Previously: Zenos, who is infiltrating the Royal Treatment Institute to investigate a disappearance, passed the interview for the Goldrun Laboratory.
“Whoa, what is this?”
Zenos couldn’t help but exclaim at the sight before him.
The next day, when he visited the Goldrun Laboratory, the secretary told him to go to the medical ward where the patients were hospitalized. As he stepped into the medical ward from the connecting corridor that led from the research building, he saw a large number of healers in white coats walking in two neat lines.
He watched the procession, wondering what on earth was going on, when the man at the very end turned around, clicked his tongue, and beckoned him over imperiously.
“Hey, what are you standing around for? Get in line.”
It was Cresson, a man who had entered the institute at the same time as Umin.
“You’re Cresson, right?”
“That’s right. I’m your senpai, Cresson-sama.”
As instructed, Zenos lined up next to him, and Cresson pointed his index finger at him sharply.
“From today on, you’re a member of the lab. You’ll follow the rules to the letter.”
“Yeah, got it.”
“Seriously, it’s a rare opportunity for a special trainee like you to be allowed in the Goldrun Laboratory. It’s all thanks to my recommendation. Be eternally grateful.”
“Is that so? Well, thanks. But, why?”
Then, Cresson grinned and said in a hushed voice.
“Hehehe, it’s obvious, isn’t it? I’m going to use you to climb the ladder. Since I recommended you, you’d better repay the favor.”
“You’re a pretty honest guy, huh…”
For better or worse, he seemed to be an easy person to read. Zenos looked at the long line and said.
“By the way, what’s this line for?”
“Huh? It’s the professor’s rounds.”
“Professor’s rounds?”
“Professor Goldrun makes his rounds to see the hospitalized patients.”
It seemed that the entire faction, led by the professor, participated in full force. The order was apparently determined by the hierarchy within the faction.
“So that means… you were at the very bottom until I came along?”
“Sh-Shut up! Just you wait. I’ll climb to the top someday.”
“I see… Good luck.”
“Stop looking at me with pity in your eyes!”
The ward was decorated entirely in white, and the walls and floor had a glittering sheen.
The luxuriousness of the facilities was a far cry from the clinic in the ruined city. However, there was too much distance between him and the front of the line, so he couldn’t even see Professor Goldrun’s back, and he had no idea what was going on.
“What do they do on the professor’s rounds?”
“Well, they listen to the patients, check the treatment plan with the attending healer, and sometimes provide simple treatment on the spot.”
“And that requires this many people?”
“Idiot, don’t say unnecessary things.”
After checking his surroundings, Cresson lowered his voice even further.
“There’s such a thing as authority. Besides, the professor only visits the VIPs.”
“I see…”
Zenos nodded vaguely and quickened his pace.
“Hey, where are you going?”
“I’m just going to take a look.”
Zenos walked quickly along the wall towards the front of the line. To investigate the disappearance, he needed to learn a little more about Goldrun. He was still mostly unknown to the other members of the faction, so he probably wouldn’t be noticed now.
As he approached the front, the professor was talking to a refined-looking patient in a glittering hospital room.
“Dr. Goldrun. Yesterday, I twisted my ankle by the bedside, and the pain has gotten worse.”
“Hmm. You seem to have injured a ligament. It’s a sprain.”
The professor said this to the patient and placed his right hand on the sprained area.
“Three people should be enough for this.”
Watching from a distance, three young healers came to the professor’s side. The professor touched each of them in turn with his left hand and then began to chant something.
–What…?
The professor’s hand glowed white, and the patient’s face brightened rapidly.
“The pain is much better, thank you!”
The patient clasped his hands together, praying to the professor as if to a god.
Tilting his head in confusion, Zenos returned to the back of the line, where Cresson angrily confronted him.
“Don’t act on your own!”
“Oh, sorry. I’ll be careful from now on. By the way, what was that treatment about?”
When he asked about the scene he had just witnessed, Cresson shrugged in exasperation.
“You don’t even know that? Professor Goldrun’s specialty is transference magic.”
“Transference magic?”
“I don’t fully understand it myself, but it’s a magic that transfers life force… or something like that, from one person to another.”
“Oh.”
“It’s groundbreaking, isn’t it? This way, you can achieve great healing effects even if you have little magic power of your own.”
Come to think of it, Becker had said that Professor Goldrun’s own healing magic wasn’t that great.
Here’s Cresson’s explanation. For example, suppose there is an injured person. He says that transference magic enhances healing power by transferring life force from another person to this person.
Naturally, the more severe the injury, the more life force is needed for treatment, so it’s difficult for one person to provide it all. Therefore, many healthy people are prepared, and they give a small amount of life force to the patient. That way, the patient is saved, and the amount of life force each person gives is small, only resulting in a slight feeling of fatigue.
“That’s interesting. So, the more people on this side, the greater the healing effect?”
“There seem to be various restrictions, such as the suitability of the person transferring and the energy decay rate, but roughly speaking, that’s how it works.”
“So that’s why the professor wants to add more people to the faction.”
“That’s one reason, but there’s another.”
It was the director’s election, Becker had said.
“The current director, Chalvard, is quite old, right? There’s a rumor that he’s going to retire soon, so they want to secure the votes of influential people in preparation for the next director’s election. If things continue as they are, Professor Goldrun is almost certain to be the next director. Hehehe, if you ride the winning horse, you’re on the fast track to success–”
“I see…”
“You don’t mean to tell me you don’t know about Director Chalvard, do you?”
“I was abroad until recently.”
That’s the story, but the ruined city might as well be a foreign country from this perspective.
Apparently, the current director was originally an adventurer who had risen to the highest black rank. With that achievement, he became a nobleman after retirement and was appointed director of the Royal Treatment Institute.
“Do you understand, you ignorant fool?”
“Yeah, I understand. Thanks for teaching me so much. You’re surprisingly nice.”
“D-Don’t be ridiculous! I just want to use you.”
“Then, while you’re at it, do you know a man named Alfred?”
“Alfred?”
He had finally infiltrated the heart of the disappearance case. It would be best to gather as much information as possible.
Honestly, he felt a bit uncomfortable being in the middle of the Royal Treatment Institute, but since Becker had a hold on him regarding his black-market business, he had to do at least the minimum amount of work. He might be able to escape if he was serious, but then he wouldn’t be able to hear about his master from Becker.
Cresson said with a disgruntled look on his face.
“Ah, the guy from the Becker Laboratory. The guy who was expected by Professor Goldrun but disappeared. I don’t like him.”
“Do you have any idea where he went?”
“No.”
“Did anything happen before he disappeared?”
“I don’t know. He was even invited to a dinner party, but he disappeared soon after. He repaid the professor’s kindness with betrayal.”
“A dinner party?”
“The professor gathers only his favorites and holds them occasionally. If you’re invited to one of those, you’re guaranteed to be a future executive. Damn, I’m so jealous!”
“You’re a pretty honest guy, huh…”
He seemed to be a man whose emotions easily came out in his words.
However, it seemed that the dinner party was a key point. Looking at the long, long line following the professor, Zenos clenched his fist slightly.