Previously: During Goldrun’s pre-inauguration celebration, members of his faction are poisoned. As Becker exposes Goldrun’s past crimes, Zenos appears.
“Pick them all up…?”
Becker, on stage, repeated Zenos’s words, looking around the hall.
Numerous healers from Goldrun’s faction were collapsed on the floor.
With a tone of half-disbelief, Becker said:
“There are this many people poisoned. Are you seriously going to save them all?”
“That’s the plan, more or less.”
“Why? What do you gain from it?”
“True, the job you commissioned me for is already done.”
But—, Zenos continued.
“If I leave things as they are, you’ll be a mass murderer. And there are people who would be troubled by that.”
“Zenos…san…”
Umin, with a tearful expression, choked out.
“You’ll… save them?”
“Normally, I’d charge a suitable price, but this is the first farewell party I’ve ever been given. Special service.”
“Thank you… very much.”
Umin nodded repeatedly, tears welling up, and shouted towards her mentor:
“Becker-sensei, this is a lie, right? I absolutely refuse to believe you would do something like this!”
“…”
Becker, as the poison gradually took hold, silently gazed at Umin before shifting his gaze to Zenos, breathing heavily.
“Zenos-kun. You say you’ll save everyone, but without knowing the composition of the poison, it’s difficult to perform highly accurate detoxification magic.”
“Is that so?”
“Is that so, you say…? I see, you’re planning to use a general detoxification spell. It might work on simple poisons, but do you really think this is that simple?”
“Then, will you tell me the composition?”
“Of course not.”
“Do you even know the composition in the first place?”
“…Zenos-kun, what are you…”
“Well, never mind, doesn’t seem like we have much time to chat.”
Zenos interrupted Becker, taking a deep breath.
The faces of the fallen faction members were turning ashen.
The lights of countless lives were about to be extinguished.
The scene fifteen years ago must have been similar.
Extending both hands forward, Zenos said:
“<<Heal>>”
White light overflowed from his palms, showering down upon the hall.
“…<<Heal>>? Just a simple <<Heal>>? What in the world are you thinking?”
Becker, slumped on the stage, said with a dubious expression.
“<<Heal>> is a healing spell. It can heal injuries, but it can’t eliminate the components of poison.”
“But it can support the body’s recovery, right?”
“That effect is temporary. The poison will quickly spread again…”
Becker stopped there.
The white, somehow warm, light that Zenos emitted continued to pour over the entire hall without stopping.
“No… way…”
Becker’s throat bobbed.
“Could it be, you’re…”
“I’m not too familiar with poisons, but they have different timings and durations of effect, right? If it’s a poison that takes effect immediately after toasting, its effects shouldn’t last too long.”
“Are you going to keep healing this many people, until the poison’s effects wear off…?”
Becker squeezed out a hoarse voice.
Zenos, keeping his hands extended, replied:
“It’s a battle of endurance between the poison and my healing magic. And I’m surprisingly stubborn.”
No matter how potent the poison, it would eventually be metabolized in the body and lose its effectiveness.
Therefore, he would continue to cast <<Heal>> until then, constantly healing the damage from the poison.
“It would be nice if I could use automatic recovery magic, but that requires individual adjustments, so it’s not suitable for this many people.”
“What kind of person are you…”
“Aniki, I’ll help too!”
“Me too!”
Cresson and Umin rushed forward.
“Please do. If the poison was in the toast, the amount they drank must have been different. The two of you, focus on helping those who are particularly weak.”
“Got it!”
“Understood!”
The two wove through the fallen faction members, casting healing magic.
As Becker silently watched from the stage, Zenos said:
“Becker. Your subordinates and juniors are cleaning up your mess. You should be grateful.”
“Yes… I suppose.”
Becker closed his mouth there.
As time ticked by, the healing magic emitted by Zenos continued to pour down on the victims in the hall.
Umin and Cresson rushed about in between.
Eventually, Becker began to speak.
“To keep casting <<Heal>> for this long is unbelievable… That’s not what the spell is for.”
“Is that so?”
“I thought you were amazing, but this is beyond common sense.”
“Well, I didn’t exactly receive a proper education.”
Exhaling shallowly, Becker said:
“…Zenos-kun. My fiancée said she became a healer to save many people. She was a respectable person with a noble ambition.”
“Ah.”
“I couldn’t forgive Goldrun for not saving her and then becoming the director of the Royal Treatment Center. I couldn’t accept that someone with the opposite ideals as her would become the top person here.”
“Ah.”
Becker felt the chills and weariness gradually fading.
“However, staying here for a long time, I gradually realized that there are definite disparities in the world. There are those who can receive the best treatment, and those who can’t even obtain the simplest of medicines.”
“Ah.”
“There are wonderful, virtuous people, and there are those who are the complete opposite. Are there people who shouldn’t be saved?”
Becker’s gaze turned to Goldrun, who was breathing roughly.
“Is the value of life truly equal? Perhaps I myself was most consumed by such thoughts.”
“Ah…”
Next, Becker looked with a dazzling gaze at Umin and Cresson, who were desperately running between the faction members.
“But… they, who are desperately trying to save the lives before them…”
Becker paused, then continued.
“Perhaps… they have inherited the pure spirit of my former fiancée…”
“…Perhaps.”
If this dark healer had been at the scene fifteen years ago, the future might have been different.
But the past cannot be changed.
Even so, the future—
Becker wiped the corner of his eye and slowly stood up.
“Zenos-kun.”
“What?”
“…Thank you.”
Zenos, while catching his breath, grinned and said:
“Don’t need your thanks. However, I’m incredibly tired, so I’ll be charging a bit extra.”
Sweat streamed down his forehead, dripping onto the floor.
Becker looked at the faces of the collapsed healers and said to Zenos:
“Zenos-kun. This poison… I think it is based on a special plant-based toxin. In addition to its sedative effects, it seems to have some rather unusual combinations, but the effects themselves should wear off in a few minutes… probably.”
“Probably… huh. So that’s what it is.”
“What do you mean, Zenos-san?”
Zenos, still facing forward, replied to Umin’s question:
“It means Becker isn’t the one who made this poison.”
“Eh? What do you mean?”
“That’s a story for later. Let’s finish the job at hand.”
Hearing Umin’s surprised voice, Zenos strengthened the output of his magic.
“Aaaaaah…!”
The overflowing white light blew through the hall, warmly, like a spring storm.
“Amazing…”
“Amazing…”
“Goodness… what kind of person have I invited in…”
As the three muttered, the fallen healers regained consciousness one after another, sitting up with puzzled expressions.
The effects of the poison had weakened, and the body’s recovery had surpassed it.
The sunlight shining through the skylight illuminated the hall brilliantly.
In the midst of all this—
“W-wait a minute…”
“Hm?”
A faint voice could be heard from the stage.
Looking over, Goldrun was crouching down, his face deathly pale.
“I-I haven’t recovered… Wh-what’s going on?”
“Oh, sorry. Forgot about you.”
“D-d-d-don’t be ridiculous!”
Veins were popping on his forehead, but the poison seemed to have taken a significant toll, and his words lacked strength.
“I-I command you… Save me!”
“Even if you command me, I was kicked out of your faction, so I’m not obligated to follow your orders…”
“Ugh…”
Goldrun gritted his teeth.
“What… do I have to do?”
“I am a dark healer, after all. If you want me to treat you, you’ll have to pay my asking price.”
“Asking price… you say?!”
Zenos heavily climbed onto the stage and showed him a piece of paper with the price scribbled on it.
“I’m pretty tired, so if I’m going to put in one last push, I’ll need about this much.”
“D-don’t be ridiculous! I-I can’t pay that much!”
“Is that so? Then let’s forget about this.”
“W-wait, wait, wait! Okay, okay. I’ll pay, I’ll pay, so save me…”
As Goldrun, with trembling hands, signed the payment agreement, someone called out from behind.
“Goldrun-sensei. I overheard snippets of their conversation. Could you tell me more about it later?”
“Lord Fennel…!”
At the words of one of the Seven Great Nobles, Goldrun’s face turned even paler, and his shoulders slumped in despair.
“Damn… damn it all…!”
In contrast to Goldrun’s agonizing cries, Cresson gave a bright thumbs up.
“Aniki, looks like another case closed!”
A/N: Cresson tightens things up…!