November 12, Alban, the capital of the Klein Kingdom.
Three patients were brought into the Royal Castle.
"Elsa-dono, I'm counting on you."
Elsa was summoned shortly after breakfast.
"I understand."
Jin accompanied her to perform the procedure using the Mini-Smiths. No one raised an objection to his presence. Following a guiding knight, Jin, Elsa, Reiko, and Edgar made their way through the corridors.
It appeared Princess Lieschen would not be joining them today.
The knight led them toward the castle's exterior.
"...Are the patients outside?" Elsa asked, her voice tinged with suspicion.
"Yes," the knight replied. "After all, the patients are commoners. They aren't being kept within the Royal Castle itself, but in the healing ward of the soldiers' dormitory."
"I see..."
In this world, such treatment was likely inevitable. Although Elsa had been influenced by Jin's more egalitarian perspective, she did not voice her thoughts. However, Jin could see the slight disappointment in her expression.
The soldiers' dormitory sat on the far edge of the castle's courtyard, and the healing ward was located at the building's furthest extremity.
"This way."
The soldier standing guard at the entrance saw the knight and opened the door.
"Ah, Miss Elsa, Jin-dono. Thank you for coming."
Chancellor Powell was already waiting for them. Beside him stood a healer who seemed to be a member of the ward's staff. No one else was present—only Jin’s group, the chancellor, the healer, the escorting knight, and the patients.
Five beds lined the room, three of which were occupied.
The Secret Mobile Unit protecting Jin remained outside the building, coordinating to envelop the entire structure in a magic barrier. This would prevent any magical interference or attacks, a precaution Jin and Laojun had decided upon earlier.
Since a magic barrier did not block physical matter, people and air could still move freely, making it unlikely that anyone would notice the ward had been secured. Inside, Jin further protected himself, Elsa, and the patients with a solid barrier.
Trusting in Jin’s security measures, Elsa devoted her full attention to the patients.
"A-Are you the healer?"
"Doctor, will I... will I get better?"
"...It hurts..."
All three patients were sallow-faced, suffering from jaundice so severe that even Jin could see it. Elsa, assisted by Edgar, began a thorough Diagnose.
Twenty minutes later, she delivered her findings.
"These two share the same symptoms as the King. This one, however, has liver cirrhosis, likely brought on by alcohol consumption."
Chancellor Powell tilted his head, processing the information. "Hmm. I don't quite understand this 'liver cirrhosis,' but you say the other two have the same ailment as His Majesty? Then please, treat them first."
"Understood."
Hearing this, the man diagnosed with liver cirrhosis let out a pathetic moan. "D-Doctor... are you not going to save me?"
Elsa offered him a gentle smile. "Don't worry. I'll treat you last, but I promise I will cure you."
The man closed his eyes, visibly relieved.
"Now... let us begin."
In lieu of a sterile operating room, Jin used Sterilization to disinfect the air and surfaces within his solid barrier. The patient’s skin was sterilized simultaneously.
"Schmerzmittel. Paralyze."
These spells served as Elsa's anesthesia. Once the patient drifted into unconsciousness, it was time for Jin and the Mini-Smiths to go to work. The tiny golems had also been rigorously sterilized.
"Jin-nii, if you please."
"Right. Leave it to me."
By syncing with the visual data from Edgar—who was observing the patient in see-through mode—the Mini-Smiths could clearly see the parasites clustered within the bile duct.
"Mini-Smith, on the count of zero, extract the parasites. Three, two, one, zero!"
"Understood, Master," the tiny golem chirped.
"Ready, Elsa? Here we go. Three, two, one, zero!"
The Mini-Smith drove its slender arms into the patient's abdomen. A small spray of blood followed, but because the entry point was so small, the bleeding was negligible. In less than two seconds, the Mini-Smith successfully dragged the parasites from the bile duct.
"Elsa!"
"Heilung. Heilung."
Elsa cast the mid-level surgical magic twice. Given the small size of the wound, this was the appropriate dosage; Völlig Genesen would have been overkill.
"Diagnose."
She checked the patient's condition one last time. "...The parasites are gone. The surgery was a success."
"Good."
Since the patient was still under the effects of the paralysis, Jin and Elsa moved immediately to the second patient. Following the exact same procedure, they achieved another perfect success.
However, as Elsa moved toward the final patient, the ward's resident healer spoke up.
"Miss Elsa, you may ignore that one."
It was the first time he had spoken, and his words were entirely unbecoming of a medical professional.
"Curing a commoner like that won't earn us a single coin. Your skills have already been sufficiently demonstrated."
"No," Elsa replied, turning her back on the arrogant man to face her third patient. "If there is a patient before me, it is my duty as a healer to cure them."
"Elsa-dono!"
The healer stepped forward as if to drag her away, but he was stopped cold by Jin’s solid barrier. He couldn't even reach her.
"Tsk..."
"Bodeman, enough," Chancellor Powell interjected. "Leave it to Miss Elsa."
"...Yes, sir."
Rebuked by his superior, the healer—Bodeman—backed down with a look of resentment. Chancellor Powell didn't particularly care about the commoner's well-being; he simply wanted to see the full extent of Elsa’s capabilities from a different angle.
"Liver cirrhosis," Elsa murmured after her examination. "Seventy percent of the liver is compromised."
She noted the fluid buildup. "Ascites. I can drain this. Heilverfahren."
She focused on boosting the internal organs' efficiency, sealing the leaking capillary membranes and stimulating the body to reabsorb the excess fluid.
"I cannot leave the necrotic tissue inside the body. Decomposition."
Normally, this magic was used to break down waste into its constituent atoms, but it was equally effective on dead cells. By reducing the tissue to carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen, she ensured it could no longer harm the patient. If left alone, the cirrhosis could have easily turned into cancer.
"Now, I must facilitate the discharge. Add. Add."
Though not the standard use for the spell, it was highly effective. She gently bonded the carbon and oxygen into carbon dioxide and turned the hydrogen and oxygen into water. This allowed the body to expel the waste naturally.
Some of the byproduct was absorbed into the bloodstream to be exhaled through the lungs, while the rest was processed through the intestines. Because a sudden surge of carbon dioxide in the blood would be dangerous, she worked with painstaking care, releasing it bit by bit.
The patient’s distended abdomen slowly deflated. Simultaneously, the visible, bulging capillaries began to recede.
"Incredible..."
Chancellor Powell and Bodeman watched in stunned silence. A girl who looked barely twenty was performing feats that no other healer could hope to replicate.
"Genesung."
Elsa finished by casting the highest-level healing magic on all three patients simultaneously, including the two who had already begun to wake. Exhaustion finally took its toll, and she stumbled, only to be caught by Edgar.
"Are you all right?" Jin asked. He pulled a bottle of Hourai Island’s special Persica juice from his pocket and offered it to her.
"Thank... thank you, Jin-nii."
Elsa took the juice and drank it down in one go. As her breathing steadied and the color returned to her face, she let out a long, weary sigh of relief.