In a clinic in the new city, Venetinova, Hilde stared speechless at her own hands, a beastman woman laid out on the examination table in front of her.
The woman had been deathly pale when she was brought in, but now that the procedure was complete, she was sleeping with a relatively peaceful look on her face. Hilde was the one who was pale now.
B... Brad... Brad! Coming back to her senses, she called her husbands na. Hearing her cries, Brad, who had been in the bedroom with their one-year-old daughter, rushed over.
Wh-Whats wrong, Hil
Brad! Hilde jumped at Brad as he arrived. Seizing his white coat, she buried her face in his chest.
Normally Hilde was so good spirited and strong-willed that you might have called her manly. In all of their long ti together, Brad had never seen this weak side of her.
Wh-What?! What in the world is going on?
Brad... I may have done sothing terrible.
Terrible?
Hilde looked up at him, her face still pale. Though she didnt seem to be crying, she did look frightened of sothing. Brad gently rubbed Hildes back to try to calm her.
What exactly happened? Did you botch the treatnt? Even as he asked, Brad was sure that couldnt be it. If she had been about to make an irreversible mistake, she would have called him then, not now.
Brad looked at the beastman woman on the table. Her eyes were closed, but her chest gently rose and fell. Her breathing didnt seem labored, either. ...As far as I can see, shes just sleeping.
This wasnt like surgery, where a botched procedure could directly result in the death of the patient. This woman had co in feeling unwell, and Hilde asked questions, examined her, and then decided whether or not to provide dicine. Brad, who had nothing to do, had been left to take care of Ludia.
Having finally cald herself, Hilde began to tell him what had transpired, Brad. I...
Hilde related the events to Brad in minute detail. As Brad listened, first his eyes widened, then he cocked his head to the side as he failed to understand what Hilde was worried about... then, when he eventually comprehended what it was that she was concerned about, he frowned.
What should I do, Brad? Should I go into hiding...?
Hold on! Youre getting way ahead of yourself! Brad clapped his hands down on her shoulders. The first thing we need to do is calm down. Both of us... Also, no matter what happens, I will always be by your side. Ludia will, too.
Ah! Ludia! Hilde brushed off Brads arms and took off running. When Brad recovered from his surprise and chased after her, Hilde was looking at their sleeping daughter.
When Brad approached, Hilde leaned against him with tears in her eyes.
...If it were just , I might have fled the country and gone into hiding.
...Yeah. I would have gone with you, too.
But... I dont want this child to be caught up in it, too. I couldnt make her suffer like that.
I know. Brad gently embraced Hilde as he ca to a decision. Lets talk to the king about this.
Huh?! But what if...?
Its okay, Brad said, looking a hesitant Hilde straight in the eye. If this were any other country, I wouldnt be saying this. But that king, he wouldnt mistreat you, no matter whats happened. That king treasures family. He couldnt abandon you after you helped his wife to give birth.
Having received a ssage from Brad and Hilde saying, We wish to et with you in secret to discuss sothing important, I set aside ti to et with the two of them in a room at the castle.
They had indicated that the fewer people present the better, so only Hakuya and Liscia were in attendance, with Aisha outside the door standing guard and keeping others away.
Incidentally, their daughter, Ludia, was being looked after by Elisha and Carla.
Its not everyday you co to the castle, huh, Brad? The looks on their faces were dark, so I decided to open with so lighthearted banter. Maybe you dont want to co to the den of the powerful, hmm?
I tried teasing him for the way he acted like he had a bad case of middle school syndro, but...
...The situation left with no alternative, Brad responded with a grim look on his face. ...This was apparently going to be a serious talk. Liscia elbowed in the ribs, as if to say, You shouldnt be teasing him. It kind of hurt.
Brad stood up, and bowed his head deeply. Please. Lend us your power for Hildes sake.
Please. Hilde stood up as well and bowed her head, and my eyes went wide.
No, lift your heads, please. I had them sit back down, then started over by asking them, Please, tell . What in the world happened?
...There was a woman who visited our clinic the other day. Hilde slowly began to explain the situation. I will keep her na a secret, but she was a beastman woman, thirty years old. She complained about stomach pains, and after examining her, I realized it was the work of bugs.
By bugs you an... parasites, huh?
Anisakis, or the like. Hilde nodded.
It seems she ate so fish that spoils quickly raw. Because Venetinova is on the sea, it happens on rare occasions. The usual treatnt involves using a deworming dicine to kill the bugs, followed by dical supervision. And, in serious cases, I will have Brad perform an abdominal incision and remove them.
Hm...
I had this woman drink the deworming dicine and stay in the clinic so I could watch her, but... she was quite weak-willed. She begged , Please, use recovery magic on .
Recovery magic? But I heard light magic like that can only heal external wounds?
The story Id heard was, indeed, that light magic was not effective in treating illness. That was why I had worked to increase the number of people like Brad and Hilde, who could treat people with the power of dicine, in our country.
Yes, thats right. Hilde nodded. The symptoms brought on by parasites are an infection, and magic has no effect on it, just like with bacteria. I explained that to the patient, but she wouldnt accept it.
When youre suffering from illness, youll cling to any straw, after all...
I think so, too. It was only going to make her feel better about it emotionally, but if it satisfied the patient, I didnt see the harm. I cast the spell on her, and when I did...
Hilde paused for a mont, then, seeming to resolve herself, she confessed.
Her illness... got better.
That figures... The Lunarian Orthodox Papal State was going to want her more than anything. If she was a saint they couldnt have for themselves, they would have to publicly condemn her. The sa way they had criticized Maria and others.
, a saint? Spare . Hilde hugged herself and went pale.
Oh, I saw what this was about now. Was this why they had co to ? To have the country protect her, so she wasnt caught up in the machinations of so religion?
...Who was the patient? Does she know it was Hildes light magic that cured her?
When she realized sothing was wrong, Hilde put her under with drugs imdiately. When she awoke, we explained the dicine had run its course, so I dont think she realizes... Lying to a patient may disqualify us as doctors, though, Brad said as he held Hildes shoulders.
So the only ones who know are the five of us here, then. Well...
As I was pondering what to do about this, Liscia tugged on my sleeve.
Hm? What?
...I know, normally, I shouldnt let personal feelings co into this. But, please, Souma. Help Dr. Hilde. She looked after the whole ti I was pregnant. I dont even know if Cian and Kazuya would have been born safely without her.
Liscia...
So, please. Lend the two of them your strength.
...I know. I gently stroked the back of Liscias head. Its already decided that Im going to help them. If anything happened to Hilde, Brad wouldnt stay quiet about it. It would be to the countrys detrint if we were to lose their rare gifts. More than that, do you think I could abandon the people who did so much for our family? I dont want to see such a sad look on my wifes face.
I looked to everyone present.
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