"You’re awake?"
Aaliyah opened the door and entered the room, seeing Gauss sitting up in bed, quietly reading a book with joy in her voice.
"Sorry for making you worry," Gauss apologized. "How many days have I been asleep?"
Gauss could distinctly feel some stinging pain in his body, and rationally speaking, he shouldn’t have woken up so soon.
"A full seven days."
Aaliyah brought porridge to Gauss’s side.
While Gauss was asleep, Aaliyah and the companions took turns caring for him.
"Seven days... quicker than I imagined."
Gauss shrugged.
He was thankful it hadn’t been a few months or even a year that had passed since he fell asleep.
Seven days isn’t a very long time.
"You say it so lightly, you really scared us," Aaliyah complained with pursed lips.
"Don’t overdo it next time. If we encounter enemies too strong, we can always retreat first."
"Mmm-hmm." Gauss nodded.
Seeing Aaliyah scoop up some porridge with a spoon.
He felt a bit embarrassed.
"I can do it myself."
Though moving made him feel pain now, he wasn’t someone who pampered himself; this kind of pain he could tolerate.
"Here we go again." Aaliyah sighed, furrowing her brow.
"Just told you not to overdo it."
"You’re a patient now, just calmly accept the care."
"...."
Gauss smiled shyly.
Helplessly, he had to accept her care.
"Ah, open wide." Aaliyah blew to cool it down, then brought the spoon to his mouth.
Gauss hesitated for a while, then opened his mouth to eat.
The companions knew his appetite; the porridge was filled with crushed meat, and it tasted sweet.
Aaliyah fed him one spoonful at a time like that.
"By the way, Aaliyah, how’s the dragon beast doing?"
Judging by Gauss’s observations, he should be back in town now.
This meant some of the worst scenarios he worried about hadn’t happened, and time-wise, the companions should have wrapped up the commission by now.
Compared to other spoils, what he cared more about was the existence of the Red Dragon Beast.
It concerned his chance of becoming a Dragon Knight.
Dragon Knights are so cool, and being cool lasts a lifetime.
"Don’t worry, it’s behaving, resting in the bag healing and sleeping."
Aaliyah patted the creature bag beside her, where the mounts are kept.
Of course, she didn’t mention the downside.
The Red Dragon Beast being in there caused other animals, be it Chocobos or Ulfen or Aik, to fear entering.
Now it’s become a space exclusive to the Red Dragon Beast.
Maybe Gauss would have to train it so the dragon beast could live harmoniously with these regular mounts and animal companions.
But since Gauss was recuperating, she didn’t mention these small trivial matters to worry him.
After all, the fact that the Red Dragon Beast was staying inside calmly was already an incredible thing.
Aaliyah had some understanding of true dragons and dragon beasts.
The Five-Colored Evil Dragon, Red Dragon, Dragon Beast—dealing with these debuffs stacking up was incredibly challenging.
Yet, the Red Dragon Beast truly seemed to have surrendered.
Thinking of this, she glanced at Gauss again.
If others knew he had subdued an evil dragon, they’d definitely exclaim in disbelief.
Subduing an evil dragon is much harder than slaying one.
"Don’t worry, we haven’t said anything about the dragon beast to anyone." Aaliyah seemed to know what Gauss was thinking and added.
Though a week ago Gauss hadn’t had the chance to give many orders due to his condition before falling into a coma.
Aaliyah and company weren’t foolish enough not to realize the significance of a Red Dragon Beast.
Not only did they conceal its existence when reporting the commission, but they also cleaned up all traces of the dragon beast from the battlefield and nests.
Even the Dragon-blooded Dog-headed Man wasn’t reported as a target.
The caution wasn’t unwarranted; Gauss and the dragon beast were both heavily injured, lacking combat capability.
If anyone had the greed to make a move at this critical moment, it would have been a very tricky situation.
Thus, Gauss’s squad handled matters related to the dragon beast very cautiously.
The current issue is...
Gauss’s thoughts drifted away.
"Where’s Albena?"
"Sister Albena is at the blacksmith’s shop, but she visits you almost every day." Aaliyah answered.
The tone of her address indicated that Albena had become quite familiar with her during the time Gauss was asleep.
"Judging by the time, it should be about now."
Before she finished speaking.
Gauss heard footsteps that were evidently a bit heavy approaching his ear.
Soon, Albena’s tall figure appeared at the doorway.
Gauss faintly smelled freshly cut iron from her, making it clear she’d just come from the blacksmith.
"Lord Gauss, you’re finally awake!"
Seeing Gauss, her eyes immediately lit up, and she quickly walked to the bedside.
"Does it hurt?"
"A little."
Gauss found that Albena’s attitude towards him hadn’t changed and had indeed grown warmer.
He found increased trust in Albena.
If before, much of the trust came from the Adventurer’s Guild, now it stemmed more from her actions.
Though the commission was introduced by the Adventurer’s Guild and all details were recorded, if she had been someone blinded by greed, she might have taken advantage of his coma to capture the whole team.