Chapter 157 - The Doctor - Part 1

"What? They are safe?" I asked, couldn't believe what I was hearing. 

How could that possibly be? It's great that they're safe, but that's impossible when I clearly saw them burn in the fire. I saw it far too clearly to be mistaken.

"They are," he said, nodding. "I saw them with my own two eyes. They're not hurt anywhere, just unconscious. I asked Jack to look after them and the rest of the villagers." Perhaps noticing my confusion, he asked, "Why?"

"But I saw them burn," I added. "The fire burned them alive, and you're saying they got out of that fire unharmed? How is that possible?"

"Well, it appears to be possible," he shrugged, though not knowing the answer to my question. "But that's no longer important, is it? The most important thing is that they're safe, and you're safe too. That village would be dead if it hadn't been for you."

He is right. Perhaps it doesn't matter how they escaped the fire alive. All that matters is that they are safe and that I didn't kill them as I thought I had. Doris's death was already more than what I could handle. 

"So, is everything over now?"

"Technically, yes," he said, pulling away from me. He turned my body side to side, looking for any wounds or discomfort. "But that does not mean the black witches' plot is over. We're simply putting a stumbling block in their path."

After last night, it scares me what more could happen if the black witches persist with their plan. Would the Great War happen all over again? Would there be many more deaths and sufferings? Would there be any peace at all? Would I live to see another year?

The puppets were only one of the many plans that they had thought of for many years, and there must have been a lot more that we were unaware of. Each of those plans would bring the world closer to its end, and unfortunately, I was involved in one of those plans.

The only way I could avoid being taken advantage of by them was to learn how to control my magic. I have to protect myself. I was lucky enough that I managed to use my magic last night, but I wouldn't be so lucky every time. Many times, I'd have to rely more on my abilities rather than my luck. And surely, I didn't have that ability yet.

Though I do have a gist on how to use my magic now, I still didn't have a clear understanding of it. If I want to help Luke—if I want to help people—I need to change. I need to be stronger, or I won't be of any help. Hell, I won't even survive in this world.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, caressing my hair as he tidied it. "Do you feel sick?"

I gave his question some thought and focused on how I was feeling, noticing that I wasn't in any discomfort. I felt fine, almost as if I had just awoken from a very good sleep rather than a faint.

"No, I feel good," I answered. "Too good that it's weird, actually."

Given that I fainted, it's weird that I felt this good. It surely didn't feel like I was just about to die from exhaustion the night before.

"That's good," he smiled, patting my head. "I suppose he's a good doctor after all."

"Doctor?" I asked.

After several minutes of waking up, I finally noticed that we were in a place we were not familiar with. It appeared to be a normal house, with a few beds like the one I'm in strewn around the house. I could smell the smell of medicine, but mixed with an unpleasant smell that appeared to be the trash laying around the house.

I looked at the ceiling and noticed a part of it had a hole in it, allowing the snow to come inside the house. There were also a few puddles on the floor, each filled with a questionable liquid. This house didn't appear to be very well-kept.

Although it still didn't help the fact that this place didn't seem to be a healthy environment for sick people to be in, at least the owner kept the area where the beds were cleaner than the rest of the house. Perhaps it was out of conscience.

"Are we in a clinic or some sort?" I asked, trying to confirm that we were indeed in a clinic.

"I'm just as surprised as you are," he said, nodding. "It's my first time seeing a house this messy after Maggie's house. And to think this is a clinic," he sighed. "At least he's got the ability."

"Where's the doctor then?" I asked, seeing no one else besides us two in this place. I should at least thank him for helping me last night.

"Who knows," he shrugged. "He's been out for a few hours now. He told me to leave once you woke up. I've called for a carriage to—"

Someone knocked on the door.

"Hello? Is anyone inside?" A woman from outside the door asked, her voice as cheerful as the morning sun. "The doctor told me to invite the patient for a nice, fulfilling breakfast."

Luke stood up and walked to the door, opening it to reveal the woman outside. There, I saw a plump lady, smiling brightly as she greeted Luke. She was wearing an apron over her body, similar to the one Bob always wears.

"Oh, what a handsome man you are," she said, clapping her hands. "Are you the patient? I've just cooked a warm soup and wondered if you wanted to join me for breakfast. The doctor told me a patient came in last night and that you'd be hungry by now."

"Good morning," Luke gave the woman a little bow, returning her smile. "The patient is the beautiful lady over there," he pointed at me, then continued, "So you might want to ask her instead. Thank you for the kind offer, though."

"Oh," she peeked inside the house and found me, promptly walking over to me. I got out of bed to greet her, which she accepted warmly. "Good morning. How are you feeling?"

"Good morning," I smiled, receiving a hug from the woman. "I'm feeling quite well, thanks to the doctor."

"He's a capable man, indeed," she nodded in approval, tapping my hand, which she was holding right now. "Are you hungry? I have a big bowl of soup back home, and it would be really nice if you and your husband could join us for breakfast."

I glanced at Luke, seeing him with raised brows at how she addressed him as my husband. He was clearly content with the lady.

"That would be really nice, but I'm afraid we will have to leave soon," I said, immediately seeing the disappointment in her face. Though the woman was kind enough to offer me breakfast, I didn't want to eat anything from someone I'd just met. I learned from experience that I shouldn't trust people so easily.

Before the woman could say anything more, the sound of my stomach grumbling interrupted us. The mention of breakfast must have awoken my hunger, given that I'd spent a lot of energy the day before.

"Your carriage can wait, but your stomach can't. Right, Mr. Husband?" She cast a mischievous glance at Luke and laughed after hearing my stomach's fury, pulling me towards the door. "A lady should eat more to give more," she whispered, winking at me.

I asked Luke for some help, but he only laughed and let the lady pull me to her house. He followed behind, mouthing, "It's okay. I will let Andrew taste the food first."

...

"Coming through!" said the lady, holding a big pot she brought from her kitchen.

We were sitting at a dining table, accompanied by two little children, along with Andrew. The children were no more than two years old, and they seemed to be fascinated by Andrew's blonde hair.

Andrew, being naughty as he was, wouldn't let the children touch his hair and ended up making them cry. Surprised, he quickly offered his head to the children before the lady could notice them crying because of him.

Placing the pot on the table, the lady joined us on the chair in front of me, helping us with our bowls.

"It's nothing much coming from a small village like this one, but we always try our best to welcome our guests," she said, handing each of us our bowls. "I hope you can make yourself feel at home and eat comfortably."

"You're too kind, ma'am," Luke said, then nudged Andrew to eat his bowl. He wouldn't let me eat before Andrew did.

As we were about to dig in, a man came in from the door, seemingly to be the head of the family. "Oh? We have guests."

"My dear, they're the doctor's guests," the lady said, waving her hands at the man as she beckoned him to come. "Quick, remove your coat and join us for breakfast."

The man did exactly what his wife told him to do, joining us at our table after we had exchanged our greetings.

"If it's the doctor's guests, of course we have to give them our warmest welcome," he guffawed, making a pun out of the warm soup we were eating right now. They seemed to have a very high opinion of the doctor.

"Is he that amazing of a man?" Andrew asked, slurping his soup while still letting the children pull his hair. When the lady asked the children to stop pulling his hair, he could finally sit with his back straight. "Thank goodness. I thought I'm going bald."

"Of course, he is!" The man exclaimed. "If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be here today. Right, my dear?"

"Oh, please don't mention that," she hushed. "It still scares me when I think about that day."

The man laughed at his wife, letting us in the story his wife didn't wish to tell. "There was once when I went to the forest to hunt for deer, but I ended up shooting my arrow to the wrong target. I thought I saw a deer, but turns out it was a bear!

The bear was so mad that it immediately ran towards me, striking me with its forepaws. I was lucky enough to escape its rage, but I didn't manage to escape unscathed. I went back home with blood running from my chest to my legs, basically dying. I almost made her faint when she saw me."

"It still amazes me how you managed to return home with all that blood with you," said the wife, recalling the events from her past. "When I saw him in that state, I ran all over the village asking for help, asking if anyone knew a doctor, but no one knew." She put her spoon in her bowl, pushing the bowl away from her. 

"And then the doctor magically appears," the husband went on, raising his hands and opening them in opposite directions. "We'd never seen or heard of him before, but he appeared out of nowhere and saved me from the brink of death. I thought I'd at least be crippled after such terrible wounds, but no! All it left was a scar."

"I didn't know he was that amazing," Luke praised, but mumbled, "I thought he was a brat."

"If he's that amazing, shouldn't we have known of his name? A good doctor is a treasure," Andrew said, rubbing his hair. "What's his name? Maybe we have heard one or two things about him."

When the couple heard his question, they looked at each other, puzzled. The man frowned as he thought of the answer, and the lady scratched her head.

"His name? What was his name again?" The husband asked his wife, but the wife was just as clueless as he was.