choking me, I desperately shouted my name: "I'm Rozemyne!"

…I know I've gotten bigger all of a sudden, but please figure it out! Also, could you maybe ease up on the grip? The chain is digging in and it hurts!

"…Rozemyne?"

After a brief silence, Ferdinand, who had been staring down at me from up close, let the shackles clink and rattled as he raised one hand just slightly.

"…Impossible. Rozemyne is about this big."

"What do you mean, impossible!? I've never been that small—like a stuffed animal—not once since we met—not since—gah!?"

Protesting with all my might, I lunged forward and rammed straight into the taut chain. I'd put a bit too much force into it, and the pain was nearly unbearable. As I gagged and coughed, Ferdinand slowly pushed himself up and collapsed sideways off of me. His earlier nimbleness had clearly been pure bluff—he lay there completely spent, gazing at me with an exasperated look.

"…Are you truly an idiot?"

"Mmgh… I have to admit you might be a little bit right about that right now. I am fully self-aware, so please don't say it with such a profoundly earnest tone."

My first conversation after he regained consciousness, and it was this. I'd expected something more—heartfelt words of gratitude, praise for how hard I'd worked, something befitting a reunion after so long.

"Only 'a little bit' is an understatement… Hmm. So you really are Rozemyne after all. The fact that you can be so nonchalant and idiotic while I'm literally strangling you with a chain—no one else would do that."

I said "I'm glad you recognize me," as I slowly sat up. If he was this conscious, he could probably take his own medicine. I turned toward the medicine chest.

"What medicine do you need? Hm? Wait a second. …Wait, what!? The chain got caught because you were shackled, not because you were strangling me!?"

I froze with my hand on the medicine chest and looked back, only to see Ferdinand making the most repulsed face imaginable.

"…You couldn't have actually been unaware of that?"

"No, I was well aware that Ferdinand was on guard against me. I thought you might not recognize me since I'd grown, but I never expected to be treated as an enemy after I'd administered Yurleve, the antidote, and everything else."

When I puffed out my cheeks and said "That's just awful," he retorted with an annoyed expression, "You're the awful one."

"I won't name names, but there's a certain idiot who stole another person's name without permission and then ordered them to live by any means necessary. When faced with a near-death situation, my body apparently took it upon itself to eliminate the threat on autopilot."

"Huh? If someone in a critical state was told to 'use any means necessary to survive,' then the logical response wouldn't be to eliminate threats. You were in the middle of taking medicine—the correct action was to finish taking it, I think."

When I said this, Ferdinand's gaze drifted slightly, and he murmured, "I thought you'd poisoned me."

…Ah, I get it. I totally get it. The intensely foul-tasting recovery medicine is nasty enough that it really could be mistaken for poison.

But still, if you drink the recovery medicine I gave you and mistake it for poison, isn't the person to blame the one who made it rather than the person who administered it?

"In other words, this is entirely Ferdinand's own fault!"

"If you want to put it that way, then you never gave a command to cancel the order, nor did you tell me to stop—so you brought being strangled and nearly killed upon yourself. …Hah. This back-and-forth is pointless, so just hand me the medicine already."

"You deflected that pretty smoothly."

"I didn't deflect anything. I'm simply stating what you should be doing right now."

…This is what I get the moment he regains consciousness!

"My body still won't move properly. The antidote first. After you've finished giving me that, do something about these shackles. It's unbearable not being able to use my staff."

Lying there limply, Ferdinand issued one instruction after another.

I pouted, thinking, I'm the one who stole Ferdinand's name and should be the master here, but did as I was told, preparing the medicine and letting him sip it little by little while watching his condition.

"Ferdinand can't move at all, yet his mouth is just as sharp as ever."

"Only because you soaked my tongue with the antidote cloth. …Also, if you intend to complain to me, perhaps you should do something about that dopey expression first. I can't tell if you're complaining or delighted."

At Ferdinand's comment, I reached up to touch my face, and sure enough, I realized I was beaming. I tried pinching and slapping my cheeks to get them under control, but it didn't seem to help at all.

"I'm just so happy that Ferdinand is recovered enough to trade barbs with me that I can't seem to fix my expression."

I let out a candid grin, and Ferdinand blinked several times before closing his mouth into a thin line.

"…Honestly, you—"

"Oh, were you embarrassed?"

"I was not."

I poked his cheek with my finger, and Ferdinand's arm rose partway before stopping and dropping back down. He let out a resigned sigh and glowered at me.

"Just you wait until I can move again."

"Sure! Once you can move, you can praise me while patting my head and saying how wonderful I've been. Or you can give me a big hug. Or even pinch my cheeks—whatever you'd like."

Peering down at Ferdinand, I rattled off my hopes alongside the things he might do now that he'd recovered.

"…So please hurry up and get better."

A tear plopped down. Part of it was probably from the tension finally releasing. Part was the relief of being able to banter with Ferdinand again. But the biggest reason was simply that I was so grateful he was alive. I couldn't stop the tears from spilling over on their own.

"…Don't cry."

As Ferdinand said this, his arm rose once more—only to stop halfway and fall back down again. He grimaced and clenched his fist in frustration.

"In any case, there was no need for you to come rescue me. I told you to pass that message to Justus and the others, so why are you here? How did you even get here?"

His words made my tears stop instantly. If he'd said it to stop me from crying, it was incredibly effective—but Ferdinand had said it completely straight-faced.

"I didn't realize Ferdinand's memory was so poor. I'm quite certain I threatened you rather thoroughly…"

"You did threaten me, but many things have changed since then. …What are you angry about?"

…He genuinely doesn't understand.

"Of course I'm angry! Didn't I say that if Ferdinand didn't end up happy, I would come to your rescue no matter who I had to go up against? You're the one who summoned me, Ferdinand!"

"I have no memory of summoning you."

I grabbed Ferdinand's face as he tried to avert his gaze and looked away, locking eyes firmly with those golden irises that looked ready to flee.

"I remember being summoned. I could see Ferdinand's situation, you see. When Lutz saw my crisis the same way, it was when I was facing death and desperately calling out to him. So this time, it was Ferdinand who summoned me. If you hadn't, I wouldn't have had enough preparation time and wouldn't have made it in time."

"Fine, fine. Now move back. You're too close."

While we were in the middle of discussing how Ferdinand had summoned me, he said something utterly irrelevant like "your face is too close." Seizing the advantage of our proximity, I cracked my forehead into his. Ferdinand groaned in pain and glared at me resentfully.

"…You're the one who created the situation where it would've been better not to come."

"Huh?"

"I asked you questions and you didn't answer a single one—did you not rush off without heeding any warnings, obtain the Book of Mestionora, and get ordered by Ewermin to erase me?"

Ferdinand glared at me, and I glared right back.

"I was ordered, yes, but what about it? I firmly refused Ewermin herself."

"Hold on. If one of you doesn't become a sacrifice and complete the Book of Mestionora, Jürgenschmitt will be destroyed—so what exactly was your plan after refusing?"

"Huh? Even if you ask me that—if Ferdinand couldn't be saved, then there'd be no point in saving Jürgenschmitt either, would there?"

Tilting my head, wondering what he was talking about, I saw Ferdinand stare at me with a look of sheer disbelief.

"What are you saying? That sounds as though you'd choose me over Jürgenschmitt! Your choice of words is…"

"The Archduchy, the Central, the royal family, the gods… Didn't I say I'd go up against anyone to rescue you?"

"…'The gods' is a first."

Ferdinand said this with a stunned expression, then collapsed face-down on the spot. Rolling over like that was a sign he was starting to feel better. Watching his recovery, I gave a small smile.

"Oh, was that the first time I mentioned the gods? My apologies. But that's exactly how it is—so let's think of a way to complete the Book of Mestionora that keeps us both safe."

The rescue is complete.

He's gradually regaining movement, and his magic power is recovering.

Mistaking the intensely foul-tasting recovery medicine for poison was entirely his own fault.

Next up: my Gedulurihe.

The next update is on 9/20.