Chapter 13 - Wah?
Translator: Roshi
The Palace, built entirely of stone.
A strikingly handsome man opened the door and entered the room.
"You must drink, Lady Serintia."
Sitting on the bed inside the room was an adorable little girl with golden hair and red eyes.
Serintia du Lanortas Veloche.
She was a vampire.
And not just any vampire, but the True Progenitor, the one and only leader of the Bloodline Clan.
But right now, Serintia was staring at what the man held in his hand with a look of sheer terror.
"I don't want to... Hic, Butler. Do I really have to drink it?"
Because Serintia absolutely despised drinking blood.
"You truly must drink it now. If you don't want to be in pain, there is no other choice."
Vampires were a species that drank blood.
Ordinary vampires could survive on regular food alone.
But the True Progenitor, the sole and most powerful being in the Bloodline Clan, was constitutionally required to drink concentrated blood at regular intervals.
Otherwise, she would fall into a state called Bloodlust, suffering increasingly severe pain until she eventually lost control entirely.
"Hic, why was I born a True Progenitor... I think I'd rather just die. Then a new True Progenitor would be born in the Bloodline Clan, right? Maybe everyone would actually prefer that."
At first, she had forced herself to drink blood simply because the pain of refusing was unbearable.
But the longer those years dragged on, the more haggard Serintia became.
Serintia buried her face in her knees.
But the butler shook his head.
"Lady Serintia. Everyone is worried about you. No matter what anyone says, you are the one protecting our Bloodline Clan with the Barrier, and you have repelled every enemy invasion, have you not? Here, I've prepared a Blood Serum, concentrated from the purest blood possible while minimizing the distinctive taste. You should be able to drink this."
The butler gazed at the unresponsive Serintia with a look of pity.
Then he set a glass vial on the table, and as he left, he said,
"You must drink it before the day is over, or you will be in pain. You know that, yes? I'll leave it here for you."
Serintia hugged her knees and stared at the glass vial.
She knew.
She knew the butler had gone through great trouble to gather this pure Blood Serum.
Knowing that made her feel terrible for being so difficult about it.
'But it's just so hard to drink...'
Drip.
A few teardrops fell from Serintia's eyes.
And then.
"Nngh...!"
It had begun.
Pain radiated outward from her heart.
"It hurts..."
If she didn't drink the Blood Serum, it would only get worse.
Even if it made her gag, she had to drink it.
She had to swallow it.
Just as she steeled herself.
Clatter.
The table where the glass vial sat suddenly shook.
"Huh?"
And the glass vial slid off the edge and tumbled below the table.
"No!"
Serintia sprang to her feet.
She threw herself toward it. But the vial was already falling.
'Too late...'
The moment she thought that, Serintia saw a Dimensional Portal opening on the floor beneath the vial.
'Huh?'
The glass vial slipped right through it.
Serintia, who had thrown herself forward, was sucked into the Dimensional Portal as well.
*
"Mmm..."
I opened my eyes groggily.
I remembered drinking beer last night and passing out drunk.
As expected, there was no hangover.
Well, of course not. Who gets a hangover from a single can of beer?
I needed to worry about things actually worth worrying about.
"But why am I in bed?"
I was pretty sure I'd fallen asleep sprawled on the couch last night.
Kkiing!
Cer, who had been lying beside me, lifted his head.
"Oh, good morning, Cer."
Kking!
Lick!
As if greeting me good morning in return, Cer licked my face, then panted happily as he enjoyed having his belly rubbed.
"Did you move me here?"
Kking! Yep!
I didn't bother asking how. Cer had the strength to one-shot a Troll, so of course he'd managed to carry me just fine.
"Aw, is that so? Thanks, Cer."
Instead, I playfully squished Cer's cheeks with both hands.
Brrrr. Kking!
Seeing Cer enjoy it despite the rough treatment made me smile involuntarily.
What a cutie.
"Ugh. I made a bit of a fool of myself last night."
My family had visited and brought up the topic of marriage.
That was what had driven me to drink beer and throw a tantrum about wanting a daughter before falling asleep.
'Not even married and I'm going on about wanting a daughter? That doesn't even make sense.'
Well, saying things that don't make sense is kind of the whole point of being a drunk mess.
I should give Cer some meat for putting up with me.
When I took out some meat for Cer, the hound grilled and ate it on his own.
Chomp chomp chomp chomp!!
Kkiing!
Cer wasn't picky about the cut. Even the tough parts that would normally only be fit for stewing, he just grilled and chewed them right up before swallowing.
And he still seemed to love it.
Well, it was only tough for humans.
Would meat like this be tough for a Hell Hound?
This was a creature that could tear through Troll hide, after all.
I found meat too heavy for breakfast, so I took out some chicken breast and side dishes for a healthy meal instead.
After eating, I rolled around the living room floor with Cer to help with digestion.
"Bahahaha! That's it, Cer!"
Kkiiing!
"That tickles!"
Kkiing!!
Cer flipped over and licked the hand that had been tickling him.
Lick, lick!
"Hahaha, that tickles! You little rascal! Not bad!"
Kking!
After rolling around and playing on the cushy pad spread across the floor,
"Well then, shall we head to work?"
I got up and checked the clock. 8:55.
"What, I still have four whole minutes to spare?"
I played with Cer a bit longer, got up at 58, got ready, and walked out at 59.
I arrived at the hospital in one minute.
Right on time.
"Ssaem, your house got closer but I feel like you leave even later now."
"You know what they say, the person who lives closest always shows up last. Haha."
Kking!
"Oh, Cer's here too. Hi there, welcome."
Cer greeted Park Ji-yeon as well, then wagged his tail and followed me into the examination room.
"You have to be a good boy again today, okay?"
Kkiing! Don't worry!
Cer settled onto his large cushion and hugged his Comfort Toy.
The dopey-looking lion plushie must have been his absolute favorite, because the sight of him clutching it tight was impossibly cute.
I sat down and slowly checked through the charts.
It wasn't like patients showed up right at 9 on the dot anyway.
There used to be patients who waited by the door and came in the moment it opened.
But since my skill healed everything so perfectly, all the animals had gotten healthy, and there weren't many urgent cases anymore.
Occasionally there were emergencies where an animal got injured.
In those cases, regardless of office hours, I'd get a call through the emergency line and head out immediately to treat them.
Now that it only took me one minute to get there, I could provide even faster care.
"Hmm hmm."
A peaceful Animal Hospital with no patients.
Not a bad thing, really.
Maybe I'd put on some soft music...
"Ssaem, new patient coming in!"
Oh, a new patient first thing in the morning?
That had been pretty rare lately.
"Hello, Doctor. Um, I heard you can treat any kind of animal, so I came..."
The guardian fidgeted nervously as they showed the animal they'd brought.
"...A snake."
Hissss.
The snake in the transparent container looked around as if wondering where it was.
Judging by its appearance, the species was a Bredl's python.
A mid-sized snake that was a bit more challenging to keep among pet snakes.
Its name was apparently Miming.
"Yes. We actually already found out what the problem is from the tests. There's a calculus inside its body, but it's in such a deep spot that it needs surgery."
However, the snake was already older and not particularly robust, so there was a chance it could die from surgery.
"You came to the right place. I'll have it treated in no time."
"Oh, but Miming has a pretty sensitive temperament, so it'll keep trying to escape. If you just force your way in, it might bite, so I should..."
"It's fine. This'll be over in a second."
I cracked the container open slightly and reached my hand toward Miming.
Hissss!
At first, Miming fled to the corner of the container, but once cornered, it bit my finger.
[Absolute Shield (S) has been automatically activated.]
[Durability lost: 0.]
I used that opening to grab Miming firmly.
"Restoration."
Flash!
Whoosh.
Light seeped into Miming.
Hiss?
Miming opened its mouth and shook its head around a bit.
Then, seeming rejuvenated, it coiled itself around my hand in what was apparently a show of affection.
"Thank you so much, Doctor!!"
The guardian's face lit up.
Ding!
[EXP increased by 1.]
After sending the first patient off,
"Now then, time to put on some mus..."
"Ssaem, new patient coming in!"
"Coming!"
"Doctor, our Ttotto was told at another hospital that surgery could be risky, so..."
Ding!
[EXP increased by 1.]
"Doctor!! Do you treat turtles by any chance...? Its shell has a crack in it..."
Ding!
[EXP increased by 1.]
[Bonus for 10 successful treatments: EXP increased by 100!]
"Thank you, Doctor!"
Curious about the sudden rush, I asked the guardians if something had happened.
"Oh, it was on the news that an EX-rank healer runs an Animal Hospital, so we came hoping you might be able to help!"
It seemed to be the ripple effect of the news that had spread after Cer rescued that child.
"Well, this level of busy is no big deal."
All I had to do was touch them and use my skill once, and they were cured.
People always said coffee shops were the ultimate low-cost business, but mine didn't even require water.
Aside from the water I drank myself, that is.
Ding, ding, ding.
[EXP increased by 1.]
[EXP increased by 1.]
...
[Bonus for 10 successful Restorations: EXP increased by 100!]
Treating the flood of new patients sent my EXP shooting up.
Money, too, shooting up.
And there was one more thing the guardians who brought new patients had in common.
"Doctor, is there any chance we could see Cer from the news? Is he not here?"
"Oh, Cer? He's actually inside. He's staying quiet so he doesn't disturb anyone, since some guardians might find him scary..."
"Could we maybe meet him just once?"
"Of course."
That's right, they all wanted to meet Cer in person after seeing him on the news.
Kkiing! I'm right here!
Every time I called, Cer came out through the door.
"Wow, he just opens the door and comes out all by himself!"
"He's super smart, right? You can pet him if you'd like."
"Aww, aren't you adorable. So you're Cer."
Kkiing!
And so, every now and then, Cer would wag his tail enthusiastically and show off for the visitors.
"Alright, quitting time!"
At last, office hours came to an end.
Just as Cer and I were leaving the hospital,
Kkiing?!
Cer sniffed the air, then turned to stare toward the Gate.
"What's wrong, Cer? Is it time for Monsters to come out?"
Kkiing! I think so!
"Let's go check it out!"
We sprinted toward the Gate.
Hummm...
But something about the Gate seemed off.
"What the...?"
I'd been told that an Emission Gate was supposed to grow larger, then stop, and after a set period, release Monsters.
But this Gate was continuously changing in size and shape.
"It looks unstable."
The color kept shifting slightly, too.
It was as if someone were clicking through channels, the connected world switching in real time.
And then, when it finally stopped,
Kkiing!
Master! Stand back!
Cer assumed a battle stance, ready to fight valiantly against whatever might emerge.
But then.
Pop!
"?"
A single glass vial suddenly shot out of the Gate.
And then.
"Noooo!!"
Chasing after the vial was an adorable little girl with golden hair, red eyes, and a black dress.
The girl tried to catch the vial, but.
Crash!
The glass vial fell helplessly to the ground and shattered, its contents splattering and spilling across the floor.
The girl stared down at the broken vial in utter disbelief.
"Wah."
Wah?
"WAAAAAAHHHH!!!!"
Tears began pouring from her eyes.
*****
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