847: Rumors of the Sanatorium

The day after we asked Prear the guildmaster to gather information.

We were headed for the center of town. After all, we already scanned over most of the residential areas and the main street yesterday.

（That tall building?）

『Yeah. Seems like that tower is the headquarters of the Sanatorium. Not only is it a treatment center, but it also houses a living quarters for the executives and a research institute.』

「Huh.」

Fran showed absolutely zero interest in it, but this should be a very advanced facility by this world’s standards.

It had a well-cleaned clinic, a training facility for healing magicians, and even an institute for surgeons. Kinda reminded me of a university hospital from modern Japan.

And if it was like those university hospitals, then I wouldn’t be surprised if the upper management really was corrupt.

It even looks the part with that tall white tower. I’m sure plenty of those doctors are engaging in all kinds of frauds, scandals, and bribery. That always happens when you get caught up in power struggles of the medical world.

（Master?）

『Sorry, I was thinking about something. Anyways, the Sanatorium’s reputation seems pretty good, but an organization that big can’t be completely clean. Be on your guard, okay?』

（Nn.）

We asked about the Sanatorium at a general store in town, and they had nothing but praises for it. The old man at the counter even told us stuff we never asked for, such how the nurses were so cute, or how his doctor had huge boobs.

It seems the average citizen considered them as amazing healers who treated you with their magic, though it cost a pretty penny. Well, the old man at the general store may have just fell for the girls.

We also asked a woman walking down the street for her opinion.

「Hey.」

「Oh? What is it, little girl?」

「Is that tower there the Sanatorium?」

「Yes, it is. Are you one of those adventurers from outside?」

「Nn. I’m new here, so I was surprised to see it be so big.」

「That makes sense. I heard that treatment centers in other towns aren’t that big. Is it that unusual?」

「Nn.」

Even though this was an illegal city, many ordinary people have come to live here over the years. They now live a life not so different from the average citizen on other continents.

Next we picked out a chatty lady to talk to, and she had just what we wanted.

She answered all our questions without having any doubts about Fran. In fact, she gave us more info than we asked for.

As a result, we only found out just how reputable the Sanatorium was.

But isn’t that weird? How is it possible that after talking to so many people, we didn’t hear a single bad rumor?

That perfection only made me more suspicious. Maybe they were playing the role of a benevolent organization because they had something to hide?

Eh? Am I thinking too much? I’m getting skeptical because I’ve watched too many medical dramas?

It’s true that I’m looking through tinted glasses. However, there is no way that a big organization with that much authority can be completely innocent! Differing opinions may be accepted!

（What do we do?）

『For now, let’s pose as patients and conduct an internal investigation. Sound good?』

（Nn. Leave it to me.）

Fran nodded at my words and placed her hands on her stomach.

「Ow. My stomach.」

『Wow.』

Such talent! Much emotion! I bestow upon you the title of “Monotone Queen”!

『C-Can you make it sound a little more painful?』

「It hurts…」

『Can you make a face like you’re in pain?』

「It hurts so much…」

『I-I guess that’s a little better?』

「Nn!」

We might be screwed. Maybe I should have kept my Acting skill. No wait, I relearned it a while back. There it is, Acting Lv 1.

『Fran, try one more time and use the Acting skill.』

「Ow ow…」

Is it even working? Seems so, but it’s still this bad, huh?

I think Fran is just hopelessly inept at acting.

It’s the same as how there’s a clear difference between Sword Mastery Lv 1 obtained by an athletic person through training, and Sword Mastery Lv 1 forcibly given to someone with no talent via magic tool.

In the same way, there was a world of difference between the Acting skill used by a person with talent for acting, and the Acting skill I gave to Fran.

「Perfect.」

『Eh, I guess we should be fine? It’s just a checkup anyways.』

And so we headed for the Sanatorium, but we ended up never reaching it.

We bumped into a commotion on the way there.

「I’ll kill those fuckers!」

「We can’t let them get away with this!」

「Find those bastards from the Dragon King Syndicate!」

We saw a group of beastmen out for blood crossing the main street. There’s a disturbing scene.

（Master, what do we do?）

『Let’s hide ourselves and try tailing them.』

（Okay.）

『If it comes to it, we might need Urushi to track them down too. Get ready.』

（Woof!）

Urushi had been napping in the shadows the entire day, since there were no battles in sight and no stalls to eat at. Guess it’s about time to give him a job.

Fran concealed herself using skills and magic, dashing off in the same direction we saw the beastmen go.

The beastmen were continuously emitting a violent aura, so we could tell their location even at a distance. Such easy prey to track.

As we got closer, we saw a couple more beastmen joining up with them. There were now about ten of the beastmen rushing down the back alleys.

Meanwhile, an equal number of dragonkin blocked their way, standing in front of them.

Both sides held their weapons drawn, and it seemed to only be a matter of time until they started killing each other.

『No matter how this goes, it’s gonna get messy…』

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