"How come you are okay?" Veronica couldn't help but ask when she saw Arthur wasn't affected at all.

Arthur casually spoke, "If you had read a magic book you would have known that there couldn't be any oxygen in the vortex road of different dimensions. All you have to do is to hold your breath and you will be fine."

Veronica was pissed. "Why didn't you say it sooner?" If he had mentioned it earlier, she wouldn't have suffered from a lack of oxygen.

"Sorry about that." Arthur was quick to apologize. "But we came back safely. Isn't that great?"

"Did we?" Veronica got the chance to look around. It was the same dirty tents around them in the middle of the desert, nothing new. However, the flags of Synetia made them believe that they were finally back.

Veronica's face brightened up. "We really came back. I can't believe this." 

They heard some uproar. Instantly, they were surrounded by soldiers. They kept their weapons aimed toward the intruders.

"Wait! It's us! We are the missing healers!" Veronica came forward and spread her hands to protect the healers she brought.

The soldiers became confused. Suddenly, one of them spoke up, "Ah! Isn't this healer Veronica? She took care of my injuries!"

Veronica smiled brightly. "Yes! It's me!"

"What's the light? Another intruder?" Someone questioned the soldiers.

"Actually…" The soldiers moved away without a word. They seemed confused as well.

The handsome face with ponytailed blonde hair came through. It was none other than Major General Orion. He had a serious expression on his face. He looked at Veronica and instantly recognized her. "You are Veronica, a healer from Utahill, correct?"

"Yes, I am!" Veronica immediately replied.

"We have been looking for you since you went missing. Then we concluded that you were caught by the enemy. I'm glad you came back but who did you bring…" Major General Orion glanced at the tied people. Looking at the dirty clothes and tied bodies, his eyes widened. "Don't tell me they are…"

"They are the missing healers. We found them in the enemy camp and used their crystal magic ball to teleport here," Veronica narrated their adventure shortly.

Major General Orion furrowed his eyebrows. "Who is that? This guy? Oh, you are…" He seemed to recognize Arthur.

Arthur introduced himself, "I'm Arthur, Major General. The enemy mistook me as a healer. As a result, we both got captured together."

Although both of them planned to go after the missing healers, none of them mentioned it as they didn't want to get the spotlight. Somehow Veronica understood it and didn't tell them that she wasn't kidnapped. She just got along with their thoughts.

"You are a weapon designer. I've heard about you. I'm sorry you were caught up with all that." Major General Orion came forward and shook hands with him.

Arthur replied, "It's nothing. I'm glad to help you find the missing healers."

The soldiers already began to untie the healers. They even provided the tired looking healers water.

Major General Orion rubbed his chin. He remarked, "Anyway, I am curious. Are you two dating?"

"Huh?" Veronica was puzzled. She couldn't understand why he would think that she and Arthur were a couple.

"You are embracing him as if he is your lover." Major General Orion pointed at where Veronica's hands were grasping Arthur's left arm.

Veronica came to realize how she was hugging Arthur's arm. It must have been when she got scared when the enemy soldiers entered the tent and tried to capture them. Afterward, she saw the light and grabbed what was nearest to her.

The soldiers began to whistle. They began to tease those two. Because of the missing healers, they were upset. Now their mood was lifted gradually seeing the healers were back.

Upon hearing all that, her face reddened. "Ahh!" she yelped.

Arthur smiled, noticing her reaction. His eyes landed on her bleeding neck. The smile from his lips disappeared. He looked at Major General Orion and said, "Can we take her to any healer? She is bleeding."

"Oh yes. let's go inside." Major General Orion hurried them inside. The soldiers took healers to the resting room.

Unbeknownst to them, someone was looking at them disdainfully.

------------

Violet healed Veronica's injury and then asked, "Do you feel any discomfort?"

Veronica replied, "No, I don't. Just as I thought. The healer's power is incredible. Thank you for treating me."

Laticia stated, "What are you saying? You are the one who brought back our fellow healers. We are forever grateful to you. Who knows if we could ever get to see their faces unless you helped us. It wouldn't have been surprising if Riverhill killed them. Riverhill didn't leave any trace of their crimes. If Utahill was to accuse them, they would've said that Synetia had done something wrong. Synetia had no evidence left to tell them that they didn't make the healers disappear. Thanks to you this hasn't turned into a huge diplomatic issue and may have even led to a world war."

Violet gave Veronica a bowl of stew and agreed with her friend, "That's true. Also, you brought our healers back with proof. Now Utahill can accuse Riverhill and get some cash. As for the penalty, our kingdom might never work with Riverhill. They broke the contract first and so they have to pay."

Veronica commented, "Political issues are really hard to understand, isn't it?"

"Forget about a political issue. Tell me about the hot guy you are with. Are you guys dating?" Violet spoke in a teasing tone.

"Cough!" Veronica choked on her food and coughed vigorously. When she calmed down, she asked with teary eyes, "What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb. The soldiers saw how intimately you two were standing together. They spread the news all over the camp. They are saying that you two are going out." Violet elbowed her. "So? Did you guys have a chance to become a couple in the enemy camp?" she hinted at something dirty.

If Veronica had never read romance books, she wouldn't have understood Violet's meaning behind those words, but she read some of them. Her face tinted with red hue. "No, no, it's not like that."

"Is it? Tell me the truth!" Violet pestered her.