She smirked, "Oh my. I guess rumors aren't enough for you. What should we do next? Make another appoint in a week?"
Leona huffed, "Whatever, so are you going to knock the kids out or something?"
Lotus laughed, "You're the one with magic. If you want them asleep in a flash, all you have to do is use your magic."
"Hah! I thought you were going to drug them to sleep."
She laughed, "If that were to happen, I'd have knocked you out first."
"Woah… You guys are amazing!"
Cheka's voice broke their arguments as she glanced over to see Cheka taking another bite of the soup. He marveled, "It really is super crunchy! I doesn't taste bitter at all! How come? It tasted so bitter and makes my mouth icky back home!"
About to continue to tease Leona, Peony paused in bewilderment and the little Azul look alike became equally surprised. He grasped Cheka's arm and said, "It's actually really bad if bamboo tastes like that! If you eat too much of those, you will get a really bad stomach ache and need to see a doctor!"
"Really?" Cheka was startled.
The other with green hair nodded, "That's right. Bamboo that tastes like that is raw. My mom always told me it's dangerous to eat raw bamboo. But if you boil it really well, it is safe to eat and is really good."
"Cheka… Would you like to help me prepare bamboo soup tomorrow?" Lotus offered curiously.
"Really?! Yeah!" Cheka cheered.
As the kids chat, Lotus's voice grew solemn and alert, "Leona. How long?"
"I don't know. He suddenly became like this when he appeared out of nowhere." Leona frowned with a grave tone, "How dangerous is bamboo shoots?"
Hence he came here with an intention after all. Lotus huffed internally.
"Fairly. We're talking about a build up of cyanide poisoning. Nausea, vomiting, dizziness, headaches, and convulsions at worst. However, Respiratory problems and worse for those weaker." Lotus frowned, "I'll get the detoxification medicine. That sage of your family is on sage island. He shouldn't have gone too far. Cheka will need you by his side later. The strong medicine won't be to his liking, especially not a child so small. I will blend half of it in his food and the other half he will take directly to avoid hurting a child's digestion."
"Right." He groaned before reaching for the door.
She quickly pulled out a bowl of plain chicken soup with rice prepared much earlier for her self and sent her butterfly at them.
"WOAH! Look at how big that butterfly is!"
The three were shocked by the familiar as she quickly swapped Cheka's bowl.
"You guys still haven't finished your food." She reminded them, "Kids who doesn't eat, don't get to play."
"Aww…" Cheka whined as the other two quickly noticed the difference in his bowl and realized what had happened. Lotus and the three finish their food before cleaning up. That said, Cheka had gotten off the sofa and was content with listening to Azul and Trey read children books from her library.
When Leona returned, he beckoned her over and she found herself faced with a tall lean man with a slightly sharp nose. He was dressed in blue Afterglow Savannah clothing and a monocle as he whispered calmly, "Greetings, I am the chamberlain of the royal family of Afterglow Savannah, Neji. Thank you for taking care of his highness."
"It's fine. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask some difficult things from you, Mister Neji." She frowned.
"Oh? What is that?" Neji hummed curiously.
"According from what I can tell, Cheka had has raw bamboo for a while. He's going to need time to recuperate and a proper diet. I suspect he will start vomiting soon seeing that he's feeling a bit sick. This could remove part of the toxins that hadn't been digested. I've switched out the bamboo soup with rice porridge and chicken stock just now. It will soothe his stomach and give him some nutrients. However, I suspect things will not be pretty back home."
"That's really for us to decide, however, you are not wrong." Neji frowned, "Things have become chaotic since news of food poisoning has occurred."
"Can you get permission from his parents to let him stay with us and, if granted, consult with the headmage?" She suggested, "I don't know for sure if it's the stroke of luck or not, but two child relatives of students seemed to have secretly made their way to campus. While waiting for their parents, we intend to care for them together for a week at most. They should be able to keep each other busy. You can sort things out and then come take him back home. Cheka being here can also keep the other two company for me so they don't bore themselves when they are alone. That's my request. Would that be fitting?"
Neji looked to her in surprise before nodding his head, "Yes. However, for Cheka to be here…"
"If he's with Leona in his dorm, other freshman with too much time and energy on their hands may try to pull a prank on the child. Cheka is still very young and other freshman at this age has yet to fully comprehend the consequences of their actions nor the extent of harm they can bring on a child much younger than them. If Leona is around, nobody can do something so crazy. However, Leona has classes and duties as a leader of those students here. He can't always be around for Cheka and Cheka is also sick. Ramshackle dorm is the furthest from the faculty where the students visits often. Moreover, this dorm is led by someone who has a familiar but no magic. As long as Leona visits longer, Cheka won't try to do something reckless especially not when he's this sick."
Neji sighed, "I understand. Let me go talk to his majesty."
As soon as Neji left, Lotus huffed, "It's a good thing you came across Cheka in time."
"How bad is it?" Leona groaned.
"He's held on strong." She said surprising him, "We're talking about a number of bamboo shoots that hasn't been properly prepared before cooking in over a span of three days or more. If there's any reaction, it will need to be where I can get to him. For now, he's really trying hard to make himself believe the pain will be gone soon. He has no idea he got food poisoning."
"To think it would be some stupid grass." Leona grumbled.
"Any food ill prepared can lead to such problems. Soybeans, bamboo, tapioca, potatoes… you simply need to be thorough in its preparations prior to cooking. Tomorrow, I'll show Neji how to prepare bamboo. He can use this experience in the future to avoid a similar case."
Hearing this, Leona huffed, "And to think you still find alchemy class so useful."
"I have my reason-"
"WAH! CHEKA!"
Lotus slammed open the door and the two found Cheka having vomited on the floor clutching his stomach!
"Hey!" Leona grasped him on the shoulder.
"Don't lift him up." Lotus worked fast and brought over a bucket before cleaning the floor, "Rub his back and let him vomit until his body is satisfied. You two."
"Huh?"
"Go wait outside." She instructed.
"Y-yes!"
Once the two hurried out, Neji rushed in, "Cheka!"
"I'll go get some water and towels." She rushed out, "If he feels like vomiting, let him vomit. It will remove most of the toxins."
After tending to Cheka, she had the kids change clothes and swiftly put together children clothing for them to wear to bed. When she was done, the kids changed before heading to bed. Cheka was the first to have fallen asleep after having a rough day while clinging to the Ashengrotto kid.
As the other fell asleep, the Ashengrotto kid clung to her tightly.
"Are you not going to sleep?" She hummed softly.
"What about you?"
"I don't sleep." She patted his head, "I'll be the one to keep an eye out for monsters while you sleep."
"But monsters under the bed aren't real."
Lotus wore a dry smile, "A realistic person such as him, huh?"
She patted his head as she whispered softly, "You should go to sleep… There's no need for worry."
As she said this, a soft scent tickled his nose. Not long after, there was someone humming a song as he found himself unable to keep his eyes open.
Once the child fell asleep, she removed his glasses and placed them on the bedside table. Fully utilizing her ring's capabilities, she finally drank a bottle of potion. She stayed quietly in deep thoughts before turning to the window. By now, Leona must be talking out the complicated details with that chamberlain. She nodded and patted Cheka's forehead and the other boy's calmly before muttering in relief, "No fever… Cheka must still be in pain though…"
She thought to herself of the situation before muttering, "Well?"
A large dark figure appeared, it was Huo Wei. He bowed and reported, "The dormleader of Octavinelle, and vice dorm leaders of Scarabia and Heartslabyul had gone missing. No one had said a word of what had happened. They disappeared shortly after entering the alchemy class."
"Alchemy class, huh?"
"It was a joint class." He added, "Shortly after, the students left and there was smoke."
She hummed, "Anything else?"
"There's was a faint scent of herbs, mainly from mandrake that had been harvested." He added.
Lotus was quiet for a bit before she sighed, "How is the situation with the missing Scarabia vice dorm leader?"
"It is unknown. A child had been spotted running around the cafeteria." He added.
She sighed, "Find him before they do, then keep an eye on the Hall of Mirrors."
"Yes, sir."
As soon as he vanished, she glanced over to the sleeping children and chuckles, "I guess everyone had to start out at some point."
She pulls up the covers over their shoulders and tucks them in before leaving the room.
"What of those two?" She huffed.
"Their people have decided to allow Cheka to remain here with master." The figure continued with stealthy footsteps, "The chamberlain is determined to settle matters within a week."
Peony grumbled shaking her head, "I've only returned and this happens… Out of the blue too."
"Master's swift thinking helped calm the young prince from panicking." The figure praised her.
She sighed, "It was adaption, not thinking. What are they doing now?"
"They are awaiting your return but the chamberlain is prepared to leave regardless should you return."
"I see…" she grumbled feeling a headache coming around, "Watch over the door."
"Understood."
…..
Once she was gone, a little boy with green hair twitched before cautiously sitting back up. He stared at the door nervously as he let out a deep sigh of relief, "I can't belief I didn't get caught!"
He had been awake this entire time but didn't expect to have caught something as crazy as that conversation! Looking around, he found himself in an unfamiliar room. Was this her room?