IHBAVD CH 02

First of all, I needed to survive, so I had to come up with several plans.

This place was filled with books on medicine and herbalism, so it seemed that Aillet had a talent for healing.

My plan was to read all of them, then head to the capital, open a small clinic, and make a living by treating people.

A crowded capital would actually be the perfect place to hide, so it seemed like a good idea.

‘It doesn’t seem like I need a medical license to open a small clinic, so it should be fine.’

If I registered for a license, my name would be recorded, and that could catch the Grand Duke’s attention. Better not risk it.

‘I’m lucky this transmigrated world is a bit lax.’

I let out a sigh of relief.

Still, it felt a little unfair that I might be the only one who had to study even after transmigrating.

In my past life, I had been nothing but a student preparing for exams…

Seriously, other people transmigrate into wealthy villainesses or powerful mages, or at least into rich families.

‘Why am I stuck as a commoner on a study route again?’

The saddest part was that, in this life too, I had no family. Having grown up in an orphanage and lived alone in a tiny goshiwon, I had secretly wished for a family.

But even that wish wasn’t granted.

‘God is really stingy.’

I looked around the lonely cabin and let out a sigh.

“Tch.”

Feeling a bit lonely, I grumbled softly and picked up an anatomy book to start studying.

“Hmm…”

Since it was my first time encountering this field, it wasn’t easy, of course. But perhaps because I had been studying constantly in my past life, sitting down and studying itself didn’t feel that difficult.

‘Hmm.’

However, the more I learned about treatment, the more I realized I needed something to practice on.

‘This won’t do.’

So I decided to treat injured animals and headed into the forest.

The fresh forest air filled my lungs, lifting my mood.

“This is nice.”

I had grown used to walking through the lush green summer mountains.

Before I knew it, three months had passed since I transmigrated and started living alone here. Watching myself walk confidently through the forest made me chuckle.

‘I’m basically filming a survival-in-the-wild show by myself.’

I smirked, recalling a TV program from my past life, when I spotted a silver fox trembling near a stream in the distance.

‘Oh my.’

It was already a coincidence to encounter an animal so soon after coming out, but an injured fox?

I quickly ran over and checked its condition. Its silver fur looked mysterious, and its blue eyes were beautiful—exactly the kind that would attract hunters.

“Are you okay?”

“Grr… growl…”

The fox let out both a groan and a warning growl. After watching me cautiously for a while, it eventually collapsed from exhaustion. Examining it, I saw that it hadn’t been attacked by hunters—it looked like a predator had bitten its leg, and it had fled until it could no longer keep going.

At that moment—

Fox (20 years old): Bite wound, will die within 3 hours if untreated (Gauge 70/100)

Flash!

“…?!”

A rectangular status window suddenly appeared in front of my eyes as I rushed toward the fox.

I stared blankly at the translucent screen before snapping back to my senses and stumbling backward in shock.

‘W-what is this?’

It looked just like a game interface.

I didn’t play games much, but I could at least understand that the window was displaying the fox’s condition.

“A bite wound? Death within three hours?”

“Whine…”

While I stood there in confusion, the fox whimpered more weakly.

“Just hold on a little.”

I quickly took out the herbal powder and bandages I had prepared and began treating the fox’s leg.

“Whine—”

“Good.”

The fox winced in pain as I disinfected the wound, but it didn’t resist and accepted my touch more gently than expected.

Thanks to that, I was able to apply the herbal powder and wrap it securely with bandages.

“There, all done.”

I hesitated.

The treatment was finished, but I couldn’t just leave the fox here while it still couldn’t move. So I had no choice but to carry it home.

“Are you twenty years old?”

“Whine.”

“Foxes can live quite long, huh.”

As if responding, the fox nodded slightly before falling asleep.

After bringing it home, letting it rest, and feeding it properly, the fox’s status window began to change.

Fox (20 years old): Recovering from bite wound, status window will soon disappear (Gauge 90/100)

As the gauge approached 100, the fox was clearly walking better. It seemed the gauge matched its health.

If it said the status window would disappear, did that mean it would vanish once the fox fully recovered?

But why could I see something like this? Could everyone in this world see these status windows? Or only when treating people or animals?

Many questions arose, but there were no answers for now.

‘I have no idea.’

Living isolated in the mountains made it impossible to figure out what this system really was.

‘I shouldn’t stay here forever. I should go down to a village and meet people.’

Having made that decision, I began preparing to leave for the village—and to send the fox off.

“Alright, let’s eat.”

“Yip!”

A few days later, the fox had fully recovered to 100, but instead of leaving, it stayed by my side, circling me and licking my cheek affectionately.

Cute little thing.

Who would think this was the same fierce fox?

After a few days of feeling reluctant to send it away, the fox suddenly left on its own.

‘It could’ve at least said goodbye.’

I sighed, staring at the spot where it used to sleep, feeling a bit lonely.

The fox didn’t appear again after that.

Thinking I might see it again someday, I comforted myself and fell asleep.

But a few days later, I heard whining outside the door.

“Huh?”

“Yip yip!”

Thinking it had come back injured, I rushed outside—but the fox was perfectly fine.

“Yip!”

It even looked healthier than before, its eyes clearer and brighter.

I smiled and patted its head, happy that it remembered my home and came back.

“What, did you miss me?”

“Whine!”

“So cute.”

From then on, the fox came every morning, staying near me while I studied or gathered herbs, and disappeared again at night.

‘It must be a spirit animal.’

I concluded that no ordinary fox would behave like this and decided that ‘my fox’ was special.

Just having it visit every day eased my loneliness a lot, and it made me happy.

Then, at last, the long-awaited day came when I would go down to the village.

I slung my herb bag over my shoulder, turned to the fox sitting quietly, and gave it a firm warning.

“Fox. I’m going down to the village today. So you can’t follow me.”

“Whine?”

As I moved, the fox got up as if to follow, so I warned it again. It looked dejected.

“Whine…”

“Be good. If you go down there, people will try to catch you right away. Your fur is too pretty.”

After confirming the direction to the village, I patted the fox’s drooping head a couple of times and set off.

‘I’ll just bring back something tasty for it.’

Even though I felt bad leaving the fox behind, I was honestly a bit excited to go to the village. It had been so long since I’d seen other people.

After about thirty minutes of walking, a small village finally came into view.

“Wow.”

It was small, but compared to living alone in the mountains, it felt lively and impressive.

Of course, compared to the cities from my past life, it was extremely rural, but seeing people and shops again felt novel.

As I wandered around, looking everywhere in amazement like a country girl visiting the city for the first time, a child approached me.

“What?”

A little boy, curious about my wide-eyed expression, grinned and spoke.

“This noona looks like an idiot. Why are you walking around with your mouth open?”

This brat.

I frowned, sighed, and glared at him.

“…I’m not an idiot.”

“You are, you are.”

But then, suddenly, a status window appeared above the boy’s head.

Tomi (7 years old): Enteritis, soon will suffer diarrhea and dehydration (Gauge 80/100)

Blinking, I immediately asked him,

“Is your name Tomi?”

“Huh?”

Tomi looked shocked.

“H-how did you know?”

He looked so scared that I made up an excuse on the spot.

“…I’ve received a divine revelation.”

“What’s that?”

Tilting his head innocently, Tomi asked, so I rolled my eyes slightly and made a spooky face.

“It means I made a deal with ghosts. So finding out your name is easy. Heh heh.”

“Waaaah!”

Watching Tomi run away screaming, I shook my head.

Figures. Kids really are easy to scare.