IHBAVD CH 04

Whether it was divine help, my medical skills truly being exceptional, or simply a stroke of luck, Tomi gradually recovered.

‘Ha… thank goodness.’

Tomi, who had been on the verge of crossing the river of death, managed to recover to 60/100 on the vitality gauge.

Only then did I finally relax.

‘I thought I was going to lose my mind.’

But after staying there for two days without sleep, I was completely exhausted.

Looking at Tomi’s condition, I felt that the rest could now be handled by his own strength and the village physicians, so I left his house.

Or at least, I tried to.

A massive crowd blocked my way.

“No! Teacher Aillet! Teacheeer!”

“Please don’t go!”

“Stay in the village! It’s this old village chief’s wish! Ugh! My blood pressure is so high I might die!”

It was the village chief and his group.

‘What is this… haha.’

I let out a hollow laugh.

“Sniff… I’ve been so weak lately, I keep collapsing…”

“Village chief, don’t you carry your own mother on your back?”

“…Ahem.”

At my words, the chief coughed awkwardly and avoided my gaze.

He was tall, muscular, and in excellent shape—definitely not someone who looked like he had high blood pressure.

“Still, having a healer like you in the village would give us peace of mind.”

“That’s right. It would be safer for you too.”

“But…”

I scratched my cheek as I looked at them all trying to persuade me.

‘This is awkward.’

Just because I had saved Tomi, they were united in trying to make me stay.

Of course, living in the village, interacting with people and having easy access to supplies, would be far more comfortable than living alone in the mountains.

‘No.’

But I felt uneasy.

Because of the original story.

If I stayed here, opened a clinic, and lived in this small village, I might eventually catch the attention of the Grand Duke’s subordinates… and end up becoming his physician.

‘That has to be it. How else would someone like me, living in the countryside, become the Grand Duke’s physician?’

So staying here wasn’t a decision I could make lightly.

Even if I opened a clinic, it had to be somewhere crowded like the capital, where I could hide among many people.

Though it pained me, I firmly shook my head.

“If someone is sick, please come to my house. I need to take care of it after being away, continue my studies, and dry herbs.”

“But still, please…”

As the chief grabbed my arm, his forearm muscles bulged.

Seriously, he’s completely healthy.

“My decision won’t change.”

“But your house is so hard to find. Every time we try, we get lost.”

The chief’s voice trembled.

Again with that.

Why does everyone say that? Could there really be some kind of magic?

‘Considering I can see status windows, magic wouldn’t be surprising.’

Determined to uncover the secret someday, I politely refused their request again and insisted on returning to the mountain.

“Ailleeet~!”

“Aillet!”

“Ahhh!”

Only after promising to visit the village often did they finally let me go.

Still, for saving Tomi, the villagers gave me plenty of bread, meat, and even wine.

‘They’re good people.’

Before heading back, I stopped by Tomi’s house one last time.

He spoke to me hesitantly.

“Um… Teacher. I’m sorry for calling you an idiot earlier.”

How cute. His face was red as he fumbled through the apology.

“Call me noona. I’m young.”

Aillet was nineteen, so that made sense.

As I ruffled his hair, he hesitated before asking,

“But… was that really a divine revelation? Do you really deal with ghosts? How did you know my name?”

His curious eyes sparkled.

I waved it off casually.

“…I heard you’re going to be the smartest kid in the village. That’s how I knew. Ghosts? Please.”

“R-really? I’m going to be smart?”

His face turned even redder.

Cute.

Now, there was no status window above his head anymore. It had clearly disappeared since he was no longer near death.

“Take care. See you again.”

I smiled and left his house.

Then, after bidding farewell to the villagers, I climbed back up the mountain.

‘It’s so easy.’

Just go straight up and turn right, and there’s the cabin.

Why do they say it’s hard to find?

Back home, I sat at the table, resting my chin on my hand.

‘There’s definitely some kind of trick or magic here.’

But I had no way of knowing what it was.

It was probably something my late father, Rinken, had done—but the dead tell no tales.

He definitely wasn’t an ordinary man. A mage, maybe? Why live in a place like this?

‘Well, it works in my favor.’

I shrugged.

For a woman living alone, having a place hidden from others was actually ideal.

To be honest, Aillet was a petite beauty with pale beige, almost blonde hair and violet eyes—someone who naturally drew protective instincts.

If someone like that lived alone in the mountains without protection, something bad would have happened already.

‘Lucky.’

Nodding, I cleaned the dust that had gathered while I was away and organized the house. Then I went out to refill my herb storage, which had been emptied while treating Tomi.

On the way, I ran into the silver fox.

“Yip yip!”

“Oh, hey.”

The fox happily licked my hand and chin.

Its fur wasn’t just silver—it shimmered.

‘Definitely a spirit creature.’

If a hunter caught it, it would surely meet a terrible fate.

“Hey, fox. Why don’t you just live with me? I’m worried about you. I’ll protect you.”

“Yip yip!”

The fox, despite being twenty years old according to the status window, looked like a playful two-year-old.

As if it understood me, it nodded and wagged its tail.

It agreed.