In that hour when the morning sun was about to rise amidst the dark sky, Ryouma rushed to the hospital only to find the whole place teeming with people.
There was an unending line of carriages just outside the gate, and injured people came in one after another. The evacuated doctors had gathered near the entrance of the hospital lot and were determining the priority of the patients according to their condition.
Ryouma spotted a familiar face among those doctors, so he called out to him.
“Hector-san! I came to help!” [Ryouma]
“! Get yourself ready and go to the examining room through the break room! Dr. Mafral is there!” [Hector]
“Got it! Yurdum-san, please brief Hyuzu-san’s group about that matter, and then please help wherever you can!” [Ryouma]
“Okay!” [Yurdum]
After saying that, Ryouma did as he was instructed and went to the changing room. He passed by a lot of injured people in the hospital along the way.
Loud voices that could be mistaken for angry yells could be heard in the waiting room and in the hallway, and people waiting for treatment had to anxiously wait while enduring the pain. The medical staff and the volunteers ran here and there without rest.
Ryouma ran to the changing room to help as soon as possible,
“Ugu! uU! GUU!” [Patient 1]
“Keep him down!” [Doctor 1]
“The bleeding won’t stop!” [Doctor 2]
“Hurry up with the healing magic!” [Doctor 3]
After changing into a clean set of clothes and donning a lab coat, Ryouma took three slimes and entered the ward where the most ill patients were being treated. With patients screaming in pain, doctors roaring orders, and bloody footprints left from the blood that dripped onto the floor, the scene before him could only be described as tragic.
“Ryouma-kun! We need your help!” [Dr. Mafral]
When Dr. Mafral noticed Ryouma’s arrival, he immediately called him over and had him enter the examining room.
“The next patient will come soon, so use your healing magic accordingly. I will instruct you where to cast it. There’s a lot of people, so I’m be counting on you, okay?” [Dr. Mafral]
“Understood.” [Ryouma]
“Master! They’ll treat you soon! So just hang on a bit longer! Stay with us, Master!” [Apprentice Craftsman]
A few second after Ryouma nodded, a bloodied man was brought into the examination room on a stretcher. The man was already unconscious before he was brought in. There was a deep cut from a blade on the upper part of his left arm, and there was an arrow buried deeply into his right thigh; the shaft had already been cut off to make him easier to move.
The two of them immediately assessed the patient’s condition and began the procedure.
“Wait!” [Apprentice Craftsman]
But before they could, a voice called out to them, asking them to wait.
When they turned to the direction the patient had come from, the man that had accompanied the patient was clinging to the door of the examining room. His face was pale and there were tears in his eyes. If not for the staff outside that had caught him, he would have already entered the examining room.
“Let me through!” [Apprentice Craftsman]
“Only staff can enter this room!” [Staff 1]
“Why is there a child in there!?” [Apprentice Craftsman]
The man ignored the staff and just yelled while pointing at Ryouma.
“Don’t tell you me you plan to let a kid treat my master!? I know there are other patients too! But at least get a proper doctor・・・・・・・・ to look at him! Please, I’m begging you!” [Apprentice Craftsman]
“Ryouma-kun, ignore him and start the treatment with the right leg. I’ll handle him.” [Dr. Mafral]
“Understood.” [Ryouma]
Ryouma took the necessary tools at Dr. Mafral’s instruction, and the man struggled even more.
“Wait!” [Apprentice Craftsman]
“Please calm down. We will do our best to treat the patients. That applies to this patient as well.” [Dr. Mafral]
“Then why won’t you look at my master!?” [Apprentice Craftsman]
“Because we need to stop you from trying to get in the way of the patient’s treatment.” [Dr. Mafral]
“You’d rather stop me than that kid!?” [Apprentice Craftsman]
“Treatment of the right thigh complete. Beginning treatment of the left arm.” [Ryouma]
Immediately after the man cried and pleaded with the Dr. Mafral, Ryouma’s voice, reporting the completion of one treatment, resounded inside the examining room.
“Like hell the treatment is ov— …Ah!” [Apprentice Craftsman]
It hadn’t even been some dozen seconds before the treatment started, so the man was about to flare up at Ryouma, but then he saw the extracted arrow and the uninjured right leg of his master. Moreover, the wound on the left arm was quickly closing under Ryouma’s hand.
That was a speed that even an amateur like him could understand, not to mention the staff keeping him at bay. At that, the man heaved a breath of relief, and then lost all strength and collapsed. But a different staff member that had come running to help suppress him caught him and kept him from falling.
“Have you calmed down a little?” [Dr. Mafral]
Dr. Mafral spoke to the man firmly but calmly.
“Ah, yes. That kid is…” [Apprentice Craftsman]
“He’s someone I’m teaching. Are you a craftsman?” [Dr. Mafral]
“I’m an apprentice carpenter. Master is master, so…” [Apprentice Craftsman]
“He is also an apprentice, but he excels in healing magic and might be better than any other apprentice when it comes to physical trauma・・・・・・・・・.
He’s young, so I can understand why you would be anxious with him, but please rest assured. We will do our best to ensure that your master is brought to health.” [Dr. Mafral]
Dr. Mafral said as he vouched for Ryouma’s skills.
In response, the man’s teary eyes blinked several times, and then he gave a deep bow.
“I’ll entrust everything to you! And please accept my apologies! I panicked when I saw the master all bloodied. I’m really sorry! …Please take care of the master!” [Apprentice Craftsman]
“Treatment of the left arm complete.” [Ryouma]
That apology came at the same time as Ryouma completed the treatment of the master craftsman’s left arm.
While casting a stamina recovery spell on the master craftsman, Ryouma checked the dosage of the Instant Blood-Formation Potion that had been prepared, and Dr. Mafral also went back to treating the patients.
But even after the man was escorted away by the staff, the ward was as hectic as ever.
Ryouma was unfazed by the apprentice’s interference and took care of everything quickly and indifferently, while Dr. Mafral dealt with the obstruction firmly yet without ignoring to gently address the man’s concerns.
Amidst all the busyness inside the hospital, the patients, families, and staff that saw that little episode were all able to get some sense of security thanks to Ryouma and Dr. Mafral.
