The Blood Fiend's Bastard, Part 3

Morning at the clinic started early.

"Buh? Doctor, why are you here so early?" Erika, still half-asleep, greeted me as she stumbled out of the duty room.

Tsk, tsk. An employee shouldn't be lazier than the boss. "A clinic always opens at this hour. Besides, they say the early bird catches the worm."

"If you sleep longer, you get less hungry, so doesn't that mean you don't have to catch as many worms?"

Oh. That was actually incredibly sound logic. But as the protagonist of this story, I couldn't afford to agree with it. Sure, I was making decent money now and wanted nothing more than to be comfortably lazy. But in a world like this, you never knew what kind of catastrophic snowball a single moment of complacency might trigger. So, unfortunately, I had no choice but to be an early bird.

"I can save one more life in that time, so I'm afraid I cannot do that. I'm sorry, but you'll have to keep up with me."

"Hmph." Erika grumbled, her eyes puffy as she tottered about. I had heard that she used to operate only at night to avoid people's gazes. Perhaps that was why mornings felt so foreign to her. But she couldn't live like that anymore. I hadn't gone through the trouble of giving her a blood transfusion just for her to remain a creature of the dark. She was no longer the Blood Fiend's bastard; she deserved to live in the daylight like any normal girl.

After splashing cold water on her face, Erika returned. I handed her a slip of paper. "Here is your errand list for today. Pick up some medicine, contact a few patients, and do a bit of light cleaning. Think you can handle it?"

"Is that all? I thought this was to pay off my medical bills." Eri's eyes widened. Judging by her reaction, she had probably braced herself for some grueling, backbreaking labor. But the tasks written on the paper were well within the capabilities of any child her age.

"This is way too little."

"Yes. That is your daily quota, so if you finish early, you can rest."

But she was gravely mistaken about one thing. I didn't actually need Erika to be my errand girl. What I wanted was to discover her latent talents. Buying low on a future powerhouse before anyone else realized her worth was the ultimate shortcut to a comfortable life. Of course, Erika had no way of knowing my ulterior motives, so she shot me a deeply suspicious look instead.

"Liar. There's no way that's all." Erika glared at me, shaking her head. "The alchemist over in Block D-4 said my limbs are so scrawny that even if he skinned me, my hide wouldn't fetch ten marcs. I know your treatment costs way more than that."

"And what on earth would I do with your skin?"

"If you've got some hidden motive, just spit it out. I'd rather just let you use my body once—"

Whack! I cut her off with a swift chop to the head before she could finish a sentence that no child should ever utter.

"Ow!"

I was fully prepared for the darkness of the Limbus Pit to exceed my wildest expectations, but this was too much. A preteen girl shouldn't be saying things like that so casually. Do I need to call the FBI to another world? The underbelly of this city was far more of a sewer than I had anticipated.

"Erika."

At the sound of her name, she flinched. I rose from my chair and knelt to meet her gaze.

"Listen closely. The mouth is an organ meant for savoring delicious food and expressing a person's worth."

"But—*mphf!*" I stuffed a star candy into her mouth before she could argue.

"Keep in mind that the sentence about to leave your mouth just now could have reduced you to filth far cheaper than the lowest scrap metal in this city."

Erika stopped chewing the star candy. She stared blankly at my mask, then spat the candy into her palm with a soft *pft*.

"But then the deal doesn't make sense."

"Yes, yes. You and I are indeed making a deal. I provide you with food, shelter, and medical care in exchange for your help with my errands." I spoke in a deliberately stern, admonishing tone. "But a deal is about each party offering what they can give, not what they shouldn't. If you offer something like that, what does that make me?"

"...Sorry."

I hadn't meant to extract an apology, but it had somehow turned into a lecture. I snapped my fingers to clear the heavy air. "So? What is your answer?"

"...I'll do the errands."

"Good."

I tore off a clean sheet of white paper from my desk to make a memo. Eri gasped, looking horrified at the waste of such pristine paper. I quickly scribbled a note on the torn sheet. "Now, your first errand." I listed several medicinal ingredients.

"Go to the alchemist and pick up these medicines. I've already paid for them, so you don't need to give him any money. If he asks if I really sent you, show him this signature on the back. And obviously, do not lose this paper along the way."

Eri folded the paper with utmost care and tucked it into her shirt as if it were her very lifeline. I wasn't some emperor; there was really no need for her to treat a simple memo with such a solemn sense of duty. "I'll be back."

"Ah, and one more thing." I called out, remembering something I had forgotten before she could leave.

"...What?"

"Let's settle on how you'll address me. Do you want to call me Dr. Schnabel, or just 'Doctor'?"

"...I'll call you Doctor."

With those words, Eri stepped over the threshold and vanished into the smog-choked morning streets. It might have been my imagination, but her retreating figure looked remarkably tense.

A week had passed since Eri became my errand girl. To be frank, she performed far beyond my expectations.

"Doctor, I'm back from the apothecary in Block D-4. Here's your change."

Clink. A few coins were placed precisely on the desk. As expected of someone who knew the back alleys inside out, her speed was remarkable. It meant she not only possessed a sharp mind for geography but also had impressive physical stamina.

"Good job."

But even more satisfying than her speed was her honesty. The people Wangcho had sent before, or Erika's predecessors, would occasionally pocket a few coins of the change. They probably assumed that since I made good money and the clinic was always chaotic, I wouldn't notice a few missing copper coins. They clearly didn't understand the purpose of a ledger. I usually turned a blind eye, treating it as an unspoken tip. But Eri, unlike them, did not steal a single coin.

Perhaps honesty itself is a talent in a place like this. It wasn't as if she lived in an environment where temptation didn't exist. Maintaining integrity under such circumstances meant Erika possessed a genuine gift for honesty. Acknowledging her virtues, I slid a few coins toward her. "This is a tip. Go buy yourself a treat."

"I'll start cleaning now."

"Just do the restroom today."

Her cleaning skills and general handiness were also highly satisfactory. No one had ever taught her, yet she cleaned far better than I had even requested. Smart, trustworthy, and physically capable... I could easily recommend her to a bank, a security firm, or even as a knight's apprentice. This was a solid prospect, unlike a certain talent that only brought bakeries to mind. Thus, a highly satisfying week went by.

"Next patient, please."

The door opened, and a patient on a stretcher was carried in. It was one of Wangcho's subordinates. Apparently, he had gotten into a brawl at a factory and his arm had ended up caught in the gears. The wound itself was severe, but the more pressing issue was the blood loss. He was bleeding out rapidly.

"Have we made a blood genealogy record for this man?"

At my question, his companion replied, "Yes, around last autumn, under Boss Wangcho's orders."

"Then this will be quick." I pulled out a vintage-looking leather binder.

Literally translated, it meant "Project: Blood Genealogy." In this era, there was no safe way to store blood. Once drawn, it would clot within hours, and transfusing clotted blood would kill the patient. Although magical tools akin to refrigerators existed and I had plenty of capital, I didn't know how to synthesize anticoagulant solutions, so my hands were tied. If I had known, I would have studied transfusion medicine a lot harder back in my previous life. But enough dwelling on that. I had devised a workaround: whenever I had free time, I tested people's blood types and recorded them in this ledger. That way, in an emergency, I could immediately summon a compatible donor to draw fresh blood. By the way, I wrote it in Latin purely because it sounded cool. What? Latin is awesome.

"What is the patient's name?"

"Donovan."

"Donovan... Type B."

The notable feature of this ledger was that every member of Wangcho's syndicate, the Scard Hyena, had their blood type recorded in it. Since they lived by the blade, this blood genealogy essentially served as their health insurance.

"Type B... If anyone I name is nearby, please speak up." Locke, Heinz, Lewen...

"Heinz! He should be at the tavern down the street right now!"

"No active drinkers." Emil, Lody...

"I'm Lody!" One of the companions who had brought Donovan in raised his hand high.

I did a quick physical check on him. Before a transfusion, I had to ensure the donor didn't have syphilis, cold symptoms, or any other transmissible illness. He was perfectly healthy. Lody it was. Eri prepared the transfusion equipment while I began staunching the patient's bleeding. There was nothing fancy about it—just finding the ruptured blood vessels to ligate them and packing the larger cavities with cotton. Meanwhile, the transfusion setup was complete.

"Ready, Doctor."

We immediately prepared to connect arm to arm. The procedure was a direct transfusion—literally transferring fresh, raw blood directly from donor to recipient. It was a risky method, one highly discouraged in my previous life. But praying to the gods of misunderstanding tropes that no adverse reactions would occur, I initiated the transfusion.

Drip, drip. Blood began to flow from the donor's arm, dripping into the collection vessel. It was then that Eri, who had been clearing away medical waste nearby, suddenly spoke up.

"Doctor."

"What is it, Eri? Is the tubing kinked?"

"No, it's hard to explain, but... I think there's something wrong with his arm."

"?"

I turned to look at her. Eri furrowed her brow, tapping Lody's forearm with her finger. "It's... gross? Noisy? Looking at him just makes me feel really weird."

"Noisy?"

"Yeah. It's squirming inside. Like tens of thousands of bugs are crawling around."

I turned fully toward her. "Can you describe it in more detail?"

"It's like... something is boiling inside? It's the same feeling I got from the sick pigs at the slaughterhouse."

"...?"

I immediately halted the transfusion. A sudden hypothesis had flashed through my mind.

The Blood Fiend's Bastard. Her moniker. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I had assumed it was merely an anachronistic, hateful slur. But in this fantasy world, perhaps that nickname hadn't been given by mere coincidence. The fact that she compared the sensation to "sick pigs" set off alarm bells in my head.

I looked closely at Lody again. In my haste, I had overlooked a crucial detail. "...Your eyes are slightly yellow. How long have they been like this?"

"Huh? They weren't like this yesterday."

Did they just turn yellow? Of course, considering jaundice doesn't manifest instantly, it might have been my imagination. It could have been the lighting or just my nerves. It was so faint that calling it jaundice was almost an exaggeration. Still, Eri's words weighed heavily on me. I decided to probe further.

"Lody, have you traveled anywhere recently?"

"Uh..." Lody counted on his fingers, recalling his steps. "I went outside the city walls a few weeks ago."

"Why?"

"To pick up some goods the Boss was trading. It was near the swamplands."

"And did you get bitten by mosquitoes there?"

"Yeah."

Dammit. Every piece of circumstantial evidence pointed to one thing: malaria. It was still in its incubation period, which was why the symptoms weren't severe yet. This blood was completely unusable for a transfusion.

"Transfusion cancelled. We need to find someone else."

"Why?"

"You have malaria. If we put your blood into him, it will kill him."

We scrambled to find another donor. Fortunately, the transfusion was completed successfully. The patient pulled through, and Lody, whose malaria had been discovered by sheer luck, was prescribed quinine.

An hour later, I called out to Eri, who was wringing out a rag in the corner.

"Eri."

"Yeah? What is it?"

"Come over here for a second."

I placed three glass vials on the desk. Inside each was a small, blood-stained piece of bandage.

"What's this?" Eri wiped her wet hands on her apron as she approached.

"A quiz."

"...A quiz?"

"If you get it right, I'll raise your weekly pay and upgrade your meals."

At that, Eri's eyes sparkled with determination. "What is it? Tell me!"

"Touch these vials with your hands, and pick the one that feels the quietest."

I pointed to the three glass vials. Vial A contained bone marrow from a mother who had come in this morning with puerperal fever. Vial B was from Donovan, whose arm had been caught in the gears. Vial C was from Lody, who was supposed to donate blood. Respectively, they were bone marrow samples of sepsis, normal blood, and malaria. Of course, I didn't tell her what they actually were.

"The quietest one?"

"Yes. Pick the one that feels the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠most peaceful to your 'marrow'."

"...What does that even mean?"

Ah, whatever. My witty pun fell completely flat. Though puzzled by my quiz, Eri reached out to touch the vials.

Vial A: "Ugh! Gross." She recoiled from the septic bone marrow.

Vial B: "Hmm... Just normal?" She didn't sense anything unusual from the healthy bone marrow.

Vial C: "Ugh! This one is gross too."

She chose Vial B as the most tolerable one. Without a word, I set Vial B aside and pushed Vials A and C forward—the samples of sepsis and malaria, respectively.

"What is the difference between these two?"

"Ummm... They both feel exactly the same."

"..."

I felt a slight pang of disappointment.

"Why? Why?! Did I get it wrong?!" Eri stamped her feet in frustration.

I shook my head. "No. You got it perfectly right."

Choosing B was already a correct answer. Differentiating between A and C would have been the cherry on top, but this was more than enough. I reached a conclusion. Eri can instinctively sense the level of bone marrow activity. It was a simple binary classification of "gross" versus "not gross." She couldn't distinguish between malaria and a bacterial infection, let alone identify the specific strain of bacteria.

A bit of a shame. Honestly, if she could have identified the exact bacterial species, it would have been perfect. But I knew I was being greedy. It was absurd to expect someone to perform blood cultures using nothing but bone marrow and intuition. Besides, having a talent specifically geared toward bone marrow, rather than just blood, had its own unique advantages.

She can routinely screen bone marrow? And non-invasively, at that? If this were the twenty-first century, it would have caused an absolute sensation. I could guarantee it. Even without a medical degree, any department of infectious diseases, rheumatology, or hematology would have handed her a professorship just to have her screen patients at the emergency room entrance. She would have easily commanded a salary of four hundred million won. Even putting medical utility aside, this was an extraordinary gift. This kind of sensory sensitivity was a hallmark of a true Mage.

Jackpot. After a year of praying for rain, my efforts had finally borne fruit. In my mental tier list, I immediately bumped Eri up from Tier 3 to Tier 1.

"Eri."

"What?"

"Starting tomorrow, you don't have to do errands anymore."

Eri's shoulders flinched. She probably thought she was being fired. Her eyes wavered with sudden panic. The terror of being cast out just after finally finding a place to belong washed over her, and tears welled up in her eyes. Seeing her reaction, I quickly continued.

"We'll get someone else to do the errands. From now on, you'll work right by my side. During consultations."

"Buh...?"

"I'm saying you're not an errand girl anymore. You're my assistant."

A beat later, Eri's mouth fell open. "Why? I can't even read!"

"I can just teach you how to read." I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wiped the tears from her eyes with a handkerchief. "Your job from now on is to use that sense of yours to find sick people. It's a highly important duty."

"...Is it really that big of a deal?"

"Yes. It's something only you can do."

As I spoke, I scribbled her new salary in my ledger. The zeros kept piling up. One, two, three, four...

"Buh?! Forty... forty thousand marcs?!"

Forty thousand marcs was equivalent to a month's wages for a skilled artisan in the upper districts. For a slum orphan to suddenly leap to the income level of a master craftsman, it was only natural that she was flabbergasted.

* * *

"...Am... Am I allowed to take this much?"

"You are worth every bit of it."

I had to spend at least this much to secure her loyalty. If I thought of it as purchasing a state-of-the-art MRI machine, this was an absolute steal.

"One, two, three, four..." Eri kept counting the zeros, unable to believe her eyes. There was no need to be so shocked. If she stayed by my side and gained experience, that number would eventually grow tenfold.

I finished writing today's medical log, stored the records in the cabinet, and spoke. "And one more thing."

Eri looked up. "What?"

"Since you're my assistant now, you'll be commuting with me."

"Commuting?"

"I mean you won't be sleeping here anymore. You'll be coming to work from where I live."

This wasn't just because she was my lucky break. The talent of a Mage was incredibly rare. It was so coveted that even the most arrogant nobles would instantly try to adopt anyone who possessed it. If they were reasonably intelligent on top of that, they were practically an SSR-tier find in the magic market. Thus, both as a protagonist of a misunderstanding story and as a young master of a barony, I had a duty to bring her to my estate. Of course, Erika, who had no inkling of this background, looked utterly bewildered by this sudden, extraordinary treatment.

"...At your house, Doctor?"

"Technically, the annex. I'll give you your own room."

"A house with an annex?!" Eri stared at me blankly.

"Let's head out first. I'll explain on the way."

I opened the clinic door and stepped outside. Eri scrambled to follow me.

Waiting in front of the clinic was a black sedan. It was a limousine with a sleek, polished finish and brass trim, looking incredibly luxurious even with the slum smog reflecting off its windows. Eri froze.

"...What is that?"

"A car."

"Do you think I don't know what a car is? Why is it here?"

"Is it not allowed to be here?"

"It's not even a carriage, why is an automobile..."

Ignoring Eri as she muttered in a daze, I opened the door and nudged her inside. She tumbled onto the leather seats. I climbed in beside her and shut the door.

"Let's go."

Through the rearview mirror, Otto, my driver, shot me a look that clearly asked, What did you pick up this time?

Looking at him, I considered Otto's position. He was my driver and bodyguard. But before he was my man, he was the Nihilite family butler's subordinate. Realizing this, the atmosphere in the car suggested he wouldn't step on the gas unless I explained who Eri was. So, I gave him a brief, convincing explanation.

"Please contact the head butler. Tell him to prepare a room in the annex. I've discovered a child with the talent of a Mage, so tell him to prepare it in a manner befitting her status."

"Understood, Young Master."

The driver's eyes instantly changed. Recruiting a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Mage was a perfectly valid reason. Only then did the car begin to move.

Eri ran her hands over the leather seats, her eyes wide. "I-Is this real leather?"

"Yes."

Sniff, sniff. "The smell..."

"Could you please restrain yourself inside the car?"

Eri buried her nose in the seat and took a deep breath. In the Red-Light District, "leather" usually referred to scraps left over from the upper districts stitched together, so her reaction was understandable. Having adjusted to the scent like a curious cat, Eri cautiously leaned back and looked out the window. The black slate buildings of the Limbus Pit rushed past.

"...Where are we going?"

I simply told her to watch quietly.

The car continued its ascent. We left the Limbus Pit and cut across Civitas Square. Yet, the car kept climbing. Finally, as the car passed through the checkpoints of Sanctum Hill without a single halt, Eri gasped.

"Huh? Uh?"

"This is where you'll be living from now on."

"...*Gurgle.*"

Eri's head slumped. It seemed her brain had opted for a complete shutdown after being bombarded with too much information at once. I could understand. She had basically been elevated from a brothel orphan to the right hand of a celestial being.

"..."

I looked at the unconscious Eri with a satisfied smile. This was exactly the reaction I was hoping for. It seemed I had acquired an assistant with truly top-tier reactions.