The eccentric doctor never makes a misdiagnosis!

Page 41

“…That’s right.”

A hint of embarrassment appeared on Malz's aged face.

He realized his words would make Anderson seem highly suspicious, but the two had been friends for decades, and he knew Anderson's character well. At this moment, even a few words from him could be his doom.

He no longer wants to lose any more colleagues. But at the same time, he is unwilling to conceal any information, as that would be a desecration and irresponsibility towards the lives of the deceased.

Haida then changed the subject of her inquiry, "So, Mr. Maltz, did you notice anything unusual before that night?"

"No, everything is business as usual."

After pondering for a while, Malz solemnly shook his head, seemingly worried that Haida might doubt the reliability of his statement, and then added something.

“Sister, although I am getting on in years, I have been a librarian for so many years... and I have never once misremembered a book’s borrowing or return. In the past month, nothing particularly noteworthy has happened.”

Looking into Malz's cloudy but sincere eyes, Haida gradually stopped writing the confession with her pen.

"I see."

-

Sigrid's private foundry.

A male detective from the Secret Service humbly led Fran into the room and then explained the situation to her.

"Miss Sigrid is one of the most talented craftsmen in the Sunforge Cult, possessing unparalleled talent in forging and smelting. Before she was even twenty-five, she had mastered more than five Class II mid-level arcane arts of the Sunforge system, and was even able to single-handedly perform large-scale Class II forging rituals."

The agent then sighed with a hint of regret and continued, "She seems to be experiencing some kind of post-traumatic stress disorder, to the point that she can't respond no matter how we ask her questions."

"Coincidentally, you are a medical professional within our unofficial staff, and you have Sister Haida's recommendation. Therefore, we would like to ask you to help us with our routine inquiry work. What are your thoughts?"

"It would be an honor. However, the salary this time is..." zero.

Upon hearing about the new patient, Fran clasped his hands together slightly, a gleam of excited excitement flashing in his amber eyes.

Not only did she not care that she was hired as a "coroner," but it seemed that even the Hunter Order didn't care about that...

"The base salary is 300 Norrington standard silver coins, but since you were accidentally caught up in this incident, we will provide an additional allowance after the work is completed."

"Hmm...a fair price, we'll have a very pleasant cooperation."

Fran smiled faintly, seemingly quite satisfied with the offer.

After receiving a reply, the Secret Service agent immediately stood aside, taking out a notebook and pen to record their conversation. While the Secret Service agents tried to be friendly to Fran, they wouldn't actually leave her alone in a room with an important witness.

"Good day, dear Miss Sigrid. Can you hear me?"

Fran looked around the foundry with an admiring air, then came to Sigrid, who was shivering under the covers.

"Woo...Woo..."

The only response she received was a dry, painful sob and a few fragmented, dreamlike murmurs.

It was early autumn in July, and the temperature was already unbearably hot, but the perceived temperature inside the Sunforge Tower was even higher. Yet, Sigrid was pale, her muscles trembling uncontrollably, like a drowning person who had fallen into an icy abyss.

"Disorder of self-awareness, accompanied by mild delirium and aphasia."

After assessing the condition, Fran leaned close to the other person's constantly moving lips and patiently listened to the indistinct, fragmented words.

"Silence, silence... It's so quiet! So cold, so quiet... How could this be... Not a sound, not a sound at all... Dead, all dead..."

Soon, she discerned from the chaotic, overlapping sounds the word the craftswoman had been whispering and repeating—"quiet."

"...Is it because it's too quiet here? That's easy to solve."

Fran pursed his lips slightly, revealing a faint smile.

She picked up a small but heavy steel hammer from beside the forge, heated a piece of iron until it was red-hot, and began to pound it fiercely on the anvil. The intense and rhythmic metallic clanging instantly reverberated throughout the foundry.

The confidential investigators taking notes nearby narrowed their eyes slightly. Although they didn't understand Fran's intentions, they still diligently recorded her actions.

Sigrid, who was initially filled with panic, heard the familiar knocking sound in her ears. Her disordered breathing gradually calmed down, and her unfocused gaze became focused.

The buzzing of metal clashing, the crackling of coke burning in the furnace, and the howling of the bellows... her spirit, which had fallen into boundless darkness, was slowly returning to reality with these familiar "noises".

"Are you feeling better? Drink some water, there's some medicine here to stabilize your mind."

Fran handed Sigrid a cup of water steaming with hot vapor and a capsule. The artisan was not fully awake and was still somewhat dazed.

She instinctively took the medicine and swallowed it with water. Then she immediately stuck out her tongue and gasped for breath.

"It's so hot! Ah... is it ginger tea?"

The pungent, spicy taste in her mouth instantly sobered her up, completely dispelling the drowsiness she had felt upon waking.

"It's specially made. Besides ginger, it also contains some kind of Sichuan pepper, which is usually used to ward off the cold. But it should also alleviate some of the loneliness on a spiritual level, probably as a placebo effect?"

Fran watched as a glistening bead of sweat trickled down Sigrid's forehead, a smile quietly appearing on his lips.

"Thank you so much... Doctor. May I ask your name?"

"Franc Hesser, external physician and coroner of the Order of the Mystics. Just call me Fran."

Sigrid pulled off the blanket, and as her self-awareness stabilized and the memories of last night gradually became clearer, she frowned and showed a pained expression.

"Dr. Fran, you must already know my name... Will you be presiding over the interrogation regarding yesterday's incident, or will it be the gentleman behind you?"

As she spoke, she looked at the confidential court agent who was leaning against the wall, silently taking notes.

"Of course it was Dr. Fran who came; I was just a recorder."

The detective shrugged modestly, not intending to participate in the conversation. Rather than soothing the person being interrogated, he was more adept at using subtle, ineffable methods to get the tough nuts to talk.

"There's no other way. Although disturbing a weak patient's rest is against my habits, I have to do my job well since I've accepted the job..."

Fran interlaced her fingers, her pale, frosty eyelashes drooping slightly, and looked at Sigrid with a hint of apology.

"Ah, please don't blame yourself, Dr. Fran. I will cooperate with your work... Please begin the interrogation."

Sigrid is a warm and gentle girl. Even though she was on the verge of a mental breakdown due to the huge blow she had suffered before, she still instinctively offered words of comfort when she saw Fran's slightly downcast eyes.

Fran immediately composed himself, his gaze returning to its tranquil state.

"Okay. Now, please recall your movements yesterday before you lost consciousness."

"These past few days I've been stuck on a design bottleneck for several castings, so I've been in the library since I got up this morning, working on the blueprints and the necessary ritual sequences. Even my meals have been brought to me by Mr. Maltz..."

Sigrid was a little embarrassed to talk about her experience of being waited on hand and foot, but at the same time, she felt an unspeakable sadness from the memories, and her voice gradually choked up.

Chapter Forty-Four: Casting the Sun and Forging the Yang

Fran listened patiently and quietly to Sigrid's account, the faint smile in his eyes unchanged as always.

"Alright, Miss Sigrid, I have a general understanding of what happened. You can go and rest for a while to consolidate your still unstable mental state."

"Is this okay?"

Sigrid's eyes widened slightly, looking somewhat surprised. She had thought the doctor would ask more detailed questions.

But Fran didn't seem to care about the questioning; he simply went through the motions without asking any follow-up questions.

The clerk from the Secret Service immediately stepped forward, seemingly about to lead Sigrid to her resting place. But she waved slightly, signaling the clerk to wait a moment.

"...Wouldn't it be a bit hasty to end it like this? Dr. Fran, I respect your medical expertise and believe you haven't been perfunctory in this matter...but I still hope you can be more serious."

Fran naturally wouldn't mind this reasonable suspicion.

"You're overthinking it. Please don't question my professionalism. Even for jobs outside my main job... I will do my best."

Her indifference to the inquiry stemmed solely from the sheer inefficiency of obtaining information from others. She possessed a far faster, more comprehensive, and reliable method…

"Alright, go and rest. Even if we can't solve the problem, won't someone from your Sunforge Order's headquarters come? There's no need to worry."

"Well... then I'll leave it to you all, Mystery Hunters."

Reassured by Fran, Sigrid, though still somewhat uneasy, eventually returned to her room.

At the same time, Silver Hydra brought Haida and Vivian to Sigrid's private forging room.

Silver Hydra tossed aside her long, crimson hair that hung down her neck and walked rather casually to Fran.

"How is it? Is there any way to alleviate the artisan's psychological trauma, Dr. Fran?"

"Of course, it's not difficult. Miss Sigrid has largely recovered. As for her statement, the recorder has a paper file, but there's nothing particularly noteworthy. It's mostly just mundane daily stuff from within the Sunforge Order..."

Fran gently stroked his palm and briefly explained his situation.

"It's similar on our side. Based on the experiences described by the three of them... everything was normal before the unknown disaster occurred."

Silver Feather Hydra rubbed her temples in annoyance. This kind of dangerous and completely unsolved case was the type she hated the most.

The unknown source of "light and heat" could silently evaporate everyone in the entire Tower of the Sun overnight, so who knows if it will happen again unexpectedly today?

"It seems unlikely that we can get any valuable information from the survivors."

She sighed, instinctively took out a cigarette for another one, only to find that her shirt pocket was empty.

"Ms. Silver Feather Hydra, during your routine physical examination this quarter...did the medical report issued by the medical court require you to reduce your blood sampling?"

Fran magically produced a box of expensive women's cigarettes from his hand, showed it briefly, and then handed it back to the still-stunned Silver Hydra.

"Judging from the rhythm of your breathing and some characteristics of your speech, you have some minor lesions in your lungs and bronchi. Therefore, it is best to limit your smoking to one cigarette a day, or better yet, quit altogether."

"...I will be careful."

Seven Silver Hydra had no choice but to regretfully abandon her plan to have another one. At the same time, she couldn't help but narrow her eyes slightly and take another look at Fran.

When exactly did Lu take the cigarette pack out of her coat pocket?

As the head of the Confidential Court, Jiu failed to notice this subtle action so close at hand, which gave her a strange sense of frustration.

After a brief recollection, Silver Hydra still couldn't figure out Fran's method of committing the crime... and could only give up trying to think about it further.

"Wait for the routine patrol agents to return and report their findings. In the meantime, you can also search the Sunforge Tower yourselves to see if anything is missed. I've marked out the areas you're not authorized to explore; remember not to venture too far in."

Since no decisive information can be found in the "testimony," the only way to make a breakthrough is through "evidence."

However, searching for evidence within a secret cult is by no means an easy or pleasant task. Even with permission, this act still carries significant and undeniable risks.

After explaining the specific tasks, Silver Feather Hydra handed over the relevant documents to Haida and then walked towards the outside of the Sun-Casting Tower.

"Manager Silver Feather Hydra, where are you planning to go?"

Haida narrowed her eyes slightly. Naturally, she couldn't let the Silver Feather Hydra leave just like that, so she immediately inquired about her whereabouts.

“One of the three ‘Sun Knights’ from the Attilian Main Temple is very close to Norrington, and he will arrive today. Unfortunately, Alvin asked me and a few other supervisors to handle the reception. I’ll leave this to you, Sister Heda.”

Silver Feather Hydra waved casually, its tall figure gradually disappearing around the corner of the Sunforge Tower corridor.

Haida's eyes narrowed slightly, and she fell silent for a moment.

The Secret Service's ability to slack off is truly astonishing... even the supervisors are no exception.

After a period of waiting, the Secret Service agents who had completed their investigation of the interior of the Sunforge Tower arrived before Haida.

After Silver Hydra left, the highest-ranking person present was her, the "Head Maid" of the Funeral Court, so reports were naturally given to her.

“Sister Haida, we found nothing unusual within the area we have the authority to search… There are no remaining ritual arrays, and all traces of the ‘spirit’ have been erased.”

"I see."

Haida nodded slightly; this situation was not unexpected for her.

If this incident was truly not a "natural disaster" but a "man-made disaster," then the real culprit behind the upheaval of the Sunstone Church branch in a matter of days and nights... would never have left such an oversight.

In this situation of utter confusion, one can either delve deeper into the areas where the Sunforge headquarters does not allow entry, or wait for the messenger to arrive at the tower to take over all matters concerning the branch.

Choosing the former would most likely escalate the conflict between the two orders, while the latter... might cause the Hunter Order to miss out on the truth. She had to consider it carefully.

Fran's amber eyes opened slightly, as if she had suddenly remembered something important. She clenched her fists slightly, then pulled Haida and Vivian towards the direction of the forbidden area.

"By the way, Sister Heda. Before you arrived, I found something interesting in a rather peculiar room... Come with me and take a look? Perhaps it will give you some inspiration."

The Secret Service agent standing nearby keenly sensed what the doctor was about to do, pulled down his hat brim, and left the main hall as if he hadn't seen anything.

"This seems to be non-compliant with regulations."

Heda followed closely behind Fran, hesitated for a moment, and finally spoke those words.

"No. Everything is perfectly reasonable. I won't make mistakes in the contract... nor will I err on any of the terms and conditions."

Dr. Fran led the way at a leisurely pace, explaining his principles of operation.

“I am an external agent of the Hunters, and I will do my best to help you investigate the case without being bound by your internal laws. Moreover, I am the first eyewitness to this incident, and it was purely accidental that I entered those prohibited areas.”

"As for Sister Haida, you were brought into the forbidden area by me without your knowledge. It was all just a beautiful misunderstanding."

"That's definitely Dr. Fran's style..."