Dungeon Miner Slave

DMS Chapter 206

Early the next morning, Flinx and Old Millie shared a simple breakfast before opening the treatment room to receive patients. As they ate, they discussed the previous day's events.

"Were there any problems after we closed the clinic?" Flinx asked.

"None that you need to worry about," Millifred replied. "The mayor came to bother you, but I told the fool that you were exhausted after casting dozens of healing spells. I also showed him the accounting books, explained how much I charged each patient, and gave him half of the earnings. That was enough to make him leave us alone."

"That satisfied him?"

"Not really. He kept complaining that we were charging far too little, but I told him you actually preferred to heal people for free. I said I was the one who convinced you to charge a small fee so you could contribute to the village's growth." She snorted. "In other words, so I could pay the mayor his little bribe."

"Please remember that if someone can't even afford a single copper coin, let them in anyway. I'll still heal them," Flinx said firmly.

"We'll have to be more selective," the old healer replied. "You said you could only cast your healing spell fifty times a day, and you're only staying here for three days. That won't be enough to treat everyone in the village."

"Then remove the fifty-patient limit. I can cast as many spells as necessary. Instead, just set clinic hours—from eight in the morning until five in the afternoon."

Millifred blinked.

"You can really cast that many spells in a single day?"

Flinx simply nodded.

"Oh, and one more thing," Millifred continued. "The mayor insisted on speaking with you about the fees you're charging. I told him you specifically said you wanted nothing to do with politics or money, and that if he kept pestering you, you'd curse him to lose his manhood."

She burst into cackling laughter.

Flinx had become powerful enough that he no longer worried about the people of a small village like Rembold. If he truly wished, he could do whatever he pleased. The fact that he chose to use his strength to help others should have inspired gratitude. After all, someone with his abilities could just as easily have terrorized the village instead.

After breakfast, Millifred opened the clinic.

Despite the rain beginning once again, an even longer line of people had gathered outside.

Flinx frowned. Many of those waiting were already ill, and standing for hours in the cold rain would only make them worse. Fortunately, Millifred's waiting room was large enough to shelter roughly a third of those in line.

Most of the others had done what they could to protect themselves from the weather, standing beneath tarps or waxed blankets.

The best thing Flinx could do was work as quickly as possible.

He asked Millifred to prioritize children, and thankfully, she was respected enough that everyone willingly allowed them to move to the front of the line.

When Flinx entered the treatment room, he was relieved to see that his first patients were children.

He worked as efficiently as he could. For each patient, he cast Prestidigitation two or three times, depending on the person's size, then followed it with either Heal or Regeneration, depending on the injury or illness.

By the end of the day, Flinx estimated that he had treated nearly three hundred people.

Millifred informed him that roughly a third of the patients had been unable to pay even a single copper coin. Since he had insisted on treating everyone regardless of their ability to pay, the villagers were overjoyed.

"At this pace," Flinx asked, "do you think two more days will be enough?"

Millifred nodded.

"Yes. By then, nearly everyone in the village who is sick or injured should be healed."

She looked at him once more.

"Are you certain you don't want any compensation?"

Flinx simply shook his head.

After the clinic closed, the mayor returned.

This time, however, he brought several men with him, including a wizard.

Flinx heard Millifred arguing with them downstairs.

She repeatedly told the mayor that Flinx was exhausted after healing three hundred people and did not wish to be disturbed.

The mayor shouted back that he merely wanted to speak with him.

Annoyed, Flinx quietly looked out the window without being noticed and cast Major Illusion toward the mayor and his companions, conjuring a terrifying vision.

Moments later, the entire group fled in panic.

Millifred hurried upstairs.

"What did you do?" she asked.

"I scared them away with a spell." Flinx paused. "Will that cause you any trouble after I leave?"

Millifred only laughed.

"You don't need to worry about me, young healer. I'm old, and this village still needs me."

Flinx finally understood why someone like Darkon—a complete dung beetle of a man—had managed to become captain of the guards.

The mayor and Darkon were cut from the same cloth.

Still, Flinx chose not to interfere further.

Once he had healed everyone he could, he would leave the village. Becoming involved in local politics would likely create more problems than it solved, especially after his departure.

Over the next two days, Flinx devoted himself entirely to healing the remaining sick and injured.

Fortunately, Rembold's population was not especially large. By the third day, only a handful of patients still arrived at the clinic, and Millifred assured him that most of their remaining ailments were simple enough for her to treat herself.

It was finally time for him to leave.

To celebrate, Flinx decided to treat both himself and Millifred to a feast.

Using the System Shopping Site, he purchased the finest meal he could find.

Without Millifred noticing, he carefully arranged the dishes across her dining table.

When she finally entered the room, she froze.

"Where did all of this come from?" she asked, unable to take her eyes off the food.

"My Patron granted it to celebrate the people I've healed," Flinx replied with a smile. "Come on. Let's eat."

For the next several hours, the two enjoyed the extravagant feast.

Millifred admitted it was the finest meal she had ever tasted.

"I imagine this is the kind of food served to the greatest wizards and the royal family," she said.

Flinx chuckled.

"I honestly wouldn't know. I've never had the opportunity to dine with great wizards or kings and queens."

One of Millifred's favorite discoveries was the chilled soda Flinx had purchased.

By the end of the meal, they had finished barely a third of the food.

Millifred immediately began carefully preserving everything that remained so she could enjoy it over the next several days.

With the weather growing colder, Flinx expected the leftovers would keep long enough for her to finish them.

Early the following morning, Millifred invited him to eat the leftovers for breakfast.

Flinx politely declined.

He wanted to leave before the village became busy.

After saying his goodbyes, he left Millifred's house and resumed his journey.

As he passed through the village gate, no one stopped him.

He had expected the mayor or one of his men to approach him before he left, but apparently his Major Illusion spell had frightened them badly enough that they chose to keep their distance.