Chapter 4: The Results of Training

There were four seasons in this world as well.

In summer, the fields produced vegetables and fruits in such abundance that there was more than enough to go around.

Abel’s mother, Ayla, would cook those harvests into delicious meals.

He came to know the flavors of each season.

Autumn was the busy farming season, when the harvest and sowing had to be completed before winter arrived.

Farmers worked every day from morning until evening.

Because there weren’t enough local hands, seasonal laborers would gather from who knows where.

After paying their taxes, the farmers kept enough of their crops for their own food and traded the rest for daily necessities or money.

Abel didn’t know the finer details of farm life.

When winter came, it became the slack season for farming.

Poor tenant families would sometimes go out to find work elsewhere.

Naturally, Abel’s family, being better off, had no need for such things.

Abel stayed home reading the dictionary.

When he came across meanings or words he didn’t know, he set them aside for later and simply read on.

By now, he had improved enough in the language that everyday conversation was no problem.

Lately, Abel had been basking in the pleasure of his own excellent memory.

Even a quick skim would fix most of the content in his mind.

And he didn’t forget.

He didn’t think this was simply because he was a child. It was in his blood.

That alone made him feel fortunate.

He now understood why intelligent people could become endlessly capable.

Once understanding came quickly, it made the next stage easier to master as well.

It was like a feeling of acceleration. By contrast, with poor memory or comprehension, even if you learned something, you’d soon forget it, move on without having digested it properly, and wander into the next stage still confused… that was how it worked.

Today, Walter and Ayla were away from home.

They had gone out to visit a patient who was too gravely injured to move.

Abel was left at home alone.

After reading and doing writing practice straight from morning until noon, Abel naturally felt sluggish by the afternoon.

On a whim, he decided to step into Walter’s room.

His father’s room was half like a storage space.

There were only a few large, locked chests lined up, along with several sets of summer and winter clothing.

As expected of a doctor, Walter also had about a dozen books that looked like medical texts.

Next, he peeked into Ayla’s room.

It was similar in its simplicity, but here there was a large bed for the couple and a dressing table. It was a necessity for a woman.

Though Ayla usually didn’t wear makeup.

The dressing table had a built-in mirror. It was the only mirror in the entire house.

Abel looked at his own face reflected in it.

His dusty-blond hair was light and soft.

Fresh lips, a cute nose, and soft cheeks.

Being the child of Walter and Ayla who were both handsome and beautiful, he had a rather well-formed face for his age.

But in the depths of his blue eyes dwelled a suspicious, guarded, and strange aura characteristic of a child.

It wasn’t his imagination.

The man at Abel’s core—

A man who had led nothing but a miserable, fading life.

A man who had created nothing, loved no one, and was loved by no one…

Looking only at his eyes, Abel was no child at all.

What stared back was a starved, broken beast.

….

….

Suddenly, Abel was startled by a loud sound.

Someone was banging roughly on the door.

A visitor, perhaps?

He dragged a chair to the door and climbed on top, opening the peephole.

Outside stood Shale’s mother, Dorothea.

Her face was deeply worn and exhausted.

There was someone else nearby as well.

“Young Master Abel! Where is Lord Walter?!”

Urged by her frantic voice, Abel quickly unlatched the lock and opened the door.

“Ms. Dorothea, my father and mother are out on a house call.”

“A house call?! Where?!”

“I don’t know.”

There was also an unfamiliar bearded man. It was Shale’s father, Angus.

He was holding his daughter in his arms.

A cloth was wrapped around Shale’s wrist, but it had turned bright red with blood.

Her body was limp, and her eyes were vacant.

“Shale, are you hurt?!”

Even when he called to her, there was no response.

Her beautiful emerald-green eyes were seeing nothing.

Abel began to feel genuine concern.

The man at Abel’s core who instinctively shut his heart to everyone had nonetheless felt a faint sense of closeness toward Shale because of her pure, innocent charm.

Dorothea explained.

“A wagon carrying a large scythe was passing by. But the blade was sticking out to the side, and it caught Shale’s arm.”

“Her face is pale. She’s unconscious…”

“Yes. The bleeding won’t stop, and the wound is deep. If we don’t close it with healing magic right away, she’s in danger! At this rate…”

Since Dorothea usually worked as a nurse, her assessment of the wound was surely accurate.

Angus and Dorothea began discussing what to do, but without knowing where Walter had gone, they had no clear option. They decided they had no choice but to wait.

Abel invited them into the house for the time being.

They laid Shale down on the long bench.

Worried, Abel checked her pulse.

It was weak and rapid.

Cold sweat beaded on her forehead.

She was muttering incoherently.

She was showing signs of large blood loss. Her internal organs were deprived of blood.

Abel thought about what could be done.

The bleeding had to be stopped at all costs.

But if the arm was bound any tighter, it would damage the tissue beyond the wrist.

The situation was dire.

—At this rate, Shale might die?

Then… should I just take the gamble?

I have nothing to lose anyway!

Abel took a deep breath and focused his mind.

He gathered his magical power.

He felt a vortex of energy spiraling and growing stronger within him.

Walter had focused his magic into his hands.

Abel followed suit. Magic began gathering in his palms.

They grew hot, almost burning.

When it came to healing, you had to imagine the effect taking hold in the other person’s body.

No one had ever taught him that, but his instincts told him so.

Shale’s breathing was becoming shallow.

At this rate, she might die.

He didn’t know why, but from deep within him surged a desperate wish—

An overwhelming urge to save her.

His palms flared with a soft, pale light.

“Dorothea, release the cloth.”

Though surprised, Dorothea removed the cloth from Shale’s wrist.

The wound was unfortunately the kind that split the artery lengthwise. That must have been why she had bled so much so quickly.

He held the hazy light over the wound.

First, he pictured DNA and cells.

Then he imagined the blood vessel taking shape and willed the wound to close.

The torn vessel knit itself back together and slowly returned to a pink, worm-like tube.

Muscle and subcutaneous fat grew over the vessel, and before their eyes, skin closed over the injury.

Abel was drenched in sweat.

His breathing was ragged, as if he had just finished intense physical exertion.

Excitement and the rush of success surged through him.

“Did it work…?”

“I can’t believe it. That’s real healing magic!”

Dorothea and Angus both cried out in astonishment.

“Maybe… The wound’s closed, but she might have lost too much blood. I’d better do it once more.”

—Where was blood made again?

Abel searched his memories from his previous life.

If he remembered right, bone marrow contained something called blood-forming cells. The kidneys, he thought, were the organs that purified blood.

Not knowing for sure, he simply pictured vitality spreading through all her internal organs.

He pulled open Shale’s clothing.

Her pale stomach was laid bare.

When he focused magic into his palms again, the white light reappeared.

He placed his hands directly on her stomach.

It wasn’t clear how effective it really was, but Shale’s pulse and breathing gradually stabilized.

Her complexion noticeably improved.

“Young master Abel! Thank you so much!”

Angus and Dorothea were so grateful they were on the verge of tears.

Abel felt oddly strange.

Helping someone didn’t feel so bad. That was all he could say about it.

Feeling somewhat drained, Abel sat in a chair to rest. Before long, Walter and Aira returned.

“Lord Walter!”

Dorothea, unable to contain her excitement, quickly explained what had happened.

Walter stared at Abel with a look of disbelief.

“Abel. You really managed to use healing magic?”

“It seems like it, Father.”

“What about the chant? Did you say it?”

“I didn’t. I couldn’t really understand what they were saying, so I didn’t try.”

“Well, that makes sense. Chants are ciphers each magical school keeps secret. They’re meant to be unintelligible to outsiders. I was eight when I accidentally discovered I had a talent for healing magic. But Abel, you’re only four.”

“I always wanted to try it myself after watching your magic up close, Father.”

Ayla hugged Abel with a big smile on her face.

Her large, soft chest pressed against his face.

“Wah—ppff!”

“As expected of the son of me and Walter! I’m sure you’ll grow up to be a fine man who helps the world.”