Chapter 74: Applying Medicine

......

Salser stared blankly at her for a long time, so much so that he didn't even notice the giant crow had flown away. He casually pulled open Caren's arm—her strength was barely there, only a tad stronger than a child's.

Caren glanced at her fair wrist being held, then nonchalantly raised her head while her gaze drifting back to his face, "...You look quite displeased. Are you going to resort to violence to force me into submission?"

"Stay calm, think about your wife and children, uncle!" the little girl said earnestly, then switched to another expression, "Oh, and I haven't told you my name yet. I'm Akko—Ako Kagari. My dream is to become a mage—or maybe it's more like my destiny, huh? Yes, my destiny is to become a great mage in the future!"

This little brat sure talks a lot, Salser frowned. He was starting to get a bit impatient.

Caren watched him let go of her hand, but she didn't show any reaction.

She turned around, rummaged through the medicine cabinet in the infirmary for a while, and came back with a large jar of ointment in her white gloves. She removed the jar's stopper, paused for a moment, and a pungent smell wafted out.

"Get me some ethyl alcohol and medical swabs," the woman said to him, her voice tinged with the scent of disinfectant.

"Hm." Salser's fingertips glowed white, and with a casual wave, he drew a thin line of light. The light swirled in the air, forming a cobra with colored glass scales that landed on the ground.

The snake, with ill intent, opened its fangs towards Caren, hissed, and flicked its tongue before slithering towards the cabinet.

"Oh!" Akko leaned in again, "A magical lifeform? This is the first time I've seen one in person, although I'm really scared of snakes, but this one looks so beautiful! Like a colored glass handicraft, wait... this snake won't bite like that animated spell, will it?"

"You have been bitten before?" Salser asked her, noticing her still swollen eyes.

"Mm-hm, my roommate is a very unfriendly girl named Sucy!" she nodded to herself, her expression showing her displeasure, "My eyes got hurt because she poured some strange liquid on my doll. Do you think it's because I didn't express my friendliness properly? Maybe she's just too shy, because as roommates, we should get along well, so after this, I'm going to..."

The noisy chatter was like a hundred ducks squawking in his ears. Salser looked down at her for a moment, then placed a bottle of potion in her hand.

The girl's incessant chatter stopped as she widened her eyes, bringing her face close to the bottle, "Oh! What's this, a magical potion that can make me fly?"

"Colorless and odorless, adding a bit to water can make the drinker experience extreme spiciness," Salser said, "If you want to get revenge on someone, mix this into her drink."

"Eh—what?" She froze, blinking unconsciously.

"Also, those two are not my wife and child, be more careful with your words next time," Salser said, no longer paying attention to her.

The cobra slithered out of the cabinet, its tail wrapped around a bottle of ethyl alcohol and a packet of cotton swabs.

"This..." Salser weighed the alcohol bottle, gave it a casual shake, then handed it over, "Heh—not bad, Sister."

Something's off with this bottle of ethyl alcohol.

Caren appeared unfazed. "It's indeed quite good. I added a few special ingredients myself, though it might be more painful, the results are better." She accepted the alcohol and cotton swabs, gesturing for Akko, who was still fiddling with the potion, to sit back down. "I'll apply some medicine and use a simple healing spell, and you'll be good as new after a good night's sleep."

"What else have you concocted?" Salser asked, watching her apply the medicine to the little girl.

"If I answer your question, can you hide that malice in your eyes?" Caren tilted her head to glance at him.

"...I can give it a try."

"From your words, I can sense a bit of sincerity in you, unlike that cunning black hag," Caren muttered to herself, "To put it simply, I've concocted my own ethyl alcohol, my own ointment, my own disinfectant, and my own tincture—more or less, that's it." She had the ointment and alcohol ready on the table, picked them up, and continued, "Help me out here, hold this little girl steady, and cover her mouth so she doesn't scream, or I might slip and poke her eye."

"No way! I've heard from other teachers that you, Miss Caren, are the most renowned surgeon here, known for saving workers on the brink of death from gas explosions, and even city guards come here for treatment! How could you possibly—mmph, mmph!"

Salser swiftly covered her mouth with one hand and pressed the other against her head. He had been itching to do that for a while.

"Don't you keep any anesthetics here?" he asked casually.

"Anesthetics can cause nerve damage."

"I have a feeling that is not what you really believe."

"..." Caren replied, "Some thoughts are better kept to oneself. Regardless of what we might think privately, it's important to speak in a more respectable manner. Not everyone is as skilled as you are at prying into others' private matters."

The restrained Akko seemed to have given up struggling, merely watching the approaching cotton swab with anxious whimpers.

"As you can see, these young kids aren't like adults; they don't usually cooperate well," Caren said, unperturbed as she applied her homemade ethyl alcohol around the swollen area of Akko's eye,  causing her tears to stream down—the liquid was quite simulating to the eyes, "Early this morning, a man got stabbed in the gut, supposedly over a love rivalry for the daughter of a council member. He cried a lot and kept squirming and kicking, so I just strapped him to the bed with a belt and went ahead with the operation to prevent any life-threatening delays."

She set down the alcohol-soaked cotton swab, removed her gloves, and dipped her clean, fair fingertips into the ointment. "The troublesome part was," Caren continued, "there were fabric fragments in his stomach, and it took a long time to get them out, along with his prolonged screams of pain."

Caren extended her index finger, carefully applying the ointment around the edges of Akko's eye socket, "Hold her tighter, this ointment can be quite strong."

"Mmmph, mmmph!"

Akko began to writhe violently, her legs kicking frantically, and her tears streamed down even more intensely, almost kicking Caren. Caren had to stand up and lean towards Salser's side to continue applying the medicine.

Salser continued to hold her down with an expressionless face, observing the human anatomy diagrams around and the peculiar potions and instruments in the cabinets. Meanwhile, Caren skillfully tended to the swelling and cuts. Akko whimpered, her gaze drifting from the table to her knees and back. Finally, the soft sound of a cotton swab hitting a tray was heard, and after the faint glow of a healing spell flickered and faded, Caren nodded, "You can let her go now."

Salser released his grip.

"It hurts! My eyes hurt! It's even more painful now!"

"You have quite the sadistic streak," he remarked.

"You talk too much, it might lead others to misunderstand," she said calmly, her eyes indifferent. She was slender and petite, with white curly hair and a strangely beautiful face, but those eyes... despite being well-hidden, Salser could still see a deep malice—a strong malice towards everyone. She spoke softly, "This is necessary pain, it teaches them to be more careful next time."

Caren held her chin and leaned in to examine her for a while—noticing Akko's cheeks turning red with embarrassment, she nodded.

"Your eyes are fine now, just get a good night's sleep and wash your face when you wake up," Caren said to her, then turned to him, "Now, come with me to ask for a leave, and then we'll go find that Inquisitor to discuss the next steps."

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