The eccentric doctor never makes a misdiagnosis!

Page 175

But Haida's grey-chestnut eyes narrowed slightly, revealing a hint of realization. She understood Fran's intention.

"Dr. Fran, you mean... to set up 'Mist in the Door' at the Dream Flower Hotel?"

"correct."

Fran snapped his fingers slightly, as if approving of the nun's answer.

"A secluded place, spiritual, and 'not existing in reality.' Room 408 of this hotel perfectly meets all of these requirements, doesn't it?"

“That is indeed the case,” Haida replied.

In fact, the nun didn't care much about the accommodation conditions.

During one protracted hunt, she constantly changed her residence and identity to conceal her whereabouts, and even camped in the wilderness for nearly half a month. For her, any place to stay was enough.

"It's getting late, you should all get some rest. I can handle this myself."

As he spoke, Fran took out a brass pocket watch from his sleeve and glanced at the time.

It's 22 PM now, and the night is deep.

At the same time, her sudden movement made Vivian pause for a moment. ［—'四♂∑liu≡『

Before each hypnosis session, the doctor would silently take out this pocket watch. Then, the unfortunate subjects would quietly find themselves in a state of complete subjugation…

Although she was just checking the time, it still gave off a vague sense of unease.

At the same time, Vivian inexplicably longed for this skill. If she could master it... wouldn't interrogating criminals be a piece of cake?

"Oh?"

Fran raised his eyebrows slightly and noticed that Vivian was looking at her pocket watch.

"Don't be afraid, Vivian, relax. I don't have the habit of hypnotizing people around me... and if I really wanted to hypnotize you, you wouldn't even notice me taking out the pocket watch."

"Ah, no..."

Seeing that Dr. Fran had noticed her thoughts, Vivian immediately shook her head, somewhat awkwardly denying it.

"I'm just... curious. If this skill could be used for information gathering and interrogation, it would be of great help."

"Yeah...that's right."

Fran understood her thoughts. However, hypnosis and inducing madness in others fell under the Moth's domain. Without special relics, the Mystic Hunter would find it difficult to achieve similar effects.

"After you've finished studying those two books, I can teach you some general psychology. But reaching my level will be very difficult, you know?"

"Okay, okay. I'll speed up my studies..."

Vivian could sense that the doctor seemed to have an inexplicable passion for spreading knowledge. As long as she believed you could bear the weight of that knowledge, she would not hesitate to teach you.

Fran walked to the bedside, picked up his thick-soled leather shoes, along with the black velvet socks inside, and began to put them on.

I should have known better than to take my shoes and socks off. I have to put them back on in the dream, and I have to put them back on again in reality…

"I'll go set up the ceremony first."

"This process will take a little over 8 minutes. Just lock the seven doors normally; they don't need to wait for me. They'll open themselves when I get back tonight."

After leaving a message, she took the doctor's coat from the coat rack, put it on, and then picked up her medicine box and left the room.

In fact, Haida intended to accompany them.

Vivian might be a little sleepy, but she was far from being tired.

Fran didn't bring Heda with her mainly because Heda had been injured in the battle with the girl in the mirror and needed to rest.

Sometimes Haida would feel inexplicably worried about Fran acting alone, but upon reflection, she couldn't help but feel that her worries were unnecessary.

After all, this doctor is far superior to me; I should be worrying about the "patients" she chose...

With this in mind, she banished the distracting thoughts that had arisen, took out the Ashes Bible, "Proverbs and Silence," and began to read it.

-

Fran strolled along the corridor of the Dream Flower Hotel, his steps light and his expression relaxed.

It looks like they're taking a walk after dinner.

"What a tiring yet fulfilling day. It seems that even wanting a vacation isn't so easy; this is what it's like to be a doctor... But I did gain some insights this time."

Luara obtained the fragments of the Stag Gate, Karmion's eyeball, and a branch clinic that could house the Azure Mist.

Heda and Vivian seem to have gained nothing, to the point that they have been reduced to mere laborers.

Especially Heda. This nun put in the most effort when facing the girl in the mirror, and was even injured in the process.

But that was all the valuable items in Karmion's room; each person took what they needed, and none of these items were usable by Haida.

There's no other way, I'll just have to give her more employee subsidies from now on...

Arriving at the location of room 408, there was only an empty wall. Fran tapped lightly with his knuckles, and the solid, dull sound of concrete echoed from the wall.

"Solid. Perhaps it was originally swollen and had no rooms... or perhaps it originally had rooms, but was later recast with concrete."

Of course, the actual state of the room doesn't affect her ritual setup. The Fog Street itself doesn't exist in reality; it simply needs a medium to connect to it.

Fran took a small, mirror-sharp scalpel from his medicine box, cut open his fingertip, and began to draw a ritual array with his blood.

"Doors, riddles, keys. The twilight that shrouds the end never ceases. Stars entwine like eyes, and the dimness becomes thought."

"I wish to bear witness."

"I wish to explore."

"I wish to understand it."

After the last part of the prayer was recited, the ritual array covering most of the wall gradually began to operate. The originally thick, crimson blood rose like mist, transforming into a hazy, grayish-white aura surrounding Fran.

-

-

December's days are like walking on thin ice; do you think we can make it to the end?

Chapter Sixty-Eight: Piles and Arrows

As the gray mist gathered and then dissipated, Room 408 of the Dream Flower Hotel was transformed into part of the Fog Street Clinic.

Or rather... a branch.

However, Fran was not in good condition at the moment. She had not only consumed a lot of her spiritual energy, but also lost a lot of blood. As a result, she appeared weak and sickly.

"It's been a long time since I've used this ritual, so I'm a bit rusty."

She raised her hand and rubbed her eyes, trying to soothe the fatigue on her spiritual level.

Throughout the erection ceremony, Fran carried the pendulum bell, using its mental disturbance capabilities to cover an area around him. After all, the Dream Flower Hotel was doing brisk business, with guests and waiters frequently passing by.

If someone saw me drawing a ritual array with my blood here, they'd probably think I was a dangerous person... It wouldn't be a good impression. I'm a proper doctor, the kind who values ​​my reputation highly.

"Let's go back to the clinic and check on Sigrid first; her casting research should have made some progress."

As he spoke, Fran's slender figure was gradually enveloped by the gray mist until he completely disappeared.

Stepping into the misty realm, the surrounding scenery gradually became familiar. It was no longer the lavishly decorated Dream Flower Hotel, but a wide, deserted street. The streetlights cast a hazy glow in the twilight, and moths swirled and danced around it. Si

But upon closer inspection, one would find that there are no real moths around the lamplight. Those tiny, grayish objects seem to be merely elusive shadows.

She appeared in front of a clinic that was noticeably smaller. 4

This branch was built using room 408 as its base. However, it hasn't been renovated or furnished yet; it's essentially a bare shell. While it's barely habitable, it's rather shabby.

Because Foy is separated from Norrington by a vast ocean, she still needs to walk a bit further to get back to her original Fog Street clinic.

Furthermore, currently only Fran can travel this route. 6

If anyone else tries to walk alone from the Foy branch to the Norrington main store, they will likely end up completely lost in the fog... The lucky ones might find themselves somewhere in either of the two cities.

Those who are unlucky will fall directly from the Fog Street into the Abyss.

Fran raised his neck slightly and glanced at the sky.

"Has it stopped snowing?"

Although a heavy, gloomy cloud still hung over the area, the wind was not as biting as it had been a few days ago. Moreover, the snow on the streets seemed to have melted away completely.

Plum month has arrived, and winter in Norrington is officially over. However, the chill that accumulated over the previous months still lingers.

"Sigrid, are you home?"

Before arriving at the Foggy Street Clinic, Fran pushed open the door and went inside. Since the doctor wasn't there, Sigrid had turned the wooden sign hanging on the doorknob to the "Closed" side.

"Dr. Fran?"

Sigrid looked at Fran, who had stepped into the house, with some surprise.

The voyage from Norrington to Foy Harbour in Golmouth takes a full two weeks, and judging by the timeline, she should have only just disembarked. How did she end up back at the clinic?

Shouldn't you be in Golmouth right now?

Although Sigrid guessed that Fran had probably returned to Fog City through some special method, she was still quite curious about it.

“I opened a temporary branch in Golmouth. Through there, I can return to Fog Street.”

Fran explained gently, then sat back down on the velvet sofa in the main hall.

Lately, she's been finding deer hoof prints on the spot on her sofa where she most often sits. When it comes to sleeping, Luyara is truly gifted; even sleepwalking, she always manages to find the most comfortable position.

"Dr. Fran, you don't seem to be feeling well... Are you injured?"

Sigrid took Fran's hand, which had black stitches, in her hands and felt a slight chill on his skin.

This is not normal.

The temperature in Foy is higher than in Norrington, so it shouldn't be so easy to catch a cold. Besides, it's impossible for this doctor to have "caught a cold."

"I encountered a girl in the mirror at the hotel, which drained a lot of my spiritual energy. Also, the ritual for setting up the branch was quite strenuous."

Qi said, "I'm not really injured, I just need to rest for a while."

To avoid worrying Sigrid, Fran explained the situation to her.

The Girl in Nine Mirrors?

As a highly talented craftswoman, Sigrid had seen descriptions of this mythical creature while reading the secret histories of the Order.

Those who have passed the Blade Rank Trial carry a chilling aura that penetrates to the bone, and a sharpness that draws blood at the touch… Ancient, and dangerous. Legend has it that the deity they serve is one of the many who emerged from the split of the primordial sun.

Sigrid was initially worried, but when she thought about how Dr. Fran had even encountered the remains of an ancient banyan tree from the Dust Order era, as well as wood-boring insects like the Time Aphids, when he went to explore the ruins, she gradually felt relieved.

"It seems you encounter these strange things every time you make a house call. Is being a doctor really such a dangerous profession?"

"Obviously, this is only my situation..."

Fran then corrected her views on doctors.

During their conversation, Sigrid took Fran's hand in hers and breathed a warm breath into her palm.

Back when she was still with the Suncasting Order, a senior craftswoman often did this to herself in winter. It seemed to warm her icy fingers again.

Fran moved his fingers and indeed felt a faint warmth begin to flow.

If someone else were to exhale, it would likely be nothing more than a form of reassurance that has no real effect.

But Sigrid is able to genuinely transmit warm spirituality. As one of the fragments of the primordial sun, she possesses certain divine qualities, and can bestow simple "blessings" with just a thought or action.

"I'm rather curious, what would happen if that girl in the mirror saw you?"

At this point, she couldn't help but feel a little regretful. If she hadn't entrusted the task of developing the casting technology to Sigrid, she probably would have come along during this dream journey as well.

The girl in the mirror serves a deity who is a former self of the Primordial Sun, or rather, a "face." Sigrid, on the other hand, is one of the fragments of the Primordial Sun. If the two were to meet face-to-face... I really want to see what expression the girl in the mirror would have.

"However, I'm not very good at fighting... I guess I can only become a blade and try to help Sister Haida?"

Sigrid imagined it from her own perspective, but clearly, she didn't understand what Fran was curious about.

"By the way, Dr. Fran, I have finished casting the 'Composite Pile Crossbow'... Although I encountered some difficulties in the process, Ms. Tinuville gave me a lot of help."

"Tinuville?"

This was an unfamiliar name. However, Sifrem quickly realized that it was the name Sigrid had given the AI.

"It seems you two get along well." Fran also showed some interest in this AI.

Generally, ship AI databases from the Dark Ages contain complete sets of STCs, but most are lost over time and through the erosion of chaos. It's unclear how many of these remain for this one…

"However, I hope you maintain a basic level of vigilance towards 'Tinuvel.' She can be a friend, a tool, or an unpredictable danger. You must decide for yourself how to deal with her..."