Chapter 81
Chapter 81
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: Chapter 27 - Encounter #2
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The Grand General had one daughter left behind by his late wife.
Her name was Amina, and she was just twelve years old.
"Amina has been frail since birth," he said.
Inside the carriage heading to his mansion, the Grand General's face was filled with worry as he spoke of his only daughter.
"It's not some illness. The doctors said from the start that she was simply born too weak."
Even though she was a mermaid, Amina had never entered the sea.
The ocean's water was far too cold for her fragile body to endure.
"Amina spends most of her day in bed. And even then... she's mostly lost in a deep sleep."
The Grand General was the strongest in the capital.
His position as captain of the Royal Guard, protecting the royal family, was no small one, and he wielded considerable wealth and power as well.
Yet despite all that, he couldn't make his daughter healthy.
"The doctors were utterly useless. Then... the High Priest heard the news and approached me."
He promised to heal Amina.
Wouldn't he want to see her healthy?
Of course, it wasn't free treatment.
The High Priest demanded a massive sum of money and sought influence over the Grand General, one of the capital's power brokers.
Normally, such an offer would be dismissed outright, but the Grand General couldn't do it.
His daughter, who so resembled his deceased wife, was far too precious.
"But in the end, even he couldn't heal Amina."
The sacred power of the High Priest and his priests couldn't make her healthy.
However, their treatment wasn't entirely ineffective.
At least it maintained the status quo.
"At first, I suspected the High Priest was dragging it out to keep exerting influence, but that wasn't the case. Their abilities were simply insufficient."
If it had been deliberate, he could have crushed them with force or offered more to somehow heal Amina.
[From what you've told us, I can guess why he approached you in secret.]
[He probably wants to hide his contact with you, Master, from the High Priest's faction, who are at least maintaining her condition.]
[The High Priest's faction sees the miracle healer you are as a thorn in their side.]
It would be great if Luther could heal Amina.
But if he failed, it could turn the High Priest's faction against them, endangering Amina's life.
So the Grand General's only option was to bring Luther in secretly.
[Master, does the original story mention the Grand General's daughter?]
At Integra's question, Luther furrowed his brow.
'Only briefly in the route where the Grand General becomes a spy. Just a mention that he has a dead daughter—I thought it was just flavor for him being alone... but she's still alive.'
The Grand General's daughter was still alive.
Could there be a connection between her death and him becoming a spy?
[It's possible. The Hecatoncheires might have approached him offering to heal her.]
Heal your daughter, and become our spy in return.
Simple, but effective.
But it was just a possibility.
They lacked the information for certainty.
'Still, this is different from before.'
With the High Priest or Queen Reina, all he could do was observe from afar, but with the Grand General, direct conversation was possible.
He could gain far more info, potentially eliminating him as a spy suspect or confirming him outright.
[And get more on the High Priest and Queen too.]
Plus, if he could heal Amina, the Grand General—one of the suspects—could become Luther's staunch ally.
'The issue is Amina's condition.'
The Grand General said she was born weak.
As Integra noted, neither she nor the nanomachines were gods.
Healing her might be impossible.
"This way."
Since it was clandestine, they couldn't use the front gate.
The Grand General stopped the carriage in a secluded corner of the mansion and led Luther through a hidden passage in the garden.
[Exposing a secret passage like this shows how desperate he is.]
Luther agreed.
A mansion's secret passage was secret for a reason.
[If the treatment fails, we should consider the chance he'll attack, Master.]
[Only the Grand General knows you've come to his mansion.]
[He might silence you over the passage or attack to strengthen ties with the High Priest.]
Harsh, but true.
Luther hadn't built trust with him yet.
"We're here."
The Grand General's previously calm voice darkened again.
Luther swallowed dryly without realizing it and slowly entered Amina's room.
A large bed and countless toys.
The walls and floor were packed with them, a clear sign of the Grand General's deep love for Amina.
And there was Amina.
Though evening hadn't arrived, the golden-haired girl slept soundly on the bed.
He'd said twelve, but her size suggested seven or eight, and her complexion was pale beyond mere whiteness.
[Life signs are extremely faint.]
[This isn't a simple disease.]
Luther saw it too.
Amina seemed so tiny and fragile, like she might shatter any moment.
"Can you heal her?"
At the Grand General's desperate question, Luther approached the bedside without rashly answering, then turned back for permission.
The Grand General nodded.
'Integra.'
[We'll do our best.]
[I want to heal this child too.]
Luther smiled faintly at Integra's typical response, then gently lifted the covers and placed his hand on Amina's tiny one.
A cold hand with barely any life force.
What was wrong with Amina?
Could nanomachines fix her?
[Body scan beginning.]
Data flooded Luther's vision.
* * *
[We've figured it out.]
[Amina was born with a congenital heart valve defect—a malformed heart. That's the root of all her issues.]
"Heart valve?"
[Yes. Specifically, the mitral valve connecting the left atrium to the left ventricle.]
Integra explained how the mitral valve issue led to her state, but Luther didn't need the details—it was hard to follow anyway.
What mattered was whether they could fix it.
Sensing his reaction, Integra sighed and crossed her arms.
[The priests failed for a simple reason.]
[This world's healing magic mostly restores states, but Amina's heart was malformed from birth. Restoring it just brings it back to malformed.]
In other words, her base HP was low, so no amount of healing mattered.
Healing magic filled HP, not increased it.
'But what then? If the heart's malformed from the start, does that mean a transplant?'
Replace a bad car engine with a new one—that was the fix.
But organ transplants weren't simple.
'Where do we even get a compatible heart for her?'
Even Luther, no medical expert, knew about compatibility.
A random heart could cause rejection and worsen things.
'Even knowing the cause doesn't solve it.'
Wait for a perfect donor? The Grand General wouldn't sit idly.
And even if one appeared, who donates a heart? They'd die.
'Doesn't that make healing impossible?'
Would the Grand General even believe him?
'And doubt the treatment too.'
Rip out someone's heart and put it in Amina? To this world, it'd seem like a devil's ritual.
'What do we do?'
Right then.
Integra, watching Luther brood with amusement, arms crossed, spoke up.
[Master, why the heavy worrying?]
[Hearts can just be reshaped.]
"Huh?"
Luther blurted it out loud.
It was too absurd.
'Wait, reshape the heart? Like plastic surgery?'
[Yes, Master. Reshape it with nanomachines.]
[Widen the valve and build artificial parts with nanomachines where needed.]
She smiled like it was nothing, so it seemed feasible.
'Wow.'
Not nose or chin—heart surgery.
Nanomachines were beyond imagination.
[Master, building buster cannon barrels is dozens of times more complex.]
[A heart's just a pump. Simple structure.]
[We can do heart reshaping without even cutting the chest.]
[It's nanomachine surgery anyway.]
[Well, we'll need a small hole to drain blood.]
Luther's face grew more incredulous at her kind explanation.
No chest incision for heart surgery?
'Is Integra actually a god?'
Cures baldness, reshapes hearts.
Medical deity territory.
[Seriously, like with the baldness—you bafflingly accept huge feats calmly but freak over basics.]
She truly seemed puzzled.
But priorities: Luther hurried.
'So, Integra, can we do the heart reshaping surgery right now?'
The words felt ridiculous, but Integra thumped her chest confidently.
[Yes. But it'll take time—more nanomachines than any prior treatment.]
Luther smiled involuntarily at her assurance.
Relief at saving the girl before him.
Integra smiled back warmly, then giggled.
[Master, time to explain to the Grand General.]
[He looks like he's about to lose it from anxiety.]
As she said, the Grand General alternated worried glances between Luther and Amina.
Seeing Luther's startled face, he'd imagined the worst alone.
'A father, huh.'
One deeply worried for his daughter.
Luther's expression softened as he turned to the Grand General.
"Grand General, I've identified the cause of Amina's illness and the solution."
The Grand General rushed to Luther at his words, eyes anxious.
Integra eyed the man—the capital's strongest swordsman, power broker, and tycoon—and said crisply.
[Master, no need to go overboard, but secure solid compensation, right?]
Payment for heart reshaping.
Suppressing the urge to ruffle Integra's hair, Luther began sharing the good news with the Grand General.
* * *
High Priest Martriel was in a foul mood.
Fresh from a rare vacation on Saint Elena Island, bad news piled up immediately.
'The miracle healer in the capital.'
Only days in, but rumors flooded the city.
Curing baldness, making cripples walk—incredible tales.
'Not good.'
Unacceptable.
He couldn't let some unknown fraud stir the capital and palace.
'Though it won't be a big issue.'
He was the High Priest.
If he pushed seriously, even with princesses' favor, he could crush the fake healer instantly.
'I'll borrow Grand General Azrael's help.'
That man couldn't refuse him.
"High Priest, something troubling you?"
He shook his head at the dancer's whisper from below.
As he'd thought, easy fix.
High Priest plus Grand General—invincible.
"Nothing. Let's head to the bedroom."
Laughing heartily, he groped her breast and stepped off.
His beaming face showed no worry.
But the next afternoon.
Unexpected news reached him.