25 – 25. Injection Time (2)
“Gonja, what exactly is that thing?”
Asella suddenly questioned me with an urgent voice.
I found her attitude quite perplexing.
But I couldn’t fathom the reason. It’s unimaginable that Asella would be scared of a syringe.
I replied calmly, using my usual tone.
“It’s called a syringe. I intend to use it to collect Your Highness’s blood sample for examination.”
“What are you talking about? Are you going to stab me with that needle and draw blood?”
“That’s correct.”
Asella’s mouth slightly agape, she froze in place.
Sometimes she makes such foolish expressions.
“Gonja, are you a vampire?”
“What on earth are you saying? If I were a demon, how could I have come through the portal?”
“Well, that’s true… But where do you stick the needle?”
“In the vein. Inside the arm. The inner side of the elbow.”
I tapped the inside of my elbow to demonstrate.
Asella trembled and moved away from me, her ears quivering.
“Your Highness?”
“You’re teasing me now, aren’t you?”
“A doctor never jokes about the contents of a medical procedure to a patient. It could lead to misunderstandings and medical accidents.”
Asella closed her eyes tightly and rubbed her forehead.
Indeed, it was a strange object she had never seen before, and it could provoke aversion.
She had asked if I was a vampire, and drawing blood is not a common thing in this world.
“Just a moment. Are you saying that you’ll inflict a wound on Her Highness’ royal body? That should never happen!”
The Chief Physician, who had been observing, couldn’t hold back any longer and intervened.
Her words made sense.
“You’re right. But it’s just a small needle hole that is too embarrassing to call a wound, and I can treat it right away, so there’s no problem. Testing your blood will be of great help in maintaining your health, Your Highness.”
“Does it have to be blood? Can’t you use any other method besides medicine…?”
“It was Your Highness who requested to provide the necessary environment for that medicine, right?”
“…That’s true.”
Assela agreed with me and gave me strength.
What did she want to refute by curling her lips?
Perhaps she couldn’t refuse due to her pride, because she had said something hurtful.
“If this is common in medicine, then I must do it because you told me to… Sigh.”
Assela took a deep breath and prepared herself.
“Draw the blood. Use all available methods.”
“Yes.”
It was time for the chamberlain to step back at Assela’s command.
However, she added one more thing.
“Just make sure to test the Princess’s blood here and dispose of it in front of her after we’re done.”
“In case it might be used as an ingredient for black magic, it would be a big problem. I understand. We’ll do it that way.”
I replied confidently, and there were no further objections.
“Your Highness, please extend your arm.”
With her lower lip bitten, Assela slowly extended her right arm toward me.
“…Where should I do it?”
“I will take a blood sample.”
I tied a rubber band around Assela’s upper arm.
As a result, she flinched and trembled slightly.
“…Is it over?”
“No? I just tied a pressure bandage. We don’t want excessive bleeding.”
Next, I prepared the antiseptic swab.
I had even turned cheap alcohol into pure alcohol using alchemy.
Alchemy, truly versatile.
It’s convenient, very convenient.
As I rolled up Assela’s sleeve dress, her pale and delicate wrist was revealed.
She wiped the inside of her elbow with a disinfectant pad.
“…Hic!”
Does Asella have poor compatibility with alcohol?
She’s making sensitive noises like someone with alcohol allergies.
But she used to like drinking.
“Is it over now?”
“No, I disinfected it. Since the process of getting a wound can lead to infection, we can’t allow it to get infected midway.”
“Ugh… What do you mean by infection….”
Asella not only turned her head but also tightly closed her eyes.
… I begin to sense that something is strange too.
I thought the golden witch wouldn’t be afraid of a single drop of blood.
“Is she really scared?”
A sense of satisfaction rose from deep in my heart.
“No, Las, snap out of it.”
If Asella really got scared, I might be heading for a bad ending right now.
… Well, the numbers changing in the system didn’t seem to show anything like that.
It should be alright.
Let’s continue the work.
“Don’t move.”
Asella’s skin was thin, so her blood vessels were clearly visible. There was no need to tap her arm.
―Swish…
Blood collection was over quickly.
When I firmly pressed the disinfectant pad on the collection site, Asella slowly opened her mouth.
“…Is it over? Please tell me it’s really over….”
“Yes, it’s over. Please wait a moment. You might get dizzy….”
“You!”
With a furious expression that I had never seen before, Asella suddenly turned her head towards me.
She looked like a steam locomotive, puffing out air like smoke.
“Sigh.”
I desperately held back the urge to smile while meeting Asella’s eyes.
“That’s ridiculous. I can’t believe Asella is afraid of a mere needle.”
“Goodness, you endured it well.”
I should have given her a candy or something to suck on.
Pressing her arm to prevent fainting, time passed a little.
“…Huu.”
Asella took a deep breath.
Although the marks from the blood draw had long since disappeared, she was still upset about needing a bandage.
The needle was really thin.
“So, Gongja.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Asella awkwardly poked at the spot where her blood had been drawn.
“Do you have faith in your ability to create results that correspond to the value of the blood I’ve given?”
“Of course.”
He replied with confidence, but for a moment, he wondered what Asella’s sense of value was.
“What kind of results do you want specifically?”
Asella lifted the corner of her mouth slightly.
Now, she seemed to be certain. Whenever she made that face, she usually came up with demonic ideas.
“Lucy.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Have you ever informed Gongja about an emergency manual?”
“I planned to inform him by today when work started.”
“Gongja, based on the information gleaned from my blood, propose a countermeasure.”
The court lady bowed and backed away.
What manual is this about?
I have to give her a little leverage. I don’t understand this nonsense.
“Would you like some candy?”
I took out a rose candy and offered it to Asella, hoping that bribing her might lessen my punishment if I couldn’t fulfill the task.
“….”
Hmm, she doesn’t look pleased.
Indeed, such cheap snacks are not suitable for someone of such nobility.
Ashella sharply said as I tried to put the candy back in my pocket,
“Put it down.”
I cautiously placed the candy on the table.
Ashella tore open the packaging and started licking the candy with her tiny tongue.
“Now, let’s begin the examination.”
Blood for the examination could be denatured by temperature and humidity if not used immediately.
Ashella’s blood, collected and filled into two glass bottles, swirled a bright red color. Each bottle contained 3 milliliters.
Having a backup plan is essential in case the skill doesn’t work properly or if it gets contaminated due to hygiene.
I shook one of the bottles about ten times and opened the lid.
As I gently poured it into the shallows, the floor was stained crimson.
“It shouldn’t have been contaminated.”
If other substances are mixed before the examination, it would render the results useless.
Although I had sterilized the shallows beforehand, considering the hygiene standards of this era, I couldn’t help but have some doubts.
“Where is the blood test?”
I activated the skill.
I stared at the rosy blood that stained the floor of the shallows.
…Nothing happened.
“Is the diagnosis different from the usage? Then, let’s try the diagnosis first.”
Just by looking at the blood of the injured person, it was supposed to trigger a diagnosis, so there should be some kind of reaction.
———————————–
Injury Status: ■■■
Injury Status: ■■■
Injury Status: ■■■
Injury Status: ■■■
Injury ■■: Rank ■ Insufficient
———————————–
The characters on the status window began to break.
“Ugh.”
As a throbbing headache suddenly struck, I immediately stopped the diagnosis and shook my head.
Ashella watched me closely and clutched her chin before saying.
“Seems like it’s not working as planned?”
“It’s going well. Please wait.”
“Did you just try to order something? Looks like it failed.”
An optimistic attitude from Asella.
She’s thoroughly enjoying my failure.
Though she couldn’t diagnose me, there was something she understood.
Asella’s condition wasn’t normal.
She suffered a debuff from her talent.
I couldn’t diagnose the effects of the debuff since I couldn’t understand the level of her talent.
“As expected, I need to use a blood test. How does it activate?”
In reality, a blood test is conducted by bringing the sample into contact with a machine for analysis.
Medical skills are based on my knowledge.
If I consider myself as the machine…
“Hmm.”
I roll up my sleeve and slide my index finger into the shalle without much hesitation.
My nail tips get stained with Asella’s blood.
Asella seems a little disgusted with it, but it was better than disappointing her without finding anything.
From Noble mtl dot com
So here goes nothing.
A list of text appears in the status window.
―――――――――――
Blood test activated.
Patient name: Asella von Bülow Fedelt
Blood type: B Rh-
WBC: 24.7
HGB: 8.9
HCT: 28.8%
…
―――――――――――
“What is this?”
It’s written infinitely long with all kinds of alphabets and numbers that seem like a cipher.
I tap on my temple to revive my knowledge, although some terms are a bit confusing.
First of all, her blood type is unusual.
It’s quite rare, making it difficult for her to receive a blood transfusion.
“Why are the inflammation levels like this?”
Asella’s body condition was a mess.
She is young, and her nutritional indicators such as blood sugar, calcium, and protein are fine because she has been eating well.
Of course, her liver enzyme levels are normal as well.
The problem lies in the inflammation.
The white blood cells in her blood are significantly increased.
There is an injury and infection somewhere inside her body, and it is still ongoing.
“There’s no way there’s no pain.”
I quickly turn to Asella.
Her expression is no different from her usual self.
Even now, even ten years later, she doesn’t show any signs of pain.
I have heard about this from ten years in the future.
Asella had the price of magic, which was pain, and because of that, there was an incident where she went on a rampage.
However, I thought it was an unrelated story from the past, present, or future time frame.
I casually speculated that the pain might not have been something I obtained like a growth type debuff of magic.
But.
“She’s still enduring it?”
It was hard to believe.
There might still be discomfort to the extent that I would want to squeeze my organs inside.
Without realizing it, my hand reaches for the bottle of painkillers that I carefully stored in my travel bag.
It took a long time to make, so I only had one in stock.
“Your Highness.”
“Yes.”
“Do you happen to have any pain in your chest or stomach, as if someone is squeezing or stabbing you?”
Asella’s expression turns cold at my question.
As if she had revealed a secret that shouldn’t have been exposed.