Lord of Disease (JP-GL) 500

500: The Doctor’s Reason for Living

The Doctor, despite her bad attitude and her villainous face, was an excellent physician.

To have a medical mage of her caliber stationed here was a great comfort, in a remote hot spring inn like this. It wasn’t a place where you could just call a doctor.

In addition to the employees, who were of course included, the number of sick and injured guests had also increased recently.

Hot springs, even on Earth, were so effective that they were sometimes called magic, and even in the modern era, with its advanced medicine, hot spring therapy was a treatment option. It had been over ten years since I had come to this world, and that probably hadn’t changed.

The healing magic that existed in this world was incredibly useful, but it was by no means omnipotent. The same was true for hot springs, and even in a world with magic, there was no spring that could cure anything just by soaking in it.

And yet, it helped to improve blood circulation, to restore mana, to enhance one’s healing ability, and to draw out the power that a person originally possessed.

The number of guests who were here for the healing effects of the hot springs had also become conspicuous. Since our inn was a particular one, it was inevitably a high-end establishment, but if you considered the cost of requesting a skilled healer, of whom there were a limited number, then it could also be seen as a bargain.

Of course, the food was also delicious, and the service was impeccable… or so I prided myself.

The Doctor sat down on the edge of the bed, beside me, and a Barghest followed, jumping up onto the bed. And it rested its head on her lap.

The Doctor gently reached out and, with a gentle touch, she stroked its head, and the black dog narrowed its eyes. She, too, narrowed her eyes.

“Ah… I could die now…”

A contented face. Even Liz probably didn’t know this relaxed side of the Doctor.

But…

“…Doctor, when you say that, it’s not a joke.”

“It’s the price of my recklessness. I have no regrets.”

The Doctor said, lightly. But her body was in tatters.

‘A doctor doesn’t take care of himself’… I couldn’t say that. I couldn’t blame her, in that way.

The continuous use of advanced magic, beyond the limits of her body. …To save as many as she could, she had plunged her hand into death and had dragged them back. Just because she could. Because she didn’t want anyone to die before her. I couldn’t blame a person who had gone beyond their limits… who had been ‘reckless’… with such a pure feeling.

The fact that she was a regular user of ‘the devil’s temptation’ was to suppress the pain. The dark circles under her eyes were a chronic fatigue. It was said that her sense of taste was also affected.

I looked at her in silence, and the Doctor fidgeted, as if embarrassed.

“…Alright. I’ll soak in the hot spring. And I’ll eat, within a reasonable range. So don’t make that face.”

Her expression turned serious.

“Promise me.”

“…As if I could die.”

And the Doctor smiled, a wide grin. Her ears drooped, and her expression was relaxed.

“Well, in my active days, I hardly ever touched an animal, because of the fur, but to think there was such a happiness.”

How many people would have died, if it hadn’t been for the Doctor? She had tried to be ‘active for life.’ …That was her choice. The Doctor had the power to save people, and she had decided to use it for herself.

She declared, clearly, that she was a doctor because she wanted to save people. There were those who could be saved, and those who could not. And yet, it was a doctor’s duty to push through, while prioritizing life and death.

…To see a death that could not be helped, up close. And not just to be thanked. To even be cursed.

And yet.

…She seemed happy, so maybe it was alright.

It was a joyous thing, that she had found a hobby… or rather, a reason for living.

“It’s a service.”

I shook my skirt and added two more Black Hound Barghests. The black dogs snuggled up to her, as if to warm her.

“Are you trying to kill me… honestly.”

And yet, the Doctor’s smile was a sublime one. Since her usual expression, combined with the other factors, was a perfect villainous face, if I were to be shown such a thing, I would probably fall in love with the gap.

“You’re an incorrigible one.”

I wondered which one of us was the incorrigible one.