Evil Black Maria - Chapter 102. Clinic Work

“Take one of these pills every morning and evening. If you want to get well soon, don’t forget to take it regularly.”

“Ah….No, thank you very buch…. achoooo!”

–A man with a severe cold, who couldn’t speak properly.

Shizuru gave him some medicine that he had prepared and charged him 15 coppers for the examination and medicine.

“You’ve completely broken your arm…….Hang on a minute, I’ll get Shizuru.”

“ I beg of you……I can’t even go to work……like this!”

–A security guard who broke his arm during a riot.

Unable to help himself, he left it to Shizuru, who charged him one silver coin for the treatment.

“Hey, we don’t want you here, okay? We want Dr. Shizuru!”

“……Shizuru is in the back performing surgery. I’ll take care of the examination, if you have a problem with that, you can leave.”

–A woman with the appearance of a night butterfly*, wearing fancy makeup.

Both sides begrudgingly completed the examination and then paid five coppers.

She said she would come back at a later date when Shizuru’s hands were free.

“ I don’t like the way you’re looking at me, but you look pretty good. How much for one night?”

“Next time you say something stupid, I’ll kill you.”

–He looked like a thug, with bandages all over his body.

She was reluctant to examine him, but he tried to touch her bottom, so she pointed her gun at him and scared him off.

“Please sell me some tights.”

“……eh?”

“Please sell me those tights you’re wearing! I beg you!”

“ If you’re not out of my sight before I count to three, I’ll shoot you.”

–A pervert on his knees, saying something that she couldn’t believe her ears.

A few rubber bullets were fired to drive him away.

“I’m so tired of this…….”

After a long day of examinations, she finally managed to take a break.

Ludmila collapsed on her desk, sighing deeply and squeezing her voice out.

While she was doing that, Mary, who was sweeping the room with a broom, said to her,

“You’re weak.”

“Aaah…..”

Ludmila lay prostrate, apparently unable to hear her because she was whispering.

–It had been a few days since she started helping out at Sisel’s clinic. As she had been told, patients were pouring in every day.

However, a good percentage of them just came to see Shizuru after he returned to the royal capital.

“Good evening, Ludmila. Your coffee is ready.”

“Thanks…….”

She takes the steaming cup offered to her and sips it.

The coffee, flavored with milk and sugar, slightly relieved her fatigue.

“Phew……Hey Shizuru, you should reconsider your pricing. It’s too cheap, so people who aren’t injured or sick come in, and as a result, we’re too busy.”

A medical examination costs five coppers, the prescription of medicines and general treatment costs ten coppers each.

Even the use of healing magic is charged at a flat rate of one silver coin.

The price was so low that even if the amount is multiplied by ten, it wouldn’t reach market price.

In the case of healing magic, it is not surprising that depending on the condition of the patient, it may require a gold coin, but this price.

It’s just as good as free.

“What do you mean, ten coppers each for medicine and treatment without magic? That’s not even enough for a drink.”

“Haha, yes. But that’s alright, I didn’t start this for the sake of money”

Shizuru’s original reason for opening a clinic was to make contacts.

The lower the price, the more people will visit, and the better his reputation will be.

It is for these non-financial benefits that he runs his clinic.

“The truth is, I’d be happy to do it for free, but that would be suspicious. I set the price at a level that doesn’t interfere with the running of the clinic and makes it easier for people to afford.”

In extreme cases, if only one patient a day comes in for magical treatment, he would still make a profit of one silver coin.

Even if it doesn’t quite reach the market price, it was enough money to maintain a clinic of this size.

“The east section of the city, where security is low, has the highest demand for doctors in the Royal Capital, but the lowest supply. In other words, there are few business rivals, so even if I lower the price drastically, my competitors won’t think much of me.”

The fact that he says this with a wry smile indicates that he is not completely free of them.

However, once Shizuru had met them in person, he was able to get rid of most of the animosity towards him.

In the end, there was no big problem.

“It’s a combination of all these things that brings people here. It’s an important social place for me”

During the few days that Ludmila was helping out at the clinic, there was a steady stream of visitors.

A number of familiar faces in the East, such as brothel keepers and mafia bosses, came to say hello.

The trust and information they gave would certainly be more than worth the price.

“So thank you for your help, Ludmila. Thanks to you and Mary, we’re going to get through this.”

Shizuru pats Mary on the head and says with a smile.

Although it may be a bit of lip service, considering that he showed no signs of fatigue after a hard day’s work, she hoped she had helped.

With a faint smile, Ludmila brushed back her long hair.

“It’s ……. Well, as long as it’s worth the trouble of having every female patient I see pester me about my relationship with you, I’m fine.”

“I’m really sorry about that…….”

After a short chat, the three of them end their break.

Shizuru gently turned on his heel with the cup of coffee he had finished drinking.

“Well, I’ll go and prepare the medicine for cold. Call me if you need anything.”

“Okay. If it’s just a minor injury or something, I’ll take care of it.”

Shizuru retreated to the back of the room and Mary followed him.

Ludmila sat down on a chair and stretched out, slightly after the quiet sound of the door closing.

It was only a short time later that the doorbell rang in the clinic for the umpteenth time today alone.

“As I was saying……the next patient is……”

Ludmila had only received a bit of medical training from Shizuru, but she was doing well, her treatment was a bit far from amateur and thankfully she didn’t look like one.

Shizuru was not wrong when he said that appearance was important.

“Come in”

Calling out a little louder, so that they could hear her through the door.

A few moments later, the doorknob was twisted open.

“—-There. I thought his voice sounded strange, but it turns out it’s just a stranger.”

A voice with a strange accent brushed against her ear.

The first person to enter was a slender figure, about the same height as Shizuru.

Pale grey hair, fox-like narrow eyes.

He was dressed in clothing rarely seen in the kingdom – a crimson haori* pulled over the shoulders of his montsuki hakama*, an unusual look.

And the saber on his waist looked out of place in such an outfit.

Ludmila was slightly suspicious of the strange visitor.

“……!?”

But then she noticed something that made her eyes widen.

“Hey, young lady. I’m here on an errand for Captain Rosa.”

The coat of arms embroidered on the back of the haori and on the breast of the kimono.

Anyone who was brought up in the kingdom would recognize it, even Ludmila, a mark of royal origin that she had had the opportunity to see many times.

“Shizuru-sensei, are you there?”

The Second Order of the King’s Guard of Si Levant, known as the East Blood Knights.

It was a sign that he was a part of it.