And so the pretentious gathering of the three brothers broke up.
Before they parted, Kairen said in passing.
"By the way, Seitil, you'd better go, for perhaps you'll have a new sibling."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, if Raymond keeps up the good work, he might be recognized as a legitimate member of the royal family, and that would make him your older brother, wouldn't it?"
"...!"
Seitil frowned.
"Don't talk nonsense."
"What nonsense? If they want to do it, it can be done, if they can find a way. They can have Raymond's dead mother crowned queen, or, if that doesn't work, they can have him legally adopted."
Kairen smirked.
"He's doing great, so I can't be sure that won't happen. In any case, if Raymond becomes your new brother, I'll need you to take care of him."
"...!"
Seitil crumpled and disappeared.
Remerton looked at the back of his head and made a puzzled face.
"Why would you provoke Seitil when you know he has a lot of ill will toward Raymond?"
What Kairen just said.
It would never happen. Adoption would require the consent of all the current queens, and crowning Raymond's biological mother as queen would be even more ridiculous.
In other words, Kairen was talking about something that would never happen.
To provoke Seitil.
"Why?"
Kairen made a languid face.
"Just because. Because it's fun?"
"...!"
Remerton felt goosebumps rise on his back.
A calm face. But Kairen's eyes were not smiling in the slightest.
"... You did it for a reason."
"When you throw stones at frogs, do you do it for a reason?"
"... No."
"It just happens."
Kairen stood up, stretching.
"Anyway, there's a big banquet coming up soon, so maybe we can see our pup then."
Soon there would be a big banquet at the royal palace.
It was the biggest event in the kingdom, right up there with the Founding Festival, and all the nobles in the capital were expected to attend.
Raymond would be invited, of course.
"I wonder what other splendor he'll show then?"
Kairen chuckled.
"Of course, we'll have to get the 'nod' from our sweet youngest brother first."
***
Back in his palace, Seitil grunted and swung his sword.
'Raymond, that worm should be my brother? What a ridiculous story!'
Of course, he knew.
But the mere mention of it irritated and angered him.
"Call for Count Garrison!"
Count Garrison!
His uncle, the head of the Healing Tower.
He'd humiliated Raymond once before when he'd tried to prank him during his healer certification exam.
"You summoned me, Your Highness?"
"Yes, uncle. I asked to see you because I needed to discuss something about Raymond."
Hearing the story, Count Garrison smiled wryly.
"Don't worry too much, he's only here for a short time."
"Are you sure?"
"Think about it. The cure he uses is 'miscellaneous', not heals."
Count Garrison made a dismissive face.
"Otherwise, even at the level of the Tower of Healing, we've thought about him, but the bottom line is that he's not worth bothering with, because there's no way he's going to be able to survive for long if he's using that kind of quackery."
Count Garrison spoke in an authoritative tone.
"Simple tricks may shine for a while, but they quickly reveal their underside. It will be his downfall even if you let it be, so Your Highness shouldn't bother with that worm."
"That is not enough. I want him crushed a little more firmly. So that he never thinks of climbing again."
Seitil's eyes shone.
What he wanted.
To drop Raymond into the gutter once and for all.
"Very well, if it is your will, I will keep an eye on him from the Healing Tower plane."
Keep an eye on him.
To be on the lookout, to be ready for action.
Count Garinson affirmed in a trusting tone.
"I will make many people commit crimes with pseudo-miscellaneous tricks."
The Tower of Healing was a "pan-national" organization with its headquarters in the "capital," and it had the authority to "manage" its own healers.
King Odin may try to defend Raymond, but he would not be able to stop the Tower of Healing from acting.
***
Meanwhile, despite the conspiracies, Raymond was thriving.
For one thing, he'd made a lot of outward progress.
He'd moved into the building on Solen.
"Isn't this mansion huge? Why is the flooring so expensive? Can I walk around in these shoes?"
Raymond swallowed hard.
The building was so big and nice!
A mansion like this in the middle of the capital.
It was easy to see why Solen was penniless, and the location was perfect.
It was in the commoner's district, but not far from the slums, and not too far from the nobles' neighborhoods either.
It was the perfect spot for a neck of the woods!
'If I could sell it, I'd be rich once and for all.'
Actually, he had already thought about it.
But none of the nobles wanted to buy it.
'Who would buy a building intended to be used as a casino? The mansion is designed like a casino, and the location is in a commoner's neighborhood. Nobles don't buy mansions like that.'
The broker scratched his ear and gave him a stab.
So whether he liked it or not, he'd have to use it as a healing center.
'Yes, that's great, one day I'll grow enough healers to fill this mansion!'
Raymond looked at the desolate space and imagined it.
And then he'd be able to make a fortune every day.
'So go for it!'
***
The Penin clinic has since become much more organized.
It was a departure from the hole-in-the-wall neighborhood clinics.
There were separate patient waiting rooms, examination rooms, and hospitalization rooms, as well as a pharmacy, storage room, and dining room.
Raymond and other healers also had their own private rooms.
'I've made it! I get to live in a room like this!'
Raymond grinned from ear to ear as he rolled around in his private bedroom.
Despite living in a royal palace, his abode was a ramshackle tower.
Not to mention his apprenticeship.
He never had such a spacious and comfortable room.
'There's even art in the room!'
Of course, it wasn't art of great value.
Still, just having the ornamental "luxury" in his room was a thrill for Raymond.
'I'm glad I'm alive.'
But the happiness was short-lived. The increased size of the clinic meant that he had to hire new staff, which meant a significant increase in expenses.
He didn't take on new students.
Instead, he hired non-healing staff.
He hired people to do menial jobs like cleaning, cooking, and transporting supplies.
He also had to renovate the casino-like mansion to be more in line with a treatment center, which cost them a lot of money.
Raymond clenched his fists,
'I can't borrow more from the Demon Loans! I'm already way past the danger level!'
In truth, he was feeling very uneasy.
He was afraid that Demon Loans would take this mansion, which was more precious than his life.
'Worst case scenario, Demon Loans might foreclose on this mansion!'
So he found another way to pay for it. He sold all the artwork in the mansion.
'Keuk!'
Raymond choked back tears as he handed over all the art he'd been admiring for days to the auctioneer.
One day, he would fill the healing center with works of art far greater than this.
'All it takes is hard work!'
Even if it's not necessarily luxuries, with his growing family, he needed to earn more money than before.
'My mansion is mine to keep!'
"Welcome!"
"Thank you, come back anytime you're sick!"
"I hope you are not uncomfortable with the treatment I gave you yesterday, please feel free to tell me anything."
Raymond looked at the patients with a fiery determination, and the students burned with it.
'How can he have such a great passion for his patients? I'm ashamed of myself.'
Christine bit her lip hard.
Raymond seemed to live solely for his patients.
Her compassion for her patients paled in comparison.
'I won't lose!'
Hanson shouted, Lyndon burning as well.
"We are?"
"Disciples of our esteemed master!"
"Then?"
"We must strive to the death!"
They imitated Raymond (?) and took care of the patient as best they could, always showing kindness, and for their efforts, the healing center was a hit.
[You've gained experience!]
[You've gained experience!]
[You've leveled up!]
No wonder the leveling explosion continued! Raymond was now level 62.
'Alright, let's keep this up until level 70!'
He was leveling up faster than he thought.
At this rate, he would soon reach level 70.
'Everything, invest in stamina!'
[Stats]
[Stamina: 31
Senses: 26
Intellect: 24
Mana: 8]
Most of his recent stats have been invested in stamina.
After seeing patients day and night, he realized that he was running out of energy.
His senses, his intellect, all suffered as his stamina declined.
'Good! Let's go!'
Raymond clenched his fists happily.
But then something happened that threw cold water on the mood.
"There's a message from the Healing Tower."
"What?"
Raymond's face stiffened as he read the contents.
It was long and rambling, but in short, it went something like this.
<We will hold you accountable for harming patients with unproven healing techniques.>
The Tower of Healing healer who had delivered the letter waved a hand to clear the air.
"It's a common warning at the Tower of Healing."
Then he bared his teeth and smiled.
"It's not uncommon for healers, blinded by money and fame, to fall into the path of pseudo-arts and harm their patients. The Tower of Healing has always condemned them, for the sake of the patients."
Raymond clenched his fists.
"For the patients. For their own vested interests."
The Tower of Healing, the healers to be precise, were thoroughly dismissive of attempts to threaten their authority in this way.
It was one of the reasons why Leifentina's healing techniques never rose above barbarism.
Any new creative endeavor was labeled as heresy and stoned.
The healing arts were the exclusive domain of the Healers.
No new ideas were tolerated.