–While still lost in his thoughts over what happened earlier, Daimon soon arrived at the room where the Duchess was resting, how did he know it, well, Daphne was waiting for him outside with a somewhat worried expression on her pretty face.
The first princess of the Mermen Sea, was despite her incapacity to speak, able to communicate quite easily, at least for those who knew her like Mellie, Chris and lately Daimon.
Her green eyes which had a blue shade, her face and other gestures where the way she communicated with others and right now Daimon could see her being worried about her mother, when she was happy not too long ago when they returned.
"Don't put that face, you saw that sudden surge of darkness mana right, that was miss Bell recovering enough to not die due to her curse anymore", said Daimon as he patted Daphne's shoulder a couple of times.
Daphne's eyes sparkled, though Daimon didn't directly say it, how could she not understand the meaning behind his works, "If she could recover, then why wouldn't your mother be the same", of course that also meant that he was willing to help.
She sweetly smiled at Daimon and then opened the door to drag him inside of her mother's room.
Daimon didn't mind Daphne's enthusiasm, he instead evaluated his surroundings, the room was filled with the smell of medicine, now, Daimon's senses are incredibly sharp, that includes his nose, so he could actually recognize some of the herbs used in the medicine that was used in this room.
Of course, he could smell other… things, like the natural fragrance of the Duchess who was sitting on the edge of her bed, drinking a potion which Chris handed her, or the Mermen princess who was standing quite close to him, but he ignored it, being thankful for all the years of "practice" which he lived through by being surrounded by Erin and the others, practically 24/7.
"So, the origin of the problem isn't physical, could you explain me what happened?", said Daimon to the Duchess who just finished drinking a potion.
"Mm, my body is fine, but I have been feeling mentally tired lately, could because I was worried about a couple of little girls, I should be fine now, but just in case I took a few Serene Breeze potions as well as some drops of the three-colored water you gave me", said the Duchess.
The potion she mentioned had the capacity to relieve the mind, mages tend to get stressed rather easily, so these kinds of potions are a must, of course there are other ways to avoid it, the classic alcohol, debauchery, money or violence are a daily sight in the world of magic, but naturally the Duchess has no inclination to such things, so it is normal to conclude that she has just been too busy with all that has been happening lately.
And Daimon would have reached the same conclusion, if it wasn't for the fact that he knew how effective should the three-colored water be to soothe the mind, the fact that the Duchess has drank it over the past days and she is still in a somewhat affected state, means that this isn't a simple headache caused by overworking.
On the other hand, he couldn't perceive anything bad from her, which again even not having information could be intel by itself, and there is something that has been bothering Daimon for quite some time.
"From the outside I don't see any problem, miss Annete asked me to take a look, but it ultimately depends on you, since I will have to use an eye spell and probably mana sense", he said.
The previous is the reason as to why, doctors and healers that tend to noble women are always females, most of the times a much deep check is needed, so it's impossible to not see or even touch in some cases.
Of course, if there is no option then there is no use to complain, and those who are dying don't have the right to be picky, but this situation is not like that, so the choice is up to the Duchess.
"No problem, Chris, Daphne, please leave the room for a moment", calmly said the Duchess, those two stared at each other for a couple of seconds before they left the room.
Once they left, the Duchess turned to see Daimon as she offered her hand to him, to check one's body contact of some kind was needed after all.
"Here you go", she said.
Daimon nodded and then grabbed her wrist as he extended his mana sense through her body, of course his mana sense wasn't strong enough to view everything, but the idea was to see if there was something related to either Nethereals or a system user affecting the Duchess.
"I have been wondering, since I saw that small scar on her neck, but was Daphne always incapable of talking?", asked Daimon as he inspected the body of the Duchess looking for any anomality.
"Oh, did that little girl show you that, I guess it should be expected given how close you two have gotten", mumbled the Duchess.
Daimon nodded, the first time when Daphne stayed with them in the cave after he lent her a hand, she kept that pendant she used to cover the scar on her neck, but later she stopped minding to cover it in front of him, Daimon didn't really pay attention to it which is something Daphne liked about him, other people always glared at the scar on her neck which is why she started using something to cover it.
"It was an accident during her birth… the one who was responsible for it was executed personally by me, but the damage was done and since she was too little, she couldn't take a pill nor a potion strong enough to help her recover, by the time she grew enough it was too late, the mana circuits she lost had scarred and it was impossible to regenerate them without having to cut too deep, her life will be in danger and there is no way to tell if it will even work", said the Duchess with a gloomy voice.
Medicine that can regenerate lost parts is quite strong, and often comes with side effects like temporary weakness, Daphne was a newborn baby so her body wouldn't have been able to endure the process, basically it was her voice or her life, so the Duchess accepted the blame and took the decision.
That being said, never has Daphne showed any resentment towards her mother, this subject is something that has caught Daimon's attention, there are alchemists who brew potions and create pills, there are doctors who diagnose, apply or distribute said pills, or healers that can help others regrow limbs or cure sickness, but the knowledge people in this world had regarding surgery and the like is way too scarce.
Probably because they can just drink something to cure themselves, or receive a healing spell and that's it, it's a cultural difference, on the other hand it probably has to do with the fact, that the ones who can see mana circuits are really, really few, since they aren't physical unlike nerves which can be avoided to mess up with as long as the medic is careful and trained.
Every person has different mana circuits, located in different positions, arrangements and places, one mistake and that person might lose the capacity to circulate mana through that part of the body, if it is a main circuit, then forget about magic, there will be a life danger by itself as the body won't be able to properly process mana.
"I see, well, magic herbs, potions or pills that can cure broken or missing mana circuits are certainly really hard to come by and so it an alchemist that can process them, but there is a certain person back in my galaxy who might be able to help, if the Duchess doesn't have a problem, we can give it a try after all this ends", said Daimon as he finished his diagnose.
The Duchess's eyes glowed for a second, the prices of treasures needed for something like that and the payment for an alchemist to do the job, would be insanely high, and yet she didn't see even the slightest tinge of falsehood or doubt on the face of the silver haired youth that has been breaking any kind of common sense ever since she met him.
"I agree with one condition… you call sister Annete and even senior Aurora by their names, but I am still the "Duchess", even when my daughter is staying in the same bed as you, that doesn't sound fair", she jokingly said.
Daimon bitterly smiled in response, to then say.
"To be honest, I only know your last name, which is weird now that I think about it, even miss Annete calls you "sister Valas", nor have I heard anyone mentioning it before".
"Ah right, I had forgotten that you aren't a native of Neptune, my name was given to me by my mother while my last name came from my father, I stopped using my name due to a family drama with my mother, but at this point she is dead so there is no real reason to keep the act, let me present myself again, I'm Grace Valas, the current Matriarch and Duchess of the Valas family", she said as she rose the sides of her dress, it was a comical situation, since she was sitting and Daimon was still holding her hand and running his mana sense through her body, which meant he was practically seeing everything.
"A pleasure", said Daimon as he retrieved his hand, Rita had also scanned her with her mana sense, and said the results out loud for both Daimon and Grace to hear them.
"It was as you expected Daimon, she isn't sick nor fatigated or wounded, it was really hard to notice but a curse to affect her mind was used on her a long time ago", said the undead head maid from within Daimon's shadow.
"Nethereals?", asked Daimon just to see Rita's head peek out of his shadow as she shook it in response.
"No, but it was a really strong and perfectly executed curse, I wouldn't have noticed if she wasn't in her current state of affectation, her life isn't in any danger and the curse had a one time effect, so she isn't influenced or anything, she is just suffering a side effect that causes her to lose focus, receiving the favor of the young master prevented her from losing her capacity to use magic, so she should be thankful for that", said Rita, referring to the three-colored water that Grace has been drinking practically at all times since this started.
Daimon chuckled as he gazed at Grace to then ask.
"Any suspects?".
"Well, I had fought against the Skelefiends and pirates quite a few times, some of them used curses, or illusions so it might have been them… that ungraceful mother of mine was also adept in illusion magic and I wouldn't be surprised if she casted them on me more than once, since she cheated on my father regularly, I might have caught her a few times so she made me forget about it, or something, if that's the case I'm better not remembering about it", said the Duchess as she shrugged.
Daimon shook his head, the last option had some credibility, being the target of illusions with ill intentions from a young age by a way stronger mage, will leave a mark for sure, in any case the three-colored water will get rid of this secondary effect without any problem, it's worth mentioning that Grace would have suffered quite a bit if it wasn't for Daimon, because the three-colored water is basically the best mind-cleansing thing that exists in Neptune, and probably in the four galaxies as well, but its efficiency depends on purity and amount.
And she wouldn't have been able to obtain the amount and quality needed, from the Minister even if she was to use her authority as the Duchess of the most important territory, when it comes to mineral resources in the Mermen Sea.
Seeing Daimon preparing to leave, the Duchess gazed at Daimon for a second before giving him a storage ring.
"That's the gift I mentioned to you back then, take care of that little girl for me during the global raid~", she said with a bright smile on her face, something that was rare to see on Grace, who is usually stern contrary to her daughter.
"I will, she is my friend after all", said Daimon as he left the room, those two saw him nodding at them.
"She is fine, just a remaining side effect of an old "wound", it will disappear in a couple of days, I'll check on her then", he said.
"Thanks", said Chris, while Daphne smiled at Daimon, that was a thanks from her.
As Daimon walked back to his room, Rita who was comfortably swimming in Daimon's shadow, couldn't help but notice her young master being lost in his thoughts.
'Is there something bothering you, Daimon?', she asked, she tried to call him by his name as much as possible since it was part of the reward she requested, Daimon didn't mind so there was no problem at all.
'I have told you about the missions I get, right', said Daimon.
'Mm, they are quite often related to women', answered Rita which nearly made Daimon trip.
'Ahem, only the last one, but yes, I don't believe in coincidences, there is a high chance that among the friends I made in Neptune, they are mostly related to my missions, since "heroes" were involved', said Daimon.
'I see, well, as long as they remain at Daimon's side, I'm pretty sure they will be fine', mumbled Rita.
Daimon chuckled, Rita has become much more talkative lately, she is also more human-like and refined compared to Horals, not only in appearance but in personality as well.
'Oh well, there is point in trying to force it, the first "gem" requirement was met quite fast, but then the legacy took quite a while, we'll see how it goes at the global raid', thought Daimon.
Bell turned out to be part of the requirement for the legacy as far as he understood, whatever the case, those girls won't be leaving any time soon.
…
The rest of the morning went on pretty much uneventful, for Daimon at least, he took it as a rest, since everything will start at the royal ball later, so besides resting in his room and chatting with Aisha and the others nothing else happened.
And before anyone noticed, the sun had started to leave the sky, the citizens were out in the streets having their own celebrations and the flying ships started to arrive at the royal ports of the main continent managed by the White family.
Naturally, seeing the representatives from the pirates, Skelefiends and even magic beasts from the Mermen Sea that had taken a temporary human form, but were using full body armor, drew some animosity from the people, since they were all enemies of the Mermen Sea.
Conflicts would have normally been unavoidable, if not for the fact that there were members of the army, wearing the emblem of the Trident Marshal, watching over both sides, ready to act the moment anyone tried anything.
"Heh, it seems like the king of this place isn't exactly the one ruling, don't you agree old Claw?", asked a tall man with a long black beard, at a mummified figure, they were nothing less than Blackbeard and Horrorclaw themselves, who were inside the same carriage.
"I don't care, that woman still has my fiancée captive and that old man has been kicking my ass, demanding an explanation", said Horrorclaw, referring to Armando.
In what the world regarded, Shirel was still imprisoned somewhere by Annete, which is in part why Horrorclaw had stopped all kind of aggressions towards the Mermen Sea.
"Hahaha, well, if the Mermen king can ask for a diplomatic meeting with even the magic beasts from the Maelstrom Sea, I don't see why a new agreement can't be reached, as long as I receive enough benefits, peace doesn't sound bad", said the pirate as he leaned backwards on his seat, naturally as his eyes and mocking expression suggested, he wasn't being serious at all.
Leaving the enemies aside, Daimon who had finished preparing left his room and walked towards the living room, there everyone was gathered.
"Let's go, to where all the currents are converging", he said.
Vincent nodded and then he tapped the ground with his staff, creating a portal that dragged all the presents into it.
