"My physical body can hardly leave this place, so I usually live in 'Ether Body' form. The Ether Body has its advantages too—I can appear anywhere in the world in an instant, using Yōsei as a stepping stone to traverse distances. I can go anywhere to admire beautiful scenery."
"But... constantly using your Ether Body will only make you weaker and weaker."
"What's the point of not using your Ether Body and staying in this room all the time?" Princess Alice countered directly. "Rather than staying cooped up here, I might as well use my Ether Body to travel while I'm still alive."
"If there comes a day when I can travel the world without relying on my Ether Body, who would choose to stay in this room?" Princess Alice sighed involuntarily.
"Do you want to live a normal life someday?" Phoenix asked, her calm gaze meeting Princess Alice's.
"Of course I want that... But..."
"In that case, I can try to help you heal. If you're willing, that is."
Princess Alice's influence was immense. Beyond her status as the First Witch, she was also the most powerful intelligence leader, controlling vast amounts of information.
The Wise Men's Council's intelligence network was considered the world's best.
"??"
Princess Alice's eyes widened in surprise upon hearing Phoenix's words.
"Drink it and see if it works. If not, I have other methods. If all else fails, there's nothing more we can do."
Ignoring Alice's astonishment, Phoenix produced a bottle of Rimuru's All-Purpose Healing Potion from her inventory and offered it to her.
As Alice gazed at the potion, her surprise gave way to disappointment.
She had already tested every top-tier medicine and treatment available. If any of them could have helped, she wouldn't be in this state now.
"Is this some kind of poison?"
Though Alice doubted the potion's effectiveness, she couldn't help but joke about it, given that it came from a "king."
"Do you really think I'd need poison against you?"
Phoenix was momentarily speechless. You're practically vegetative already. What could you possibly do to stop me?
"Who knows..." Alice replied with a peculiar tone.
"Looks like you don't even have the strength to hold anything, right? Here, let me feed you."
After all, Princess Alice was not only a remarkably beautiful woman, but also the most dazzling White Princess in Europe. Such a task was something Phoenix was more than willing to do.
If it were someone less attractive, Phoenix would naturally ignore them...
"Your Majesty, how could you possibly..."
Noticing Phoenix's actions, Erica couldn't help but try to stop her. Indeed, "Your Majesty" truly favored young girls with an aristocratic aura like Princess Alice. Not only had she forgiven Alice outright, but she was also preparing to treat her and even personally feeding her.
However, before Erica could finish speaking, she saw Phoenix gesture for her to pause. The unspoken words died on her lips.
"To think the [ Queen ] herself would care for an ordinary patient like me—it's truly an honor!"
Watching Phoenix's movements, Princess Alice was somewhat taken aback. She had initially feared this new Queen might do something to her when she arrived.
But not only did the Queen not harm her, she was actually going to such lengths to help.
"Open your mouth!"
Phoenix paid no heed to her thoughts, holding the medicine up to Princess Alice's cherry-red lips and commanding her to open her mouth.
"..."
Princess Alice responded with a smile in her eyes as she opened her mouth. She drank the medicine from Phoenix's hand.
Liliana, standing beside Erica, gazed at the two beautiful young girls before her. Though they were clearly both girls, Liliana couldn't help but feel... that Phoenix, the queen she had pledged loyalty to, resembled the male protagonist from her novel.
Especially with her tone and mannerisms, Phoenix embodied the perfect image of a domineering CEO. Despite being female, Phoenix somehow radiated an overwhelming sense of security.
As Liliana mentally cast Phoenix into the role of her book's male lead, she realized... Phoenix was exactly her type.
The only difference being gender...
Suddenly, Liliana recalled Erica's earlier suggestion... and found herself considering it might not be so unacceptable after all.
After all, mages have ways to conceive children with partners of the same sex.
Meanwhile, Higokumaru stood to the far right, watching Phoenix interact with the newly acquainted Princess Alice, her lips curling into a pout.
Big sis Phoenix clearly has me alone enough! Now she's flirting with every girl she meets? What a heartbreaker!
Slut!
But I can't afford to lose her...
Once Princess Alice had finished drinking all the "Rimuru" brand universal healing potion, Phoenix immediately asked, "How do you feel now? Better?"
"My body feels warm... I think I'm feeling better," Princess Alice said, moving her arms and noticing her improved condition.
She looked in surprise at the empty bottle in Phoenix's hand. The effect was so remarkable, with such noticeable improvement after just one drink.
"What is this? A medicine with such strong healing properties? It can even cure something the whole world couldn't handle?"
"This is a potion personally crafted by a Demon Lord using extremely precious materials," Phoenix replied solemnly, gazing at the over nine thousand doses of healing potion in her inventory. "It's truly valuable."
"A Demon Lord? A Campione?" Princess Alice asked, momentarily stunned.
Even a Campione would find it difficult to create such a potion, she thought. Otherwise, the other Campione would have cured me long ago.
"No... not a Campione. A true Demon Lord! Now that it works, let's get a few more bottles!"
Without further explanation, Phoenix produced several more bottles of healing potion.
"..."
Looking at the potions in Phoenix's hand, Princess Alice couldn't help but feel... as if these potions were practically free.
After drinking several more bottles of healing potion, Princess Alice unexpectedly stood up from the bed. Though still weak, she could now move about freely.
This came as a great surprise to Princess Alice.
However, at this point, Princess Alice seemed to have developed immunity to the healing potion's effects. Drinking two more bottles had no effect whatsoever.