The doctor’s hands shivered, the creases in his face showed his age. He was used to the smell of the blood as he was slowly cleaning the wooden floor of blood and fluids.

  He had already transferred the woman to another room where she was resting; he could even hear her breath. ‘She battled life and death but…’ the doctor thought, but was interrupted by a “Knock!” on the door.

  Dropping the towel, he stood up and went to open it. As soon as he opened the door, cold winds came greeting him, and so did his student, whom he had given a task.

  “Come inside,” he said, making way for her student to enter the hut.

  “Change into dry clothes, I have prepared a calming tea, hurry up!” The doctor’s demeanor, as if nothing happened, brought chills to his student.

  “Teacher, it’s done,” the student said as she entered, wallowing in what she did.

  The doctor didn’t have the heart to ask her how she had done it, but the pallid face and the suffocating guilt from her voice screamed for everything he had to know.

  “Sierra, everything is my fault, don’t bme yourself, it was my order,” words that he could think of to at least lessen the guilt that his student was feeling. “But savor it, wish that it’s your st, in our career, we fight against death, we will lose sometimes.”

  The student paused, looking at her teacher, her eyebrow curved in confusion as her conscience gnawed at her heart.

  “Go on, get changed,” her teacher urged her.

  She then continued her way to the second floor of the house to change.

  Though the weather outside was harsh and cold, the doctor and his student sat by the firepce, sipping tea the doctor had prepared. The warm, soothing aroma filled the small house. Silence lingered between them, heavy with exhaustion and guilt. Despite the hours they’d spent delivering the baby, they remained awake because of the negative feelings that boiled their minds.

  “Years before you were born, a monster parade swept through just south of our vilge. You must’ve heard the story from your parents,” the doctor finally spoke, breaking the stillness.

  But Sierra shook her head. “No, my parents left me when I was still small. That’s why you adopted me, right?” She gred at her teacher, her irritation obvious.

  “Of course, of course, I’m sorry,” the doctor replied quickly. “I’m just getting older—” he paused to take a sip of his tea before continuing, “—back then, we had to decide who we should save. The rest were left to die.” He was making a point, but Sierra’s silence suggested she didn’t fully grasp it.

  “You’ll understand someday, Sierra. You’ll inherit this hut.” The doctor smiled, the deep lines on his face speaking of the years of hardship he had endured. “It’s tough, really tough,” he added, his voice almost pleading. “I should’ve quit, but my friend died… I wished for this, and now look at me. I didn’t even marry—just an old fool!” he ughed, though the sound was hollow, an effort to ugh his sorrows away.

  Sierra knew how the selection of the doctor’s disciple worked. The doctor would choose two potential candidates, observing them for a time before officially selecting one as their protege. In Sierra’s case, she had been raised to be the doctor’s heir. She also knew the reason why there was only ever one doctor. It was deliberate—to protect the knowledge and prevent new ideas from forming.

  “I’ll change everything once I take over,” Sierra decred with a weary smile. “I will not let anyone die, as long as they are in front of me.”

  The doctor smirked. “Do whatever you want. I won’t be around to stop you when I’m gone,” he nodded, proud of his student. Just then, a painful moan echoed from the clinic; it was the mother, and the two instantly felt the pressuring guilt.

  “But as long as I’m here, I’ll make you do the hard work. Give the mother a drink and tell her the baby didn’t make it.” The doctor poured another cup of tea and handed it to Sierra.

  Sierra understood her task and took the cup. “What if I told her the truth?” she asked.

  “Sierra, my dear, that’s up to you. But this woman is an Explorer from the northeast. If we’re lucky, she’ll understand. But in her state, she might kill us before searching for her baby,” the doctor expined in a ft tone.

  “I see…” Sierra murmured as she headed to the clinic to deliver the news.

  The morning came. Sierra woke up, and she immediately checked her body. She was still alive. Although the mother of the boy made quite a scene st night, luckily, she was out of gas, and all she did was bash the small table near her bed.

  ‘I lied to her,’ she thought, wallowing in self-pity and guilt.

  “Sierra, the explorer had already left, oh! Hmm, not this one,” her teacher was already awake before her. He was currently taking some Hawaran Herbs in the storage room.

  Now that Sierra had realized it, there was a warm bnket covering her.

  “You know, hiding in the storage room would do nothing right? She could have burned the whole pce down with us inside, and we won’t be able to do anything about it! Ah! Here it is!” her teacher smiled as he finally found the container he was looking for.

  “Teacher, are you going to drink with your friends again?” Sierra asked, noticing that her teacher was wearing his yellow dress.

  “Of course! I mean, I talked to her and survived the night! If I’m lucky, I might meet the legendary hero again! I will be drinking all day long with the PUB owner!” her teacher decred. But Sierra understood her teacher too well. That talk with the Explorer must have really taken a number on him.

  Her teacher approached her with a gentle smile. “There’s a letter on the table downstairs, along with an emblem. Read it carefully while you’re having breakfast, okay?” Despite his smile, there was a solemnity in his expression as he turned and walked away.

  Sierra was surprised to find a meal already prepared downstairs. Usually, she was the one up early to do the cooking. ‘Strange,’ she thought, approaching the table. There, she spotted the folded letter her teacher had mentioned. On top of it was a shiny emerald emblem.

  She sat at the table as she began eating, grabbed the letter, and flipped it up.

  The letter said:

  ‘Thank you, little one, and sorry for trashing in front of you. Take this emblem, this has a credit worth millions of gold-’

  “Cough!” Sierra coughed as soon as she read the ‘millions of gold part.’

  ‘-This is the only payment I can offer. I cannot stay any longer in this vilge; my grief will always be here as this whole vilge marked the death of my child but this is what it is. I wish that we can meet again in the future, thank you. PS. Approach any adventurer’s guild to cim the credit. Please, burn this letter afterward.’

  Sierra stared at the letter, and as per the letter’s request, she burned it in the firepce after eating.

  ‘What the hell,’ she thought as she watched the letter burning in the firepce. She then gnced at the emblem in her hands. She knew what the Explorers were, but she became more interested in them.

  ‘I will make sure this will be put to good use!’ she thought, she would repay her someday in any way.