297. Happy Ending
“Shall we dissect it?”
Professor Per carefully asks me a question as I am surrounded by an inconvenient truth. She shook her head because her expression showed that she didn’t like him either.
“No, just leave it alone. “Are there any other parts damaged beyond that?”
“Yes, there are no ribs. Normally, at this level, it would be natural for the bone to be damaged somewhere when the bone is pulled out, but there is no such thing.”
“… ….”
“Him, and the professor.”
Professor Per asks, letting go of the surgical scalpel he was holding in his hand.
“There aren’t any bugs on the body. It can’t be this neat in the first place. Especially if you brought it from the mountains.”
As she said, when I first saw the body, no bugs were attracted to the cat.
Even if it has not been long since death, blowflies usually fly in to open the eggs within 24 hours.
[It’s the same as what you said.]
This was something that bothered me when I first saw the dead cat.
“I plan to go find out from now on.”
After asking Professor Per to keep the cat’s body safe, I leave the academy.
Since I was still missing, I got a mask and covered my face.
[Are you going to find the cat’s owner?]
“Yes.”
Finding the owner of a dead cat is basically impossible. In this day and age, there is no such thing as CCTV.
But we have the cat itself.
“You might be able to find your own master, even if it’s just a small thing.”
[…] … Are you dissatisfied with something?]
Did you feel it from the way he spoke?
Stella asked me with a shady expression. Given what was revealed right away, it would be natural to show disgust towards the owner.
I still didn’t like cats.
“Because all the beasts I have seen so far were hostile to humans.”
[But it is clear that this cat is a victim.]
“Stella.”
I know what you are talking about.
I feel so sorry for the cat.
But it was just a cat.
“You said, there is no word for pets anywhere in the temple.”
[…] ….]
“It’s the same for me too. “I created a land of rest for humans, but that is because they are humans.”
I was not a very affectionate person to the point of giving affection to the souls of monsters or beasts.
“In my common sense, that cat must have absolute hatred for humans. “That makes sense.”
[But the cat was friendly.]
“That…” ….”
I tried to say something, but I closed my mouth and swallowed. Nothing has been confirmed yet. Stella also continued speaking without waiting for me to say anything.
[First, let’s find the cat and its owner. Like the fairy tale I mentioned, the cat may have sacrificed itself.]
“Yes, that’s right.”
I thought that was probably true. There were many similarities to fairy tales, and there was something strange about the wounds.
[So. Even if the cat was really a bad kid, wouldn’t you give it a chance?]
“You have a lot of affection.”
Stella responded to my answer with a bitter smile.
[Your senior will have a hard time.]
Are you not just thinking about cats, but also worried about dark spirits?
If anything, it was like Stella.
“Okay, then I am.”
It was my own respect for a saint who lived a good life.
“I’ll try to look good for you.”
Did you like it?
Stella quickly came up to me, kissed my cheek, and responded.
[Look forward to today’s massage.]
“…… “You don’t have to do that.”
[My senior told me that there is something called returning.]
“Whoa.”
Is it because there are only dark spirits and Velika around the saint that things change like this?
Or maybe it was because with her death, she gave up her title as a saint and became free.
Whatever.
“It would be nice to spend some time with Lucia.”
It was Stella who seemed to enjoy hanging out with each other and spending some time with Lucia, the current saint.
Quuk.
Her finger poked my cheek.
[Please do not talk about other saints in front of me.]
* * *
It wasn’t difficult to find the dark spirit and the cat. We went into town and found her looking for her former owner before us.
[Come on, bubble wrap. Who is this! Who did that!]
If it weren’t for the soul, it would have been a loud cry that would have caught everyone’s attention.
A few people began to notice that her connected Staff of Herald Hazard was floating around and moving around.
“Dark spirit, do it in moderation.”
As she spoke while snatching up the staff of Herald Hazard, the dark spirit master turned her head and noticed that Stella and I had come.
[How do you feel? Did Bubble find anything about your body?]
The dark spirit continued to dislike the fact that the corpse of a cat was abandoned on the mountain behind him.
He seemed a bit emotional, but he explained what we had learned.
[Such a mean thing!]
The necromancer who was playing with people’s souls got angry.
She is angry, unable to even think about her past, but I put her aside and look at her cat.
He was meowing and meowing happily and acting friendly towards me.
“Go find the owner.”
A cat tilting its head.
I sighed at the naive expression.
“I will listen to your story.”
I didn’t intend to listen to the beast’s story, but Stella asked me to do it.
Hearing that he would at least have a conversation, the cat escaped from the dark spirit’s arms.
[Bubble seal?]
The cat, which had been maintaining a passive attitude, quickly started running through the city.
It was a hospital.
[Well, when I spoke, he just yawned as if he didn’t understand.]
He was a dark spirit who was perplexed by the sudden appearance of Bubblesil moving actively.
I ignored it and headed into the hospital.
There was no need to climb up any higher.
The cheapest room for 8 people.
Many patients gathered there.
And a cat.
[This, this.]
[Deius… ….]
Surprisingly, each patient seems to have one cat, and cat fur is flying around the hospital room.
Normally, pets should never be allowed into hospital rooms.
I wonder why the nurses and doctors were just ignoring the cats, while the patients were taking great care of them.
“Who are you here to see?”
The old man closest to the entrance looked at me and asked me carefully.
In addition to the politeness evident in the way he spoke, I could feel the dignity of his years of experience through his politeness.
“Wow, a wonderful person has arrived.”
“I can’t even see my face because of the mask, so what do I know?”
“You look good just by looking at him.”
They probably didn’t know me very well, but they all greeted me with a big smile.
The cats also meowed and welcomed me.
[Everyone is limited in time.]
Stella closes her eyes and sighs. She was a saint and she sent many dead people, and her words were certain.
Even though you are terminally ill, living in an 8-person room means you don’t have money.
As if it were a trend in those hospital rooms, everyone is raising cats together.
A hospital room where you can feel the will and passion to live hard even in the face of death.
I throw stones at their peace.
“Who abandoned the black cat on the hill behind Lovern Academy?”
The hospital room suddenly became quiet.
They were looking at me with surprised eyes, but they couldn’t say anything.
I was calm and waited for you to do your best.
“Hey, who are you?”
A young man in a white robe approached from behind. He appeared to be a doctor, and I could sense that he was somewhat uncomfortable with me.
[Nyaaawng!]
The cat cried for a long time.
“I see.”
I said, turning my gaze towards the doctor rather than the patients.
“You are the owner of the black cat.”
* * *
The lounge in the hospital.
It’s not a very large hospital, so I and the doctor make eye contact with one desk in a cramped space.
“First of all…… My name is Martin. He’s a doctor at this hospital. “Who are you?”
“It would be best not to listen.”
“…… “If you just came here and don’t reveal your identity, there’s nothing I can do except call the security.”
You will regret it.
I add that and take off my mask.
“Deius Verdi. He is called the chief priest of the kingdom.”
“Up, Monumental Master!?”
Martin, who had been acting hostile just now, quickly stands up and kneels down.
“Sin, sin, sorry! I didn’t even recognize the memorial service! “Hey, I heard you went missing. I’m glad you came back!”
“Your cat’s spirit came to visit me.”
To be exact, it was brought by a dark spirit, but the story is implied for quick conversation.
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When the story about the cat is brought up, his expression becomes unsatisfactory.
I sighed and said to him who was shaking.
“I have no intention of blaming you. However, I just got curious. “The cat didn’t have any ribs left.”
“…… !”
“Explain what happened.”
Martin slowly wakes up and begins to explain one by one what he experienced.
“The child’s name was Butterfly. “It was the cat I had.”
It was the moment when Bongsil’s original name was revealed.
Martin has raised butterflies with sincerity. To him, Butterfly was not just a pet cat, he was like family.
“My father has a chronic illness. He didn’t have long to live. “It was after I saw his father’s medical treatment that day.”
“… ….”
“The butterfly had one of her bones in her mouth. At that moment, the fairy tale about a cat’s repayment came to mind! She grinds up cat bones and drinks it to heal her body!”
That much he wanted to save his father. He was so desperate that even though he thought he was foolish, he boiled her bones and made her father drink it just in case.
“My father’s body has noticeably improved. “He is not completely cured, but he is gradually getting better.”
From then on, it was repetition.
As Martin’s father’s health worsens, a butterfly comes carrying her bones.
When she drank it, her body began to improve.
“Twenty-five. “After boiling and drinking a total of 25 bones, my father was completely cured.”
Twenty-five.
It has one fewer rib than the original cat has.
“All the ribs were missing. “What about the last one?”
“…… I have it. “The butterfly gave it to me for the last time and disappeared.”
Disappeared.
It was a meaningful statement.
“Well, I also went around looking for butterflies! “She had no idea that he would die so lonely on the mountain behind her!”
I thought there was a possibility that the owner had abandoned it since it was not buried.
Rather, the cat moved on its own and found a place to die.
The body, which seemed abandoned, made sense.
“Then, the reason why the patients in that hospital room were made to raise cats… ….”
I intentionally blurt out the backstory.
I waited for him to explain, and Martin responded with a guilty look on his face.
“These are patients who do not have much time left to live. “They don’t have money, but their chances of surviving even if they get treatment are slim.”
“… ….”
“I told them my story. I was also able to see my father in better health! Shouldn’t we at least struggle! I feel sorry for the cat, but…… “But shouldn’t people still live?”
“The chances of becoming like the cat you raised are infinitely small.”
If any cat gives you a bone in exchange for affection, it should be considered a real phenomenon.
It is not a fairy tale or a ghost story.
“I know… ….”
Martin lowers his head.
Nevertheless, he clenched his fists and shouted.
“But isn’t it the only way to save people? I am a doctor! “I will do anything to save people.”
My pledge as a doctor.
A firm will to save the patient.
As I feel it from the front, Martin lets out a heavy sigh.
“Actually, I still have the last rib that the butterfly gave me. “My father has already completely recovered.”
“… ….”
“I wanted to leave it as my last memory with the butterfly, but I plan to boil it and share it with the patients to drink.”
I dream of living a little longer and experiencing a miracle. The only struggle that dying people can make.
“Didn’t you see it? There was also a child there. “So cruelly, God gave the child a disease that cannot be cured by humans!”
[…] ….]
[…] ….]
The dark spirit and Stella standing behind me were unable to say anything.
I realized that I couldn’t just slander the cat’s owner.
The butterfly personally handed over the bone. In fact, it was difficult to see this as something to blame on the doctor.
Actually.
[Nyaan.]
The butterfly flaps her front paw, saying it doesn’t matter. She seemed to be telling her quick patients to give her own bones.
That is why I answer.
“If it were me, I wouldn’t make that choice.”
“…… Yes?”
Martin was not the only one surprised by my words. I could clearly feel that the Dark Spirit, Stella, and Nabi were also looking at me.
“In fairy tales and tales, those who are dying or those who are sick pay a high price when they recover.”
Ordinary fairy tales do not just give away something. It was common for restrictions or costs to be paid.
“Don’t do it. Be satisfied with saving your father. “It is truly a pity that they have died, but on the day of their burial, I will come and comfort them and embrace them.”
“…… “It’s a fitting name for the memorial service.”
Martin holds his face with both hands and glares at me with cold emotions.
“That cannot be done, if the mission of the memorial priest is to comfort the dead. My mission is to treat and save the injured. “I swore that.”
Martin got up and politely bowed his head towards me.
“Would you please leave?”
“… ….”
I went outside without saying anything.
No matter what I do, he will do his duty and eventually reach the same result.
[Po, bubble wrap!]
The cat quickly ran out the door and settled down in the center of the hospital room.
That appearance.
It looked like a guardian deity.
In fact, he had that much power in his body.
Protect this place.
That was the butterfly’s promise.
When I came out, I felt confused. The pain in my chest doesn’t go away, but I know that it can’t be resolved.
No matter what I say.
Martin and his patients will never stop struggling to survive.
Also, because it was human instinct.
[Bubble yarn!]
The dark spirit, who had no choice but to leave his cat behind after hearing the sad story, mourns in Stella’s arms.
While hugging the dark spirit, Stella asked me carefully.
[Is what that doctor said really true?]
“It’s true.”
I was sure.
“There would have been no such thing as forcibly tearing off the cat’s ribs.”
Because there were twenty-six wounds.
“If I had been forced to pull it out, I wouldn’t have had to cut my stomach open every time I did it.”
If I had been forced to do so, I would have pulled out the whole thing once I cut open the stomach.
[Ah, I see.]
Stella understood and nodded. I understand their struggle to survive, but I don’t think I can honestly praise them.
[Good animals and humans obsessed with duty.]
Stella clenched both of his hands and prayed toward the hospital.
[Please, I hope it’s a happy ending.]
It is truly a pity for her as she quietly prays.
“… ….”
As someone who could see their ending, I couldn’t agree with Stella’s words.
In the end, I was left with mixed feelings because I couldn’t do anything.
A few days later.
All eight patients and doctor Martin were found dead.