Priam grinned as he saw Gabrielle's surprise. The teenager looked around with wide eyes, discreetly tapping the ground with her foot.
“A spatial pocket grafted onto the tree?” she asked in French.
“It's a natural organ of Log-a-rhythm,” Priam explained. Thanks to his privileged connection with the tree, he now understood that the organ grew with the plant. That was why the walls of the spatial pocket were made of wood and sap flowed inside.
“Did it absorb a spatial fragnt? Or is it a spontaneous mutation? Perhaps an ancient bloodline?!”
Priam posed the question to the tree's instinct and was surprised by the response. “A spatial Tribulation raged here just before its birth. Log-a-rhythm was fortunate to inherit a spatial affinity.”
A Tribulation that had targeted the royal elf at the origin of the tree.
“Elysium is full of opportunities,” Gabrielle simply replied. “This space is rather large.”
Priam remained silent. The infirmary they had just entered corresponded to about a quarter of the total volu possessed by Log-a-rhythm. Above, a room three tis larger served as a hideout for non-combatants. Priam ntally thanked Hyshana for thinking to shelter them. Jasmine wasn't the only one who could take people hostage...
As Priam prepared to lower Kazuki into a bath of regenerative sap, Gabrielle intervened.
“His wounds are open; he risks bleeding out if we put him in a bath.”
“This sap is thicker than water,” Priam pointed out. “He’ll lose so blood but not much.”
Gabrielle shrugged. “If you're sure there's no danger…”
Priam exchanged a glance with Hyshana, who shook her head. “Yeah, it's better not to take any risks,” he acknowledged.
ntally, Priam instructed Log-a-rhythm to replace the sap bath with a reclining chair. Hyshana and he gently lowered Kazuki onto it. The hoplite weakly grunted when his thighs touched the wood. Even as the blood loss should have rendered him unconscious, the warrior clung on thanks to Micro.
A bowl of regenerative sap descended from the ceiling, and Priam handed it to Hyshana, who applied it to her husband's wounds. Priam studied his friend before furrowing his brow.
“Sothing is blocking his vitality.”
“His wounds are slightly contaminated by a Concept, which disrupts natural regeneration,” Gabrielle explained.
A dangerous gleam lit up Hyshana's eyes. “The bitc—” She glanced at the teenager before coughing. “Did Eleha try to cripple Kazuki?”
Gabrielle shook her head.
“She doesn't have the appropriate Concepts for that. Plague, corruption, necrosis, disease, sadness, misfortune... These kinds of Concepts can be terrible, but the Aelbes don't possess these legacies. Here, we just see a side effect of high-level combat.”
Gabrielle's explanation contained interesting information, but Priam was concerned about his friend's health.
“Concretely, what does this an for Kazuki?”
“The higher Tier a Concept is, the more it tends to permanently alter the world—to pollute it. There are traces of one of Eleha's Concepts in the wound, which will make healing more complicated.”
“Will he be able to walk again?” Hyshana asked. Kazuki raised his head with difficulty, and Priam saw fear in his eyes. The Hoplite Champion feared nothing except helplessness.
Gabrielle imdiately reassured the worried warrior. “You'll heal! Ambient aether is already breaking down the pollution. In a few days, no trace of the Concept will be left. I'm only here to accelerate the healing with so ointnts and decoctions.”
As Hyshana and Kazuki shared a sigh of relief, Priam turned to Gabrielle.
“If you can help my friend, you’ll have my permission to use the Auctions,” he promised.
“Thank you so much!” Gabrielle exclaid, bowing.
Priam raised his hand. “No need to bow. Do you need the Auctions to help Kazuki?”
“I have everything on , but I need a workspace to mix the ingredients.”
With a thought, Priam asked Log-a-rhythm to grow a wooden table. As Gabrielle took out various powders from her satchel to work, Priam leaned towards Hyshana.
“I'm going to talk to the tribes about their request for access to the Auctions. Do you have an opinion?”
Hyshana replied without taking her eyes off her husband. “Don't let your anger dictate your actions. You're the Lord of Oasis, and its inhabitants rely on you.”
“... Are you asking to forgive Eleha's tribe? After what she did to Kazuki?”
Hyshana shook her head. “No, that would send a ssage of weakness. I'm just advising you to use this incident to our advantage and get the best possible conditions. So that my husband's blood didn't spill for nothing.”
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