Episode 39: The Wandering Doctor
One evening, after dinner.
We were gathered in the living room, chatting idly, when a certain phrase caught my attention.
“A wandering doctor? What’s that?”
“Akito-kun, you don’t know? The wandering doctor, Robert Herman. He travels from town to town, village to village, treating the injured and sick for free. He’s an amazing person.”
“Hah, that’s admirable. I could never do something like that.”
I meant it when I said he was admirable.
Just traveling around and providing treatment is amazing enough, but doing it for free? He’s like the embodiment of the volunteer spirit.
And I can’t do it, nor do I want to. What’s so fun about doing something so difficult without any reward?
“That’s right, he’s admirable. And it seems that the admirable Doctor Robert is staying in the next town over.”
“Hah. But there are doctors in the next town, right?”
“There are… but you know, good doctors are expensive. Commoners can’t easily get proper treatment. So, it seems a lot of people from this village are rushing over to get treated while Doctor Robert is there.”
“I see…”
If they’re healthy enough to go to the next town, they probably don’t need a doctor, or so I thought.
And even with proper medical care, people die when it’s their time, just like we did in our previous lives.
I have things I want to say, but I swallow them back.
It’s not like I want to criticize this Doctor Robert, and I understand people’s desire not to miss an opportunity to get free treatment.
After all, medical care in this world is indeed expensive.
Treatment using magic is also expensive. My family is an exception, but basically, treating people costs money.
Only nobles and the wealthy can afford to see a doctor for minor things like a persistent cough or a headache.
“The tales of a doctor named Robert Herman saving people are not limited to this country; they exist everywhere. As far as I know, he’s been active for over a hundred years.”
“Over a hundred years? There’s no way a single human could be active for that long.”
“Not by normal means. Unless he’s using magic to stop aging, like I do…”
“Could it be hereditary? Maybe doctors who inherit the name Robert Herman have been continuing the same work?”
Misty’s theory is one possibility.
Or perhaps—
“Or perhaps, he’s not human,” Victoria muttered.
After all, Victoria herself is a Vampire. Misty is an Automata, and Mizuha is a modified human known as a Saintess.
“If he’s a Vampire… I’d really like Robert Herman-san to join the Night Watch Organization. The Night Watch Organization’s philosophy is the coexistence of Vampires and other races. Saving many people as a doctor aligns with that philosophy.”
“But, Vampires aren’t the only long-lived species. And as Misty said, he might just be hereditary.”
“Yes. That’s why I’ll go and confirm it myself. This is just a recruitment for the Night Watch Organization. It’s a Vampire issue, so it doesn’t concern you all. I’ll go alone.”
The next morning, early.
Victoria left the castle. Misty called out to her back.
“Um! You’re not going to just disappear, are you? You’ll come back, right…? I want to be with Victoria-san more!”
“Hmph! Misty, that’s unfair. If you say it like that, I have no choice but to come back. Yes, I promise.”
“Thank you!”
Misty saw Victoria off with a smile as bright as the sun.
At this rate, it seems Victoria won’t be leaving this castle anytime soon.
“Come to think of it… I heard that Doctor Robert stayed in Emilie Village about fifty years ago.”
“In this village?”
“Yeah. I was working hard as a Saintess back then, so I wasn’t here. Let’s see… I think I heard about it at the café near the Adventurer’s Guild?”
Guided by Mizuha, we went to the café, ordered bread and coffee, and then listened to the story.
“Ah, that’s right, it was about fifty years ago. I was just a little kid back then. Younger than you guys,” the male owner, who looked to be about sixty years old, said, looking at me and Misty.
By the way, Rosette didn’t come to the café. She sleeps until nearly noon unless something major happens.
“At that time, a mysterious epidemic was spreading in Emilie Village. I caught it too. I had a fever for days. Doctor Robert cured me. I remember it clearly.”
According to the owner.
Doctor Robert set up a tent just outside the village and opened a makeshift hospital.
It wasn’t a camping tent, but a large one, like the kind used by Mongolian nomads as a base.
After asking the owner where the makeshift hospital was, we returned to the castle and woke Rosette up.
“What is it…? Did you find something suspicious about Doctor Robert?”
“No. It’s just a hunch. The fact that he came to a place where a mysterious epidemic was spreading is bothering me… I’m going to investigate the place where the makeshift hospital was, so I want you to come with me. I might need Rosette’s advice.”
“When you ask so honestly, I can’t refuse. Alright, I’ll get changed, so go out. Or is Akito keenly interested in seeing me change?”
“No. Not at all. Not even a little bit.”
“When you say it so seriously, it’s a little disappointing as a woman…”
“Rosette-san. Then I’ll watch for you! Show me! Rosette-san’s skin is so smooth, it’s a feast for the eyes!”
“Ah, I understand. It’s even finer than mine, and I’m an Automata. How is that possible?”
“Hey, you two, don’t try to undress me! Akito is still here… Mizuha and Misty, you perverts!”
After overcoming such a commotion, we arrived at the place we were told about at the café.
It was beside a path leading to the fields.
The owner said “outside the village,” but since there are no walls, the boundary between inside and outside is vague. It feels like part of the village.
“It’s just a grassy field.”
“Well, after fifty years, there’s no way any traces of the tent would remain.”
“Indeed. Even to me, there’s nothing unusual. Isn’t Akito overthinking this?”
“…If I’m mistaken, that’s for the best.”
My parents made money by exorcising curses. Driven by a desire to enrich themselves, they would spread curses in the Royal Capital and then purify them, a heinous act of self-serving manipulation.
Remembering that, I wanted to investigate because I was concerned. That’s all there is to it.
“…No. I can hear something… from underground?”
I created a shovel with magic and thrust it into the ground.
“Eh? Akito-kun, what’s wrong all of a sudden?”
“I can faintly hear a voice from below. It’s like a curse… the feeling of a weakened curse. It’s whispering ‘help me’ in my head.”
“W-wait, Akito-kun, stop it, that’s scary…”
“Sorry, but I’m not joking.”
Soon, a wooden box… no, a coffin emerged from the ground.
Inside was the corpse of a girl.
It was preserved, as if she had been alive until today.
However, only the skin color was beautiful; the shape was a mess. It didn’t retain a human form.
It was like a doll that had been smashed and then haphazardly pieced back together.
It wasn’t just that it was taken apart and put in the coffin.
It was sewn together in a strange shape, dressed in clothes to match, and adorned with dried flowers, trying to create a distorted beauty.
Yes. The one who made this corpse must have thought it was beautiful. A work of art.
“What a… countenance…”
I couldn’t help but mutter, looking at the corpse’s face.
When I kill thieves, I don’t kill them with a single blow; I inflict pain before killing them.
So, I’m used to faces stained with pain.
But even I wanted to turn away from the expression etched on the girl’s corpse.
It was as if she had been conscious while being shaped like this.