Picking up where we left off, everyone arrived at a stall surrounded by children.
Vigard: Oh ho, soldiers, you must form a proper formation to earn the Yalda candy reward.
The children then lined up.
Paimon: What a strange hat, what a strange person.
Children: Ooh, it's Dina-jie!
The children turned around and said excitedly.
Vigard: Hahaha... Miss Dina, your appeal is even stronger than Yalda candy. In just these few days of preparing for The Sabzeruz Festival, the children have all grown fond of you.
Dina: Ahem... Ah, Holy Flower Knight, it is truly an honor that you know my name!
Paimon: Hmm... Has he already gotten into character?
Vigard: Ah... ah, ahem... Yo ho, of course! In the name of Faris, the Flower Knight, I commend your contributions to the great Flower God's Festival.
Then he turned to the children who were still in line and said, "Alright, little soldiers, take your Yalda candy rewards, keep your loyalty to Lesser Lord Kusanali, and you are dismissed!"
Children: Yes! Loyalty! Flower Knight.
Qixuan: (Telepathically: It seems Lesser Lord Kusanali is still very popular.)
Nahida: (Hehe... Thank you.)
Paimon: What kind of play is this?
Dina: Hehe, Faris, the Flower Knight, is also a symbol of The Sabzeruz Festival. It's just that the person who used to play the Flower Knight would sit on a float and was very popular with children.
Vigard: Thanks to Miss Dina's sponsorship, the children's childhoods can be filled with such interesting memories.
Dina: You've worked hard too, Vigard.
Vigard: Not at all, not at all. Oh, by the way, would you like some Yalda candy? It's a specialty of the festival. I've prepared some candy boxes here. See which one you want to choose.
Paimon: Which one? Hmm... Don't they all look the same?
Vigard: Haha, that's where the fun is. Each box contains a random flavor. It's all up to luck. The flavors include Sumeru Rose, Spicy Stew, Sunsettia...
Paimon: Sounds good...
Vigard: ...And then there's Lizard Tail and Onikabuto.
Qixuan: Paimon, how about it? Want to try? Hehe.
Paimon: Eh! What's with those two flavors! No, no, no!
Dina: Onikabuto-flavored Yalda candy is slightly spicier than Lizard Tail flavor.
Nahida: Sounds pretty good?
Paimon: ...How is that good? Dina, you... you've actually eaten it! Hmm... Then let Lumine be the guinea pig first! I want Sunsettia flavor!
Lumine: I'll pick you a Lizard Tail flavor later.
Paimon: Waaah, that's so mean.
Dina: Haha.
Vigard: Alright~! So these five candy boxes are numbered one to five from left to right. Which number do you choose?
After careful consideration, Lumine chose number four for Paimon, number three for Nahida, number one for Qixuan, and number five for Dina.
Vigard: Hmm~! Not bad, it's exactly the Sunsettia flavor.
Paimon: Hehe, I knew Lumine's luck would be super good, and it is!
Vigard: Yo ho, Sunsettia flavored candy, please take it!
Paimon: Hehe, thank you, Candy Knight!
Vigard: It's the Flower Knight, hey! Not the Candy Knight!
Dina: Hahaha... Paimon delivered a fatal blow to this Flower Knight without a float.
Qixuan's was Sumeru Rose flavor, Nahida's was Spicy Stew flavor, Dina's was Lizard Tail flavor, and Lumine's was Onikabuto.
Paimon: They're all pretty similar. Since we've got the candy, shall we keep going?
Dina: Oh, right, I forgot to bring something out. Would you mind coming back with me to get it?
Lumine: No problem.
Paimon: Dina must be too excited about The Sabzeruz Festival, that's why she forgot something when she left.
Dina: Haha, I'm sorry.
Qixuan: Let's go, let's go.
On the way, Qixuan and Nahida walked at the very back.
Qixuan: Do we really have to do this? There are other ways, actually.
Nahida: For Nilou to know about herself, it's actually a very simple method.
Qixuan: Hehe, why don't you just reveal your identity as Lesser Lord Kusanali? Wouldn't that solve things better?
Nahida shook his head and said, "That would certainly solve most problems, but my connection with Irminsul is a bit blurry now; I can't go deeper. Thankfully, it hasn't shown any abnormalities, but... there are still a few external factors."
Qixuan: (Cannon? Rebellious children should indeed be disciplined. After the beating, we'll send him back to his mom.)
Qixuan: Alright, alright, suit yourself. But don't worry, I've got everything covered.
Nahida: Mm, thank you... Qixuan.
Qixuan: Hehe, no problem, no problem. So tonight...
Nahida: Not allowed.
Qixuan: (Life has lost its color.)
(Aichan: Perverted Captain)
As soon as everyone returned to the entrance of their residence, they saw several Eremites emerge from nearby.
Paimon: It's those Eremites. They look like they're up to no good...
Dina: Who are you? It doesn't seem like the Humai family hired you, did they?
Badis: Heh, indeed, we haven't received any money from the Humai family yet... But if we capture you now, how much will the Humai family pay to ransom you?
Paimon: So they're a bunch of kidnappers! Lumine, quickly use 【that】!
Lumine: Paimon, don't get ahead of yourself. The professional is already here.
Just then, Dehya walked over from the side.
Dehya: But have you ever considered that there's a colleague you can't afford to offend, who has already been paid by the Humai family?
Badis: You're... Dehya!? Dehya, the 【Blazing Lion】... No wonder there's been no news of you in the mercenary circles for a long time. So you've been 【tied down at home】.
Dina: Please do not speak disrespectfully, Dehya started our partnership because she had already shown kindness to our Humai family...
Dehya: It's alright, Miss Dina, just a small baring of fangs among mercenaries. Once we start fighting, the wild dogs will show their true colors.
Badis: Hmph, after all this time, your claws must be rusty by now, right? Don't speak too soon!
As he spoke, many more mercenaries appeared from behind.
Dehya: Hmph, rusty or not, wouldn't you know if you tried? Lumine, you take Dina and go first.
Paimon: No, there are too many of them. We'll stay and help too!
Dehya: Go quickly. I know your skill, but I don't want anything to happen to Dina.
Just then, Qixuan and Nahida finally walked over. They walked so slowly, what were they doing on the way? It's hard to guess.
Nahida: What... happened here?
Paimon: A bunch of insolent guys tried to kidnap Dina.
Qixuan: Is that so? Lumine, go ahead and help Dehya. I've got this here.
Lumine naturally believed in Qixuan's strength. Had he seen Qixuan's 【Queen】 moment? Lumine said he had experienced it himself.
Lumine: Alright!
The two took out their weapons, and with a command from Badis, the battle erupted.
Lumine fought Badis's subordinates alone, while Dehya dueled Badis.
Dehya wielded her greatsword, blocking Badis's attacks. Then, Dehya used her Pyro element power to gradually suppress Badis. Just as she was about to deliver the final blow, a figure suddenly darted out from behind Dehya.
Paimon: Dehya! Look out!
Dina: Dehya!
Thankfully, it was Dehya, the 【Blazing Lion】, whose reaction time was faster than many mercenary leaders. However, she was still cut on the arm by the ambushing person. She then turned around and delivered a 【Scorching Slash】, ending the battle. Lumine's battle also ended at this moment.
Just then, Dina ran over, raising Dehya's arm, her face filled with distress.
Paimon: Dehya, you're hurt... It's still bleeding.
Dina: We... We need to bandage it quickly! I'll go get medicine from inside the house.
Dehya pulled Dina back with one hand.
Dehya: I'm fine, it's just a small scratch. How could they possibly hurt me, ahem, it's just that this new greatsword isn't quite as easy to use yet.
Dina: No!
Dehya: Alright, alright, I said I'm fine. Mercenaries aren't as delicate as you think.
Dina: Alright... But let's still take care of it.
Then Dina simply bandaged Dehya's arm.
Dina: And you said... it's not easy to use? What happened to your previous greatsword?
Dehya: Sigh... Well... it's just that I was a bit short on cash before, so I had no choice but to sell it. Things like that happen occasionally.
Dina: Could it be... the last batch of economic resources, that unknown source of money was...
Dehya scratched her head awkwardly.
Dina: (Sobbing)...
Paimon: Wow, how touching.
Lumine: This is confirmed now.
Qixuan: So sweet.
Nahida: Huh? What are you talking about? (Looking confused)
Dehya: Ah... Hey, Miss Dina, I didn't mean to make you cry. Crying out an employer wouldn't deduct my commission, would it?
Dehya was a little flustered.
Dina chuckled and said, "Hehe... Alright. Making the employer cry won't deduct your commission, but for secretly selling your equipment and getting injured for me, I'll have to re-evaluate."
Dehya: Hahaha... You're really unreasonable, Miss.
Dina: Hahaha... Thank you so much, Dehya.
Dehya: Eh... Don't be like that, I'm a very shy person, it's so embarrassing.
Just then, Dina suddenly started coughing.
Paimon: Is Dina feeling unwell again?
At this moment, Lumine noticed that Dina didn't have the jade pendant Qixuan had given her, and immediately asked, "Eh? The jade pendant Qixuan-jie gave you is gone?"
Dina: Nilou... she said she wanted to see it, so I lent it to her for a few days.
Dehya: Miss! How could you just lend it to anyone?
Dina: Nilou... she's not an outsider either.
Nahida looked at Qixuan. Qixuan stepped forward and held Dina's hand. Immediately, Dina felt a warm current throughout her body.
Qixuan: How do you feel? Better?
(Unlike Collei, Dina doesn't have a Vision, so her physical condition is worse than average. I originally intended to use the jade pendant to nourish her body first, but now it seems I'll have to resolve it earlier. However... her body has been nourished enough.)
Dina: Eh? I... I'm not coughing anymore, I really feel much better, thank you.
Dehya breathed a long sigh of relief, then thanked Qixuan, saying that if she ever needed her, she would be there at her beck and call!
Qixuan: (Telepathically: Alright, it's resolved.)
Nahida: (I didn't think you could actually cure Eleazar, thank you.)
Qixuan: (If I told you that I helped Irminsul return to normal, wouldn't you doubt your very existence as a plant?)
(This part is not telepathy)
Dehya: However, Miss, your condition still needs to be observed. Please take her to rest. I still need to scout the area to prevent any of their accomplices from ambushing us.
Lumine: No problem.
Dina: Really... I've troubled everyone.
Then Dehya left, and everyone took Dina to a public resting bench. Qixuan and Nahida watched from a snack stall nearby.
Qixuan took a bite of roasted coconut and said, "Hmm... It tastes strange."
Nahida: Dina can finally live a normal life.
.........
Paimon: Dina, are you alright?
Dina: Mm, much better. In fact, maybe I'm completely cured?
Lumine: Regarding your illness, Dehya's expression just now...
Dina: So you were so concerned about my illness? Then it's really not good for me to keep hiding it anymore.
I actually... was born with 【Eleazar】, and it has now progressed to the terminal stage. Actually, the few days I wore the jade pendant were fine, but... it's just my own feeling, I don't have much time left.
Lumine: Eleazar!
He then looked at Qixuan and Nahida, who were still eating in the distance. Qixuan also noticed and gave Lumine a reassuring look, and Lumine's worried heart settled.
Paimon: It's actually Eleazar!
Dina: So you also know about this disease...
Lumine: Can we see?
Dina lifted her sleeve, but then found nothing on her wrist, which confused her for a moment. She then checked many other places on her body, but there was nothing there either.
Paimon: Hmm... It couldn't be.
Lumine: Shhh... Paimon, did you forget?
Paimon: Oh~ right.
Dina checked for a while before realizing that her Eleazar... seemed to be... cured?
Dina instantly thought of Qixuan and turned to give her a grateful look. Qixuan couldn't accept such a look, otherwise Dehya would split her in half. Of course, she wouldn't be able to win against her.