Side Story - Side Healer Ii, Part two
Suddenly, the outside became noisy. The sound of a carriage stopping nearby and someone's shouts overlapped and could be heard.
I stopped my work and looked out the window, wondering what was happening.
And then── the door of the clinic was opened roughly.
"Is this the clinic of the town doctor named Kyunei?"
With great force, the door was opened and a woman with silver hair and fox ears entered. She was armed, indicating she was a mercenary. Her expression was filled with impatience, and I sensed that something serious was happening.
I stood up from the mixing table and called out to her.
"I am Kyunei."
"It's you!"
With the force as if she was about to pounce, the silver-haired woman approached and grabbed my shoulder.
"Please help him... that person!"
The hand that grasped my shoulder held a strong force. I winced slightly in pain, but gently grasped her wrist so as not to let the woman notice.
"Please calm down."
I looked straight into her eyes and spoke slowly and firmly.
"Oh!?...I'm sorry, I was too frantic."
It seemed like my voice had reached her, as the woman regained some composure. She slowly released her grip on my shoulder.
This wasn't the first time encountering someone like this. It was often seen when a family member with serious injuries rushed to the clinic. I was used to handling this kind of situation.
I subtly used my own shoulder to apply a weak healing and spoke to the woman, easing her pain.
"Where is the emergency patient?"
"H-he's in front of the clinic, lying on a carriage. I was instructed not to shake him as much as possible."
"Understood. Do you have any other help?"
"T-there are a few others with me..."
"Then, there's a stretcher over there. Please bring the patient inside the clinic. As before, please try not to shake him as much as possible."
She nodded and grabbed the stretcher I showed her, then hurried outside.
Meanwhile, I quickly prepared to receive the patient. Judging by the initial rush, the coming patient's condition should be quite serious. There might be a need for extensive treatment. Time was short, but I prepared as much as I could at the moment.
──But I was speechless.
I was slightly surprised to see that it was the soldiers of the kingdom who brought in the stretcher, and accompanying them was that 'Brave'.
But more than that, compared to the fact that the emergency patient brought in on the stretcher was Yukina-kun, it was just a trivial matter.
If I hadn't switched to my 'doctor' mindset, I would have screamed the moment I saw him. Even without that, I felt as if all the heat was being drained from my body.
"There, please put him on the bed slowly."
I barely managed to keep my tone calm as I instructed the soldiers.
Yukina-kun is lying on the examination table, unconscious, with a pale face and no signs of life.
At first glance, it may seem like there are no injuries, but my experience as a doctor is telling me that something is seriously wrong.
I first used a medical 'magic' called "Scan".
Normally, this magic allows me to see inside the patient's body── the muscles, bones, and organs── by passing through their skin. But in this case, I could see inside Yukina-kun's body without removing more than a layer or two of clothing.
──And I was once again at a loss for words.
Every muscle and bone in his body was severely damaged, and there were injuries to the internal organs as well. Right now, Yukina-kun is barely holding on to life, and if I don't act quickly, these injuries will surely be fatal.
"Kyunei-sensei, he..."
I was called back to reality when my name was spoken. I realized that my own fingers had become so cold that they were trembling slightly.
I tried to hide my trembling by tightly gripping my hands and then turned to face the woman.
"Why... did you bring him here?"
My cold voice, which I couldn't believe was my own, emerged from my mouth. The woman was slightly surprised.
"As you can see, this clinic is small in scale. There should have been larger and better-equipped hospitals in town."
What I'm saying is not at all out of line. I'm just explaining what should be obvious.
Yet, the tone is as if rejecting Yukina-kun. Words that I would never normally say overflowed.
"First of all, this clinic is quite far from the main street. Judging by what I saw, it was the Kingdom soldiers who helped transport him. With their connections, there should have been an option to use a military hospital."
──No, that's not it.
"How... could you abandon him!?"
The woman grabs my shoulder again and shakes me.
──The truth is different.
"I'm just talking realistically. It's not too late to hurry and take him to a better-equipped hospital."
I was desperate as she pleaded with me, but I couldn't look her in the eye.
I'm── scared.
In this alley, violence is common, and as a doctor working there, I've seen patients brought in with serious injuries.
I've even had to watch some of them pass away without being able to help. It's a tough job, and I've had to come to terms with life and death to keep going.
But this time feels different.
Just the thought of letting Yukina-kun die terrifies me.
If that happens, I don't think I can recover. I'd regret it for the rest of my life.
That's... incredibly scary.
"It looks like my partner's not very smart... He's pitiful for working so hard as a mercenary just to be with a woman like you."
──That's when someone called out to me.
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