Chapter 24: Her Highness Is Fired Up

The fresh seafood porridge, smooth as suet jade, exuded a profound allure. Combined with the demon Fim’s ability to amplify senses, Mino felt his entire being craving the soft, sweet, and savory liquid.

Gulp!

He swallowed hard.

Altotai, the sword on his back, broke into a cold sweat. Sensing disaster, it cried out, "My master, stay strong! You are the indomitable hero of humanity; think of those behind you, your country, your family!"

"Family..." Mino wavered, his eyes drifting into memory, a nostalgic smile touching his lips.

Tears, unbidden, streamed from the corner of his mouth.

"Come to think of it, whenever I was sick, mother used to make me porridge..."

Damn it!

Altotai wanted to slap itself. It had backfired!

"Don't worry, Altotai." Mino soon wiped the drool from his mouth. "Though my sense of taste has recovered a little, I won't succumb to torture just because of a little craving..."

As a hero of both wisdom and courage, he understood the key to enduring this ordeal. Beyond the porridge and the demon's power, the crux of his wavering resolve lay in the mental toll of his illness. But once he recovered, everything else would cease to be a problem!

His gaze gradually cleared as a pleasant chime echoed in his ears.

Ten minutes had passed. He had survived the first stage of the mission!

[First stage of the torture mission complete. Reward: One "Healing" at a critical moment. Activate now?]

It was here, finally!

Mino's eyes lit up, and without hesitation, he chose to activate the "Healing"!

...

Inside the Royal Palace of the Capital.

"Princess Callia, this is freshly made seafood porridge. Won't you have some?"

The head maid looked at the princess before the mirror with heartache. Despite the exquisite makeup, the sickly pallor on her face could not be concealed. Fearing that the frail Princess Callia might collapse during her speech, she pleaded piteously.

Callia clutched her body, shivering slightly from the cold, but shook her head firmly. "Fasting before the ceremony is a fixed procedure and custom. As a member of the royal family, I must lead by example. I cannot face my people, who are standing hungry in the cold wind, with a full stomach; it would be a defilement of the ceremony..."

"But if this continues, you might be the one to collapse first," the head maid, Ruth, said anxiously.

The citizens were already worried seeing Princess Callia in such a state. If she were to collapse mid-speech, it would cause mass panic.

That would be a heavy blow to both the royal family and the nation.

"Believe in me, Ruth. I won't let that happen." Callia offered a sweet smile, a sense of resolve rising on her pale face. "Even if I have to pay with my life—"

Callia struggled to stand, a flush of color appearing on her face. Tears welled in the head maid's eyes.

Her Highness was going to risk her very body to finish this speech. This state, resembling a final flicker of life, was proof enough. Just standing up seemed to be burning away her life like a candle in the wind.

Callia walked step by step, the flush spreading across her face, fighting to suppress her sickly pallor.

The head maid burst into tears. The Princess was still burning...

Callia lifted her skirt and began to trot, a healthy glow covering her face.

The head maid covered her mouth, trying her best to stifle her sobs.

The next moment, Callia started running—she was moving with the agility of a bird!

The head maid was stunned.

Did Her Highness just explode with vitality?!

"It's truly incredible..." Callia held her skirt, her expression filled with indescribable joy. "Ruth, look! My illness seems to have vanished. I feel wonderful!"

The head maid walked up in disbelief and examined her closely. She found that not only had Princess Callia recovered, but she was also radiant with health, looking better than she ever had in her normal state.

It was as if she had experienced a "Healing" blessed by a goddess!

"Wonderful, simply wonderful..." The head maid was so excited she was incoherent. At such a critical moment, Princess Callia's body had been healed.

"This is truly a miracle under the goddess's favor!" she couldn't help but pray in gratitude.

"No."

Callia touched the simple, white ivory necklace on her chest, the corners of her mouth curling slightly.

Mino had given her this when she was ill. He had told her never to yield to the pain of sickness, that hope would always arrive.

Now, hope had truly come...

"This must be Brother Mino looking after me..."

...

"Eh?"

Back in the Demon King's castle, Mino lay on his sickbed, utterly bewildered.

He felt the scorching heat within his body. Ruling out the possibility that he was actually burning up, it seemed his illness had gotten worse without food?

What happened to the promised healing? Damn it, why didn't he feel anything at all?

Looking at the grayed-out reward, Mino began to doubt reality.

Could it be... that he was actually already healed?

Yes, perhaps his current sensation was just a lingering illusion of the illness. With his doubts slightly dispelled, Mino felt a surge of spirit and did a kip-up, leaping straight off the bed!

"My master?!"

"Ahaha, I am cured! Watch me, no illness, just walking—I'm walking... Ouch."

With a thud, Mino's legs gave out, his walking attempt failed, and he collapsed to the floor.

As they say, practice is the sole criterion for testing truth. Mino pushed himself up from the ground with a solemn face and reached a rigorous conclusion.

This illness isn't healed at all, damn it!

"Mino, quick, lie down."

Fim helped Mino back to the bedside, her eyes full of pity, as if she thought Mino had truly burned out his brain.

"Come, drink."

The steaming seafood porridge was brought before Mino, exuding a mouth-watering aroma.

Mino's face turned ashen as he looked at the white porridge and Fim’s angelic smile.

It couldn't be this "Healing," could it?

To drink, or not to drink, that is the question...

...

On the city walls of the Kingdom.

Watching Princess Callia appear before them, a glimmer of light seemed to emerge in the citizens' dull eyes.

A silver-white long dress shimmered with the morning light, swaying gently with her footsteps.

Princess Callia’s silk-smooth golden hair draped over her shoulders, and a small diamond crown rested upon her head, making her exquisite face look exceptionally noble.

Callia walked to the edge of the wall, her hands, wrapped in white silk gloves, clasped before her chest. A serene and peaceful expression graced her features, as if she had just been blessed by a goddess.

Seeing this, the citizens felt as if a warm spring breeze had brushed over their hearts, firmly healed by that dignified and pure figure...

That was the pearl of the Kingdom, the Second Princess, Callia.