The following morning, January 26th, Jin and Elsa sat finishing their breakfast while discussing their plans for the day.
A sudden knock at the door interrupted their conversation.
"Come in," Reiko called out as she opened the door.
Standing in the hallway was a man Elsa recognized immediately.
"...Brother?"
It was her elder brother, Fritz Randol.
Fritz looked somewhat sheepish as he bowed his head toward Elsa.
"Elsa, it has been a while....And I want to apologize for before. I am truly sorry."
"...Raise your head. I don't hold a grudge anymore."
At Elsa’s words, Fritz straightened up and turned toward Jin.
"Jin-dono... no, Lord Jin Nidou. I behaved very rudely toward you as well. I wish to offer my sincere apologies."
He bowed again, leaving Jin a bit flustered.
"Please, raise your head. If Elsa doesn't mind, then neither do I."
After Jin’s reassurance, Fritz finally stood tall. He turned back to Elsa, looking as though he found his next words difficult to say.
"Elsa, I know I have no right to ask favors of you, but..."
It was rare to see her brother so hesitant, and Elsa tilted her head curiously.
"Brother, did something happen?"
"...Yes. To be honest... a female knight from the Klein Kingdom, Gloria-dono, has been severely injured. Her wounds aren't healing well. I was wondering if you might be willing to examine her?"
He quickly added the details of the injury.
"...The fluid spat by a magical beast burned her across her face and down her right shoulder."
"...I see."
Jin and Elsa had already received a report from Laojun, but hearing it directly from Fritz made the reality of the situation sink in.
"I understand. Gloria-san is an acquaintance. If it’s a request from you, Brother, I have no reason to refuse."
"Oh, thank you!"
Fritz took Elsa’s hand after she accepted, bowing his head repeatedly in gratitude.
"I'll head back for now," he said. "I’ll give word to my adjutant, Cynthia-dono, and come back to ask when would be convenient for you." With that, he hurried out of the room.
"I was careless," Jin muttered softly after he had gone. "I didn't keep a trace on them after they were transported by the hot air balloon. I let the chaos at the ruins take priority."
"It couldn't be helped. It's not your fault, Jin-nii. Even Laojun didn't track them beyond that point," Elsa said, offering him support. "You don't need to shoulder everything, Jin-nii....I'll handle this. Don't worry."
"Yeah, thanks."
While they were talking, the door was suddenly flung open again.
"Elsa! They say now is fine. Please!"
"...Brother, knock properly."
"A-Ah, sorry....Come, please!"
"Jin-nii, I'm going."
"Right, good luck."
Elsa followed Fritz toward the Healing Wing.
Cynthia was waiting outside the patient's room.
"We have been waiting for you. Elsa-sama, we are in your care."
"...I will do my best."
"I'll stay out here," Fritz added, opting to wait in the hall until the treatment was finished.
"Excuse me," Elsa said as she entered the room with Cynthia. There, she found Gloria lying in bed, her appearance drastically changed.
"...Elsa-dono."
"Gloria-san."
After a brief greeting, Elsa immediately began her examination.
"Diagnose."
Elsa performed the scan several times. Cynthia watched her with a strained, worried expression.
"...How is she, Elsa-sama?"
"Standard healing magic won't work."
Cynthia’s shoulders slumped at those words.
"I see... Then Gloria-sama is..."
But Elsa shook her head.
"I said 'standard' magic wouldn't work. There is one way to heal her."
"W-What is it?"
"It's a bit cruel, though."
The reason healing magic often fails on old wounds is because the tissue has already stabilized in its damaged state. To fix it, one must remove the scarred tissue and apply advanced-level healing magic while preventing secondary infections. By using Paralyze first, the patient could be spared the pain.
However, there was one major hurdle. Elsa had no actual experience with such a surgical procedure.
(What should I do...)
Thinking about the risks made her uneasy.
(Bleeding and secondary infection... How can I prevent them?)
Elsa thought desperately.
(Low temperature?...Yes, if I use that...)
Essentially, she just needed to safely remove the abnormal tissue. Elsa hit upon the idea of freezing the affected area to induce necrosis, then applying healing magic to regenerate healthy tissue in its place.
On modern Earth, a similar principle using liquid nitrogen is used to treat things like corns. There are also laser treatments used to treat keloid scars, but Elsa lacked the precision required for such fine laser work. On the other hand, Elsa had access to ultra-high-speed healing—something impossible for modern medicine—making her plan quite viable.
But there was still one problem.
(...I can't guarantee it will work.)
This was the first time she would be attempting this kind of surgical-type treatment.
(If only Jin-nii were here with me...)
She couldn't help the thought from crossing her mind.
"...Elsa-dono?"
Gloria spoke up, noticing Elsa’s long silence. "...Are my wounds truly beyond saving?"
"...No. I believe I can heal them. It's just... this is a method I'm trying for the first time, and I'm lacking confidence."
Elsa decided to be honest.
"I trust you, Elsa-dono. You were the one who successfully treated our King of Klein, after all. Besides, it's not as if my condition can get much worse than this," Gloria said with a self-deprecating laugh.
Seeing her like that, Elsa made up her mind.
"I'll do it. Leave it to me."
"Please."
"Paralyze."
First, Elsa numbed Gloria’s body.
"Sterilization."
Next, she thoroughly disinfected the entire area. Up close, the keloid scarring was quite severe.
"Cooling."
She used Craft Magic to lower the temperature. By focusing her mental image, she exerted a powerful effect, dropping the temperature to minus 80 degrees Celsius—colder than dry ice. Since this was also water-attribute magic, it was effective on biological tissue.
"...Heilung."
With this mid-level surgical-type healing magic, the skin killed by the cold crumbled away, and new skin—including the epidermis, dermis, and subcutaneous tissue—began to regenerate.
"...It worked."
Starting with the worst of the burns on the right shoulder, the skin regenerated perfectly.
"With this...!"
Buoyed by her success, Elsa proceeded to treat the neck, the face, and finally the right side of the chest.
"I-It’s incredible..." Cynthia whispered in awe, watching from a short distance away.
"Heilverfahren."
To finish, Elsa performed an advanced internal-medicine-type treatment to regulate the body's circulatory system. The procedure was complete.