Chapter 151
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 151
Chapter Title: Hospitalization (1)
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[The ruins discovered in the Labyrinth each possess their own distinct styles. However, artifacts of similar styles occasionally emerge from ruins that appear utterly unrelated...]
[Isekai folk claimed these artifacts, unseen anywhere on the continent, originated from their home cultures...]
[Elves insisted that the artifacts from the Labyrinth ruins stemmed from their own culture as well...]
"Hm..."
I closed the pages of The Ruins of the Labyrinth and Their Artifacts and sank into thought.
'So, Earth-like artifacts have been found in ruins beyond the ones I've seen.'
Could these ruins also involve that guy called "Death"? Or just coincidence? Might there be items like the paper scrap I found in these ruins too?
Lost in thought, I used my remaining arm to set the book aside and picked up the one next to it, Artifacts That Induce Mental Abnormalities in Users? But...
-Thud.
"Mister! I'll read it for you!"
"...Clara. Can't you just let me read in peace?"
"It's hard to read with one arm! I'll read it to you!"
Clara, stuck to my side like glue, snatched the book from my hand, opened it, and began reading aloud.
'I could read faster by activating [High-Speed Thinking]...'
I couldn't bring myself to say it. Instead, I gave her an awkward smile and let out a sigh.
Why am I suddenly reading books with Clara beside me?
Because I'm hospitalized.
Hospitalization. The act of a patient staying at a hospital for a set period to treat illness or injury.
This world has no hospitals, but places that serve the same role exist. Temples.
"Ian?! You're back safe... Kyaaak! Y-Your arm!"
The moment we returned to the surface from the Labyrinth, the investigation team, staring grotesquely at my severed arm, rushed me straight to the temple. Per my wishes, I was taken to the Temple of Light. Gloria, having heard I'd arrived, came running out barefoot to greet me.
Clara came out with her, so I hurriedly covered the girl's eyes. It wasn't a sight for a child.
Regaining her composure, Gloria expressed relief at my safe return and diagnosed my arm.
"The regeneration rate is quite fast. Using divine healing might actually interfere."
She concluded that my [Regeneration] skill would handle it fine on its own. The speed was so impressive that forcing divine aid could cause malformed growth. Best to leave it be and rest.
Yeah. Rest.
"You need to be hospitalized."
"...Do I really have to? It'll regenerate if left alone..."
"Holy Bind!"
"Guh! Ack!"
When I voiced my reluctance to hospitalization, I witnessed Gloria's usual gentle expression twist into something demonic.
Subdued by her holy magic, I was swiftly processed and admitted to a temple ward. At least she pulled strings for a private room.
Ordered to rest absolutely, with nothing else to do, I hunkered down reading books. I had info to look into anyway.
'The books here have their limits.'
The temple had plenty for patients and priests alike, but temple books alone couldn't satisfy my info needs. Not with so many questions burning.
[Master. Got a moment to talk?]
I'd messaged Vivian via crystal orb, but no reply yet. Makes sense— the whole Labyrinth Guild was on high alert. She must be swamped.
'So much I want to ask her.'
She's the one who could resolve my doubts in one go. Once contact's made, I'll meet her and ask. If she dodges properly...
'I'll make her talk with this.'
I steeled myself, thinking of the paper bundle in my inventory. After discharge, once I reach Vivian, I'll trade it for answers about that "voice."
Mulling it over, I felt the need for fresh air. Leaving my room, I wandered the temple halls. Besides my private room, several wards brimmed with patients.
"Why so many inpatients?"
The fact struck me as profoundly strange.
I'm hospitalized too, but in this world, patient admissions are rare. Most wounds or illnesses heal via recovery magic or potions. Unless a limb's severed (reattached immediately if fresh), you're quarantined for a serious contagion, or cursed by advanced+ Labyrinth afflictions— hospitalizations are uncommon.
And these patients...
"Grrrh..."
"Huu... Huu... Med, medicine..."
"Hehe... More... More..."
'...Mental patients?'
Passing the crowded ward, the thought crossed my mind unbidden. No obvious external injuries, yet every patient drooled, eyes bloodshot and trembling, all strapped to beds.
Like imprisoning the insane.
And they all muttered "medicine" repeatedly.
'Drug addicts or something?'
The notion popped up, but I shook my head. Potions cure most poisons. Priests' purification magic cleanses odd ingestions effortlessly.
So, not drug addiction— genuine mental issues.
"Medicine... Medicine!"
'...'
Right...?
A nagging unease cut my walk short. Returning to my room, a unfamiliar priest awaited.
"Hello, brother."
"Ah, hello."
Snow-white hair on a handsome man. Flawless skin without scars or blemishes, matching the hair. Faint holy power wafting.
'Was there a priest like this?'
"You're Ian, right? Here for a quick checkup..."
"Ah, sure."
A bit thrown by a priest other than Gloria or Clara, but his friendly smile eased me. I lay on the bed.
He approached, placing hands on my body.
-...Wriggle. Wriggle.
"...Huh?"
'Feels different from usual holy power.'
A sense of incongruity from the holy power entering for the exam.
How to put it? It was holy power, but unlike Gloria's— bright and radiant like the Light God's— this felt...
'Mixed somehow?'
"All done."
Before I could pinpoint it, he withdrew his hands.
"You're healthy. Still, stick to meat-heavy meals for a while, avoid strenuous exercise..."
'...Just my imagination?'
His familiar, brightly shining holy power now emanated as always.
"I'll take my leave."
He bowed and left. Shaking off the unease, as I reached for a book, a knock sounded.
-Knock knock knock.
'Checkup just done—who now?'
Gloria entered, looking slightly apologetic.
"Sorry, Ian. Sudden influx of odd patients... Starting checkups today."
"...Checkup? Another priest just did one."
"Huh? Another? Who?"
"White hair, about this tall..."
I described the recent examiner. Gloria's face grew peculiar.
"Uh... Ian. Hold on. White hair, pale skin, that height... That match?"
"?? Yeah."
She looked puzzled.
"First off, Ian—no priest here matches that description..."
"What?"
But I distinctly felt the Temple of Light's signature holy power.
"Someone comes to mind from your description, though..."
"You know him?"
"Well, 'know' is relative. Famous among our priests..."
She spoke hesitantly, unsure.
"...The features you described match Yohan-nim, who holds two seats on the committee."
"......What?"
"His mind is tougher than expected."
Muttering to himself, the white-haired man slowly exited the temple. He'd tried reading him by touch, but the mind proved too sturdy.
Still, confirmed no 'infestation.' Decided to leave him be.
They weren't proactive interveners— mere observers. Who knows? This isekai might prove a 'variable.'
As he pondered, his suppressed holy power stirred and spread. The radiant power soon split into four streams.
Holy power unique to the Temple of Light— bright and shining.
Unique to the Temple of Justice— steadfast and noble.
Unique to the Temple of Abundance— warm and fresh.
Unique to the Temple of War— violent and fierce.
Four gods' holy powers boiled within him, conveying their wills.
And each will carried the same emotion: 'fear.'
"What frightens you all so...?"
Linked directly, he could sense their wills to a degree, but not converse. Yohan sighed in frustration.
He'd confirmed this Ian's strong tie to the Labyrinth anomaly, coming personally to check. Yet doubts piled higher.
Why did the gods fear Ian, transferred just three years ago?
"Beings dead a millennium already."
Long-dead existences.
Yohan, the 'Avatar' holding two seats on the committee, wielding the holy powers of four gods, muttered thus.