Chapter 23: I Won’t Let This Man Die
I was guided to the bedrooms on the second floor of this mansion.
There’s a beautiful female elf lying down on the bed.
Seeing her pained eyes, Colt, the man in his prime age with silver fox ears, stares down before speaking.
“She is Chloe’s mother, my younger sister. Since two weeks ago, she’s been complaining about feeling fatigue, losing her appet.i.te, and coughing violently until she coughs blood. She’s been sweating profusely, much more than anything.”
Colt and this female elf, being brother and sister of different races, isn’t something rare in this world. Interracial children will be born perfectly inheriting only one side of their parent’s races.
“Thank you for describing the symptoms to me. Then, I’ll begin the examination.”
I touch her forehead, then activate the first step of my [Recovery] ability. Using [Recovery] in the early stage will let me know everything about the target.
What it does tell me is how the patient is suffering from the disease. Moreover, it’s spreading through bacteria to those who can’t build the antibodies. Her lungs are completely finished. There is no hope to let them heal by themselves. She’ll probably draw her last breath in less than a month.
Moreover, this bacteria is spread through the air. This type of infection is usually incurable. It’s a complex disease with striking similarity to pulmonary tuberculosis, which is said to be incurable until recently even on earth. With the level of facilities in this world, there’s nothing that could be done about it.
However, I can heal it using my [Recovery].
“I understood the characteristics of the disease.”
“Are you saying that you understand it just from holding her forehead?”
“Yes, I’m a Magic user. I can use Magic to heal people.”
When he heard it, Colt became speechless. The fact that someone possesses Magic is their most well guarded secret. Due to the scarcity, if it’s known by others, they will put themselves in danger. And that’s even before counting the extremely high value of my [Recovery], it’s truly not a secret that I can divulge to anyone.
“Is it all right to tell me that?”
“Yeah, because this is the only way to do it. This disease is not a joke. We have no time to hesitate nor to put up appearances. If it’s left alone, the village will perish. Besides, I trust you.”
It’s because Colt loves Tina’s mother and Tina herself, that I could entrust him with this secret.
“I’m about to wrong you with this, but why are you willing to cure this disease this far? Can you tell me your reason?”
Colt’s hands are trembling. He should be in fear of the reality that I shoved in his face.
“First of all, this sickness cannot be healed on its own. A certain bacteria….. the source of the disease resides in the lungs, and there is nothing in a person’s body that could resist this source. Moreover, the medicine that could kill this source of disease doesn’t exist in this world. This source will continue to multiply, rendering the body weak, and finally causing death. I’ll repeat it to you, self-healing is impossible.”
Upon that truth, Colt’s face warps in agony. He seems to hold the expectations that the sickness will someday be healed with time.
“There’s something else.”
“Can it be something worse than this?”
“Yes. After contracting this disease, the source will multiply inside the person, then travel through the air as they cough. Then, inside the air that they cough out, the source of the disease will continue to multiply. Before long, those who are still healthy at this moment will show symptoms due to the increase of the source. Then, the source of the disease will scatter even further.”
A disease outbreak is inevitable if it’s left alone.
When Chloe arrived in my village, I checked if she was a disease carrier, but she was still all right at that time. However, infecting the few number of residents in this village who haven’t showed symptoms yet is only a matter of time.
“……It’s truly a dreadful thing. Then, at this point-”
“Without healing all of the patients at once, the infected people will only increase. After some time, the momentum of the contagion will increase.”
I shed off any consideration and tell him the plain facts. If there’s any hesitation here, the damage will intensify.
“If that’s the truth…… This village is done for.”
“If you can possibly rely on me, I can heal every patient with my Magic. You should gather those who starts showing the symptoms and I can heal everyone at once. One more thing to add, after being healed, there’s still a concern of relapse. I should come regularly to do the examination.”
That’s a pragmatic response. With this, everything can be settled.
Because there’s no response from Colt, I continue speaking.
“If you’re thinking of saving this village without borrowing my power, you should immediately quarantine all people who show symptoms. Even just by being physically close to the patients, the damage will be done. Ah, no, it’s better if they are killed, because they will only suffer until their death. You’ll need to do the same to the next people who are infected. ……By doing it in the quarantined area, you should be able to minimize the damage.”
It’s a proceeding that is exceedingly inhumane. However, the situation truly calls for it.
“……As if I could quarantine my precious fellow villagers. Moreover, killing them.”
“In that case, let me lend you a hand. I’ll show you that I’ll heal everyone.”
“I cannot borrow the strength of a human either.”
“Then the village will perish. That’s all there is to it.”
Colt sinks into silence.
I let his head turn desperately. His obligation as the head and as a man, both are severely torturing him.
“Let’s go back to the topic. My words earlier, about carrying out the plan to let the patients, who break the rules by being healed by me and get banished from the village, going to my fief to take care of it, can be put into realization. I wish to save those who still hold their will to live even with banishment as a repercussion. ……However, if there’s a single person left in this village who still carries the disease, eventually all the villagers will succ.u.mb to death. I wish you will decide as the head of this village while keeping that in mind.”
I bluntly lay it all out in the open.
Just like he said, here in this spirit village, I am an outsider. I wish to save this village for Tina’s sake. I intend to lend all my power. The circ.u.mstance is as it is. I already stopped thinking of hiding [Recovery] either way.
Even so, in the end, without depending on Colt’s decision, I can’t do anything.
Chloe, who has been staring intently at us throughout the conversation, stands in front of me. She glares at Colt.
“What are you hesitating for, Colt-ojisan!?”
“……Chloe.”
“Let’s be saved. Aren’t the lives of everyone more important than the village rules!? For me, everyone’s lives are more important than that. If Colt-ojisan can’t reach that conclusion, I’ll go around and convince all the sick people one by one. And then, with my mother and everyone who gets healed, I’ll bring the survivors to Kurt’s village!”
That surprised me, a bit.
Chloe is composed. With a cool head, she’s thinking about the way to save not only her mother, but many others. With the current state, it should be the way to save the most people.
“I…… I………….. I have decided. Kurt, I want you to accept it.”
Colt makes me grasp something he puts in my palm. When I open it, there’s a beautiful jade-colored orb.
“This...o...b..is called jade. The heart of an elf who pa.s.sed on will become an orb. This is my mother’s keepsake. Among the elves, it’s a custom to pa.s.s their jade orb to someone precious to them on their death. Once, humans hunted down the elves to obtain them. They’re not only beautiful, they also have the capability to increase mana.”
“I knew about jade orb. I used to think that it was ultimately a myth, though.”
I can feel mana emanating from the orb in my palm. Such a soul-stealing fascinating translucent color. This one stone is probably more valuable than the whole Arnold fief.
“I’ll present it to you, Kurt. It’s an advance payment for the doctor’s treatment. Can you help with Chloe’s request? First, I want you to heal my sister.”
To have been told in that manner, I don’t have any reason to refuse. And what’s more intriguing is……
“Is it all right to let me know that this material can be found in the elves’ heart? If I were to fall to my greed and start to hunt them down…”
“You will bring a company of humans and strike this village down. Correct? But Kurt won’t do anything like that. It’s to return the favor of letting me know about your Magic.”
Colt smiles faintly.
To be told that much, there’s no way I can betray him.
I’m holding on to the jade orb. My mana shoots up on its own.
“Then, I’m healing……. [Recovery].”
I invoke my Magic. A warm light envelops the female elf, then the disease is cured. And then, the pained sleeping face evens out, her breath calms down, and she’s no longer sweating.
Chloe’s face turns into a wide smile, falls onto her knees, and grasps the female elf’s hand with both of hers.
“Colt-ojisan, mother, is, mother is, healthy. This peaceful face, it’s the first time since she’s fallen sick.”
“You’re right. Such a terrific power. She’s healed in such a short time.”
There’s no surprise here. My [Recovery]’s power is that abnormal.
“Chloe, Kurt. I’ve decided. I wish to save those who can be saved. The truth is, I want to bend the rules and cure everyone. However, there are folks who will definitely refuse a human’s treatment. I can’t change their hearts. And from what you told me, if any single one of the sick remained, the disease would still spread. It’s a deadlock, but at the very least, I wish you will save those who have the will to live outside.
Colt’s eyes show his resolution. Those are from a sorrowful resolution.
“What are you planning to do?”
“I will look after this village until the very end. As the head. I’ll keep struggling to save as many as possible until the end. I will show them a peaceful end, by implementing the quarantine method that Kurt mentioned.”
I’m thinking now.
If I become the feudal lord, will I be able to face this kind of unavoidable collapse of Arnold with this composure? Then, will I be able to think about my people until death stares at me in the eyes?
If Colt is only thinking about his own life, he knows that he can go to my fief along with Chloe. But even so, he decided to save as many lives as possible instead.
I want to be this kind of man. That’s why, I won’t let him die.
Then, I shall put it into action. Not only by this convenient [Recovery] power. As Kurt Arnold, I shall go all out without anything to spare.
“I refuse. this single stone is not enough for me to take care of everything.”
“Fumu, is that so? Then it’s all right. If it’s something within my power to do, you may request anything. It’s fine even if I have to gather all existing jade orbs in this village.”
Colt looked at me with disappointment clouding his eyes. Those eyes are saying that I am still a greedy human after all.
“What I want is the best fruits. If this village perishes, I will be troubled.”
However, with a single sentence from me, that disappointment turns into astonishment.
“Rather than jade orbs, you want fruits?”
“Yes. I am indeed a doctor and a lord, but I am also a pastry chef. More than any precious jewels, delicious fruits are more attractive to me.”
Colt looks at me while I retort, then he laughs.
“Hahahaha, to think that that’s what you want to suddenly say. What an interesting man you are, Kurt.”
“It’s no laughing matter. I mean it. Colt-san, you said it yourself, right? [In this circ.u.mstance, I want to bend the rules and cure everyone. However, there are folks who will definitely refuse a human’s treatment. I can’t change their hearts.] So in that case, I will show you that I can persuade them.”
“That is impossible. There are way more folks who refuse humans than you thought, Kurt. Even if they understand that you’re a doctor who can heal them, the probability of persuading them is still nonexistent.”
That should indeed be the case. A doctor’s words might not be able to reach them.
But then, even so.
“I am a pastry chef. The power of delicious pastries transcend racial barriers. I will definitely reach their hearts.”
I swear by my pride, that my pastry will smash down the wall of even the most obstinate folk’s heart.
That, is my resolution.