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With a seething dull pain, I finally regained consciousness. Then, a harsh reproachful voice reached my ears.

“Cortina, Finia! You were with her, so how did this happen!”
“I-I’m sorry, I…”
“I have no excuse! I’m responsible for this…”

It was Lyell’s unusually harsh… no sharp voice. I could even feel bloodlust from him who normally stayed calm. Still, I couldn’t overlook it when it was directed at Cortina and Finia.

“Dad, please leave it at that.”
“Nicole, are you awake?!”

His yells stopped at my words. However, despite opening my eyes, my vision remained dark. On top of that, despite feeling like my body was on fire, I could also feel a trembling sense of cold.

“Nicole, calm down and listen okay? Your eyes have been crushed.”

I heard Maria’s voice from the side.

Now that I think about it, I should have been in the capital of Forneus, Berith. I didn’t think Lyell would’ve come here alone, so someone must have brought him. And that was probably Maria. That would explain why she was here too.

I didn’t know how long I was out, but considering the pain, it must not have been very long. Since they arrived here so fast, Cortina must have contacted them. I don’t think Finia, who wasn’t famous yet, would be allowed to use the emergency contact network. Even with a high rank, she was still a beginner, after all.

We were on an Adventure now, and she probably didn’t even have enough money on hand to use that network.

“My eyes…?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll definitely heal them.”
“Okay.”

I nodded, but I knew it wouldn’t be so easy.

Maria would’ve been able to instantly heal an injury of this level. She tended to leave light injuries to natural healing of the body, but she wouldn’t leave something like crushed eyes as is.

Besides, Kufar also said it was an “unhealable injury”. It was probably canceling out the healing magic in some way.

“Looks like I have a fever.”
“Yes. Perhaps because of the injury, you have quite a high fever. I have preparations to make, so sleep for a bit. Can you?”

I nodded in affirmation at her gentle voice.

Maybe because of the fever, I could feel my body deteriorating fast enough to even feel it happening. I felt like I’d sooner faint than fall asleep, but I had to regain my strength either way.

“Rest for now. I’ll come up with something in the meantime.”
“Okay.”

I closed my eyes at her words, and fell asleep once more

◇◆◇◆◇

“So, what’s the situation?”

Once Nicole fell asleep, Lyell and the rest moved to another room across the corridor. Michelle and Cloud were also standing by there.

“She’s been infected by the same illness that attacked Raum before. That alone wouldn’t be a problem, but…”
“From what I can see, there’s some foreign substance remaining inside her eyeballs. And it’s preventing the Regeneration spell.”

Dr. Tricia continued Maria’s words. She was also studying medical magic, so she had a grasp of Nicole’s current condition. She was the one who had examined her when Finia and others carried her back.

“Yes, I have also confirmed that. It’s probably a Slime fragment. And one belonging to a Disease Slime.”
“The one that attacked Raum before?”
“Yes. For it to be alive even without a core… That didn’t happen before.”

Back during the attack on Raum, the fragment of the Slime was but a lump of poison with no will of its own. But now, it still maintained its instinct as a Slime despite the lack of a core.

It was staying dormant for now, but when a spell like Regeneration was cast that would force it out, it started to devour the regenerated flesh around.

That’s why, Maria did not cast Regeneration yet. Because it would only make the Slime inside the eyeballs grow by devouring the regenerated flesh.

“What if we pull it out…”
“It becomes active under a stimulus. Besides, there’s a brain right behind the eyeballs. If we agitate it too much, it could escape towards it.”
“Then what should we do?”
“We could take out the entire eyeballs and then cast Regeneration… But that would put a big burden on the nerves.”
“If we overdo it, we may create some disorder in the nerves that could leave her blind even if we restore the eyeballs.”
“At any rate, it would’ve been a disaster if we cast healing spells. Thank god you were present.”

Maria thanked Dr. Tricia. Had she been an inexperienced medic and carelessly kept healing her with magic, the Slime fragment could’ve grown violent, grown in size, and damaged the brain.

If that happened, Nicole would have been beyond saving.

“So if we take them out, she will become blind. And if we don’t, she could die, is that it?”
“Yes. Honestly, it’s difficult to make a move now.”
“Then, Nicole’s eyes…!”

Michelle exclaimed in grief, but Maria did not answer. Finia seemed unable to endure anymore and headed to Nicole.

“I will check on Lady Nicole.”

There was nothing she could do, but there was no knowing how the situation would change. It was necessary to check Nicole’s condition even as she slept.

“Yes, please do. Also… Sorry for earlier.”

Lyell apologized as she passed by him. It was an apology for yelling at her earlier.

“No, it is true that I let her out of my sight.”
“Nicole is a proper Adventurer. So the responsibility for her injury should be her own… I just didn’t want to admit it and lashed out at you… I’m despicable.”
“Not at all. You’re a splendid person, Lord Lyell.”

With a fleeting smile, she left the room behind.

Seeing her go, Lyell slammed his fist on the table, overflowing with frustration.

◇◆◇◆◇

Kanmuri-sensei draws Nicole!
https://twitter.com/kannmuri0227/status/990894777330618368
She’s moderately big, but her face is a bit childish… Just like Nicole!