A makeshift tent came into view. Unlike the others, it bore a red cross. Was this where they said the Treatment Center was located?
The interior looked quite spacious. It was only natural since there were hardly any injuries from the recent battle. It was probably thanks to the power Yurph had displayed.
If it had been otherwise, the extermination team would have suffered serious damage. Of course, with Abel around, they wouldn’t have been wiped out.
I gently pulled aside the tent curtain and stepped inside.
‘The smell of disinfectant.’
It was the familiar scent of alcohol that I had grown quite tired of in my previous life. Did they already have hygiene concepts in this medieval era?
I thought about it briefly but decided to brush it off once I remembered this was a fantasy world.
The infirmary was quiet.
There were several iron beds lined up inside. Aside from Yurph, there were no other patients; all the beds were empty.
I cautiously approached her side.
‘…This looks worse than I thought.’
Yurph was grimacing in pain.
The divine power surrounding her was healing her, but there was no sign of her complexion improving.
I sat down on a chair beside her and gently checked her pulse.
‘Weak.’
Her pulse was slow and faint, as if it could stop at any moment. I knew all too well what that implied.
I thought she had merely fainted, but her condition was worse than I had anticipated. Even though she was being healed by divine power, her state remained unchanged.
‘Silphy.’
[She’s in a state of poisoning.]
Silphy chimed in as if she had been waiting for this moment. Poisoning, huh?
Did she somehow inhale some of that poison spray from the monster back then? But that didn’t add up.
Divine power should normally expel poison, so why was Yurph still in a poisoned state with divine energy swirling around her?
[She seems to have a constitution that rejects divine power.]
Silphy answered my doubts simply.
“Is there such a constitution?”
I reflexively asked her back. Silphy looked astonished as she gazed at Yurph.
[I’ve heard of it, but this is the first time I’ve actually seen such a constitution.]
I couldn’t help but frown at her words.
If it wasn’t divine power, there would be no way to expel the poison. There shouldn’t be any antidotes for the poison from the monsters that popped out from this world.
As I followed that train of thought, Silphy spoke up next to me.
[Why are you so worried about her?]
His question momentarily plunged me into thought. Why was I so concerned about her?
‘It’s just… I don’t feel like it’s someone else’s problem.’
Yurph’s figure overlapping with my past self.
Memories of being needlessly aggressive toward others. The recollection of responding with cynicism to their kindness.
It was a story from before I had possessed Adele.
Back then, I was financially and mentally cornered.
In this crappy life, I believed there was no meaning, and that I didn’t need help from others—an almost stubborn belief remained.
The words I spat in that state became thorns, injuring many around me.
Though slightly fuzzy, I likely still said such things even after becoming Adele. I must have hurt Lily with my words when she came to help me.
Even though it had all been undone due to my regressing, the expression on her face when she heard those words was still etched in my memory.
That’s why I couldn’t help but be concerned.
Especially since her last words before fainting resembled those words she had regretted so deeply.
[I see.]
Silphy nodded in understanding. Just then, a priest entered the tent.
Unlike the others, he was wearing a black priest robe and paused upon spotting me. The man carefully examined my face.
Just as I was beginning to feel irritated by his gaze, he asked me.
“Are you Lord Id?”
“Yes, that’s me.”
I nodded in response. The priest immediately bowed and spoke in a loud voice.
“Thank you so much for rescuing our priest.”
“Ah, no. It’s something we were naturally supposed to do as a guard team.”
Taken aback by his sudden action, I slightly stammered. He looked at me with a mildly impressed expression on his face.
“Even so, it’s still true that you saved her.”
He attempted to bow again, and I panicked and stopped him. The priest smiled warmly at my reaction.
“Were you worried about the priest?”
“Ah, yes. She doesn’t seem to be in good condition.”
At my words, the priest’s expression grew dark. He folded his arms and seemed to contemplate for a moment before releasing a deep sigh.
The priest then unfolded his arms and approached me, lowering his voice slightly.
“Just as Lord Id said, her condition isn’t good.”
Looking at Yurph’s still poor complexion, he bit his lip. The priest extended his hand and channeled divine power again.
But the divine energy ricocheted off her body, swirling around instead of being absorbed.
It was as if it bounced off a metal plate, failing to enter Yurph at all.
“We’ll need to observe her conditions for a while…”
Taking a deep breath, he continued.
“At present, we have no means but to hope for her natural healing.”
Natural healing.
Those words made me notice the severely emaciated state of her body.
Even the one who had said those words seemed to doubt it would be possible, only sighing deeply.
He hesitated for a moment, then continued.
“As for regular people, the poison of Angor is lethal if there’s no antidote.”
Angor’s poison. So that was the substance Yurph had inhaled. I had thought it was an unusually weak creature compared to other monsters, but was it specialized in poison?
Since it was such a deadly toxin, it was akin to a lethal venom for someone like her who was fasting.
“Moreover, with Yurph’s condition, she will struggle to last even a day.”
He gently grasped Yurph’s thin arm, letting out a sigh upon seeing her skeletal limb, then released it again.
“It’s truly unfortunate.”
He said that and slowly began to walk away. It seemed he had already given up on her and exited the tent without another word.
I quietly watched his retreating figure, not able to call out to him.
I didn’t feel sad. It was only the second day since I had met her.
I was simply disappointed, as the priest said.
Her prickly demeanor, like a porcupine, hurting those around her. The way her eyes looked dead as if she had tasted every pain life had to offer.
Yet, she still stepped forward reflexively to save others. Somehow, she reminded me so painfully of my past self.
“Oh, Lord Id.”
The blue-haired man, Kal, entered the tent and spotted me, greeting me with a cheerful expression.
His usual bright smile told me he still wasn’t aware of her condition.
Even though he was rough in speech and action, he cared for Yurph in his own way. That’s why I needed to tell him about her state.
Though my mouth felt a bit bitter, I decided to speak up.
“Yurph’s condition seems serious.”
“…What?”
“The priest said he has no proper means to help her.”
Kal froze in surprise at my sudden words.
His lips trembled awkwardly, and his pupils flickered nervously. He was clearly taken aback by my statement.
“B-but you saved her, right, Lord Id?”
Kal stammered as he asked. I didn’t have a response to his question and avoided his gaze.
Seeing my reaction, he swayed a bit and leaned against the wall.
“Kal?”
“N-no. I’m fine. I’ll be okay…”
His face evidently showed he was not okay. Yet, Kal forced a smile, muttering reassurances to himself.
He slowly approached the bed where Yurph lay and sat down on a nearby chair.
Kal squeezed his eyes shut at the sight of her in pain. He repeated deep breaths, trying to calm himself down.
“I… what should I do…”
He trailed off, his voice trembling. As I quietly observed him, I pulled out a piece of paper from my pocket.
It was a white sheet with something written in gold letters.
The strange energy not of divine power but something else was concentrated in the paper. It was the item I received from the Pope, who called it a panacea.
Kal was holding tightly onto his crucifix with his eyes tightly shut. In front of him, Yurph was gasping and writhing in pain.
‘He said to use it whenever it seemed necessary.’
I had thought the item was excessive since the moment I received it.
Looking back now, it was also quite strange.
Out of all those people, the Pope had come right up to me, giving me this as an apology gift.
Surely the Pope, a leader of the Holy Kingdom, wouldn’t be unable to see through a mere disguise artifact.
Perhaps it was a ploy to make me take on a burden, knowing my identity.
‘Does that mean I’m that important?’
But if that wasn’t the case, there would have been no reason for the Pope to give me something that grand back then. So in such a situation, what I had to do was quite simple.
[Are you sure it’s okay?]
‘Yeah. This is the best choice.’
I nodded at Silphy’s question and slowly approached Yurph. Holding the white paper in one hand, I stood beside her.
“L-Lord Id?”
Suddenly approaching, Kal seemed a bit startled and echoed my name. His gaze shook violently as he noticed the item I held in my hand.
“How do you use that?”
“Huh? What do you mean…”
“First, just answer my question.”
I spoke firmly, and after a moment of hesitation, Kal finally responded.
“Y-you pray while thinking of the target.”
Pray while thinking of the target, huh? The usage didn’t seem too complex after all.
I closed my eyes and slowly visualized Yurph in my mind.
Vwoom…
With a rumbling sound resonating through the air, light seeped in through my eyelids. When I opened my eyes again, Yurph’s face looked noticeably more at peace.
Seeing her first peaceful expression, I couldn’t help but smile just a little.
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