Earth's Greatest Magus

On the journey back to the Ouroboros planet, the queen exhausted every method at her disposal to keep her daughter, Silva, alive. With poisons and herbs being two of the faction's greatest specialties, the queen was able to keep her condition stable.

After doing everything she could and making sure that her daughter would be fine for at least a while, the queen began inquiring about what had happened.

Annara explained following the queen's order, but she didn't dare tell Her Majesty everything. She left out some parts, mainly the things that put her negatively.

"Zenonia, Lucius, Senior Delbrand and Master Altus… If things hadn't changed between us, it would have been a heartwarming reunion," the queen regretfully sighed.

Annara was surprised when she heard the remark. From that alone, she could tell that they had known each other for a very long time, and the queen was apparently used to being close to her master Zenonia. Fortunately, she hadn't said a bad word about her.

To show more of her sincerity, Annara proceeded to ask about Silva's current condition.

"From what I saw and what you told me, it seems that the boy used the last of his power to revive her," the queen said, still with a downcast look on her face. "Regrettably, the body had lost its life for quite a while by then, leading to the ineffectiveness of the revival spell… There was also her illness."

The queen abruptly stopped on that note. She didn't seem to want to continue, so Annara decided to divert the topic slightly to ask about the one thing she was most curious about.

"What about the soul? Will his soul survive?"

The queen fell into deep thought for a moment.

"The soul was previously what kept her alive, but now… both of them are hanging by a thread, and they are sustaining each other. Call it destiny or karma, but I think that his sacrifice, his willingness to give his life for my daughter, is keeping him alive in turn… but it is still too soon to judge. It was too weak, after all."

Upon hearing this, Annara's expression subconsciously turned heavy. Perceptive as she was, even though it was subtle, the queen immediately noticed the change.

"You are a cunning young woman," said the queen. "Yet deep down, despite all your tricks, you care more about them than you think."

The queen's words made Annara feel somewhat complicated. On one hand, the feeling of being seen through wasn't something she was very fond of, but on the other hand…

There was no hidden contempt whatsoever. The queen understood that it was, to an extent, a necessary quality to survive, and her words even had the intention of helping her understand herself better.

"However, if you keep going this path, you will end up just like your master."

Even though this interaction was short, Her Majesty's attitude made Annara like the queen even more. It was to the point that she even started talking about her past, more than what she usually told other people.

And throughout it, Her Majesty intently listened with even a faint, almost unnoticeable hint of motherly compassion.

…

Two days later, they finally arrived at the Ouroboros planet.

As Annara stepped out of the ship, a familiar sight greeted her, one she had seen just a little less than a year ago. As soon as they arrived, a group of what appeared to be a medical crew approached the ship.

After the crew briefly paid their greetings to the Ouroboros Queen and received Her Majesty's permission, they brought the princess's body to a facility in the forest with haste.

There, they met the head of the medical facility, a frog hybrid called Bob. The moment the man saw the condition of the princess's body, his welcoming expression became filled with worry and heartache.

"My poor niecess… kurr… what did they do to you…"

In the facility, a full crew of a dozen individuals in white coats carefully moved to take care of the princess. The crew combined both science and magic to treat her, and after 24 hours of incessant treatment, they fortunately managed to save the princess.

"She's out of danger for the time being, but we still need to keep her inside the regeneration tube for a few days," Bob, the facility head, reported.

After her daughter's safety was ensured, the queen finally felt relieved. As for the spirit soul, it was successfully retrieved and kept in a specialized container.

When Annara saw the minuscule size of the soul as it was being retrieved, she couldn't help but step forward and ask.

Bob tried to explain as simply as he could, "This spirit soul is currently very weak. We think this is because it's either a premature soul, one found by a magus that hadn't fully formed, or it's only a part of the soul. Without a body, this thing will only continue to diminish and eventually disappear completely."

Annara's heart dropped. However, before a word escaped her mouth, the frog hybrid continued with a smile, "It's really fortunate that the boy left his clone frame here."

Bob saw the expression of shock and confusion on her face and, with the permission of the queen, he brought her with the group to a special room in the facility. Inside were dozens of tubes, and inside one of them was a body identical to Emery's.

The queen observed the body's condition for a moment before turning toward Bob and his team.

"The boy is the reason the princess is still alive. Should you need to, use whatever method necessary to save him, no matter what."

Hearing the queen's words, Bob hesitated for a moment. Her Majesty's tone seemed to imply a considerable level of urgency, but it wasn't that easy.

For such a task, allowing a soul to adapt to a new vessel would normally require at least several weeks. Moreover, with the boy's current condition, they believed that it would take at least a few months just to show some noticeable progress.

Either way, none of the two would wake up right away. As the Ouroboros Queen's person, her first task was to look after her daughter, the princess.

With this, days passed.

Annara didn't have a word of complaint. She was given a place of residence and a new identity, and other than the boring task, she was given the chance to appreciate the days of peace and quiet she had never experienced.

It took longer than everyone thought, but the person she was tasked to look after finally woke up.