674,
To find out about the little boy’s mother as quickly as possible, Cyclone didn’t stitch him up right away. Instead, he asked Hilmirya to give him a simple bandage.
The wound was so large and the blood wouldn’t stop flowing, yet Cyclone only wrapped it with a long strip of cloth.
Cyclone was the doctor, so Hilmirya didn’t question him.
Even so, Hilmirya hoped the little boy wouldn’t pass out from blood loss on the way back to his mother.
Once the bandage was in place, Cyclone put a hand on the little boy’s forehead.
“…”
A second later, Cyclone spoke.
“All right. Take us to your mother.”
Come to think of it, this was a first, too.
Elyse didn’t know medicine, and she couldn’t fight, either.
Normally, Elyse wouldn’t be asked to accompany Cyclone on house calls.
Hilmirya, who was a nurse; Yuna, who could fight and help Cyclone; and Little Dragon, who knew how to prepare medicinal meals, had all accompanied Cyclone on house calls before.
Everyone except Eileen and Elyse had been on a house call.
If not for the little boy’s pleading gaze, Elyse might not have gone out this time, either.
But since Little Dragon had already handed Elyse the first-aid kit, she would do what she could to help Cyclone.
And so, the three of them followed the little boy toward the slums in the western part of Kakarl.
The buildings here were very old, and some of the low-rise buildings leaned to one side.
The streets were quiet. Every so often, a guard would pass by.
They said that even the church guards hadn’t patrolled this often in the past.
Ever since Allen’s army had officially taken over security in Kakarl, guards had become a common sight—especially in densely populated areas.
In Cyclone’s family’s view, whenever King Allen took over a new place, he tightened his control over the area to suppress groups loyal to the previous ruler before they could rise in rebellion.
Of course, this approach had its pros and cons.
When a country was changing hands, petty criminals could easily take advantage of the situation to cause trouble.
These frequent patrols did help protect ordinary people, but they also made even ordinary gatherings complicated.
After all, the guards couldn’t tell at a glance whether you were having a normal gathering or plotting a rebellion.
So one careless mistake could get you branded a rebel and dealt with on the spot.
After walking for a while, Cyclone and the others arrived at the little boy’s destination.
It was a crooked building on sloping ground. Its design was very similar to Cyclone’s own building, but this one actually leaned to one side.
“This way!”
The little boy tried to open the door for Cyclone with his injured hands, but as he ran toward it, Cyclone grabbed the back of his shirt and forcibly held him in place.
“Your hands are still injured, Hilmirya.”
He got the point across and, at the same time, told Hilmirya to help open the door.
Before Cyclone had even finished speaking, Hilmirya had already stepped forward to open the battered door in front of them.
Elyse watched it all. She hoped that one day she’d be able to communicate with someone as effortlessly as they did.
The door opened. With the natural light coming in, they could still make out the layout inside.
Unlike Cyclone’s building, this one had only a single hallway, with a door on either side.
A staircase stood at the end of the hall. Judging by the layout, this three-story building should have six rooms.
“This way!”
The little boy quickened his pace and ran up the stairs.
Cyclone hurried after him and soon reached the top floor.
On the top floor of the three-story building, blood could already be seen seeping from beneath one of the doors.
The door wasn’t closed. The little boy ran inside and kept calling out, “Mom!”
Cyclone hurried forward. Once inside the room, he looked toward the little boy.
A woman lay on the floor in front of them.
A small knife was embedded in her abdomen.
