Chapter 33 ~ Sickening

In the parlor, Irene wrote down several notes as she sat beside Kurai. Meus had already taken to his bath, and the apothecary left medication for him to take to lessen his symptoms. Finding a cure would be far more difficult, considering she had no diagnosis for him.

"...I'm surprised you didn't notice how unwell he was until now."

"Yes, well, I hadn't seen him for a little while. It's not like he smells sick either. I would have thought the man was only needing some rest."

"...So you didn't notice any scent of disease either. Have you not gotten around to enhancing that sense yet?"

"No, I have! I've done a lot, Miss Irene. That's what I was so eager to share with you, though now it feels like a bad time to start gushing about anything."

"Really now? And just how sensitive is your sense of smell now?"

Um... Hm..." She closed her normal eyes again, trying to figure how to explain something in human terms for an experience very much not human. A certain whimsy also took hold of her speech. "...I stand in the center of a ballroom. On all sides, there are conversations. Their voices overlap one another, but they never truly blend. Only now I can hear each discussion simultaneously. These talks all speak in the language of honesty, no less. Such as... You have primarily had female patients today, have you not? At least nine."

"Where do you get that idea?"

"I can smell nine different perfumes on you, and yet I've never known to to wear the stuff intentionally. So it must be from contact with patients."

Irene felt a little self-conscious as she looked down at her attire. Her clothes were as clean as could be at the end of a work day.

"...You're not wrong. I do wonder about..." She shook the distractions out of mind. "No, nevermind. At any rate, it means you would be the first to tell if he was ill. And yet you noticed nothing. At the same time, your maid seemed very confident about the lord being fine..."

"Huh... Are you saying there's something Robin's not telling us?"

"Not necessarily. I only want to know why he asked me to tell our lord that all he needs is rest. It's never a good sign when a patient asks for a specific diagnosis. It's rarer that their entourage will do the same."

"Well, he was quick to follow orders when Mr Meus told him to. Maybe it really wasn't that bad until very recently?" Kurai shrugged.

"It seemed to me he was quick to leave the room." She held a hand to her chin in thought.

"...I think I know why," Kurai brought up, visibly disliking the answer she came to.

"Oh?"

"It's because he wants Mr Meus to stay in his room. I notice he kept steering things in that direction."

"Now why would he want that?"

"Well, you see..." Kurai pressed her index fingers together coyly. She wanted to look shy about it, instead of her being all too eager to take the first chance she could to talk about this subject. "...I think he likes me. But he's also shy about us being seen together, so he wants to give us some more privacy."

"Being seen together...?" She raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me your his girlfriend now."

"Well, I am a girl and I am his friend." She covered her mouth coquettishly. "But I know what you mean, and no. We're just friends! We have started doing a few more things together. Maybe some cuddles and... kisses."

"...Dear me. You really should have had the talk with Lord Meus about intimate acts while he was still healthy enough for it."

"We did. My feelings are the same. I don't see why you can't stay friends with someone and still have a bit of close fun together. It's not like it hurts anybody. What's wrong with that?"

"..." The apothecary sat with her head in one hand, eyes closed. "Oh, bless your heart and soul, girl."

"...No, really. What is such a big deal about it?"

"It's complicated, and I am not the right person to be having this talk with you."

"Right. You said you've never been in love before."

"I said I never did anything perverted, not that I never had a love."

"Oh... What happened there?"

"...It doesn't matter anymore." A forlorn sigh was all the hint she'd give. "At any rate, back to the original topic, I don't see Robin leaving our lord suffering from a disease for what you claimed."

"Then what do you think happened to Mr Meus? You sounded suspicious about something."

"Just a fever."

"Only a fever?"

"Yes."

"Really now..."

"Mhm."

Try as Kurai might, she knew she wasn't coaxing anything else out of Irene. It was like getting blood from a stone whenever she got stubborn over a topic like this. Seeing nothing more coming from this, the novae rose to her feet.

"Well, I suppose I'll leave you to it. Best of luck with your endeavors, Miss Irene."

"Wait, Kurai." The apothecary snapped out of her introspection as the other woman walked away. "I have a favor I'd like to ask of you."

"Is that so? Sure, what can I—" She was more than happy to help at any request without asking anything in return. It was something the novae knew she needed to change about herself. "...I mean, what's in it for me if I do help?"

"Uh... I could pay you for it. Though it won't be much with how tight things have been at the clinic."

"I live in a manor free of charge and get an allowance. I don't need to take money away from you or your clinic. I want something that has value to me."

"...Then what do you want?"

"Hm... Since you're asking for a favor, perhaps promising me a favor in return would be enough. Anything I want from you, whenever I decide to claim it..."

"Absolutely not. I don't give anyone a free pass to do whatever they want to me."

"Do you really think I'd ask for something that bad, Miss Irene?" She tilted her head to the side, resting her head against an index finger.

"No, I don't think you would. But I still refuse to give anyone the opportunity, ever."

"Hm..." She could only wonder what happened to the small woman that had her thinking this way. "Very welly~. Then how about a favor to do most things I want, within reason?"

"Haah... You really are twisting my arm when this isn't even for my sake. But fine, within reason."

"Goody woody~."

The novae only earned an unamused glance from Irene for that response.

"...Right. Anyways, I was hoping you could help out this young man whose been showing up to the clinic every day. We can't get him to stay away."

"Oh. So there's a guy who's been harassing you..." Now she felt a little bad for pressing her own gains first. "Is he a stalker?"

"No, he's a patient. A very recurrent one. I patch him up and he inevitably comes back the next day with new injuries from some kind of brawling group. His injuries are only compounding since he's refusing to recover. Keeps saying things like 'It doesn't matter how many times you fall down as long as you keep getting back up,' and other boyish nonsense. I'm afraid he's not going to stop until he gets a disabling injury, possibly for life."

"Um, so you want me to try and convince him? I could try, but I don't know what to say when it's his choice..."

"You don't need to say much at all. I want you to pick a fight with him, then lock him in a submission hold. Then he should actually start listening and finally get through his thick skull to stop getting involved with so much ruckus. It'll save the clinic resources that could be used on those in need that aren't a result of boyish hubris."

"Is that really necessary? Couldn't you just refuse to treat him and make him go away?"

"...It's a solution. It wouldn't be right. I doubt he would get proper treatment anywhere else. Likely just get scammed or worse. The drain on medical resources is a big factor, but more than that, I don't like seeing someone his age throwing his life away so recklessly."

"I guess that makes sense. I'm also surprised you need help considering how dangerous you were. I'm guessing he's really strong?"

"Not particularly special for a young man his age. There are still two problems there. One is that if I start picking fights with my own patients without a damnably good reason, I'll be eaten up by the press from now until the clinic's shutters close for the last time. Two is that I'm not adept at direct fighting. The things I rely on are a bit... much for making someone submit." For a woman her size, it made sense. She had to fight dirty and go for the vitals to end things as quickly as possible. As unfair as it was, any "fair" fight would only be unfair for her, fighting people twice her size or more.

"Well... I can try, but I won't pretend to be experienced at fighting either."

"You don't need to be. You have been testing your muscle strength, haven't you? It's as good a time as any to put it to the test. Does the world a little bit of good in the process."

"Alright. We'll give it a shot. And, since this is for altruistic reasons, you don't need to owe me any favors. This time." She gave a knowing wink. The eyes that gazed back were suddenly awash with disappointment.

"...No. Bad." Irene wagged her finger as one would to a scolded dog.

"Eh...?"

"Don't go around rescinding your side of deals so casually like that. I'm not sure if you realized that you just painted yourself as an easy target for no good reason."

"...I did? I thought we were doing something good, though, so I didn't want to demand anything for it."

"That doesn't mean you let others off the hook. I wouldn't do it myself, but you better believe that would just make many people see you as someone easy to manipulate."

"...First humans get all flustered and evasive when it comes to pleasure, then they get manipulative and greedy when it comes to kindness. I really don't get you guys, I'll admit."

"Well... I'm not saying it's a good thing, but it is the way things are. I don't want you to get taken advantage of."

"No, I understand, and I do appreciate your consideration..." In spite of that, all she could give is a morose sigh. "Fine, then you better keep up your end of the deal, if you know what's good for you." Kurai put on a deep, imposing tone, exaggerated to the point of parody.

"Pfft... I think you're swinging too hard in the other direction now."

"Yeah, probably." The novae waved a dismissive hand. "I'll keep what you said in mind. At any rate, I think I'll go get some fresh air. Ciao, Miss Irene."

"Take care."