Episode 12
The doctor confirmed that the immobile people weren’t in critical condition, then continued to scold them.
“This is what happens when you rush in without a care for your life. Get lost, all of you.”
With nothing salvageable at the scene and perhaps some urgent matter coming to mind, the gang left without resistance. They could easily afford to find another doctor.
Even though it was a situation of their own making, the smuggler still glared at Lanjé until the end. Lanjé simply shrugged, unbothered—there was nothing to fear.
In the meantime, the rain had completely stopped, and the doctor moved on to examine other wounded individuals.
Those who were unfairly caught up in the incident all praised the doctor as they lined up to see her.
“Dr. Risa, how did you manage to come all the way here?”
“I heard the commotion from far away. Some people also came and informed me. More importantly, I’m just glad you’re all safe.”
“Well, it’s not like we were stuck in some maze-like building. If the fire had spread more, it would’ve been a disaster, but luckily the rain came just in time.”
Three people were listening to this conversation from the outskirts.
Lenart glanced at Lanjé.
As expected, she wore an openly proud expression. Her cheeks were flushed, as if emboldened by her accomplishment.
The market crowd soon dispersed.
“So, who are you people?”
Once the surroundings quieted down, the doctor turned to the three.
“What brings a mage all the way out here?”
It wasn’t just the explosion that had drawn her.
A massive surge of magical energy had gripped the skies above Parell—too intense to ignore.
There were a fair number of people who could sense magic even without being able to use it. She was among those born with heightened sensitivity.
‘Should’ve been more careful.’
Lenart briefly regretted it. In the urgency of the moment, he’d forgotten to conceal himself.
“This much happened because you’re at senior level. If it were anyone else, they’d have either completely failed or gotten caught by the Western Command.”
Lanjé whispered, as if reading his thoughts.
“Besides, this might actually be a good thing.”
“What do you mean?”
Erna, now tense, perked her ears.
“I remembered the name.”
Whispering any more would only raise suspicion. Lanjé stepped directly in front of the doctor.
“Don’t be too harsh. We didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Didn’t do anything?”
“Well, we did put out the fire, but that’s not exactly a crime, is it?”
“…”
“Don’t you agree, Dr. Kallisa?”
As soon as she saw her face, she recognized her as “Kal.” She only recalled the full name after overhearing some conversation.
Unlike the smiling Lanjé, the doctor’s expression turned even more rigid.
“How do you know my name…”
“We came here to find you.”
Lanjé’s bold declaration made Kallisa falter slightly.
Watching this, Lenart thought Lanjé really had a talent for stealing the spotlight.
After a brief silence, Kallisa suddenly stepped forward and grabbed Lanjé by the neck.
Surprised, but not alarmed, Lanjé accepted the gesture—it carried no killing intent.
Lenart had reflexively moved to stop her but, realizing there was no threat, stayed put.
Kallisa quickly let go.
“As expected, you’re running a high fever. After using that kind of ritual, side effects are inevitable. Your companions don’t look too well either.”
Lanjé didn’t argue. As Kallisa said, the aftereffects of the spirit summoning were setting in.
Though no longer hostile, Kallisa carefully examined the other two as well. Naturally, Lenart looked unwell, and Erna had the face of a patient no matter how you looked at her.
With a sigh, Kallisa said,
“For now… let’s continue this conversation at my clinic.”
The group quickly exchanged glances. Even as her fever burned, Lanjé was smiling.
It was clear without explanation—Kallisa was that doctor of Parell.
Kallisa’s clinic was in a district a bit removed from the market. Judging from the time she had arrived, she must’ve left immediately upon sensing the magic.
‘Even though she found something suspicious, she didn’t run away—she came to the market instead.’
Lanjé looked at her medical bag.
‘A sense of duty?’
Thinking back to how she warned about the side effects of the sedative, it wasn’t all that surprising.
Kallisa was the kind of person who spoke the truth even in front of the Command. Perhaps neither fire nor unknown mages scared her.
“As for why we came here…”
As soon as the door at the end of a narrow alley opened, Lanjé got straight to the point.
“You, take your medicine first. The young lady, sit down. And you… don’t seem like you need anything yet.”
Kallisa pushed the three into a room and gave her diagnoses.
She handed Lanjé a fever reducer, gave Erna a seat, and waved Lenart off with a flick.
Too drained to even feel annoyed, Lenart dragged over another chair. He planned to simply observe as Lanjé explained things.
He had followed these strange, uneasy sisters to an unfamiliar place and had to deal with ritual magic he’d only studied in theory. He was too exhausted to worry about every little thing.
But Lanjé wouldn’t let him rest. She downed the medicine Kallisa gave her in one go.
“Wait!”
Lenart couldn’t help but raise his voice.
“Do you even know what you just took?”
She hadn’t collapsed right away, so it likely wasn’t poison, but it was still far too careless.
After being so cautious she even refused fish with a head, this recklessness irritated Erna as well.
“What if it’s dangerous? You’re not seriously going to claim, ‘I’ll be fine even if it is,’ right?”
Knowing they were both worried, Lanjé held up the bottle and explained.
“No, I could tell from the smell. It’s just a regular fever medicine.”
It was a common recipe available at any clinic or pharmacy. Even if she didn’t recognize other meds, this one she knew without a doubt.
Erna was familiar with it too. After checking, she awkwardly lowered her voice. Lenart also looked away, embarrassed by his overreaction.
Seeing how easily they were convinced, Lanjé simply clicked her tongue.
‘It’s usually better to keep doubting things to the end.’
If someone truly had ill intentions, using a familiar scent to lower one’s guard would be a clever tactic.
Lanjé trusted Kallisa first because of the impression she’d gotten before, and second because the medicine had been sealed—no chance for tampering.
She kept this reasoning to herself.
“All right, the medicine’s taken…”
She turned to Kallisa.
“Can I continue the explanation now?”
“You should really be lying down at this point.”
“But you’re suspicious of us. Better to clear things up quickly.”
“It’s not every day you run into a mage in a place like this.”
She hadn’t been able to study them closely outside, but neither Lanjé nor Lenart looked particularly old.
A typical mage that age would belong to a family or at least be affiliated with the military.
A noble mage would travel with attendants, and a cadet’s movements would be restricted.
Even considering that mages age slowly, they didn’t seem particularly mature.
In the worst-case scenario…
Whatever ominous conclusion Kallisa reached, no one in the room noticed. All eyes were on Lanjé.
“I heard you’re well-versed in both magicology and pharmacology.”
“I suppose I am. But that sounds like…”
“Yes. I’m interested in your research. I think your work could help us greatly, and I believe we could offer a lot to you too.”
Lanjé genuinely meant what she said.
The anticipation in her eyes was pure, and combined with the flush from her fever, her expression couldn’t have looked more sincere.
But it wasn’t Kallisa whose suspicion softened—it was Lenart.
Her erratic mannerisms, odd speech, and inexplicable talent had always seemed suspicious… but perhaps he didn’t need to be on edge. A person who lit up while hoping to treat someone else’s illness didn’t seem capable of malice.
He hadn’t realized that, for some time now, he’d been regarding Lanjé more with concern than suspicion.
As if considering her words, Kallisa went silent.
After a few seconds of maintaining a chillingly blank face, she finally spoke.
“In that case, it’s best if we talk while reviewing some documents. Please wait a moment.”
Kallisa left the room. Lanjé turned to Erna.
“She didn’t say no.”
“So that means…”
“Yeah. We have to find a way to cure you.”
Lanjé’s excitement was infectious. Erna, her face flushed, nodded again and again.
She had grown used to disappointment, never letting herself hope with any doctor. But hearing her sister’s words made her heart pound. Blood rushed to her fingers, and she smiled without meaning to.
“Do you think I can really get better?”
“I can’t promise that on my own… but there’s always hope.”
It wasn’t a definitive answer, but it couldn’t be called bad advice either.
Lenart’s expression softened without him realizing it.
“They say even miracles run away if you give up.”
But then he stiffened his lips. Lanjé, too, straightened up from her hunched posture.
“Lanjé?”
“Shh.”
At Erna’s confused whisper, Lanjé motioned for silence.
Perhaps due to fatigue, her heightened senses had picked up on a presence outside.
She and Lenart turned their heads in the same direction.
“…No way!”
Lenart flung the door open, and both of them rushed out at once.
I was wondering if it was a case of a character’s gender being mislabeled. Turns out that Carl is Kallisa and female