Chapter 8: The Serial Healer

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Translator: Soafp

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The day after the entrance ceremony.

The huge Siberian Husky—no, Gal—shook my body to wake me up.

He might get mad if I say this, but being woken up every morning by a giant dog had been my dream since my previous life.

“Hey hey hey hey, Ask!! What the hell did you do!?”

“Eh, what?”

“Don't ‘what' me!! The princess came to pick you up!!”

“Eh?”

When I looked outside from the window, Christina was standing in front of the boys' dorm.

Our eyes met for a moment, and she smiled and waved at me.

“Ah, well… I joined the student council too, so maybe it's work-related.”

“I-Is that so? But for work-related stuff, she's waving with a huge smile, you know?”

“True.”

Yesterday in the student council room, Victoria came up with a plan to break Christina and Duke Arnal's son's engagement.

She said:

“To convince His Majesty to approve breaking the engagement with Duke Arnal's son, Christina should enter a fake relationship with Ask.”

Something like that.

Apparently, the king would allow the annulment if Christina had someone she loved, so it's a valid tactic.

The scenario goes like this:

Nee-san and Christina were already close due to their joint search for “No-Face.”

Through that connection, I got acquainted with Christina too.

Then, while helping with the search for “No-Face,” Christina slowly fell for me…

Something along those lines.

I did think, “Is it okay for a royal with a fiancé to fall for another man?”

And Nee-san was staring daggers at the twin princesses.

For now, we’ll publicly act like we interact through student council work, and after a few months, we'll gradually appear closer… or something like that.

If “No-Face” is found, the relationship will be dissolved. A contract romance.

“Good morning, Your Highness.”

“Good morning, Ask-sama.”

I changed into my uniform, stepped outside, and exchanged greetings with Christina.

Then we would walk to the school building while making small talk.

“…I'm sorry for causing trouble because of my selfishness.”

“Don't worry about it. It's not like there's nothing in it for me.”

“I'm relieved to hear that.”

Of course, I had my reasons for accepting.

Normally, the books stored in the library's restricted archive require special permission to read, but with her royal privilege, she let me read them freely.

The academy library holds all kinds of knowledge.

And the restricted archive books must contain even more valuable information.

Surely, that knowledge will help me develop new healing magic.

…That being said.

“Why is a mere viscount's son walking with Her Highness…?”

“It's because the princess is close to the Medicus viscount's daughter. Though I don't understand why she keeps that useless healer who couldn't cure her illness by her side.”

“Also, it's annoying how he got into the student council through connections over higher nobles.”

The gazes from passing nobles—especially those of count rank and above—hurt.

What a stressful morning.

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“I have to relieve all that stress!!”

So that night, I headed into the royal capital.

Even at night, the capital is crowded.

Since Victoria's kidnapping incident, knights and soldiers patrolled more frequently, so I had to be careful with my street healing activities.

“Alright, where should I attack— cough, cough. Where should I go heal first?”

I had three options.

First, the knights' and soldiers' barracks. There must be tons of injured people since they train day and night.

Second, the Adventurers Guild, where injuries happen daily.

Last, the treatment clinic.

The clinic had hospitalized, seriously ill patients.

“Yeah, easy choice!! The clinic it is!!”

Wearing my plague mask and black coat, I headed for the largest clinic in the capital.

As expected, the security of the clinic was strict.

“You there! Who are you!? Suspicious man!!”

“Wait, that outfit… could he be the rumored No-Face!?”

“Too bad!! I'm No-Face's underling, the mysterious Heal Man!! Hyaaaah!!”

I knocked out the guards and walked through the entrance.

Ah, don't worry, I healed all the guards after knocking them out.

What? You're saying this is full of problems? A mindset that doesn't sweat the small stuff is important.

“Any sick people here!? Any injured folks!?”

“Wh-Who are you!?”

“You're sick, aren't you!? Your complexion is terrible!! Don't worry, I'll make you feel better right away!!”

“Eek, p-please, spare my life!!”

“Oh, I'll spare your life alright!! Extra Heal!!”

“Eh? M-My body feels light…?”

I moved through the clinic, healing injured and sick people one after another.

Some people begged for their lives, thinking I was a robber, but I ignored that and healed them anyway. They thanked me afterward.

It feels nice to be appreciated!!

“HYAAHAAHAHAHA!! You think you can escape me!? Fools!! I'll make you all healthy right here!! Extra Heal!!”

“Gwaaah!! The arm my wife broke after catching me cheating is healed!?”

“You're next!! Extra Heal!!”

“Ugh, the leg that stopped moving after my yandere girlfriend poisoned me is working!?”

The hospitalized patients were all healed.

But then my ears picked up voices of suffering from deeper within.

“Hyaahaa!! I hear sick people underground!!”

I moved a bookshelf in what seemed like the director's office, revealing a hidden staircase.

When I descended, I found about a dozen patients.

And these weren't just ordinary sick or injured people being isolated…

“All of you have Meatball-Disease.”

It was the same “flesh-rotting disease” Christina and Victoria had suffered from.

They were just suffering from magic overload, so healing them was easy enough…

“P-Please help us!! We've been locked in here this whole time…!”

“Locked in?”

“Y-Yes!! Please, get us out of here…!”

“…I see.”

This is obviously a huge crime, right? Locking patients in a basement? Terrifying.

Were they planning to use them for human experiments or something? If they want to experiment, they should use their own bodies. Why target young girls of all people?

Thinking that, I took out a pouch of money and a ring, and handed them to the girls.

“Use that money to head for the Medicus territory. If you meet a group calling themselves the ‘indiscriminate Healing Magicians, Nightingale,' show them the ring and explain everything. They'll protect you.”

The ring was proof of membership for Nightingale.

After helping the girls escape the capital, I also hit the Adventurers Guild and healed injured adventurers one after another.

A great way to blow off stress!!

And after the clinic and the guild came the knights' barracks, of course.

I planned my next “attack” while lying in bed.

The next day.

The capital issued a wanted notice for “Serial healer, Mysterious Heal Man.”

…What the hell is a serial healer?