I Opened an Illegal Animal Hospital in Another World - Chapter 101

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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101

Medical Chart 6. Caught You, You Rascal (5)

Time rewinds a little.

At the same moment Shana grabbed Maria’s handkerchief, Seth smiled brightly.

“It’s no fun when you follow along exactly as I think you will.”

“What’s so amusing that you’re laughing?”

“Did I laugh?”

“You did. You looked stupid.”

Her voice was openly contemptuous. And rightfully so, since Seth was a man who only engaged in behavior that made it quite difficult to earn anyone’s respect. The woman looked Seth up and down with frowning eyes.

As if his neat appearance had been a lie, he was now slumped deep into the sofa with his shirt carelessly unbuttoned. He was limp as if there wasn’t an ounce of strength in his entire body.

Seth was usually like that.

He seemed bored as if uninterested in everything in the world, and he didn’t even hide such feelings. Even when something happened right before his eyes, he showed no interest, but when something did catch his fancy, his attitude would change remarkably. Though only briefly.

“I wondered why you obediently followed along to the party for once.”

“I kept my promise, didn’t I? I did attend.”

“You only attended.”

If showing your face briefly before disappearing counts as attending, then yes, that’s right.

“I made a contract thinking you were a famous demon, but you can’t do anything. You’re really useless.”

“Anything can be useful depending on how you use it, right?”

Even sarcasm was useless on him.

“That’s rich coming from you… I’ll have you know I sacrificed 20 years of my lifespan to summon you. I was trying to get ahead in life, but what is this?”

“I’m faithfully fulfilling my contract in my own way.”

Seth suddenly sat up straight and faced the woman, Chloe.

Chloe was a mage belonging to the Imperial Magic Department. She had achieved success at a young age and had grown up being called a genius in her own right. However, no one revered her as a genius mage.

Because there was always someone who suited the title of genius mage better than Chloe.

Duchess Wentworth, Anais.

Though they were similar in age and had graduated from the Academy together, Anais and Chloe’s circumstances were as different as heaven and earth. Naturally, Chloe had always suffered from an inferiority complex, which led her to choose a contract with a demon.

Her wish was extremely simple.

‘Help me get ahead in life.’

‘That’s not difficult. What’s the price?’

‘Twenty years of my lifespan and my soul after death.’

‘Fine. Though it won’t be useful.’

Chloe’s connections reached the First Prince. Not being of noble birth, Chloe received work through introductions from House of Lepoer like many mages did, and the First Prince had drawn her, who was the most outstanding mage after Anais, to his side.

To get ahead in life, she had to make the First Prince emperor.

It wasn’t that she had particularly deep loyalty toward the First Prince, but since she couldn’t even approach the current Crown Prince, it was an unavoidable choice.

‘He was definitely supposed to be a famous demon.’

Wondering where she had made a mistake to end up with such a useless freeloader, Chloe sighed.

“Even among demons, Lord Matthias is competent. I even have bad luck with draws.”

“Hahaha, you are a bit unlucky.”

“Who are you making fun of?! If you’d just do well, I could also…”

“Right, right. Tell me if you have more work for me. I’ll step out for a bit.”

“What? Where are you going? His Highness Nathan is in a bad mood again. If he collapses at this rate.”

“Matthias is with him. Matthias and his master will take care of fixing him.”

“It’s obvious they’ll ask you to procure materials!”

“You can handle that much by yourself.”

“And you still call yourself my contractor?!”

“I said I’d help you get ahead in life, not that I’d become your servant.”

“…Then at least serve properly…”

“Call me if it gets really tough!”

He speaks as if he’ll come when called. As if he’d actually come when called. She’d have to call his name over a hundred times before he’d finally show his face, grumbling that he couldn’t sleep because of the noise… And even then, he wouldn’t help with work, just lie around before disappearing, so it was better if he didn’t come at all.

Seth vanished in an instant, and Chloe, left alone, frowned.

‘Matthias, he said? Without even using honorifics.’

Matthias, the demon contracted by the Imperial Mage Corps Commander, and Seth were both demons but had almost no interaction. They seemed to know each other, but she had never seen them actually converse.

Chloe thought it was because Seth was too low-ranking a demon for Matthias to even acknowledge. However, hadn’t Seth just called Matthias quite familiarly, and as if addressing a subordinate?

‘Insolent bastard.’

She had made up her mind and entered into this contract to get ahead in life, but the one she drew was merely a lazy and insolent low-ranking demon. Chloe lamented her fate.

Her contractor didn’t even look back while she would be squeezed by her superiors and lord…

‘Huh?’

Chloe looked at the empty sofa where Seth had been lying.

“What made him so excited to leave?”

Like a child going off to play something fun.

***

“Ah, damn.”

Though she barely managed to block the explosion, Shana soon lost consciousness in Raven’s arms as he came to rescue her. Seth, who had been watching, couldn’t help but laugh.

“I told you it was a power specialized in healing…”

To think she’d use it in such a crude way. I never expected her to use the method I taught her to protect her own body on such a large scale.

I heard Shana’s mother specialized in large-scale attack magic – like mother, like daughter. Seeing how she threw herself at a terrorist hugging a bomb, she also inherited her father’s recklessness.

“Still, she must have practiced hard. Only about two years, I’d say. Well, her heart to avoid casualties is admirable, but she only shortened her own life doing something pointless.”

Seth nodded with satisfaction.

“Nathan really has a bad personality. Should I call it cautious? Even though he was certain Shana made that potion, the fact that he had her join the beastmen instead of teleporting her straight to me shows his incredible carefulness. That’s why it’s boring though.”

Too cautious to be fun.

Nathan realized during their second meeting that Shana and Ella were separate people. The glasses with cognitive reduction magic were an excellent artifact, but Nathan had grown up in an environment where he needed to see through such things.

However, since he couldn’t tell which one was ‘real,’ he withdrew as he was.

And Nathan only became certain after meeting Shana at the ball. That the woman standing with Raven was the same woman who had been with Raven at the auction house, and the ‘healer who personally treated him.’

The ‘real’ one.

Seth grinned as he looked at the blackened and destroyed underground passage, the screaming people, and Raven holding Shana in his arms with gritted teeth.

It would have been boring if she’d been caught in Nathan’s trap despite his kind warning.

The beastmen he’d released to find Maria’s group causing a bombing terror in the square was an event Nathan’s side hadn’t anticipated either, but whether she was captured and used or died in the explosion, it would have been a very boring ending.

Seth had no interest in boring things.

“Just when things get tedious, she does something interesting.”

She willingly shortens her own lifespan to save ungrateful, selfish, and noisy humans. She embraced and healed someone trying to kill her, protecting them.

It was truly foolish behavior, but Seth found that futile struggle quite entertaining now.

It was Seth himself who had placed suggestions on the monkeys to never forget their hatred of humans. That too was consideration for Shana, of course. It was kind advice to let her know that he had intervened ‘here.’

“You’d say ‘stop talking nonsense!'”

He seemed to hear it.

“Stop talking nonsense, you bad guy!”

“…Are you hearing things?”

“Should it hurt even in dreams…”

Shana snorted as if absurd.

“No, but as expected, you were watching.”

“Come here with those eyes.”

“I’ll heal you, so come here.”

“…Continue.”

“You know what I really hate most?”

“Giving perpetrators a narrative… Perpetrators are perpetrators, I don’t care about their circumstances.”

Shana had a rarely resolute expression.

Though she didn’t know it herself, Shana’s features resembling her mother gave off quite a cold atmosphere when expressionless. Her coldly sunken green eyes were as fierce as a judge. Seth smiled broadly.

“But he did it because he wanted to live?”

“It’s not really a sacrifice, it’s natural. In this world. It’s similar to slaughtering cattle or horses. I’m, hmm, an associate of a servant employed by a butcher…?”

“Since childhood, the Imperial Mage Corps tried every method to treat Nathan. He didn’t have any special disease, just weakness, so the best method was to replace the weak parts. This field is our demon clan’s specialty, so they borrowed help from House of Lepoer, who had succeeded in contracting with demons at the time, to summon Matthias.”

“My junior?”

“A demon.”

She asked who it was and he answered like a human would. Who asked about race? Shana frowned as if frustrated.

“With Matthias’s help, Nathan could live comfortably. Though hardly any of his original body remained.”

“Just admit it, Shana… You have no eye for people…”

If her eyes worked properly, all the people around her wouldn’t be such crazy people, and they wouldn’t keep her close either.

Look at this. She treats him friendly even though she clearly knows what side he’s on.

“Only at first. Looking again, he was a genius at gaslighting and manipulation.”

“Why live like that…”

Shana held her head in her hands.

“Because he wants to live? And because he wants to become emperor. Isn’t that what all humans are like?”

“Well, I don’t think so.”

If she had any sense, all the people around her wouldn’t be such crazy lunatics, and they wouldn’t keep her close either.

Look at this. He knows perfectly well what kind of people he’s siding with, yet he acts all friendly.

“That was only at first. Looking back, they were a master of gaslighting and media manipulation.”

“Ahaha, he’s a bit timid.”

“Why do I live like this….”

Shana clutched her head in her hands.

“Because I want to live? And because I want to become emperor. Isn’t that what all humans are like?”

“This is a hasty generalization fallacy.”

“Well, I don’t think so.”

At least, that’s how all the humans Seth had watched were.

And humans, despite living such short lives, had a tendency to waste time as if it were infinite. Shana was no different. No matter how hard she tried like that, in the end.

‘She’ll die soon anyway.’

How much of her lifespan remained?

Altruistic yet selfish Shana. Foolish yet adorable Shana. A human with great power, a childish soul, and interesting memories from her past life all mixed together chaotically.

What kind of expression would she make when that lifespan she seemed to squander endlessly wore out at the most crucial moment?

He was already so excited with anticipation that he couldn’t contain himself.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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