As the short expenditure between the six of us temporarily concluded, the elder ones had to return to their post and duties. Of course, me as the patient whose feet is still buried half way underground has to resume recuperation mode.
All of the other exploration will be temporarily postponed until further noticed. Even Zephyr and Aaron who usually stayed at the house the longest have to go with aunt Lexi to some kind of conference in another territory. Isolde follows her father to the capital for a competition as honorary judges for a mead making competition.
Meanwhile, Olivia and Amber each have to go back to post after staying back at the house longer than intended. They both got a decent scolding from their respective bosses, but by the tone in their letters, they did not give a damn.
The senior servants and knights had taken over the cleaning operation as per the Duchess's request. She even taken over the supervision role herself to ensure a sound operation.
Meanwhile, the Duke took a break from external duties to personally maned the 'Get better' operation or whatever name they are using for it with Selinus. Crates were getting move in the Palace in drones, all branded under the Aurelia Guild insignia.
The deals from beyond seemed to stretch beyond more than just the black sludge alone.
Expert researchers, rare medicinal ingredients, advanced technologies and so much more.
By the help of other aunts and uncles, the speed of completion in real time almost seemed like those time lapse video where everything is ten times faster than it was supposed to be.
The doctor's office has temporarily been moved to an outer building, quite a bit closer to the forest in the back. For everyone's safety in general, they are live testing the anesthetics for the coming operation. Almost the entire medical team in the house take turns to manage this observation. I heard through the bushes that some of them even volunteer as life subjects after the animal test concluded.
Plus, the biggest room in the Spring Palace is also getting cleared out to be use as an operation room with mages and priests ensuring the devices will remain in an optimal condition.
Looking at how things are now, curing this body will almost be of no problems at all.
It hard to believe so much of this was just for curing Amelia.
This family sure is something else.
Hehe... that sentences does leave quite the bitter taste in my mouth.
-------
[Sprouting Buds Under The Morning Sun]
Rank: Null
Duration: 18121h: 30m: 54s
Description: The human body is a fickle thing. Especially in a world so magical, the world too have no mercy on the foolish and the ignorant. Self-preservation is a must cultivated virtue. Match your fact to reality and witness everything for yourself.
Manage your condition and keep yourself healthy, fate await nobody.
Effect:
[ The Things Under My Skin ] A map of your inner world. Witness how you body work with your own eyes. {Cooldown time: 1 week}
[ Shoot For The Finish Line ] Random timed quest will appear daily to help you reach your goal. Reward will be for the diligent, while the tardy get a handy-capped.
[ From Rag to... Usable? ] Collect raw materials and learn more about them by processing them in different ways. You might earn some strange yet fascinating recipes and items through unconventional means.
[ Theory and Practice ] To get good at something, you must first know about it first. When practicing a skill you have hold theoretical knowledge of, you can preform it with lower chance of failure. You might even get strike with {Inspiration} the more you practice.
[ Fleeting Chance] A deeper insight?
------
[Designated Goals]
Vitality: E+
Mana: D-
Agility: F+
Strength: E-
Intelligence: D-
Luck: C+
Overall rank: E++
Natural recovery rate: 17.555% → 55%
__________
------
[Status Board]
Vitality: G → G+++ (Extremely Weaken)
Mana: F++ (Extremely Weaken)
Agility: G+ → G++ (Extremely Weaken)
Strength: G+++ → G++++ (Extremely Weaken)
Intelligence: F+ → E (Weaken)
Luck: C+
Overall rating: F+ → F++
------
Natural recovery rate: 17.555% → 17.825%
___________
I have been watching from the gazebo for quite a while, watching people walk by one after another. All of my classes are as good as finished, physical exercises are still restricted to just enough so other than the jump in intelligence, nothing much had changed.
By the Selinus's report, after working out the numbers and lingos, it would seems that with all the treatments we have had so far. The tar has routinely pushed out a total of almost 5% of the poison out within the span of five weeks.
Which is much faster than even I anticipated.
However, that speed is slowing down by the day. The differences is small but it is clear that the Laurel family's special metabolism is slowly kicking in again.
This is both good news and bad news at the same time.
Of course, the surgeries are the preventative measure of the bad news, stopping it from becoming worse news.
The practice of opening up a person in this time should still be quite the controversial topic, if it is not for the Guild, the Duke would have had a much harder time getting willing participants to perform it in such secrecy.
Dawn personally sent her private assistant to help sort through the troublesome preparation. All outsourced helpers listen to her command making everything delegation of tasks spread evenly and efficiently. Never would I thought there will be a day when Selinus look so satisfied working overtime.
" Sister Nightingale..."
And...
That is also a major reason why I am sitting here.
Other than managing personnel and keeping up order, she is also part of the research team that will initiate the operation. Currently, she is mapping out my body... in the literal sense.
Using a specialize screen, the image under my skin is mirror in her eyes, show a faint glow. Her other hand drawing out the vision as a precise guide. Her hand move quickly, each details etched down with precision, completely matching with what [ The Things Under My Skin ] shown.
" Yes? Is there anything you want to ask, miss Amelia?" She laid down her pen, stopping her work for the time.
She reach over to the snack basket that Dawn has given to bring with her, it is filled goodies and small vials of colorful potions similar to the ones gifted by [ From Rag to... Usable? ]. Its jewel like shape glisten fancily in the sun as I emptied one without hesitation.
Ah, so refreshing.
She fixed up the messy piles of paper filled with drawings and graphs before unwrapping two cookies and promptly take a big bite of one. The sugar boost make her serious look melt away a bit as she offered the other ones to me.
And as the graceful noble lady I am, I chomped down on it straight from her hand.
" Can you tell me truthfully how bad my condition is?" I asked my mouth still filled with marshmallow cream and melted chocolate, the sweetness seems to cut down on the bitter felling lingering from before.
Despite talking openly about the problem at hand with me present, the family has a way of evading negative problems of the poison right in front of me while displaying the most prominent improvements. I get that in a sense they did it to keep Amelia positive mental attitude and give her a sound mind to keep on moving forward with fear.
But as someone who had somehow landed into her path with the possible plot line of the novel, I want all the info I need to survived in that predicted future. The data they shown thus far is simply the tip of the iceberg, the positive trend of them does not entails the reason for Amelia inability to recover to her prime in the story. "Flower of Eden" always point back to this poisoning accident as the clause of it but never disclosed the full details.
Her expression didn't show any sign of change or shift in demeanor, rather her gaze just went directly back to me without wavering, drawing out a quiet moment to let the question settle.
" Hm."
" Do you want the prospective truth or the professional truth?"
Nightingale fold the wrappings neatly, pinning them between wooden clip with a carving of a small fat bird on top.
" What is the difference?"
" Well, it differ only slightly. The first is the redacted truth or the way I like to call it is ' The Child's Truth'. To be frank, it is the same song and dance that people use to talk to children and critical patient with their family to imply hope. This applies to your situation right now as both the young and the sick."
" Then, what about the other ones?"
" It is still the truth. Just laid bare without hiding anything. Understanding your own situation clearly is in itself a form of comfort and I as your current standing caretaker also has a duty of professionalism. Be it cruel or not, if you wish for the unadulterated truth, I will reveal it without hesitation."
A bit of an unexpected answer. As Dawn's assistant, Nightingale style is completely different from hers. If I ask Dawn this same question, she would be much more evasive of such matter, prioritizing comfort in a more familiar way much like the Laurel family.
I didn't think I would get any straight answer this way.
Might as well take the chance.
" The Professional Truth please~"
She stared at me for a second before breathing a long sign, like a doctor looking at a terminally ill patient health chart unable to tell heads and tails even after so much testing. She laid out all the graphs in order, even the incomplete ones onto a skeleton model that has been standing next by as reference.
" Hmm..."
Damn, this is somehow more nerve wracking than meeting the Laurels for the first time since coming here. Nightingale squint hard at everything for a moment before turning back to me.
" I will start with the good news. Everything from your neck upward luckily didn't receive too much damage as it was treated in due time. The poison started out its attack on the most delicate and vulnerable area, and with that logic, your vocal cord would have be the first to go. But since this poison is entered through ingestion, its route to the brain was blocked after your family started your treatment."
" The month before Dawn's arrival, was recorded as the biggest struggle. Your family's blessing bare the much of the burden, keeping a delicate stalemate while protecting your body from experiencing multiple organs failure. Plus, they were chasing shadow without any method of proper treatment. You were essentially a vegetable dangling above a gnawing jaw."
" How is that count as good news?" I asked, a bit baffled.
" Being alive is good news, right?"
"..."
My mouth open and close, yet no word came out.
Because...
God damn is she right.
" Moving past that, since you can still speak and your mind seems sounded enough, I would say that is a resounding success in our part." She ripped off those two drawings off the skeleton and handed them to me.
There was no remaining trace of any harmful substance left behind. Even though there is a drop in Intelligence, that was mostly because I was here instead of Amelia. Even the hoarse voice i had when entering this body was the poison's effects, this too had disappeared after taking the black tar for so long.
" Any other good news?"
"..."
" You organs won't die anymore... for now"
" Wow."
I should start bracing myself, she ran out of good points to say.
" Allow me to be a tad rude for this next few sentences, I will keep it brief with the general analysis."
" Please go on ahead..."
" Your body is absolute ass...
Your lungs are ass
Your heart is ass
Your bones are ass
Your ..."
" That is like... every other body parts I have."
" Precisely."
Dang.
That hurts a little.
" Everything is operating at around 40% of its original function or at the very least 40% of the average person you can find out there. When you measure it up to the Laurel's standard, it would only loosely stand a 5%."
" The main problem is right here" She pointed at the main body, that she hasn't start drawing yet. Two words 'Main Body' written messily at the very center of the plain paper.
" It is migrating."
" The poison?"
" And this is a semi good thing."
Drawing on the empty paper, she route the rough path of the poison.
" Previously, it was clustering around your lungs and heart, making those areas weaken drastically. After you recovered at such a quick pace, exercising, drinking medicine and eating normally, it slowly migrated back toward other limbs with intentions to slow down the overall process even after getting weaken by the medicine."
That explained a lot on why I was having such a hard time moving around, the drugs I was provided in some way help me mentally bypassed the physical burdens as I repeatedly put my body to work. In turn, the more I got myself out of bed and stubbornly refuse to stop staying active was actually a good move.
" However, I would like to advised you to refrain from such reckless actions like forcing your body to move and exercise again. I won't deny the effectiveness of such action against your inner enemies but listen better to Dr. Selinus next time. You lack a limit to stop yourself from unnecessary strain, please put the advices of those around you with better consideration."
Her word snapped me out of my thought.
" Do you have mind reading ability Miss Nightingale?"
" There is no need for such an power when I can see every thought clearly written on your face."
...
Is my face that expressive?
" Furthermore, with the current out look on things, our operation will start next month at the soonest. You must watch your health carefully in this time as your health will be a bit more delicate within this time."
" We are looking at minor seizures, recurring fever, soreness and many more. Similar to when you woke up 5 months ago but on the milder side."
" Ugh... I will be stuck on bed rest again?" I lamented.
" Not fully, I recommend keeping your current routine but without any underground exploration, magic lessons or physical exercises aimed at increasing your stats. Getting a walk everyday is still preferable, food will need to be easily digestible and bland since your stomach will riot in these time.
I will request the Duke appoint you an additional knight and doctor to supervised your condition for safety reason. It will be a bit of a crowd so I apologized in advance."
She jolt down a few things on her notepad.
" If the poison gonna spread outward again, doesn't it mean my current stats will drop again." This is my biggest concern, I have been trying so hard to increase my stats for the past five months for a miniscule jump.
If I stop keeping up with the tasks, wouldn't my physical stats just slowly fall back down.
That is unacceptable!
In my admittedly weak protest, I begged her for someway to not regressed back on the progress I have already made. Nightingale responded with a look that clearly said 'This stupid fool!' .
But after a while, she just picked me up and bring me to the make shift anesthetics testing site for a prior schedule with Selinus. Of course, it wasn't without the promise in response to my plea.
" I'll think about it."
Good enough!