The eccentric doctor never makes a misdiagnosis!

Page 25

Haida narrowed her eyes, inexplicably feeling as if she had said the same words not long ago...

"can."

She didn't haggle; instead, she readily agreed. After all, Fran was probably the only person who could take her away from here right now.

"Alright, from now on, Sister Haida's medical services will be free. After all, you are a nurse at the Fog Street Clinic. As for the remuneration..."

Fran raised her eyebrows and pondered for a while, seemingly finding it difficult to make a decision. It took her some time to finally make up her mind.

“I will choose one of my collections for you.”

"Collection?" Haida clearly didn't understand what Fran's collection represented.

"I haven't decided on a specific gift yet. But please stay tuned, I have quite a knack for choosing gifts..."

Fran's troubled expression as he considered the reward vanished in an instant, before he resumed his smile.

"Today's patients should be quite interesting... It's rare to find cases that can be described as 'severely advanced.' As for the basics of the border region, I'll briefly explain them to you on the way."

Haida nodded, then asked, "But how long will we stay here? The Red Cup attack has probably only just begun... but we probably won't make it in time now."

In her understanding, it wouldn't be surprising if such a difficult and lengthy medical visit lasted for ten days or half a month... By the time she returned to Norrington, the attack would have long been over.

“出诊的时间会比你想象的还长，但好消息是……你不会错腫ｚhuaｎQＵＮ：94’8々∵2｝…433｝¤0∈；5过这场袭击。无论我们于此滞留于此多久，薇薇安那边也只会过去十分钟。”

Fran patiently explained the rules and procedures for making house calls.

"You can interpret it as a difference in the flow of time, or you can think of it as a pre-set rule. It doesn't matter, because time is an illusion."

"If it's only ten minutes... then it certainly won't delay anything."

Heda nodded slightly. Although she didn't understand the meaning of Fran's last sentence, the meaning of the first half of her sentence was very clear.

"Now, let's begin this house call..."

Chapter Twenty-Five: Patient Development (Old Man's Ring)

"The people I've met so far are all crazy. Although they still have the ability to speak, they can't communicate..."

Heda sat by a crackling campfire, surrounded by the corpses of several Gryk soldiers.

They had only one or two very deep knife wounds, both in the unarmored throat, a fatal spot. Crimson blood dripped slowly, viscous and sluggish, along the golden tree and beast patterns on their armor.

"And the civilization itself seems to be on the verge of destruction, as if it has experienced some kind of apocalyptic event?"

She wiped the wooden-handled folding knife clean and looked up at the towering yet dilapidated city walls and bridge towers in the distance.

These magnificent wonders from the past are so vast that just standing at a distance and gazing at them makes one feel insignificant.

"In fact, the gods here have not yet gone into hiding. If we go to certain special places... we can encounter 'demigods' walking on the earth."

Fran leisurely roasted a few marshmallows over the campfire, humming an unknown, light tune, as if enjoying a spring outing.

When the cotton candy in her hand started to sizzle and turned slightly brown, she handed one of them to Haida.

"Is this so..."

Haida took the cotton candy skewered on the tree branch, and somewhat absentmindedly put one into her mouth, feeling the hot and sweet, dense texture gradually melt in her mouth.

Although she had come to understand and accept the situation, she still felt somewhat surreal. There was nothing she could do about it; after all, it was her first time…

Fran pinched a piece of the toasted marshmallow and put it in his mouth along with his fingertip.

"Our purpose on this trip is not to save the world or do anything great. It's just a house call... to simply find the patient, cure her illness, and then leave."

"This world is terminally ill, but those who can heal it are not you or me, as outsiders. Let the destined ones handle the matter of confronting the gods."

Fran's speech was somewhat unclear. She blew on her slightly reddened fingertips, as if they had been heated too much.

"Ah."

Heda had a very clear understanding of her own position. She knew how insignificant human power was compared to those vast, colossal figures that hung in the sky... and naturally she wouldn't try to do anything beyond her capabilities.

"But since this is a 'house call,' shouldn't we find the patient first?"

She was genuinely curious about where this relaxed and leisurely picnic atmosphere came from. And why Fran could so nonchalantly roast marshmallows amidst several corpses…

"She was squatting next to that dilapidated church."

Fran pointed to a woman in the distance who was hiding in a corner of the church with her hands wrapped around her knees.

She wore a white leather hood, and her robes were neat and had a certain academic feel, resembling those of a medieval scholar. In her hand, she held a cane inlaid with turquoise.

This is a "stargazer".

Haida squinted; she hadn't even noticed that someone was hiding there.

After all, she had just been surrounded by several nearly crazed soldiers, and the girl's presence was rather weak... If Dr. Fran hadn't specifically pointed it out, she would have thought that the girl in the shadows was a mushroom.

"Alright, let's begin the consultation. First, let's quickly assess the patient's condition..."

Fran stood up from the campfire and walked toward the church, soon arriving at the faded one named "Ivennie".

"Hello, dear patient, Miss Four, good day. Can you hear me?"

Fran bent down and greeted her kindly and gently.

The system describes the symptoms as "dissociation," which, literally, should be a mental illness that leads to the dissolution of self-awareness.

It is mostly a stress response under some extreme situation, and the principle is similar to "nihilistic delusions" in psychology.

"Ah, hello."

Ivani seemed startled by the sudden sound, then looked up at Fran somewhat timidly. But she returned Fran's greeting... and her tone and facial expression were no different from a normal person's.

"Your white coat gives me a sense of familiarity. Seeing you is like returning to the place where I lived before I came to this border region."

"Huh? You can talk?"

Fran leaned back slightly, scrutinizing Ivanie, who appeared no different from anyone else, her amber eyes filled with disbelief. In her mind, a patient in the severe late stages of the disease shouldn't be able to speak.

Haida, standing to the side, was completely bewildered... Wasn't it you who went up to greet them first? Why did you seem surprised after they responded?

"Hey, but is it strange that I can talk? I'm just... a little hesitant to leave here."

Evonne slowly stood up, then swayed slightly, seemingly due to low blood pressure from squatting for so long.

"Your complexion doesn't look very healthy... You probably haven't been eating normally for a while, so try to get some sugar first."

Fran remained puzzled, but at the same time she noticed that Evian seemed to have symptoms of hypoglycemia and malnutrition.

She helped Evangeline up and took out a slightly cooled roasted marshmallow, stuffing it into her mouth.

"So sweet, so hot... Thank you." Evonne chewed gently and swallowed, seemingly not wary of being fed by a stranger.

"Strange, she doesn't seem to have any mental issues. She doesn't appear to have a mental illness..."

Fran took out her brass pocket watch, casually checked the time, and then a mental beam silently struck Ivani... She wasn't trying to give Ivani any hints, but rather conducting a thorough mental test.

The conclusion is that her personality is intact and there are no defects in her consciousness. The person before us is psychologically healthy...

"Let's go inside the church and sit for a while. Although there's not much difference between the inside and outside... it's always cleaner with tiled floors."

Seeing that Fran was still deep in thought, Evian was somewhat puzzled, but she still took the initiative to extend an invitation to her.

“Okay,” Fran agreed.

Since directly analyzing the mind was ineffective, she could only try to understand the cause of the other person's illness through the most basic means... namely, observation, listening, questioning, and palpation, as well as "talking".

-

Inside the church in Islay.

Several clean cushions, showing signs of washing, were placed beside the stone campfire. The almost completely broken roof also showed some signs of repair; although still dilapidated and drafty, it could barely keep out the wind and rain.

There are some signs of life here, suggesting that Evonne lived here for some time.

After a brief self-introduction, Evonne gained a basic understanding of Fran and her companion's identities. She also became more lively than before.

“Dr. Fran, could you tell me more about Norlington? My hometown is very similar to yours…”

"of course can."

Fran took a bag of glucose from his medicine box and handed it to Evian, gesturing for her to drink it. He then began to recount some interesting anecdotes about Norrington.

This girl named Ivani is essentially a modern person. Fran subtly mentions the concept of "players" and Norrington's technological advancements several times, which she understands perfectly. In layman's terms, she is a "time traveler."

But her soul has already been reshaped by the border region, so in another sense... she is also an indigenous person.

Of course, Fran knew this from the beginning, because it was mentioned in the medical records.

Her biggest problem now is... Evonne is too normal!

The pendulum clock showed no problems, and the other person did not exhibit any psychological symptoms that could be described as "severe late-stage" from the conversation. Her emotions were vibrant; she didn't seem like someone on the verge of personality dissipation.

After Fran finished telling Norrington's story, he couldn't help but sigh in contemplation.

"Such a difficult patient, and a rare and complicated one at that...maybe this house call will bring me a pleasant surprise."

She had encountered genuine mental patients. One of them left a particularly deep impression on her... She was a woman in her thirties, clearly past her prime, yet she clung to her father, unwilling to leave his side for even a moment. She even hid behind him like a little girl.

Is it ridiculous? No, please don't make such a rash statement.

For her, her father was the "anchor" that kept her mentally stable in this world. Once she was away from him, she would fall from this world... straight into the cold and desperate darkness. Like falling into a lightless abyss, she would be so lonely that she would almost suffocate.

To avoid drowning... all she could do was hold tightly to her father's outstretched hand.

Therefore, Ivanie in front of us looks perfectly normal. She doesn't deserve the term "severe late stage" at all.

Heda listened quietly to their conversation, as still as a statue. She knew Dr. Fran's treatment had already begun, so she naturally wouldn't interrupt. At this moment, remaining silent as a listener was sufficient.

"Evennie, do you miss your hometown?" Fran began to change the angle of the question.

“Yes, I miss my family and the world I used to live in. Sometimes I want to become stronger, to ascend the throne step by step according to the mission of the Faded Ones and the light of their blessing. But I don’t dare to take that first step, and can only stay in the Church of Elektra…”

Evian scratched her cheek a little embarrassedly. Fran then leaned closer and revealed his true purpose.

“What if I could help you? Although I don’t know how far you can go... it would certainly be better than what you are now, at least you won’t starve to death in the church.”

"You're willing to help me? But... why? We've only just met..."

Evangeline was flattered and glanced at Fran from time to time, seemingly afraid that Fran had ulterior motives, and also a little worried that Fran would change her mind.

"Don't worry, there's nothing on you that I want. Otherwise, wouldn't it be much faster to just take action? I'm helping you simply because I'm a morally upright and kind-hearted citizen... I can't bear to see newcomers and those who have faded from the limelight suffer."

Fran raised an eyebrow, her tone warm and gentle, as if reuniting with an old friend, or like a kind elder chatting with a young person.

"Or would you rather remain in the church like a mushroom, until you rot?"

"...Then I'll have to trouble you, Dr. Fran."

Soon, Evonne made up her mind.

……

"But... I'm a stargazer, do I really need to learn these things, mage?"

Evonne was following Sister Heda's instructions, wielding two wooden-handled folding knives. Her movements were clumsy and stiff, indicating she was a complete beginner.

However, as a descendant of warriors, the Faded One quickly mastered these movements.

“My dear Miss Evonne…you must learn magic and martial arts, only then can you be considered well-rounded.”

Looking at Ivenne, who was drenched in sweat, Qi Fulan felt a strange smile creep onto her lips. Her unhealthy body definitely needed some exercise. Of course, too much of anything is bad, and everything had to be done gradually.

"Don't get distracted, your movements are starting to lose accuracy. You can slow down a bit," Haida said, constantly correcting Ivani's movements.

What Lu taught Ivenne was the basic weapon-based combat technique of the Hunters. Although it wasn't complicated, it was certainly practical enough. Every strike was aimed at killing the opponent as much as possible.

Samhaida felt something was off. Fran had hired her as a "head nurse," yet the first thing she did was teach others how to fight with weapons…

She looked at Ivanie, who was becoming increasingly skilled, and then turned to look at Fran behind her.

"Dr. Fran, since Miss Ivanne is a spellcaster, in what form does the 'secret art' of the border region exist?"

"Radiant Stone Magic. It is the power of the stars... beautiful, dangerous, and forbidden. Yet countless people are irresistibly drawn to it. There's no way around it; the yearning for the stars is human instinct."

As he spoke, Fran nimbly moved in front of Ivyne, causing her to stop what she was doing.

“Evonne, you’ve met your exercise goal for today, you can rest now. But before that… show Sister Heda the form of ‘magic’.”

“Hmm.” Ivanni handed the two folding knives back to Haida, then took out her cane.

With a moment's concentration, she unleashed a "Radiant Stone Shard" at the open space outside the door. The azure emblem composed of cuckoos, books, and steps shimmered, and a radiant stardust emerged from it.

The stardust trailed a long tail and flew more than twenty meters straight ahead before slowly dissipating, turning into scattered specks of light.

"Is this magic originating from the stars...? It's beautiful."