As Lee walked down the halls, back toward the main lobby, he came upon Neil exiting one of the patient rooms with a smile and a wave.

“Moving some patients?” Lee asked.

Neil joined into step with their small group as they walked down the hall. “Your friend, Kendri… He was having some trouble so we started sorting out the patients ahead of time. It’s going to be a busy day.”

Lee quickly peeked into some of the other rooms but found them empty. “Did you just start?”

Neil shook his head. “No, these are the inpatient rooms. That’s why they have beds. The north east wing has the out-patients. They have simple tables and chairs for the most part. Most of them are staying there.”

While that made sense, why was there already an in-patient? “And what caused me to have an in-patient already? Was it something obvious? No offense, but you’re not a healer are you? How did you make that call?”

Neil didn’t seem offended at all by Lee’s remark. He slowed in his steps as he thought deeply, shifting his eyes back toward the room as he did so. “The family in that room is well known. It’s not something that’s simple to fix or heal. If it’s even possible in the first place. While we all have heard of your miracles, seeing is truly believing. If it ends up that they can he fixed, then it’s simple enough to get them discharged.”

Lee looked back to the room in question and debated about going in. Neil caught his gaze and shook his head. “I know we’ve just met, but trust me when I say they can wait till last. They’ve been waiting for years, and they won’t mind another few hours. They were one of the first to sign up for treatment.”

“First come, first serve, no?” Lee half-joked.

“No. Triage is a thing.” Regina said as she continued writing in a notebook—a new one by the looks of it. Judging by how much information got dumped on her in the last ten minutes, that was probably needed. A third would be a good gift…

As they entered the lobby, it was packed to the brim with the sick, injured, and… healthy-looking people. Nothing was immediately apparent when he looked at some of the small groups. Judging by the makeup of the smaller groups, Lee quickly concluded that most came with their family members, regardless of age.

Maybe it’s a cultural thing? He thought.

Hera caught his eye by frantically waving her hand and jumping up and down. She looked like she was crashing and burning from the pressure of her administrative duties, and he couldn’t blame her. He hoped she didn’t think she would be fired on her first and busiest day. It’s not like he expected her to be perfect on day one of her first ‘real job.’

“Something wrong?” He asked as he approached.

“I—I have a list of rooms for you to see to first. Nothing severe, but there are some with mild injuries that would best treated first. N—not that I am saying I would know better than you!”

Lee waved away her panic. “I’m not all knowing. This will be a good test of your abilities. Do you have the list written down?”

Hera grabbed a… clipboard! Lee smiled as he spotted something familiar to him. He expertly flipped the clipboard over in his hands as he inspected the list.

ROOMS -

1A: Mangled Broken Leg. - Usylius Harb.

1B: Severe back injury. - Magnie Rikard.

1C: Severe burns. - Annalise Showes

1D: Unknown illness. - Tabitha Whine Note: It looks very bad.

1E: Slight cut - Very Infected. - Illithik Grazen.

…

..

.

As Lee read down the list, checking to make sure he could heal with the issues listed, Neil broke off and continued leading people toward their rooms and gathering information. As Lee read on, Hera hesitantly spoke up. “I—I collected the pay already. We have a chest for that.”

Lee looked up from the clipboard, leaned over the receptionist's desk, and saw the sturdy iron chest Hera nervously pointed at.

“What did you charge? I’m pretty firm on my prices.”

Hera gulped and flicked her eyes toward Regina, Gerald, and even Em for help before sighing with relief at the sight of the approaching Gina., Lee’s new assistant.

Gina strutted up next to him, calm and confident. She quickly scanned the clipboard, then nodded once. “We were told by military members that you requested a maximum cost of ten silver, with a minimum amount of ten copper. We were unsure about the direct pricing per injury, so we judged life-saving treatment to be at the maximum and lesser injuries to be at the minimum. Of course, if one cannot afford the treatment required, we will do what we can.”

Lee narrowed his eyes but eventually nodded. “If someone is going to die because they can’t afford treatment, we will still treat them. They can take out a loan or go into debt if required. There will be no interest, with a minimal monthly payment. Write that down and let everyone know should someone ask.”

Lee let loose a silent sigh as he went to the first room with the clipboard in hand. While he would have liked to treat everyone for free, regardless of the injury or illness, this was becoming a business. His prices were cheap, but he would make it work. He would not extort people's well-being for monetary gain. That was inexcusable and anathema to his goal.

Lee soundly knocked on the door to the first room labeled ‘1A’, then opened it after waiting a second or two with a giant smile. Inside, an ashen-faced man lay on a cushioned table. A woman held his hand by his side as she looked up with hope shining in her eyes.

He could see the exact moment when her eyes widened, acknowledging his attire and putting two and two together. He confidently stepped into the room and pretended to look over his clipboard. “Usylius Harb?”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

The man, Usyilus, nodded, winced, and gripped his leg, which was obviously broken. Luckily, it wasn’t a compound fracture, as the pain would have been ten times worse, and a pain to clean up.

Lee walked over toward the table and cast Anestheliosurge as he placed a hand gently on Usylius' broken leg. Usylius’ face instantly eased as the pain disappeared.

“So, how did this happen?” Lee asked as he stood there, letting his Healer’s Touch work its magic.

“Horse kicked me…”

“Well, I wouldn’t make that a habit. You’re free to go.”

“...What?”

Lee was already half out of the room when both Usylius and who Lee assumed to be his wife, looked back down at the broken leg with shock and awe.

“Quick and easy. You’ve already paid. So you can go about your day. My anti-pain spell should last for a few minutes. If you suddenly feel pain after it expires, then come back immediately. I don’t think that will happen, as you appear healthy to my skills, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

Lee left before they responded. He had many other patients to tend to, and by Arcani, he would get through them as quickly as he could.

—----------------------

“Anyone else?” Lee asked as he left his last patient's room. So far, everything had been going smoothly, and nothing had been too difficult to heal. He was running a little low on mana, but he was still more than capable should anything untoward happen.

Gina and Regina, an awkward combination of names to think about, flanked him on his right and left as he exited the room.

“The one in-patient is the last one for today.” Gina said.

Lee nodded as he brought out his pocket watch from his Hidden Cache.

11:43

It was nearly midnight, and he realized he hadn’t eaten today.

“Gina, if you don’t mind, can you get all of us some dinner? “

“It’s part of my job. What would you like?” Gina asked as she brought up a clipboard of her own.

Lee looked to Regina, but she didn’t offer any help in what to ask for. He frowned and elbowed her in the side. “I don’t even know what food you guys have in this kingdom. I’ve been eating street vendor food and military soup for god knows how long. Help me out.”

Regina didn’t even budge from his prodding but asked a question of her own. “What would you like to have? How about something from your own country?”

He felt like this was a test of some sort, but he didn’t have a reason not to talk about food. Thinking back, the Dark Elves had hamburgers; maybe they also had some. “Do you guys like hamburgers? Cheeseburger? The Dark Elves had some, but most of your produce is unrecognizable to me.”

That got a reaction out of Regina—A small one, but a reaction nonetheless. “Really?”

Lee frowned as he began walking to the west wing to visit his last patient for the day. He hoped he wasn’t going to wake them up. “Yes, really. Is it that big of a surprise? Different things grow in different climates and regions. Now, answer. Do you guys have hamburgers?”

Gina spoke up before Regina could respond. “We do. Should I get some for everyone?”

Lee nodded with a smile. “Yes, thank you. Let's grab some money out of the chest up front.”

As they entered the central lobby, Lee looked around at the now-empty room. A rumbling sound distracted him from his inspection, and the cause almost made Lee laugh. Hera was bent over on top of the receptionist's desk with arms crossed—completely asleep and snoring.

“Leave her be,” Lee said as he stepped around her to grab the chest he’d seen previously.

It looked brand new. It was made of dark, solid wood and had gray, metallic bands studded across the exterior, almost like a treasure chest.

Security Chest - Uncommon: This is a finely made chest used to store valuables.

A little disappointed with the lack of enchantments, Lee made a mental note to upgrade it later. It was unlocked, so Lee flipped open the top and handed Gina a few silver coins for everyone's meals. Then, once finished, he put every single remaining coin into his Hidden Cache. He would sort out his gains later when he found some free time.

To her credit, Gina hardly reacted to the poofing of money and bowed. “I’ll be back soon….”

She held the bow for a second longer than what was natural, and Lee paused on his way to the west wing. “Is there something you’d like to ask? Feel free.”

“Does… Em eat more than normal people?” She asked, hesitant for the first time.

Lee didn’t react to the ‘normal’ part. It wasn’t meant to be malicious but a proper question. “Not by much. Buy some extras if anyone wants more. I can always store them for later if we don’t eat them. I assume those three silvers will be enough?”

Gina rose from her bow and smiled. “More than enough. I’ll be back.” She speed-walked out of the building, glad to have a mission for the first time today. Lee didn’t need any help for anything, so he’d asked her to get them all food to be polite. Hopefully, it made her feel useful.

“All right, one last patient today. Let’s go, Regina.”

Regina followed directly behind him as they made their way to the room he had spotted Neil leaving earlier in the day. Like all previous patients, Lee knocked loudly on the door, waited a few seconds, then opened it confidently.

Inside, two adults, probably in their later twenties, sat in chairs. On the patient's bed, a child sat playing with a… puzzle. A man, probably the boy's older brother or father, Lee wasn’t sure, was asleep. He had one hand holding up his head as he dozed soundly. In the other chair, a woman with bright orange hair, probably the man's wife, rose quickly as she closed a book and placed it on a nearby table.

“Lee took in the room for a few seconds and spoke quietly as not to wake the man asleep. “I’m Lee Barnes, the healer. I wasn’t given any information as to what the problem is…”

The woman twiddled her hands as she flicked her eyes towards the young boy solving a puzzle on the bed. She was thinking about what to say, but the boy spoke softly without looking up. “Mom afraid.”

The woman, the boy's mother apparently, took a deep breath and exhaled shakily. She locked eyes with Lee and tilted her head towards the door. Catching her drift, Lee nodded and left the room alongside the woman.

Regina was outside, flanking the door in her usual position. Once they entered, Regina scanned the woman up and down before ignoring them altogether.

That little motion caused Lee to smack himself mentally. He quickly used Identify on the woman. He’d like to know her name.

Joline Kraft - Human - Level: 17 Seamstress.

“What seems to be the problem, Joline?” Lee asked calmly but confidently. He always liked when the doctors who helped him were confident, so he mostly copied what they said and did.

“My son—Timothy… He’s healthy, but something’s not right. I know it deep down, and everyone knows something is off…” She was beginning to ramble, so Lee stopped her there.

“What is it that’s ‘off’?” Lee asked.

“He’s just… different. I don’t know what to do. He doesn’t talk much, isn’t interested in most things normal kids are interested in, and sometimes has outbursts over the littlest of things. He has an ability that lets him read emotions, or at least, we think he does. He doesn’t ever answer…”

As Joline kept rambling about her son, Timothy, Lee’s stomach sank, and his grip on his clipboard tightened. While he wasn’t an expert in any way, shape, or form, everything she described indicated something Lee couldn’t heal….

Or… if he could heal it, should he even attempt it?