Chapter 26 - 24 Sections - Exercise After Meals
In the afternoon, Old Ferreiro, the Chief Doctor and Coroner of the Church in Carterburg, taught Malin anatomy.
This was a tall and thin old man, his silver hair firmly held in place with hair gel, giving him an appearance that, aside from being somewhat slender, showed little sign of old age, even though his file card stated he was sixty-nine.
In a world where the average lifespan was sixty, he was a standard example of longevity.
"Speaking of which, this is the first time I've seen such a large Red-Bellied Spider Mother in Carterburg. You did well this time, Colin." The old man examined the Spider Mother on the platform, then confidently praised Colin, who smiled and shook his head, pointing towards Malin: "No, it was his catch."
"His?" The old man glanced at Malin, then walked to the front of the Spider Mother, where he noticed the bullet entry wounds: "All seven shots fired here... small caliber bullets. Your gun, where is it?"
Malin lifted his Apprentice overcoat, revealing the gun holster under his arm.
"An Apprentice Revolver, I've never seen anyone kill a Spider Mother with this kind of toy before. The wound has corrosive traces; this was caused by holy rock salt bullets, wasn't it?" the old man asked Malin as he carefully prodded the Spider Mother's wound with his finger.
"Yes, Your Excellency," Malin nodded, also expressing respect for the old man's injury assessment skills.
"I remember such bullets are not issued to apprentices. Do you have some other source?"
"Miss Margaret gave them to me," Malin promptly named the princess, to prevent the Chief Doctor from being controlled by boundless curiosity.
"Oh, it seems you're the last disciple of Hoffman Schillingdale that has been the talk of the Church recently."