By Zephyria 
First, I decided to hold off on Aska’s identity and check my condition. Suard took my hand and began to examine it, just as he had done with Aska a moment ago.
Soon, a cold and chilling energy crept into my body through my fingertips. It didn’t feel good, so I pulled my hand away and frowned.
“Your Highness, this method isn’t only used to discern someone’s identity. It can more accurately diagnose signs inside and outside the body…”
“Just take my pulse.”
I didn’t like the idea of something unknown probing every corner of my body, so I spoke curtly. Then, Mahir placed his hand on my shoulder.
“Just stay still.”
Faced with His Majesty the Emperor’s solemn command, I reluctantly extended my hand again. The energy traveling throughout my body wasn’t painful or particularly stimulating, but it was still unpleasant.
At that moment, Aska came closer to my side and stood close, like a puppy. Was it because of the warmth I felt through the fabric of our clothes? I felt better and stayed still, and Suard asked, “Have you received a lot of healing magic?”
“Is there a problem?”
At Mahir’s question, Suard tilted his head.
“As you know, healing magic builds resistance, and its effectiveness gradually decreases. As far as I know, Your Highness already… At this point, it’s safe to say that your Self-healing ability is almost gone…”
Ah, did he notice that my wounds heal quickly? I was a little suspicious, but I guess he wasn’t a quack after all.
I don’t know what Aska did to my body, but it was definitely an abnormal phenomenon. Just as I was about to explain that, Suard made a strange noise.
“Perhaps that’s why the scars remain. But Your Highness is definitely… human…”
“You’re saying he has the same kind of scars as a Magical creature?”
Mahir asked in surprise, and Suard wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief.
“I can only confirm the presence of scars, so I can’t tell if they’re the same or not.”
I was dumbfounded by his ambiguous answer and asked,
“What do you even know? You don’t know this, you don’t know that. Why are you the Royal Physician then?”
“I-I’m sorry. I’m not usually like this…”
Suard glanced at Mahir with an almost tearful expression. That quack…
“I saw you myself when you hadn’t even had your umbilical cord cut.”
While I was bewildered, Mahir said to me as if to reassure me. I was dumbfounded again.
“I know I’m not a Magical creature.”
“By the way, I didn’t know that healing magic could cause such scars.”
“I only recently confirmed it. It wasn’t someone as exposed to healing magic as Your Highness. How should I put it… It’s like a trace of internal deformation.”
As I was listening to Suard, Aska stood close beside me and whispered softly in my ear.
“Are you okay?”
I nodded and squeezed Aska’s hand inside my robe.
“Just as a body exposed to the unknown forcibly mutates and leaves scars, healing magic seems to work on a similar principle. For now, we’re assuming that excessive activation of healing power leaves traces in the body tissue as a side effect, and we’re investigating further. If this is true, we’ve completely misunderstood healing magic.”
Most magic was like that. The foundation was all gone, disappeared, and we used it without properly understanding it. Wouldn’t other Wizards, including me, be unable to logically explain how they could create fire or water in the air?
It was just… a feeling? Anyway, somehow we were able to do it. Once we succeeded, from the second time on, we just remembered that feeling and kept using it.
But is that all?
“Except for the scars, both of you are fine.”
With that, the quack made his diagnosis and left.
Doesn’t he know that wounds heal immediately? Can’t he check that with the Mana passage or whatever it is? How did Aska do it then?
“Still, get regular checkups just in case. Both of you. That’s an order.”
I nodded vaguely and wondered if I should say something or not. Aska didn’t mention it either, so it wouldn’t matter if I said it… but I hesitated because it was such a unique phenomenon that Mahir’s interference would be severe.
Even now, he brought the Royal Physician to examine me…
Aska wouldn’t have done anything bad to me, so I should just keep it a secret.
After that, we resumed the conversation that had been interrupted.
I explained in detail to Mahir what had happened in the mountains. I tried to hide some things and speak in my favor, but I felt guilty and blurted everything out.
“They attacked first, so I had no choice but to react. I couldn’t just stand by while innocent people were dying.”
Mahir sighed at my words.
“That’s the problem with you. Always.”
“…”
Mahir sighed deeply several times without saying a word, then said as if he had a headache.
“Knowing that they had a Relic, you still recklessly charged in?”
I thought he would scold me for killing people without a trial, but that wasn’t it. I never knew what he would do.
“They didn’t seem that strong. And Aska stole the Relic in advance.”
“There could have been more.”
“I guess so…”
Actually, even if I got hurt, I didn’t worry at all because I would heal automatically. And since Aska was there, I didn’t feel any sense of crisis at all.
“Even if you got away with it this time, you don’t know what will happen next time. How many times have I told you? Why do you act like you have extra lives to spare?”
“…”
“…”
Next to me, Aska’s head drooped lower and lower, like a ripening rice plant. I did have extra lives, didn’t I? If it weren’t for Aska, I would have died a long time ago.
But I thought it would only upset Mahir if I said that, so I just kept quiet.
“I’ll be careful next time.”
“I’ll be careful too.”
Perhaps because Aska was reflecting with me, Mahir didn’t nag any further.
“So you think those lumberjacks belong to the kingdom?”
Until I killed Ralph, I still had a 10% doubt, but the last man I killed turned it into certainty.
When I nodded, Mahir’s eyes narrowed.
“Is that why you bothered to come all the way here?”
That was part of it, but I also came because I wondered if I could meet the guys who oppressed Aska. If I told the truth, he would kick me out right away, so I nodded again.
“I’ll take care of this problem, so don’t cause any trouble. You’re still missing, so you need to be more quiet.”
“Okay.”
“Give me the Relic.”
At those words, Aska handed Mahir the bracelet that had belonged to Ralph. If Mahir stepped in, it would be resolved cleanly, no matter who died or how many.
“But when is the banquet? Aren’t you having a welcoming ceremony or something?”
“From tomorrow evening… Why do you ask?”
Mahir, who had answered absentmindedly, frowned. He looked like a parent watching a disobedient son. I felt unfairly accused and frowned along with him.
“I want to see it with Aska. Why? Should I just leave?”
Had he always been this suspicious? It seemed worse than before, and I was dumbfounded. I hadn’t caused any trouble since we met, so why was he doing this?
“That’s not what I meant. But…”
“Can my brother stay here the whole time?”
I had a feeling what he was going to say next. He would probably say something about my eyes being strange or having a bad feeling. So I changed the subject noticeably, and Mahir sighed again.
“Even if we postpone the banquet, aren’t you going to meet the King?”
“It was originally scheduled, but I postponed it because of you. Since you wouldn’t come to me, I have to go to you. He said he has severe seasickness and needs to rest, so don’t worry.”
“What? Seasickness?”
Seriously, how could he…? Doesn’t he have any dignity?
What if rumors spread that the Emperor was suffering from seasickness and couldn’t handle his schedule after coming all the way to another country? He was the Emperor of the Empire, no less!
“Why did you have to use that excuse? You should have just said that I’ll set the time, so don’t rush me and just wait!”
“What are you talking about? You’re a guest, how can you act like that?”
I was frustrated by his nonchalant words and my stomach was churning.
Mahir seemed to think it was nothing and just smiled like an enlightened old man.