Upon receiving permission, Marian walked into the room with a gentle smile on her face.
Seeing Haida in the washroom with water droplets still clinging to her face, she couldn't help but lightly touch the beauty mark by the corner of her eye, a look of confusion creasing her brow.
"I don't remember any high-risk missions being assigned to you recently. You didn't run off to some dangerous place again, did you..."
Haida's current appearance could only be described as "grim."
Her nun's robe was covered in scorch marks from Solm's sword, damage from being worn down by the red desert sand of the East District, and bloodstains accidentally smeared on while wiping contamination from Fran's face...
"You look like an Attilan veteran who just returned home from the front lines. Oh, even your expression is similar—haggard and a bit dazed..."
Marian stepped forward, reaching out to rub the corner of Haida's eye. Her gaze flickered, curious about what she had been up to.
"We'll skip the routine check-up today. Come with me to the Medical Division. You might not look wounded on the surface, but we can't be careless..."
Curses, contamination, spirit possession, internal organ damage from blast impact... any of these could cause a patient to die suddenly while appearing normal on the outside. She had handled many similar cases in recent years.
Although the Secrets-Hunter headquarters was a "Pure Land," making the first few possibilities highly unlikely, maintaining due caution was a consistent virtue practiced by all Secrets-Hunters.
Just as Marian took Haida's hand to head to the Medical Division, the previously almost silent nun suddenly wrapped her arms around Marian's waist and gave her a hug.
"Ah... Haida? What's wrong?" Marian tilted her head, momentarily taken aback.
Haida's embrace was warm and firm, with a touch of stubbornness, as if afraid the other would vanish if she let go.
After a brief moment of surprise, a smile spread across Marian's lips. She reached out and gently stroked Haida's hair, adding a note of reminiscence to her tone.
"The last time you hugged me like this was when you had a nightmare as a child... Don't tell me you had a nightmare this time too?"
She had meant it as a casual tease, but after a moment of contemplation, Haida actually nodded in agreement with the guess.
"Mhm, I did... have a rather bad dream."
---
The next morning, Fog Street Clinic.
Fran, still bleary-eyed, sat before the dressing table. Sigrid, dressed in her maid's uniform, stood beside her, tidying her slightly mussed white hair and re-braiding the disheveled small braids by her temples.
"Dr. Fran, the feathers in your hair are so beautiful. Are they a racial trait of some kind?"
Sigrid noticed the fluffy ear feathers on her head that occasionally twitched and couldn't help but feel a little curious about them.
"That was a byproduct of an experiment. I decided to keep them for now since they don't affect my appearance."
Fran responded lazily.
Then, she raised a hand, pinched the two ear feathers nestled in her hair... and with a deft pull, plucked them out.
Sigrid's eyes widened instantly, the pale white braid in her hand slipping from her fingers unnoticed.
"...Those can actually be removed?" she asked, somewhat shocked.
"Pulling them out by force hurts. These two feathers were almost ready to fall out naturally, so they came off quite easily. Hmm... the quill is still there. But it will take some time to grow back."
Fran smiled, took one of the two feathers into her palm, and offered it to Sigrid.
"If you don't mind the feather dust on them, you can keep this as a memento."
Sigrid's molten gold eyes flickered slightly. She instinctively accepted the downy feather, still carrying a remnant of body warmth.
"Thank you, Dr. Fran..."
"No need for such formality. It's just a feather. You could probably use it as a good luck charm?"
Fran put on her white doctor's coat. With excellent composure, the look of laziness between her brows had completely vanished.
She then led Sigrid into the operating room to begin handling the payment from the last cross-dimensional house call... a technical manual and a processing module.
Although both were of fine quality, without raw materials, it felt somewhat incomplete.
There was no help for it; not every cross-dimensional house call had the chance to achieve an Apollyon (Abyss)-level rating.
"Dr. Fran, aren't you going to wear protective equipment this time?"
Seeing Fran not donning her usual polar bear-like heavy protective suit, Sigrid was somewhat curious.
"Mhm, no need if there's no 'raw material' requiring identification and disassembly. If it weren't for this 'processing module,' we wouldn't have needed to come to the operating room specifically..."
As she spoke, Fran began the identification work.
---
[Originium-State Biological Spectrum (Terra Medical System)]
[Quality: Fine]
[Effect: This technical manual documents the forms of existence, symbiotic states of Originium particles within living organisms, and a vast amount of clinical trial data for numerous species. After completing the reading, Parsing Rate for the related system increases by 7%.]
[Note: "Life on this land is tenacious. It has its own place in evolution. Post-natal domestication and confrontation are often futile... Where will our final destination be?"]
Originium-State Biological Spectrum was a book printed on coated paper, seemingly mass-produced by standard specifications. But the title page bore no publishing information; perhaps it was internal material from some organization.
"Lots of technical terms, relatively obscure content, and a not-low reading threshold. Compared to this, the previous Spinal Studies Primer was truly entry-level..."
Fran flipped through it briefly, then set it aside for the time being.
Although she very much wanted to drop everything and read it right away, considering Sigrid was still waiting beside her like a curious child... she ultimately dismissed that tempting thought.
Soon, the second item was also identified.
[Spiritbone Colonizer (From the Aeldari)]
[Quality: Fine]
[Effect: Can slowly gather crystalline particles from the Immaterium to synthesize and shape the Aeldari's special material, 'Wraithbone.' This process can proceed without the assistance of a 'Bonesinger.']
[Note 1: "If the world in question does not contain the Immaterium in the narrow sense, this instrument will require additional consumption of other forms of psychic energy and materials, and output will be reduced accordingly."]
[Note 2: "This instrument is possessed by the Aeldari, but its origins seem even more ancient..."]
Fran pinched her chin, carefully examining this oddly-shaped, antique-looking bone device.
"Come to think of it, I don't have a Wraithbone scalpel yet. Might as well make one now to try it out..."
She extended a fingertip, lightly touching the device to attempt to activate it.
After brief psychic contact, its bone-like casing released a wisp of white vapor, revealing the internal operation platform and input/output ports.
Sigrid looked over this strange device, not hiding her surprise in the slightest.
"Dr. Fran, is this a... 'machine tool'?"
Faced with an unfamiliar device, she could only rely on her own experience and intuition for a simple guess.
"In terms of definition, it's somewhat close. To be precise, it's a device for generating and processing special materials."
While channeling psychic energy into the device, Fran took two quartz wide-mouth jars from her medical case and poured their contents of rose-red powder into the input port.
It was the Philosopher's Stone dust she had brought back from the future Norlington's East District desert.
"Philosopher's Stone is a crystal refined from souls. Its compatibility with Wraithbone should be decent..."
The speed of material generation and shaping within the device was very slow. Fran spent nearly half an hour gathering enough Wraithbone to form a scalpel. And the two jars of Philosopher's Stone powder were completely depleted.
Shaping complete. A beautiful, almost flawless lancet now lay in her hand, light and thin, like a feather.
"Low mass, decent physical strength. Capable of Immaterium communication, resisting Immaterium erosion, storing psychic energy, and shielding against a degree of Chaos interference."
Fran examined the Wraithbone scalpel, lost in thought.
"Although this world doesn't have an 'Immaterium,' the aforementioned properties should also apply to other forms of psychic realms. It shouldn't be completely useless..."
Given how many items she had lying around gathering dust in storage, she didn't seem too confident about that.
"Dr. Fran, can I see that scalpel?"
Sigrid rarely encountered such advanced equipment and was intensely interested in its product.
"Of course. No need to be too careful; it's just a prototype."
Fran casually handed the bone scalpel to Sigrid.
"Such a high degree of completion..."
Although Sigrid could also perform this near-3D-printing-like, integrated molding and shaping using related rituals of the Sun-Forging system, that was with ritual assistance after all.
She had used machine tools produced by the White Cup Cult, but they could only perform basic grinding and drilling, and the precision was questionable.
The processing method of the device before her eyes was almost like 3D printing... Obviously, there was a chasm-like technological generation gap between the two.
"Dr. Fran, I'd like to try if I can do some secondary processing, inscribe some prayer texts on the scalpel... Could I borrow it for a while?"
Sigrid placed her hands before her abdomen, making the request somewhat formally.
Fran always encouraged the maid's hobbies and naturally wouldn't refuse such a small request.
"Take it. Hmm... let's put this device in your forging workshop too. It'll be more convenient for you to study."
She raised an eyebrow slightly, looking at Sigrid with a hint of an elusive smile.
"Based on a few technical manuals I've recently acquired, I have an interesting idea. I'll need your help, Sigrid. Until then, you can familiarize yourself with operating these devices."
"I, I'll do my best..."
Although unclear about Fran's plans, Sigrid was clearly very willing to offer her assistance.
...
It took some time for Fran to prepare breakfast for two and finish the meal with her maid.
After using [Drive Away Dust and Filth] to deal with today's pile of dishes, she took off her little bear apron and lay back on the soft, plush sofa in the main hall in a very relaxed pose.
Although Sigrid's attitude as a maid was extremely professional and impeccable, and she certainly lightened Fran's burden in daily chores and other physical labor... her culinary skills were indeed something to be wary of.
Until this child learns to use fire below a thousand degrees, I must never hand over the kitchen to her...
Fran shook her head, dispelling the wandering thoughts in her mind. She then took out a thick, ancient-looking book and began to write.
This book was her diary, generally used to record important information and insights. She had also taken it out when completing the cross-dimensional house call to the Lands Between in June.
[Records concerning the 'Temporal Banyan' (Three).]
[The future phantoms shown by the Banyan, for the first time, contained other deities—the 'Six-Eyed Crow,' who practices peeking and theft. Simultaneously, the adage it left behind during its Apostle's ascension ritual reveals, to some extent, its relationship with the God-Hunting God.]
["The hunter takes its eyes with a sword, leaving six eyes with only five" represents the seizing of authority. "Stains its feathers with blood, so the thief gains nothing more" represents the imposition of a seal. "Makes its coffin from oak and banyan, so the corpse sinks forever into deep darkness" represents its banishment to another realm.]
[However, in known literature, including The Tome of a Thousand Cults, the Six-Eyed Crow has never been classified as a heterodox evil deity. Its cult is even considered orthodox, enjoying a decent reputation... and it has maintained a certain level of activity over the past century, not completely hidden. If the one banished into the shadows is its true form, then what deity is currently using its honorific name?]
After completing the entry, Fran stuffed the thick diary back into the fully packed, tall bookshelf.
Her brows relaxed slightly as she sighed with some reflection.
"Come to think of it, 'The Ant' also had its authority stolen. That 'Hunter' among deities is indeed formidable..."
Having finished her immediate tasks, Fran, feeling unburdened, opened the door and stepped into the street drifting with thin mist.
Because during the last cross-dimensional house call, she had gone the entire time without wearing shoes due to various factors... she now greatly enjoyed the reassuring feeling of her feet wrapped in cotton socks and leather shoes. She was almost eager to go for a walk.
The newborn sun was gentle and warm, accompanied by the thread-like cool dampness of the morning, not making one feel hot at all.
"Hmm~ The weather is suitable for going out. Why not go to the West District and see how that Lamp Moth fortune-telling shop managed to survive the apocalypse and the Divine Pestilence..."
---
West District, Green Maple Street.
Fran walked through the sparse crowds, the Originium-State Biological Spectrum tucked under her arm, occasionally taking it out to glance at.
"The West District is still full of secret realms as always. But compared to the 'future' one, that one was much more complete in every aspect."
Currently, she wore the silk robe she had taken from Dorothy over her white coat. Its patterns were mottled dark gray, like scales on a night moth's wings. At first glance, she didn't look like a doctor, but more like a traveler from a distant land.
"'Mirror of Enlightenment' Club." Fran looked at the plaque carved with the shop's name at the entrance, recalling slightly.
During the house call, I didn't see a shop name in the West District. Was it destroyed in the catastrophe, or taken down for some other reason?
The area around the shop seemed normal, no secret realm was set up.
After all, it was a business. Who would open a shop in a place ordinary people couldn't even find? That would be abnormal just thinking about it.
Oh, wait, it seems some people really do...
"Welcome to the Mirror of Enlightenment. Please come in, honored guest. Do you require a fortune-telling? Or perhaps you are interested in learning a fortune-telling course?"
A lively young woman's voice came from inside the shop, followed by a girl in receptionist attire who came to Fran's side.
+++
T/N: Hey readers~! New Translator here! Before I say anything, I'd first like to thank the original author for creating this wonderful story. Without them, I wouldn't have the chance to share this adventure with you. I hope my translation does justice to their work, and that together, we can enjoy this story.
With that said, I'm happy to let you know I'll be uploading daily chapters. And for those who wish to support my work and gain early access, I've set up a Patreon where advanced chapters will be available.
[email protected]/PeakTL