I could only hope that Ralph had had more luck asking around the other clinic. Honestly, though, I wasn’t expecting much. He’d looked so dejected when we’d split up that it was hard to imagine him doing a decent investigative job.
I entered the diner that we’d agreed to meet at and immediately spotted Ralph.
He must not have ordered anything yet, because he was just sitting there, hanging his head, with a cup of water in front of him. He didn’t even notice me come in.
“Hey, Ralph. Did you wait long?” I said.
“Huh? Oh... Hey, Chris. No, I haven’t been here long.”
I could tell from how despondent he looked that he must not have found any useful clues either.
“I didn’t find all that much. How about you?” I asked.
“Intel on Vlad, you mean? I found something.”
“Yeah, I figured. Seems like our investigation is just getting st— Wait, hold on. You found something?”
“Yeah. He’s in the royal capital now, apparently.”
“That’s a great lead. I would’ve thought you’d be excited about it, though. Why the long face?”
He’d looked pretty depressed when we’d parted ways earlier, but now he was in an even worse state. I thought I’d straightened him out when I’d pushed him to say he wasn’t giving up earlier, but...maybe there was more to what he’d found? Maybe Vlad was dead?
“Well, from what I’ve heard, this Vlad guy is a psycho,” Ralph said.
“Tell me everything you learned.”
“Apparently, he used to be the best healer at the guild. He was on a whole other level. But he felt like he could make more money if he wasn’t working at a clinic, so he set off on his own and made a fortune as a traveling healer.”
“So, he extorted patients with complicated illnesses and injuries, then?” I asked.
“Yeah, exactly. At first, he had patients flocking to him in droves. But over time, as the medical field advanced, Vlad’s expertise became outdated. Nowadays, he’s treating the poor for paltry sums in the backstreets of the capital.”
I did a little fist pump. That was fantastic news.
“Guess it serves me right, huh? Feels like I really brought this all on myself,” Ralph said. “Anyway, the long and short of it is that Vlad won’t be of much help to me.”
After a long pause, I said, “You have no idea what an idiot you’re being right now. Surely it’s a good thing that he’s working in the slums now, isn’t it? This means we’ve actually got a chance!”
“Wh-What’re you getting all excited for?!”
“I guess you wouldn’t get it. Anyway, let’s eat. This has put me in a good mood, so I’ll treat you to lunch.”
“What the hell?! Come on, just tell me what you’re thinking!”
Now that we had a promising lead, we finished our lunch and parted ways after leaving the diner.
It was too much of a pain to explain my line of reasoning to Ralph, so I just let him sulk, but what I’d have liked to get through his thick skull was that there was a good chance that Vlad would perform the surgery at a steep discount, if he had to resort to doing business in the slums.
The only catch was that Ralph would have to go and meet with him in the capital...
Odds were good that Claus was in the capital by now, and while it was unlikely I’d run into him there, I didn’t want to risk it just yet. I at least wanted to avoid going anywhere near the city until we had more concrete information about Vlad first.
Besides, I still needed to continue my research into poisonous plant species—and I needed to keep earning money to conduct that research too.
I figured the best solution would be to send either Ralph or Hester to the capital. Since Vlad would need to take a look at Ralph’s injury eventually, he was probably the most appropriate choice.
I hesitated when I thought about how Ralph would probably bungle any negotiations, though. He was too much of an idiot to entrust with the task.
Guess there’s no way around it... I’ll just have to scrape up the funds to send them both, I thought.
Hester could probably negotiate with the healer successfully, and she could look after Ralph while they were there too.
I made my way back to the hotel, still weighing the pros and cons of this plan in my head.
Once I got back to my room, I ate three of the remaining untested poisonous plants and headed over to the church.
The sun was already starting to set, so I wasn’t totally sure that it would still be open.
There didn’t seem to be anyone inside, but I slowly opened the doors and stepped into the main hall.
In the afternoon, the sunlight had bathed the church hall in ethereal rays, but the light shone through even more beautifully in the evening.
I wish I could see how the light of the stars illuminates this place at night, I thought as I walked through the empty hall to the usual room at the back of the church in the right-hand corner.
I felt kind of bad just walking right in, but it wasn’t locked or anything, so surely it wasn’t a big deal...?
I hesitantly rang the little bell, and after a few moments, Father Graham entered through the back door.
“Back again, I see. I suppose you’re after another ability assessment?” he asked me.
“Yeah.”
Father Graham must have been pretty used to me and my frequent assessment requests by now, because he didn’t even bat an eye at this.
I knew the drill pretty well by now too, so I handed him my adventurer’s card and the requisite gold coin before he even had to ask for them.
“Thank you. I’ll begin the assessment now,” he said.
His hands hovered over the crystal, and just like always, a light emitted from it for just a brief moment.
“All done. Here’s your adventurer’s card back,” he said, handing me back my card.
“Thanks.”
I wasted no time checking my stats.
Chris
Class Affinity: farmer
HP: 11 (+8)
Strength: 6 (+8)
Vitality: 7 (+4)
MP: 1
Agility: 4
Unique Skills: poison immunity
Normal Skills: none
All right! I thought, pumping my fist discreetly so Father Graham wouldn’t notice. I was pleased to see that two of my bonus stats had increased.
That meant that there must have been a plant or two in the three I’d just eaten that was capable of increasing HP and vitality.
It was impossible to tell at this point whether there were two plants that each increased one stat, or if there was just one plant that increased both, though.
Still, even though that little detail was yet undetermined, I was pretty happy with these results. I decided that I’d do one more ability assessment before I headed into Patia Forest again.
I’d been planning to venture out on another expedition tomorrow, but the new priority was to see Ralph and Hester off to the capital. Besides, I also needed to buy more camping supplies first.
I left the church in a good mood and headed back to the hotel again to reconvene with Ralph and Hester.
“Ralph filled me in on the situation,” Hester said as soon as I walked through the door. “Sounds like that surgery is out of reach, huh? Since it’s so expensive.”
“Huh? We don’t know that yet.”
“But he said it costs twenty platinum coins, and that the healer you were pinning your last hopes on turned out to be a psycho...”
Seems like Ralph hasn’t given her the whole story.
Ralph must have gone to bed early in a sulk, because he was already fast asleep.
“Okay, sure, I’ll admit that the healer we’re looking for is a morally bankrupt psycho, and he’s clearly had a serious fall from grace. But that just means we actually have a chance of getting Ralph this surgery,” I said.
“I see...” Hester replied, after a long pause. “So, you’re thinking we can get Ralph the surgery for cheap if we negotiate a deal with him?”
“Exactly. The plan comes with some risks, but from what we’ve heard, it sounds like this guy knows his stuff, at least. Personally, I don’t think we can pass up this opportunity.”
“That’s a good point. If you look at it that way, this could be a really good lead! Are you going to go look for him right away?”
“I’d like to do it myself, but I’m trying to avoid going to the capital at all costs right now. I was hoping I could ask you to track him down and negotiate a deal. Are you open to that?”
“Of course! It’s not like we can just sit back and let you do all the work!”
“Great. I’ll pay for all your travel expenses, so you take Ralph to the capital with you.”
“I feel bad that you’re paying for everything... But okay, leave it to me!”
I gave her the travel funds and instructed her to leave for the capital tomorrow.
Now that Hester was on board with the plan, I felt like I could relax a bit.
All that was left was to hope for the best and wait for the two of them to return.
The next day, I saw Ralph and Hester off.
I’d given them a reasonable sum of money to cover their travel expenses, so I admit I was a little worried that they might just run off with it. But I’d told Hester everything she needed to know about the situation, so I felt like I didn’t have to worry too much about her handling the search for Vlad and the negotiations.
As for me... It had been about a month since I’d last ventured into Patia Forest, so I was gearing up for another expedition.
I ate one of the three plants I’d eaten yesterday and went to the church for another ability assessment, but none of my stats improved.
So, I ate another of the plants and tried again. This time, only my HP increased. That was all I needed to confidently conclude that the final remaining plant increased vitality.