Ice Vapor Goddess

Chapter 107 Late
At the surface, St. Lucia Hospital.

After the church took over the hospital, it was given a completely new name.

At this time, people were coming and going in the hospital, and the doctors and nurses were all wearing white coats.

This was all thanks to Siron's efforts. After bringing the hospital under the church's control, he gave all the doctors a seventh-rank priesthood called the "Plague Exorcist" and commissioned them to wear special long white coats.

This garment was originally a white robe worn by clergy during Mass, but Siron solemnly declared that doctors deal with life and the divine God every moment in the hospital, and therefore must wear long white coats throughout.

Furthermore, because the clothes worn for the ritual must not be soiled, they should be washed immediately after each surgery if they become stained with blood.

Left with no other choice, the doctors were forced to collectively wear long white coats over their own well-tailored suits.

The nurses' uniforms are ordinary white thermal coats, which are the school uniforms for the nursing classes at Speyside Elementary School. Currently, all the nurses are taking classes part-time, and it is conceivable that nursing will gradually become a more professional profession.

However, the reforms to the hospital were limited to this. For example, chloroform and ether, which are currently commonly used, are toxic to the human body. Xilun knew that they would become safer and more harmless anesthetics in the future, but he did not know what those were.

"Your Excellency the Bishop!" someone called out as Siron took his first step into the hospital.

The blond boy waved excitedly at him. Arthur, wearing a blue turtleneck police uniform, stood out among the officers.

"What are you doing here?" Xilun greeted.

He excitedly rubbed the corner of his clothes: "A few prisoners resisted fiercely when they were arrested, so we were a bit too rough and had to send them here for treatment. We have to keep an eye on the door to prevent them from causing trouble after they wake up."

Xilen nodded. He could see several strangers bound to the hospital beds inside the room, seemingly suffering from serious injuries.

"How's it going at the police station?" he asked casually.

He scratched the back of his head and chuckled twice: "It's pretty good, but it's much less busy than when I was in the Knights. I just sit in the office writing reports every day, so I take the officers out of the city for training exercises in the afternoon."

Two weeks ago, Arthur awakened his talent [Silent Perception], becoming the first knight to awaken such a talent since arriving in Speyside from Xilun.

The talent's effect is that one's perception becomes more acute in quieter environments; it's a mystery how a chatterbox could awaken this ability.

At that time, it just so happened that Ryan was preparing to establish a police department, so he represented the church and joined the police department with ten other newcomers, becoming a police inspector.

The blue turtleneck tuxedo, lined with a plush lining and adorned with gleaming silver buttons and badges, exuded an exceptionally dashing air.

A whistle hung from a button, an iron baton was on the left side of his waist, a revolver was on the right side, and there were more than a dozen bullets in the small leather pouch on his belt.

"How is Tess? Are there any other injured people here?" Siron asked.

At this point, Arthur's expression darkened slightly: "The situation is alright, but he doesn't look too good... Do you want to go over?"

"Take me there," he said directly.

Arthur greeted the officers and then led Siron to the ward upstairs.

A cold wind blew up the curtains by the tall white window, making them flutter in the pale light. A lonely iron-framed hospital bed leaned against the wall, and light brown hair was scattered on the edge of the white pillow.

Celen went over, pulled the window shut, and locked it, leaving only the howling wind outside, making an angry scraping sound. "Tell the nurses that ventilation is fine, but don't make it too cold inside," Celen said, then sat down beside Tess's bed.

She was still unconscious, as if the anesthesia hadn't worn off yet. Her face looked a little fuller than the last time I saw her, but even paler.

The blanket only covered her legs, where the wounds were relatively minor. Underneath her hospital gown, one could still see layers of bandages, almost covering her entire body. It was hard to imagine how many injuries she had.

"When we found her, she had a wooden stake embedded in her back, her body was covered in knife wounds, and she was bleeding heavily. Fortunately, Commander Logan stopped the bleeding immediately and then took her to the hospital," Arthur said somberly.

"What about the other people who were arrested?"

"The situation of the others is... well, I don't know how to describe it. If they arrived late, the alder wood would pierce their hearts and they would be beyond saving. If they arrived early, they could be saved directly. None of them had the kind of cuts all over their bodies like Miss Tess."

"So she's special?" Siren asked.

Arthur thought for a long time, then scratched the back of his head and said, "I can't say."

Xilun sat on the edge of the bed, silent for a long time. The draft blowing in from outside the door ruffled his hair and brushed against his lowered eyelashes. His pale, bony hands were placed on the edge of the bed, yet he clenched them tightly.

“I visited her several times afterward,” he suddenly said. “She was much happier and gradually gained some weight. Although her work was hard, she always said she was very happy. She would come to class every time I taught. She thought I wouldn’t see her if she hid behind the crowd, but in fact I could remember every student who came.”

Arthur stood to the side, saying nothing.

The empty hospital room contained only the two of them. His innate ability forced him to hear Xilun's heartbeat, which grew faster and faster.

He sat calmly, but it felt as if war drums were beating within him.

“And there’s that young man next door to her, named John, a very common name, I remember him too.” He said softly, “Last time I had Londonini pudding and roast meat at his house. He works in the mine, he’s a very hardworking young man, but he has some problems with his spine because he’s been holed up in the low mine shafts for years.”

“Their lives are already very difficult... I try my best to help them, hoping that things will get better for them.”

“All my efforts have only made things a little easier for them, but it only takes one act of malice to destroy them.” Cyren placed his hand on Tess’s cold hand, while Arthur stood to the side with his head bowed, noticing that the bishop’s body was trembling slightly.

"The world is truly full of malice towards them. War destroys them, natural disasters destroy them, jobs destroy them, and those who are lucky enough to survive are also bullied and humiliated by others, who occasionally take their lives."

“Sometimes I feel that I just need to take care of my own little corner of the world, go to Mass every day, and when I have nothing to do, I can stay at home and daydream, read books, or wander around. I can leave the work of saving people to God. If God doesn’t do it, then what am I busy doing?”

Arthur's eyes widened. He suddenly had a premonition that what the bishop was about to say was not something he should be listening to.

“But whenever I see their pained faces, I always think that if I don’t help them, no one else will,” he said softly. “I don’t want to tell them that they will suffer and go to heaven after they die, nor do I want to tell them that evil will be punished and good will be rewarded, because I’m not sure either. These words are just empty comforts.”

"Justice may not be absent, but justice delayed is no longer justice."

"Therefore, a god who is late cannot be called a god. When people pray and he does not come immediately, but instead relies on the clergy to comfort him by saying that he will come one day, I do not want to lie for him anymore. I must take action."

He stood up and patted Arthur on the shoulder: "People already have a hard time living. If someone else wants to make it impossible for them to live, we can't let them live either."

“Now that you’ve gone to the police station, you need to know who you’re fighting for, who you’re protecting. You no longer belong to the church, but to everyone, all the vulnerable who need your protection.”

(End of this chapter)