Chapter 255 – The True Nature of Gems

Elliot remained asleep. We decided to transport him to the castle immediately and have everyone examine him.

Just then, as if perfectly timed, Lindwurm returned to the port leading our companion wyverns from the castle.

“Thank you, Lindwurm.”

Normally, Lindwurm refuses to let anyone but me ride on his back… but perhaps because this was an emergency, he allowed Ashley to ride. When I praised him and stroked the area around his nose, Lindwurm narrowed his eyes and purred.

“We’re returning to the castle. Can I count on you?”

Lindwurm nodded. I cast Levitation to carry Elliot and mounted Lindwurm. Everyone else rode their wyverns back to the castle. Upon arriving at the castle, everyone immediately gathered.

We laid Elliot down, and Claudia and Rosemary examined his forehead.

“…This is…”

“It’s not so much attached as it is embedded.”

Claudia’s eyes widened, while Rosemary frowned.

“Do you know what this gem is?”

“I… don’t know.”

When I asked, Rosemary shook her head. Judging by her reaction, Claudia seemed to know something.

“…It’s a Caex Gem. It looks like a gem, but it’s actually a type of magical creature.”

Claudia explained.

“It disrupts magical power and replaces the third eye. It blocks the mind’s eye, distorting perception and memory. That’s why it’s also called the Blind Gem.”

The third eye… I see. So that’s why it attaches to the forehead?

It certainly looks like a gem… but depending on how you look at it, it could also resemble a vertical eye.

Come to think of it, Elliot had acted as if having it on his forehead was normal. While the Caex Gem should have been the thing to hide, when his mask was removed, he was concerned about the burn scars on his face.

For Elliot, this gem probably didn’t feel particularly unnatural.

“What’s the countermeasure?”

“Since it’s blocking the proper flow of magical power—I’ve heard it can be broken through depending on the strength of the person’s own magical flow.”

“I see…”

Essentially, by increasing the momentum of the correct flow, we can push the obstruction out of the way. But… there’s something I need to confirm first.

Ashley was using magical reflection to examine Elliot’s forehead.

“…How does it look? Is the gem embedded deeper than the bone?”

I asked Ashley. If the Caex Gem appeared to reach the brain… then rash intervention would become difficult.

In that case, we’d have to abandon removing the Caex Gem itself and look for another approach.

For example, applying a Sealing Technique with the same properties as Grace’s Ring to the Gem itself, as a magical creature, to neutralize it and resolve the situation… That would probably be the direction we’d take. Even then, it should be possible to restore Elliot to his senses.

“It’s fine… I think. It might be touching the bone… but it seems to stop there.”

Ashley’s assessment seemed positive. First hurdle cleared, I suppose. Just to be sure, I also checked with Circulating Ki, and if there were no issues, we’d proceed with removing Elliot’s gem.

“Alright then, let’s begin.”

“Yes.”

I knelt beside Elliot, raised his upper body, and touched his back. Closing my eyes, I sent weak magical waves like ripples and concentrated on their reflection.

I carefully examined the forehead area, verifying whether Ashley’s assessment was correct. …Hmm. Indeed. This should work.

Next, Circulating Ki. I heightened and refined my magical power. Claudia said it could be broken through depending on magical strength… but given how Elliot, with his level of skill, was in that state, breaking through this would require considerable magical power.

So, I refined it more than usual. Circulating, circulating. I refined and heightened the flow of magical power, correcting the flow disrupted by the Caex Gem back to its proper form. Like pushing aside trees blocking a river’s flow. As excess magical power began radiating from both Elliot’s body and mine, the Caex Gem embedded in his forehead started trembling violently.

“Begone!”

I intensified my magical power—and with almost disappointingly ease, the gem was pushed out, making a dry sound as it rolled onto the floor.

The surprise came afterward. What appeared to be an ordinary gem grew what looked like claws or legs from its edges and tried to escape.

“…How persistent.”

Rosemary said this and stomped on the Gem with her toe as it tried to cross in front of her. The Gem let out a high-pitched shriek.

Rosemary seemed displeased with both the reaction and the squirming sensation under her boot, frowning with distaste.

“This… what should we do with it?”

“…It’s evidence. We’ll package it with Earth Magic and use a racial characteristic seal.”

“I see…”

Since Rosemary seemed disgusted, I decided to quickly package it and apply the Sealing Technique. While I was working on that, Ashley used Healing Magic to close the wound on Elliot’s forehead.

The forehead wound—well. Perhaps because the Healing Magic was applied quickly, it seemed it would close cleanly. I also checked once more with Circulating Ki to ensure there were no abnormalities. Elliot still hadn’t woken up… but his magical flow was now completely normal.

From the impression of his magical power, it’s like that of an ordinary sleeping person.

“First… let’s have Lord Elliot rest on a bed. We’ll need to take some time for discussion.”

Marquis Zilbolt said.

We laid Elliot on a bed. Ashley used Water Magic to fill a bucket with cold water, soaked a hand towel, and placed it on his forehead.

“Ashley, are you okay?”

Seraphina flew close to Ashley who was nursing him, and Marlene drew near. Ashley smiled and told them both she was fine.

While monitoring Elliot’s condition, we lowered our voices and began our discussion.

“How is the situation within the castle?”

“The collaborators have been captured and imprisoned. Any remaining ones should be identified soon.”

Right. The part about the collaborators possibly panicking and making moves went as expected. Accounting for the confusion and time needed for instructions, our departure for the royal capital is scheduled for the day after the ship arrives.

“Preparations for departure to the royal capital are proceeding as scheduled.”

Well, it seems the issues in the Marquis’s domain have been mostly resolved.

“The problem is Sir Elliot’s condition.”

Princess Stephania slightly furrowed her brow.

“From what I can see of his magical power, it seems like he’s just sleeping normally.”

“How long will it take for him to recover?”

“That’s the question.”

I nodded at Grace’s words. Will his memory and perception return immediately? Or will there be confusion? Depending on that, we’ll need to decide what to do with Elliot.

If he wakes up and his perception doesn’t improve immediately… for example, we could use Teleportation Magic to send him to Termwills and have him recuperate there for a while.

“We should probably observe until tomorrow morning. We just need to determine things before departure.”

Claudia said with her eyes closed.

We should contact Termwills via the Communication Device about the outcome of this incident.

“Why did Zadias target him, I wonder?”

Irmhild tilted her head.

“That is indeed questionable. Using magic on a noble’s child from another country—even if I found a Gem, I wouldn’t choose someone so risky.”

“If Zadias didn’t know his background… that might be possible.”

Rosemary tilted her head while toying with her feather fan, and Sheila responded.

I see. Did he pick him up after he lost his memory?

“That might be it. Taking advantage of his amnesia, he performed procedures to prevent memory recovery under the pretext of protecting him. That way, he’d have nowhere to return to and could keep him close. Or, even if he knew there were problems, he might have wanted to recruit him after seeing his magical talent.”

“A guard with specialized magical aptitude for Water Magic… is indeed a desirable asset.”

Being able to use healing and detoxification magic, and skilled with a sword. And as long as the Gem was functional, he wouldn’t betray. Thinking that way, it might be worth the effort… I suppose.

“Is the forehead always where the Gem is embedded?”

Grace tilted her head.

“That’s right. The position can’t be changed. Originally… it wasn’t meant for use on humans.”

According to Claudia… it seems it’s used for creatures like dragons, difficult-to-control beings, to forcibly subjugate them.

However, to subdue an opponent like a dragon with a Gem, you’d need to create a considerably large and high-performance Caex Gem.

Hmm. That mask was to hide the Gem. The burn scars were the justification. So, he probably couldn’t use the method of embedding Gems in multiple people…

“…I think I can answer some of the questions.”

While I was pondering various things, such a voice echoed through the room.

“Brother Elliot!”

Ashley’s face brightened. Elliot was lying down, staring at the ceiling as he opened his eyes.

…I had considered the possibility he might become violent, but he seemed calm. I released the Light Bind restraint, and he quietly took the hand towel placed on his forehead and sat up.

“You shouldn’t move yet…”

“It’s alright, Ashley. I don’t feel that bad. It’s like the fog in my head has cleared. Various things I’ve wondered about until now… they’ve fallen into place, so to speak.”

Elliot gave a wry smile, then turned to me and bowed deeply.

“You are Theodore-dono, correct? First, let me express my gratitude. It seems you have saved not only my life, but my mind as well.”

“Not at all. I’m just relieved you’re safe. But first, please listen to what Ashley has to say.”

When I answered Elliot like that, he widened his eyes slightly, then nodded gently.

“Ashley… I’m sorry. I’ve caused you trouble all this time.”

“…No. Welcome back.”

Ashley smiled softly and began telling her brother about what happened after he disappeared. Elliot occasionally asked questions or made responses to Ashley’s story, appearing quite composed.

With the Gem gone, the factor inhibiting memory recovery had been removed, it seemed.

“—And so, I became engaged to Theodore-sama.”

“Eh? R-really?”

Ashley’s topic turned to me. At her words, Elliot’s eyes widened. Ashley smiled gently at such an Elliot.

Elliot seemed surprised for a moment, but eventually broke into a wry smile and said.

“—Well. Congratulations, Ashley.”

“Yes!”

At her brother’s words, Ashley bloomed into a flower-like smile and nodded, then smiled at me as well.