The Healing Solaris Cleric

Chapter 108: Clinic of the Cursed Witch (2)

Kai clapped his hands, switching up the atmosphere, then packed up his stall and went into the clinic.

“Ayana, what I need right now is a list of customers who want to eat that high-class steak. Do you have any helpful resources?”

“Umm... So you need a list of patients, right?”

“That's right. Especially those living on the outskirts of the city... those who can’t visit the clinic often.”

“Oh, if that's the case, then my dad definitely kept those records here somewhere...”

Ayana hurriedly ran into the study, and soon grunting sounds were heard.

“Do you need some help?”

“No! I’ve got it!”

Ayana wobbled out of the study with a mountain of thick books stacked high. The books were piled so high they completely obstructed her view!

Kai, surprised by the enormous amount, asked, “Is all of this...?”

“Yes. These are the lists of patients who have visited our clinic even once. My mom and dad also used to visit patients to deliver medicine sometimes, and those addresses are listed here too.”

“...I see.”

From the cold, dusty books, he felt the warm hearts of the couple who cared for their patients.

How dare they falsely accuse such people of being a witch?

With an amused expression, Kai smiled and complemented, “Well done, Ayana. This list will surely help clear your parents’ names.”

“R-really?”

“Of course. But I’ll need your help with this. Can you do that?”

“Just tell me what to do! It’s my job, after all!” Ayana’s eyes sparkled with determination.

“First, there are many terms like the names of herbs and medicine that I don’t know. And whenever I ask about a patient’s disease or condition, you need to help me out.”

“Okay!”

The two piled the thick books on the old desk in the clinic and began their research.

There are a lot of patients.

Kai stretched his neck, back, and shoulders to prepare for the hours of sitting ahead.

“Let’s get started then, shall we?”

Kai’s hands swiftly began flipping through the pages.

It’s really well organized.

The couple had written down everything they knew about their patients. Where they were mainly hurting, what medications had been prescribed and how many times, their home addresses, habits, and even family relationships!

In terms of content, it was more like information one would find from an information guild rather than a clinic.

“Ayana. What are the effects of this mint asio and clamile?”

“Mint asio has pain-relieving effects, and clamile is...”

They looked like students studying together in the library during exam season!

Kai and Ayana maintained their focus for eight hours, reading every book.

Thud.

As they closed the last book, their eyes looked hollow with dark circles beneath them. Anyone could tell they were exhausted.

However, there was an undeniable smile on their faces.

“We’ll start the rounds for the mobile clinic tomorrow morning. Is there anything we need to prepare?”

“Well, that is...” Ayana parted her lips, wanting to say something but unable to find the words.

“If there’s anything you need, just tell me. I’ll get whatever you need if I can.”

“I-I want to make some medicine, but the clinic is out of medicinal ingredients...”

“Ingredients? Now that you mention it...”

Kai glanced around the clinic.

The smell was terrible when I first came in here.

Kai had visited clinics a few times when he was a beginner, but none had smelled this bad.

“I-I don’t have money... so I’ve been buying monster by-products with similar effects to the ingredients at a low price and trying to make medicine from them.”

Ayana confessed her actions as if she were in a confessional.

Of course, she waved her hands frantically to defend herself, saying, “But I’ve never given them to patients or anyone else! I always tested them on myself and then discarded them...”

Listening to her, Kai asked with a bewildered expression, “...Wait a minute. You’ve been trying to make medicine using monster by-products?”

“Yes. Monster by-products have various effects, so I thought it might work, but it kept failing...”

Then, she shyly handed over a notebook covered in handprints.

How long did she hold on to this...

Impressed by her perseverance, Kai slowly turned the pages with his fingers.

[Potion of big-eared bat swallowed by mint asio - LV.1]

+15 to all stats for 5 minutes.

-5% damage taken for 10 minutes.

Makes you blind for 30 minutes.

Ayana’s Note: Failure! Big-eared bat wing was too strong.

[Red egar horn potion - LV.1]

Slight increase in attack power for 10 minutes.

Slight increase in attack speed for 10 minutes.

Taking two makes you faint.

Ayana’s Note: Another failure! However, could be useful for insomnia patients?

This is...?

The notebook was filled with recipes she seemed to have come up with.

“You came up with all these recipes yourself?”

“Yes, but none of them have succeeded.”

“Well, that’s not surprising...”

Kai quickly scanned the failure causes.

None of these recipes use proper medicinal ingredients and yet, they still produced such effects? This isn’t about skill level.

If she had access to normal ingredients, she would undoubtedly create much more effective medicines.

“Did you help your parents make medicine before?”

“No. Mom and Dad didn’t let me near the fire until I turned seventeen-years-old, saying it was too dangerous.”

In other words, she was a natural-born genius!

It wasn’t entirely unbelievable.

Both of her parents are herbalists, so she must have inherited that talent.

Still, to have such remarkable abilities was astonishing.

Kai immediately took a pile of gold out of his inventory and placed it on the table. “Alright. Tell me the ingredients you need. I’ll buy everything I can.”

“Y-you will?” Ayana’s face visibly lit up.

She looked at him as if he had just promised to take her to an amusement park over the weekend!

She quickly began writing down the ingredients she needed on a clean sheet of paper.

If the effects of the potions she creates exceed expectations...

It would be able to turn the dire situation at Smile Clinic around completely.

We’ll see the results soon enough.

Time passed, filled with anticipation and anxiety, much like waiting for the results of a crucial exam.

***

In the early morning, with sunlight streaming in, Ayana shouted, "I-it's done!"

Kai woke up at her shout, and asked in a slow, tired voice, "H-how is it? Did you succeed?"

"Hehe!"

Without answering, she simply smiled brightly and handed him a small vial. The vial was filled with green liquid.

"Check it out!"

An interface window appeared before Kai as he took the vial.

[Life-bearing mint asio concentrate - Lv.7]

Max. Stamina for 120 minutes.

+30% recovery speed for 120 minutes.

15% instant health recovery.

Removes all low-level debuffs.

It indeed had astonishing potion effects!

Kai's mouth fell open.

This is really the first potion she's ever made?

Kai took out potions crafted by the Wizard’s Tower from his inventory.

[Potion of Resistance - Lv.3]

Increases resistance to various status effects for 5 minutes.

[Potion of Speed - Lv.3]

Increases all speeds for 5 minutes.

[Potion of Power - Lv.3]

Increases attack and magic attack power for 5 minutes.

"...This is unbelievable."

Of course, potions made by professional alchemists or herbalists were superior to potions made by those at the Wizard’s Tower. However, the difference between a beginner, or rather, someone making their first potion and this level of quality was abnormal!

I feel sorry for Ayana, but I met her at the perfect time.

She needed a hero to help her before any greater misfortune came upon her family. Helping her would not only earn him points but also significantly increase affinity!

Players who prefer solo play like me should at least have good doping potions.

And if Ayana's skills improved even more from here...

I should just make her sign a lifetime contract right now... No, that's too much.

Suppressing his greed, Kai complimented her, "You're amazing. Your parents would be proud."

She bashfully twisted her fingers in her clothes, happy at his complement. "Hehehe."

Kai filled several vials with the potion.

"Starting tomorrow, we'll begin treating patients. You've worked hard making potions all night, so get some rest."

"B-but, it's my job too, and I'd feel bad if you did all the work alone..."

"Stop right there. You can repay this kindness slowly, over a very long time."

After putting her to sleep, Kai summoned Blizzard before leaving the clinic.

"Kraa?"

"Keep the clinic safe. Especially keep that little girl in there safe."

"Kroong," Blizzard firmly nodded.

If not for the tail wagging behind him, he could have been mistaken for Unknown himself.

Now, it’s time to start the counterattack.

It was time to show the lord and his brother that even a worm could turn.

***

[Your reputation has risen.]

[+1 Benevolence.]

“Hmm, so the Benevolence stat does increase after all.”

Kai had spent the last two days in the outskirts of the city, focusing on treating the residents of the slums, but his Benevolence stat only increased by two in those two days!

However, he hadn’t started this with the intention of increasing his Benevolence stat in the first place.

“Sniff, my child’s fever has gone down! Thank you so much!”

“If my leg had been crippled, I wouldn’t have been able to feed my family... I will never forget your kindness!”

“You are the first person to do this much for us, even though we cannot give you any proper reward.”

Kai, the Saint of the Slums, was the nickname he had earned during his two days of roaming the slums and providing treatment. Of course, it wasn’t an official title but something the NPCs had started calling him.

However, what was important was that even in the taverns of Whitehall, his name was being mentioned.

“Have you heard the rumor? A saint has appeared in town.”

“A saint? What are you talking about?”

“An adventuring cleric of the Church of Solaris has been treating the townspeople. They say his holy power is so great that he cures people with the touch of his hand.”

“Huh, what does an adventurer get from doing such a thing?”

“You fool, he’s a cleric, isn’t he? Clerics don’t act for personal gain. He’s showing mercy according to the teachings of the Solarian God, of course.”

“I won’t pretend to understand, but he sounds like an incredible person.”

“You’re gonna go to hell when you die.”

“Shut up and give me a drink.”

Rumors about Kai spread slowly but surely.

The bait is laid out now, so I should get a bite soon...

After another three days, the visitor Kai had been waiting for finally came.

“Are you Kai the Cleric? His lordship has invited you to dinner. I insist you come and join him.”

“Insist? No need for that. It would be an honor.” Kai smiled broadly.