Otherworld Adventure 361 Matheus's Adventure 10

"What the..."

His broken arm had been set and from the looks of it, it was no longer broken. He waved his arm for a bit and felt no pain. The same went for the rest of his body. Matheus had long since noticed the dire state his body was in before he had collapsed.

He thought that surely, he would have been made a cripple due to his reckless actions. However, here he was feeling fit as an ox. He looked around the room and stood up from the bed.

He walked to the window and stared outside. Matheus was quite amazed when he saw the white cityscape before him. All of the houses were neatly built and there were large buildings and towers all around.

He noticed that all of the buildings were either a pure white color or was a color that was in its brightest hue. Trees and all sorts of plants were also growing inside of the city and there was even a large waterway that he spotted from where he was. He noticed that the room he was inside of was located somewhere high up. He deduced that he was inside some kind of tower in the middle of the city and his room was probably on the top floors.

Matheus sat back down on the bedside after marveling at the scenery from outside. It was such an immaculate city and there was this aura of majesty and holiness exuding from it. He couldn't describe what this feeling was like but he was in awe of it.

It was unlike his kingdom's capital, Silvaria City, which was like a huge forest of concrete towers and buildings. When he looked up at the sky earlier he noticed that there was this thin film covering the skies around the city, he thought that it was most likely a barrier since he had seen something similar in Central Light City.

"It must be one ma.s.sive and advanced barrier since it could cover the entire city...this city seems to be 2 to 3 times as big as Central Light..."

His thoughts were immediately interrupted when someone suddenly burst into the room. Matheus quickly stood up on guard and circulated his mana. Unbeknownst to him, a light golden aura had suddenly arisen from his body when he began circulating his mana.

The person who barged into the room looked left and right before they finally saw Matheus who was standing at the side of the bed with his guard up. The person who had suddenly barged in was Celestina, she noticed the light golden aura surrounding Matheus and was a little intrigued but she couldn't care about that. She immediately rushed over and jumped on him.

"Matty!"

Matheus was about to block the girl from jumping onto him before he suddenly heard the familiar voice that called out to him. He quickly changed postures and caught the girl and said with a slight tinge of confusion in his voice, "...Celes?"

"Y-you're awake! Thank goodness!"

"Uhh... yeah...but, you are Celes, right?" Matheus questioned again.

The girl in his arms was quite different from the stoic and deadpanned girl that he was normally used to seeing. She was wearing a bright dress with plenty of frills decorating the hems and edges. She was also wearing some jewelry on her making her appear bright and refreshing.

It was such a stark contrast to the Celestina that Matheus was used to who wore a baggy black magician's robe with a large hood always covering her face. She always had a stoic and deadpanned expression on her face and would rarely smile at all, but the girl in his arms was smiling brightly with her eyes being moist with tears.

When Matheus made a closer observation, he noticed that the girl was Celestina after all. Besides the light make-up she and the out-of-character clothes she was wearing, this girl was without a doubt the Celestina who had been with him on his travels.

He immediately let down his guard and asked, "W-where are we Celes?"

Matheus placed the girl down on the bedside and sat himself down as well. He finally noticed that his clothes were a bit loose and airy like those of a hospital patient's clothes. So when he felt Celestina's body press up to him he couldn't help but feel a little awkward since he also wasn't wearing any underwear at the moment.

It felt quite odd since he had a reaction coming from down there but it was a good thing that the girl in front of him hadn't felt it or was paying attention.

"We're at my kingdom's capital city, the Holy City of Celestra. We arrived a few days ago."

"I see... what happened while I was out?"

"The demons retreated after reinforcement from my kingdom came. It was thanks to my sister. She was prudent enough to request an escort once we arrived at Regulus Kingdom's capital city. That's why they were able to arrive so quickly."

"That's good. What about, the party? Were there any...casualties?" Matheus hesitantly asked.

"Thankfully, no, everyone was able to make it out alive with just some light injuries. Only you were severely injured, Matty..." Celestina said with a downtrodden look in her eyes.

"W-well, I'm all good now! Hahaha, that demon was pretty hard to beat! I knew from the start that I had no chance!" Matheus tried to laugh it off and brighten the mood a little but he couldn't help but ask, "I-I know my body the best. I know how injured I was before I collapsed. How am I still able to move around and stand like this, Celes?"

Matheus believed that with his injuries, it was probably only his youngest brother or sister that was able to help him out. Since he woke up and found himself all better, the only conclusion was that Celestina's sister, Cecilia, had something to do with his recovery.

Since he was curious, Celestina immediately answered his question, "When the demon group's leader retreated, all the fighting stopped and we were able to quickly attend to your injuries and preserve your life until we got to the capital. When we arrived, Cecilia immediately had you brought up to the tower of Recuperation and sent you to the topmost floor which is the best. Fortunately, with the help of many priests and priestesses, we were able to heal your body... you were in very bad condition before... you lost a lot of blood and your body was torn and broken. I was very worried..."

"...I'm fine now, so everything's all good. I should go and thank your sister the next time I see her."

"Well, why don't you thank me now?" A voice called out from behind.

Matheus immediately turned around and saw a few others currently standing around and waiting from behind him. He widened his eyes in shock. He quickly stood up and distanced himself from Celestina who had intimately snuggled up to him.

"L-Lady Cecilia!"

"Good morning, Sir Matheus~ a fine day, isn't it?"

"G-Good morning...and yes, it is a fine day..." Matheus replied with a strained smile.

"Still early in the morning and you two are already so lovey-dovey~!" Cecilia teased.

Matheus grew slightly embarra.s.sed, while Celestina immediately blushed red for a moment. The young woman quickly recomposed herself before a placid and taciturn expression resurfaced on her face. Now, this was the woman that Matheus was normally accustomed to.

Celestina lightly stood up and turned around to face the other people in the room. Besides the 3 of them, there were 5 others in the room. Oscar, the Knight Captain that Matheus was already acquainted with. The Aerial Unit Commander, Sir Bart, an old man who was wearing an intricately decorated ceremonious robe, and a middle-aged couple who looked to be Cecilia and Celestina's parents since they had similar facial features.

"Is this the young man who saved you, High Priestess?" The old man asked.

"Yes, Cardinal Hope, this is Sir Matheus! He helped our group escape from our previous pursuers from Heltegor Neutral City!"

"I see...we're going to have to send another amba.s.sador to Heltegor. How lax can their security be that they let in a.s.sa.s.sins into the city?!" The cardinal turned to look at Matheus and said, "Thank you, young man. You have done our kingdom a great service for rescuing our High Priestess' party!"

"Uhh, okay... You're welcome?"

"..." The old man eyed Matheus once more before turning around to leave the room. The last glance from the old man gave Matheus a rather unpleasant feeling. He felt like that old man couldn't be trusted.

Oscar introduced the Aerial Unit Commander, Bart Queben. The commander expressed his thanks to Matheus before eyeing Celestina and greeting her. He then left the room with Oscar who had already expressed his grat.i.tude and elation to Matheus.

The middle-aged couple was indeed the two sister's parents like Matheus had deduced. They sat down on the couch in the room and gestured for Matheus to sit down as well, it seemed like they had something to discuss with him.

"Allow us to introduce ourselves, I am Hector Clarence, and this is my wife, Emily Clarence. You��ve already met our daughters, Celestina and Cecilia. It's a pleasure to meet you, Sir Matheus...?"

"Matheus Silvaria! It's a pleasure to meet you too, Sir Hector," Matheus greeted in turn and quickly took Hector's outstretched hand.

"Haha, what a firm grip! I trust that you are much better now?"

"Yes, sir. I have to thank your daughter for that. I am very grateful. If there is ever anything that I can do to repay this debt—"

"Ah, I believe that my daughter, Cecilia, has already said that this debt has already been paid, yes?"

"Hm?"

Cecilia who had kept silent once her father began talking immediately spoke up, "Well, Matheus, you did save our lives once before. Consider this treatment as repayment for that time!"

"I see...well, I still have to thank you, Lady Cecilia," Matheus said graciously.

"Matheus Silvaria, right?" Emily Clarence, Hector's wife, and Cecilia and Celestina's mother asked.

"Yes, Madam."

"If I may be so bold as to ask, but where are you from?"

"Uh... well..."

"You see, we have heard of a new kingdom that has suddenly taken root in the No-Man's Lands deep within the Sky Piercing Mountain Range...if I recall correctly, it's called the Silvaria Kingdom, no? I heard from our daughters that you were also from a kingdom called Silvaria, are you perhaps...related to the royal family of that kingdom?"

When Emily let out her words, Hector turned a scrutinizing eye at Matheus while Cecilia only laughed. Celestina was the only one who was rather shocked to hear the similarity between Matheus's name and the name of a newfound kingdom.

"W-well..." Matheus was still hesitant about answering that question.

Seeing as he was hesitating, Hector let out a good-natured laugh and said, "Well, Matheus, if it's too hard for you to say, we don't mind at all! You are our children's benefactor which means that you are also our benefactor! I won't pry too much into your private affairs!"

"Th-thank you, sir..."

"One of my daughters seems to have taken an interest in you, Matheus," Hector said with a smile as he eyed the slightly blushing Celestina who was sitting next to Matheus. "Hahahaha, this is a cause for celebration! I do hope that you will have the time to stop by our house!"

Matheus felt a little bit awkward that the man in front of him had just teased him with his own daughter. Hearing the invitation, however, Matheus nodded out of politeness. It wouldn't do him any good to decline when they had been so welcoming to him.

"Well, look at the time! It's best if we get going, my dear," Hector said.

He stood up with his wife, gesturing to her that they should get going now. Matheus naturally stood up and walked towards the door to open it. Just before Hector exited the room, he leaned into Matheus's ear and whispered, "My little girl is quite the sensitive young lady. Please don't do anything to break her heart, okay?"

Matheus stiffly nodded his head and Hector continued saying, "If you want her, then, by all means, pursue her. If not, then please cut things off before she grows too fond of you..."

Hector smiled and patted Matheus on the shoulder before walking out with his wife and Cecilia who followed after them.

The only people remaining in the room were now just him and Celestina. He turned to look at her and awkwardly looked away.

"Uhm, is it alright if I get out of here now?"

"O-of course, all of your belongings are with me! All we have to do is check you out on the first floor and have you change back to your normal clothes. Also, the ones you are wearing now, you can keep, Matty. Th-those were a g-gift from me..." Celestina bashfully said.

"O-okay...then, shall we go now?"

"Mhm."

The two walked out of the room and headed straight for the tower's first floor.