Valen released Nadol with a confused look on his face.
Freed from his grip, Nadol bent over, coughing up phlegm until his throat stung.
Then, too flustered to reach for a cup, he grabbed a water bottle and gulped it down.
While Nadol applied the fur turtle, Valen couldn’t hide his bewilderment.
“No matter how I think about it, Lord Argen brought the wrong human.
Choosing that guy is a disaster for the demon realm.”
“I heard every word.”
“I said it for you to hear!” Nadol snapped, tears welling in his eyes.
“Do you know what time it is?
It’s 8 AM!
I could’ve slept two more hours, and because of you, look at this mess.
Sob.”
Whether Nadol vented his frustration or not, Valen ignored it and sat down on the sofa.
Valen’s mind was cluttered with worries about his illness.
Since it was a disease born from the demon’s curse, he absolutely had to complete treatment here before returning to the human world.
If he returned to the human world without addressing this, Valen feared he’d spend his final moments thinking of Argen.
Nadol opened his medical bag.
“Now, look at me.”
Nadol was reluctantly playing along since Valen had ordered an examination, but his expression clearly said he had no idea why he had to examine a perfectly healthy, even robust guy first thing in the morning.
He half-heartedly scanned Valen’s eyes up and down, peered inside his mouth, and checked his pulse.
The diagnosis wouldn’t change anyway.
But if he said everything was fine here, Valen would glare at him like he wanted to kill him.
And glare alone wouldn’t be the end of it.
He’d likely get beaten to a pulp.
‘That crazy bastard.
The one who needs to see a psychiatrist is the one making a fuss about me fixing his illness.
What a fuss.’ After days of torment from Valen, Nadol finally realized it.
Making an accurate diagnosis was utterly pointless.
This suffering would only end if he told Valen what he wanted to hear.
Nadol scrunched up his face, feigning seriousness.
“Oh dear, you’re going to die soon.”
“What?”
“You’ve got too much anger inside you.
You’ll die young.
There’s only one cure.
Be nice to the demons around you.
No matter how frustrated you get, hold back those fists.
Look at the world with a positive outlook.
Especially that goat-like demon.
Treat him with the utmost respect.
That demon is your benefactor… Ugh!”
Valen grabbed Nadol’s massive horn in one hand.
Nadol jumped like he’d been hit in a vital spot, flailing helplessly.
“Hey, let go, let go!
Put this down…”
“Stop messing around.
You want me to do it for real?”
By now, Nadol was so aggrieved he was on the verge of tears.
He couldn’t understand why he had to endure this humiliation since morning, dealing with No Name.
He had done his utmost as a doctor, treating Valen with the utmost care.
Even if he couldn’t expect thanks, why did he have to be cursed at?!
Unable to hold back any longer, Nadol unleashed the pent-up resentment he’d been harboring.
“You bastard, you’ve gone too far.
Your body is perfectly normal!
Normal!
I’m not a quack—your body is fine!
Even if you gathered a hundred of the best doctors from the human world here to examine you, they’d give the same diagnosis as me!
I refuse to treat scum like you anymore.
Go see a human doctor!
And hope you don’t get stuck with some crazy doctor who turns you into a stuffed animal!”
Nadol roughly pushed Valen’s hand away, buried his face in his knees, and sobbed.
Valen couldn’t make out most of the words Nadol was choking out.
He just thought it was disgusting to see a grown demon throwing a tantrum while crying.
But he realised that grabbing the goat-like creature like a rat wouldn’t cure his illness.
Nadol was the only doctor in the Demon King’s Castle who could treat human bodies.
Though there were more than a few suspicious aspects about him, if the bastard refused treatment, it would be Valen’s loss.
Valen decided to back down for now.
Finishing his thoughts, he turned his head toward Nadol and their eyes met immediately.
Nadol had been sniffling loudly while stealing glances at Valen’s reaction.
What a piece of work.
Valen let out a deep sigh.
“Alright, I get it.”
“…What do you get?”
“I won’t hit you.”
“What about cursing?”
“I’ll keep it to a minimum.”
Nadol lowered the legs he’d been curled up with under the sofa.
Then he pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed it firmly under his eyes.
Seemed his twisted mood had eased a bit.
He was yelling about stuffed animals and such, but isn’t his forgiveness a bit too quick?
Maybe it’s low intelligence, but he sure is simple-minded.
“Fine, Mr.
No Name No.38.
I’ll apologise for just blindly calling you normal.
As a doctor, I should listen to my patients, but I was treating you like a lunatic instead of a patient.”
Valen’s cheek twitched.
But getting angry again here would only prolong a pointless argument.
So he held back.
“Describe your symptoms to me in detail.”
And holding back was an excellent choice.
Nadol genuinely wanted to hear about Valen’s abnormal symptoms.
He even pulled out a notebook, ready to take notes.
But when it came time to describe his own condition, his lips wouldn’t part.
It would have been less embarrassing to say his sexual function had become crippled.
For some reason, his chest felt tingly and goosebumps rose on his forearms.
But lying to a doctor was stupid.
“Well… Ha, this specific person just won’t leave my mind.
Their voice keeps ringing in my ears, and I feel this crushing tightness in my chest.
Suddenly, my whole body would heat up, and I’d even get nosebleeds.
They appear in my dreams too.”
Nadol, who had been silently jotting down the symptoms, tapped his pen tip lightly on the notebook.
He stared at his notes with a pained expression.
Since arriving in the demon realm, Valen had never seen Nadol look this serious.
Valen’s gaze never left Nadol’s mouth.
“Hmm.”
“What do you know?”Nadol slammed the notebook down and nodded.
“From what I can see…”
“……”
“You’re possessed.
The only way is to exorcise it… Aaah!
Agh!
Horns, my horns!”
Valin grabbed Nadol’s horns as if to crush them.
Nadol’s head snapped sideways, and he squirmed again.
I was a fool to expect anything from this guy.
It was a waste of time even bothering with this low-level diagnosis.
Valen released Nadol’s horn and sank back into the sofa.
Then, with an exasperated sigh, he ran a hand over his face.
“I was seriously considering it!
Why are you getting angry?” (Nadol)
“You’d be better off never taking anything seriously in your life.”
“It looks like possession to me no matter how I look at it… If there really isn’t two souls in your body, I have to suspect family history.
You can’t ignore genetics.
Is anyone sick among your parents or siblings?”
At the word “family,” one face immediately came to mind.
Leto.
He’d never considered his brother’s illness might be in his own blood.
Valen was born with a healthy body, inheriting even Leto’s share.
When Valen hesitated, Nadol raised an eyebrow in surprise.
“Guess there is.
Your grandparents?
Or uncles or aunts?
Tell me anything.”
Compared to Leto’s illness, Valen’s symptoms were merely an itch.
Leto stood on the line separating life and death.
To take a single step toward life, he had to endure treatments accompanied by immense suffering.
Even on days without treatment, excruciating pain constantly lingered by his side.
“My brother suffers from an incurable disease.”
Nadol’s hand holding the pen flinched.
“A disease where the body gradually stiffens, starting from the fingertips.
His jaw muscles are too weak to chew food properly or even swallow.”
“……And?
Tell me more.”
“A childhood accident caused complications, so he often has breathing difficulties.
Even a slight fever overwhelms his organs.”
“Treatment… how is he being treated?”
“He barely clings to life under the palace physician’s care.
Once the medical funds run out, that’s the end of his life.” Valen stated his brother’s impending death matter-of-factly.
It wasn’t that he wasn’t sad or distressed.
It was a statement born of having repeatedly imagined the worst possible outcome whenever Leto stood at death’s door.
“The royal palace physicians must charge a hefty fee.
Who’s covering the treatment costs?
Your parents?”
Valen pulled up one corner of his mouth and chuckled.
“Your superior doesn’t have parents either.
Don’t assume I do either.”
Thud.
The pen fell from Nadol’s hand.
Valen tapped the pen rolling across the floor with the tip of his shoe.
He picked it up, placed it on the table, and stood up.
As expected, getting a proper diagnosis today was out of the question.
That brat Nadol.
Why did he have to ask such a weird question?
Valen didn’t think his symptoms were the same as Leto’s.
But Nadol had accidentally poked at his weak spot, his sore place, and before he knew it, he’d spilled the story about his brother.
Once the words were out, his heart grew heavy.
‘He must think I’m dead.’
Half a year had already passed since he’d been imprisoned in the Demon King’s Castle.Valen was Leto’s only support.
He truly worried what would happen if Leto thought his parents had been murdered and that he himself had died in the war against the demons.
He wasn’t sure if Leto could accept that horrific, cruel reality.
When the mind weakens, the body inevitably follows.
Valen sighed repeatedly, weighed down by worry for his younger brother.
After wandering aimlessly for a long while, he arrived at the Lake of Life.
The pear blossom tree, symbol of Argen, was in full, exuberant bloom.
He stared blankly up at the giant tree before sitting down haphazardly on the ground.
Leaning his back against the wall with one knee raised, he simply gazed at the tree.
Could Leto also bloom like that tree if he entered the Lake of Life?
Then, the gate opened.
Someone knelt beside Valen.
“I found you.” It was Argen.