Lauren saw me entering the room in the back.
The room I entered from the back entrance was dark, dirty, and smelly. Various things were piled up in a mess in the small space, and I couldn’t tell what was there anymore. And in the midst of it all, there was a woman, Eia, smoking a cigarette while sitting on a chair. I think she said she was a pharmacist, but I couldn’t believe it. She seemed more like a mad scientist.
“What the hell, don’t just barge in.”
“Ah, sorry. Um, I’m looking for a companion, a Satyr woman named Karubene.”
My chin was pointed to the side. There was Karubene holding a sake bottle.
“Damn, I’ve been found.”
“What are you doing! It was a waste of my concern!”
“No, no, it’s not like that. If I do this, the pain goes away.”
Besides, why didn’t anyone stop her when there was a medicine expert here?
“Can’t you just get painkillers?”
“But they’re expensive, and you know, insurance, right? Sake is cheaper.”
For the time being, I took away what she was holding in her hand. All the while, Eia was smoking with vacant eyes. It’s crazy for a doctor to let someone like this work. I thought she was a good doctor. I took Karubene’s arm and led her outside, telling her to go back to bed.
I was already tired after resting. When I returned to the room late, Karubene was on the bed, looking bored. Stay there, honestly. Speaking of which, what happened to Cecilia? When I suddenly looked back, she was still asleep.
“Speaking of which, that guy isn’t waking up, is he? Ha! Arrogant elf. Flat-chested, short, violent woman.”
“Stop it, Karubene, she might be able to hear you.”
“That’s fine,” Karubene said, laughing. I gently shook Cecilia. She continued to sleep with her eyes tightly closed. Maybe she took a bad hit, or maybe she was just very tired. Seeing Cecilia like that, Karubene was in high spirits.
After a while, a Naga doctor came. It was a hospital in a remote location, but still, many people came, and he had been seeing patients since morning.
“Hello, how are you feeling? I’m sorry I’m so late. I’m Marcos. I’m late introducing myself.”
“Thank you for your hard work. Cecilia hasn’t woken up yet.”
Marcos tilted his head.
“It looks like she was hit on the shoulder, but it doesn’t seem to be that serious. If it’s the brain, we can’t treat it here. You’ll need to be examined at a larger hospital.”
That would be a problem. I don’t know if we can make it in time from here. By the way, Karubene is nowhere to be seen. Has she gone back to that delinquent pharmacist again?
“I see. By the way, about that pharmacist.”
Marcos covered his face at my words.
“Ah, I’m sorry. Please ignore her. I don’t really want to hire her, but she’s the only one who can work 24 hours for a low salary.”
He mumbled the latter part in a low voice. It must be hard to manage a hospital. Then Marcos told me a little about Eia. He said she graduated from a famous university in Shindo, and that she had a prior arrest for involvement in illegal drug manufacturing. Even if she’s called brilliant in her state, it’s hard to believe, but it seems she’s good at studying.
Time passed, and Cecilia did not wake up even at night. Everyone was worried and took turns calling out to her, but there was no response. Perhaps, as the doctor said, she hit her head hard and is experiencing cerebral hemorrhage or something similar.
Karubene is looking at Cecilia like that and giggling.
“Well, if she doesn’t wake up like this, we’ll have to leave her behind. We’ll be short on manpower, but there’s nothing we can do.”
Even though she’s saying that, I’m sure Karubene is the most worried. If the roles were reversed, Cecilia would probably worry about her, even while making sarcastic remarks.
“That’s right, it’s better to not have someone nagging me. It’s quiet, and I can’t stand it if a comrade gets stabbed like this again.”
“Brother, that wasn’t on purpose, right? Accidents happen to anyone.”
I glanced at Karubene, and she shiftily averted her gaze.
