Chapter 133
Chapter 133
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 133
Chapter Title: Traces (1)
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Elisa blinked several times before asking again.
"Split open... the stomach? What do you mean by that?"
"Uh... exactly what it sounds like? With a knife, like this—slash."
"Y-Yes?!"
Lilia kindly traced a straight line in the air with her index finger, and only then did Elisa belatedly freak out.
She had thought it was some idiom because Lilia said it so casually, but no—it was literally about slicing open the belly.
If she hadn't spent the last few months with Lilia and known her true nature was endlessly kind, she might have misunderstood completely.
While Elisa was calming her startled heart, Galen asked calmly.
"Is there something wrong?"
"I'm not entirely sure. That's why I want to check with my own eyes."
The medical arts in this world hadn't advanced to the point where they could be called proper medicine.
There was data accumulated in church healing centers across the world, but it was mostly statistical at the level of "this herb worked for these symptoms."
Thanks to the Miracle of Healing, trauma treatment was excellent, but disease treatment merely relied on the Miracle of Vitality to replenish the patient's stamina and let them fight it off themselves.
Of course, that alone drastically lowered mortality rates, but it wasn't a fundamental solution.
That was why even Droy, who was as good as the king of the Sun Archipelago, had languished for years without knowing what illness he had.
But unexpectedly, Lilia seemed to have discovered something.
"I-Isn't that kind of surgery a last resort?"
Elisa asked in an anxious voice.
"I know it's done when a disease won't heal easily, to check if there's an internal problem by looking at the organs."
"Exactly. Of course, you usually can't find the cause even after looking."
"About three years ago, after appointing Rius as acting Family Head, he underwent surgery... and they said there was nothing unusual then."
"Really?"
Lilia tilted her head.
"Then something must have developed in the meantime. It's been three years. Or maybe the surgeon back then misjudged it."
"But you said you're not sure... Is surgery really necessary?"
"I won't force it. That's why I'm getting permission from the family."
There was a reason Elisa was so anxious.
Even if there was no internal disease, just opening the abdomen, inspecting it, and closing it back up was plenty dangerous. Especially for a sixty-something man whose body was already weakened to the extreme.
What if they found something inside and had to do additional surgery? Even with several experienced priests working together, safety couldn't be guaranteed.
If a bishop stepped in, it might be better, but their skills had rusted from desk work managing dioceses, and bishops weren't as freely deployable as priests anyway.
Especially for a prestigious family subtly at odds with the church—it was even more ambiguous. If the patient died during surgery, how could they tell if it was unavoidable, a mistake, or intentional?
It was natural for Elisa, raised in such an atmosphere, to be wary of major surgery.
Innocent Lilia didn't know the backstory and was puzzled, but Galen, with his seasoned attendant experience, picked up on Elisa's feelings.
That's why he could say it confidently.
"Let's give it a try, Young Lady."
"Galen?"
"Lilia's senses rarely miss the mark. She says she's not sure, but it's probably right nine times out of ten. And even if she's off, nothing bad will happen to the Family Head."
"You think so?"
"She's saved people who were half-dead already."
Lilia had been diligently hunting evil spirits for over a year before meeting Galen, but before getting permission to hunt, she mostly worked at healing centers.
Having awakened her holy power at a very young age, and with healing centers always short-staffed, Lilia had patient care experience rivaling veteran priests.
With her natural dexterity and senses on top, she was already recognized as a renowned surgeon within the Abaca Diocese back then.
Now, with holy power surpassing high bishops, she was even more unstoppable.
"I'll try to convince Uncle."
Elisa still looked half-doubtful but decided to trust Galen's words.
They decided to end training there for the day, and she headed straight to see Cled.
"......"
Once they were alone, Lilia glanced around for some reason.
Galen, guessing the reason even if he didn't know why, spoke softly.
"Even her closest attendant can't watch her magic training. Terti said he's taking a nap. No one's listening, so speak freely."
"I didn't tell my sister because I'm really not certain about this."
"What is it?"
"There were two odd things I noticed during the examination. A big one and a small one. I suggested surgery because of the big one, but the small one's nagging at me."
"What do you mean by small?"
"Hmm, like a really subtle sense of wrongness? I've seen thousands of patients at least, but this feeling is new."
"Is it bad?"
"Doesn't feel good."
Even Lilia herself couldn't pinpoint it. It was just a slight bad vibe.
But Galen didn't dismiss it lightly. He knew how sharp her innate senses were.
"I'll take a look during the surgery too."
"Yes! But it might just be my imagination."
"Then that's good. Means nothing's wrong."
Galen smiled faintly.
"Just focus on the surgery above all."
"Don't worry!"
Lilia smiled back.
The usual tension before major surgery felt like someone else's story to them.
Surprisingly, convincing him was easy.
Not because he welcomed the surgery, but because the recommender was Galen, whom he couldn't ignore.
Still, it was true that such an opportunity from a high bishop rolling up their sleeves was rare.
Above all, since Droy himself didn't refuse, the decision was made quickly.
Elisa and Cled attended as family, and Galen quietly tagged along.
Clean white cloth covered the bed, and Droy, who had taken medicine and fallen asleep, was carefully laid down.
Shlick!
The dagger, sharpened to the extreme, sliced through the old man's skin without resistance.
Lilia's eyes, faintly glowing gold, shone brilliantly.
Splat! Splish! Splish!
Handling organs barehanded was extremely dangerous, but Lilia's touch was swift yet gentle.
The Miracle of Purification relentlessly washed away the filth, aiding her.
The Miracle of Vitality gripped Droy's heart, supplying endless vitality.
Slice! Slice!
The gracefully moving blade cut away internal tissues without hesitation. Her knife work was so clean that not much blood flowed.
Chunks of blackened flesh continuously plopped into a small basin nearby.
"Hic......"
"Mm......"
Elisa swallowed a gasp, and Cled let out a faint groan.
Honestly, it wasn't a pleasant sight, but Galen, who had seen far worse, just furrowed his brow without looking away.
Unknowledgeable in medicine, he still had bits of knowledge from his past life. It seemed like something akin to cancer.
'That aside......'
Galens eyes darkened seriously.
While the family focused on the surgery's progress, he concentrated elsewhere.
His mana scanned Droy so discreetly that even the two Gold-rankers right beside him didn't notice.
Touching the main body could harm the patient, so he probed the rotten tissues Lilia had cut away bit by bit.
'...I see what Lilia means.'
Not a congenital super-genius like Lilia, but his realm was higher anyway.
The Gem-rank senses he'd acquired postnatally let him see realms others couldn't.
'Like traces of something unpleasant lingering. Very faintly.'
Separate from the tumor mass.
The 'big thing' Lilia mentioned was probably the tumor, and the 'small thing' this creepy trace.
He couldn't put it into words, but forcing it... like the blood had been contaminated?
Not physically dirty, but some ominous residual feeling.
Of course, there was no visible abnormality. No one else would understand if explained.
Unless they had Lilia's freakish intuition or Galen's realm.
Even they might understand but brush it off.
Honestly, if dismissed as nothing, it really was nothing.
'But it's these little things that come back to bite you later.'
As Galen decided to look into it with some effort, the major surgery neared its end.
Having meticulously removed everything suspicious with an eagle's eye, Lilia poured the Miracle of Healing without restraint.
Fwaaah!
Wounds that would take months to heal began closing at tremendous speed.
There was more tissue removed than expected, making treatment tougher, but a high bishop's holy power was overkill for one person.
Once all internal damage was repaired, the sliced abdomen finally returned to normal.
A perfect finish without even a small scar.
Apart from the pooled blood around and the flesh chunks in the basin, Droy's face looked as if nothing had happened—peaceful.
After confirming the patient's breathing and pulse were normal, Lilia stood up.
"All done!"
"Good work."
As Elisa and Cled gaped at her unflustered face without a drop of sweat, Galen patted Lilia's shoulder as if he'd expected it. Lilia beamed.
"He'll wake up soon, so take good care of him. Just soft foods for a day to be safe."
"A-Ah, yes."
"Could I speak with the family separately for a moment?"
"Of course. Let's talk in the next room."
Cled, noticeably kinder post-surgery, led the way, and Elisa summoned servants to tend to Droy.
In the meantime, in the basin mixed with cut flesh and blood, a portion of the blood quietly separated and formed a round clump.
No one noticed the blood blob slip out of the basin, hover low to the floor, and sneak into Galen's sleeve—except Lilia, who glanced back with a playful smile.
"You said the surgery was about three years ago?"
"Yes. I was there too, and it definitely wasn't like that then."
"I think it's been around two years. Did the Family Head's health start declining noticeably around then?"
"Exactly. But... it was that time."
Cled referred to Jerbon's death, almost two years ago.
"I thought it was grief weighing on him too. I didn't even realize my brother's insides were rotting."
"That's how that disease works. It doesn't show externally until it's severe. He was already ill, so it was harder to notice."
"How did you know, Bishop?"
"Hmm, when I probe with holy power during examination, the bounce-back feels a bit different?"
"......Pardon?"
"Well, those bad tumors eating the organs suck up too much stamina, wasting the body away, so they overreact to holy power similarly..."
"It's a method ordinary clerics can't use, so don't worry if you don't get it. It's possible thanks to innate senses."
Galen added an explanation for Elisa and Cled, who clearly didn't follow. Truth be told, Galen didn't get it either.
"Anyway, after some rest, he'll recover to at least two years ago—health-wise."
"That's more than enough. Truly grateful."
"I've only been receiving favors since we met. How can I ever repay this..."
Cled bowed deeply, and Elisa expressed profound gratitude mixed with apology, as politely as possible.
"Psh, treating the sick isn't a favor. And it was at your brother's request!"
"You say that like it was nothing, but you found the disease and did major surgery—it's all you."
"There you go again."
"No, really—this time I just said one word and did nothing else."
"Anyway."
As always, they tossed the credit back and forth before Lilia continued.
"But separate from this surgery, I still don't know what his original illness was. I'm not well-versed there."
"We wouldn't dream of asking that much. Even after bowing to the church and digging through records for years, we couldn't identify it."
It wasn't anything special. The world was full of unknown diseases without names, let alone cures.
But.
Would Galen and Lilia both sense something off just because of a disease?
"No clues at all?"
"Unfortunately. If I force a connection... maybe the old plague?"
"The plague?"
Galens brow furrowed.