Ch 26: Helping Others, Evil Schemes – Part 1.
We moved along with Sera-senpai and finally arrived at our destination. It was a so-called university hospital, and according to Sera-senpai, it was the hospital where Utachan was hospitalized.
“…Huh? Didn’t we agree to meet at a cafe near the hospital?”
“No, you’re not mistaken. There’s a cafe within the hospital grounds.”
“I see.”
I see, there are convenience stores and such inside the facility, but I didn’t know that there were cafes attached to large hospitals like this.
“Huh, I had no idea that a large hospital would have a cafe attached to it, like a convenience store or something.”
“Well, if you don’t have any major injuries or illnesses, you probably won’t need to go to a large hospital like this, but still, I think the impression is that they have everything you need.”
“Well, to be honest, I’ve never had much experience with hospitals or anything like that in my life. I only think of hospital interiors and facilities as backgrounds in dramas or something like that…”
Fortunately, my whole family is healthy, and I never had any major injuries or illnesses until junior high school. Then, I started exploring as an adventurer in high school, and since then, my life has been determined to have no connection with hospitals through skills and spiritual medicines.
If there was any connection, it would probably be getting married and my wife becoming pregnant. In that kind of situation, there wouldn’t be many updates on information about hospitals.
“I’m sorry, I’m not sure. So you didn’t have any serious injuries when you started out as an explorer?”
“……, that’s right.”
“What’s the pause?”
It’s nothing. It was early on when I screwed up and almost died. Actually, I probably did die. …I’m sure it was because of that that I went crazy.
“Well, anyway. It’s certainly convenient to have a space to chat within the hospital grounds.”
“Yeah, that’s true. But, the cafe in the hospital is mainly for visitors to see patients… Oh, there he is, Yozakura-kun.”
“Hmm?”
Sera-senpai interrupted the conversation and walked quickly to the entrance of the cafe, which had been set as the meeting place.
There was a woman there. She was dressed neatly, but had an unmistakably unassertive aura.
“Sera-senpai, let me introduce you. This is Kanako Mido-san. She is the mother of Mido Sana, who was involved in the accident. Mama-san, this is my junior, Yozakura-kun. He is an active explorer and has been helping us in various ways. You may have heard something from Sana’s company.”
“Yes, nice to meet you, Sera-chan… I’m Mido. I’m really grateful that you’re lending us your help despite the trouble my daughter caused. It’s a stroke of luck that we met like this.”
“Nice to meet you, I’m Yozakura. Please don’t bow your head, Mido-san. This time, it’s like a stroke of good fortune brought us together. It just so happens that your daughter was a friend of my senior, who owes me a great debt. So it’s a coincidence, you could say. Anyway, let’s not stand here and chat. Let’s go inside for now.”
We smoothly redirected the expression of gratitude to prompt a change of location and headed into the café. Once we settled down, we could naturally transition to the main topic at hand.
“Well then, let’s start by briefly summarizing the situation. Your daughter is hospitalized, but is there no immediate danger to her life?”
“Yes. According to her friend who was with her, she collapsed while going down the stairs… She was quite busy until recently, so it’s probably due to overwork.”
“Ah…”
After hearing the explanation, I understood. Certainly, there was a big game project going on in LiveLa during spring before the accident. Uta-chan was also part of the project management team, and it seems that she had accumulated fatigue. … That fatigue came out at the worst possible timing, while she was moving down the stairs.
“Fortunately, thanks to the quick response of the emergency team and the efforts of the doctors, my daughter’s life was saved. It was also a stroke of luck that potions were deployed there by chance, which was a big help”
“That’s amazing. That was certainly fortunate”
In the buying and selling of potions, the government always intervenes. However, a certain percentage of the potions that have been collected are not put up for auction and are instead handed over to public institutions.
Especially for lower-level potions, even though they may not completely heal, they have sufficient performance as emergency treatment, so they are supplied to the emergency medical team.
Well, even so, the number of potions is extremely small, so it’s a matter of luck whether they are deployed on the arriving ambulance. And if it is used, it seems that an insanely high bill will come later.
Still, the fact remains that it’s a matter of life and death. Regarding this incident, Utachan was undoubtedly fortunate. …If it were really fortunate, she wouldn’t even have come close to death.
“Thanks to various factors, my daughter’s condition has stabilized for now. However, it seems that the blow was severe and she can’t move properly.”
“That’s…”
According to him, there is paralysis below the neck. And from the way Midou-san was speaking, it seems like it’s a complete paralysis. It’s likely that she suffered damage to a part of her spinal cord during the fall.
“She’s conscious. It’s not smooth, but she can communicate. She can eat liquid food. However, her body doesn’t move! The prospect of recovery is unfortunately low…!!”
“Mama…”
Tears welled up in Midou-san’s eyes and trickled down. Sera tried to encourage her by holding her hand, but her shoulders continued to tremble.
Well, it’s natural. As a parent, you can’t help but cry when your child becomes bedridden due to an accident. Considering Midou-san’s appearance and Sera’s information as a friend, Uta-chan is probably young too.
“If my daughter is to recover, it will only be through potions obtained in the dungeon. That’s what I thought, so I researched everything related to potions…and what I found was despair. To completely heal my daughter, we need at least a special grade potion, and even that is not something we can obtain.”
“…I see.”
The special grade potion, the highest level potion that can instantly cure even lost body parts, is a nonsensical item with tremendous healing effects. It falls into the realm of mythological items that cannot be categorized as mere wound medicine due to its additional effects, and is thus a drug that can barely be handled by humans.
Therefore, special grade potions rarely appear on the market. There are few explorers who can obtain them, and even if they do, there are no sellers who would let them go.
Well, it’s not zero. However, due to legal issues, one must win them at an auction to obtain them. And if a special grade potion were put up for auction, wealthy individuals from all over the country or even the world would participate in the auction using all sorts of means to win the bid.
Especially for wealthy individuals who have injuries on their legs, they would certainly try to obtain it by any means necessary. Because they feel the danger of their life nearby, their enthusiasm in this matter is likely to be unmatched.
“We have considered crowdfunding, of course. We also talked with my daughter’s management about it. However, it is uncertain whether the necessary funds will be raised. The amount of money needed is so enormous that…!”
“If the starting price is 5 billion, that’s probably the cheap end”
It sounds like a joke, but when you look at past auctions, it’s really at this level. After all, it’s an extra life. Most illnesses can be completely healed and cured by quickly sprinkling the potion even if a bad part is roughly cut off.
So even with a rough estimate, it seems that you wouldn’t even stand a chance without 100 billion yen at hand. Utachan might have a chance if she tried crowdfunding, but if she were to raise funds as “Irohane Uta,” then LiveLa would need to take the forefront, and it would be difficult to proceed with a snap decision.
In reality, the office seems to have been discussing various things. Since her retirement is due to injury, LiveLa is not at fault. Losing a “popular product” is painful, but it is also highly likely that it can be recovered if a few new artists debut.
So, some were of the opinion that it might be better to just retire and say goodbye. There was also the opinion that there was no need to take a big gamble like crowdfunding.
The meeting was reportedly very difficult as there was the possibility that the company’s name would be tarnished if the project failed, and even if it succeeded, it would create a heavy precedent. … The biggest reason was that the final decision-makers, her parents, were close to breaking down due to the harsh reality and were lacking in the decisive factor.
“I see. I understand the situation that you and your group are in. It must have been very difficult. I don’t know how much I can help, but I will do my best to assist you in any way I can.”
However, you could say that every cloud has a silver lining. The fact that the story involving a large group of people such as crowdfunding is not progressing is actually quite convenient for me. After all, this means that I can act without having to worry too much.
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