CH 36

The following afternoon, the day after the golem incident.

At the entrance of the slums, there was a group of several people clad in pure white cloaks.

The crest on their chests showed a design of two hands wrapped around the sun as if to heal.

They were a group of healers belonging to the Royal Academy of Healing.

"Why did it take Headquarters so long to dispatch the healers?"

One of the girls said, a little frustrated.

She said as her blue hair swayed around her shoulders.

"If there were any seriously injured, it would have been too late by now."

"It can't be helped, Ursula. After all, it's in the slums."

"I don't think there's any difference between an injured person in the city and an injured person in the slums."

"Don't say that out loud. There is a difference, you know. That's why we're not sending you officially, we're sending you as a volunteer."

Another healer chided the girl.

The girl called Ursula lifted the edge of her glasses with a small sigh.

"'So that's why there are less than five of us gathered here..."

"It's better than zero."

"I haven't even been told the details of the incident".

"Me too. There's a rumor that a monster has appeared in the favelas, but I'm not sure what it is. I've heard that the Kings Guard Division has secured an important witness, but they're refraining from announcing details to avoid confusion."

"It's kind of like we're grasping at clouds..."

"It's not our role to find out the facts, but to deal with the injured. It's no use worrying too much about it."

"That's true, but..."

The group of healers had such a conversation as they stepped into the city.

"Woah...."

The scene there was even worse than they had imagined.

Most of the buildings in the area had collapsed, and smoke was still billowing from some of the rubble.

"You don't really think a monster showed up, do you?"

"I thought it was just an illusion. If there was such a monster, where did it go?"

They all voiced their confusion.

In any case, looking at the situation, it seems that a considerable number of people were injured.

We'll have to set up a base somewhere and examine them in turn, but there are only a few of us here.

Ursula felt dizzy, wondering how many days it would take.

"In the meantime, let's get the residents to cooperate and gather the injured in one place."

Ursula and the others split up and called out to the residents who were cleaning up the scrap wood.

But...

"No one's hurt...?"

"Yeah, no injuries here either."

No matter who you ask, they will tell you that there are no longer any injured people that need medical attention.

I tried to ask for more details, but no one would give me any more.

"How is that possible with this much damage? The incident happened in the middle of the night, and I don't think everyone could have evacuated immediately."

Ursula said with a confused look.

Another healer crossed her arms and answered.

"If I had to guess, I'd say... there really weren't any injured people, and this was just a stunt by the residents to confuse the authorities."

"Why would they do that?"

"Or maybe there are people hurt, but they don't trust us."

"..."

"In any case, all I know for sure is that we're not going to have a job. Well, we've wasted enough time."

The healers left the slums in disgust.

"Are you sure about that...?"

Ursula, who was left alone, mumbled to herself as she looked at the rubble of the city.

First of all, there is no advantage to destroying your own home as well.

Also, the healers in the city might not be trusted, but if someone close to them is hurt, there might be at least one person who asks to be healed.

"Could it be..."

Ursula suddenly thought of another possibility.

In other words, there was a monster and people were injured, but someone else had already treated them.

However, She immediately shook her head.

".... That's not possible."

It would take dozens of ordinary healers to deal with the estimated number of victims on this scale before Ursula and the others arrived.

The Royal Healing Center has not received any information that that many healers were involved.

Naturally, there was no mention of a special class healer or a saint being involved.

As she was about to leave the slums, stunned by the ridiculous idea, Ursula stopped in her tracks.

She suddenly remembered something.

Some time ago, when I was visiting a remote village for a house call, I happened to accompany a party called [Steel Iron Phoenix] to defeat the Fire Fox.

At that time, a line that the leader had uttered came to my mind.

― Is there anyone who can use a special class of healing magic without a license as a healer?

"..."

I felt it was a strange question to ask, but now that I think about it, I wonder if it was supposed to be about someone else.

The Royal Healing Center has jurisdiction over all the clinics in the country.

However, if you are unlicensed, you will naturally be left out of that net.

Somewhere in this country, there is a special class of healer hiding that the Royal Healing Center doesn't know about.

And if such a person was involved in the incident, it would explain this puzzling situation...

Ursula looked back fearfully at the city, her voice trembling.

"You can't be serious, can you ......?"

The Royal Healing Center was slowly approaching the Dark Healer.