Through Enju 3's healing magic, the spleen from which the foreign object had been extracted was promptly healed.
"Heilung."
A split second later, the edges of the incision closed seamlessly together, mending in kind.
"Heilung."
With the procedure complete, Enju 3 checked the results.
"Diagnose... Everything is stable. The internal bleeding has stopped."
"Oh! Thank goodness..."
Listening beside them, the village chief wept tears of joy.
"Improving physical condition. Heilverfahren."
A faint light enveloped the patient, and his complexion, pale from blood loss, regained some color.
"The lost blood will not return immediately, but his vital state has been restored, so his recovery should be swift."
"Good work, Enju 3."
However, Enju 3 indicated that she was not finished yet.
"There is a simple fracture of the left clavicle. Furthermore, fluid has accumulated in the right lung."
She explained that this had been detected through Diagnose.
After treating those conditions as well, she spoke again.
"He should be fine now....Master, may I offer him a bottle of Persica juice?"
"Of course."
Persica juice produced on Hourai Island was ideal for restoring strength.
While it lacked the dramatic potency of Hourai Island's dedicated medicines, its gentle efficacy replenished vitality and regulated physical condition.
Jin took a bottle of Persica juice from the medical kit Reiko had brought and set it beside the patient's pillow.
"Please have him drink this once he wakes up."
"Oh, oh, th-thank you so very much...!"
The village chief bowed deeply over and over, nearly bending double.
The critically injured man was his eldest son.
He had reportedly taken the lead in fighting to protect the village, sustaining severe wounds in the process.
The injury to his spleen had been caused by the thrust of a wooden spear shaft.
Enju 3's medical work did not end there.
She proceeded to treat those with "minor injuries."
(It seems the definition is rather loose...)
Apparently, they had been classified as "minor injuries" simply because their lives were not in immediate danger—a judgment made by none other than the Northern Administrator of the Melkana Autonomous Region, Gone Maui von Keema.
(I suppose people like that can turn up even in the Shouro Empire.)
Perhaps it was inevitable, Jin sighed inwardly.
Returning to the main hall of the chief's residence, Enju 3 first cast Sterilization across the entire room.
Next, she cast a wide-area Diagnose to perform triage, establishing treatment priorities based on the severity of the wounds.
Then she began attending to those with comparatively heavier injuries or severe pain.
"Entgiften. Sterilization. Heilung."
For those whose wounds had begun to fester, she drew out the toxins, disinfected the area, and applied healing magic.
"Behantoran."
For those with truly minor injuries, she cast a healing spell effective for both internal and surgical needs.
Before noon, Enju 3 had finished treating all 14 people with "minor injuries."
"Jin-dono, thank you so very much for everything today."
In the dining hall of the chief's residence, Jin and Kachea were being treated to lunch.
Reiko and Enju 3 accompanied them, but since they did not eat, only three portions were served.
"Not at all. I'm just glad we happened to be visiting Taji Village."
And that Gone Maui von Keema, the Northern Administrator of the Melkana Autonomous Region, had come to report the incident.
Though Gone would likely receive some form of reprimand later once Jin made his report...
"Now we just have the bandits to worry about," Kachea remarked with an uneasy look.
"What kind of people were they?"
Jin decided to take this opportunity to gather more details.
"Let's see... There were about twenty of them....Some were wearing armor in the style of the Mercana Principality."
However, the chief added that their gear was piecemeal, with some wearing only breastplates or simple hachigane headbands.
"We also confirmed at least three things that looked like golems."
"Golems, you say?"
"Yes. That was what caused my son's terrible injury."
Jin pondered the revelation.
If there were bandits commanding golems on this continent...
"Remnants...?"
Not of Markitus.
There was a strong possibility they were remnants of the faction aligned with Pegin Vorontov and the Council of Ten.
"Um, do you mean a faction from the Council of Ten...?"
Kachea seemed to have reached the same conclusion.
"Yeah. The Markitus forces should have been wiped out by Deus Ex Machina. So if an armed group of that scale remains..."
"...The Council of Ten, then."
Kachea was another person who knew firsthand the deep-seated corruption of the royal capital, Mahalig.
When the capital had been overrun by Markitus's forces, relief squads from Avalon and Nostalgia had stepped in to save the populace.
Kachea ventured a guess that some individuals might have concealed their identities and affiliations to evade capture once they realized the battle was lost.
"You were there on the ground, so you'd know more about that than I would."
"Yes....Back then, the rosters were burned or scattered, and many people were crushed under the rubble, so roughly fifty people went missing."
"I suppose that's bound to happen."
Jin nodded in understanding, reflecting that even on modern Earth, large numbers of missing persons were an unfortunate certainty during major disasters.
"So I don't think it's too far-fetched to suspect that some of those missing individuals might be behind this."
"Indeed."
Jin agreed with Kachea's reasoning.
"In that case, this matter falls under the jurisdiction of the World Security Guard."
Jin voiced the thought that had crossed his mind earlier.
"That's true..."
"We can't contact Avalon directly right now, but we can reach Deus Ex Machina from the Hurricane. I'll send him word later."
"Ah, good idea."
Since they only had the Eagle Unit 1 with them, contacting him would have to wait until they returned to Taji Village.
Jin therefore decided to contact Laojun through his bracelet when he stepped away to use the washroom.
"Laojun, that's the situation, so please keep watch over this region. If danger arises, you're authorized to deploy the Land squad."
'Understood, My Lord.'
With that taken care of, Jin let out a quiet sigh of relief.
"If they strike next, it'll likely be the surrounding villages rather than this one, though..."