After hearing Ahri"s loud shout, many of the fox-kin warriors rushed forward and carried Caesar"s collapsed body into the troll stronghold. They pa.s.sed by the shattered gate, burning buildings, and broken roads until they reached the palace.Many injured fox-kin were already present, lying down on an a.s.sortment of blankets being bandaged and attended to, however, the warriors carried Caesar past the hall and brought him into a secluded and quiet room.
The room looked quite luxurious with white painted walls, a large bed with a few dozen pillows, and a burgundy carpet that was pleasing to the eye. The warriors set Caesar down on to the bed and quietly exited the room, leaving Ahri alone with him.
She pulled out a nearby chair, sat down, and rested her head on Caesar"s chest. She had ordered a few of the medicine-savvy fox-kin to bring her their famous medical paste, however, she feared that they would be too late.
Thus, she used her warm mana to enter into Caesar"s chest region and invigorate his heart. She was careful as to not harm his body and aggravate his magical affinity, as such, she once again brought warmth back to Caesar"s body.
Once his heart regained its vitality, Ahri flipped his body and tore off his armor and clothes. His naked body was soon showcasing itself, along with his scars and wounds. As someone who had long seen his naked body, she was not embarra.s.sed in the least. Instead, she frowned slightly as she rubbed Caesar"s back.
Her soft touch caressed him for a few moments before she decided to pull out a needle and rip some of her dress, to create a string. She attached the string to the needle, warmed the tip, and began st.i.tching Caesar"s wounds.
She was often followed by a large band of maids, as such, she had picked up quite a few skills such as st.i.tching and knitting. Her hands were meticulous as they moved through his pale skin and small beads of sweat fell from her forehead.
Treating someone"s wounds was tedious, let alone, someone you loved. The fear of one misstep was enough for even the skillful Ahri to take it slow. She continued like this for around half an hour until she was finally complete.
After admiring his closed wounds for a few moments, the door was suddenly pushed open and a few maids walked inside. Their hands were filled with a small vial and a large number of bandages. They subtly glanced at the naked Caesar for a split second before handing Ahri the necessary supplies and rushing out of the room with blushes on their faces.
Ahri didn"t mind their rude glimpses and immediately started attending to Caesar. She was possessive of her lover, however, such petty jealous would have to wait until he was off of his death-bed.
As such, she proceeded to rub the contents of the vial over the st.i.tched wounds on both his back and chest before tightly wrapping him up in some bandages. After she was finished, she soaked a piece of cloth and cleaned his body.
She wiped him clean and once again sat at the edge of the bed. Her eyes gazed sadly at Caesar"s face, she knew that it was her fault that he was in such a mess. If she had never asked for his help, perhaps, he wouldn"t have had to suffer.
Such thoughts irked Ahri and she soon started to blame herself. Suddenly, the door opened once again and this time, both Falthor and Faust entered. Their expressions were calm as they stated, "we are going to gather the retreated citizens and bring them here, for the time being, it would be severe if they encountered the retreated trolls" Falthor said with a bow.
Ahri nodded her head in response, she felt that his words made some sense so she allowed it and waved them off. Since Caesar was currently incapacitated, she was the highest ranking person amongst the fox-kin since Musashi wasn"t present.
After thanking her and exchanging formalities, both Falthor and Faust exited the room, bringing silence and peace once again. Ahri glanced at the door and Caesar for a few moments before standing up and locking the door.
She then glanced at the ominous scythe to the side of Caesar, as if it refused to leave him. She thought about placing it somewhere else, but soon decided against it and walked toward the edge of the bed. She then disrobed herself and snuck under the covers, wrapping herself around Caesar.
Her tails and ears seemed to coil around him and provide his body the extra warmth it required. Of course, such an action wasn"t necessary, however, Ahri wanted to do everything in her power to heal him.
Like this, a few days quickly went by, the fox-kin recovered their citizens, restarted agriculture, and began to make the troll-stronghold theirs. Of course, the furbolgs, kobolds, and gnomes were of a.s.sistance. After all, they were all apart of one clan now.
Ahri was the current commander in chief, and all difficult decisions had to be pa.s.sed by her to be implemented, but at the moment, she was currently sleeping nude with the unconscious Caesar. Her body and tails tightly wrapped around him as if she was protecting some kind of valuable object.
Without one mishap, Ahri had been the one to personally wash and redress all of Caesar"s wounds. She slept with him at night and sat with him during the day. She even used her mana to help revitalize some of his body.
As if they were inseparable, she never left him. Solidifying the fact that they were, indeed, a couple. Although they did have their little fights during their stay at the fox-kin stronghold, their love for each other was undeniable.
That night, however, a small change occurred. Caesar"s eyes gently fluttered as he opened his eyes with much effort. His piercing red eyes seemed to be a bit dimmer than normal as he surveyed his current surroundings.
He wasn"t even required to look under the covers to know whose body was currently coiled around him, instead, he simply smiled slightly and went back to sleep. His body had great regenerative abilities, but the pain still persisted.
The next morning, Ahri woke up and noticed her body was in Caesar"s embrace. Shocked, she looked up and bared witness to Caesar"s gentle gaze. Tears welled up in her eyes as she easily broke his grasp and hugged him tightly.
"I-I thought I would never get to see you again," she wailed indiscernibly as she rubbed her face into Caesar"s chest. A slight frown appeared on his face from the stinging pain, but he didn"t stop Ahri. He too thought that he would never get to see her again.
They continued like this for a few minutes until Ahri backed off, "Joe and Akari had been worried about you for days, I"m going to go inform them that you"re now awake!" she said excitedly and rushed out of the room with a hop in her skip.
After she closed the door, Caesar"s gentle expression disappeared as he glanced to the scythe on his right. He possessed a dark premonition that this scythe was sentient and that its previous master happened to be hated by the entire human and angel races.
"Sigh, is this a blessing, or perhaps, is it a curse?" Caesar whispered quietly before placing his head back on the pillow and looking up at the ceiling. Whether it was a blessing or not, his fate was now intertwined with the scythe that he had randomly picked up from the dwarven treasury.