WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Haruto
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Dark Fantasy Doctor Was Mistaken for a Saint ◈
Chapter 75: Good Healer (3)
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* * *
The next day.
For the first time in a while, I put on my crow mask and visited the trading company dormitory alone.
The upper level of Civitas Square.
It was a high-end residence the Merkuer Trading Company provided for senior researchers and their families.
For now, it was being used as temporary lodging for the scholarship students.
I entered the four-story stone building.
High ceilings, wide windows, and a well-maintained interior.
It was not on the level of an estate in Sanctum Hill, but it was incomparable to the clinic in Limbus Pit.
‘Freya should be able to find this place easily enough, right?’
I had told Freya to come separately that afternoon.
“Won’t you be going too, brother?”
“I’ll go first this morning as Director Schun. You should come in the afternoon as Julian Nihirit’s younger sister.”
“All right, brother.”
Director Schun and Julian Nihirit had to be different people.
So I had decided to avoid situations where the two of us appeared together whenever possible.
‘If I’m determined to keep those identities separate, I can’t afford to be careless.’
I walked down the corridor and arrived at the room.
Knock, knock.
“This is Director Schun.”
Footsteps sounded from inside.
They were too hurried to be Valeria’s.
It was probably her mother.
‘Come to think of it, this is my first time meeting her mother face-to-face.’
As I thought that, the door opened.
A neat woman in black priestly robes stood before me, though she looked somewhat exhausted.
The moment our eyes met beneath the shadow of my fedora, my body stiffened.
‘...It’s her?’
She was the priestess who had assisted me when I treated Freya’s demon disease.
I had forgotten about her after hearing that Father had taken steps to keep that day’s events quiet.
I never imagined our connection would continue like this.
‘It really is a small world.’
Who would have thought that priestess would turn out to be the parent of one of our scholarship students?
I was not the only one surprised.
She stared intently at my face, obscured by the shadow of my fedora.
“D-Director. Welcome.”
“Please excuse the intrusion, ma’am.”
There was fear in her voice when she spoke to me.
I understood.
Director Schun’s standing among healers was by no means low.
And since I was the scholarship officer for both her daughters, it was only natural that she would be nervous.
“As I informed you beforehand, I came to visit Valeria. May I speak with her now?”
“Yes, you may, Director.”
Her mother looked at me, stiff with tension.
“H-have we met before?”
My heart dropped for a moment.
Still, I pretended to be calm and answered naturally.
“What a coincidence. I’ve heard so much about you from Valeria and Ayla that it doesn’t feel like this is our first meeting. Have the children perhaps spoken about me a great deal as well?”
“Um... Is that so?”
‘As expected, perception-obscuring magic can’t do anything about a sense of familiarity.’
Perception-obscuring magic prevented others from clearly recognizing the wearer’s features.
It interfered with connecting someone’s voice, build, or manner of speaking to a particular person.
It could prevent someone from becoming certain that Julian was Director Schun, but it could not completely block a vague feeling of recognition.
That fell more within the realm of instinct than perception.
It was still difficult for magic to do anything about that.
‘Well, it should be fine as long as I don’t openly take off my hat in front of her.’
That sense of familiarity would not turn into certainty.
Not unless I revealed my identity in front of her or gave her some unmistakable clue.
There was no need to make myself anxious and deepen her suspicions for no reason.
“Something serious happened recently, so I’m concerned about Valeria’s condition. Before I see her, may I ask how she has been?”
“Th-thank you for your concern, Director.”
Fortunately, her mother’s suspicions did not deepen.
Her worry for her daughter quickly eclipsed them.
“V-Valeria is fine. She’s been a little tired, but nothing seems particularly different from usual.”
“Has she been sitting blankly by herself, or having trouble sleeping?”
“No. If anything, she keeps saying she needs to study harder while school is on break. She won’t close her books even when I tell her to. I’m worried about her. Could you perhaps say something to her, Director?”
“I understand.”
I followed the priestess into Valeria’s room.
In the room, where the curtains were half-drawn, Valeria sat at the desk beside her bed with a textbook open before her.
Just as her mother had said, she had been studying.
When I entered, she closed her book and straightened up.
“Hello, Director.”
“How are you feeling, Valeria?”
“I’m fine. I wasn’t badly injured or anything.”
Valeria answered as she neatly tied back her disheveled hair.
“I’d like to examine you for a moment. Is that all right?”
“Yes, it is.”
I checked Valeria’s pulse and asked her various questions.
Whether she was sleeping well, whether she kept remembering what happened that day.
After checking several things, Valeria did not seem to have any particular problems.
“I’ve been a little tired since that day.”
“That’s a normal reaction after coming out of an extremely tense situation. If you rest well and sleep properly here, you’ll recover quickly.”
“Thank you, Director. Not only for saving us that day, but for providing a place like this.”
“However.”
I pointed at the book Valeria had closed.
“May I ask why you’re studying so hard?”
Valeria thought for a moment before speaking again.
“To be honest, that day... when you saved us, I realized something. Unless I succeed in life, I won’t be able to protect myself, Ayla, or Mother.”
“So that’s why you were studying this.”
The book she had been reading was a first-year Hero Studies Department textbook: Magical Beast Studies.
As far as I remembered, Valeria had planned to attend only the High Division before working as an accountant for our trading company.
Was it because of the era?
The accounting course was taught during the High Division, and students entered practical work earlier than I had expected.
But this incident had made her change paths.
‘The Hero Studies Department certainly makes it easier to rise in the world.’
Other departments tended to focus on inheriting the family business.
For a commoner with nothing, the fastest way to enter the nobility was to apply to become a hero and earn military merit.
Many newly established noble houses had been born that way.
It seemed Eri was aiming for that path too.
“The Hero Studies Department. I never imagined you would choose that, Valeria.”
“I’m sorry, Director. Of course, I haven’t forgotten my promise to the trading company. I’ll work as an accountant for the company. I’ll simply attend school during the day, then work for the trading company at night...”
“There’s no need for that.”
“Pardon?”
“I’ll coordinate that side of things, so please focus only on your studies.”
Otherwise, she would end up doing neither properly.
When you studied, you had to focus completely on studying.
It had been the same when I attended medical school.
Medical school tuition had been outrageously expensive.
Private university tuition was expensive enough to bend the pillars of a household.
Some of my friends had worked part-time jobs while studying hard to cover their tuition.
Every time I saw them, I felt terrible for them.
That was why one item on my bucket list had been to donate scholarships so friends like them could study without worry.
Though I had died from overwork before I could start earning money in earnest.
“I’d like to see you shine as a hero too, Valeria. And since you’re good with calculations, I believe you could achieve great things as a mage as well.”
Valeria stared at me blankly.
After looking at me for a long while, she finally spoke cautiously.
“...Why are you so kind to us, Director?”
“It’s an adult’s responsibility.”
“Responsibility?”
“Once you begin showing someone kindness, I don’t think you should take lightly the responsibility that kindness creates.”
Giving them scholarships had been my choice.
At the time, I had done it casually.
But that choice had brought the children under Director Schun’s name.
And as a result, they had been exposed to danger.
That was why I wanted to take responsibility.
Now that I knew the Inspectorate would not even protect their secrets, I wanted to help these students make their way through this harsh world on their own.
‘At this point, backing out and claiming it has nothing to do with me would be far too uncool.’
A protagonist should not be ashamed before anyone.
That was the belief I had formed after possessing the protagonist.
“If they are so precious to you, then you must at least raise them until they can protect themselves.”
That was probably the meaning of my teacher’s words as well.
“So don’t worry, Valeria. Focus on your studies. But.”
“...”
“You must take care of your health. Studying only works when your mind can take it in. Right now, you need rest.”
“...Thank you.”
“Then I’ll discuss the rest with your mother. You should rest, Valeria.”
Valeria lowered her head deeply.
I nodded in satisfaction and stood.
“Oh, I told Lady Freya about this place. She’ll come this afternoon.”
“The Head Prefect? Do the two of you know each other?”
“House Nihirit has been kind enough to invest in our trading company since before I developed quinine. They are still our major shareholders, and our connection continues to this day.”
“Ah... No wonder the Head Prefect spends so freely...”
“Then please rest until she arrives.”
Leaving the now-convinced Valeria behind, I left the room.
* * *
When I came out into the living room, the priestess had prepared tea on the table.
Ayla was seated beside her.
Ayla smiled brightly at me, like a sunflower turning toward the sun.
“Director! Did you see my letter?”
“I did, Ayla. Thank you for the sunflower every time.”
“Hehe. Next time, I’ll grow an even prettier one and send it to you!”
The moment I saw her smile, I felt healed.
Was this how men ended up wrapped around the finger of a romance-fantasy heroine?
Maybe it was because the world was so harsh.
A pure smile like that could feel especially charming.
Of course, I meant charming in the sense of love for humanity, not romantic attraction.
I sat across from Ayla and the priestess.
I accepted a teacup, took a sip, and brought up the main subject of today’s visit.
“Ma’am, I’d like to make a proposal.”
“...Yes. What proposal would that be, Director?”
“I heard that Ayla has awakened divine power.”
“...”
“So I’d like to take her on as my disciple.”
Today’s visit was partly to check on Valeria, but I had also come to formally take Ayla on as my disciple.
The priestess’s eyes widened.
Her pupils shook as though there had been an earthquake.
Then the priestess suddenly lowered her head.
For some time, she stared silently at her teacup.
Eventually, she spoke.
“To be honest... I would like to refuse. My eldest daughter was already attacked simply because she was a scholarship student. If she becomes your disciple... won’t that put her in even greater danger?”
I did not argue.
This woman’s fear was natural.
Becoming the target of a black mage was a heavy burden even for a noble.
Much less for a priestess who was an ordinary citizen.
“Director, I was only an ordinary mother who wanted her daughters to live quiet, safe lives. But more and more great secrets keep appearing around us. Honestly, I don’t want to bear what might happen if I accept your proposal.”
The priestess tightened her grip around her teacup.
“But.”
She steadied her breathing.
“I have watched how you have treated Valeria and Ayla until now.”
The priestess looked at me.
“You want these children to be able to protect themselves, don’t you?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“If that’s the case...”
The priestess looked at Ayla.
“I’ll leave it to Ayla’s choice.”
“...”
“As her mother, I don’t want to stand in the way of my child’s dreams.”
The priestess gripped her younger daughter’s hand tightly.
“Ayla. What do you want to do?”
“Mom...”
“Don’t think about me.”
The priestess smiled with difficulty.
“It’s all right. Your mother is a proper intermediate priest now. I truly want you to do what you want, Ayla.”
Ayla lowered her head and thought for a moment.
The silence was not brief.
When she lifted her head again, the little girl spoke in a firm voice.
“Mom.”
“Yes.”
“I still want to become a healer like you and Director Schun.”
Those words carried many meanings.
At seventeen, she knew enough of the world that her words could not be taken lightly.
“I want to become a wonderful healer and personally treat my sister, my mother... and people who are sick.”
The priestess closed her eyes.
Perhaps, as a mother, she knew better than anyone that she could not confine her daughter’s talent to the life of an ordinary citizen.
No.
As a priestess, she must have understood what it meant for Ayla to make a sunflower bloom.
She had simply set that dream aside quietly until meeting me, blocked by practical barriers such as tuition and finding a teacher.
“...All right.”
The priestess opened her eyes and looked at her daughter.
Then she turned to me.
“Please take care of my younger child.”
“Yes. I’ll make Ayla into a healer who surpasses me.”
At those words, her mother gave a bitter smile.
She did not seem to believe me.
But I was not saying it lightly.
‘Eventually, this child will surpass me.’
There were many professors like that.
Just as the leader of a martial arts sect hoped their disciple would surpass them and raise the sect’s honor.
Just as nobles of distinguished houses hoped their children would inherit their arcane magic and bring glory to the family.
The final goal of such people was always for their disciples to stand on their shoulders.
I was no exception.
Just imagining my disciple inheriting my teachings and advancing medicine made me excited.
“I promise you, ma’am. Ayla will surely surpass me.”
I did not have divine power.
Ayla did.
Modern medicine could not regrow a severed arm.
Divine magic had a technique that involved cutting off an arm and restoring it.
There was no comparison between their upper limits.
“So please believe in Ayla as well.”
At those words, the priestess nodded with a determined expression.
* * *
After the parent meeting ended and Ayla returned to her sister’s room, only the priestess and I remained at the table.
As the priestess replaced the cold tea with fresh tea, she spoke cautiously.
“Director. May I ask you one more thing?”
“Yes, please do.”
“...May I ask why Young Master Julian’s secret must be kept hidden?”
I was somewhat surprised.
I had not expected that question.
Especially not such a direct question.
Of course, I was surprised in a good way.
It seemed I understood where Valeria and Ayla had learned their uprightness and honesty.
‘There’s no reason not to tell her when we’re already in the same boat.’
Knowing the reason might motivate her too.
After considering my words for a moment, I spoke.
“Young Master Julian’s method for treating demon disease is still incomplete. If we reveal it carelessly now, it will cause greater confusion.”
“Pardon?”
“The religious world and the nobles won’t leave it alone either. But personally, I’m more concerned that black mages will misuse it.”
The research itself could be made public.
I could reveal it as Director Schun rather than Julian.
By now, Director Schun could somehow endure that degree of attention.
But this research had great potential for misuse.
“If incomplete information spreads, people may appear and deceive others by claiming to treat demon disease. They may sell fake remedies, or gather people under the pretext of treatment and use them as sacrifices for black magic.”
That was why it had to remain a secret.
If we announced it carelessly, all sorts of cults would obviously spring up.
Rather than create countless tragedies through incomplete research, I intended to make it certain before announcing it.
“This is for the young master’s safety, but we must also protect it carefully for my sake, yours, and the sake of the world. The arrows of blame may be directed at us as well.”
The priestess’s face visibly turned pale.
The surface of her tea shook as though there had been an earthquake.
At last, she spoke with difficulty.
“...Director.”
“Yes.”
“Actually, my stomach has been hurting lately...”
She added several more symptoms.
“...Could it be a serious illness?”
“Have you had a sour taste in your mouth?”
“Yes...”
“Does it get worse at night?”
“Yes.”
“It’s stress-induced gastritis.”
Oh dear.
It seemed that secrets piled upon secrets had made it worse.
To be fair, I would probably react the same way if the President of the United States suddenly sent me the nuclear launch button in a direct message.
“I’ll send you some foods that are good for your stomach.”
“Thank you, Director.”
Somehow, I was supposed to be the protagonist of a misunderstanding story.
Yet it seemed this mother had taken the whole ordinary-citizen character role for herself.
I felt sorry for her, so I would need to take better care of her.
* * *
A few days later.
“I’ll be going now!”
The day of her appointment with Director Schun had arrived.
With an excited heart, Ayla boarded the cable car from Civitas Square to Limbus Pit.
As it descended, unfamiliar scenery unfolded below.
The lowest part of the city, surrounded by towering brass walls.
The place where demonic-energy smog settled most thickly.
The place Mother and the other adults had repeatedly warned her never to approach.
But to a girl who looked at this world without discrimination, even this gutter seemed strange and beautiful.
‘Wow...’
On the way out of Civitas Square and down toward Limbus Pit, several signs stood out to her.
〈Civitas Sector 3, Merkuer Affiliated Clinic〉
〈Civitas Sector 7, Merkuer Affiliated Clinic〉
〈Limbus Pit E Sector, Merkuer Affiliated Clinic〉
From Civitas Square to Limbus Pit.
These clinics were scattered all across the capital.
They were all operated by the Merkuer Trading Company.
The company conducted clinical trials of its newly developed medicines there and provided drugs at a fraction of the price charged by ordinary healing centers.
She had heard that they even gave medicine away for free to people without money.
‘Director Schun made all of this.’
Could one person’s influence really be this great?
Each clinic had been built under Director Schun’s name.
Vaccines, quinine, Viagra. The medicines he had made sat on the shelves of all these clinics.
As Ayla walked, she thought of her friends at the seminary.
‘Serin and Lena said they wanted to work for the trading company later too.’
Among seminary students who had awakened divine power before others, becoming a contracted healer for the Merkuer Trading Company was quite a popular career path.
There was originally a limit to the amount of divine power a healer priest could use in a day.
Whether it was Refresh or Heal, once they had used up their allotted casts, they could do nothing more that day.
But joining the trading company changed things.
After treating patients with divine power until it ran out, they could continue helping people by handling the company’s new medicines.
Naturally, their income could not compare to that of priests who relied only on divine power.
That was why contracted healer positions were popular among young healers who had just graduated from the Healing Studies Department.
Of course, Ayla, whose view of the world was still entirely beautiful, interpreted the reason for that popularity differently.
‘My friends want to help people like that too. I need to learn from the Director and work hard so I don’t fall behind.’
“Miss, that’s the entrance to D Sector.”
At that moment, the man walking ahead interrupted her thoughts.
He was a hyena beastfolk with a fierce-looking face.
His long gray hair was swept back, his face was angular, he had stubble on his jaw, and one of his ears had been half cut off.
At first glance, he looked like someone with a bounty on their head at the Adventurers’ Guild.
But Ayla knew what a kind person he was.
Since leaving her home, this beastfolk man had kindly answered every one of Ayla’s questions.
“Mister, do all those signs that say Merkuer Clinic belong to the Director?”
“No, miss. The trading company established them. Though they are indeed the achievements of our Director.”
“Mister, you’re beastfolk, right? Where are you from?”
“I was born and raised in D Sector. Thanks to the Director, my hometown has become such a pleasant place to live. I can’t thank him enough.”
“Could you show me around D Sector sometime?”
“Of course. I know the area inside and out. If you come to visit, I’ll always guide you safely.”
At first, his fierce appearance had frightened her.
But from the way he spoke to the way he behaved, he was exactly like a friendly man from the neighborhood.
‘He’d even said he was close to Erika.’
Then he was surely a good person.
He must simply have many scars because of difficult circumstances.
As expected.
There were only good people around Director Schun.
“Quiet. Hey, get lost. What are you talking about, protection money? Can’t you see I’m guiding someone right now? Read the room.”
Whenever this man passed by, shop owners spoke to him.
He was surely popular in this neighborhood too because he was such a good person.
Ayla was convinced of it.
“This is the D-1 Clinic, miss.”
The beastfolk man stopped walking.
Ayla lifted her head and looked up at the building.
<D-1 Clinic>
The windows of the two-story stone building shone as though they were brand new.
Above the entrance was the emblem of the Merkuer Trading Company.
The beastfolk man looked at the building with a sentimental expression.
“This building used to be a shabby boarding house, but it was recently rebuilt into something so fancy.”
Ayla’s eyes sparkled as she entered the building.
It was larger inside than it had appeared from outside.
There was a waiting room, consultation rooms, a dispensary, and at the end of the hallway, a door marked Surgery Room.
Several patients sat in the waiting room, while people who appeared to be healers affiliated with the clinic moved busily about.
‘This is where the Director works.’
Her heart pounded.
Starting today, she would learn here too.
Then someone in a crow mask strode out from the end of the hallway.
It was Director Schun.
Dressed in a dress shirt, he was washing his hands with limewater at the entrance.
Ayla was about to wave at him happily when Director Schun spoke first.
“Ayla. You’re here. I’m sorry I couldn’t greet you sooner. An emergency patient came in this morning.”
“No, it’s all right, Director!”
“Ah, can you use low-grade Heal?”
It was an unexpected question.
Ayla blinked.
“Ah, no. I only awakened divine power yesterday... I can only use Refresh so far.”
Director Schun nodded.
“That’ll be enough.”
“Pardon?”
“I was about to perform a craniotomy on a fall victim. I think Refresh might be able to stop the bleeding.”
Director Schun pointed toward the surgery room entrance with the beak of his mask.
“If you’d like to observe...”
A voice came from the operating room, cutting him off.
“Dr. Schun! The cocaine anesthesia is finished!”
“I’m coming.”
Director Schun raised his limewater-wet arms to his chest.
“If you’d like to observe, come in.”
Director Schun’s back disappeared into the surgery room.
Ayla hesitated in front of the entrance.
Craniotomy (*a surgery that pops open the head’s lid)
She was still a seminary student who knew nothing about healing studies, so she did not know exactly what kind of procedure it was.
But because she had learned Ancient Imperial at the seminary, she could roughly infer the word’s origin.
Cranio.
A word meaning head in Ancient Imperial.
‘A surgery performed on the head?’
In divine magic, where excision and Heal formed the basis of surgery, the head was a part of the body that was difficult to touch.
If the head was severed, the patient would go straight to the side of the Lord before they could regenerate.
Yet Director Schun intended to operate on such a place.
Suddenly, she remembered something her sister had told her.
“Director Schun reached directly into Kal’s chest and treated the lung. Without any divine magic.”
Once that thought crossed her mind, only one thought remained in Ayla’s mind.
‘I want to see it.’
She was truly, truly sorry for the patient.
But to Ayla, it felt like an opportunity that had fallen from the sky.
“Yes! I’ll observe!”
Ayla ran toward the surgery room entrance.
Otto, the bodyguard waiting there, stopped her.
“Wait, wait. Wash your hands first, student.”
“Pardon?”
“The Director’s instructions. Under your fingernails too. Thoroughly.”
“Yes!”
Following Otto’s instructions, Ayla hurried over and washed her hands with limewater.
Behind her, the hyena beastfolk, Wangcho, watched and shook his head.
“Ugh... Why are healers so fearless?”
Wangcho turned around.
“They say there are no normal people among those who study magic. I could never do that even if they asked me to.”
Leaving that mutter behind, the hyena beastfolk’s back disappeared outside the clinic.
Author’s Note
After writing this episode, I decided that combining it with the previous chapter was absolutely impossible.
But splitting it into two chapters of six thousand characters each killed the momentum.
So I had no choice but to separate them like this.
Still, I updated twice in a row for the first time in a while, so I don’t think I’m at fault...
Also, someone had previously asked about cocaine in the comments, so I wanted to explain.
Cocaine is an excellent local anesthetic, and it was widely used for head surgery in real life.
Historically, surgeons often anesthetized only the skin with cocaine before popping open the head’s lid.
The brain itself cannot feel sensation, so as long as the skin is anesthetized, popping open the lid is not a problem.
This was a method devised by the great neurosurgeon Dr. Harvey Cushing.
This is how awake craniotomy, brain surgery performed while the patient is fully conscious, began.
As an aside, Cushing syndrome, the ultimate endocrine disorder, was also his achievement.
Looking at things like that, geniuses really do not seem to care which specialty they work in.
(I think I’ll occasionally include medical history that I can’t fit into the main text in the author’s note. Come to think of it, it’s surprisingly fun.)
Footnotes:
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