The tide receded and everything returned to normal. The little girl, the Gleaming Scale Serpent, and the guards who had been standing tensely outside the swirling tides rushed forward.
"Sister, are you alright?"
The Hero met her friends' and familiar's concerned gazes and smiled, about to speak. She paused for a moment, puzzled.
"Are you feeling unwell?" Seeing the Hero hesitating to speak, the little girl immediately became nervous.
"Don't worry! This is the Holy Sword Recognition from the Lake Holy Sword. No one knows how many years it's been since a warrior was last recognized by the Holy Sword."
The Warrior Guild Leader, who had also approached, offered this explanation.
The tall Warrior Guild Leader's face was filled with a hearty smile, which made the cruising bishop behind him adopt a wary expression.
"This brave lady, may I ask your name?" The Warrior Guild Leader inquired, executing a gentlemanly gesture that did not match his stature.
The Hero opened her mouth again but couldn't produce a single sound.
She lifted her still-aching arm, gently touching her throat, and her expression shifted.
'What? Am I mute now?'
The atmosphere descended into silence for a moment.
[Hero's Panic (Will -30)]
As the silence persisted, people's expressions gradually changed; the little girl's look became increasingly anxious, the smile disappeared from the Warrior Guild Leader's face, and the cruising bishop's face turned even more solemn.
The Gleaming Scale Serpent slithered around the Hero's feet, hissing continuously.
Even such a simple sound was impossible for her to make, and unable to use Snake Language, the Hero could only cast an apologetic glance at it.
'What should I do now?'
Despite the sudden change, the Hero reminded herself not to panic.
Looking at the worried expressions of those around and the audience beginning to murmur in the distance, she took a deep breath to calm herself.
Recognizing and accepting the fact that her vocal cords had inexplicably lost function, the Hero pursed her lips, raised her hand, pointed to her throat and mouth, and made several gestures, trying to describe her predicament using clumsy sign language.
Body language, the most primitive form of human communication, but the Hero didn't know how much of her unconventional gestures could be understood.
[Hero's Sign Language]
[Understanding Hero's Sign Language, group's comprehension (success below 52)]
[Little Girl & Guard (Good Friends -30)]
[Gleaming Scale Serpent (Snake +10, Familiar -20)]
[Warrior Guild Leader]
"...In any case, let's take her to the rest area first."
The Warrior Guild Leader, despite not understanding the Hero's gestures, as a manager, was the first to offer a suggestion.
"Go buy some food for Sister Hero!" The little girl hurriedly supported the weakened Hero and directed the guards to procure supplies.
"We'll handle things here, you continue to preside over the ceremony." The cruising bishop instructed the nearby monk.
The group escorted the Hero off the stone path, huddling together and making quite the scene.
Even though the Ceremony of Unsheathing the Sword wasn't over, the audience's focus shifted entirely from the next challenger to the girl in the center of the crowd.
The contestant following the Hero turned back three times with each step, watching the girl's departure.
The contestants' rest area wasn't far, and after sitting down on a chair, the Hero exhaled deeply.
The little girl, bustling around her, came running with a thick hot drink filled with sugar and milk.
With a grateful smile, the Hero drank most of the overly sweet energy drink in a few gulps, feeling revitalized for the moment.
After putting down the cup, she continued gesturing.
Despite having no issues with eating and swallowing, her vocal cords remained silent.
If she tried to force a sound, a chill akin to a blade touching skin would resonate in her throat.
"Sister Hero, could it be like that bird from before?"
Through the Hero's more forceful gesturing, the little girl quickly grasped what she was trying to convey. She glanced at the pensive cruising bishop and the slightly bewildered Warrior Guild Leader, then lowered her voice.
The Gleaming Scale Serpent also sensed changes in the magic power within the Queen's body and relaxed, lying back at the Hero's feet.
"But earlier..." Yet the clever little girl soon found herself puzzled again.
The Hero's original form had not previously been influenced by the Phoenix, hence she took a whole day to learn even a single Fireball Technique.
The Hero shook her head at the little girl.
"Is it different this time?" The little girl nodded, understanding, though her inner worries remained.
"You won't remain forever, will you?"
The Hero smiled and shook her head.
She subtly tilted her body, signaling the little girl to observe the cup in her hand.
Then the Hero's thumb lightly tilted the handle, and under the little girl's astonished gaze, the remaining half of the hot drink in the cup arched upward like a tiny fountain as if guided by her finger.
At that moment, the Hero's pupils turned ocean-blue, accompanied by a slight pain in her feet.
But soon, the Hero reverted to normal, winking emerald green eyes at the little girl.
'It seems to be some special blessing that seals the voice. Could it be Holy Word or the Wish Spell? According to the nature of the Lake Holy Sword, that's unlikely. Being able to manipulate water, could it be a Siren? But she seems not unwilling to talk, but unable to talk, perhaps...'