The Princess's Troubled Patient
I wasn't sure if I could actually fix it, but that didn't mean I could just let an opportunity like this slip away without even trying.
And honestly, I had a bit of a foundation to stand on.
First of all, it was clear this wasn't some magical or mana-related problem that was completely beyond me.
If it were, I'd be utterly useless.
But the fact that the elixir had been used with no improvement at all meant it wasn't a mana-based illness.
After all, when it comes to diseases caused by magic or mana, elixirs are basically a cure-all.
It probably wasn't a curse, either.
The Princess of Frost had mentioned earlier that they'd already tried treating it with holy power, with help from the constellation known as the Saint of Compassion.
If it had been curse-related, that side would've said something by now.
If it wasn't a mana or curse issue, then it had to be a disease caused by bacteria or a virus.
Or maybe a genetic disorder, or some kind of physical problem.
Since potions couldn't fix it, Earth's medical technology was far superior in that field, at least.
Well, Earth's technology is advanced. I don't know much about it myself, though...
I'll just have the AI figure it out for me.
Anyway, my message was answered almost immediately by the Princess of Frost.
[Message]
Before heading off to meet Edelyn Winter—the patient the Princess of Frost had asked me to treat—I first got the full details from her.
When I heard that the symptoms improved temporarily with treatment only to return later, I'd suspected someone might be poisoning her continuously. But she had already looked into that possibility. It wasn't poison.
Apparently, several constellations had been watching her around the clock for days, and no one had slipped her anything suspicious.
Instead, the Princess of Frost had one theory she was considering.
I let out a sigh.
If it was something like that, there was no way I could fix it.
What the hell? That’s totally overpowered.
Hearing that, I suddenly became even more determined to cure her and bring her over as my incarnation.
While she was becoming more and more tempting, the chances that I could actually treat her had dropped slightly. Still, the two of us turned our view toward the Winter Ducal estate.
Strangely, when I tried to look inside the mansion, the screen filled with noise and went blank.
Since it was the home where her incarnation’s family lived together, the Princess of Frost had apparently set up barriers so other constellations couldn’t peek in at will.
Having both money and power really lets you do stuff like that, huh. I was briefly impressed.
After waiting a moment, thanks to the Princess of Frost’s permission, my screen returned to normal.
When I shifted the view to the location she’d indicated, a rather grotesque sight filled my eyes.
A large bed placed in the center of a spacious room.
On top of it, a pale girl lay completely still, limp and lifeless.
Her skin was so white it looked like she’d never seen sunlight in her life, contrasted by jet-black hair.
Her red eyes were hollow, completely unfocused, and her mouth hung slightly open.
Around her stood skeletons and corpses, utterly motionless.
A corpse holding a tray and utensils.
A skeleton clutching a towel.
A corpse gripping the curtain.
A skeleton with a broom.
The Princess of Frost spoke to me as if making an excuse.
I waited for a while.
She had definitely said she sent a message, but there was no reaction from Edelyn at all.
Some time later, the girl—who still showed no response—moved only her lips and muttered something.
“I see… It’s pointless… But… no… never mind…”
Watching her mumble with those unfocused eyes gave me goosebumps.
“Death is… the end of suffering… In the end… I am relieved…”
I had no idea what the two of them were talking about.
I asked the Princess of Frost to have Edelyn tell me about her current condition and symptoms.
After another long pause, Edelyn muttered again with those vacant eyes.
“You are… not… As you can see… I am like this… So there is no need for you to know…”
It seemed my second incarnation candidate wasn’t exactly mentally sound, either.
What exactly was the Princess of Frost trying to hand over to me?
After a very urgent-looking message from the Princess of Frost arrived, I was finally able to hear Edelyn’s symptoms from her.
Basically, she was lethargic and couldn’t eat properly.
Her reactions to external stimuli were slow, and she couldn’t answer questions correctly.
She spent the entire day lying down, often curled up, and would suddenly develop a fever.
When that happened, her heart would race dangerously fast, and she would become abnormally anxious.
When treated with potions or elixirs, she seemed to improve for a few days.
But before long, she would fall ill again.
“Hmm…”
To be honest, this alone didn’t give me much to go on.
But that was fine. I didn’t need to understand it myself.
I typed every symptom I’d just heard straight into the AI.
I also added what I was currently seeing—pale, listless, unfocused, and clearly not mentally stable.
I included the information that viruses, bacteria, infectious diseases, and internal injuries had already been ruled out through testing.
After all, if it had been any of those, the highest-grade potions or the elixir would have fixed it without question.
After entering all the data and waiting about three minutes, the AI gave me an answer I had not expected at all.
Based on the combination of symptoms provided, the most strongly suspected condition is severe mental illness or extreme depression accompanied by psychotic features (Psychotic Depression).
“Ah.”
*****
After asking the Princess of Frost to wait a moment, I headed to the psychiatric hospital in my neighborhood.
When I looked it up, it turned out you couldn’t just buy antidepressants over the counter like painkillers.
I’d planned to just describe Edelyn’s symptoms as if they were my own and quickly pick up the medication.
But the doctor started doing a proper consultation, asking for a detailed diagnosis of my condition.
Not wanting to get caught lying, I tried my best to recall Edelyn’s state as accurately as possible and repeated it exactly.
At one point, the doctor asked if there was anything causing her stress or any presumed triggers for the depression.
So I did what I’d been doing and explained Edelyn’s story in detail, as if it were my own, without thinking.
“Well, it’s because I can hear people’s inner thoughts, and that’s caused me a lot of emotional wounds… Ah.”
The doctor’s mouth was still smiling politely, but the sound of his typing suddenly became insanely fast.
In the end, a short while later, I walked out with a massive pile of medication bags in my hands.
“Ugh… Won’t this leave a record?”
I shook my head.
So what if it left a record?
If Edelyn got better, I’d be able to command an undead legion from the Tower.
Not only that, but curing her would give me a fully loyal Supreme-rank constellation on my side.
I examined the medication bags.
“I have no idea which ones are for depression and which are for schizophrenia.”
Well, I’d just send them all.
What could possibly go wrong?