Episode 14.5

Norma's Medical Center began operation.

Norma would examine her patients without wrapping her wand in mana while teaching Lecan and Eda what's wrong with those patients and how to treat them along the way. She would also tell them the kind of medicinal plants and the dosage needed for each case.

Lecan and Eda would put the designated medicinal plants on small dishes and showed them to Norma every time.

"All good."

After confirming them, Norma would process those plants, sometimes she would bundle them in raw Shinanja leaf, sometimes she would knead them with water, and sometimes she would boil them together.

Most were wrappings of certain amounts of dried herbs in Shinanja leaf.

Jinga manages the traffic of people coming and going out of the medical center. Meaning, he's in charge of picking people who will enter the treatment room, guiding those who go out, and informing them the treatment cost.

After finishing her examination, Norma would instruct Lecan and Eda to mix herbs, ask the patient to go to waiting room and begin examining the next patient.

She was impressively skilled at handling her patients, she finished treating all of them before dusk, even with the short lunch break period. Most patients were sick persons, those with injuries were few. None of the injured had fresh wounds either, all of them were either those suffering from rotting wounds, or those who couldn't move well due to old injuries.

Some of them also asked for <Recovery> but they gave up the moment they heard the cost.

Only one patient requested to have <Recovery> cast. A woodworker man. The second joint on his right arm is bent in a weird direction after getting injured in an accident. His wages have been reduced since he's unable to lift things and do precise work after the accident.

Norma explained in details the symptoms and cause. She must be aiming to finish the treatment in one cast of <Recovery>. Lecan cast <Recovery> slowly but surely and succeeded in correcting the man's joint, enabling him to move his fingers again.

The man kept thanking them over and over again on his way back, several patients in the waiting room peered in their wallets when they saw the dramatic results of the treatment.

After promising to come again tomorrow morning, Lecan and Eda left the medical center and headed for Shira's house.

"You did something at a noble house yesterday, didn't you."

That was Shira's first word.

There's around 3000 steps between this house and Goncourt mansion. It must be <Flame Spears> she sensed, this old woman detected the invocation of that spell from such a faraway spot and even concluded that it was Lecan's doing.

Lecan explained to her the circumstances.

Eda who was sitting next to him was awfully surprised when he got to his duel against Jinga part.

"B-but, Jinga-san. Looked the same as always today, right? He even served Lecan tea like usual."

"Yea."

Lecan replied curtly since he couldn't be bothered to explain. Shira would do the honor instead.

"Eda-chan. That was a greeting from Jinga."

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"Eh?"

"'I will treat you like I always did, I bear no grudge on you, so please treat me like you always do as well'. That's what Jinga wanted to tell Lecan. That he won't go back to the marquis house, he's going to stay by Norma's side from now on."

"Ah, so that was it. I see~. So his usual behavior was a message."

"And you, Lecan."

"Hum?"

"Don't you back off because you think it's a pain, now. You've got to give a proper explanation to Eda-chan. Weren't you saying you would teach Eda yourself for the next half year."

"That I did. Sorry."

"Geez."

Afterward, Lecan and Eda studied magic under Shira.

Lecan practiced <Lightning>. He managed to invoke a small spark in the end.

Eda practiced <Sleep>. She couldn't cast it at all, but Shira said that there was a sign of it working.

"I'm glad for you, Eda-chan. Once you've learned even one spell of mind magic, you will build resistance to mind magic. I was a bit worried about this since there are magic beasts that can use mind magic inside Dungeon Ninae."

"U-umm. Shira-san."

"Yes?"

"Lecan doesn't have the aptitude for mind magic, does he?"

"Nope."

"So then, Lecan can't get in that dungeon?"

"Oh he'd be fine. He has ways to deal with mind magic."

"Is that true, Lecan?"

"Yea."

After giving that curt reply, Lecan recalled about having to give a bit more detailed answers to her questions.

"Abnormal statuses get annulled with this silver ring equipped. It's not like mind magic won't work on me, however states caused by mind magic such as sleep, paralysis and bind will disappear right away."

The good thing about this silver ring is its always-on effect.

Equipment that nullifies mind magic cannot block magic whose power exceeds the equipment's capability. And even if that isn't the case, there's a small chance of such magic to work regardless.

However, this ring undoes abnormal status that has been inflicted. Even if it doesn't do that in that instance, it will a moment later. So long as Lecan has this ring equipped, he won't be afflicted by a barrage of abnormal status attacks.

"Ah, come to think of it, that priest's magic didn't work on Lecan when we were at that temple. Priest-san was wailing around about it."

Which reminds him, Shira told Lecan to have this ring on right before that.

(Have I ever told Shira about this ring?)

He can't really recall, however, it doesn't feel like he ever did. And yet, Shira was aware about this ring's effects.

She might have <Appraisal>-ed it in secret, however this ring is one of the things he brought from his former world, Shira's <Appraisal> shouldn't have worked on it.

(It might be that magic called <Analysis>.)

Either way, having every detail about him laid bare just by being close to her isn't comforting to know. This isn't a matter of him not trusting Shira or anything, it's more an instinctual thing to Lecan.

(I've got to find a way to outsmart Shira one of these days.)

Thought Lecan as he watched Shira patting Jericho with a smile on her face.