I had already guessed it, but I couldn’t say anything. If I said it, I’d be the bad guy. It’s better to let the doctor, with whom her relationship is not as deep, explain.
Upon hearing the cause of the illness, Sebastian and Claire eagerly perked up their ears. Sebastian had long wanted to know but had held back from asking. Claire, of course, also wanted to know why she had inexplicably fainted for two days.
“Mutations can be transmitted to those closest to you, not through blood ties, but to people who care for and depend on each other mentally. They share the madness of their loved ones from the mental source. Therefore, she was infected with a mutation by someone she was very close to. That person should have gone on an adventure or seen something they shouldn’t have these past few days,” Amelia stated directly.
Sherris and Jayad looked at Sebastian and Claire simultaneously. The two of them exchanged surprised glances upon hearing this, instantly understanding what had happened.
Sebastian had infected Claire! He had soaked himself in blood oil on Sturgeon No. 3, and he hadn’t mutated afterward. I thought the sedative had worked, but unexpectedly, Claire had been sharing it with him.
As for Claire, she had actually witnessed things before that a child her age shouldn’t have been exposed to. Her sanity had always been unstable, and this time, it wasn’t even the last straw that broke the camel’s back; it was more like igniting a powder keg, leading to her rapid coma and mutation.
I sighed. Actually, I had had a vague suspicion ever since I learned of Claire’s mutation. I had received similar information from Old Golden Tooth before.
In fact, Older Brother Jayad and I have a similar relationship. We worry about each other immensely and often fret over each other. This makes it very easy to establish an invisible mental connection, one that even we ourselves cannot perceive, yet it exists and can become a pathway for the spread of mutations and madness.
However, because we have mastered stable methods for maintaining sanity and controlling mutated forms, there are no problems even if we transmit mutations to each other. It must have happened, but it had no impact.
Claire was different. She wasn’t a combatant to begin with, nor had she learned magic or mana control. When the mutation first occurred, her frail body couldn’t bear it, and she fell into a coma directly.
“Sebastian, you need to be more careful from now on. Even if you don’t think about yourself, think about Claire, who cares about you. She was almost lost this time,” I advised.
This wasn’t an exaggeration. In this era, even a minor illness could be life-threatening, let alone the more terrifying mutation. She still showed signs of mutation; if she had gone completely mad, we wouldn’t have known what to do.
“Okay, I’ll be careful.” Hearing that Claire had suffered because she cared for him too much moved Sebastian somewhat.
“Alright, her body is indeed completely normal, even better than normal. She can be discharged,” Amelia announced after a thorough examination of Claire’s body. She confirmed that Claire’s physical condition was better than that of an average person and she could be discharged immediately.
“Mm, thank you, Doctor. I’m starving,” Claire exclaimed. She hadn’t eaten for a full day and night. A nurse had given her an IV drip of nutrients when she wheeled her back earlier.
So, we bid farewell to Amelia and went to have lunch. Claire, having recovered, seemed unusually lively, and Sebastian was finally relieved.
Only Sherris seemed a bit down. She had also been busy all night, tired and hungry. She had almost fallen asleep in Jayad’s arms in the ward earlier, but now, at the restaurant, there wasn’t suitable food for her.
I quietly placed an oilcloth-wrapped package next to Sherris. She looked at me curiously, “Miss Parul, what is this?”
“Open it and you’ll know. It’s delicious,” I said with a smile. Sherris opened it to find a large piece of raw meat inside. Her eyes lit up instantly, hungry as she had been for half a day.
“Black Wolf Bird leg meat. I specifically saved a piece for you. I believe you’ll like it,” I said with a smile. I had intended to give it to Sherris this morning and had kept it with me, but I forgot because of Claire’s illness. Now was a good time for lunch with Sherris.
“I love it! Thank you, Miss Parul!” Sherris, who had been hungry for a long time, couldn’t wait any longer and began to devour it ravenously. Theoretically, the stronger the creature, the tastier it is, although the meat is a bit tough, Sherris has good teeth.
“Ah wu, ah wu!” Sherris ate voraciously like a little hamster, her cheeks bulging on both sides, making me want to poke her little face. So cute.
“You don’t need to eat so quickly. We’ll buy magical beast meat from the market for you in the future,” I said. Although eating magical beast meat for every meal is considered a luxury, we don’t lack money now.
Moreover, it seems that due to frequent magical beast attacks on the city walls recently, the prices of magical beast meat in the market are decreasing.
“Thank you so much!” Sherris said gratefully. The fish meal in the fishing village and this meat meal were the most satisfying she had had.
However, her appetite wasn’t that large. She was full after eating only one-third of it. This meat was quite energy-dense. Ghouls would get full if they couldn’t digest it. Sherris looked regretfully at the large piece of meat in front of her. She hadn’t had enough but was already full.
“It’s okay, we’ll pack it up and take it back to eat slowly,” I said, stroking Sherris’s head, feeling like raising a cute pet.
“Thank you, Miss Parul!” Sherris suddenly remembered something and said to me, “For the past few nights, I’ve felt someone outside calling me, wanting me to go out. But Mr. Sebastian said it’s very dangerous outside at night and I can’t go out.”
“That might be your kind, ghouls calling their own kind. But it might be very dangerous, so don’t respond,” I said. I had seen ghouls in Cando City before, but I don’t know if they would welcome an outsider like Sherris.
Thinking about it now, entrusting Sherris to Sebastian wasn’t a good choice. Their lifestyles and eating habits were completely opposite. Sherris liked to eat raw meat and was active at night. Furthermore, she disrupted Claire and Sebastian’s private world. Living together for a long time would inevitably lead to conflict.
Entrusting her to them before was a temporary measure, allowing us to make preparations and have Sebastian teach her some common city knowledge. Besides, it wasn’t good to trouble Sebastian constantly.
“Sherris, would you like to move in with us? I can introduce you to two friends of mine who are also ‘night owls’,” I suggested.
“Of course, I would!” Sherris was filled with unexpected surprise once again. She had initially wanted to follow Jayad, and now she heard about friends who were active at night, so that was perfect.
“Then let’s go to the Detective Agency first to get your luggage. By the way, Sebastian, we originally came to retrieve those two sets of corpse bones. Lorna has already made preparations, and it’s time I let her face them.”
