Life As a Servant 97 Chapter 97 : Sisters

Bin noticed the inexplicable look he was getting from the four-eyed female doctor. In response, Ann pushed her glasses for the umpteenth time before talking:

"Everything is wrong with you. That's why you're here."

"That much, I know. What I meant is-"

She cut him off by saying: "I know what you meant." The doctor stood up and pointed at a large monitor right behind her, she switched the images while explaining:

"As you can see, the pumps are doing a good job expulsing the absorbed Mana but they aren't nearly enough to get rid of everything, especially if the absorption rate increases."

Although he understood nothing from looking at the images, her explanation did, at least, makes some sense.

"Why would the absorption rate increase? And how to notice it?"

She changed to another image before answering: "Place with abundant Mana will force your boy to 'inhale' it. I'm not entirely sure but if you feel your heartbeat dramatically increase then it's a sign that you're absorbing Mana at an alarming rate, which means you have to stop whatever you're doing or leave the place you're at, no matter what. The pumps are small and are bound to fail if the Mana pressure increases a lot and at that time, you'll be doomed." As if she remembered something, she raised her finger and warned him: "Oh and don't forget. I cannot plant other pumps, this is a one-time solution, which may or may not last depending on your actions."

Seeing the dumb look on Bin's face, Ann let out a long sigh before sitting up and relaxing her stiff shoulders.

"I really don't know what to make of your body… it rejects Mana but still absorbs it, which doesn't make sense. Even if you can control Mana, the natural absorption isn't something that can be interfered with, after all, it's what people call 'talent'."

Bin chuckled and retorted: "Does that mean I'm what I call a genius mage?"

As she heard his not-so-funny humor, she glared at him and said back: "What 'genius mage'? Even the best of mages don't have a tenth of your absorption rate. Genius mages are people that are good at controlling Mana and shaping it however they want, but I digress."

Ann lazily raised the controller and switched to another image, a much simpler and self-explanatory picture. It was a strange picture of the internal 'Mana circuit' of Bin, and next to it was what a normal body looks like. There were countless veins that had Mana flowing through them but in Bin's case, all his veins pushed the Mana into his heart, which was a massive blue whirlpool slowly spinning clockwise.

"Usually, when breathing, we absorb Mana at a moderate rate, there are other techniques to increase the efficiency of Mana absorption. The absorbed Mana flows through the body's veins and maintains a permanent equilibrium. Even when it's depleted, it self-regenerates in some time, it's just like blood, except we can live without it. In your unique case, all Mana goes to your heart, precisely, that blue whirlpool which I cannot fathom yet. The purpose of it is unknown but the sheer amount of Mana it holds is truly frightening, even to me. I'm sure just like me, your previous doctor, thought of a way to get rid of it but that could, potentially, kill you and cause an explosion big enough to obliterate something ten times bigger than my laboratory."

Distressed, Ann rubbed her disheveled, making it even more unkempt as she continued: "I really don't understand. There's also those illogical black spots, which are basically dead spots where the nerves stopped working and blood no longer circulates but you can still move properly! How is that possible?!"

Seeing her almost turn crazy, Bin tried to calm her down but she was so focused on her thoughts that she didn't hear him.

"I know of someone who can help me but I need your full permission to disclose your condition."

She looked at the guy who was standing before her as she said that. As a doctor, she cannot talk about her patient's condition to anyone unless he allows it. Hearing this, Bin thought for a moment before asking:

"Who's this someone and how can they help you? I don't want to publicize my condition to every doctor… there's some problem-"

Yet again, she interrupted him while grumbling: "I know I know but my capabilities are limited. Even with the pumps, your body won't last for more than two months, and that is if you're lucky. Such a short amount of time isn't enough for me to find a solution, I need the help of an expert. How about you call your previous doctor?"

She gave him a strange look as she started probing but upon seeing his sad and lost expression, her hidden suspicions were confirmed.

"He… He's dead, right?"

This caused the young man to flinch, though he didn't reply.

"In addition to the pumps, there's something else… an artificial thing in your heart. Only one person could succeed in such an impossible operation. It's Dr. Galen, right?"

In the end, Bin slowly nodded his head but his lips remained tightly sealed, refusing to speak about the deceased Galen.

Ann didn't press him too much as she switched the topic. "The person I'm talking about is my sister. She's a talented doctor and I'm sure that with her help, we can accelerate the process. That is, if you're willing."

*****

Right in front of the small building where Ann's laboratory was in, a black land rover stopped and a red-haired woman got off. She stared at the dirty and old building before a sigh escaped her rosy lips. Surprisingly, she was none other than Scarlett Caulfort, the honored guest staying at the magic academy and a famous doctor.

"Hmpf! She knew I came back yet she didn't even visit once!"

The woman snorted and walked to the entrance, fully prepared to scold her little sister but also eager to meet her. It has been some time since they talked and although her little sister is an introvert and hates interacting with strangers, Scarlett still cared very much about her and provided her with everything she needed. In fact, not many knew that Ann is no less talented than her big sister but the former only focused on her own experiments and didn't want to become a normal doctor, intrinsically.

Chapter end