Adventure Awaits! Huzzah! 20

"If you truly believe me, then please return to Ram Village as soon as possible!"

Himmel let out a defeated chuckle. "I... don't think that will become possible anytime soon." He couldn't just ignore this prophecy though.

So, if he went back to Ram Village there was a chance of him being executed for killing a king. If he stayed in Novis he would have to see Celica everyday and deal with the guilt of having killed her father. If he went to Archanea he would possibly be killed by a dragon. If he went to Jugdral he would definitely be executed by its emperor.

Things... weren't looking good. And that was not even mentioned the ticking time bomb he had back on the ship named Deirdre. The ticking time bomb Julia wanted to wake-up

"Why?" Celica put her hands on her hips, angry at him. "Honestly, why are you even here? You still haven't told me that."

Himmel sighed. "Well... it's..." What kind of bullshit excuse could he come up with?

Would she buy it if he just told her he wanted to make some money? That didn't sound too insane, did it? But she might snoop around and question the rest of the crew, who would probably tell her even they didn't know what Himmel was doing on this journey.

But... actually, now that he thought about it, while he couldn't tell her the truth, nothing said he had to lie to her.

Instead, he could use a ancient technique humans had been relying on since thousands of years ago. "It's something I can't tell you, sorry." The mind your own business technique.

"What do you mean?"

Himmel snorted. "I mean exactly what I just told you, it's something that I can't tell you."

"..." For a moment Celica froze, before recomposing herself. "You are not taking me seriously at all, are you!?"

"I am." He just couldn't do much about it.

Assuming this dragon that killed him was found in Archanea, maybe Himmel could make land in that continent and then immediately fuck off to another continent? It's not like Archanea, Jugdral, and Valentia were the only continents in the planet.

They were possibly just the most powerful, and also the ones Himmel culturally knew the most about. Still, the world wasn't lacking for places to run away.

And that was not even mentioning that now that he knew of the prophecy, he could just... run away whenever a dragon showed up. Like a Pokémon avoiding someone with a type advantage! And if none of that mattered... if there was truly nothing he could do to avoid this prophecy...

Then that was it. He would do his best to survive it, but the thing about prophecies is that they were bullshit that couldn't really be countered sometimes.

"You are not!" Himmel had a feeling this was about to become very childish.

No, he couldn't blame or mock her for worrying about an old friend. Still, there wasn't much he could do about this either.

Well, he could change the topic. "Forget it for now, I... need to go look for an healer." He lightly bowed. "Thank you for the warning Celica, I'll keep it in mind." From now on, he was officially the biggest pussy in the world when it came to dragons.

Celica growled in a very unlady like manner. "You...!" But instead of continuing, she finally processed what he had said. "A healer? Is someone you know hurt?"

Himmel nodded. "Yes. I came here in ship, something I'm sure you already figured out, and one of the crewmates... well, she isn't waking up." He sighed. "I thought it was just exhaustion from magic use at first, but it has been days from now."

He continued. "This crewmate I'm talking about is Julia's mother. It's part of the reason she's so fidgety... I think."

Celica gasped. "That's horrible! Perhaps some sickness of the sea has gotten to her?" This hidden princess sure was something.

The moment he brought up someone being in imminent danger, her mind completely focused on it. It was a pretty heroic quality to have, one that he hoped she wouldn't lose any time soon.

Sadly, Himmel had no real answer to her. "I do not think so, but I'm no expert." He put a hand on his head. "Either way, if it is some sickness, my Recover isn't good enough to heal it."

He really needed to get better at White Magic. And funnily enough, if he actually stayed at Novis he would have many perfect opportunities to do so, with all the priests hanging around. Still, that option had now died.

"I'm surprised you know Recover, Himmel."

"My teacher was skilled in a lot of areas, so I ended up learning." Looking back, it was kind of insane how many different forms of magic Sonya knew.

Celica squinted her eyes. "I'm curious about them... but that doesn't matter right now." She put a hand on her chest. "Allow me to take a look at Julia's mother. I'm actually quite skilled when it comes to White Magic."

"Celica the Master of White Magic, huh?" It nothing else, they matched.

She blushed. "Please do not give me so much credit." Yeah, they definitely matched. "There are plenty of people here who are far more skilled than me, but I am available right now, so..."

"You have my thanks, Celica." At least he had found a healer, that was a silver lining for all this mess.

"You better hold that thanks, because our talk about my dreams is not over. Just postponed." It was totally over.



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"Faye! Kliff! It is such a pleasure to see you two once again!" Celica immediately engulfed the duo in a bear hug.

Kliff definitely couldn't breath. "I-It's nice to see you too, Celica."

Meanwhile, Faye looked like she wanted to make Celica stop breathing. "Yes... very nice." Well, for all her yandere behavior, she actually did seem kind of happy.

Could there be such a thing as a yantsundere?

There was one thing worrying Himmel about this meeting however, and it had nothing to do with Celica, Faye, or Kliff. The problem was the Clair.

She was gazing at Celica with the most suspicious look he had ever seen in his entire life.

He began patting Epona, which she had taken good care of, and questioned the woman. "Lady Clair, is everything okay?" He already knew what was most likely on her mind.

The similarities in appearance between Celica and the king. It was something the brats from Ram Village could dismiss, since they had known the girl in their childhood, but as a stranger to her, Clair had no such problems.

She shook her head. "It is nothing. I am just happy you found a healer so quickly, Himmel."

Himmel hummed. "Yeah, it was pretty lucky of me." He had to keep her mind off Celica, he couldn't let her find out the truth. "But what about guys, how did the trip go?"

"Nothing too exciting I'm afraid, although..." She sent him a teasing smile. "I have tasted the best food I had in what felt like years."

Himmel chuckled. "I'm dying of jealous here..." He put a hand on his chin. "Maybe while Celica treats Julia's mother I can go eat something." He looked at the Princess. "I'm sure you want to see your mother right now, but would you mind if I left?"

It would be a shame to miss Celica's reunion with Alm, but... he wanted to avoid Celica, so he could avoid the prophecy. Besides, if Deidre woke up screaming about murdering bastards, Himmel would not want to be there. Although he didn't actually know if he was technically a bastard or not.

Julia shook her head. "Of course not, Lord Himmel. I understand your position, the food from the ship isn't exactly... delectable." Like brother, like sister he supposed.

Clair raised an eyebrow. "Yes, but could you not go visit a restaurant later, Himmel? It is not like the ship is about to depart or anything." Why did she care?

Well, considering she had confronted him about his mental health the other day, she was probably making note of him avoiding Deirdre or something. He didn't like that, but it was what it was.

Himmel put the fakest smile on his face. "Because I'm hungry right now, of course."

Celica, as if she could sense his escape attempt, suddenly released Kliff and Faye. "Oh, you are going nowhere until we have that talk, Himmel!"

Faye tilted her head. "Talk? What talk?"

Oh, a convenient attack missile showed up. "Celica is trying to get my hand in marriage. We are deciding how it's gonna go."

Faye gasped. "Celica!?"

Kliff sighed. "I'm sure that is not what Celica wanted to talk about, let's be real here." He poked Faye on the forehead. "Don't go acting like an idiot."

Faye blushed. "Right. Sorry." He momentarily turned off her yan! "Still, what was this talk about?" Ah, he was totally screwed wasn't he?

Celica's face became completely serious. "It's about a prophecy— a dream that I have been having. One where Himmel dies!" She pointed at him. "And one that he's ignoring!"

"Seriously?" Kliff's tone was filled with disbelief. "I mean, I'm still lacking a lot of context of course, but I'm not gonna blame Himmel for not taking a dream seriously."

Faye nodded. "Yes, it does sound pretty incredulous." Oof, and that came from the most superstitious person of their group.

It wasn't surprising though. While Himmel had taken it completely seriously, that's because he knew Celica was a secret princess, so such... mystical things sounded a lot more believable.

Celica pouted. "You two don't believe me!?" She shifted her gaze towards Julia and Clair, as if they would come to her rescue. They did not.

Not even Epona gave her pity.

Celica let out a frustrated groan. "I have been having the same dream for days, it cannot be a coincidence— Actually, it doesn't matter. Himmel himself believes it, right?"

"I do. Like I said, I'll keep it in mind, but I'm not going back to Ram Village."

Kliff interjected. "Wait, she wants us to go back to Ram Village? There's no way that's happening."

Faye immediately agreed. "Yep. It's not possible right now."

Poor Celica looked like she was about to cry. "But why...!? Himmel still hasn't told me why you are all here, so at least explain that to me!" Was she hoping they would answer where he hadn't?

Too bad, all she did was cause a crazy amount of awkward silence.



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"Celica!"

"Alm!"

It was time for another heartwarming reunion. This time Himmel was being given the privilege of watching two siblings meet once again. It felt specially good due to how he had pushed those two into sibling hood in the first place.

Well, the mood was kind of ruined due to the possibly comatose woman in the room. The comatose woman who might wake up if luck smiled upon Celica, and didn't smile upon Himmel.

Still, the mood being ruined was only in Himmel's perception of course.

Alm seemed pretty happy. "I can't believe it! What are you even doing around here!?"

"I think that's my question!" Celica's smile however, quickly became a frown. "Seriously, everybody is refusing to tell me." She looked around. "And I still haven't seen Tobin and Gray... are they okay?"

They were more than okay, those little bastards were probably back in Ram Village relaxing all day. And now that Himmel thought of them, he could clearly remember Gray telling him to be wary of nobles. That had totally jinxed him!

Alm escaped from her hug, and scratched his cheek. "Tobin and Gray are fine, they're back on Ram Village. As for what we are doing here..." He pointed at himself. "I'm guarding a sick patient!"

"I know that, idiot, I even came here to heal her." Celica cleared his throat. "Don't try to avoid the topic, just tell me why you are all traveling around." She looked down. "And where you are all going after this, I don't even know that."

"That's..." Alm knew he couldn't tell her the truth.

And it was Alm, so he also wasn't skilled enough to lie to his sort of sister. Which meant that much like everyone else, all he could do was stay silent and hope Celica forgave him.

Celica scowled. "Are you all serious...!? What kind of—"

Julia cleared her throat. "E-excuse me..." It was clearly raising her voice had taken a lot of courage from the girl. "I don't really understand what is going on, but... can you two please not fight in front of my mother...?"

Ah.

Himmel put a hand on her shoulder. "Of course. Everybody is fine with that, right?"

He received a embarrassed nod from Celica. "Yes... we can have a private discussion about this later." She shifted her look towards Deirdre. "I'll take a look at the patient... If it's something too serious, I can then try to bring someone more qualified here."

She sent a smile towards Julia. "But I'm sure that won't be the case."

Julia clasped her hands and nodded. "I-I truly hope that is the case... D-do you wish for us to leave so you may work?"

Celica waved her off. "No need, healing in front of a public is pretty normal. I'm used to it." Himmel imagined the church did that show off. It's not like it mattered much though, as long as Celica could concentrate it would be fine.

Still, everybody did move back to give her some space. In a way it was a show of trust, since this would be a great moment for Celica to kill the empress if she wished. Though she didn't know she was an empress in the first place.

The hidden princess began analyzing Deirdre's body with her magic. Himmel only needed one look to immediately see Celica was far better at this than him.

At that moment, a childish fantasy was born in his heart.

How nice would it be to teach Celica Black Magic, and learn White Magic from her? Hah... Such ideas were better left elsewhere however. It was likely he wouldn't see Celica anymore after today.

"It's done." Celica stepped back, now a bit sweaty. "She should be back on her feet in a week or so!" Celica raised a finger. "Though it will take around a month before she actually feels good, so plenty of rest should be needed—"

"Really!?" Julia couldn't hold back her emotions anymore, running to Deirdre's side. "Will she really be okay!?"

Celica, who was probably used to reactions like this, didn't get caught by surprise. "Yes. Honestly, even without my involvement she would be fine eventually. I just sped up the process."

Alm interjected. "What process? Actually, can you tell us what she had? Was it really just exhaustion?"

Celica put a hand on her chin. "Sort of... There was something else though, something eating at her." Oh? "It was... dark, strange, definitely evil." She seemed more and more sure as she talked. "But it was also being handled."

She continued. "This woman... she is someone special, isn't she? Her body was naturally fighting that dark thing, after all." It was probably Major Holy Blood.

Alm nodded. "Yeah, she's special, but..."

Celica crossed her arms. "But I'm guessing this is another little secret I can't hear about?" Geez...

It's not like she didn't have her own secrets! It wasn't right to get angry at Alm— Though she had told Himmel her secret, so it was perfectly acceptable to get angry with him instead.

To their surprise however, Julia spoke up. "Actually, I trust you enough to tell you what's going on, Lady Celica!" Ah, so it was lady now? How cute— Wait, seriously!?

That was Julia's decision to make, but still...! Actually, Himmel was completely fine with Celica knowing her. Even if she was another secret princess, Himmel trust her.

And if nothing else, clearly Celica was happy with Julia's decision. "I would greatly appreciate that!"

"O-okay then, here it goes..." Her words came out almost like a whisper. "M-my mother is the empress of Jugdral, a-and I'm a princess."

"Oh my." Beautiful words coming from the princess, and probably soon to be queen, of Zofia.



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Alas, all cute reactions came to an end.

"I just don't understand! What are you all doing in this ship!?" That private discussion they had talked about had finally come, and so Celica was now interrogating all the brats.

Julia wasn't part of the meeting, but she was close, since the meeting was happening right outside her mother's room. Which meant she could definitely overhear Celica's screams, but it couldn't be helped. They couldn't leave Julia and her mother unguarded, after all.

Alm growled. "Why do you even care!? Are you the only one who can travel!?" Them arguing almost brought back good memories.

Celica huffed. "Of course not! But I want a reason! And it better not be just adventuring." He wished it was just adventuring.

He also wished he could lie and say they were here just to protect Julia or something, but his little sister had told Celica the full story. Which meant the hidden princess now knew Julia was just a extra element.

It was now Alm's turn to huff. "It's just adventuring."

"I am so mad at you right now!" Did Celica think stating her feelings out loud was healthy? She was probably right.

Himmel interjected. "Look, we haven't seen each other in years, so let's not fight." As the adult here, it was his job to take control. As usual. "Celica, you dreamt of me being eaten by a dragon, correct?"

"Yes." She had recently retold the story to everyone.

Himmel smiled. "Then that is no problem. This ship will head to Archanea—" She immediately became a bomb. "But it will ultimately end up on Jugdral. I doubt I will meet many dragons there." And that bomb was immediately defused.

He was lying though. He rather take a prophecy death dragon than Emperor Arvis.

Celica squinted her eyes. "That's not enough! You brought up Archanea, and I understand why, but nothing about my dream told me it all happened there anyways." Now she was just being unreasonable.

Something that Kliff made sure to point out. "So what? You want Himmel to hide beneath a rock or something? If he isn't safe anywhere, than Ram Village wouldn't be safe either."

"Yes, but..." Celica let out a frustrated groan. "S-sorry, you are right. I'm just... feeling a bit helpless right now." ...Celica had matured too. "Still..."

She took a deep breath. "Let me come with all of you!"

Himmel immediately denied. "Not in a million years." He couldn't handle the guilt of being near her.

Alm followed his example. "Yeah, no way."

Kliff imitated Alm. "This isn't a vacation, Celica."

Faye blushed. "I'm happy I got to see you again, but I think we should say goodbye."

Clair awkwardly raised a hand. "I-I would not particularly mind the company of a dedicated healer on the ship, I suppose." The only one who went against the crowd didn't even know Celica.

Something that definitely made her feel furious, even as she bowed to Clair. "Thank you!" And then she glared at the rest. "Where has all this rejection come from!?"

Himmel stepped forward. "I'm sure everyone has their reasons... and I'm sure you know mine, Celica." He looked her right in the eyes.

One princess was more than enough in this ship. That was what Celica must thought his reason was.

She bit her lip. "My dreams—"

"Are something I will handle with the utmost care." He bowed. "Once more, thank you for the warning. I will be as careful as I can."

She ignored him. "My dreams... I believe there was a reason why I received them. Perhaps they were a gift, no, a job from Mother Mila." She steadied herself. "And if that is the case, this is not something I can just... ignore with the hopes you can handle it."

She continued. "I admit, I was going about this the wrong way, but now I recognize the correct path. Himmel, allow me to walk that path with you, to protect you, to defeat a great evil I know may be currently brewing in the darkness."

"No."

"Ugh! Screw you then!" That bomb wasn't disarmed after all. "You stupid, idiotic jerk! I cannot believe I even cared enough to worry about you."

"Celica—!"

"I don't want to hear it!" Without any other words, she stormed off their sight.

Himmel had a feeling he wouldn't see her again for a long time. Their second parting felt a lot less sweet than the first one.

Alm clicked his tongue. "Damn it...! I'm going to go talk with her!"

Himmel stopped him. "Feel free to do so, but remember that there is no reality where she goes aboard this ship permanently." He would not accept that. The girl did not need the company of her father's killer.

If Celica left Novis, Himmel would stay in Novis. If Celica stayed in Novis, Himmel would leave Novis.

But Alm didn't understand any of that, still, he stoped. "Yeah, I know... There's no reason to put her in danger."

What a overprotective brother he was.



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Himmel woke up feeling awful.

That wasn't surprising to him. It was only natural he would feel like shit after he acted like shit towards a old friend. There would be no helping now though, that ship had sailed. And so had their literal ship.

Celica was now far away, he wouldn't see her again.

He didn't regret saying goodbye however, just how he had said it—

"Lord Himmel, you're awake!" The beautiful face of Julia suddenly covered his vision. His heart almost failed him on the spot. "I've been wanting to step outside for fresh air, so I've been waiting for you."

Himmel began sitting up. "Hah... now that I think about it, I should have bought a Tome for you before we left Novis."

That way she wouldn't so desperately be in need of a bodyguard at all times. Their paranoia had gotten to the point where she even slept on the same room as Himmel. Though they slept on different beds of course.

It was a treatment far better than what most sailors got, who just all slept together.

Julia giggled. "It's fine. I feel much safer with you than some stranger's tome!" Since when did he get such a good rep with her? "And besides... well..." She frowned. "You barely got to explore Novis before we left, so I cannot blame you."

"...Still, sorry." He hadn't wanted to see Celica again after that incident, so he lacked the courage to set foot on Novis once more.

Julia, regretting where this conversation had gone, tried to cheer him up. "There is no need for that, Lord Himmel! Let us enjoy our morning instead of sink in regret!"

He chuckled. "Well, aren't you feeling cheery today."

"Yes! I feel quite happy! Mother will wake up soon, after all!" Yay... Ugh, it was always one problem after another.

Still, he faked being happy and finally got up. Maybe some fresh air would do him some good as well. Even if he had come to loathe the ocean these recent days.

They both left the room and began wondering around, at this point they knew where to go almost by instict. That was the power of routine, he supposed.

But this time something different happened, there was a commotion going.

"What's happening there...?" Himmel couldn't help but be curious.

Julia was much the same. "Let's check it out, Lord Himmel. Someone could be hurt!" Right, in that case it fell upon Himmel to heal them.

As they approached however, what they saw was a bunch of grown man screaming at a young woman. No way.

"Stowaway! Do yer have no shame!? No brains!?" No way.

Celica responded, sounding apologetic. "I'm sorry, but I'll make sure to pay everyone back later!" No way.

It really was always one problem after another.



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AN: Now I just need to add Caede to the party and the perfect main heroine princess harem will be complete!

Well, she will probably show up much later. That aside, Celica dodged the flag of leaving the story on a bitter note. What an amazing super power.