[SIDE: Aoi]
After briefly checking the research content of each type of magic and demonstrating magic that could provide hints for future research, I realized that only healing magic remained.
At Crown’s suggestion, the number of people accompanying us increased with each visit to a research lab. As a result, the travel time between labs was filled with more and more questions. At the same time, I was also concerned about Crown’s sudden closeness.
“You mentioned that fire needs oxygen, but how exactly do you add that…?”
“It seems all the magic was incantation-less, but isn’t at least one verse of incantation necessary due to the nature of incantations?”
“How were you able to break through the laboratory ceiling, which is harder than rock, with earth magic?”
As I tried to answer such questions as clearly as possible, the number of people struggling to understand increased. This was troubling.
Before I knew it, we had arrived at the healing magic research lab. The laboratory itself wasn’t much different from the others, but the building housing it was more than twice as large.
“We have more than three times as many healing mages compared to mages of other attributes. It’s to meet requests from other countries, but because of that, some haven’t reached the minimum standard for court mages.”
Crown said this regretfully as he headed towards the research lab. As usual, he opened the door without hesitation.
The other researchers seemed somewhat exasperated by this behavior. Apparently, suddenly opening doors was considered bad manners here too. It seems Crown was the unusual one.
“Oh, the Chief Mage is…”
As soon as he opened the door, Crown started to mutter this before falling silent.
Then, a stern-faced man appeared from inside the lab. As Crown took a step or two back, the man came out of the lab.
He was a man with silver hair and sharp eyes, appearing to be in his forties. Despite looking somewhat worn out, he had an intimidating presence.
“…Are you Lady Aoi Kominato? I am Awad Smuggler, the Chief Court Mage. I am currently recognized as a saint.”
“Ah, Mr. Awad. Nice to meet you. I’m Aoi. I’m a teacher at Fidic Academy.”
I returned the greeting with a self-introduction. Awad then observed me with furrowed brows.
“…You’re quite young. According to what I heard from Balbrea, you can use healing magic on par with a saint. I wonder in which country outside of Maple Leaf you learned such powerful healing magic. It’s truly puzzling.”
He spoke in a normal conversational volume, but it was unclear whether he was addressing me or if his thoughts were simply slipping out. He had a unique tempo of speech.
Awad’s words caused surprise among the other researchers behind us.
“No way, can she use healing magic too…?”
“Impossible. That would mean advanced level or higher in all five attributes of magic…”
Hearing these voices, Awad’s frown deepened.
“…Five attributes of magic? Is such a thing possible? No, but those belonging to the research lab wouldn’t make a mistake in seeing it. How… I see, using national treasure-class magical tools… But could an individual possess five such precious magical tools? Hmm. I’d like to see each type of magic demonstrated once.”
“Eh? Ah, yes. That’s fine.”
I thought he was talking to himself, but he suddenly addressed me. When I nodded in agreement, Awad raised his eyebrows for a moment before furrowing them again.
“…I heard you can manipulate quite advanced magic, but is it alright to show it to others so easily? I’m somewhat concerned, as with other matters. However, I would be grateful if you could show me, as it’s what I’m most interested in seeing. But first, we must observe the healing magic that I’m most curious about.”
After Awad spoke one-sidedly, he closed his mouth.
“…Then, shall I demonstrate healing magic?”
“Please do.”
Despite his unique tempo, there was no problem with the conversation. Rather, perhaps because I’m used to researcher types, he seemed surprisingly easy to talk to.
“Please follow me this way.”
“Certainly, thank you.”
When Awad turned on his heel and told me to follow him into the research lab, I nodded obediently and agreed to accompany him. Then, I heard more surprised voices from behind.
“…It seems she gets along well with the Chief Mage.”
“Is Lady Aoi also of an unusual personality?”
“I’ve heard that those who delve deep into magic are often eccentric…”
I thought I heard some slightly concerning words, but I decided it wasn’t worth denying. Owen and Glen might have some odd quirks, but I consider myself quite sensible. The misunderstanding would surely be cleared up eventually.
Following Awad into the research lab, I saw five men and women inside. While the bookshelves lining the walls packed with books caught my eye, what surprised me most was the skeleton lying on the table.
“Is this a human model?”
I asked in surprise, looking down at the skeleton placed on the table. It seemed very well-made, but didn’t appear to be made of wood, clay, or plaster.
Awad shook his head expressionlessly.
“No, these are ordinary human bones. I’ve made models too, but the real ones are better. You can learn about the body’s internal structure and functions.”
I nodded in understanding at Awad’s words.
“I see. To understand the human body, you start with the bones. That makes sense.”
As I nodded and voiced my agreement, for some reason everyone’s gaze turned to me. Eliza, Aile, Liz, Belle, and others were twitching their cheeks, but learning about the human body from the inside is necessary, so it can’t be helped.
As proof, Awad was nodding expressionlessly.
“There are bones, blood, organs, muscles, fat, and skin. When using healing magic, I believe it’s important to understand the structure and mechanisms of the human body.”
Upon hearing this, Awad crossed his arms and looked down at the skeleton’s abdomen.
“It’s common among those lacking knowledge, but sometimes they only heal the surface while internal bleeding continues. This is most likely to occur in the abdomen. Why do you think that is?”
“The abdomen contains a concentration of internal organs. Besides the stomach and intestines, there are important organs like the liver, kidneys, gallbladder, and pancreas. Even if you heal the flesh, skin, and blood vessels, complete recovery isn’t possible without healing the internal organs.”
As I answered, the researchers other than Awad exchanged confused looks.
“Gallbladder?”
“Is that an organ name? Is it that gray thing?”
“Isn’t it the dark brown one?”
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.PAGES.DEV
It seemed the organ names didn’t translate well. However, Awad slightly lowered his chin and grunted as if understanding something.
“Hmm… So that’s why sometimes it looks like the wound is healed but it’s actually a failure. Those who can use advanced healing magic have also studied the human body. However, even among those who became saints or holy maidens, some aren’t well-versed in human anatomy.”
“Not well-versed? Then how do they use magic?”
When I asked this, Awad crossed his arms and pondered.
“…It’s difficult to explain ‘how.’ As you may know, the one called the first holy maiden of healing magic used magic for the first time at just ten years old and instantly healed someone on the verge of death.”
“Does that mean… she intuitively understood the location and depth of injuries?”
“Hmm. I studied the human body and honed my healing magic until I was recognized as a saint. The senses of such geniuses are hard to comprehend.”
Awad said this while looking towards the back of the laboratory.
“…I thought you might be a genius-type magician too. But hearing your knowledge and thoughts on healing magic just now, it seems that might not be the case. How strange.”
Muttering such things, Awad walked towards the back and opened a single door.
“Time is limited. Let’s see your magic, Lady Aoi.”
Three examination tables were placed in the hall, with shelves lining the walls filled with books, mysterious instruments, and boxes containing what seemed to be medicinal herbs.
On each examination table lay a person who appeared to be severely injured, surrounded by about ten men and women in white coats.
While clearly different from Japanese hospitals, this was undoubtedly a treatment room where Maple Leaf could receive the best medical care.
“The one in the center is the most severely injured. Injuries include loss of the right arm, deep lacerations to the abdomen and right leg,”
Awad reported as he approached the examination table.
The surrounding men and women noticed Awad and took a step back. I followed Awad and stood beside the examination table.
Up close, I could see that the patient was a man in his thirties. His hair and beard were quite long and unkempt. Although the bleeding had stopped, the wounds were fresh and gruesome, making me want to look away.
“…The lacerations are quite deep, reaching the bone. However, these aren’t knife wounds. Were they caused by magical beasts?” I asked.
“That’s correct. This man is a criminal sentenced to hanging. When there are no urgent patients, we have such criminals fight magical beasts to create injured subjects,”
I could see Strass and the others were shocked by these words. The healing mages, however, showed no reaction to Awad’s matter-of-fact statement.
Indeed, compared to other types of magic, healing magic has fewer opportunities for practice. Otherwise, healers would need to constantly be on the battlefield.
As a result, they use criminals as efficient test subjects for magical experiments and practice.
However, one thing bothered me. If a criminal’s injuries healed completely, would they be injured again? If so, there could be no greater punishment.
“…What did this person do to be sentenced to hanging?” I inquired.
Awad narrowed his eyes expressionlessly and replied,
“This man deceived dozens of ordinary citizens and engaged in human trafficking. Moreover, he sold the women to illegal brothels where they met miserable deaths. And there’s more…”
“I understand,”
I interrupted, not wanting to hear any further details.
Though he was clearly an enemy of women, it was uncomfortable to see him suffering.
“For now, let me perform the healing magic first,” I said before proceeding.
I used the highest-level magic for treating individuals. To reconstruct the lost parts, I imagined the intact opposite arm.
For the deep abdominal wound, I had to visualize entire healthy organs and bones. Once the image was complete, I infused it with magical power. While it couldn’t account for individual differences, this would ensure that vital organs, bones, and muscles functioned normally.
“…Eau de Vie,” I chanted the spell name.
As if possessed by will, the magical power caressed the patient’s wounds. Within about a minute and a half, the severely injured man was completely healed. I estimated I had enough magical power left to treat about twenty more people.
“He’s fully healed. Any old scars on his healthy body remain,” I said, turning around.
Most of the onlookers stood motionless with their eyes wide open. Only Awad looked down at the healed man with a serious expression.
“…He healed in the blink of an eye. The healing speed is equal to or greater than that of saints, but the process is different. It seems this is a different type of healing magic from ours,”
“You mean it’s an entirely different kind of magic?” I asked for confirmation.
Awad nodded slightly and spread his hands, pointing to the examination tables on either side.
After chanting five phrases, Awad cast his spell.
“…White Grail,”
The moment he cast the spell, white light of magical power, clearly visible, spread throughout the laboratory with Awad at its center.
It seemed that everything within the range of this light became a target for healing. The two people on the examination tables enveloped in white light were also healed simultaneously.
Although it took some time, within ten minutes, all the severely injured were completely healed.
The Maple Leaf mages exclaimed in admiration at this sight.
“As expected of Lord Awad,” voices could be heard saying.
Awad, however, looked at me without changing his expression.
“What you just saw is the highest-level wide-range healing magic used by saints. To be frank, if Miss Aoi can do something similar, there may be nothing for you to learn from us,”
Awad stated, causing everyone to turn their attention to me.
“Wide-range… Does that include targets hidden behind walls or objects? For example, if there were five visible people and three hidden, would it heal five or eight?”
“Eight. As long as they’re within range, neither the number nor visibility matters,” Awad replied.
“…Then, I assume the area effect is due to the incantation. I would appreciate any information you could provide about that,”
As we were discussing this, Crown clapped his hands and exclaimed,
“Oh! It’s said that the effectiveness of healing magic incantations varies between mages. Perhaps we could uncover the reason for this as well?”
Awad shot Crown a sharp look as he spoke excitedly.
“…Unraveling the incantation. I see. Indeed, someone who uses a different type of healing magic might be able to approach research from a different perspective. Hmm, that is interesting,” .
Then, looking down at me, he continued,
“I’ll show you magic books that only saints can access. They contain research on magic and original spells developed by the highest-level healing mages certified in Maple Leaf throughout history. We all learn the basics of healing magic in Maple Leaf and eventually reach that level. This also means that we may be unable to break free from the framework that has been passed down in Maple Leaf. If we look at this framework and research methods from your perspective, Miss Aoi, we might achieve dramatic progress.”
I immediately nodded in response to Awad’s words.
“That’s an offer I couldn’t refuse. I came here hoping to see the best healing magic,” I replied.
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