Genius Healer Episode 100: Late Night Plot

Previously: Liz pretended to have amnesia to infiltrate the clinic.

In a room within the darkened clinic, Liz slowly sat up in bed.

“…Who am I? Where is this…?”

She murmured the words, then chuckled softly.

“Just kidding. Of course, I remember everything.”

She was a woman belonging to the Underground Guild.

To infiltrate the Ruler’s mansion, she had feigned collapsing on the roadside.

It was true that some of her memories since entering this mansion were strangely hazy, but she clearly remembered everything else.

Her claim of amnesia was merely a pretext to stay here.

Still, Liz pondered.

She never imagined that Zenos, the boy from the orphanage, would become the Ruler of the Slums.

He had always been aloof and hard to grasp, but the image of him possessing a desire for domination seemed so distant that she was genuinely surprised.

—Well, people change, I suppose…

She herself was proof of that.

Everything was different from how it used to be.

—For now, I should focus on how to proceed.

Liz shifted her focus and observed her surroundings.

She was currently in a bed in a room near the entrance.

The Ruler Zenos and the elf he called a torturer had gone to the back bedroom, so now was the time to move.

“…”

She swung her legs down to get out of bed, then paused.

Move, yes, but how?

During the day, she had searched most of this dilapidated mansion but found nothing.

In the end, she’d managed to stay here, but she hadn’t been taken to the underground area.

The numerous underlings she expected to see hadn’t appeared either.

There was still an undeniable sense of unease.

Was Zenos truly the Ruler?

“…No point overthinking it.”

If that was the case, there was only one thing to do.

Quickly make Zenos her pawn. She could force him to confess whatever she wanted to know afterward.

That had been her objective from the start.

“Liz-nee, are you awake?”

“Ah, yes!”

Turning around, she saw Zenos peeking through the door.

Startled by the sudden voice, Liz nodded, keeping her expression neutral.

“What is it, Zenos-chan?”

“Ah, well. Lily fell asleep, so I thought maybe we could talk for a bit.”

“…Yes, alright.”

Liz nodded and got out of bed.

She didn’t know his intentions, but this was a good opportunity.

Liz followed Zenos towards the dining room.

Her opponent was the champion of the Slums. He must be considerably skilled to tame those rough demi-humans.

She decided against attacking him immediately and opted to observe for a while.

She sat down in the chair opposite him and spoke.

“So, what did you want to talk about, Zenos-chan?”

“Um, before that…”

Zenos scratched his cheek awkwardly.

“Could you stop calling me Zenos-chan? I’m not a kid anymore.”

“Eh…? Ah, ah, but, in my mind, Zenos-chan is still Zenos-chan, you know?”

“S-Seriously…? Well, if you insist, I guess it’s fine.”

…What was this? This peaceful exchange.

Zenos didn’t seem like the Dominator who ruled over the villains of the Slums at all.

The feeling of wrongness only grew stronger.

Or perhaps he was just incredibly skilled at hiding his true nature.

Liz composed herself and spoke again.

“So, what you wanted to talk about… Zenos-chan?”

“Well, I thought maybe we could reminisce a little.”

“…?”

“See, Liz-nee, you have temporary amnesia, right? I’m no expert in this field, but stimulating old memories might help you remember something.”

“Ah, ah, I see.”

—So, this is for my sake?

She had considered the possibility of him attacking her without warning, but this was still strange.

Zenos, sitting opposite her, continued calmly.

“So, how much do you remember, Liz-nee?”

“Let’s see… I remember being at the Dalitz Orphanage.”

She decided to play along for now.

“What about after leaving the orphanage?”

“…I can’t remember.”

She put a hand to her forehead with a deliberately troubled expression.

“How much do you remember about the orphanage?”

“Well… a certain amount… but some parts might be a bit fragmented.”

She intentionally kept her answer vague.

“You surely remember Gina, right?”

“Eh… yes.”

“Good. Gina is your little sister, after all. Is Gina doing well now?”

“That… “

“That?”

“N-No. I really don’t know…”

“I see. I thought you and Gina would have stayed together after leaving the orphanage, but you’ve forgotten that too?”

“…Yes.”

Liz answered quietly.

“Are there any other members of our group back then that you remember?”

“Um, Zenos-chan and my sister Gina. Then Marcus… Emil… Lombad… Ashley… Kuja… and… Vritra.”

“Yeah, you’re missing a few, but you’ve got most of the members who were there for a long time.”

“R-Really. That’s good.”

Zenos fell silent for a moment, then asked casually.

“Hey, Liz-nee. By any chance, do you know where Vritra is now?”

“Vritra-chan… she was the one especially close to you, Zenos-chan, right? …I’m sorry, I don’t know.”

“Right. Of course you wouldn’t know if you can’t even remember about your own sister, Gina.”

Zenos scratched his head.

“My bad. Let’s leave it at that for tonight. Putting too much strain on you isn’t good.”

“O-Okay.”

“So, how about we take a little walk around town tomorrow? Since you collapsed in the Ruined District, Liz-nee, there’s a chance you have some connection to this area. Walking around might trigger some memories.”

“Alright, thank you.”

Was he really doing this for her sake?

Even though she was supposed to be nothing more than a tribute woman.

“Hey, why are you going to so much trouble for me?”

“Hm? Well, you helped me out a lot back in the day, Liz-nee. I’ll lend a hand with anything I can do.”

“…”

Was he plotting something? She still couldn’t figure him out.

Liz decided to probe subtly.

“Hey, Zenos-chan, what exactly are you doing here?”

“Ah, me…”

Zenos hesitated slightly before continuing.

“Well, it’s not exactly something I can talk about openly.”

“Eh?”

Liz leaned forward eagerly.

“Does ‘can’t talk about it’ mean it’s something shady?”

“Hmm, I can’t deny that…”

—So he is the Dominator?

“Like surrounding yourself with lots of women?”

“That’s a misunderstanding, but it’s true that there are a lot of peculiar women around me.”

“Are you doing human experiments too?”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden? I might examine bodies, but I don’t intend them as experiments.”

—Ruler! It really is him!

He was rambling somewhat, but there was no doubt he was hiding something.

Beneath the table, Liz’s index fingernail extended with a faint kichichi sound.

…But she decided against striking now.

Since she didn’t know the extent of his abilities, attacking him face-to-face was risky.

It was better to wait for a more certain opportunity.

“Well then, good night, Liz-nee.”

“Yes, good night, Zenos-chan…”

As Zenos stood up, Liz responded with a smile, inwardly smirking.

That’s right, I just need to injure him after he falls asleep—

In the dead of night, when even the plants seemed asleep.

Liz stealthily rose from her bed.

Silencing her footsteps, she headed towards the bedroom at the back of the hallway.

If attacked while sleeping, even a Dominator would likely be helpless.

She held her breath outside the bedroom door, listening intently.

Soft, steady breathing could be heard from within.

“Now then…”

Liz slowly opened the door.

Her eyes, adjusted to the darkness, took in the sight of two beds.

The elf girl was in the farther one.

Zenos slept in the nearer one.

With a faint kichichi, she extended her index fingernail and quietly approached Zenos’s bed.

His right hand lay outside the covers.

Just a small scratch there would be enough—

“Do you need something from Zenos?”

“Whoa!”

Startled by the sudden voice, Liz let out a strange sound.

Fearfully, she shifted her gaze. In the far bed, the elf girl had propped herself up.

“What business do you have with Zenos at this hour, Miss Liz?”

The elf girl spoke in a monotone voice, devoid of inflection.

Her expressionless face was somehow terrifying.

“Ah, no, that’s not it. I was, um, looking for the washroom…”

“Oh, is that so? The washroom is down the hall on the opposite side.”

The elf’s tone suddenly brightened, as if relieved.

“Yes, thank you…”

Liz decided to back out of the bedroom.

—Scary… How did she wake up from that…?

Liz chewed her nail as she walked down the hall towards the toilet.

She thought she had infiltrated successfully, but perhaps they were extremely wary.

—If it’s come to this…

Liz waited patiently in the darkness.

Even the attendant elf had to sleep eventually. She would simply wait until then.

Fighting off sleep herself several times, Liz waited.

She waited patiently.

Then, just as the sky began to lighten, Liz headed towards the bedroom, crawling low to the ground.

“Why am I, of all people, reduced to this…”

Groaning as if uttering a curse, she suppressed her presence and opened the door.

This time, she confirmed that both were definitely breathing deeply in sleep.

Holding her breath, she approached, extending her fingertip towards Zenos’s right hand.

“What business with Zenos…”

The elf girl’s voice sounded again, and Liz froze.

“Munya munya…”

But it quickly turned into sleep-talking. It seemed she was truly asleep this time.

—Don’t scare me like that…

Liz breathed a sigh of relief and, with her extended fingernail, lightly scratched Zenos’s fingertip.

—I did it. With this, the mission is complete…!

Amidst the morning sun and the chirping of birds, Zenos awoke.

Lily in the next bed still seemed to be asleep.

He stretched widely and headed towards the treatment room.

Liz should have been sleeping in the bed there since yesterday.

But when he opened the door, she was already sitting up.

“Good morning, Zenos-chan.”

“Ah, morning, Liz-nee. You’re up early.”

“Well, early isn’t quite right. I barely slept at all.”

“Are you okay? Well, I guess it would be strange to sleep soundly after losing your memory.”

“Yes, well, a lot happened… but it’s fine now.”

Liz got off the bed and smiled boldly.

“From now on, you will do exactly as I say. With this, the Slums are ours.”

“…?”

As Zenos tilted his head in confusion, Liz pointed confidently at the floor.

“Down!”

…
…
…

After a moment of awkward silence, Zenos spoke hesitantly.

“Um…”

Liz’s eyes widened as she repeatedly pointed at the floor.

“Down! Down!”

“Liz-nee?”

“Down! Down! Dowwwwn!”

“If you want me to get down that badly, I don’t mind, but is something wrong?”

“…Eh, huh…?”

Liz murmured, looking utterly bewildered.

“Let me see your hand for a second.”

“My hand?”

Zenos held his hands out in front of him.

There, on his fingers, was nothing out of the ordinary.

Liz’s eyes widened.

“Um… the scratch?”

“Scratch? What have you been talking about, Liz-nee?”

“…No, I’m sorry. I think I’m still confused… I had a dream last night that your finger got injured…”

“That’s a weird dream, huh? But don’t worry. I have this habit where protective magic activates reflexively whenever I take a hit.”

“…Huh?”

“See, this is the Ruined District. It’s just in case intruders break in and attack.”

After all, Lily was sleeping in the back room, so he needed to be the first line of defense.

To the stunned Liz, Zenos spoke cheerfully.

“Well then, shall we go walk around town today as planned? I hope your memory comes back soon, Liz-nee.”

“…Y-Yes, right.”

Her lips twitching, Liz managed a nod.

Next time, the truth is finally revealed…!