A man on the verge of death spoke up in surprise. “Huh...?”
The torn flesh of his flank had returned to normal, and even the traces of blood had vanished completely.
“H-How?”
“He’s...healed...”
“W-Wow...”
“Is Dr. Zenos here?”
“No! It was this girl!” said one man, overwhelmed, as he pointed at Arty.
“I-I don’t know who you are, but thank you! Thank you!” exclaimed a woman—likely the man’s wife—as she gripped Arty’s hands, her eyes brimming with tears.
“It...was no problem. I’m glad he’s okay.”
“Who are you, lady?” asked a demi-human child.
“J-Just a passing lovely maid! G-Goodbye, then.”
Arty hurriedly turned on her heel and ran off, leaving the stunned onlookers behind. A faint warmth lingered in her tightly clasped hands.
✦ ✦ ✦
An hour later, at the Royal Guard outpost in the city district, an argument was taking place.
“Sir Seagall, what is the meaning of this?!”
“What do you mean, Vice Commander Krishna?”
Krishna’s golden hair swayed as she demanded answers from the bearded man. “You shot civilians without hesitation simply for denying your men entry into a building!”
“There was a possibility they were harboring our target. It was a clear case of obstruction of justice.”
“Using such heavy-handed tactics may well lead to issues down the line!”
“Now listen, Vice Commander. The poor are less than human. They’re the trash of this kingdom. The slums are a breeding ground for crime, lest you forget. Think of it as a cleansing.”
“You are wrong,” Krishna hissed, clenching her fists. “Yes, there are scoundrels among the poor. But there are many upstanding individuals as well! Even among the citizenry there are good and bad elements. You cannot simply lump the poor all together just because of their status! We must judge each person on their own merits—”
“Well, color me surprised.” Seagall slowly raised one eyebrow. “A shocking statement coming from the one once known as Lady Iron Rose, who conducted remarkably strict crackdowns on the poor.”
“I—”
“‘Upstanding individuals’ among those rats? Please. I cannot allow one with such dangerous notions to participate in this investigation. I will be suspending your unit, effective immediately.”
“Sir Seagall!” Krishna yelled.
Seagall leaned in, close enough that she could feel his breath. “Listen here. You must’ve realized by now that this case is under Special Ops jurisdiction. It is not your place, as an outsider, to interfere.”
Krishna bit back a retort.
“Excuse me,” came a voice from the door as the two knights exchanged glares. The door creaked open and a guard proceeded to walk in—and then stiffened, sensing the tension in the air. “P-Pardon me, but I have a report. Is now a bad time?”
Seagall stepped back from Krishna with a sigh. “Go ahead. But first, I’ll be having this suspended officer leave the room.”
Krishna gave Seagall one last sharp glare, clenched her fists in frustration, and silently left. The bearded knight smirked slightly before turning to the guard.
“Well? Have you found the target?”
“No, sir. We’ve sent more men to join the search parties, but have had no success.”
“Expand the perimeter of the search area tomorrow. Eliminate any who get in the way.”
“Yes, sir!” the guard said, saluting.
“So, your report?”
“Well, while patrolling, I happened upon the individuals that were eliminated under charges of obstruction.”
“Right, those. Were they not dead yet?”
“That’s just it, sir. They had been...fully healed.”
“What?”
“They were walking around as though nothing had happened, without a trace of injury—”
“You’re sure these were the same people?”
“It was from a bit of a distance, but I’m certain. Other guards confirmed it too.”
The guard explained they’d tried to follow the individuals in question, but lost them in the crowd.
Seagall narrowed his eyes and brought a hand to the magical gun at his waist. “You’re saying wounds of that magnitude had been completely healed?”
✦ ✦ ✦
The sky had darkened, and the world outside the clinic lay quiet and still as a pink-haired girl sat inside, her cheeks slightly puffed in displeasure.
Facing her with his arms crossed, Zenos sighed. “I told you not to use your powers.”
“I know I shouldn’t have,” she muttered.
On his way back from shopping that evening, he’d been beset by panicked demi-humans, begging him to come quickly. Apparently, some of their fellows had been shot by the Royal Guard and were on the verge of death. Zenos had rushed to the scene, but strangely, found no wounded there. Upon asking, he’d been told that someone calling herself a “passing lovely maid” had healed them and left.
“I had those guys moved to a different location just in case, but if the Royal Guard hears of this, we’re in deep trouble.”
“But they said a passing lovely maid did it, right? So you don’t know for sure that it was me.”
“Who else would it have been, exactly?”
“Well, it is true I am lovely,” Arty said, her voice—which she’d been keeping down to avoid waking Lily—growing a little louder.
“They’re not even trying to keep their brutality in check anymore. Do you realize how dire the situation is?”
“Like I said, I know I shouldn’t have. But...” Arty trailed off, closed her mouth for a few moments, then opened it again. “You...thanked me last time.”
Zenos fell silent for a moment, staring at her.
Arty looked down at her hands and said, “I spent year after year locked up in the Saintess’s Spire, offering prayers and blessings for the nation’s prosperity and peace while foretelling various crises, and still...no one’s ever thanked me for it. But when I healed that person at the camp, you did, right? You thanked me.”
“Well, yeah...”
“So...I wanted to do what I could again. Just like you do.”
“I get how you feel, but...”
Zenos scratched his head roughly. He recalled how, in his days as an adventurer, he’d never gotten a single word of thanks from his party members. It was only after he’d gotten kicked out, happened upon a wounded Lily, and helped her that he’d first been thanked. That had led him to starting the clinic.
“Besides,” Arty added, “I don’t have much time left. I want to live the way I want.”
“What?”
“I told you I can predict the future, right? My time is almost up.”
“Are you serious?”
Arty smiled at Zenos’s bewilderment. “I’m joking. Did I get you?”
“You shouldn’t joke about that stuff.”
“Ah ha ha! I’m sorry. But this prophecy I’m about to disclose is actually real.” Arty’s expression turned serious. “Zenos, there’s a calamity coming. Get as far away from the royal capital as you can.”
The darkness blanketing the world outside seemed to grow deeper at her words.
“A calamity? What are you talking about?” he asked, furrowing his brow.
Arty slowly clasped her fingers together on the desk. “My prophecies feel different depending on the severity of the threat. I usually call them ‘rot’ and classify them as minor, moderate, or severe. But what I’ve been sensing for the past few months is much worse than any of those, so I’m calling it ‘most severe rot.’”
Zenos recalled that one past “severe rot” prophecy had predicted the plague that had turned this very district to ruin, while another had predicted a natural disaster causing a widespread famine that had claimed many lives.
“What could ‘most severe’ even mean, then?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” Arty said. “I can only sense the magnitude of the danger, not the exact details or timing. But a massive ominous star is drawing near. That much is certain.”
Zenos listened on in silence.
“To avoid causing panic among the populace, only the highest echelons of government know about this. But since you’ve helped me, I wanted to warn you. Before the calamity comes, you and the others should leave this city.”
“I see...”
That explained why Arty sometimes gazed up at the sky with a worried expression. She must’ve been looking at an ominous star, invisible to ordinary people.
Zenos took a deep breath and crossed his arms. “I appreciate the warning, but I can’t leave.”
“Why n—”
“This is where I belong.”
Arty’s eyes widened.
“I grew up in an orphanage in the slums, but it burned down. I lost my mentor and was separated from my best friend after that and became an adventurer for a while, but I eventually got kicked out of my party. I’ve never belonged anywhere. That is, until I met Lily and the others. Now I’ve finally found my place—right here.”
Zenos fondly glanced around the worn-out room.
“This city is a home to Zophia, Lynga, and Loewe too. They won’t just leave like that. And there are many others who wouldn’t want this clinic to just vanish.”
Arty pressed her lips together and Zenos smiled, trying to cheer her up.
“This place gave me somewhere to belong, so I’ll do everything I can to protect it.”
“Zenos...”
✦ ✦ ✦
The next morning, the sound of desperate banging on the door woke Zenos up. He rushed to the treatment room, and soon Zophia, Lynga, and Loewe were stumbling in.
“Doc, this is bad! The Royal Guard is raiding the slums!”