Princess Canaby (1)
I couldn’t ask the patients to come in shifts just because the treatment center was busy. To each of them, their own wound would feel like the most painful and urgent one in the world. Besides, a fair amount of time had already passed since they were injured. They still had to escape the labyrinth, after all.
Inside the labyrinth they would have used whatever alchemist-made potions they could get their hands on for emergency treatment. As if a little ointment could heal wounds like these. Still, if the injuries were beyond the power of simple salves, the fact that the potions had at least stopped the bleeding was impressive enough. Having left their wounds untreated for so long, everyone must have felt anxious and unclean. They would have wanted to know whether they were truly all right. So it was only natural that the moment they stepped outside, they would crave proper healing.
“They’re here, they’re here! Whoa! There are so many!”
“Looks like we’re not sleeping tonight.”
“O Sun God… grant me the strength to endure this.”
Even though we had prepared in advance, the treatment center descended into chaos in the blink of an eye. The place became a cacophony of voices.
“Patients with bone injuries, please come this way!”
“This person’s condition is quite serious. Could you treat them first?”
“This one is barely breathing! Wait your turn! How did you even make it all the way here in that state?!”
“We just kept drinking potions, that’s how.”
“Is this really the time to say that so calmly?! Someone call Priest Arthur!”
“Priest Arthur!!!”
From every direction, voices called my name.
“Priest, please look at this patient over here!”
It wasn’t just one person; several were calling me at once, each standing in front of a different patient. I was in charge of cases the other priests couldn’t handle, so naturally the desperate cries for me rang out from all sides. I did wonder why it had to be me when there were other senior healers around, but then I thought, if I don’t do it, who will?
Did Master anticipate this situation and cram all that knowledge into me on purpose?
If not for the knowledge that had been forcefully shoved into my head during those dreams, would I have been able to handle today’s chaos? No. I would have been stamping my feet in frustration at my own lack of expertise.
So that’s why he gave me everything all at once…
Everything Master did had a hidden meaning. He must have realized I would need to prepare in advance, which was why he had crammed it all into my mind so urgently in the dream. I offered up a short prayer of gratitude and respect for his thoughtfulness. I would have liked to pray longer, but with patients flooding in, there simply wasn’t time.
“I’ll take this one!”
“Whew~ Thank goodness. I’m counting on you.”
One by one, I worked through the patients.
“Next!”
“Yes! Could you look at this person? They say they were bitten by an insect, but it doesn’t look good.”
“The skin is already rotting.”
“Ugh… it hurts so much!”
I treated the patients in a near trance. I was so focused I barely registered the passage of time. Even after sending dozens away, the treatment center was still packed with people calling for healers. Some of their conditions were so bizarre I couldn’t hide my astonishment at how they had managed to crawl out of the labyrinth at all.
I feel like I’ve seen every surgical case I’ll ever need to see in my entire life.
I couldn’t understand how they had endured such wounds long enough to reach us. If it had been me, the pain would have kept me from moving an inch. The human will to survive was truly remarkable.
It was a good thing the patients had held on. Even with the same illness, those who possessed a strong desire to recover always healed faster.
“To be honest, I thought I was fine so I wasn’t going to come. But people around me kept telling me I should, so here I am.”
“That’s a dangerous way to think! When something like this appears, you must come immediately.”
“If I hadn’t come, would I not have woken up tomorrow morning?”
“That’s right. So from now on, don’t ignore your body just because the pain isn’t severe. Those are actually the scariest cases. When something hurts, at least you think to get it treated. When it doesn’t hurt, the thought never occurs to you.”
I gave the patient—who would have died if not for me today—a thorough scolding before moving on to the next.
“Arthur, could you step over here for a moment?”
“Yes! What is it?”
The patient I had been treating had just been finished, so I hurried over at Priest Chillan’s call.
“It’s not a patient. Someone has come looking for you.”
“Does it have to be right now? There are still so many patients left.”
I didn’t know who was asking for me, but I wasn’t sure anyone was important enough to leave patients who were barely breathing.
“I can’t leave my post right now. What should I do?”
“It would be best if you went. I’ll take care of the patients you were assigned to. How does that sound?”
“Hmm…”
If Priest Chillan was insisting this strongly, it clearly wasn’t just anyone. Though I wasn’t happy about it, I decided to follow his advice.
“Understood. Please hold on a little longer. I’ll return as quickly as possible.”
I headed toward the place Priest Chillan had indicated. My entire body was covered in blood, so I wondered if it was all right to meet someone like this, but I didn’t want to waste any more time for a person I didn’t even know. Who could it be?
A short while later, I understood why Priest Chillan had told me to go immediately—after I saw the people who had come to escort me.
“Her Highness Princess Canaby wishes to meet with you, Priest.”
Since an attendant had come bearing a member of the imperial family’s command, it was natural that he would make such a fuss about going at once. Of course, even after learning who it was, I still didn’t particularly want to go.
Following the attendant, I arrived at a tent guarded by two knights standing perfectly straight. At a glance, both looked like they could wield a sword with terrifying skill. It seemed the princess was inside.
Just then, someone emerged from the tent. It was the same attendant who had looked extremely reluctant to part with the money pouch when I had given him the bribe last time.
“We meet again.”
“Yes. I’m sorry, but the situation is urgent, so I’ll skip the formal greetings. Please come inside.”
The attendant barely acknowledged my greeting before hurriedly leading me in. His attitude made it clear this wasn’t simply a request for conversation.
“Is there a patient?”
He seemed somewhat impatient as well.
“…Yes.”
Princess Canaby had called for me, yet there was a patient? An ominous feeling settled over me.
“We inquired about the most skilled healer available. Everyone we asked recommended Priest Arthur as the very best.”
“I see.”
I hadn’t known such a thing had happened. It felt good to be recommended as the most capable healer, but I couldn’t simply smile because I had a sinking suspicion about who the patient might be.
Inside the dark room, a single person sat alone. With the lights off, it was difficult to make out their identity. From the silhouette, however, I could tell the person inside was a woman.
“I have brought him.”
Watching the attendant speak with such deference to the person in the room, I realized my guess had been correct.
“Haa~ Priest Arthur?”
With a long sigh, she called my name.
“Yes, Your Highness Princess Canaby.”
“You must have been startled by the sudden summons.”
“Yes. Especially since I never expected to meet you again in this manner.”
Princess Canaby had left a strong impression from the very beginning. The way she had abruptly thrown a white envelope at me had etched itself deeply into my memory. From the moment I noticed the attendant’s poor complexion, I had suspected it. The patient she wanted me to see was none other than Princess Canaby herself.
It did seem strange that she was secretly looking for a healer, but given her status, I decided she probably couldn’t let it be known that she was injured.
“Where are you hurt? To examine you, I’ll need to see the wound, so we’ll need light.”
It was impossible to diagnose her properly in this darkness.
“We cannot light any lamps.”
The attendant answered my question firmly.
“It doesn’t seem to be simply a preference. Does this have something to do with why you called me here?”
“It seems the recommendation wasn’t for nothing. You’re quite perceptive.”
Princess Canaby extended her arm.
“I received a curse inside the labyrinth. The mark remains on my left arm.”
She roughly unwound the bandages wrapped around her left arm. To be honest, even after removing the bandages, the room was so dark it was hard to see anything. Noticing that I couldn’t properly examine the wound, the princess spoke apologetically.
“I’m sorry, but we cannot turn on the lights. My head hurts too much.”
“Does light intensify the pain?”
“How should I put it…”
Princess Canaby seemed to struggle to explain before finally saying, “Yes, it gets worse. It becomes clearer.”
Clearer?
“I need you to describe the symptoms in detail if I’m to treat you properly.”
“To be honest, I’m not even sure this can be treated.”
Her words stung a priest’s pride. Wasn’t she basically saying that even if I looked at the wound, I wouldn’t be able to fix it?
“Ah—please don’t misunderstand. I wasn’t doubting your skill. It’s just that this is a very unusual curse.”
Come to think of it, she had said it was a curse.
“Could you endure a small light? Something like this.”
I created a tiny orb of light using divine power and showed it to her. She frowned deeply but eventually nodded.
“If it’s necessary for treatment, I’ll have to bear it.”
“How long has it been since you received the curse?”
“About fourteen days. If not for this injury, I would have stayed in the labyrinth longer. It’s truly regrettable.”
“You did the right thing by returning. This looks serious.”
Relying on the small light, I examined the princess’s left arm. The condition was far worse than I had imagined. And now I understood why she had said it might be untreatable.
She’s been afflicted with a truly nasty curse.
I took her left arm in my hands and focused. Let’s see now, what exactly are you?
I squeezed out my divine power to diagnose it, and the result was… more shocking than I had expected.
“Hmm…”
“Judging by your expression, it doesn’t seem like good news. Is it very serious?”
“It doesn’t appear to be a curse that can be lifted with simple divine power. Do you have any information about how you received it?”
“The one who did this to me was a monster.”
“A monster? Can monsters cast curses?”
“They can. The labyrinth is very different from the outside world. Can you heal it?”
I had been recommended as the most skilled healer, yet I found myself at a loss for an answer. After the Sun God had bestowed knowledge upon me, I had been full of confidence, but it seemed a person should always remain humble. No matter how arrogant I tried to become, the world was simply too vast, and there were far too many illnesses in it that I could not cure.
“Did you manage to kill the monster that cast this curse?”
“No. Unfortunately, it got away.”
Just as I thought. If the monster that had cast the curse were dead, it wouldn’t still be tormenting Princess Canaby so vigorously. This was the kind of curse that could only be ended by killing the one who had cast it.
“There are many ways to dispel curses. In this case, the curse can only be uprooted by killing the caster.”
“Then… since we couldn’t kill the monster, you’re saying this curse cannot be lifted?”
To Princess Canaby, it was practically a death sentence. I closed my eyes tightly. I had studied diligently and become the youngest chief healer, yet explaining to a patient that their condition was incurable was always an agonizing task.