The Pure White Sanatorium was located along Orario's Northwest Main Avenue. It was the treatment facility of the Dian Cecht Familia, widely recognized as the largest medical Familia in all of Orario.
Nearly ninety percent of Orario's adventurers came here for treatment after being injured in the Dungeon.
Even during the day, the entrance to the healing house was still crowded with people coming and going.
Looking at the tightly shut door, Hestia paced back and forth anxiously.
They had agreed to come to the hospital together today so Noir could get treated, and everything up to this point had gone very smoothly.
What Hestia had not expected, however, was that the moment the members of the Dian Cecht Familia saw the wounds covering Noir's body, they had all frozen in shock. After only a brief examination, they declared that his condition was beyond what they could handle, and immediately called in someone else.
Then, after several more people were brought in and all of them admitted they were powerless to do anything, they finally summoned the captain of the Dian Cecht Familia, and also the finest healer in Orario, Amid Teasanare.
After examining Noir's body, Amid had ushered Hestia out of the room.
At last, after Hestia had no idea how many laps she had walked up and down the corridor, the door opened, and a breathtakingly beautiful girl stepped out. She had soft, silvery-white hair, large eyes, and dreamlike lashes, like an exquisite doll come to life.
Hestia hurried forward.
"Can Noir-kun's illness be cured?"
Faced with the anxious question from the goddess before her, Amid Teasanare shook her head.
"I'm sorry, Lady Hestia, but your Familia member's condition is far too complicated. It isn't just external injuries, internal injuries, and illness. There are also a great many different toxins intertwined together, as well as unknown curses. The fact that he didn't die before now is already a miracle. You brought him here too late."
"What?!"
Hestia cried out in shock.
"That's impossible! Noir-kun was perfectly fine this morning, and he's even been getting healthier lately, so how could-"
Having finished putting his clothes back on, and feeling lighter than he ever had before, Noir stepped out of the room. Seeing Hestia's panicked face, he looked at Amid in confusion.
"Although I couldn't heal everything completely, I was able to treat most of the wounds and curses, about seventy to eighty percent of them. As for the rest, they should heal fully after a few days of rest." Amid continued speaking to Hestia. "The problem is the toxin damage. There are too many types of poison, and they're far too complex. Most of them have already seeped deep into his marrow. That isn't something that can be cured in a short time."
Amid said everything she needed to say in one breath, then cast Noir a complicated look.
When she had first started treating him, even she had been shocked by the chaotic state of his body. How had one person ended up wounded to such a degree and still remained alive?
The poison in particular was the worst of it.
It was practically as if Noir had soaked in vats of poison every day, and not just for a few days, but for years.
"Haa... what the heck, you scared me to death." Hestia let out a long breath of relief. "You actually played a prank on a goddess."
Amid spoke with a serious expression.
"I just wanted to warn you. Next time, bring him in earlier. A good number of the wounds on his body are recent. With the condition he's in, his body could collapse at any time. And if that happens, there'll be no saving him."
"But most of it's already been treated, right?"
Noir rolled up his sleeve and patted the bicep he could barely manage to flex.
"But...!"
Hestia still did not seem reassured.
"It's fine. It's only a little hardship. If anything, this pain is a good reminder that I can't afford to grow complacent."
At the thought of those toxin injuries that could not be cured at the root, the image of a graceful figure veiled behind gauze appeared in Noir's mind.
His heart instantly burned hot, and the flames of vengeance nearly burst forth in tangible form.
'So this is how the skill is triggered.'
"Let's go. We still have somewhere else to visit."
Although most of Noir's body had been healed, most of the valis they had earned had disappeared in one go as well.
First, the two of them went to the armor shops inside Babel Tower. After taking their time picking through the goods, they finally bought a set of light armor for twenty to thirty thousand valis.
After that, they came to a somewhat worn-down building. Looking up, Noir saw a signboard that read Blue Pharmacy.
Before they even stepped inside, Hestia had already started shouting toward the shop.
"Hey, Miach, we came to visit!"
Following Hestia inside, Noir saw all kinds of potions lined up on the counter, along with a dog person woman trying to stop Hestia from barging in further.
"Lady Hestia, Lord Miach is compounding potions right now. If there's anything you need, you can just tell me."
"What's with that? I came all this way to see him."
Hestia puffed out her cheeks in displeasure.
At that moment, a smiling god with his eyes gently closed stepped out from the back.
"Hestia, it's been a while. I heard you finally managed to recruit a Familia member. Congratulations."
Miach looked around, then spotted Noir standing behind Hestia.
Still smiling, Miach walked up to Noir and pulled out two green potions, holding them out to him.
"Hello, I'm Miach, an old friend of Hestia's. Consider these two healing potions a little gift."
"Lord Miach, you're giving away potions again."
Before Noir could accept them, the dog girl at the side spoke up in complaint.
The shop was not making much money to begin with, yet her patron god kept giving potions away whenever he felt like it.
"Then maybe I should just buy them?"
"Haha, what an interesting child you are." Miach smiled. "But these are a gift, so I can't charge you for them."
Looking at the smiling Miach, Noir unconsciously reached out and accepted them.
"Thank you, Lord Miach."
Old friends meeting up were bound to have plenty to talk about, but Hestia had not forgotten the purpose of their trip. After chatting for a few moments and agreeing to meet again in a few days, she and Noir bought the potions they needed and left.
"So where is this elf you want to thank?"
As they walked along the street, Hestia turned her head to look at Noir, who was carrying bags of all shapes and sizes.
"She's currently working at a restaurant called The Hostess of Fertility. We can have dinner there while we're at it."
With that, Noir led Hestia to the entrance of The Hostess of Fertility.
By now, evening had fallen. Looking at the lively, bustling restaurant, Noir took Hestia's hand and walked in.
"Welcome, nya! What would you like to order, nya?!"
The moment they entered, an energetic, cheerful catgirl came bouncing over.
"Hello, I'm looking for Miss Ryuu."
The catgirl, Anya, tilted her head and twitched her adorable cat ears, then turned toward the kitchen and shouted at the top of her lungs.
"Ryuu, someone's here to see you, nya!"
Ryuu Lion, a former member of the Astraea Familia who had been living here in hiding for the past two years, frowned the moment she heard Anya call out from outside.
Almost no one in Orario knew the secluded Ryuu anymore.
So who could possibly be looking for her now?
Countless faces flashed through her mind. In the end, Ryuu set down the plate she had been washing, dried her hands, and stepped out.
The moment she saw who had come, her brow furrowed even deeper.
The visitor was a black-haired, black-eyed stranger.
Seeing Ryuu emerge from the kitchen, looking exactly the same as in his memories, Noir took a small box from his arms and held it out to her.
"My name is Noir. I came to thank Miss Ryuu for saving my life two years ago."
"Eh, it's a gift, nya?"
Ryuu did not take the box.
"I'm sorry, sir, but you must have mistaken me for someone else. I've never met you before."
Ryuu knew perfectly well what kind of state she had been in two years ago.
Almost everyone who had seen her back then had died by her hand.
There was no way she could have saved someone.
"Ryuu, don't say that, nya. Maybe you saved him without realizing it, meow."
"Impossible."
Ryuu denied it flatly.
"Miss Ryuu..."
Smack!!!
Just as Noir was about to explain, a thunderous sound rang out.
"Hey, brat, this is a place for eating, not for you people to stand around chatting."
Mia Grand, the owner of the tavern and its head chef, had slammed a huge hand down on the front counter. The loud crack startled everyone present.
Glaring at the group, Mia shouted, "You useless girls, get back to work!"
Ryuu and Anya turned around and hurried back to their tasks at once. Clearly, this was far from the first time they had been ordered around like this.
Noir knew Mia was helping Ryuu out of the situation, but he said nothing. He simply ordered some food and sat down to eat with Hestia.
"What a shame, the gift didn't get delivered." Holding the carefully chosen present in her hands, Hestia spoke regretfully. "Noir-kun, are you sure you didn't get the wrong person?"
From the exchange just now, Hestia had already confirmed that Ryuu was not lying.
"No, it's definitely her." Noir nodded with certainty. "I'll just give her the gift another time."
He had not seen Syr, though that made sense. With Hestia beside him, there was no way Syr would show up.
The girl-game she was playing was not over yet, and she still did not want to reveal herself.
After spending the entire day wandering around Orario, the two of them finally returned to the church.
That night, Hestia looked at Noir as he slept, his brows still tightly furrowed even in his dreams.
Silently, Hestia made a decision.
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