After that, Xenos took Lili with him to a diner on the outskirts of town.
“Delicious…! “
Lily exclaimed involuntarily as she tasted the stewed wild rabbit meat.
She plunged her face into the steaming plate and munched on the food with gusto, looking like a puppy.
Xenos wondered where would be the best place to leave this child in the future. The town church required a referral, and Xenos, who came from the slums, did not have that qualification. The orphanage in the slums would take her in, but that place was practically a hotbed of human trafficking. He felt depressed just thinking about how an elven child would be treated there.
As he was worrying, Lili suddenly spoke.
“Xenos, what do you do…?”
“Actually, I was just kicked out of my party too. It’s not like I have anywhere to go, but I have something in mind.”
“Something in mind?”
“Yeah, I’m thinking of opening a clinic.”
Since he didn’t have a license, he couldn’t officially register it.
It would be an underground, or rather, a “black market healer” clinic.
“When I healed Lily earlier, you thanked me. That made me kind of happy.”
He originally studied healing magic on his own because he wanted to heal the wounds of the oppressed people in the slums, and because of an encounter with a certain healer. While he was being used in Aston’s party without a word of thanks, it was a feeling he had long forgotten.
Lily reminded him of that. When he told her this, Lili looked straight at him and said.
“Lily wants to help too.”
“Huh?”
“Lily will help with the clinic, too. A black market healer is so cool. Xenos is so cool.”
“Well, but…”
Opening a clinic without a license is, technically, illegal.
He has nothing to lose, but he felt reluctant to involve an innocent child.
However, Lily did not seem to back down at all.
“Xenos bought Lily. Xenos is my master. So, I’ll follow Xenos.”
“I was just trying to help you.”
“I see… You bought Lily without that intention and will throw me away…”
“Don’t say things that can be misunderstood…?”
Aside from where she learned such phrasing, he couldn’t just abandon a rare elven child. In the end, Xenos decided to take care of Lily for a while, on the condition that they would find a safe place for her to stay.
Lily’s eyes lit up.
“Really? I’m so happy! Lily will serve her master a lot.”
“That’s why I told you to stop saying things that can be misunderstood, right?”
The next moment—
The door of the diner opened with a loud noise, and a man stumbled in.
“I-I’m sorry. W-water, please!”
The man grimaced in pain and cried out, barely able to breathe.
On closer inspection, his left shoulder and arm were swollen and red, and some parts were charred.
There were no other customers, and the owner of the diner was just milling about.
Xenos stood up from his seat.
“What happened to your arm?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. Water, please…”
The man had scales on his cheeks. He seemed to be a mixed-blood of a lizardman and a human.
Instead of water, Xenos held his hand over the man’s arm.
“It’s a wound from fire magic. And it’s high-level magic.”
“Yeah, I know this arm is already useless.”
“Don’t be so dramatic. I wouldn’t call it a scratch, but it’s a minor injury.”
“Huh? What are you talking about…?”
However, the wound seemed to reach deep.
To heal it completely, it would be more reliable to use incantations as well.
“<Heal>”
When Xenos chanted, the man’s arm was enveloped in a white light.
When the light disappeared, the burn was completely gone.
The man seemed too surprised to speak.
Finally, he squeezed out the words.
“What did you just do? Who are you…?”
“Xenos is a very amazing black market healer.”
For some reason, Lily puffed out her chest proudly.
“I haven’t opened the clinic yet, though.”
“Oh, that’s right.”
“Xenos, the black market healer… I had no idea there was such an amazing healer. I’ll remember you, thanks for saving me.”
The man thanked him and quickly left the diner.
He appeared suddenly and left like the wind, so Xenos didn’t know what had happened. But for now, he decided to switch gears and focus on his own business.
“Well then, Lily. Shall we look for a property?”
From now on, he would live as he pleased, without worrying about anyone’s opinion.