"Do you remember what Sir Raymond said?"
"Yes, that he would rather burn himself than burn these children. And then he would take the kids with him. I really couldn't get my head around it."
"That's right. He said he would die if he could save the patient."
For reference, Raymond never said that.
Rumors continued to cross and misrepresent.
"I will respect him from now on."
"Yeah, the same goes for me. He's not just a healer. There won't be anyone in the world as great as him."
"I can't believe there was a prince like this."
"But didn't he say that he is an illegitimate child and not a prince?"
"I don't know. Anyway, he's far more brilliant than the princes before him."
In this way, Raymond attracted the people of the slums.
No one doubted Raymond.
Raymond was a "proud healer" to the people of the slums.
That was not all.
A few days later, an incident occurred that captured the hearts of the poor more perfectly. It was the day of the death of a patient in the treatment center.
"No! Hanson, press it with a cloth! Hurry up! Properly!"
"Yes, senior!"
"If this continues, this patient will die! Come on!"
It was a crash.
The patient was already splattered with blood when he arrived at the treatment center.
The worst and most severely injured patient that even "Earth" could not keep alive.
There was no way that Raymond and Hanson could have saved the patient, as the patient had a severe resuscitation rate of less than half.
No matter how much they struggled with their handiwork, it was futile.
Eventually, the patient had cardiac arrest an hour after coming to the treatment center and died after cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
"Damn it!"
Raymond dropped his head.
It was the first patient he had ever lost.
Unexplainable emotions gnawed at his chest. It was stuffy, frustrating, heartbreaking, and tearing.
- Doctors should learn and grow through the sacrifice of patients.
A general medicine phrase came to mind, but it didn't enter his head.
He just felt like his heart was going to explode.
'I don't want to experience this again.'
Raymond pursed his lips.
Of course, he knew.
Anytime you treat a patient, you have to face this kind of thing.
Any healer, any doctor. You can't keep every patient alive.
He was sure he would have countless more experiences like this in the future.
The important thing was to do the best he could.
And bury the patient in his heart and work hard to make sure it never happens again.
He knew all of that clearly, but he couldn't help but feel sad.
"Damn it!"
Eventually, Raymond couldn't hold back his falling tears, and the slum people who saw him were moved again.
People saw the entire process from the time the patient was transported to the time of death.
So they knew exactly what to expect.
They knew how hard Raymond had worked.
How he had struggled to save the patient.
People's eyes reddened together.
The dead, they thought, would also greatly be comforted by Raymond's efforts.
From then on, Raymond became a sanctuary in the Bay Area that no one would carelessly touch.
If you touched Raymond incorrectly, people would get angry throughout the Bay Area.
People in the Bay Area said this about Raymond.
"Isn't Raymond the one from heaven for us?"
"It might really be like that. I actually prayed before."
"Don't say nonsense."
People burst into laughter at each other.
It was the first time that the Bay Area, which was always full of darkness, had light.
It was small and faint, but warmer than any light.
Strictly speaking, of course, Raymond was only one healer.
He did not have any influence on their lives other than to cure the sick.
The slum people still lived in poverty and destitution.
And yet, just as people found solace in telling the story of people they envy while living a hard life, the poor in the Bay Area found joy in talking about Raymond.
And then, one day.
Raymond heard a message.
[Fame has surpassed the threshold!]
[You get a new title!]
[Title: "Helper of the Poor" acquired]
[Obtained additional effects by getting a title]
'Title?'
Raymond blinked.
Come to think of it, there was an item like that in the status window.
'The title was originally dirty bastard, wasn't it? But additional effects?'
Subsequently, an explanation came to mind.
[Helper of the Poor]
Description: A title given to a person who helps the poor.
Title Class: Village level
Additional Effects:
-You will earn great goodwill from the slums!
-You will have a great impact on the people of the slums!
[Bonus level up for earning a title!]
[You will receive 20 bonus skill points!]
Raymond opened his eyes wide.
'It's a good thing?'
His goal was to build skills and a reputation in the slums.
This accumulated reputation will be of great help in the future.
'I feel good.'
It felt like he received a surprise gift because it was a much better title than his nickname, "Dirty Bastard."
***
When Raymond was completely settled in the Bay Area, two strangers entered the Bay Area.
"It's been a while since I've been to the Bay Area."
"I know, my lord."
They were middle-aged people with an ordinary impression seen everywhere. They were poorly dressed and not much different from the poor.
But even so, there was a sense of strangeness that could not be explained. It was because of their elegance, which could not be concealed by their shabby clothes.
They were really King Odin and Prime Minister Galman!
As said the other day, they went on a secret trip to the Bay Area.
Outwardly, they looked completely different, magically altered.
"By the way, is it all right for the two of us to go out like this alone? That friend is going to have a field day when we get back."
That friend.
It meant Marquis Aris, the head of the Royal Knights.
"It's within the capital of the kingdom. Does it matter? And if we carry an escort around, we can't do it properly."
In response, Galman shook his head as if he couldn't stop him.
In fact, this was not the first time he went on a secret trip without an escort.
He had done so several times before... no, quite often, and for good reason.
Because King Odin was a 'Sword Master.'
'Unless military units flock, they can't threaten His Highness.'
At that time, Odin said something strange.
"By the way, the atmosphere seems to have changed. What do you think?"
At Odin's words, Galman nodded his head.
"Well?"
He didn't think anything had changed.
Shabby houses, needy people, and heavy and dull air... were all the same.
'No, did something change?'
It was time for Galman to frown.
Suddenly, Odin coughed.
"Cough, cough."
"Your... No, my lord!"
The rough and murky cough lasted quite a long time.
The true Odin shook his head.
"I showed an ugly side. I'm sorry."
"No. Are you okay?"
"It's just a cough, what's okay or not?"
Galman looked worried.
'His Highness is coughing. Well, even the Sword Master can't avoid disease.'
King Odin was a Sword Master, with only two in the Houston Kingdom.
That meant he was one of the two most powerful people in this kingdom of Houston.
He was a super strong man who reigned as an emissary of the battlefield while being respected as the "Knight King," but even he could not avoid the disease.
Sword masters and great wizards alike were all human beings. They all aged, got sick, and died the same way.
'But compared to the average person, he is much stronger and didn't suffer from minor illnesses, but this time he caught a cold.'
After suffering from a cold, the cough was only going a little long.
'Count Helien, a triple-A healer, is continuing to treat him, so he should feel better soon.'
Galman shook his head.
"Is there a destination in your mind?"
"Well, I've come all the way here, let's have a drink."
"Alright."
He didn't mean to really drink, but to go to a bar and listen to people's stories.
They visited an old drinking establishment.
A place so dirty and shabby that one frowned, but there was no place like it to hear people's stories for real.
Galman frowned and took a sip of his drink.
"It's not good. Is this alcohol or poison? I don't know if it's okay to drink this."
"It's not your cup of tea, is it?"
"Yes, I've grown up beautifully even though I look like this. I don't know how Your Highness keeps coming to these places more and more."
King Odin smiled at Galman's nudge.
"It's much more comfortable than the battlefield. You, a civil servant, were only in a beautiful environment."
"Excuse me for being a civil servant."
Galman shook his head and thought like this.
'Where else would there be a king who thinks of the people like this?'
It was not just an idea.
No one could deny that Odin was a clear-cut ruler.
But even such an Odin had one major blemish, which was precisely Raymond.
'If His Highness had not been king, would he have treated Raymond as coldly then as he does now?'
Perhaps because Raymond was around, Galman felt that way.
Because of King Odin's cold treatment, Raymond should have been greatly hurt.
'It's a useless thought.'
It was the moment he shook his head.
Suddenly, a familiar name tickled his ear in the conversation at the next table.
"... I mean Raymond."
'Raymond?'
Galman naturally listened.
And not long after overhearing it, he had no choice but to look surprised.
"Hoo, what do you mean, Raymond? Watch what you say! Who are you to call him by his name?"
"Ah, I'm sorry. I was drunk and misspoke. Prince... Oh, he said not to call him that, too. Anyway, Sir Raymond. He healed my mother, but I don't know how to repay this favor."
"You are not the only one who has been somewhat indebted?"
"Yes. I can't do it just because I know. Even when Ben'd wife next door collapsed."
Then, people talked about what Raymond helped them to do as if they were competing.
Since everyone had been helped, there seemed to be no end to the conversation after a while.
'Is that all real? Raymond really did those things?'
Galman looked dazed.
He knew that Raymond had treated his own seriously ill patient in the healer's promotion exam.
But this was not something he could do simply because of his ability.
It was impossible to accomplish something like that without an outpouring of compassion for the sick.
'Your Highness?'
Galman glanced at Odin's face, sitting face to face.