13. Of Backgrounds And Discoveries

Arganan returned to the Clinic by midnight after leaving Frey, and then the next morning, it was mostly normal. He went to work like usual, and Illuminata let him know (before quickly ducking out) that she was going with Frey and Forte to the Water Ruins, in the afternoon. Because of this, they were going to close the shop a little early today, by one-o-clock in the afternoon instead of later.

He thought Therius might drop by the shop, given that the white knight would be around in Selphia during today for his meetings with Frey and Arthur, but Therius did not appear. Arganan and Amber had a relatively not-busy day at the florist shop, and after closing it, the former Count figured he should take Amber out to lunch and

There were some customers coming out of the restaurant, commenting on the nice music. Arganan realized that probably meant that Margaret was also in the restaurant today, if that was the case. Where there was music, there was Margaret. His guess was correct as he and Amber stepped in. A soft piano melody just finished up only moments after they did so, and the pianist sitting there looked up from the black and white keys, smiling.

"Hey, Arganan and Amber!" Margaret waved at them from the piano. "Good to see you!"

Arganan waved back as he realized hadn't really talked to Meg that much. Not as much as Frey, anyway. He knew that she was a composer, a musician at heart who also worked at the restaurant. She made sure the dishes went out to the customers as soon as they were made, and not into Porcoline's mouth (apparently the chef had a tendency to "taste test" everything he made). And it seemed that the other townspeople generally liked her, too. Due to his work at the florist shop, as well as Illuminata usually being the one picking up lunch for herself, Arganan and Amber in the middle of the day, Arganan hadn't really talked to Margaret.

Arganan ordered some apple juice and fruit sandwiches for Amber and, well, himself. He also ordered himself some tea, as well. As he and Amber sat down with their food and drink, Margaret also approached.

"Mind if I sit with you both?" She asked.

Arganan shrugged. "I don't mind." It would be a good opportunity to get to know her better, he guessed. He'd heard from Frey that Margaret liked raw veggies and flowers, as well as despised squid, but what about her background? How did she come to a town like this, in the first place? He knew better than to simply barrage her with tons of questions, however. That just wouldn't do. "Your music is lovely, by the way."

"Thanks!" Margaret beamed at him. Amber munched into her fruit sandwich right away, a happy hum leaving her lips, but Margaret kept her attention on Arganan. "What about you? Do you play any instruments? Sing?"

Arganan shook his head. "Not really. I used to play some piano, before I was Count of Lazulis, but I haven't done that for a long time. But I overheard my niece singing, sometimes. Only when she thought I wasn't around, though."

"Was she shy when it came to music?"

"Something like that." He decided not to elaborate, and took a sip of his juice, before eating his own fruit sandwich. "She and I…we didn't really talk much."

"Oh." He was thankful she didn't comment more on it, moving to a different subject. "How's getting used to Selphia, by the way? Other than the whole thing that happened in Yokmir forest?"

"It's been good." He managed, after finishing his sandwich. Margaret started eating her own food, but it was clear she was still listening. "I didn't expect people to warm up to me so easily. Thought it would take a bit longer than just around two-to-three weeks."

Maybe, he realized, this was a good time to ask her about, well, her. Why not? "How did you come here, anyway? I'm just curious, that's all."

"Well…" Margaret paused, putting down her fork so she could point up at her pointy ears. "I don't know if you know, but I'm an elf. A while ago, I initially left the Elven Kingdom in order to see the world. During that time, I ran into Porco, who was acting as an ambassador to the elves at the time, and he scouted me to be this restaurant's main musician. I've been here ever since!"

Arganan took one good look towards Porcoline, who was eating some food at his own kitchen area, and then towards Margaret, resisting the urge to drop his jaw. "He recruited you?"

"I know it seems really unexpected of Porco to be an ambassador." A soft chuckle escaped her at that. "But that's what he was doing at the time."

"That's interesting." It made the former Count wonder why Porco wanted to have business here. Perhaps Selphia was nice and peaceful enough? Business opportunity, given that this was the main restaurant in town, as of currently? Both?

"Yeah, it really is." She smiled, before looking towards him. "How's your health, by the way? I mean, you look a lot better since you first arrived in town. I guess the medical treatment is working out?"

"Something like that." He debated telling her about the Outsider's power, but decided it would be better told to her later, and only if necessary. "Sir Therius is here in town to check on me, as well as speak with Lady Ventuswill, Frey and Arthur about a couple things. I saw him earlier, actually."

"I'm guessing he's the guy with white hair, tied back in a braid? I thought I saw him earlier while I was sweeping the restaurant entrance."

"That would be him." Arganan confirmed. "He's a bit of a stoic one. I've worked with him before, so I know he can be a bit formal."

"Is he from Lazulis, then?"

"Technically, he's from the empire's mainland, but he was in Lazulis for some time." He wasn't sure how much Meg knew about the recent war Lazulis had against the Gurak, so he figured it was fine to not elaborate any further.

"It must be nice to see him again." She managed, offering him a smile. "It's nice to see people you know of, every once in a while."

Depends on which people, Arganan wanted to say, but didn't aloud. He noticed that Amber finished eating her sandwich, and he took a moment to eat more of his own food before asking. "I know you don't remember much, Amber, but do you have any past friends?"

Amber shook her friend. "Not that I can remember, no. But," She then beamed at both of them, "You're my friends. And Frey's my friend. And Venti. And the whole town!"

"Venti?" Arganan raised a brow. "You…know Ventuswill prefers to be called Venti?"

"She does?" Margaret burst out, and Arganan swallowed. Shit, I wasn't supposed to mention that publicly!

"Yes, but she'd rather not have too many people knowing." Arganan quickly shot back, looking towards Margaret. "Whatever you do, don't tell her that I told you. It's a formality thing."

"Oh, I see." Margaret chuckled a bit. "That's really adorable, honestly!"

"I don't think 'adorable' translates to 'formal address,' Meg." Arganan couldn't help but sigh. "Let's just keep it between us, alright?"

"Okay." Meg paused, then looked around before leaning a little closer to Arganan and Amber. "Just between the three of us, I heard Frey was headed to the Water Ruins with Sir Therius."

"What?" Therius never told me anything like that! Did the white knight decide to investigate? Arganan betted he must've heard of it from Arthur, Ventuswill and/or Frey. He wouldn't be surprised if he went with her. "Does he even have the proper weapons with him? We don't have the Tamitaya enchantment on our weapons, back in Lazulis and the empire."

"I'd like to hope so." Meg sighed. "Otherwise he'll be leaving a trail of dead monsters in his path without meaning to."

"On the upside, it would give us a trail for us to track Frey and Therius, if they don't come back." The former Count mused.

"What?" He looked up to see Amber's eyes widening with near horror. "They're not coming back?"

"No, they will." He quickly cut in, shaking his head. "I'm sure they will. They might just come back really late in the night, like what happened with me, Frey and Forte when bringing you back. It was very late. I was very worried about her."

"I don't think I ever heard the whole story in full." Meg looked towards Arganan. "How did it all go? I mean, I know Frey told me that Amber emerged after you, Forte and Frey defeated the butterfly beast that was her, but still."

"Other than me and Forte running after Frey, not much needs to be added. We ran into Frey, the butterfly monster attacked, we defeated it, and Amber emerged. And then I passed out from the battle, so I assume Forte and Frey just lugged me and Amber all the way to the Clinic from there."

"So that's how it all happened." Arganan looked towards Amber to see a stunned expression, as she slowly took it in. "I see…"

"Do you not remember the battle itself?" He asked. She shook her head.

Her amnesia seems to be worse than Frey's. Probably because of her formerly being a monster, but I didn't expect it to be this bad. He finished eating his food, before speaking again. "Well, I'm sure Frey will be fine. And I know Sir Therius is a very skilled knight. One of the best I've seen." Not as good as the late General Asthar was, but still skilled, he reminded himself. "They'll be fine."

The rest of the day went as normal, and even as Arganan went to sleep that night in the room he had above the Clinic's main floor, everything was fine. No sign of Frey, Forte and Therius prior to his slumber, but he assumed they would be fine. If not, well...obviously, that was an issue he had to deal with in the morning.

The smell of breakfast caught Arganan's senses as he stirred from his sleep, the next morning. Blinking several times, he realized he heard voices coming from downstairs. Looking towards the clock on the nighttable, he realized that it was at least an hour later than usual.

I must've slept in…

"…a monster became a human again?" Arganan opened his eye at Jones' voice, coming from downstairs.

"Yeah." Frey's voice came out soft, but tense.

"This is the second case, I presume?" Therius asked.

"It is, but…why?" Jones' voice turned to confusion. "Why would this happen? Why are monsters turning human?"

Frey hummed, before a sigh escaped her. "It might have something to do with my power as an Earthmate. It's what…transforms them. That's what Venti told me, anyway."

Arganan swallowed. Frey could turn monsters into humans?

"But not all of them." Frey continued. "Only…certain ones."

"I see." Jones sounded a little less lost this time. "Maybe the monsters you defeated are somehow special. They may possess some special properties that make them more susceptible to your influence."

Arganan frowned. "Special properties, huh…?" He muttered under his breath. He thought about Amber, and the monster she was, before she became the sweet young lady she was now.

"Well," Jones finally managed, "Frey, Sir Therius, you both must be exhausted. Just leave him to me and go rest up a while, alright?"

"I will. Thank you very much." Frey sounded a bit happier at that.

"Thank you." Therius spoke. "I'm sure he'll be much better in your hands, right now."

"You're very welcome." Jones managed, just before Frey spoke up again.

"Dr. Jones? Is he gonna be okay?"

A soft sigh escaped the doctor. "Unlike Amber, he does have injuries, but it's nothing fatal." Jones managed. "Nancy and I will take good care of him."

"Arganan?" Arganan jumped a bit, but he looked up from his bed to see Nancy approach him, breakfast in a tray. "Sorry for startling you. I thought you were already awake! I would've woke you earlier, but Therius, Frey and Forte came in "

"Nancy. Good morning." He shook his head, pushing wavy hair out of his face as he sat up in the bed. "No, it's fine…I was already awake. I was just…I could just hear what was going on downstairs, and I didn't notice you come in."

"Oh, that…" A soft sigh escaped her as she sat down beside the bed, placing the tray in his lap after he propped up some pillows behind himself. "They all found a boy in the Water Ruins just an hour ago."

"What?" Arganan stared. What were they doing out so late, up until the next morning? "They were out all night?" Resisting the urge to jump out of bed, chase down Frey and tell her to take care of herself, he immediately picked up a piece of toast and bit it.

Nancy swallowed. "Seems so." A sigh escaped her. "Frey is a very hardworking girl, and I'm sure her duties as Princess can't be easy, but I do worry about her. Pulling an all-nighter…?"

"That is when the voices come out." Arganan noted. "She probably figured it was best to find the source when it was best heard."

Nancy didn't say anything for a moment, sipping a cup of tea that she had with her, before speaking again. "There's only so much Jones and I can do to remind Frey to take care of herself, it seems. Arthur's guilty of overworking as is, too."

Arganan thought of Arthur. He hadn't talked to the man much, though he had his suspicions about him. "Frey did mention that he was helping with tourism and such…"

"Yes. And—"

That was when Jones came running upstairs, panting. Arganan's gaze snapped towards him, noticing the doctor's tense expression.

"Jones? Is everything okay?"

"No." Jones shook his head, before blurting out, "It's our new patient. He's gone."