Run, Rhode, Run

Rhode looked at the bodies on the ground, still feeling a little sick at heart.

Saying he wanted to investigate a case was one thing. Seeing people who had been alive lying dead before him was another.

These were human lives!

Just as Lieutenant Drake had said, this murder scene was as clean as the one in the alley. There was very little blood to be seen, and naturally, no trace of a murder weapon.

Rhode also sensed faint traces of lingering magical elements on the bodies before him.

"Who were the victims?" Rhode asked Lieutenant Drake quietly.

"Civilian merchants again. Probably the parents, an older sister, and a younger brother. Four in total." Lieutenant Drake's voice remained steady, without any hint of emotion.

He was a soldier, so perhaps he had long since grown indifferent to matters of life and death. Besides, the dead were only civilians.

"Is anything missing?" Rhode asked, examining the belongings beside the bodies.

There were bags for carrying merchandise, with some of their contents scattered outside: rings, ornaments, and the like. This family had probably been jewelers.

"There are signs that someone searched through their things, but these easily carried pieces of jewelry weren't taken. The money is still here too." Lieutenant Drake shook his head, clearly unable to understand the killer's motive.

"That is a little strange..." Rhode's gaze settled on the girl lying face down.

He saw a clear mark around her neck where she had worn a necklace, but there was no necklace there.

Rhode reached out to check.

Hmm?

Why did it feel like she was trembling slightly?

Could it be...?

Rhode held his fingers beneath the girl's nose and, sure enough, felt a faint breath.

She was still alive!

Rhode hurriedly turned all the "bodies" over and checked beneath each person's nose.

The other three really had stopped breathing.

There was no time to waste. Saving her came first.

Rhode extended his hand, and a huge Mage Hand appeared before him, then gently lifted the girl's body.

At that moment, Rhode saw a gash in her chest.

That had to be the fatal wound.

Though it might not have killed her outright, she probably would not survive much longer if he delayed.

"Make way!" Rhode shouted at the crowd, then ran toward the city wall.

The Mage Hand carried the girl through the air, following Rhode.

Everyone watched Rhode sprint away.

Some wore looks of disbelief.

After all, Rhode was a noble mage. Why would he go to such lengths for a commoner's life?

"This commoner girl may be the key to solving the case. That's why the mage wants to save her." One noble believed he had seen through everything.

The nobles beside him nodded, agreeing that this explanation made the most sense.

Rhode had no time to listen to their bullshit. He could feel the girl's life slipping away, and he had to hurry.

Rhode was a pretty fast runner. After all, he had been his college's hundred-meter champion at university, finishing in under twelve seconds.

But he still felt he was too slow.

If only I knew how to teleport.

Failing that, even Blink would do.

Unfortunately, he knew neither.

Run, Rhode, run! A voice seemed to shout inside Rhode's head, urging him to sprint with long strides.

Soon, Rhode entered the city. His footsteps echoed through the streets like a sudden downpour.

Though the city had a hospital and even surgeons, Rhode was heading for the Monastery.

In this world filled with magic, priests were the best healers.

Before long, Rhode finally saw the white, blue-roofed building with a spire that looked like a church.

The Durnholde Monastery.

Its grayish-brown doors were shut. Perhaps that was because today was not a weekend, when it opened to the public.

Rhode rushed up and pounded on the door.

Why wasn't anyone coming to open it?

Rhode held his hand beneath the girl's nose again to check.

Her breathing seemed even weaker than before.

Rhode was frantic.

He was even tempted to launch a Fireball at the doors, but just then, they finally opened.

A middle-aged priest stood there, dressed in a pale, moon-white silk monk's robe. He had short brown hair and a fair, clean-shaven face.

He looked up at the Mage Hand floating in the air and the corpse-like girl it held, then hurriedly waved them in. "Come in, quickly! Put her on the treatment table!"

Rhode entered and saw a large hall that looked like a prayer hall, with a stone table off to one side.

That must be it.

Rhode guided the Mage Hand to lay the girl gently on the stone table.

He glanced around, only to find that there was no one else in the hall.

The middle-aged priest quickly stepped up to the stone table, held both hands out flat, and began chanting a spell.

Two beams of white-no, golden-light appeared in his hands.

The process went on for quite a while, so long that Rhode began to wonder whether the scene before him had frozen.

At last, the priest spread his arms. Light surged from his body, gathered directly above the stone table, then poured down onto the girl.

The light was so brilliant that it illuminated the entire hall.

"Done," the middle-aged priest said, panting.

Rhode looked at the girl. Sure enough, the wound on her chest seemed to be rapidly sealing, then gradually healed at a speed visible to the naked eye. Color also seemed to be returning to her face.

A little while later, the girl's breathing became clearly audible.

Priestly healing really was fucking amazing!

It would be great to have a healer like this by my side. Then I wouldn't have to worry about getting injured.

"Thank you so much," Rhode said to the middle-aged priest. "May I ask your name?"

"I'm Brother Joshua." The middle-aged priest held out a hand to Rhode. "The treatment fee is one gold coin, thank you."

"What? That much?" Rhode blurted out.

In fact, he had not even known that priests charged for healing.

Much less that they charged so much.

"Is that expensive? This is a human life we're talking about." Brother Joshua pointed at the girl on the stone table.

Fair enough. He had a point.

One gold coin for a human life was a good deal, however you looked at it.

"To heal an injury this severe, I have to expend all my mana," Brother Joshua added. "And it takes me one to two days to recover it fully. You're a mage, so you should understand the difficulties involved. Besides, I'm the only priest here."

Rhode nodded. That was true.

His own mana recovered much faster than that of the "normal people" in this world, but ordinary spellcasters could not do the same.

For this priest-or for the entire Monastery, for that matter-saving one person every two days, with what looked like considerable effort, made a payment of one gold coin seem quite paltry.

So he paid.