After successfully casting Healing, Gret returned to the dining table. When he sat down to lunch with the priest, he felt entirely justified. He chatted with the priest as they ate, and kept an eye on the boy for an hour to make sure his allergic symptoms didn't return. Only then did he feel safe enough to go to sleep.
Before bed, he gave them a thousand instructions: if the child felt even a little unwell, they absolutely had to wake him at once.
Perhaps because he was a healer, or perhaps because he was grateful Gret had saved the child, the farmer, Uncle Edmond, didn't make him squeeze into the dormitory with his comrades. Instead, he gave him a room of his own. With its fine linen sheets and soft, fluffy quilt, the bed felt so comfortable that Gret sighed in contentment as soon as he lay down.
...At last, his first day in this new world was over.
From today on, I had to make it on my own in this unfamiliar world. All I could rely on was the scientific knowledge filling my head, the Healing spell I'd just learned to cast, and...
He touched his chest. A pendant, tied around his neck with a thin waxed linen cord, had never left his side in all his life, according to the original owner's memories.
A translucent, pale green pendant shaped like a leaf. Neither metal nor jade, neither wood nor stone.
"I wonder what it is... Oh, well. I'll just keep wearing it..."
Gret murmured softly. He closed his eyes and fell into darkness in less than half a second.
Gret slept soundly.
Having just arrived in another world, walked who knew how many miles, and performed two emergency procedures, Gret slept like a log. The moment his head touched the pillow, he was out cold until dawn, without waking once.
The only thing that disturbed his sleep was the fact that he kept writing a paper in his dreams:
Patient, male, 37... Treated for traumatic injuries. Diagnosed with... grade III liver laceration, one intestinal perforation, 5 cm in length... Intestinal repair performed without anesthesia, using Healing Potion and Healing to restore the tissue and return the bowel to the abdominal cavity. Patient passed gas six hours after surgery.
Discussion: After intestinal surgery, intestinal motility usually returns slowly due to factors such as anesthesia and surgical stress. Recovery generally takes 48–72 hours. In this case, the patient's intestinal motility recovered in only six hours, a significant reduction in recovery time.
It may be concluded that postoperative healing with Healing has a marked effect on the restoration of intestinal function. Further clinical research based on this case is recommended...
...Damn papers.
Still bleary-eyed, Gret got up and slapped himself on the head, producing a sharp smack.
I've already been transported to another world. I don't have to bust my ass writing papers to become a senior chief physician anymore. Give me a break...
Because of that nightmare—which wasn't quite a nightmare—Gret dragged himself through his morning routine in a bit of a daze. He got dressed with sleepy eyes, finished breakfast, and was just about to line up with his comrades when he received some news:
They'd been requisitioned by the temple guards to take part in the search operation.
"Us?"
Gret stared blankly. Young Priest John, standing beside him, panicked as soon as he heard:
"Gret, you can't go! That knight—the one from yesterday—he hates you so much! This requisition is definitely aimed at you! Who knows what he'll do to you if you go!"
"Really?" Gret scratched his head. "The priest seemed pretty reasonable, and he seemed to like me. But we're City Guards! We still have patrols to do!"
"But that knight is the city lord's nephew..." Captain Karen gave a wry smile, looking utterly helpless.
"The Spring Goddess's temple is a 'noble's temple.' Most of the priests and knights there come from noble families. They can requisition the City Guard whenever they like. All they have to do is give us notice.
"They said they'd vouch for us regarding our patrol duties once we got back. Little Gret, just let it go."
"But Uncle Karen, you're still hurt! I'll go talk to them!"
"Little Gret..."
Ignoring the captain's attempt to stop him, Gret turned and charged into the hall. Roman Knight was blocking the entrance. He listened patiently as Gret explained what he wanted, then smiled. "As a healer, you're naturally entitled to opt out. As for Captain Kalun, isn't his injury already healed?"
Gret lowered his gaze slightly. Roman Knight's explanation seemed to let him off the hook, giving him every reason not to take part in the operation. He could stay behind, of course—but if he did, what would happen to his comrades?
Roman Knight's malice was plain to see. A lone squad of City Guards, far from home, wouldn't dare resist even when requisitioned. If Gret didn't go, the knight's anger and malice would obviously fall on their heads.
A search mission could bring all sorts of danger. If they went, they might end up risking their lives as cannon fodder in front of the temple guards!
Never mind that they were comrades, or that Captain Karen had always looked after the original owner. As a doctor, Gret couldn't abandon his companions and run away when they might be in danger!
What should he do? What should he do...
He stopped arguing, bowed slightly, then turned and left. After circling around a few times, he slipped into the row of buildings opposite the granary and grabbed a temple guard.
"Excuse me, where is the priest? Could you let him know I need to speak with him?!"
"His Reverence is still at morning prayers." The temple guard looked at him strangely, with a mixture of contempt and suspicion, as if to say:
Don't you pray in the morning?
Gret: "..."
He seemed to remember reading somewhere that priests prayed to their gods early every morning to restore their Healing for the day... Right, when he'd gotten up to wash his face, Freckles had been mumbling toward the sun. So that was what he was doing.
Damn it. He'd gotten up this morning and focused entirely on grumbling about papers. He'd completely forgotten to pray. Besides, who was he supposed to pray to? Nature God?
He couldn't remember Nature God's name, doctrine, or even a single prayer...
I really am a fake Divine Revelation User. Gret felt miserable.
Even so, giving up wasn't in Gret's nature. He steadied himself, turned, and found the farmer, Uncle Edmond, asking him to send a message to the city at once. Then he went back to Roman Knight and continued arguing with him.
Gret pleaded with him, then argued his case. In the end, he simply steeled himself and made a threat:
"Then let me go in Uncle Karen's place! I'm a healer, so I have special privileges. If you don't agree, I won't go!"
"Fine! It's a deal!"
Their palms smacked together. As they did, Gret quietly clenched his left hand at his side.
—This guy really is up to no good. I have to be careful!
With a backpack on his back and a waterskin over his shoulder, Gret set out once more. Just as they were about to leave, Young Priest John came running out with his pack and planted himself beside Gret without a word.
"Gret, I'm coming with you!"
"What are you going for?"
"You're not even taking me home anymore, so of course I have to go with you!" Young John winked at him. His smile was both determined and sly, and the freckles on his face seemed to sparkle and dance.
"Don't even think you can shake me!"
Gret could only sigh and reach out to clasp his hand firmly.
Although he'd been requisitioned for the search party, Gret had no idea what they were even looking for. He followed the group over hill and dale, trudging up three mountains and wading across two streams. At long last, they made camp for the night in an abandoned old castle. Half-asleep, he was jolted awake by a scream:
"Ah—skeletons!"
Clang, clang, clang! A sharp chorus of swords being drawn rang out.
Although this castle stood far away in the mountains, it was quite large, with a main keep, a hall, watchtowers, and a cluster of outbuildings. Unfortunately, most of it had collapsed. Luckily, the hall was mostly intact, and a few of the outbuildings still had complete roofs. Apart from those, only two towers, one in the southeast corner and one in the northeast, looked fit to live in.
The temple guards had claimed the intact main hall. Priest Donald and Roman Knight weren't staying with them; instead, they had people clean out two rooms upstairs in the hall, where they stayed side by side. The group's horses were settled in the outbuildings. Gret's squad didn't want to squeeze in with the others, so the five of them discussed it and decided to set up camp in the southeast tower.
By then, the northeast tower was already filled with clattering, shouts, footsteps, and the sound of swords striking bone.
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