NOVEL NEXT Chapter 10: Chapter 10 - Looks Like a Beggar
Click-clack-click-clack ....
The sound of typing is still loud in Olivia's consultation room.
Click, Enter.
As if she had finished a difficult task, Olivia leaned back in her chair and took off her glasses. She once again checked what she had just done on the laptop in front of her.
The document on the screen was titled, [Report Number: 35. Patient Name: Ernest Ralstone].
Ernest's name and the suspicious report number were visible.
Immediately, a notification appeared saying that the document had been successfully sent to someone.
After checking the document, she saw that it was after work, so she wanted to leave quickly and go home.
Just as she got up, for the second time, someone suddenly came unceremoniously into her consulting room.
He came in without knocking; opened the door, and without prompting, sat on the chair in front of her desk.
He was not dressed like a patient who wanted to consult, nor was he wearing a white robe like a doctor who wanted to meet Olivia for a chat. Instead, he wore a suit like a state official.
"Doctor Olivia, a doctor specializing in diseases related to Mana, right?!"
"W-what brings you here, Mr. Audamaro?"
Although Olivia felt uncomfortable when she saw Audamaro, an old man with a big belly and thin hair that was almost bald, Olivia still showed basic respect because Audamaro was a hospital director who ran this Circle of Hope hospital.
"It looks like you don't have many patients to take care of. Are doctors like you still needed in this hospital?"
Audamaro's words seemed to openly intend to provoke Olivia.
Audamaro showed up with a bit of frustration because earlier, Dr. Dicky DuPont—yeah, that DuPont family—had barged into his office, clutching his back like some accident victim. After checking him out, it turned out his back was actually broken.
Whining like a kid, Dicky demanded that Audamaro fire Olivia. But there's this standing order from the hospital's mysterious owner to stick to its core mission: providing free treatment for Mana-related patients. And to keep that mission alive, the hospital still needs doctors like Olivia.
Even so, Audamaro couldn't just let things slide. To keep up appearances with the DuPont family, he decided to confront Olivia and dish out some punishment.
"I'll get straight to the point. You have to stay in the emergency room for one whole week."
For an important specialist like Olivia, a week in the emergency room was no small punishment.
After said what needed to be said, Audamaro simply left. He walked out while trying to button up the suit he was wearing. Instead of looking cool, he looked weird as he struggled to do so due to his large belly.
Everything happened like a flash of lightning-here one moment and gone the next-leaving Olivia standing there with her eyes wide and mouth open, looking as if she had no clue what had just happened.
'Is this because I slammed Doctor DuPont before?'
With an annoyed face, Olivia resigned herself to her punishment.
***
Orlando City, United States.
As the automatic glass door opened, Ernest received a welcome air without the smell of blood in it. The air blew all over him, bringing warmth and comfort.
The afternoon sun was almost hidden from people's view when he stepped out of the hospital entrance.
The sight of the early evening, filled with the activity of people who had just returned from their work, was a sight he had not seen for a long time.
The big buildings were still standing tall.
There was no debris scattered anywhere.
There were no more dragons flying in the sky or battles between demons on the streets of the city.
The horrible monsters that Ernest often encountered in the Netherworld were also gone.
Obviously, he felt at peace. He unconsciously spread his arms wide.
Although in the past the Earth had experienced The Great Catastrophe, now there were very rare or even almost no magical events happening on Earth. So, there were no people on the street carrying swords around their waists or armor wrapped around their bodies.
Indeed, there were still many dungeons, gates, sky castles, or some other places where there were still many monsters inside, and some areas on Earth were also habitats for monsters, but such places were far from human settlements.
Although magical places were scattered across the world, they were never located near where the general public lived.
For the most part, life in major cities across the globe had returned to normal since the Earth regained peace.
'Should I enjoy this peaceful world before another catastrophe strikes?'
Walking along the sidewalk, Ernest glanced northward toward the Central Business District—the destination he was heading to. The Circle of Hope Hospital where he had been treated wasn't far from there.
As Ernest continued down the sidewalk, he felt the stares of strangers following him.
"Mommy, why is that man dressed like that?"
"Shh! He's just someone going through a tough time, honey. Stay away, okay?"
There was a mother holding a daughter. The girl asked a question while putting a finger in her mouth. The girl clearly asked about Ernest because the other finger was pointed at him.
Unlike Ernest, who was focused on the cityscape, the people passing by were focused on him. Their stares were all the same—filled with disgust. Many went out of their way to avoid him or quickly walked away.
Even though they seemed to mistake him for a beggar based on his appearance, Ernest simply smiled in response to their judgmental gazes.
He didn't care about their disdainful looks. As long as they posed no threat to his life, it didn't matter. Besides, he understood why they reacted that way.
He was no longer wearing neat patient clothes. Now he wore his old clothes—wrinkled, grimy, and even speckled with mold in some areas. That was only natural since the clothes were from two years ago.
When he was about to leave the hospital earlier, he received the clothes from Olivia.
"These are the clothes you were wearing when you were brought here. Your personal belongings are in this sling bag. You can check the contents later," Olivia had explained.
When Ernest asked why she'd kept such worn-out clothes, she simply replied it was hospital policy to hold onto patients' personal belongings.
If it were only the sling bag with his personal documents inside, he might have believed her. But keeping the clothes too? Ernest was skeptical that there was an official policy for storing a patient's ruined clothes.
Ernest had wanted to tell Olivia to throw the clothes away but stopped himself upon realizing he had no money to buy new ones.
"Did she predict my situation when I woke up? Or was she worried these clothes might hold sentimental value for me?"
Reaching into the sling bag, Ernest pulled out his wallet, hoping to find a few leftover dollars from his debts to buy some food and celebrate his small but continuing life.
To his surprise, aside from his personal documents, he found something unexpected.
"...A few paper money?"
He unfolded them and find five $100 in total.
As far as his memory served him, before being hit by the truck and falling into a vegetative state, he had barely a dollar and some change left. After all, he'd wasted all his borrowed money on booze and gambling.
'Did Olivia give me this?'
A smile crept onto Ernest's face as he thought about Olivia's quiet and thoughtful nature—almost like a dandere nature from a fictional story.
'She's really kind.'