533 Medical Clinic and the Patients

"I see... it makes sense. If everyone here isn’t trying to deceive me, then this must indeed be fifteen years into the future."

The former Dragon Emperor, Tatsuma, gazed quietly at the townscape visible from the window and murmured softly.

So, to him, this really does feel like he’s come to the future.

"Tatsuma-sama..."

"Well, what surprises me the most is that you are Houka. To think that the mischievous, tomboyish little princess could change this much. The passage of time truly is terrifying."

"Wha—what do you mean terrifying!? I’ve grown into an adult too, you know!"

Houka-sama, the current Phoenix Emperor, spoke out in concern, but when the former Ryūtei replied with a laugh, her cheeks puffed up in frustration. Apparently, she was quite an energetic girl in her childhood. Now, the two look to be around the same age.

"So then, about what comes next… what will happen to me?"

Seated in a chair, the former Ryūtei turned his gaze toward the current Phoenix Emperor and Prime Minister Ryuuzan-san, who were sitting across from him.

"Well... we would like Tatsuma-sama to return as Ryūtei once more..."

"But hasn’t it already been fifteen years since Houka’s reign began? For me to suddenly step in now would be improper. Besides, I am unaware of how the world has changed over these fifteen years — both within this country and beyond. I would rather not become an out-of-touch Dragon Emperor."

"Someone like you could catch up in no time, Tatsuma-sama...!"

Houka-sama tried to push back against Tatsuma’s reasoning, but he raised his hand to stop her.

"Whatever the reason may be, the man known as Dragon Emperor Tatsuma has died once already. To hand the throne back to me just because I’ve been revived would be a mistake. If the very first Dragon Emperor were to come back, would you give him the throne? To a man of the past, from centuries ago, unfamiliar with this age?"

"...That’s..."

Well, yeah — if a once-dead Dragon Emperor were to reclaim the throne, the public would surely be thrown into chaos. I understand Houka-sama’s feelings, but stepping down just out of personal guilt could be seen as irresponsible, too.

"Don’t make that face. I won’t take the throne, but I won’t withhold my strength as a member of the Dragon Clan either. Let me serve this country once again — this time, as your retainer."

"Tatsuma-sama..."

Houka-sama looked down, her expression mixed. So, he won’t be Emperor again, but he will serve her as a vassal.

Then, Tatsuma turned to face us directly and bowed deeply.

"I cannot express enough my gratitude for your nation’s kindness. I sincerely hope that Dragon and the Dukedom of Brunhilde will enjoy everlasting friendship."

It might sound a bit like he’s leaving it all to someone else, but he no longer holds the imperial title — he couldn’t speak on national decisions on their behalf. So, he kept it to a personal statement of gratitude and hope.

"Yes, of course! Dragon shall never forget this kindness. As your ally, we shall do everything we can."

Now that we had Houka-sama’s word, we decided to request a share of the increasingly scarce Moonlight Tree Drops.

She said she would have them gathered quickly, so we plan to return in a few days to retrieve them. With that, we’ll be able to create more recovery potions from the Golden Magic Drug.

"The Golden Magic Drug? What is that?"

Tatsuma-san—no longer an Emperor—interrupted our conversation. I proceeded to explain the current situation to him.

When he learned that a cursed drug was spreading throughout Dragon, he furrowed his brow.

"Such a thing...! And it can only be cured with that recovery potion?"

"For now, yes. Well—if you use the healing magic【Recovery】,it can be treated. But... only Elna and I here can use that spell..."

Upon hearing that, Elna, who had been quietly listening this whole time, suddenly stood up.

"U-um! May I go to the people suffering from the magic drug!? If my magic can cure them, then I want to help!"

"Eh, uh... if it really can be cured, then we would love to ask for your help, but... the patients are mentally disturbed and in extreme conditions. Some are delirious and may suddenly become violent... And... It's a bit much for a child to see..."

Houka-sama hesitated, glancing briefly in our direction.

The Golden Magic Drug doesn’t just disturb the mind — to be accurate, it’s a cursed artifact infused with a condensed form of a curse. Thus, the symptoms vary widely.

If the soul is eroded, one becomes a walking corpse—a zombie. If it affects the body rather than the mind, they can transform into monsters like that fish-man we saw.

Can we really let a child witness something like that? That’s what Houka-sama’s look was asking me.

Still, once the curse is complete, neither 【Recovery】 nor potions will be able to cure it.

Just like Elna said — if they can be saved, then we should save them.

"It’s okay. I’ll protect her."

Elze stood up and placed a hand on Elna’s shoulder. Yeah... let’s entrust this to Elna. Kousaka-san did say we shouldn’t take sides with any one country too much, though.

Once one nation gets help, the others will start asking for it too. If we’re going to help, we’d better receive proper compensation. I’ll leave that to Kousaka-san to handle later.

As I was thinking about all this, there was a knock at the door, and a member of the Dragon Clan entered with a "Pardon me."

They approached Prime Minister Ryuuzan-san, whispered something in his ear, and then promptly left the room.

Ryuuzan-san’s eyebrows twitched slightly. Did something happen?

Tatsuma-san spoke up to his now-older friend.

"What is it?"

"Well... we informed Tatsuya-sama of Tatsuma-sama’s awakening at the Dragon Treasure Hall... but there’s been no response..."

"...I see."

Tatsuma-san murmured that softly.

Tatsuya is Tatsuma-san’s younger brother, right? If your dead older brother comes back to life, wouldn’t you rush over right away? And Tatsuma-san’s reaction seems oddly cold, too. Maybe they didn’t get along...?

"Um, well then—shall I guide everyone to the town’s medical clinic? Tatsuma-sama..."

"I will go too. It’s been fifteen years since I’ve seen the town, and if things are truly like this, I must see the situation with my own eyes."

“Huh? You’re coming along?”

I couldn’t help but widen my eyes. You were dead just a few hours ago, you know?

“U-um, Tatsuma-sama? Perhaps you should rest your body first…”“I am not tired. Even though fifteen years have passed, no time has passed for me since the day I died, correct? I am fine.”“B-but what about food…”“I will eat in town, so don’t worry about it.”

The contrast between the troubled face of His Majesty the Houtei and Tatsuma-san, who for some reason looked gleeful, was striking. The Prime Minister, Ryuuzan-san, let out a sigh and shook his head slightly.

“Yes! Now that I’m no longer the Dragon Emperor, I’m free to go out whenever I want! Wonderful!”

Apparently, being freed from the throne made him excited to roam the town freely. Well, I can’t say I don’t get the feeling.

Normally, the Dragon Emperor doesn’t go down into town and spends all their time inside the palace.That’s why almost no one in the castle town knows Tatsuma-san’s face. Even if they did, he died fifteen years ago, so they’d probably think it was someone else.

Tatsuma-san ended up tagging along to the clinic as Ryuuzan-san’s bodyguard. Technically speaking, the roles have reversed.

His Majesty the Houtei also wanted to come along, but Ryuuzan-san managed to stop him. He was probably just worried about Tatsuma-san.

As we rode in the carriage toward town, Tatsuma-san muttered quietly while gazing out at the scenery.

“To think I’d end up being the one Houka worries about…”“Well, I can understand the confusion. It has been fifteen years, after all. That little girl is a fine adult now,” Ryuuzan-san replied with a slight chuckle.

Yeah, when a kid you used to think of as a child suddenly becomes an adult, you’re bound to get thrown off.

As someone who had a kid from the future who technically hasn’t been born yet show up, I kinda get that feeling.

“There are a lot of golems in Orfan, huh?”

Looking out at the townscape from the carriage window, Kuon asked Ryuuzan-san.True enough, I could spot a number of golems. They seemed mostly like piloted or autonomous models. None of them looked like ancient Legacy units—they were likely factory-made.

“Our country used to trade with Aizengard, after all. Most of those are imports from there. Though that’s precisely what backfired this time…”

The country where the golden demon drug is most widespread is the former Aizengard. It probably flowed into the Dragon Kingdom of Orphan from there.Even though the nation has fallen, ships still come and go from port towns.It wouldn’t be strange for someone to smuggle in drugs. Of course, there’s also a strong chance that the “Apostles of the Evil God” that Yakumo encountered are operating behind the scenes here.

“Since Aizengard collapsed, the factories stopped operating, and golem imports are currently halted. Golem prices rise by the day, but since we also get some from the Toriharan Divine Empire, things should stabilize eventually.”“…Wait a minute. Aizengard collapsed? That magical engineering country? Did they go to war with the Galdio Empire or something?”

Tatsuma-san, with a fifteen-year gap in his memory, was clearly shocked to hear that Aizengard had fallen.

When Ryuuzan-san explained what had happened—the appearance of the Evil God, the disappearance of the industrial capital Aizenburg, and the fact that we were the ones who defeated that Evil God—Tatsuma-san’s eyes went wide in astonishment.

Ugh… hearing someone talk about our own exploits in front of kids is kinda mortifying…Embarrassing, even.

Not that we did anything we should be ashamed of or anything.

Yumina and Elze turned red in the face. Elna looked a bit proud. Kuon, as always, remained calm. Kind of lonely, really.

“I see… So, the remnants of the Evil God’s faction are the ones spreading the demon drug?”“Well, not exactly remnants—it seems to be a different organization that inherited their power.”

I don’t think the Apostles of the Evil God had a direct connection to Yura or that shut-in god.It’s more likely that the ones Tokie-obaachan referred to as “remnants of the Evil God” were the ones who absorbed that leftover power and became the Apostles.What a troublesome legacy they left behind.

As we were talking about all this, the carriage arrived at the clinic.

After stepping out of the carriage, we were greeted by a white, two-story wooden building.There was no clock, but the building looked a lot like the Sapporo Clock Tower.

Where I thought a clock should be, there was a plaque with the Dragon Kingdom’s crest. So, this was the Dragon Kingdom’s clinic.

Apparently, the patients here now are all ones affected by the golden demon drug, but just in case, I cast a【Prison】spell to surround everyone and keep out viruses like colds or the flu.With this, no pathogens should be able to get in.

“This way.”

Following the guidance of the staff at the clinic, we passed through the entrance and walked down a long hallway. A sharp smell, like disinfectant, similar to what you'd find in a hospital, stung my nose.

We entered a large room filled with beds, and upon seeing the lifeless people lying there, we were left speechless.

“The patients here are the ones with relatively mild symptoms. They’re sometimes conscious, sometimes not, but they don’t act violently.”

One of the clinic staff explained this to us. But "acting violently" wasn’t even the issue — none of them had any sign of life in them. Their vacant eyes stared at the ceiling, and they let out meaningless, faint moans.

I glanced to the side and saw Elna with a pale face, her lips tightly pressed together. Was it a shock to her, after all...?

“Elna, you don’t have to push yourself, okay?”

“...No, I’m fine. I can do it. I’ll heal them.”

Elna replied firmly to Elze, who was peering at her daughter’s face with concern.

Elna stepped toward the bed where the nearest patient was lying and raised her right hand with determined eyes.

“Recovery.”

A soft light enveloped the female patient lying on the bed. When the light settled, the woman, who had been murmuring with empty eyes just moments before, stopped mumbling, and before we knew it, her gaze had regained focus.

She blinked a few times, then moved her head to observe her surroundings.

“Where... am I? Huh? What happened to me...?”

“No way... I can’t believe it...!”

One of the clinic staff, watching the woman as she began to sit up, was visibly shocked.

Tatsuma-san and Ryuuzan-san also had surprised looks on their faces, but Elna, the one who cast Recovery, looked relieved. Her mother, Elze, also seemed relieved. Well, I can’t blame them.

“Alright, let’s move on to the next person.”

“Yeah!”

When I prompted her, Elna moved to the patient lying in the next bed.

Honestly, I could take care of all this quickly by myself, but Elna — usually shy and reserved — had taken the initiative herself. I wanted to respect that feeling.

Elze must’ve felt the same, as she said nothing to me.

One by one, Elna cast Recovery on the patients.

I hadn’t really thought about it much before, but using Recovery consumes a considerable amount of mana. The fact that she could cast it this many times showed how much mana Elna had. At this point, it was comparable to a court mage — or even beyond that.

Elna had three magical affinities: fire, water, and light. These were the same as her aunt, Linze.

She used her light-attribute healing magic alongside the treatment, curing patients who had been addicted to magic potions.

“They were healed by Elna’s magic, but... I wonder if these people will really be alright. Just because they’re better now, doesn’t mean they won’t go back to using magic potions again, right?”

Elze voiced what I had also been wondering. But I don’t think we need to worry that much. They only turned to golden magic drugs because they were tricked into thinking it could cure the Golden Flower Disease. While the drug might have provided a bit of pleasure, it shouldn't have had that strong an addictive component.

Magic drugs are a curse. If you know you’ll be cursed, I doubt you’d willingly curse yourself again. Then again, there are plenty of people who can’t stop smoking or drinking even after doctors tell them to quit...

“Just in case, I recorded what they looked like before the healing. Before they’re discharged, we can show this to them so they understand how close to the edge they were.”

Kuon said this as she raised the smartphone in her hand. When did he...?

Indeed, seeing themselves like that might make them never want to touch the stuff again.

"And what if they still end up using it?"

"Then even Dragon Kingdom wouldn’t take responsibility, would they? It would be their own fault. I think expecting a helping hand over and over again is a mistake in itself."

Kuon answered my slightly mean question without hesitation. Seriously, how strict... Are you really six years old?

Well, I guess it would be a problem if people just expected to be healed from the start. Shameless people can get endlessly more shameless. The moment someone takes another's kindness for granted, they no longer deserve it.

It would be troublesome if people started thinking of Elna's actions as a given. Kuon's words may be harsh, but I don't think she's wrong.

Eventually, Elna finished healing all the patients in the room, but those here were relatively mild cases. The more severe patients were apparently locked away in underground isolation chambers.

We were then led by a staff member down the stairs toward the underground isolation area.

"Ugh..."

Someone let out that groan.

Though it's called an isolation room, it’s effectively a prison. The patients are kept in iron cages.

Their shapes barely resemble humans — some look like they’re halfway to becoming fish-men, others have beast-like fur growing on their bodies. The forms vary greatly, but all show some kind of transformation.

And none of them seems to have any reason left. In one cage, a patient was restrained and violently thrashing about, yelling unintelligibly.

Elna clung to Elze, enduring her fear.

"Elna-neesama, are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah, I’m fine..."

Kuon was worrying about Elna. I almost felt like their roles were reversed, but I concluded that Kuon just had nerves of steel.

Even their mothers were different — Elze looked visibly tense, while Yumina maintained a calm, analytical expression, as if observing everything.

"These people regain proper consciousness for only a few hours every one or two days. We've kept trying to treat them without giving up, thinking maybe, just maybe, they could still be saved..."

The staff spoke in a weary tone. I deeply respect their efforts. But this is a curse. It’s not something normal medicine can fix.

Even so, the fact that the curse hadn’t completely overtaken them yet was probably thanks to these people's hard work. The patients must have been resisting with everything they had against the thing eating away at them.

"Elna, are you okay?"

"...I'm okay. Watch me, Mother."

Elna responded to Elze’s worried voice and held out her small hand toward a patient inside a nearby cage.

“【Recovery】”

“Ohhh…!”

Voices of amazement rose from those around us. The body of the man, who had been halfway turned into a fish-man, was enveloped in light and slowly began returning to his original form.

When the light faded, the man collapsed onto the floor. One of the surprised staff members quickly unlocked the cage and went in to check on him.

“He’s alive… It’s okay, he’s just unconscious.”

Elna gave a small, relieved smile at the staff member’s words. Elze looked happy too. Right now, we are all watching our child’s growth with pride.

Buoyed by her success, Elna went from cage to cage, releasing each patient from their curse.

Though all the patients ended up losing consciousness, the curses were completely broken and their human forms restored.

And with that, the drug-afflicted patients were completely cleared out from Orfan, the royal capital of Dragon Kingdom.