I Opened an Illegal Animal Hospital in Another World - Chapter 39

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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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39

Medical Chart 3. Rierem District Hospital (2)

The Rierem District was among the brighter areas of the slums.

If you went deeper, there lay the den of drug dealers and criminals where ordinary people couldn’t even enter at all.

When winter came, as it always did, disease would spread through the streets of the poor first, and many people would die. This year too, an epidemic had spread without fail, and the weak died first.

However, this year more people survived than died.

Some sneered that it was just the whim of those in high places, but for those who were saved, the result was everything.

The young Prince had personally taken care of the poorest streets with his precious body, and the young daughter of a ducal family had comforted people together without fearing even the epidemic. Thanks to this, many people survived this winter. Could there be any more important fact than this?

“She was just like a fairy.”

“Lies! A fairy wouldn’t come here.”

“She held my hand tightly, looked into my eyes, and told me to stay strong…”

It had been a very strange experience.

She had clearly been facing death. Her burning hot body wouldn’t cool down, and the coughing that seemed to tear and burst from deep in her throat wouldn’t stop. She couldn’t even remember when she had last swallowed anything. When she opened her mouth from thirst, only rough breathing and unpleasant metallic sounds came out.

The thirst was worse than hunger. Her whole body was burning hot, but inside she felt cold. She trembled constantly as if someone was gripping and shaking her entire body.

She would die like this. This time she would really die.

When she tried to squirm somehow to survive, only the smell of filth rose from the ground touching her cheek. Would everything end if she died like this? It would be better to just end it, she thought around that time. She didn’t even have the strength left to struggle to live.

Once infected with the epidemic, the only path left was death. It was the same every year. Even if she endured, she would just be isolated and burned at the stake. Then wouldn’t it be better to die now…

That’s when several people burst in. She couldn’t tell if they were neighbors or vagrants trying to take over the crumbling house. It didn’t matter. She curled up and barely held onto her flickering consciousness.

The cold air that came in as the door opened was briefly welcome, then quickly became terrible. Cold. She felt like she would die from the cold. She wanted to curse at them, but she didn’t even have the strength for that.

“It must be hard. I’ll help you.”

“…Get…”

Get lost. Leave me to die. Someone took her shell-like hand.

“Sorry for coming in without permission. I’ll just clean up and go.”

Who is it? She barely lifted her heavy eyelids.

‘An angel…?’

Clean blonde hair and a spotlessly white face, round eyes that were large and gentle. She realized that the hand holding hers belonged to a very small child.

It was definitely a girl who had been raised preciously. Along with the impulse to shake her off immediately, she felt puzzled. Why on earth was ‘such a child’ in ‘such a place’?

“You’ll get better soon. Rest well.”

It was a clear voice without malice. The face she looked at with wide open eyes was cute and lovely like an angel. Her vivid green eyes sparkled like jewels.

The miracle happened at that moment.

The fever that had been hot enough to burn her whole body disappeared as if washed away, and the thirst that had been choking her throat also vanished. The splitting headache and constant trembling also stopped.

She couldn’t understand what had happened at all and just blinked blankly, when the angel smiled brightly and left lightly.

Only then did she realize that the people who had burst into her house were cleaning for her, and had covered her with cleanly washed blankets. They promised to bring her food soon too.

“Who…”

“His Highness the Prince sent us. He gave orders to clean the streets thoroughly and care for the people…”

“That, who was that person? Please tell me!”

“Who? Ah, Lady Shana.”

The man’s stern eyes instantly softened. She inwardly startled upon realizing that the person she had called was a knight in armor, but the knight didn’t seem to mind much.

“That’s Lady Shana of the Wentworth Family. She takes lessons with His Highness the Prince and came personally to help.”

“Wentworth, you mean…”

“The Wentworth ducal family.”

Even if she didn’t know the name well, she knew that a duke was a very high position.

“Now that you know, let go.”

“Yes, yes! Yes, I’m sorry!”

“…Well, never mind.”

The knight shrugged his shoulders looking at the woman who was staring at Shana’s retreating figure as if enchanted. This wasn’t the first or second person like this, so it wasn’t surprising.

At first, he had worried that the precious young lady might encounter rough situations or catch diseases while wandering around, but when it came to worrying about Shana, the Wentworth Couple would be more worried, not less.

‘Like parents, like daughter…’

The Guard Knight was acquainted not only with Raven’s tyranny, but also with the notorious Wentworth Couple. He thought that Shana, being their daughter, couldn’t possibly be completely docile.

‘Strangely, the people that Lady Shana held hands with and comforted suddenly regained their energy…’

Even those who had been groaning as if they would die immediately would either jump up as soon as Shana turned around, or fall into peaceful sleep with a comfortable complexion.

‘Could people get healthy this quickly just from cleaning and feeding them?’

It was street cleaning that wasn’t in his fate, done under Raven’s orders, but he had been half-doubtful about its effectiveness. Wouldn’t people with deadly diseases die whether their surroundings were clean or dirty?

But surprisingly, as soon as the cleaning was finished, people began to regain their energy.

‘Is this what they call a miracle…’

It was no wonder that people looked at Shana fluttering about like they were seeing an angel or fairy. It must have seemed like someone who shouldn’t be in this place and a miracle that could never happen to them had occurred simultaneously.

‘I should go around talking more enthusiastically about how it’s all thanks to Prince Raven.’

All of this was bestowed by Prince Raven.

Of course, the guard knight’s words didn’t reach the ears of the woman who had been lying down. The one who held her hand was that small, adorable angel, and at those words, the disease that had been eating away at her disappeared as if washed clean.

“There’s no way she could be healed just by holding hands!”

“That’s right. It’s a coincidence.”

The children’s voices finally brought her back to reality.

“The one who saved us was Prince.”

“Maybe so.”

“It’s not ‘maybe so,’ it’s really true. While Mother was collapsed, he cleaned this street thoroughly and gathered people to give them meals. The fact that we’re alive like this is all thanks to Prince!”

The children had been in worse condition than her. They had completely lost consciousness and couldn’t remember anything.

But the adults who had kept their eyes open despite the fever all believed without doubt that the angel who held their hands had performed a miracle.

Rather, the children were being rational. The children who hadn’t seen anything couldn’t understand why the adults were saying it was thanks to a young girl who had just wandered around, when all of this was thanks to Prince.

They thought the adults were making a fuss. The children maturely understood that such things could happen since they had narrowly escaped death.

“I heard there’s a tavern where beastmen gather.”

“I told you not to go there! What if you get eaten!”

“Everywhere is dangerous anyway. But if you go there, they at least give you food! It’s not dangerous at all…”

“But…”

“Anyway, they say a noble built a building next to that tavern.”

“A noble?”

“I don’t know who. But according to what the adults say, they’re spending an enormous amount of money, so it must be a noble…”

There was undeniable dissatisfaction in the lowering voice.

“I went to see it and the building walls are incredibly white and clean! I’ve never seen anything so clean.”

“It was really amazing. Just yesterday there was no roof, but it appeared right away! Things were flying around! It must be magic.”

“I don’t know what the noble is trying to do in a place like this, but…”

“Want to go see?”

The thought that she should stop them came first. This time they had saved their lives through the whim of noble people, but there was no guarantee it would happen again next time.

“No. Don’t go near there.”

“But it was amazing.”

“Absolutely not. If you don’t want to die, never go near that place again. A building built by a noble next to a tavern frequented by beastmen – you must never go near it!”

“But just now Mother called the noble a fairy.”

“Lady Shana is an exception. She’s definitely a living fairy and angel!”

The children exchanged glances behind their mother’s back as if communication was impossible.

Even though the adult tried to stop them, the children had already made up their minds to explore that building. In winter, children couldn’t help adults with work either, so they would crowd together to beg or pickpocket.

In doing so, they came to know every corner of the alleys well.

“Want to go tomorrow? You’re going, right?”

“Of course. There must be something worth stealing, right?”

“There was no one guarding the front door. It’ll be easy to sneak in.”

Prince had even provided enough food to last through winter. Even if they couldn’t work immediately, they no longer had to worry about starving to death. The children still needed money.

“Mother says not to go near beastmen, but…”

“We should at least buy medicine and bring it to them.”

The children who crowded through every corner of the alleys had, unlike the adults’ wariness, become friends with young beastmen too.

“Even if you bring medicine, they probably won’t be happy? We’d be lucky if they don’t throw it away saying it’s from humans…”

“Then should we just leave them to die?”

“…”

The whispering children looked at each other cautiously.

“At least I want to take them somewhere clean…”

The young beastman they had come to know was holed up in the corner of a crumbling building and wouldn’t come out. But he was clearly sick. He was barely hanging on with tenacious vitality, but it was certain he wouldn’t last more than a few days.

Just like themselves, wouldn’t he get better if he could rest well in a clean environment while eating hearty meals? Even if they wanted to bring him food, the children weren’t in a comfortable situation to begin with.

“Hey guys, look over there.”

“Hm?”

“Those kids, don’t they look rich?”

The children looked where the fingertip pointed.

Red-haired twins were giggling as they walked down the street. The children’s eyes sparkled. Even without examining whether their clothes were luxurious, their clean and neat appearance alone showed they were wealthy.

They weren’t armed with swords like adults, and though they were tall and lanky, they looked young. Seeing them laugh and chatter without worry, they were definitely children who had grown up under adult protection, not knowing how harsh and frightening the world could be.

“Let’s go.”

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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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