Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: Proof
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When people witness something unbelievable, they often react by trying to ignore it.
Or they dismiss it as nonexistent, or even condemn it in anger.
This held true for the astonishing event unfolding now.
‘That… little kid is a physician?’
Carmine, a sixty-four-year-old physician, was from the Western Continent, but his outstanding talent had allowed him to rise through the ranks.
He was also a veteran who had served the Heuk family for over thirty years.
‘Did she really… treat Heuk Biwon? Impossible!’
Having witnessed the Heuk family's ups and downs, he knew more about its affairs than most.
For instance, the elopement of Heuk Bihu, once the family's most feared shadow.
And the price he paid upon his return, with his child held hostage.
“I'm the physician.”
He had also heard the recent rumors concerning Heuk Bihu's daughter.
Was it about three weeks ago? A remarkable physician had appeared in the Heuklim Market.
The rumor was that she was a nature-wielder who could diagnose illnesses in an instant and create incredible medicines.
The most shocking part was that this physician was a very young child.
Upon hearing this, all the physicians residing within the Heuk family estate dismissed it as baseless gossip.
Typically, nature-wielding healers had to spend a great deal of time awakening and then figuring out how to use their abilities.
And what about the time it took to master those abilities?
That required just as much time as it took to discover how to use them in the first place.
Finally, they had to acquire the medical knowledge and herbology necessary to apply their powers properly.
Neglecting even one of these steps meant one could never become a proper physician.
That was why some gave up on becoming physicians and chose to be apothecaries, quietly concocting medicines instead.
But a young child.
According to the rumors, she could diagnose an illness with a single assessment and create a remedy on the spot?
And even heal patients right then and there?
‘Such ridiculous rumors are spreading.’
‘Isn't it because they're all ignorant and harbor absurd fantasies? Tsk, they know nothing of reality.’
‘Well, what can you expect from the foolish masses.’
Everyone was certain they were just baseless rumors from the marketplace.
Even as the rumors grew and spread with each passing day.
The physicians, raised within the iron fortress of the Heuk family, remained blissfully unaware that they were merely big fish in a small pond, and thoroughly ignored them.
Carmine was no different.
‘And yet…’
What was this happening before his very eyes?
The warriors trapped in the water were struggling frantically.
They seemed to be shouting something, but their voices, audible at first, could no longer be heard.
He looked at the child standing before the steps, gazing up at the Matriarch.
The one who had introduced herself as a physician was a young child. A child whose pronunciation was not yet refined.
‘…If that's a diagnostic ability, hasn't she been maintaining it for over a minute now?’
Heuk Bihu's daughter. The protagonist of a tragedy known now only to a select few.
“Madam Matriarch, no. Grandmother.”
The child, who had introduced herself as Heuk Biyu, placed a hand on her chest.
Even to Carmine, there were more than a few surprising things about her.
“Is there something you're curious about? I will prove anything.”
Even if everything matched the gossip he'd dismissed as marketplace rumors.
An illness that neither he, with nearly fifty years of medical practice, nor the great Matriarch herself could cure!
How could he possibly believe that a mere baby, showing off her abilities, had cured it?
No…! He couldn't believe it.
Despite his composed nature, he felt an unbearable rage.
There were many physicians and apothecaries like him. All of them had spent countless, patient hours to earn their place here!
“Please forgive me for introducing myself as a physician. But since I've already improved the illness and made the medicine…”
“…”
“There's no other way to describe me than as a physician and apothecary.”
Aside from a few slightly slurred pronunciations, her command of the language was perfect.
Everyone held their breath, each for their own reason.
“You…”
The Matriarch, her eyes closed, spoke quietly.
It was a quiet moment, yet the tension was indescribable.
“Did you truly heal him?”
It was then.
The Matriarch's eyes both opened.
The moment her blank, white eyes stared into the void.
*Vwoooom!*
A great wind blew, and the air grew hot and began to vibrate.
Even among nature-wielders, the types of abilities varied slightly.
For example, among lightning callers, some specialized in striking with lightning bolts, while others specialized in fast movement by imbuing their bodies with lightning.
The Matriarch was one who specialized in manipulating air and wind itself.
Just as the vibrations created by the Matriarch were about to reach the child and envelop her body.
*Boom!*
A collision of air currents of different temperatures occurred.
“How many times must I tell you? Speak to my child without laying a hand on her.”
“…Heuk Bihu.”
“Are your ears and mouth not open?”
At his clear provocation of the blind Matriarch, a fierce anger erupted from the vassals and warriors.
“If you wish to fight with the wind, I have some skill in that myself.”
However, upon witnessing the massive whirlwind raging behind Heuk Bihu, they all clamped their mouths shut.
Seizing the opportunity, Heuk Bihu swiftly scooped up his daughter.
‘All my confidence in getting down on the floor has gone to waste, being held again.’
Still, Biyu didn't think it was so bad. Her father's embrace was very reassuring.
“I did not tell a lie. Eldest Uncle proved that my treatment helped him improve.”
With both eyes open, the longer the Matriarch kept them open, the more the veins around them swelled and became prominent.
‘…So that's what a wielder who has sacrificed a part of their body is like.’
Biyu calmly observed the Matriarch.
*Can I heal that, too?*
“Yes, granddaughter. That was very amusing. But let us postpone the questions for a bit. Is there not another of my children here who must prove himself?”
The Matriarch's voice was a little sharp.
As she spoke, referring to the remaining patient, Heuk Birang, the water Biyu had used to trap the warriors slowly vanished.
“Did you call for me?”
*Swoosh!*
A new torrent of water surged toward the freed warriors.
“Well, well, it's finally my turn.”
Countless thin streams of water bound the warriors tightly like ropes, aiming water-forged awls at their necks.
Heuk Birang muttered, sweeping his hair back.
“Calling themselves warriors. Grabbing a little kid. Fucking bastards.”
As he spoke, a light drizzle began to fall from the clear sky.
It was Heuk Birang's ability to create water droplets in the air.
And amidst the rain, a beautiful rainbow blossomed.
It was a thick, brilliantly colored, golden rainbow, the likes of which could not be found in nature.
‘You were right.’
Witnessing his old prowess, which he thought he would never see again, Heuk Birang recalled Heuk Biyu's words.
‘In the end, it's just that you can't control your ability because of the illness, right? That's no problem, since it'll get better when you take the medicine.’
‘I'll become a great physician who can solve even that for you.’
You were right, Heuk Biyu.
You really were an amazing physician.
Heuk Birang, who had created an illusion using the refraction of water, grinned.
“Mother, you know better than anyone that I became a useless cripple who couldn't even control water because of my illness, don't you? That day, you called me a damn bastard.”
“…”
“I will prove myself like this.”
In the rain that fell only within a certain distance around him, Heuk Birang's body split into two.
It was the outstanding illusion ability he had boasted of in his prime.
Then, the illusion slowly faded.
Heuk Birang grinned.
“Now, what else shall I prove?”