I Opened an Illegal Animal Hospital in Another World - Chapter 55
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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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55
Chapter 13. The Clinic is Broke (3)
“When Renate uncle comes, give Ronny cookies!”
“Give lots!”
“I like cookies better than bread!”
Hic, hic…
“Lady Shana, you mustn’t faint. You need to have willpower and endure.”
“I know…”
Evelyn firmly wrapped her arms around my shoulders. After rolling around with the children, I sat in the middle and read them the fairy tale books that the twins had quickly flown to the manor to fetch.
I had donated all the fairy tale books I no longer needed from a few years ago. Since Bailey used to recite them in a dry, monotonous voice until I memorized them when I was young, I remembered most of the content.
Even though the vivid stories told by the guardians who were active or former mercenaries would have been much more interesting, the children listened with sparkling eyes.
A few came up to me and gave me kisses on the cheek, saying “Thank you.” I felt so fulfilled that I lifted my head and smiled slightly to keep from tearing up…
The appearance with ears and tails is cute. Cool. Beneficial. Beneficial to the world and my eyes…
Actually, either way is fine.
“I think I understand how Bailey felt…”
Bailey used to make a serious expression and cover my mouth whenever I spoke. Now I was doing the same thing every five minutes.
I didn’t want to speak because I felt humiliated every time my lisp came out, but whenever that happened, my parents and the trio would keep talking to me to make me say even one more word, which annoyed me. But.
“Lisping sounds were this cute? Why didn’t you tell me, Evelyn!”
“Lady Shana was tens of thousands of times cuter than those children. Of course, you’re still cute now.”
“Lies! Nothing in this world is cuter than those children!”
“…Lady Shana, you said I was the cutest…”
“Except for Evelyn.”
Evelyn smiled brightly. It was a little scary, but that’s a secret.
“Having fun? Shouldn’t you be heading home soon?”
“Renate, where did you go abandoning me!”
“…That’s a word choice that could cause misunderstandings. You’re the one who went off to play with the kids.”
“Yeah, thanks.”
I was in a very good mood right now. As I giggled happily, Renate let out a hollow laugh.
“What are you so happy about among those little things? Actually, some of those kids are probably older than me.”
“That’s what I’m saying… From what I can see, they’re not as good as me, but you just don’t recognize it.”
“Evelyn, you’ve gotten good at saying shameless things too.”
Renate looked down at Evelyn with a crooked expression. Evelyn confidently lifted her chin and met his gaze head-on. Our confident Evelyn is the coolest.
Since Renate came to pick me up, it seemed like it was time to say goodbye to these children.
“Kids, I think I have to go. Take care…”
“Don’t go!”
“Don’t go, sleep here!”
“No!”
I want to sleep with you guys too… I looked back at Renate with some hope, but it didn’t work at all.
“I don’t want to get on your parents’ bad side. Especially since the duchess is my employer right now. It would be troublesome to get on the bad side of my source of income.”
“You’re going to abandon me for money? When did you try to seduce me into joining the pack?”
“Don’t make statements that could cause misunderstandings when you’re just a 7-year-old brat.”
“I thought it would be fun if even one person fell for it and misunderstood.”
“…You’re going to get someone killed.”
I also joke around while reading the atmosphere. I made eye contact with each person and said goodbye. I didn’t forget to remind them to hold an adult’s hand and come to the hospital if they got hurt.
“It was a happy time…”
“It seems so.”
“Thank you, Renate. Thanks to you, I pulled myself together and felt fulfilled!”
“It’s nothing. They were making a fuss saying they definitely wanted to greet you, so I brought you along. Ron was worried that he was drawing you in too deeply, but…”
“What’s he saying after kidnapping me himself.”
“That’s exactly what I mean. He ignored my advice to keep your distance, and now what’s this.”
But Ron’s hesitation was probably because he was wondering whether it was okay to trust me.
In reality, this orphanage was practically Ron and Renate’s weakness. The children were cute but weak.
“You thought that seeing the kids would make me help you to the end, right? Renate, that’s sneaky.”
“Well, it’s not exactly like that, but.”
“What do you mean it’s not like that. This is exactly a honey trap. You were completely determined to melt me into a daze.”
“You… just like in the past, your word choice is really unique.”
“It’s the product of gifted education.”
Raven talks even more strangely. A little kid talking like an old man.
“I’m already indebted to Renate anyway, so what more are you trying to do by melting me further here.”
“Because it’s beneficial to definitely pull you to our side. I’ll probably become a regular customer of your hospital.”
“…I won’t give you a hospital bill discount.”
Renate burst into laughter. I noticed he had some scheme, but he quickly went ahead before I could ask, so I couldn’t question him.
…He doesn’t mean he’ll regularly get hurt and come, does he…?
***
“Did you have fun?”
“Hehe!”
“…You look happy…”
Maria clicked her tongue. Wearing a gown and clicking her tongue, she really looked like a doctor.
“Your clothes are covered in fur. If you go in like that, Ella will scold you.”
“I don’t mind getting scolded.”
“You’re completely smitten, aren’t you?”
Of course, naturally. Anyway, I was planning to ask Evelyn tonight if I could sleep in her arms again. I’ll make it a perfect day.
Maria said.
“If you like those kids so much, why don’t you sponsor them?”
“Huh?”
“You can do it. It would be easier than building a hospital in the first place, and cost less money too.”
Maria said while holding up my doctor play set. It had a stethoscope (looked like one but had no actual function), glasses (no prescription), a magnifying glass that somehow seemed necessary, and other glasses.
Maria’s words made sense. But.
“Ron and Renate never asked for help, did they?”
“What?”
“They never asked for help, so wouldn’t it be rude to help them without permission?”
Maria blinked her big eyes. Having seen so many cute things, even Maria’s familiar face only showed cute points now.
“But, anyone can see…”
“Maria, what would you say if someone passing by looked at you and said, ‘Oh, you look pitiful. You seem worse off than me, so take this. It’s pocket change to me, so don’t worry about it!’?”
“That damn bastard, mmph.”
“See?”
“But Shana, this is different, isn’t it? That man was desperate enough to even kidnap you…”
“I was the only means available to treat beastmen.”
“…Don’t talk about yourself like you’re a tool. Anyway, they’d be happy if you helped. And sponsoring children isn’t a bad thing. It’s common among nobility.”
I sat across from Maria. If I lifted my shirt like this, I’d look exactly like a patient getting examined. Though it would be pediatrics…
“When they only asked for this one thing, offering help without asking would be pity and meddling. And Ron was able to support his family with his own strength. What right do I have to interfere with people who are doing well on their own?”
A hand extended without asking, saying “Poor thing, let me help you! Do you need money?” could deeply wound someone’s pride.
Being pitied and looked down upon was often hard to bear. It made me feel like I really was pitiful.
If I were sick it would be different, but I thought it was wrong to treat someone as pitiful when they were perfectly healthy.
“And if I come to the hospital, I don’t have to study.”
“…That’s your real motive, isn’t it?”
“I was going to do it anyway!”
Maria burst into laughter as if she couldn’t help it.
“Father said he’d teach me after Raven goes to the Academy…”
“…That’s, well.”
The day Raven was leaving was tomorrow. Today there would be a party at the castle until night.
Though he said he cleared his schedule, the Prince didn’t have many appointments he could cancel at will. The reality was being called here and there before Academy enrollment.
‘Poor thing. I’ll play with him instead.’
Oh wait, it’s not playing.
I’m working. Work…
…It’s not like I don’t work just because I’m free!
***
After Shana returned from the orphanage in the afternoon, she suddenly got some kind of burst of energy and bustled around various parts of the hospital building.
She did essentially useless things like unnecessarily touching the potions she’d already made or making more of a mess while claiming to clean the pharmacy.
But wasn’t it nice to watch the little one bustling around energetically? Evelyn, Maria, and the twins let Shana mess around to her heart’s content.
“She’s going to fall at this rate.”
Whenever Ian muttered this, Leon, who was nearby, would catch her. Maria wondered if it was because they were twins with good timing, or because they’d watched Shana long enough to understand her behavior patterns.
When the organized, or rather disorganized, parts started becoming an eyesore, Shana lay down on the patient bed that Evelyn had prepared and closed her eyes, saying she wanted to experience how patients felt.
“She’s tired.”
“She’s tired.”
“She’s tired.”
The twins and Evelyn, who had been following Shana around, said simultaneously while looking at Shana’s face as she fell asleep the moment she closed her eyes.
Maria smiled warmly. They looked like friendly puppies, which was heartwarming to watch.
‘Watching kids makes me feel old.’
I’m still in my twenties. Even if I’m barely hanging on to my twenties, I’m still in my twenties… Why do I feel so old? The realization that I couldn’t fit in among them at least made me feel a subtle sense of alienation.
Maria sniffled and adjusted her glasses.
“I wonder if any troublemakers will show up…”
When feeling sorry for oneself, moving the body was always the best remedy.
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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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