Chapter 87

“When the doctor pulls out the arrow, you’ll [Melt] this mana crystal and pour it into the wound.”

“And then you’ll use [Coagulation] magic to mold the crystal into shape. Understood.”

What I had carved into the back of Lucille’s neck was different from my own magic.

[Mana Phase Transition: Signal - Melting]

It was a spell that transformed mana from a solid state into a liquid.

“Alright. Let’s begin.”

I signaled the doctor with a glance. He cautiously extracted the arrow from Izack’s wound. Blood surged out in a sickening gush. There was truly no time to waste.

“Lucille. Please.”

Lucille recited a brief incantation toward the mana crystal resting on a plate.

“…It’s done!”

With a sharp exhale, the mana crystal turned into liquid and pooled on the plate. I quickly checked Lucille’s condition. Nothing seemed to have changed for her, but there was no time to breathe a sigh of relief. If I didn’t finish the procedure now, Izack would bleed to death.

It was my turn.

I took the plate and slowly poured the liquefied mana into Izack’s wound. Molding mana to fit a human organ using [Coagulation] was something I had never even dreamed of doing. Yet, I had to do it, and somehow, I felt like I could.

‘Don’t you dare go deleting names from my personnel directory whenever you feel like it…! You damn Status Window!’

I gnashed my teeth and chanted the spell. The liquefied mana mixed with the blood and instantly hardened into a semi-crystalline form, beginning to move like ripples on water. I manipulated the magical energy flowing through my right arm, adjusting the location and degree of [Coagulation] bit by bit.

My blood-mana concentration was likely rising in real-time. I had to end this quickly. For Izack’s sake, and for my own.

It was sheer luck that I was able to survive and utter the words, “I did it.”

“Ah… for a second there, I thought I was going to turn into a mana crystal golem.”

I muttered to myself, staring up at the ceiling of the infirmary hallway. When Izack’s treatment was finished, the red hole in his abdomen had been perfectly filled with blue mana crystals.

The first thing I did after the surgery was check the Status Window.

Izack’s name had returned. I cheered inwardly.

‘You shitty Status Window! I won! I beat you!’

The strength left my legs. I slumped down right there on the floor. Now, I actually had something to say to Ronari when she returned. I’d have to apologize for putting her father in danger, of course. But I could give her father back to her. My head felt hot with the overwhelming emotion of that fact.

Because the blood loss had been so severe, Izack required absolute rest. It would have been great if I could provide a blood transfusion, but we didn’t have the technology for that yet. If I had been a doctor in my past life, things might have been different… Maybe I should have studied harder.

That idle thought crossed my mind.

‘My knowledge is sub-professional, but it’s still modern medical knowledge; it might be helpful here…’

Of course, it might also be completely useless. This was a world with mana, magic, and people who could leap three meters in the air. Well, I could think about that later. For now, I had to be satisfied with saving Izack. There were plenty of other immediate problems to deal with, anyway.

As I was about to leave the front of the infirmary, someone approached me. It was Lucille. I bowed deeply to her to express my gratitude.

“Thank you. Without you, I really might have turned into a golem doing this alone.”

“A golem?”

“…It’s a long story. Anyway, thank you. I couldn’t say it enough times.”

“Forget it.”

Lucille’s reaction was as blunt as ever. However, she followed up with a few unexpected words.

“Just use that to treat Vittorio someday. That will be enough.”

I was a bit surprised. “You… did you know Commander Vittorio was infected?”

That was a fact even his own mother, Ludovica, didn’t know.

“Why are you surprised? I’m the one wondering how you knew that.”

“That’s…”

I fell into that chronic dilemma unique to “possessors.”

‘I can’t exactly tell her I know because I read the original story.’

“…Well, I had my ways. But thanks to that, aren’t we now able to treat the Commander’s symptoms? Denabi avoided ruin, too.”

‘So I’d really appreciate it if we could just let this slide smoothly…’

I glanced at Lucille’s reaction out of the corner of my eye. She was still staring at me piercingly, clearly suspicious. But soon, she looked away. It seemed she didn’t intend to pry further. Instead, she said:

“Regardless, our previous deal still stands. I will stay in Denabi and turn you into a perfectly normal mage. As a result, you’ll be able to use those [Coagulation] and [Melting] spells without paying a price.”

I flinched. “Uh, but didn’t you say those formulas were too complex and difficult to learn?”

“Doing it instantly would be hard. But there’s no reason it can’t be done if we take our time and decipher them step-by-step.”

Lucille continued. “I saw how you used magic in that dungeon a few times. You can rapid-fire those spells without delay, right?”

“Yes… that’s correct.”

“Your mother likely researched simplifying the formulas using crystallization symptoms specifically so they could be used actively in real combat like that.”

“…I’m sorry, but what does that mean?” I asked, feeling like a college student who had suddenly turned into an idiot in front of a professor.

“Simply put, she shouldered that risk so that a formula requiring ten minutes of preparation could be fired in ten seconds.”

“Ah.”

“To put it another way, it means this: if you don’t skip those ten minutes of preparation, you can use the formula without having to resort to the crystallization symptoms.”

At that moment, a vast landscape unfolded in my mind. If such a thing were truly possible… then treating physical trauma with magic would no longer be a dream. It wouldn’t just be about treating one person like Vittorio; I could completely heal a severely wounded soldier with a ten-minute procedure.

“…We might end up leaving a massive footprint on the history of Imperial medicine.”

“What was that?”

“Nothing. But can I really use my mother’s magic without paying the price, as long as I prepare for ten minutes?”

“Stupid. I just said that as an example.”

She pushed my forehead with her index finger.

“Ow.”

“Whether it actually takes ten minutes or not can only be determined after sufficiently researching the formula. Obviously, your own level of achievement will play a role, too.”

“I see.”

Lucille turned away from me and headed toward the end of the hallway.

“So, I’ll be using your mother’s room.”

“Pardon?”

“I’ll be holding lessons every evening, so come to that room. I won’t tolerate tardiness. Vittorio’s life depends on this.”

“Wait, wait, wait! How can you just decide all of that on your own!?”

I hurried after Lucille. For a long while, I had to explain all the reasons why I couldn’t possibly attend lessons immediately.

The resolution of the petitions didn’t end even when evening came. In the end, I had to send more than half of them away. I sat across from Avenger at the dinner table, discussing the matter.

“Avenger. Doesn’t something feel strange to you?”

“You mean how you, a non-doctor, brought the dying Mr. Izack back to life? That is indeed strange. Strange enough to label it a miracle and sell the story to the Church.”

“No, not that.”

“?”

Avenger stared at me blankly as if he had no idea what I was talking about. But I knew.

‘You know exactly what I mean.’

I gave Avenger a steady, knowing look. Soon, he signaled his surrender.

“Hahaha… Right, sorry. There have been so many surprising news lately. You’re talking about how public opinion in the upper district regarding the opening of the gates is more divided than expected, right?”

“Exactly.”

I pointed at Avenger with the fork I was using to pick up food.

“It’s true that the commotion in the lower district reached the upper district in a watered-down version. Even in the lower district, people seem reluctant to mention the two skirmishes that happened in the alleys. But everyone knows there was a riot and the gates were closed for four days because of it, don’t they?”

Avenger set down his utensils and nodded in agreement.

“Quite so. Yet, nearly half of the petitions are requesting that the gates be reopened. It is certainly an unexpected result.”

He pondered for a moment before speaking again.

“But if we explain it as being due to the economic effects of opening the gates… isn’t that also a rational conclusion?”

“Hmm.”

He wasn’t wrong. I had even wondered myself if I was being a bit too sensitive. The residents of the upper district valuing the economic benefits over the risks of opening the gates… well, I could just leave it at that. Besides, this clearly provided a justification for keeping the gates open, which was good news.

“Still, something feels fishy about this.”

“I understand. It is indeed hard to grasp why people would view the gates solely through the lens of money even after seeing a riot.”

Avenger then added:

“Then how about this? For now, we keep the gates closed and watch how things progress.”

“True, we can’t exactly open the gates immediately while the lower district is still in chaos.”

“Yes. And we still have plenty of other problems left to solve.”

I felt like I could read the hidden meaning behind Avenger’s ellipses.

‘Thanks to someone.’

“Haha…”

“Hahaha.”

With an awkward laugh, I swallowed the vegetable I had poked with my fork.

The brewery was in a state of emergency due to my three-day unauthorized donation spree.

“Hey! Why is production so slow!?”

“We don’t have the raw materials!”

“Hey! The client wants their goods, and they still haven’t gone out!?”

“I told you, we don’t have the materials!”

“Hey! The brewing vats are empty! What on earth are you doing!?”

“What do you want me to do when there are no materials!?”

Standing at the site, I felt like I was sitting on a bed of needles listening to those exchanges. If I could, I wanted to shout my excuses out loud.

‘I had no choice! This was the only way to turn the hearts of the lower district people and open the gates! And if I hadn’t used them, those materials would have just been sitting uselessly in front of blocked gates and probably gotten looted anyway, so you should be glad I put them to use!’

But those words remained an echoing monologue in my mind; they never made it past my lips.

‘It’d be embarrassing to make pathetic excuses…’

Besides, I was far too busy to even dream of making excuses. As I mentioned, the brewery was in crisis mode, I hadn’t been able to do any work during the four days I was isolated in the lower district, and I had to learn magic from Lucille.

In a way, this was actually more comfortable. Strengthening our internal affairs was naturally less taxing than stirring up the headache-inducing lower district. Izack also needed to rest for the time being. As Avenger said, we had to wait and see.

I finished my inspection of the brewery and stepped outside. Just then, a familiar voice called out to me.

“Young Master.”

It was a soldier in armor—a guard from the gate.

“Young Master!”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“Two sisters approached the gate, saying they need to meet you from the lower district.”

“Is one of them in a wheeled chair?”

“Oh, yes. How did you know?”

It was Yelena and Vina.

“Let them in. They are people I called for. I received help from them.”

“I see. However…”

“?”

The soldier handed me something resembling a note.

“They asked me to deliver this first.”

“A note?”

I unfolded it and opened it. And then…

“…!”

Written there were these words:

‘Open the gate.’

It was written in dark red letters that looked as if they were made of blood.