novelraw Chapter 2 : Chapter 2
Chapter 2 : Chapter 2
Chapter 2
“Medicine that keeps sleep away?”
“Yes. I want something that drives drowsiness away. The stronger, the better. Strong enough that I would not have to sleep at all for about two weeks…….”
In other words, she was asking for a stimulant. In the language of this world, stimulants were called “Dawn’s Call.”
I looked at Ms. Nyxle with a doubtful gaze.
I had been working as a counselor in this other world for over a year now. By this point, I could roughly guess what kind of symptoms a patient suffered from just by looking at them.
No matter how I looked at her, Ms. Nyxle was clearly suffering from sleep deprivation.
“I assumed she would naturally ask for a sleeping aid, ‘Night’s Embrace.’”
Contrary to my expectations, she was asking for a stimulant. That was not merely strange, but suspicious. To my eyes, it looked as though she wanted Dawn’s Call for some purpose that was not normal.
“As you said, there is indeed a medicine that drives away drowsiness. It is called Dawn’s Call. Personally, however, I would not recommend it.”
“Why not?”
“The effect is far too strong. If taken improperly, you may be unable to sleep for an entire day, sometimes even two or three days. In a state of over-arousal, you can also suffer from various side effects, including pain.”
I looked straight into Ms. Nyxle’s hollow eyes.
“If you simply wish to ward off fatigue, I would recommend coffee instead. Black tea would also be fine.”
“Coffee, black tea…… those will not work. No matter how much I drink, I end up fa—falling asleep anyway.”
“Dawn’s Call is prescribed only in cases where drowsiness or attention deficits make daily life impossible. I am sorry, but you do not appear to be in such a state…….”
“That is exactly my state!”
Ms. Nyxle suddenly lunged forward and grabbed my hand. Even I, who usually remained composed, could not help but be startled.
With eyes reddened to a frightening degree, she stared at me desperately.
“I—I am so sleepy that I cannot live my daily life properly. Please give me that medicine. D-Dawn’s… Dawn’s Flame, was it……?”
“Please calm down and sit back down first.”
At my words, Ms. Nyxle flushed and hurriedly returned to her seat.
“I-I am sorry. I was in such a rush…….”
“No, it is all right. So, to confirm, you are saying that drowsiness is making daily life difficult for you?”
“Yes!”
Ms. Nyxle brightened at once. There was none of the cynical lethargy typical of people suffering from narcolepsy or chronic fatigue on her face.
I extended my hand toward her.
“Please hold my hand for a moment.”
“M-My hand?”
“There is something I must check before prescribing Dawn’s Call.”
Ms. Nyxle hesitated, then slowly reached out. I took her hand and observed the mana flowing abundantly through her body.
This was a talent I had acquired in this life.
The ability to read the mana flowing through another person’s body.
“Well, not exactly innate. It would be more accurate to say it was forcibly awakened…….”
That detail was not important.
I calmly examined Ms. Nyxle’s mana.
In my previous life, emotions were triggered by hormone secretion. For example, a lack of serotonin increased the likelihood of depression, while an excess of stress hormones like cortisol heightened anxiety.
In this world, mana took the place of hormones.
Emotions arose according to the shape and flow of mana scattered throughout the body.
In other words, if one could see the shape and flow of mana, one could also tell what emotions the other person was experiencing. Using that principle, I read Ms. Nyxle’s mana and, at the same time, her emotions.
“The shape of the mana particles…… jagged in all directions. The flow is excessively fast.”
This was a pattern commonly seen in people experiencing extreme anxiety or lying.
Continuing to observe her mana, I asked her another question.
“Ms. Nyxle, are you truly suffering inconvenience in your daily life due to excessive drowsiness?”
“Yes, that is what I am telling you.”
“That is a lie.”
Ms. Nyxle’s eyes widened as she fell silent.
The mana within the young officer’s body was flowing at an excessively rapid rate. The particle shapes sharpened further, resembling sea urchin spines.
This was the characteristic flow and shape of mana seen in people who were lying.
“Just now as well, the particle shapes flared sharply when she answered.”
She was lying.
“You are not suffering inconvenience due to drowsiness. On the contrary, you are in a state of sleep deprivation. Is that correct?”
“…….”
Ms. Nyxle did not answer, but it was clear I had struck the mark.
The mana told me as much.
“Ms. Nyxle, what were you planning to use Dawn’s Call for?”
Smack!
Ms. Nyxle roughly shook my hand away. Though her frame was slender, the force she used was considerable. My wrist throbbed.
“She is stronger than she looks. Well, she is an officer…….”
With her brow deeply furrowed, Ms. Nyxle glared at me. Then she turned sharply and left the consultation office.
She did not bow or offer any greeting. She simply stormed out, her anger evident.
For a brief moment, I wondered if I had pushed her too hard…… then I shook my head.
“No. I cannot prescribe medicine to someone who might misuse it.”
Ms. Nyxle had lied about suffering from drowsiness to obtain Dawn’s Call, and she never explained what she intended to use it for.
I could not lightly prescribe medicine to such a person.
“This is the right thing to do.”
That was what my mind told me, but my heart did not feel entirely at ease. Perhaps there had been a gentler way to persuade her without cornering her so harshly. Moreover, had Director Justin not asked me to take good care of her? I could not shake the thought that there might have been a better approach.
With that lingering unease, I returned to reading my notes. I did not leave work until the outside was completely dark.
A large moon cast a pale, desolate light over the streets. It looked as though it would soon become a full moon, swollen to the brim.
***
The next morning, after Erisa arrived early for work, I told her about Ms. Nyxle. I also told her about the lingering unease I had felt since sending Ms. Nyxle away.
“She sounds suspicious.”
“Right?”
“I do not think you need to feel uneasy at all. It is right to firmly refuse unreasonable requests.”
She was correct. I felt my lingering discomfort lighten somewhat.
After a moment of thought, Erisa asked,
“So then, what do you think Ms. Nyxle intended to use Dawn’s Call for?”
“Well…….”
I had no clear idea either. What on earth had she planned to do with a stimulant like Dawn’s Call?
“Perhaps she intended to use it on a suspect.”
“A suspect?”
“Yes. Giving Dawn’s Call to a suspect so they cannot sleep until they finish giving a proper statement. Something like that.”
“That is horrifying.”
“You never really know what is inside a person’s heart.”
“No, Doctor. Your imagination is horrifying.”
As always, Erisa said that with an almost expressionless face.
The day was not very busy. There were only a few scheduled clients, and no new visitors arrived.
Because of that, there was little need for Erisa to compound medicine. Perhaps out of boredom, she came out of the compounding room more often than usual and lingered around the consultation room.
She would hover about, glance at me, then return to the compounding room.
She seemed to have something to say, yet she never spoke.
Then, as the sun dipped low and it was almost time to leave work, Erisa finally spoke to me cautiously.
“Doctor, are you busy after work?”
“No. Why?”
“I was thinking of going to a nighttime auction house to acquire some ingredients. I was hoping you might come with me.”
So that was why she had been hovering around all this time. I found it a bit absurd, but I understood. This was not the first time Erisa had done something like this.
“I do not mind going with you, but is the auction house open at night?”
Erisa fell silent for a moment.
“It is a black market.”
“Ah…… so the ingredients can only be obtained there?”
“Yes.”
“Are they absolutely necessary?”
“Of course.”
Perhaps because I had just met Director Justin from the Public Security Bureau yesterday, going to a black market felt like a serious crime. After meeting him, I tended to become overly cautious even about trivial matters.
“Still, sending Erisa alone to a black market would be dangerous.”
After some thought, I nodded.
“All right. Let us go together.”
Instead of answering, Erisa gave me a faint smile.
After work, I left the consultation office together with Erisa.
Even though some time had passed since sunset, the night streets were bright rather than dark.
The reason was the nearly full moon. In addition to the dim streetlamps, bright moonlight bathed the streets in a pale glow.
The scenery was inorganic, yet it had a certain charm.
Walking beside me, Erisa also followed my gaze and stared at the full moon for a long while.
“Doctor, there have been rumors going around lately. Do you know about them?”
Considering the full moon, one rumor immediately came to mind.
“The werewolf, right?”
“Yes. The one people call the ‘Mad Werewolf.’”
“The newspaper I subscribe to calls it the ‘Feral Wolf.’”
Recently, ominous rumors had been spreading through Lumiere. They said that on nights when the moon was large, a werewolf appeared in the back alleys and killed evildoers such as thugs and thieves.
People called it the Mad Werewolf, or the Feral Wolf. Public opinion about the Feral Wolf was divided. Because it killed only evildoers, some claimed it was not a criminal, but a hero.
Others insisted that the Feral Wolf was nothing more than a criminal.
No matter how despicable the victims were, killing was still a crime.
They also argued that the Feral Wolf’s violence could one day be turned on ordinary people, and that it should be captured as soon as possible.
A hero who judged evildoers, or a mere criminal who satisfied violent urges by killing criminals…
As a sensational topic, the Feral Wolf’s existence had thrown Lumiere into an uproar.
“What do you think, Doctor?”
“If it truly punishes only evildoers, then it would be a hero.”
“Is that so?”
Erisa asked back, sounding surprised.
“It is just that selecting only evildoers is difficult.”
“That is true.”
“Some may have committed crimes worthy of death, but others likely did not deserve to die and were still killed by the Feral Wolf. Thinking about that, it is hard to call it a hero without reservation. What about you, Erisa?”
“I think much the same as you. People say the Feral Wolf only punishes evildoers, but I question whether that is really true.”
Whether the Feral Wolf was a hero or a criminal did not interest me much. I simply hoped it would not appear before me under the pretense of passing judgment, even though I did not believe I was doing anything deserving of such judgment.
After talking about the rumors, we fell silent. We were accustomed to such sudden silences. Neither Erisa nor I was particularly talkative.
There was no need to feel awkward. We walked quietly beneath the moonlit streets.
“Is this the place…….”
At last, we arrived at the black market.
“It is not as grand as I expected.”
“Even a black market is just a discreet market, after all.”
Indeed, the atmosphere was not much different from a daytime market. The only notable difference was that the merchants had their faces covered.
“What should I do?”
“I will handle buying the ingredients, so please just stay alert. Watch for anyone suspicious following us.”
As she said, I stayed close to Erisa, watching carefully for anyone approaching her.
Fortunately, no one did, and the transaction concluded without incident.
“We obtained them more smoothly than expected.”
There was a hint of disappointment in Erisa’s tone, as though she found it anticlimactic that the ingredients had been acquired so easily.
“What, were you expecting to be attacked during the deal?”
“I was prepared for it.”
“That sounded less like preparation and more like anticipation.”
Erisa did not respond to my joke. She merely glared at me briefly.
The walk back to the consultation office was quiet. Occasionally, we heard a faint rustling sound, like rats scurrying about. In that eerie, uncanny street, I pondered the relationship between mana and emotion.
Emotions are triggered by mana, and mana moves according to circumstances.
For example, imagine being chased by a ferocious beast.
The mana particles and their flow within the body would shift into a form favorable for fighting or fleeing.
As a result of those changes, emotions such as anger, anxiety, or fear would be triggered.
Certain intense emotions also cause mana to erupt outward.
In particular, people feeling murderous intent or hostility release large amounts of mana.
That released mana carries a distinctive scent.
Ordinary people cannot smell it, but someone trained like me can.
Just like now.
“Erisa.”
“Yes?”
“This is the attack you were hoping for.”
As I said that, I stopped Erisa and took a step back.
The rustling sounds that had resembled scurrying rats were gone. With the sudden silence, five large men emerged from the darkness. Each held a threatening weapon such as a dagger or a club.
From their eyes, fixed on Erisa and me, I felt a thick killing intent.
“……You have sharp senses. How did you know we were hiding?”
The man at the front of the group spoke while spinning a dagger idly at his fingertips.
They were thieves. Worse, they were vicious thieves who targeted people returning home after buying goods at the black market.
I took a deep breath. Along with the chill of the night air, I smelled killing intent and hostility. It was a foul, unpleasant scent, threatening in its own way. Then I felt a sense of confusion, because the scent was not coming from the thieves.
I lifted my head toward the source of the scent and swallowed a sharp breath.
On top of the tall spire of the Noctia Church, something was standing there, looking down at us.
A large scar was carved beneath its eye.
……A wolf. The wolf had come.