ASDP Chapter 49

“Oh Undine, spirit of water. Grant me the power of healing. I hereby grant you the power to guide the red water of life back to its normal flow. River of Healing.”
I chanted a spell and the bleeding from the man’s side stopped.
He was still breathing shallowly because it hurt. I didn’t know how much blood had already leaked out, but the sheets where he had been lying were stained red.

“You will accompany me to the village today. Priest, is this person’s companion only slightly injured? Please confirm.”
Even if the patient doesn’t turn into a monster, serious injuries pose a high risk of infection. This patient is on the verge of being saved, so he’s a priority. I leave everything else to the priest, except for treating the injury, and squat down in front of the next patient.
“Excuse me. Where does it hurt?”
“My legs and chest…”
“Excuse me for moving your clothes.”
I would like to do the examination where I have to take off clothes in a private place, but I can’t do that now. Fortunately, the rooms are separated for men and women, so I have to bear it.

“I’ll touch your feet a little.”
If I touch him he screams, but his chest hurts so he can’t move about.
“Your leg is broken. It hurts. I have some painkillers, I’ll give them to the priest. Drink them with water later. Excuse me while I look at your chest.”
When I touch it, I can also feel a fracture, but I think there is bleeding inside. If there is too much bleeding, it will put pressure on the lungs and make it difficult to breathe, but so far it has not changed the color of his lips.
“I will stop the internal bleeding in your chest. Spirit of water, Undine. Grant me the power of healing. I hereby grant you the power to guide the red water of life back to its normal flow. River of Healing.”
Maybe we should just wait and see on this one.
“After that, take some painkillers and rest.”
“At the infirmary?”
I shook my head at what the priest said.
“I’ll come tomorrow if you have difficulty breathing, but please wait here for today.”
If I could afford it, I would like to have my grandfather give treatment.
Normally this would be a high priority injury. Just because there is no external bleeding doesn’t mean the injury is okay.
But considering the capacity of the wagon and the extent of the treatment my grandfather can do, rest is a priority over taking him. I tell the patient, who looks pleading, that everything will be fine.

“I’ll look at the next one.”
Was that the right decision?
What if I’m wrong and he’s dead tomorrow?
Anxiety lingers, but I detach my emotions and look calmly. Some people have already died. From what I can hear, the only people here who made it this far on their own were those who were attacked by monsters and were left behind.
I wonder if they could have been saved if they had been treated a little earlier, but I don’t have time to even think about that right now. I just have to make a quick decision and examine as many people as possible.

Anyway, I just calmly and steadily do what I can.
“Amelia, good work. Let’s get ready to go back to the village.”
As I continued listening, administering first aid, and making choices, it seemed that before I knew it, it was time to return to the village.
“…Ah. Okay.”
I feel really tired for some reason.
But I didn’t realize how tired I was until my father called out to me. Maybe that’s why I was suddenly overcome with fatigue and my head became fuzzy.

“You did a great job. Now all you have to do is defend them and return, and Grandpa will take over.”
Hearing my father’s words, I suddenly felt tears welling up in my eyes, but I had to hold them back.
Did I do my best?
Really?
I tried my best, but I just couldn’t make it in time for some people.
Is it because I didn’t try hard enough?

“In reality, no one left in this town would have survived. It was thanks to Amelia’s efforts that some people were spared.”
“……Yeah”
“That’s right. Let’s sow the seeds that Amelia brought and then go home. We don’t know yet where the maga is occurring, so we’ll just go somewhere appropriate for now. The maga is approaching, so perhaps the seeds will have already sprouted tomorrow.”
“Yeah”
My father changed the subject to save me from thinking too much.
It’s really exhausting to have to decide whether someone lives or dies. So I was a little bit more energized by a completely different research topic. That’s right. I was going to plant a tree seed.

“Leave the heavy lifting of carrying the injured to someone else and go and get a change of pace.”
“Yes.”
I feel like I’m getting tired and my work is sluggish, so I’ll just be a nuisance if I stay there. Besides, I need to concentrate to protect the wagon after this. I go outside the building to try and change my mood. I can’t just space out because there might be monsters outside, but just being able to leave the room where I’m worried about people’s eyes makes me feel like I’ve been liberated from the oppressive feeling.

The sun had already risen above its summit, and it was definitely time to leave.
I didn’t start seeing patients right after I arrived in town, so I don’t know how long I saw patients, but it seemed to go by in a flash.
“We need to plant them before it’s too late.”
I want to use this time effectively since I was given it. However, this is a type of tree that bears nuts. I feel it might be dangerous if it’s near a place where people are, and if it’s too close to the north gate, monsters might come and get in the way.
So I dug up some soil a little further away from the gate and planted it there. Since the way it grew might be different depending on the location, I moved it to a place a little closer to the south gate.

People come to this town from the south, so there are many shops at the south gate. Normally, it would be very busy at this time of day. But there was no one outside, and all I could hear was the cries of monsters.
“Where did the maga occur?”
I didn’t go very close to the south gate, but instead looked out over the area while planting seeds in the central square.
From what I can see from today’s investigation, it’s not on the north gate side. The maga is so complicated with mana that it looks like a black shadow. But there’s no sign indicating where it is, so you won’t know the actual location unless you look for it. …Unless you look?
“Oh no! I was going to borrow some glasses!”
No. My grandfather’s house also needs it to treat injuries from monsters, so I can’t borrow it.
The glasses I had been borrowing were now returned to my grandfather’s clinic to treat patients injured by monsters. But if I had them, it might have been easier to spot the maga by checking the density of mana in the air.

When I get home, it might be a good idea to contact Alfie to see if I can get just one pair of glasses sooner. If they’re planning on delivering them once they’ve got everything, they might have a finished pair for me.
As I was thinking about how I should make sure I didn’t forget, I suddenly remembered Theo.
“If I asked for help, would he come?”
No. It’s no good.
If the town is too busy for the Saint to come, then Theo, who is guarding her, must be so busy he could collapse. There’s no point in asking him for help.
It’s no good, but… it might be okay if I just ask about the Saint’s condition by letter.
The Saint may also come to this town once she has finished purifying the other places. If we can at least have an idea of when she will arrive, I feel like I can have a little hope.

“I hope I can find a way for someone other than a Saint to purify soon.”
That way, we wouldn’t have to endure the pointless task of waiting in fear for the Saint to arrive. It wouldn’t be necessary to purify it. For example, just like how we could suppress monsterization, we would just need a way to stop the maga from turning living things into monsters.
Why can’t we study it on a more extensive scale?
If I could investigate further, not just by myself, but with a group of people, I’m sure we could find a way to deal with this without the help of the Saints. After all, my father was able to wipe out the evil, so there must be something else.
If the temple had magic circles that could ward off small monsters, then spreading them around might have saved some people from death.

“…It’s frustrating.”
Since my father was able to blow it away, the source of the maga must be somewhere beneath the ground.
I want to investigate more and more quickly. I want useful information like that on mushroom disease to be spread.
But to do that, power is needed, and the powerful people who hold that power, the temple and the royal family, are not taking action; in fact they are just getting in the way.
I sigh at the uncontrollable reality.

“Amelia, we’ll head back soon.”
“Yes.”
When my father called out to me, I stood up.
I was frustrated that I couldn’t do anything, but as long as I was there, I could at least help the person in front of me. So for now, I put my frustration deep in my heart and decided to do what I could.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thank you for reading!