The Hunter Mage

CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE

Vernon opened his eyes to find two pairs of eyes staring back at him. He yelped in fright but was able to stop himself from jerking forward else, he would have only worsened his headache.

He still felt like crab but he noticed that lights did not make him wish he was blind and his headache had reduced to an extent that he could form a concrete thought.

"Ah! He is finally awake." One of the voices said. He remembered who it belonged to, it was Bess.

He groaned and tried to scratch his hand with his eyes, he didn't even realize until he touched his face that his hand moved. He became even more awake and aware of his surroundings.

"How did you feel?" Madame Rachel asked.

"Tired," he muttered softly. He didn't need to look around to know where he was, if Bess was not enough clue, the bed was. It was no secret that the infirmary had the softest bed in the whole of the academy.

He frowned, the way they were staring at him was uncomfortable. He yawned, he was very hungry. Funny enough he still felt very sick but he could move around a little though truthfully, he rather not but he was grateful that if wanted to, his body would obey him.

"Good you're hungry," Madame Rachel said. "We saved food for you, Florence was really worried. She gave you extra." Her smile was unnerving.

She picked a plate from the nearby table and Vernon wondered how long he was out, the last thing he could remember was someone putting a cold cloth on his forehead and he wanted to yell at them to stop because he could feel the cold all the way to his toes.

"Sit up," she said but it sounded more like an order than a suggestion and Vernon did not know how to tell her that he was very comfortable with the way he was and would prefer to remain so.

He looked at her and he could tell she knew he had no intention of sitting upright. Surprisingly, she didn't pester but what she did next was equally annoying. She handed the plate to Bess and then proceeded to put him in a sitting position.

Vernon appreciated the help but he hated that he had to move. However, she was careful to not move him haphazardly. She was also subtle in the way she lifted him off the bed and placed a pillow behind him. She then made sure to arrange him in a way that he rested his back on the headboard.

Satisfied with her work she asked, "Are you comfortable?"

Vernon yawned again, he wasn't because he would rather be sleeping again or at least lying down but he knew she was not asking which he preferred, rather she was asking if the position she kept him in was comfortable and he was so he responded accordingly.

"Yes," he said stiffly. He had so many questions but talking still wasn't so easy.

She stretched her hand to Bess so she would hand the plate to her and Bess did. She then placed the plate on Vernon's lap. He took one look at it and his stomach churned though he wasn't sure if it was from the sight or the smell.

He squeezed his face, wasting no time in showing his displeasure. He was sure he would have thrown up already if his stomach was not empty.

"Don't you dare make that face," Madame Rachel scolded. "You will eat if I have to force it down your throat. Heaven knows you need all the strength you can get."

"Madame Rachel, let him take this first since the problem isn't really about his physical state but more like his Mana state," Bess suggested and picked a mug from the said table and Vernon wondered what else was on that table.

"Well okay. Technically, you know better and since you can't heal him, he would have to work extra to restore his mana." Madame Rachel mumbled in a rush. Vernon winced at the fact that she was speaking about him like he was not there.

As he spoke Vernon wondered where the other Madame was because he was certain she was not the one who had kept the cold cloth on his forehead. However, his thoughts did not last as Madame Rachel shoved the mug into his hand and he immediately held it firm.

He didn't have an option, he had felt it and knew if he let it slip he would get a lap full of hot cocoa and the stain would be the least of his problems.

He did not want to drink but he could tell from the way she was glaring at him that she would say something if he did not drink it. He would rather be left alone but he knew he had to get better or he would be stuck in the infirmary. He hated the idea.

The only fun part about being stuck here was that he would not have to see Steven for the duration of time he was in the infirmary. However, it also meant he could not hang out with his sister and that was completely out of the question.

"What exactly is wrong with me?" He stalled. It was not like he did not want to take the cocoa but it was pretty hot and he knew if he drank it, his tongue would not escape unscathed.

From what he gathered from what Madame Rachel had said, there was something wrong with his mana but he could not see how something like that would cause him to have such a terrible fever and paralysis. It just did not make any sense.

He had also never heard of any of the other students having a problem with their Mana whereby they fell sick because of it. He wondered if there was something they weren't telling him and truthfully, he was slightly worried that there might be something terribly wrong with him.