I watch as Zara's and Alyse's swords clash again and again, my disbelief and anxiousness growing with each exchange. It's not like it's the first time that Zara has had an...err, overly exuberant sparring match with someone, and I'm sure that's what this is.
However, unlike her fights with Nina, Alto, and others, she's currently not wearing that excited, wolfish grin of hers. Instead, her teeth are gritted in apparent frustration, and even Alyse looks annoyed. The fight itself even feels more...vicious, than normal. The thing concerning me most, though, is Zara's physical state.
My eyes rake over the tattered clothes clinging to her body, noting the innumerable cuts and gashes that are leaking blood and have obviously overwhelmed her equipment's minor healing capabilities. The sight of her in such a sorry state immediately causes my heart to seize, and I subconsciously start slowing time around us as I anxiously watch the fight unfold.
"They're taking whatever this is way too far..." (Mizuki)
From our position floating invisibly in the sky, I whisper to Nina, my voice laced with concern and exasperation. I immediately feel amusement and curiosity from her in quick succession. Clearly she doesn't see the issue with this kind of rough 'play'.
"Fufufu...you worry too much about them." (Nina)
I don't have to ask to know that Alto must be included in that 'them', and I've obviously heard something similar from Alto herself. Am I guilty of being a little...attentive? Maybe.
However, growing up an only child, it's been all too easy for me to start to see Zara as a sort of surrogate little sister lately. So, it's hard for me to remain unaffected when seeing her injured like this. Call it paranoid or overprotective or whatever, but watching how Zara and Alyse are going at each other, all I can think about is how easy it'd be for one little mistake to seriously harm or kill Zara.
As if the universe can hear my thoughts, another of Alyse's strikes finds its way through Zara's guard, leaving a particularly nasty wound on her leg. Zara lets out a strangled cry as fresh blood flows, and I feel my chest tighten even further at the sight. Before I can worry too much, though, my attention snaps to Alyse's other sword - it's careening towards Zara's completely exposed side with frightening force.
I'm just calm enough to notice that the blade is rotated flat to blunt the strike, but...that doesn't make me feel any better. Has Alyse lost her mind!? That's going to shatter Zara's ribcage! What if that causes her lungs or heart to get pierced, too!? I saw something similar once on that show, Two Thousand Ways to Die!
Deciding I've seen enough, I quickly cast a forcefield around Alyse's sword as it closes in on Zara's side in slow motion, staying her hand. To my great relief, the blade is promptly halted, vibrating menacingly at its sudden loss of momentum. However, I'm far from calmed by my successful interference. If anything, I'm more than a little miffed that I actually had to intervene to keep this from happening!
What if I had returned just a few minutes later!? Would I have shown up to find Zara unconscious and barely able to breathe? Worse? It's not like there are any healers in Eden that I know of - Alto and I haven't gotten that far in our science-magic lessons together. Sure, I vaguely remember hearing that Alyse has an affinity for healing magic, but I have no idea of her actual competency with healing spells! The whole situation is unacceptable!
Suffice it to say that, by the time Zara, Alyse, and others in the surrounding area are starting to recognize the strangeness surrounding Alyse's last attack, I have thoroughly worked myself up with such thoughts of "what if".
Despite being invisible, and knowing well they can't see me, I glare at the two troublemakers below.
[What the hell, you two!?] (Mizuki)
I notice their eyes widen in surprise, and Zara starts glancing around, no doubt looking for me. Seemingly only growing more entertained by my agitation, though, Nina nudges me in the side playfully.
[Fufufufu...oh my, it seems I've missed something quite fun.] (Nina)
I turn to give her a deadpan expression.
Fun? She's kidding, right? If not, nobody should ever leave her in charge of supervising small children. Or big children. Or, maybe living things in general...
Disregarding the growing smile on my wife's otherwise lovely face, I return my attention to Zara and Alyse. Again, I'm caught off guard by the sight of Zara bleeding from numerous wounds, and my heartbeat quickens once more.
Before even Nina can register it, much less anyone else, I teleport next to Zara and drop my invisibility spell in one go, leaving Nina standing in the air on a forcefield inside an invisibility spell. Maybe it's the stress of my morning with elven royals and nobles, my concern for Zara, the knowledge that my unassuming persona is already on death row, or the goodwill I've cultivated in Eden - maybe it's all of that - but I'm not even contemplating the repercussions of exposing myself like this.
I just clasp my hand on Zara's shoulder - perhaps a little angrily - and begin healing her as rapidly as I can while glancing between her and Alyse disapprovingly. Zara's eyes widen questioningly.
"Mizuki?" (Zara)
As her wounds begin to repair themselves at a speed visible to the naked eye, the effects of my actions are as numerous as they are dramatic. Startled cries litter the surrounding crowd, followed by shocked whispering. The surprise of those around me is palpable, and there don't appear to be any exceptions.
[Mizuki!?] (Nina)
Nina's flabbergasted voice echoes in my head, and she soon materializes in the air nearby, then shakily floats herself down to stand next me. Clearly, her control over her own body's gravity is a work in progress.
She lands a couple meters away, eyeing me curiously. However, she doesn't seem concerned about my actions, and after a moment, she even begins smiling mischievously. Before I can worry too much about the meaning behind it, though, the developing situation pulls my attention elsewhere.
Alyse seems to finally snap herself out of her stunned silence, registering my presence fully. Her eyes go wide, and she hastily throws herself to a knee in front of me.
"Mizuki!" (Alyse)
I cast her a brief glance as I finish healing Zara's wounds, pursing my lips in dissatisfaction.
"Why the hell are you kneeling again? Actually, scratch that, it better be out of remorse for nearly beating Zara within an inch of her life. Aren't you, like, three hundred times her age? Have some shame..." (Mizuki)
Alyse goes pale.
"I...w-well.." (Alyse)
As she tries to stutter out an answer, I feel Zara shrug off my hand. Surprised, I turn to find her staring at me with a mildly indignant expression. Since when does she look at me like that!?
"You are exaggerating, Mizuki. My loss was not that pronounced...she barely bested me." (Zara)
I stare at her, blinking repeatedly.
Is she serious right now? She looked like she'd been pushed through a wood chipper, and she was about to donate some ribs to her kidneys before I interfered.
I give her an incredulous look before looking towards Alyse and tracing my eyes over her nearly pristine clothes, and she flinches under my scrutiny. Then, I return my gaze to Zara, doing the same to her tattered armor. When our eyes meet again, she shifts uncomfortably and clears her throat, averting her gaze. I want to press the issue further, but we're interrupted by the sound of approaching footsteps amidst the increasing whispers of the crowd.
I turn to see Alto and Alara walking hurriedly towards us. Alara is racing out in front of Alto, her forced, walk-like gait a poor attempt at concealing her obvious apprehension. Meanwhile, Alto lags slightly behind her, staring at me intently. While equally serious, her eyes are free of genuine concern, her lips instead pursed thoughtfully.
Alara walks right up to me without much ceremony, her anxious eyes locking with mine.
"Little brother, what are you doing? Everyone saw you..." (Alara)
Her eyes bore into me as she whispers so forcefully that it's nearly a normal volume, her anxiety clearly overpowering her concerns about discretion.
My lip twitches involuntarily.
Did she really just call me little brother? It's not the first time, of course, but normally she's doing it to tease me. Now, the juxtaposition of her anxiety and this poor attempt at levity nearly makes me bark with laughter.
That aside, she has a point.
I sweep my gaze around the Park to find dozens of eyes trained on me, confusion and curiosity evident on the faces of the crowd. Listening now, I can make out some of their not-so-hushed discussions.
"...sure? Maybe Lady Nedonera was responsible – she appeared right along with him. From what I saw, at most he cast a healing spell on Miss Zara. What's the big deal?" (voice 1)
"Don't you have eyes and ears, fool!? Even if that's true, there was no incantation at all for that healing spell, and I've never seen someone cast one that fast or effective. He doesn't even look tired!" (voice 2)
"So? What would you know? Elves with healing magic are rarer than you winning a duel with me, while I hear that humans are much more likely to have an affinity for it. Maybe he's skilled and he just whispered the incantation. It makes sense for an Elder Dragon to surround herself with talented people." (voice 2)
"Wait no, I actually agree with him...this doesn't make sense. I heard from my brother that Lord Mizuki is supposed to be magic-less." (voice 3)
"What!? There's no way that's true. Why would Lady Nedonera keep him around if he can't even use magic? Or, why would she lie about it if he could? Are you sure that's not just a wild rumor?" (voice 1)
"No, no...now that you mention it, I've heard that, too, from my sister in Avalon. She was at the last Royal Announcement. He's not supposed to have any magic." (voice 4)
"Woah...seriously?" (voice 1)
"See what I mean!? It's weird! Plus, have you been watching the rest of them? The Sword Goddess looked like she was kowtowing to him just now! Who treats a servant like that, even one of an Elder Dragon!?" (voice 2)
"Huh...I guess, now that you mention it, that was a little strange..." (voice 1)
As I continue to listen to these and others' bits of conversation, my brow furrows in frustration and I let out an exhausted sigh.
I really did act impulsively this time, didn't I? Would it have really been so difficult to heal Zara discreetly, or at least put a bit more effort into blaming all the magic on Nina? Where is my head at today...?
I give Alara an apologetic shrug.
"Sorry, I showed up and got a little triggered seeing Zara's condition, I guess. I didn't really think it through much, in retrospect. But...it's not that big a deal, right? Your mother is about to reveal this and way more about me to the public anyway." (Mizuki)
Hearing my words, Alara glances at Zara and seems to lose some of her severity. But she still looks back to me and shakes her head slightly, then lets out a deep sigh.
"I suppose, but this is far too messy without Mother's words and presence to calm everyone. It would have been much better to continue being discreet until the official announcement..." (Alara)
I sigh regretfully. I guess she's not wrong, but...what's done is done.
"What happened, Mizuki?" (Alto)
Alto is still staring at me with that same curious expression, but now her eyes seem to be glinting with some sort of realization. I raise my eyebrows at her.
"I told you, I just got a little carried away when I saw Zara-" (Mizuki)
Alto shakes her head.
"No, not that. I already know that you're overprotective, but still, this reaction wasn't like you. So, I'm missing something. What happened between now and the last time I saw you to put you on edge?" (Alto)
My eyes widen involuntarily.
Could that whole mess with Jorah have really bothered me more than I thought? And, is it really that obvious to everyone?
I glance around at the others, noting most of their confused expressions. The exception seems to be Nina, who is giving Alto a curious look.
Ah...so not too obvious then. It's just Alto's characteristic attention to detail. Why is she so keen like this one minute, but a seemingly clueless ditz the next? I could almost swear that she still has no idea that Alyse is thirsting after her.
Seeing that Alto, and now everyone else as well, is staring at me with an expectant expression, I scratch the back of my head and sigh defeatedly.
"Oh...I see. I guess there was an...incident, with Jorah earlier that bothered me more than I thought. I'll explain what happened later, but first..." (Mizuki)
I turn my attention to the surrounding crowd, which only seems to have grown in the past few minutes. Seeing my gaze, Alara gives me a questioning look.
"What are you going to tell them?" (Alara)
I purse my lips as I consider that very dilemma.