The Doctor Cured The Villainess And Ran Away-Chapter 17: Personal Physician Examination (3)

Crack!

—Grrrkk!

The goblin struck by my sword let out a rattling gasp as it slammed headfirst into the ground.

I’d landed a clean hit, but I couldn’t kill it instantly. My physical strength was too weak.

“Ugh.”

My hands were still ringing from the impact.

That was less a sword strike and more like beating it with a club.

Yeah, swords really don’t suit me.

I decided to just hold out until the knights cleaned things up.

“Hup!”

It was the most basic technique Tanya had taught me.

She said against bottom-tier monsters like these, if you just look big and swing recklessly, they usually hesitate, wasting time trying to find the right moment to charge.

That’d buy enough time for her to finish the job. She told me to swing big and wildly.

The secret technique—Windmill Slash.

—Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—crack!

My sword tore through the air, slashing the ground and kicking up dust.

The goblins stepped back, gnashing their teeth. Clearly weighing the moment to jump in.

“Ugh, my arms hurt.”

It worked, but I wasn’t going to last long.

Still, since it was Tanya’s technique, it worked like a charm.

“Young Master!”

Just as I was flailing my arms around like a kid, Tanya appeared out of nowhere and swiftly cleaned up the remaining monsters.

“Ugh, my poor arms. Next time, deal with them a little faster, will you?”

Tanya flashed me a bright smile.

“You fought well. You executed the technique beautifully, even in a real battle.”

“What, so you delayed on purpose?”

“Fufu. Of course not.”

She said that, but the answer had a suspicious aftertaste.

This girl...

“Thanks to you, I missed my chance to show off my healing skills. Six healers are already swarming the villagers, the /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ rest are backing up the knights—what am I even here for?”

“Because of you, the other healers had the opportunity to shine. Situational awareness is just as important in real combat. The Lord will surely acknowledge that as well.”

I turned to look at Father. He was quietly watching me.

“Oh—are you starting to feel better?”

“Healing is taking effect!”

“You’ll make it back alive now!”

The noisy cheer from the healers meant the villagers had regained consciousness.

“If it weren’t for you, Young Master, we wouldn’t have even known the villagers had been abducted. That alone is a major contribution.”

“Not like it matters. This is a personal physician exam, not an adventurer test.”

Tanya replied with confident pride.

“But the goblin shaman subjugation isn’t over yet. From here on, please assist the knights directly.”

With a solid pat on the shoulder, she turned and returned to her squad.

—

In any case, the rescue of the villagers ended successfully. After some time, the healers stabilized them.

“Thank you so much! Our farmland is up north. We were just gathering fertilizer near the forest when they ambushed us.”

“We really thought we were going to die... I don’t even know how to thank you enough.”

They were apparently a young couple who had just recently moved out on their own.

The two bowed repeatedly to Father.

“L-Lord Gotberg! What an honor for someone of your stature to come here personally...”

“A lord’s duty is to protect his people.”

“If it weren’t for the Lord, the knights, and the healers... we’d be dead.”

“We almost left without realizing you’d been kidnapped. You should thank this man too.”

Tanya stepped in and addressed the couple.

“Huh?”

“It was the Young Master who first realized you were in danger. Thanks to him, we were able to plan the rescue.”

“Lord Gotberg!”

“Thank you so much. You’re our savior.”

The couple rushed over and grabbed my hands, bowing deeply.

Haha... no need to be that moved.

I was just doing my job as a physician.

“You still haven’t recovered from your injuries. Don’t run around like that. You’ll collapse again from low blood pressure. When you get home, eat some meat first.”

“Low blood pressure...? You sure know some refined vocabulary, my lord.”

“We’ll take your advice to heart.”

It’d be nice if even simple medical knowledge could spread among the general public.

There are too many misguided folk remedies out there—getting the right information out early is key.

And honestly, seeing patients bouncing around all energetic... makes me feel kinda proud.

Tanya instructed one of the knights to escort the villagers back to the cave entrance.

The rest of the unit resumed advancing. We returned to the fork in the path and took the left route this time.

“The ambush means the goblins are aware of our movements. We’ll need to be even more careful,” Tanya said.

“Hm.”

Father visibly tensed at her words.

I added, “It also means they’ve got small, hidden tunnels all around us—places we can’t see. We have to assume a surprise attack could come at any moment.”

“I see. We need to protect everyone present.”

Father pulled out his rosary and began chanting. It wasn’t a healing spell.

As he recited verses from the holy text, his body began to glow faintly.

The divine power he’d cultivated over a lifetime was responding, transforming the prayer into a concrete spell.

“...Grant us your light to pierce through this shroud of darkness. Bless us with your protection.”

Tiny stars of light shimmered over the knights.

It was a [Blessing] spell—unlocked in the latter stages of the healer skill tree, usable only by top-tier healers.

“Ohh, a blessing spell!”

“I feel so much lighter!”

The knights raised their swords and shields with renewed energy. The exam candidates were visibly amazed by Father’s abilities.

“A blessing... isn’t that something most healers couldn’t learn even with a lifetime of training?”

“And he cast it on every single knight... truly, Marquis Gotberg is on another level.”

“No wonder Gotberg is a legendary healer family. Unlike the Young Master, though...”

I could feel the way some of the healers were sneaking glances at me.

“He didn’t even help the injured before. Just swung his sword around like a brute.”

“Maybe his bad habits are showing, huh?”

If you’re going to whisper, at least do it right. I can hear every damn word.

Guess my ears are sharp. Comes from always keeping them open in case of night attacks.

“If you’ve got time to gossip, use it to scan your surroundings again.”

Tanya sharply rebuked the healers. Silenced, they followed the knights.

We resumed the search along the tunnel.

I stayed at the front with Tanya, leading the way.

“Goblins!”

Boris, ever sharp, called out, and the battle began anew.

These goblins were larger than the last ones—charging in squads with clubs raised high.

“So they’re done hiding and just want a full-on war now!”

Steel clashed against clubs, and heavy bodies slammed against the cave walls.

With combat comes casualties on our side too.

When goblins attack in numbers, even knights of the marquis family can’t avoid a few hits.

Bruised arms from clubs. Legs battered. Dislocated shoulders from falls.

It was the healers’ job to treat them immediately and support the fight.

“Ugh...”

A few of the healers were trembling, barely managing to stay upright, unable to cast properly.

When a healer is gripped by fear, their divine power—rooted in faith—wanes with it.

Spells grow weaker.

This is where the real scoring begins.

“From the sundered ancient land the Goddess descended, leaving three sacred scriptures behind—!”

Gis, at least, was chanting fluently—but targeting the wrong person.

“Diagnosis.”

I scanned the battlefield.

Prioritizing knights under the heaviest assault or showing signs of weakness.

[Injury: Bleeding]

[Injury: Fracture]

[Injury: Contusion]

...

Layers of status screens appeared—one for each knight.

‘Tanya’s fine...’

The knight with the fracture was the most urgent.

I tapped Gis on the shoulder.

“Young Master? Don’t distract me—”

“Start with that knight over there, the one with the red armband on his arm.”

“What?”

“Tanya’s uninjured. Why are you casting on someone who doesn’t need it?”

“How am I supposed to know with all that armor? Besides, in a situation like this, you cast and pray it lands on someone who’s hurt!”

That’s one of the downsides of healing in battle.

You never know who’ll get injured next, so healers just keep casting on rotation.

And since target areas are random, brute-forcing spells is often the only option.

“Just do it. He’s got a hairline fracture in his foot. Push him any harder and it’ll shatter. Healing will take even longer then.”

“Then why don’t you do it yourself, Young Master?!”

“I’ve got something better.”

I pulled out a vial from my pocket.

Inside sloshed a vivid, ruby-red liquid.

“What is that?”

“Never seen it before? It’s a famous miracle cure.”

―――――――――――

Enhanced Red Potion (Property-Altered)

Effect: Disinfects applied wounds.

Special Effect: Grants bonus healing when used on soldiers.

―――――――――――

The military’s miracle cure.

Good ol’ red potion.

Technically, it’s povidone-iodine—a disinfectant.

Normally, you’d need chemical synthesis to create it, which requires ingredients I didn’t have.

But the red potion most people know is a second-generation version.

The first-generation one was made with mercury compounds.

‘And mercury... is surprisingly common as a magical reagent.’

I found some at the estate easily.

Tinkered with it using my [Property Change] skill and got it to work.

Since it was based on modern medical knowledge, I even added a bonus healing effect—for soldiers only.

Close enough. Knights are like soldiers.

Once the battle ended, the knights moved into recovery formation.

I checked them using Diagnosis again.

Boris, the knight who’d been on watch that day, seemed like a good subject.

―――――――――――

Diagnosis Activated

Injury: Abrasion

Location: Left shoulder

―――――――――――

“Boris, your shoulder’s scraped, right? Let me see.”

“Eh? Oh—yes, sir.”

I dipped a brush in the red potion and slathered it onto the wound.

Boris flinched at the unfamiliar sensation.

“Whoa—what is this stuff?”

“Hold still, would you?”

After a moment, the vivid red layer began to shimmer faintly orange, like painted skin catching the light.

The healing had begun.

“Hoooh, what is this...?”

One of the senior healers, curious, came over to inspect.

“Oh, it’s definitely working. Never seen anything like it. Knight, how does it feel?”

“Feels like the pain’s just melting away. Really cooling.”

I explained.

“The biggest advantage of this medicine is that it prevents wounds from worsening. And the vivid color helps you spot who’s been treated right away—it saves time.”

“Incredible. Is this holy water?”

“It’s alchemy.”

“Alchemy, is it... hoh...”

The senior healer looked amazed. Understandable.

He returned to his peers and began discussing it with them, clearly surprised by this unknown method.

Father, on the other hand, looked at me with quiet satisfaction—as if he’d expected this all along.

“Next knight—abrasion. You get the red potion. You too, with the fracture—apply some first. And this one’s got a cold? Rub some on your neck.”

While other healers were tending to one knight at a time, I was treating five.

Highly efficient.

Of course, only three of them actually needed disinfectant, but scoring points was what mattered.

More is better. Always more.

“Recovery’s complete. We march onward.”

At Tanya’s command, the squad began moving again.

I could feel it.

The leader of this goblin den was close.