I Opened an Illegal Animal Hospital in Another World - Chapter 45

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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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45

Chapter 11. First Customer (4)

“Our daughter… It must have been hard to explain, so she knocked her out.”

Father spoke as if he was proud. No, that’s not it… I put her to sleep!

“Well, it would be hard to explain. She must have been shocked that the twins suddenly kidnapped her, and then she woke up in a completely different place.”

Mother also agreed as if ‘there was no more rational alternative than this.’ Bailey, who secretly pushed the celery closer to me, also nodded. Ugh, I hate celery.

“Next time, instead of going through all that trouble, I’ll teach you how to knock someone out by hitting the back of their neck.”

“…I’ll just take the thought, Bailey.”

Don’t talk like I knocked her out with a chloroform-soaked handkerchief…

I wasn’t trying to knock her out, I just put her to sleep because she seemed to be in a panic state. But.

‘…I can’t deny it…’

In the end, it was no different from silencing her. I felt sorry.

“So Ella, could you prepare some bread and soup?”

“Just adding ‘so’ doesn’t explain everything, Lady Shana. I’m not a mind reader.”

Ella was cold. She was the type who would question what needed to be questioned.

“You want to give it to that child, right? Since she seems to have been starving for a long time, she’ll probably only be able to eat soup. I’ll bring it up.”

“Thank you.”

I chewed the celery like a cow chewing cud. It tastes awful. I’ve consistently hated vegetables with strong scents since my previous life. Absolutely disgusting.

Breakfast was a time our family always tried to have together. Mother and Father didn’t seem to have the habit of sleeping in, getting up early every day. According to Maria, few nobles wake up early.

‘What do nobles do with their lives? Most of them don’t work and sleep in…?’

I knew both of them were busy, but they didn’t seem to be doing any particular work.

Mother seemed to be doing personal research while interacting with mages, and Father seemed to be called out daily to have meetings with people… He said he participates in some meetings as a high-ranking noble, and while he’s closest to the Royal Guard, he seemed to have exchanges with other knight orders too…

‘Isn’t he just playing around meeting people…?’

I wondered if that’s what all nobles are like. I heard somewhere that nobles consider working shameful, so I wondered if Father was like that too.

Later I would learn that just being a key member of the Nobility Council and the head of the Wentworth Family was enough to keep him busy, but at the time, Father briefly looked like a lazy freeloader to me.

In my previous life, I always needed money, and it was strange not to work when you had all your limbs intact…

“Shana? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“It’s nothing…”

Oops… I unconsciously looked at him like he was a freeloader. My gaze must have been obvious…

“You should finish eating before talking.”

Mother sternly pointed out. I nodded and quickly chewed and swallowed my food, mumbling.

“When Prince Raven enters school, Shana will get bored too.”

“No, not at all. I’d actually prefer it.”

“Does Shana dislike studying?”

Father asked kindly. Well, what an obvious thing to ask.

“I don’t particularly like it…”

“Then what about Prince Raven?”

Why ask that.

I looked at my parents wondering what their intention was, but both were calmly eating their meal. I answered obediently while inwardly puzzled.

“I don’t dislike him… Though he’s sometimes annoying.”

“Really? He’s better than a stranger, right?”

Father had been strangely cold toward Raven from before. Even so, he’s a friend, how could he compare to others.

If he dislikes him that much, why did he allow him to become a study partner…

“Of course. Still, Raven is kind when you get to know him.”

It was a “kind” that only worked with “still” and “when you get to know him.”

“When I can’t stand how annoying he is and hit him, he lets me hit him…”

“…Is that your standard?”

How important that is. When I hit him hard, he says “Ouch” in a book-reading tone.

“He’s handsome. I can overlook most annoying things.”

“…”

“Oh, of course Dad is more handsome.”

Father looked satisfied.

***

“Evelyn, Maria. I’m here!”

“You’re here?”

Evelyn welcomed me with a gentle smile. The navy blue skirt that fell to her ankles, white apron, and neatly combed black hair added to her demure image. How cute.

Evelyn hid her ears and tail quite skillfully.

Originally, it would have been natural for her to go around with her ears and tail exposed, but it seemed like a skill she had learned to survive in the cracks of human society where discrimination was severe. That made me feel sad.

“Yes, now Evelyn and Maria go have your meal.”

“I’m fine, so Teacher Maria should go first,”

“Then I’ll be back. Please behave yourself, Miss Shana.”

Maria tactfully grabbed Evelyn by the scruff of her neck and dragged her away. I leisurely waved my hand to see them off.

She was probably anxious about leaving me alone with that child, but if she let Evelyn skip meals for such reasons, it was obvious she’d starve for days.

‘Leon and Ian will come barging in soon anyway…’

There was still no sign of her waking up.

I placed the broccoli soup that Ella had prepared for me on the bedside table. I had said I would carry it myself, but Ella insisted on bringing it all the way to the door.

‘If I leave it to Miss Shana, she’ll definitely spill it…’ Does she think she can say whatever she wants as long as she says it with a smile? Well, she’s right.

“It would be good if she ate it before it got cold…”

Won’t she wake up? I crawled onto the bed. The girl had her eyes closed, sleeping peacefully, oh.

“Are you awake?”

“….”

“Did you sleep well? Was the bed uncomfortable? Oh, did I wake you by climbing onto the bed? Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up….”

I was the type who talked a lot when flustered.

“I thought you might be hungry. I brought broccoli soup, you know? I just ate some too and it was delicious. It would be good to eat it before it gets cold. Oh, it’s tasty even when cold.”

“….”

“…I’ll, I’ll get down for now.”

When encountering a wild animal, you should keep your distance and… avoid eye contact, or look straight at them?

I was pretending not to be flustered while speaking, but inside I was breaking out in a cold sweat. If I got startled, she would be even more anxious, so I had to act very naturally. Naturally…

I needed to get down from the bed naturally, but what was natural again?

Was putting my right foot down first natural? Left foot first? Should I support myself on the bed with my hands? Or not? How did I usually do it? My sense of naturalness completely collapsed. My feet were sweating.

Oh, right.

“I’m telling you this in case you’re worried, but I didn’t kidnap you, okay? I’m not trying to harm you either, and I’m not keeping you prisoner. My friends…”

“….”

“They probably startled you quite a bit, they’re not very delicate so they used rather rough methods…”

“….”

Sweat had gathered on my philtrum too.

“They used rough methods because, well, if we were late something might have happened to you…”

The twins hadn’t brought the girl out of concern for her. They were full of selfish motives to accomplish the task I had given them and earn merit… I felt my conscience pricking as I continued speaking.

It was so long-winded and rambling that even I thought it sounded like excuses… Well, it was excuses and lies after all.

In times like this, the answer was to apologize cleanly.

“Our kids did wrong. I’m sorry.”

“….”

“We’ve treated all your illnesses for now…”

“…Lies.”

“Huh?”

It was a voice deep and hoarse from sleep. When she had screamed, it sounded clear and bright, but her quiet voice was low and hoarse. Her black eyes looked at me coldly.

“…It’s not a lie. Look, you don’t have a fever anymore…”

“I’m a beastman.”

“I know.”

“…Are you such a naive child that you don’t know magic and divine power are useless on beastmen?”

“I can do it! Amazing, right!”

Wow… I spread both palms and spoke cheerfully, but she just looked at me even more pathetically as if to say “You?” Is your name perhaps Son Dam by any chance?

“…Is there anywhere that hurts?”

“….”

“Your complexion looks good. That’s a relief. Can you sit up? Since you’re awake, let’s have some soup. It’s delicious…”

“I don’t have money.”

“Huh?”

“Even if you sell me, I can’t sing anymore so you won’t get much money… I don’t know where you heard that I was a canaria and caught me, but all my wing feathers have been plucked and my vocal cords are ruined.”

“….”

“It wouldn’t be possible to treat me, but fine, let’s say you treated me. Then what do you want to get from me?”

The girl struggled to sit up. Then she looked around at me and my surroundings with fierce eyes and sneered cynically.

“Ah, is this a noble young lady’s pity game? Do you want to feel superior by helping someone more pitiful than you? I’ve seen plenty of kids like you. You want to be praised for being kind, don’t you?”

“….”

“Should I kneel down and lick your feet? Would that work? Crying and saying thank you for saving me…”

Geez.

I tapped her head with the spoon, and quickly spooned soup into her mouth that had opened in surprise.

I could have listened to more of her complaints, but it seemed like the more she talked, the worse her condition got, so I decided to stop her. The girl’s expression, frozen in surprise from the successive attacks, was cute.

“It’s cooled down just right, so it’s not hot, right?”

“Ptui, what are you doing…!”

“Eat first, you need to eat before you can curse.”

I shoved another spoon into his mouth as it opened to scream. Hmm, it smells like broccoli every time he yells. What fragrant criticism…

“What the hell are you doing?!”

“Just trying to make a living…”

“What?”

“How’s the taste? Is the seasoning right?”

“Hey, are you deaf?”

“Ah, there’s my chance.”

I slip it in and he spits it out. Oh, like a vending machine spitting out bills.

“Hey!!”

“Yeah, you called? Ah. Say ah.”

Was this how Bailey, Ella, and Maria felt when they fed me baby food? I was starting to feel a bit of maternal instinct.

“Who would swallow something a human gives them?!”

“Ah, you don’t like broccoli?”

“…Are you missing something up there?”

“I’ve been told I’m smart many times… Isn’t it better than celery?”

Everyone around me lacks objectivity, so I don’t really know for sure. By this world’s standards, I might be lacking somewhere.

“Get me out of here right now. I won’t swallow a single thing humans give me, so don’t try anything funny. You think I don’t know you’re planning to drug me after making me feel safe? I will never, ever… huk…”

His breathing became labored mid-sentence, as if some bad memory had surfaced.

“Think I’d trust humans again? After kidnapping me, killing my family, breaking my wings… locking my little brother in a cage and starving him to death! If I had the power, I would have killed them all…”

Seeing his eyes burning with hatred, I couldn’t find words.

“A nightmare? That it’ll all be over when I wake up? Don’t make me laugh, this doesn’t end. If all of that was a dream, then my little brother should be by my side right now…”

“This side is the dream.”

“What?”

“Think of this side as the dream. Like you’re having a long dream. A dream that only ends when you die.”

Whichever side is the dream, what does it matter?

“You won’t be able to forget, but you need to bury it to survive. Are you going to die too?”

“…What would you know…”

That’s what I did. When Mother died, and even Father died after her. I swallowed my remaining words and put down the broccoli soup that still had plenty left.

“Eat it all if you want to live.”

“…”

Our very first patient is going to become a long-term patient.

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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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