Chapter 164: Finally Some Answers – Part 1

POV Betty

“Hurry up, she's waiting for us!” Betty

I urged the boys forward toward Eleonore's hospital room, or Leo for short. The thought of how much Leo resisted her full name brought a smile to my face. I had only known her for a few weeks, but in that time she had grown very dear to me.

I remembered the time after we found her half dead outside the city. We had just suffered another defeat in the Colosseum and were desperate. The death of our companion had also shaken us deeply, and we were on the verge of giving up. To distract ourselves and think in peace, we had left the noisy city.

There we followed the road north and spotted some predators in the distance, approaching something on the ground. Curious, we approached and realized that the something was a person. The loss was still fresh in my heart, and I was suddenly overcome with fear of loss. I couldn't bear the feeling of losing someone else. It didn't matter that I probably didn't even know the person lying there. I didn't know if they were still alive, but that didn't matter. I had to help them.

So I called out to the other two and ran off. I heard them cursing behind me and then following me. As I got closer, I realized that they were hyena-like animals. They were cowardly and easily scared off by noise. So I shouted loudly and made as much noise as possible. This caused the animals to retreat and watch us from a greater distance.

I immediately knelt down next to the person to examine them. They were wrapped in a hooded cloak that looked very worn. One sleeve was pushed up, revealing that the person was quite thin. Their skin was very dark and showed no visible injuries. I leaned closer and could hear faint breathing. Luckily, they were still alive.

“Bishop, I need you here! They’re still breathing!” Betty

My companion was a Lumos priest from the Empire. I didn’t know his real name, nor did I know the real names of my other companion. But that was part of our agreement. We worked together and our past remained exclusively with the person concerned. Therefore, the two of them knew nothing about me except that I was a former prostitute and had to flee my hometown. The two of them passed through the city on their journey south and were willing to take me in. Several months had passed since then and we had formed a party.

That's why I didn't know the reasons why Bishop had left the church and thus the empire, but that was now our good fortune. As a result, he was skilled in healing magic and well versed in medicine in general. Meanwhile, Duke watched the animals and kept watch. A short time later, Bishop spoke up.

“I have healed her superficial injuries. She is unconscious, but at least she is not in mortal danger. I need more time for further treatment. However, I wonder what an elf is doing in this place.” Bishop

“An elf? What is that?” Betty

“It's not surprising that you don't know about them, but I assumed they would be better known here in the southern city-states. I only know about them because I went to church. Otherwise, they only exist as slaves in the Empire.” Bishop

“As slaves?” Betty, shocked

"Yes. The Empire supports slavery, but only for races that are not human. So you would also be at risk." Bishop

“It's a good thing I never planned to go there. Now I'm even less inclined to do so.” Betty, disgusted

"Back to the elves. Elves are a race that is said to live far to the east, where the great mountains rise into the sky. They are most recognizable by their long, pointed ears. Here, see?" Bishop

Bishop pulled the hood off the person's head, which had been covering their face. I immediately saw the long, pointed ears. While my ears were of normal length and pointed, theirs were visibly longer. I also realized that this was a young woman. I guessed she was about my age. I could also see that she must have been beautiful, if you ignored her current condition. She was terribly malnourished. Her cheeks were sunken and her lips were chapped.

"Other than that, I don't know much about elves. Among them are fearsome fighters as well as talented magicians. Their cities are unknown. There have been repeated expeditions to the east, but none of the scouts have returned. Armed punitive expeditions found only small villages inhabited mainly by beastfolk. In addition to a very few elves, there were also other races such as dwarves and other small folk. But there were always only a few, and most preferred to sacrifice themselves rather than be taken captive. Do you have any water with you?" Bishop

I immediately reached for my belt and took out my water hose. Then I turned her onto her back and laid her head on my lap. I opened the water hose and held it to her lips. Although she was unconscious, she gulped the water greedily. So greedily, in fact, that she choked.

“Slowly, very slowly. No one is taking anything away from you.” Betty

I stroked her hair with my other hand and she visibly relaxed. She seemed to regain consciousness briefly, because she continued to swallow slowly. A short time later, however, her strength left her and she lost consciousness again. As she stopped swallowing, the water ran down her head. I stopped and looked at her closely. I had the feeling she looked a little healthier.

“We should take her into town. It's too dangerous out here. The blood on her clothes will attract more animals.” Duke

“I'll carry her. Just keep those creatures away from me.” Bishop

“I will. You know I always do. Duke

“You can flirt later. She needs urgent care.” Betty

“You’re one to talk. You were practically undressing her with your eyes. I didn’t know you were interested in women too.” Bishop

“Oh, shut up. I don't know what I feel myself right now, but I know she needs our help. Let's go!” Betty, embarrassed

“Yes, ma'am!” Duke and Bishop

That's how it was back then. Leo didn't look healthy at all, and yesterday was also a shock at first. But the joy that she was still alive outweighed everything else. I was convinced that she had been killed in the fight against the Minotaur. We should never have fought him. Although our levels were good enough to fight him with the four of us, we should have made the safer choice. Leo was the strongest of us according to her status, but she was still too weak and hadn't fully recovered. The battle in the Colosseum and her impressive performance had deceived us and made us believe that nothing would happen. How wrong we were. We almost lost another comrade because of it. I wouldn't have been able to cope mentally, and the last few days had indeed been overshadowed by doubt and grief. But that was over now. She had survived, and that was the main thing. But we all had to apologize and ask for forgiveness. That was the least we could do.

“Betty, we're here. You can stop pondering, or do you want her to greet you with wrinkles on her face?” Bishop

“What, oh, already? All right, take a deep breath first and then go in. You two know what you have to do? She deserves at least an honest apology.” Betty

“Of course, that's the least we can do. Who do you think we are? Dishonorable scoundrels with no honor in our bodies? Besides, you've been nagging us about it since yesterday." Duke

“Let it go, Duke. I can understand her. We misjudged the situation with the maze and almost had to pay dearly for it. Fortunately, we were spared that. Let's just accept that we all, not just Leo, were very lucky.” Bishop

“Do you think I don't know that? I'm the leader of our group, so the responsibility for our failure lies with me. I did everything wrong and almost caused another death.” Duke

“Don't be too hard on yourself. We all supported the decision and are therefore equally responsible. Now give yourself a break from your self-reproach and let's face Leo. We shouldn't burden her with our mental stress.” Bishop

“You're right, as usual. Thanks.” Duke

“You're welcome.” Bishop

“Come on now. Leo is waiting for us.” Betty

I opened the door to Leo's room. She was sitting on a chair looking out the window. The view was uneventful, however, as all you could see was the wall of the neighboring house. The window was open and the sounds of the city drifted into the room. At this time of day, the streets were very lively. A gentle breeze was blowing, bringing with it the warmth of the morning. It was only the fourth month, but it was never cold here. Even in winter there was no snow, and in summer it was already hot. Especially when the wind came from the southwest, blowing in from the great desert.

I had just opened the door and saw Leo when she turned to us. She looked better than yesterday. Apparently she had gotten enough to eat and had slept well. Her bandages had been freshly changed and were clean. She was obviously not bleeding. That reassured me. Nevertheless, she looked very fragile, even though I knew she wasn't.

After we found her and she had recovered, we had enlisted the services of the mercenary guild and checked her status. In Hartdome City, there were three guilds that offered this service for a fee if you were a member: the mercenaries, the hunters, and the explorers. We had registered with the mercenary guild at the time, which was a coincidence. It could have been the other two. The three guilds were equal but had different roles in the city. The Mercenary Guild was tasked with managing the Colosseum, while the Explorer Guild was responsible for the labyrinth. The Hunter Guild, in turn, dealt with the dangers lurking outside the city walls. The system of three guilds was established at that time so that no single guild was responsible for everything and thus wielded too much power.

Her status at the time was a surprise. With level 50 and numerous skills to further increase her physical abilities, she was significantly stronger than the three of us. Leo was by far the most powerful of all the people whose status I knew. And she had impressive endurance. And strong abs. The thought of it made me blush. I had to think of something else urgently before the others noticed.

So I wondered what had happened to her before we found her. Unfortunately, she had memory loss at the time and couldn't remember anything about her past. So we knew nothing about her. That's why I was very surprised when the doctor mentioned yesterday the possibility of amnesia due to her head injury. Could you suffer from several at the same time? I hoped that wasn't true. Because the only thing she could forget was the short time we had spent together. The thought of that made me sad.

“Hello, Leo. How are you today? As promised, I brought the two men with me.” Betty