Volume 1 - CH 34

At the carriage stop on the main street, they boarded a large horse-drawn carriage that went directly to the Central Temple.

Alme came out in a tattered outfit, which startled the passengers of the carriage.

She wondered if it would have been better if she had changed clothes before coming here… but she didn’t want to stain other clothes with blood, so well, she’s fine with this.

Unfortunately, the blood-soaked blouse and skirt she’s wearing now will probably go straight into the trash when she gets home.

With a distant look in her eyes, Alme was rocked by a carriage that headed down the central boulevard toward the temple.

She took out the small folding wallet she had in her pocket and checked its contents. There was only a modest amount of money in it, but with this injury, she wondered how much it would cost for medical treatment.

She would be happy if the amount is within her means, but if the amount is large enough, she will likely pay later.

She sighed deeply at the unexpected expense.

Jayla had already regained her composure and speaks to her in a casual tone. She is a great relief to Alme, as Jayla talks to her frankly without being overly concerned about her feelings.

It is thanks to her that Alme is able to act reasonably calmly now, even after being involved in such an incident.

When someone is acting normal, she is able to feel normal as well.

Jayla leaned out of the carriage and called out to Alme while looking outside.

“We’re already at the temple. The carriage stop is so crowded. It looks like it’s going to be bad inside.”

“I’m really sorry to keep you up late at night when you’re tired…but the temple gets crowded on festival days.”

“It’s okay. Even if I go home anyway, I was planning to have a drinking party after. It’s healthier and better to hang out with Alme-chan than to clean up tomorrow while still drunk and vomiting.”

“That’s… please take care of yourself.”

Jayla’s matter-of-fact statement made Alme smile.

While they were talking, the carriage entered the temple grounds.

It stopped at the carriage stop near the main entrance, and passengers disembarked. Alme staggered down as well, aided by Jayla.

The entrance to the temple, with its beautiful white columns lined up in rows, was more crowded than usual.

The occasional burnt smell emanating from people passing by may be related to the fire that broke out in the south area.

Many may have given up on the south and east temples, which they say are overflowing with patients, and relied on the central temple.

Supported by Jayla, she walked through the entrance of the temple and found many people in the large waiting hall.

The waiting hall is beautifully decorated in white and lined with long blue benches.

A dozen rows of blue benches were filled with people waiting for medical treatment.

This seems like a long waiting time… Alme let out a sigh, and Jayla, who was looking around the hall, let out an out of place cheerful voice.

“Hey, look at that! Shirotaka is here!”

“Huh? Wow, it’s true.”

Looking in the direction Jayla was looking, she saw a silver-haired man.

He is sitting in a chair facing people who appear to be commoners and is dealing with their needs.

He stands out from the crowd with his conspicuous appearance. He was dressed in a white and blue priest’s uniform, which was 50% more graceful to look at than the knight’s uniform she had seen him wear on the previous military march.

The patients in the hall waiting to be examined–especially the women–were happy to see him, and were fascinated by him without hesitation.

Alme didn’t expect to see him in the waiting hall. She had an image of him working out back. She thought that high priests only treated diseases of prestigious people.

From a distance, she saw that Shirotaka was at the end of a bench in the waiting hall, treating the common people.

The other priests are also providing medical care in the same way. It looks like the priests have chairs at the end of each row of benches and are providing medical treatment here.

It seems that after one patient is treated, the people waiting their turn on the benches slide out one after another.

In a normal temple, after checking in at the counter, she would wait to be called in the waiting hall and then move to the examination room – but this is not how it works in this situation.

When Alme was looking at the inside of the temple, which had a different look than usual, the female receptionist immediately called out to her.

“Oh, what a terrible injury! You must be here for treatment, right?”

“Yes, but it’s just scrapes and bruises…”

“No, no, she didn’t just fall down. She was just beaten up by a mugger. I want to you to give her a full treatment.”

Alme thought it wasn’t too important to take care of it, so she reported it a little modestly, but Jayla added to her statement without a moment’s delay.

The receptionist glanced at her body for a moment, and once again took a closer look at Alme’s whole body. She then looked around the hall and she ushered her to the back row of benches.

While being guided, she received a quick explanation.

“The temple is crowded today due to a major incident, so those who do not need surgery are being treated in the waiting hall. Depending on the extent and location of your injuries, you will be taken to a separate examination room or a private room, so please follow the instructions of the priest in charge. Female patients can also choose a female priestess, so please do not hesitate to ask for one. While you are waiting for your turn, please fill out the reception papers and hand them to the priest in charge.”

From the explanation, it seems that the clinic is operating under a special system today in order to quickly handle the overflow of people.

Listening to the clerical language spoken in a flattering manner, Alme was led to a bench where she found herself in a line waiting to receive medical treatment from Shirotaka.

As she sat down on the bench to catch her breath, Jayla smiled at her.

“You did it! You’ll be examined by Shirotaka! Is this a blessing in disguise?”

“Wait a minute, Jayla…! Keep your voice down a little more…!”

Perhaps in response to Jayla’s excited voice, the women in the other rows turned their attention to them.

If you want to add a line to their stern gazes, “Don’t be so pretentious! Even I wish I was in line to see Shirotaka!” or something like that.

As for Alme, if she can be released from this state of wounds all over her body, she doesn’t care which priest or in which line.

Alme felt sorry that she ended up in this line with such thoughts. The tingling gazes from the people around her hurt, so she thought she’d hang her head down until it was her turn…

As she waited for her turn, she noticed that the line for Shirotaka was faster than the others.

Seeing Alme’s ragged appearance, the female guide may have turned her attention and chose the fastest line.

As the order progresses, the distance with the priests gets closer, and the light of the healing magic they use becomes dazzling.

Many other priests shine their healing magic light on the patient for a reasonably long time, but Shirotaka’s magic is a flickering, fleeting light.

This shortness of magic is probably the reason for the rapidity of the medical treatment.

Shortly after, Alme’s turn came sooner than she expected.

It seems that the previous patient was kept standing and was taken to another room. When moving from one place to another, it seems that the charge is taken over by the priest at the new location.

The patient in front of her moved away, accompanied by a nurse assisting the priest.

Seeing that the chair placed directly in front of Shirotaka is empty, she moved herself down the bench.

“Thank you for waiting. The next person――……”

Shirotaka called out and Alme waddled over to him. Every time she moved, the blood on her knee would slowly seep out and drip down again.

When she saw him from a distance at the military march, she never thought that she would see him so close up…she smiled to herself.

While sitting in the chair facing him, Alme called out to Shirotaka.

“Please take care of me.”

When Alme sat down and looked at him, Shirotaka was frozen with his eyes wide open. His clear golden eyes are extremely beautiful, but what is that expression?

(Well, what is that surprised look, I wonder if I look terrible…!? Isn’t this what it looks like to be injured in an accident…? If you’re a military priest, isn’t this something you’re used to seeing!?)

Alme was upset when Shirotaka stopped moving.

She wondered if she looked so bad now that the priest who regularly sees injured people on the battlefield is surprised. She thought it was indeed not that bad…

She thought about this and that, but as she looked at the expression on Shirotaka’s face, another thought started to come to her mind.

(…Hmm? Huh…? Mr. Shirotaka…have I seen him somewhere…)

For some reason, she felt that something wasn’t quite right.

This face, this stature, and even the voice, she felt like she remembered something…

With her heart pounding, her chest began to make a strange noise.

Like Shirotaka, whose golden eyes are wide open, Alme’s eyes are also wide open, and her mouth even dropped open.

The image of one man she knows well begins to form in her mind…

Before Alme could formulate an answer with her head, which was beginning to lose its equanimity, Shirotaka muttered in a gravelly voice.

“Miss Alme…”

She was given an answer.

The person she was picturing in her mind overlaps with the person in front of her.

The color of his eyes, the color of his hair, and even the clothes he wears are all different, but there is only one person who calls her that in this voice.

“…Mr…Falk?”

She was so stunned that her throat stiffened, and somehow she managed to squeeze her voice out.

Jayla looked surprised as well while looking back and forth between the two.

“–What? You know each other? Seriously?”

Unexpectedly, Jayla’s voice came out in a low whisper.