Chapter 45 Clinic

"I’m counting on you to keep this quiet… the fact that I was with the Titan…"

I slipped into Mirror Park after asking the rescued siblings to keep it under wraps. The scene before me was grim—people clearly worn thin, setting up tents all over the stadium, huddled together for warmth, barely surviving.

Just looking at this scene made it crystal clear how bad things had gotten in America right now.

"We can’t offer much in the way of support here, but we’ll supply the bare essentials for living. You’re safe now."

The siblings seemed to relax at the soldier’s words… but I’d come here to gather intel on the Titan, so I decided to split from them for now.

"Michelle… that guy… is he really okay? I mean, controlling a Titan? That’s just… weird!"

"El! We’re alive because of him! If it weren’t for him, we’d both be dead!"

"But… uh… I dunno…"

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After asking around, a few things had become clear.

"Participated in the Titan hunt, huh? Well… there’s Joshua, I guess. He’s the one leading things here. The guy who brought you in."

Most of the soldiers who’d fought the Titan were dead… apparently only one had survived here—Joshua. I headed over to talk to him.

"Yeah, I was part of the operation… but only in support. Everyone on the front lines died. I never even saw the Titan myself."

"Anything else you know about the Titan?"

"Why the hell are you so obsessed with that giant? To me, it’s a memory I’d rather forget!"

Seems like there’s not much more to learn here... Maybe I’ll just ask a few random people about America’s current state and get moving soon...

Just as I was thinking that, something caught my eye.

"There’s someone being carried over there... What’s going on?"

"That’s the clinic. Injured people and the sick are getting treated. Want to check it out?"

Following Joshua, I found the clinic had more patients than I expected. It used to be a baseball player’s locker room, but they’ve busted through the walls to make a bigger space.

There were a few doctors, but no real medical equipment. Soldiers and civilians were helping out, doing their best to keep things running.

"Are the injured from the Titan?"

I asked Joshua, who gave me a bitter look in reply.

"Some of them... people who barely escaped being attacked by the Titan. Just like you two. Others are just sick—got infections, but no proper food or medicine, so they’ve gotten worse. There are a lot of them here."

I could heal them all at once with Healing Magic, but that’d cause a scene... too much attention might stir up trouble again, like last time with the Self-Defense Force.

"Can I help too? I can’t just stand around like this."

"Seriously? That’d be great. I’ll talk to the head of the clinic—wait here!"

Michelle, who’d been standing a bit away, stepped in.

"Oh—me too, please let me help!!"

"Michelle, huh? Got it! More hands are better, right?"

Starting that evening, I ended up helping out at the clinic with Michelle. Helping out meant things like changing bandages, escorting people who couldn’t walk to the bathroom, and wiping down those who couldn’t move themselves.

I can’t perform medical procedures—I’m not a doctor… but—

“Does your eye hurt?”

“Huh? New person…? Nah, it’s fine now. The eye’s completely crushed, they say it’ll never see again…”

I was wiping down a patient wrapped in bandages, injuries all over their limbs. Touching with my hands, I could feel exactly where the damage was.

Used Healing Magic. If I healed them all at once, it might cause more confusion than help… so I’d fix it just enough, then boost their natural healing ability to let recovery happen gradually…

Healing Arts is at SS rank now, so I can handle most things.

I applied Healing Magic to dozens more patients, then decided to head to the lodging facility with Michelle that night. Lodging facility, though, was just a makeshift partition made from boards along the hallway inside the building.

The sleeping space was tight, but each person had a clearly defined spot. I was told to rest up properly… but first…

I teleported outside Mirror Park instantly. “Spatial Detection” had shown a giant prowling nearby—so I decided to take care of it just in case.

Can’t have the park attacked, not now…!

After that, I kept eliminating any approaching giants, always making sure to do it without being noticed.