Previously: Having learned information about the disappearance incident, Zenos, along with Cresson to treat Zonde, left Goldrun’s faction.
The day after Goldrun’s dinner party.
Zenos visited Becker’s laboratory and relayed the testimony he had obtained from the drunken Bonds.
“I see… so there was such a background…”
Becker crossed his arms and nodded silently.
“Come to think of it, Alfred-kun told me that he had a big accident when he was a child. Now that I think about it, it might have been about that accident.”
“Is that so…”
After looking at a speechless Umin, Becker slowly turned his gaze to Zenos.
“When is Professor Goldrun’s pre-celebration party for his inauguration as director being held?”
“I believe it’s tomorrow.”
Goldrun had mentioned it during the dinner party. A grand pre-celebration party with the entire faction and supporter Lord Fennel in attendance.
“…The moment Professor Goldrun reaches his peak. If Alfred-kun is somewhere observing the situation, that might be when he makes his move. Tomorrow, I will attend that party under the guise of celebration.”
“Surveillance, you mean?”
“Yes, Alfred-kun is a very talented individual. If he sets his mind to it, anything could happen.”
“…”
“Frankly, among the medicines I developed, many were completed thanks to his ideas.”
Becker scratched his head with a troubled expression and then stood up abruptly.
“Well, that’s all for that. Thank you for the valuable information. Zenos-kun, your job is finished. Good work.”
“Is that alright?”
“That’s the contract. Please leave the rest to me.”
Becker handed Zenos a leather bag containing his payment and continued.
“There are also procedures for completing your special trainee program, so could you stay for just one more day? The other reward, the story about your master. I’ll tell you tomorrow.”
“Ah, understood.”
Finishing the conversation, Zenos left Becker’s room.
This concluded his work at the Royal Institute of Healing.
He was somewhat concerned about the fate of the disappearance case, but there was nothing more an outsider could do.
As Zenos turned back towards the door, Umin said,
“Then, I’ll come to your dorm room this evening with food and drinks.”
“Is there something else?”
Then, Umin puffed out her cheeks slightly and replied.
“Of course there is. It’s a farewell party.”
Evening.
A small farewell party was held in Zenos’s dorm room.
Zonde had recovered, and Zophia and the others had already returned to the slum.
The attendees of the farewell party were Zenos, Lily, Umin, and –
“Aniki, is it true that you were hired by Professor Becker to investigate the disappearance incident?!”
“Ah, it’s true.”
“Is it true that you usually run a clinic in the ruined city, and that’s how you know the demi-humans?!”
“Ah, it’s true.”
“And it’s also true that you’re going home tomorrow?!”
“Ah, it’s true.”
“Uuu, uuu…”
Cresson, slumped over the table, began to cry loudly.
“You’ve had a bit too much to drink, Cresson.”
“Shut up, how can I not drink at a time like this!”
Cresson retorted with a bright red face to Umin’s warning.
“What am I going to do without you, aniki? I can’t do anything without you, aniki. Don’t leave me!”
“You’re kind of creepy, Cresson.”
“That’s harsh, buddy. Don’t you think so, sis?”
“Lily doesn’t like creepy big brothers…”
“Sis is harsh too.”
Zenos scratched his cheek.
“Well, you’ll be fine. You can survive anywhere… I think.”
“Aniki… I feel like I’m being complimented and not being complimented at the same time. What do you think, sis?”
“Actually, Lily isn’t my sister after all.”
“Ehhh, seriously?! Does that mean she’s not my sister either…?”
“That was different from the start.”
Zenos and Lily’s voices overlapped.
Lily said apologetically.
“Sorry for deceiving you, Cresson. Lily is… actually Zenos’s wife.”
“Se, seriously?!”
“No, that’s not true either, okay?”
“Pout…”
“Too many new facts are confusing me. My head hurts…”
Cresson covered his mouth with a retching sound.
“I might have had a bit too much to drink after all. I’ve been seeing strange things for a while now.”
“Strange things?”
“Yeah, there’s something like a ghost in the shadow of that pillar…”
“A ghost…?”
Umin’s glasses slipped down her nose as she followed Cresson’s fingertip.
A translucent woman was looking at them with resentful eyes.
“U, waahh, a wraith! There’s a wraith!”
“Why are you out here? Camilla.”
Zenos retorted calmly, and Camilla snapped back.
“How could I not come out? That brat is drinking my wine, you know.”
“Hey, it wasn’t originally yours, was it…”
It was the wine that Camilla had pilfered from Goldrun’s mansion.
“A, ahhh, um, Zenos-san!? A, a wraith!”
“Don’t worry about it, Umin. She’s a good person at heart.”
“A wraith with a good heart… what is that…?”
“…Only you would say such a thing to the Death Lord, Camilla.”
Camilla opened her mouth with a dumbfounded look, and saying “Don’t drink it all!” disappeared into the back.
Umin and the others had seen her, but since he was leaving tomorrow, it shouldn’t be a problem.
In the end, Cresson passed out drunk as he was, and the flustered Umin gradually became tipsy and began to say, “Well, Zenos-san is an unconventional healer, so it can’t be helped if unconventional things happen…”
The rambling conversation eventually shifted to the topic of the disappearance incident.
“Speaking of which, it’s a big problem that Professor Goldrun had such a past. Is it really okay for the Professor to become the next director of the Royal Institute of Healing?”
“It’s just a hypothesis, so we don’t know.”
“Yes, but…”
Umin clutched her glass with both hands.
“But if I were faced with a lot of injured people, what on earth would I…”
After a long silence, Umin suddenly looked up.
“Ah, I’m sorry. I’ve made this a gloomy farewell party for Zenos-san.”
“No, it’s fine.”
“I feel… lonely.”
“It’s just someone who wasn’t here to begin with disappearing again.”
“That may be, but I think Doctor Becker will also be lonely.”
“Is that so?”
“I’m sure he is. He seemed to be having fun when he was talking to Zenos-san. Like he was meeting a friend.”
“A friend…”
“Doctor Becker is an eccentric, so he doesn’t have many friends. It’s been a long time since he last had a girlfriend.”
“Hmm…”
“I wish he would get married, but he was dumped because he was too focused on his research. I can’t relax as his niece unless he settles down soon.”
Umin said complainingly, and turned her drowsy eyes to Zenos.
“Please… come and visit again.”
“Ah.”
“That’s a promise.”
“I guess so.”
“Absolutely, absolutely!”
“I got it.”
Answering that, Umin put her cheek on the desk with a relieved look and quietly began to breathe softly.
Lily was already in bed. Cresson was sprawled out on the floor.
As if waiting for everyone to fall asleep, Camilla appeared.
“Kukuku… now I can finally drink without holding back.”
Camilla, lifting the wine bottle, frowned slightly.
“Why are you looking so dazed, Zenos?”
“Ah… I’m from the slum, and I was treated terribly at the party.”
“This country is like that.”
“But these guys treated me the same. There are people like that, too.”
“They’re a minority. It’s also possible that these guys are simply naive and don’t know hardship.”
Camilla tilted the wine bottle and downed a mouthful.
“Are you sad to say goodbye?”
“…”
Zenos propped his cheek on his hand and gazed at Umin and Cresson’s sleeping faces.
“I wonder. I’ve experienced farewells quite a bit.”
“Meeting, parting, and if there is a connection, meeting again. A person’s life is a repetition of that. That’s how you learn the breadth and depth of the world.”
Camilla, making a gulping sound as she poured the crimson liquid down her throat, said with a smile.
“You say sensible things sometimes.”
“Kukuku… I haven’t lived for three hundred years for nothing.”
“Well, you’re dead, though.”
The soft breathing of the guests quietly echoed in the room.
The last night at the Royal Institute of Healing slowly passed.