Chapter 1277: Out of Darkness

“That isn’t my blood,” Nana said, already pulling at the coat with Ring’s help. “Previous patient broke an arm at a machine. It’s a little messy.”

“R-really?”

“Come here. Let me look at your eye.”

She’s the same age as me. Momo swallowed, crossed the room, and removed her eye mask. Nana leaned in, examined without ceremony, then pressed a bowl of liquid medicine into Momo’s hands and patted the bed beside her.

“Lie down after you drink it. Ten minutes.”

Momo drank. She lay down. She saw Nana produce a scalpel.

“Your Majesty—Wendy—” She looked at the two spectators with the particular helplessness of someone who knows they have been given no actual allies. She was very nearly crying.

“Nana,” Wendy said. “Could you let her adjust for a moment before — ”

“This is the standard procedure,” Nana said, genuinely puzzled. “If I don’t cut the old wound open and debride it, the magic won’t take hold.”

“That’s true, but perhaps a brief conversation first — ”

“We could talk about my last patient.” Nana tilted her head. “It’s easier to cut a broken limb with a saw than an ax. You get a cleaner edge.”

“No, please not that — ”

“Correct,” Roland said. “A saw is better. But a thigh bone — that’s hard work even for a saw. The bone density alone — ”

“A skull is worse. The female nurses don’t have the upper-body strength to manage it efficiently. If Anna could assist, that would help considerably.”

“That’s my fault. I’ll design an electric saw. One second through any bone, I can promise you — ”

“Your Majesty, please stop!”

“Ahem. Sorry. Technical instincts.”

Their voices floated. Momo heard them as though from the far side of a wall — the knife gesturing in Nana’s hand while she described angles of incision, the king nodding with apparent professional interest, Wendy making small distressed sounds. The ceiling above Momo’s head was a fixed white point. Her eyelids grew heavy.

I’m sorry, Thylane. I’ll probably wake up different, if I wake up at all.

The room blurred. The voices blurred with it.

“She’s asleep,” Roland noted.

Nana raised the scalpel and nodded. “I’ll begin.”

Her arm stayed still. Only the fingers and wrist moved — precise, rapid, no wasted motion. She opened the socket, removed the scar tissue, cleaned the skin’s edges. Blood welled up at once and soaked into the gauze. The whole sequence took less time than a conversation.

“Amazing,” Wendy murmured.

“I have to be fast.” Nana spoke without breaking focus. “In the field, half a minute per patient. If I couldn’t complete emergency treatment in half a minute, I’d lose the next one.”

“You used to faint at the sight of blood,” Roland said. “That chicken — ”

“Your Majesty.” Nana’s voice sharpened, and she shot him a look that conveyed, without particular subtlety, that this topic was closed. “You were the culprit. I have not forgotten.”

“Acknowledged. Apologies.”

She closed the wound with the same small movements, tied off the last suture, and set the scalpel down. A beat of quiet in the room.

“Plus,” she said — and something shifted in her tone, something not quite defended — “I like who I am now. I’m stronger than before. Aren’t I?”

For a moment Roland saw her as she had been: the small girl in the schoolyard, the chicken held against her chest like she was shielding it. The same eyes, looking up at him. The same conviction that care was the non-negotiable thing.

He reached over and rested his hand on her head briefly.

“Yes,” he said. “You are.”

Several minutes passed before Momo’s eye was finished.

“The sleeping fern will wear off in two hours,” Nana said, straightening. “A dose that small won’t harm a witch. She’ll be fine when she wakes.” She glanced at Wendy. “She may sleep longer than two hours — that’s recovery, not cause for concern.”

“Thank you,” Wendy said.

Roland waited until Wendy looked away, then said casually, “Do you have enough power left for one more? You could take a look at me.”

Wendy’s expression changed in an instant. Nana’s hand closed on his arm with a grip that had considerable conviction behind it.

“Are you hurt?”

“No. Just — my nose has been running lately.”

“Then go see Lily.” She released his arm. “I’ve looked. Nothing wrong with you.”

“That’s what I thought,” Roland said, avoiding Wendy’s eye. Nana, as it turned out, was not omniscient: the gap between injury and underlying illness was something he would need to explore separately, another time, quietly.

When Momo opened her eyes, the sky was the color of embers.

Orange clouds ran along the horizon, their edges soaked in gold that was already softening to purple at the margins, drifting. Grass moved in a breeze she could feel against her face. A few leaves lifted and turned and came down. Everything was very still and very clear.

I’m alive.

Something was different, though. Her field of vision had widened; the distance had sharpened; the space that had been darkness for so long was simply — light. She raised her head and found Thylane looking down at her, her expression open and warm, and realized she had been sleeping with her head on her friend’s legs, in front of the Witch Building, in the late afternoon.

“You’re finally awake.”

“How long was I asleep? Where’s Wendy?”

“She brought you to me and left. You slept all afternoon — she said two hours, but she also said if it ran longer it would just mean you were healing.” Thylane studied her face. “So. Can you see?”

Momo sat up. She looked at the field, at the path, at the building behind them. The world was complete. Two-sided. She had forgotten, almost, that it had ever been anything else.

“Thylane.” Her voice came out small. “How do we repay this?”

Thylane blinked. Then she laughed — the sudden, genuine kind — and looked up at the sky. “I don’t know. Wendy said to work hard. I think that’s the answer.” She paused. “She already told me what she wants me to do, while you were asleep. I’ll work with Nana Pine on medical services for Graycastle.” She scratched her nose. “I still don’t understand how exactly I’m supposed to help treat patients, but — ”

“My ability — ” Momo’s fist tightened in her lap. It was the question she hadn’t been able to ask directly: what do you do with the ability to watch people die?

“Wendy mentioned you too.”

Momo’s head came up. “Really?”

“His Majesty’s idea. He wants you in the Administrative Office — working with Scroll, helping run the kingdom.”

The words didn’t arrive properly. Momo turned them over, trying to find the catch in them. “I — can I even — ”

“Ask yourself,” Thylane said, nudging her gently. “I haven’t worked out my own situation yet, but I think if we keep studying, it’ll become clear.” She paused. “You’ll figure it out.”

“I don’t have your confidence.” Momo’s voice dropped. “Do you think we can stay? Properly stay — like it’s our home?”

Thylane was quiet long enough that Momo looked at her.

“I asked Wendy the same thing.”

“What did she say?”

A long moment. The last orange in the sky faded to purple, and the first stars became visible at the edges.

“She said — of course we can. Because it already is.”

Chapter 1277 - Out of Darkness

Translator: Transn Editor: Transn “Ah, don’t worry. This isn’t my blood,” Nana said as she took off the robe with Ring’s help. “The previous patient broke an arm when operating the machine, so it’s a little messy.” “R-really?” “That’s right. Come here. Let me take a look at your eye.” “She’s so confident and strong. Is she really of the same age as me?” Momo swallowed hard. She took off her eye mask carefully and slowly approached Nana. “Right. Just like Wendy said. I should have sufficient magic power to cure you,” Nana mumbled after a preliminary examination and handed Momo a bowl of liquid medicine. Then she patted the bed next to her and said, “Lie down after you drink it. It’ll only take about 10 minutes.” Momo heeded Nana’s words, and, to her astonishment, saw the latter take out a knife. “Your, Your Majesty… Wendy…” Momo said while looking at the two spectators helplessly. She was almost going to cry. “Well, Nana,” Wendy said. “Can’t you take things slow and give our new sister a bit time to get used to it?” “But this is the normal procedure,” Nana refuted in surprise. “If I don’t cut the old wound open and remove it, my magic won’t work.” “That’s true, but you can first have a small chat with her…” “Well, in that case… how about talking about my previous patient? I feel it easier to cut a limb with a saw than an ax.” “No, not this….” “Correct,” Roland rejoined. “A saw can ensure a clean cut, but I don’t think it’s going to be easy to cut a big bone, like a thigh bone, with a saw, right?” “Neither for a scull. Those female nurses are no stronger than me by any means. If Anna could help me, that would make my life a lot easier.” “My fault. But it’s simple. I can design an electronic one for you later. How does that sound? I assure you that you can break a bone within a second.” “Your Majesty, please stop!” “Ahem, sorry, I can’t help when it comes to technical issues…” Their voice gradually drifted off. Momo turned away and, dimly, saw Nana talking to the king and Wendy while gesturing with the knife in her hand from time to time, as though she was going to do an experiment on her. Cut? Saw? Ax? Her eye lids became increasingly heavy as sleep crept over her. “Sorry, Thylane, I probably wouldn’t be able to see you again after this treatment.” “Ah, she’s asleep now,” Roland said after he noticed that Momo had closed her eyes and fallen asleep. Nana raised her scalpel and nodded at the two. “Now, I’ll start.” Nana thus made a cut into the socket, removed the old wound and cleaned up the skin around it. Soon, blood oozed out and soaked the gauze. During the whole process, her arm remained stationary except for her fingers and wrist. She had to complete this initial step manually. Her nimble operation was the sole result of a long-term training and practice. “Amazing…” Wendy muttered under her breath. “I have to be fast,” Nana said while twitching her lips. “When I was in the field, I only had half a minute for each individual patient. If I couldn’t give them an emergency treatment as fast as possible, I might not be able to save other patients.” “That’s why she’s become so swift,” Roland thought to himself. “You’d pass out at the sight of blood in the past, and those chickens — ” “Your Majesty!” Nana exclaimed in agitation while rolling her eyes. “Don’t ever mention it! You were the culprit.” “Alright,” Roland conceded while waving his hand. “Plus…” Nana paused for a second and said, “I like the way I am now. At least, I’m much stronger, right?” For a split second, Roland seemed to see the little girl he used to know again. Roland stroked Nana’s head involuntarily and said, “Of course.” Several minutes later, Momo’s eye was cured. “The sleeping fern will lose its effect in two hours. Such little amount won’t cause harm to a witch, so she’ll be OK once she wakes up,” Nana said while looking toward Wendy. “Thank you,” Wendy said smilingly with a nod. “By the way, how much magic power do you still have?” Roland asked casually. “Could you take a look at me?” Wendy’s expression immediately changed, and Nana grasped Roland’s arm in a sort of trenchant manner. “Are you hurt?” “No… I just feel that my nose is running lately.” “Then you should go seek Lily,” Nana said gruffly as she withdrew her hand. “I took a look. There’s nothing wrong with you.” “That’s what I thought,” Roland said while averting his eyes as Wendy cast him a suspicious glance. It appeared that Nana was not omnipotent. Roland was not sure if she could cure those”underlying illness”, as these invisible diseases were not, technically, injuries. Anyway, he had to do some research later. When Momo slowly opened her eyes, a slope of orangey red clouds slid into her view. The clouds soaked in golden rays gradually faded to purple and drifted off in the distance. She could hear the rustling of the grass in the breezes, and occasionally, a few leaves rose into the air and brushed past her cheek. Everything was so peaceful and sweet. “I’m still alive…” Momo thought. But Momo soon noticed something unusual. Her vision seemed to have expanded, and the distant scene had become clearer. She raised her head and found Thylane look into her eyes smilingly. The latter said, “You finally woke up.” It was not until then that Momo realized that she was sleeping on her friend’s legs, and they were currently right in front of the Witch Building. “How long did I sleep? Where’s Wendy?” “She brought you to me and then left,” Thylane said while shrugging. “You slept for the whole afternoon, although Wendy said you’d wake up in two hours. She told me that it was normal even if you didn’t wake up in time. It’s a sign of recovery. You’ll feel better after waking up. How are you feeling? Can you see with your new eye?” Momo sat up and studied the surroundings curiously. She had thought that half of her world would be submerged in the darkness forever after her eye had been removed. She had never expected to see the world in its entirety again. “Thylane, what should I do?” Momo muttered. “What’s the matter?” “How are we going to repay them for their kindness?” Thylane was stunned for a second before she burst into a laugh. She looked up at the sky and said, “I don’t know either, but Wendy told me to work hard. This is how we can repay them. By the way, Wendy already told me what I should do in the future when you were asleep. I’ll work with Nana Pine who just helped you, and provide medical services to Graycastle.” At these words, Thylane scratched her nose and said in embarrassment, “Although I still don’t know how I can help treat patients…” “But my ability…” Momo said while clenching her fist. “Wendy mentioned you as well.” Momo looked up and burst out in surprise, “Really?” “Yes!” Thylane confirmed while nodding. “It’s His Majesty’s idea. He wants you to work in the Administrative Office with Ms. Scroll and help with the operation of the kingdom.” “Huh?” Momo could not believe her ears. “Can I?” “You need to ask yourself,” Thylane said in amusement and pushed her at the back. “I haven’t even figured out how I’m supposed to work here, but I think as long as we keep studying, we’ll know one day.” “I’m not as confident as you…” Momo muttered in a hushed tone. “Do you think we can live here forever, like living in our home?” “In fact, I also asked Wendy the same question.” “Yes?” It took Thylane a while to reply this time. “She said of course we can, because it’s already our home.”