The story opens with Lily softly waking Zenos. As he groggily gets up, Lily calmly prepares tea, sharing a familiar morning ritual. In the kingdom of Herszith, first-rate healers possess world-shaping power and are deeply respected for driving the nation’s progress. While most master their craft and earn licenses at the Royal Medical Institute, Zenos operates completely outside this system as an unlicensed, self-taught healer.
At his clinic, Zenos finishes treating a patient, noting casually that he will heal anyone who can afford his fee. He then heads out for house calls, promising to return by nightfall, leaving Lily to prepare dinner. While she cooks stew, Carmilla drops by to check on the food. Lily confidently tells her not to worry, proudly declaring herself as Zenos‘s future bride. Amused, Carmilla flashes a lazy grin and retreats to her room to slack off.
Soon after, Zophia arrives early, hoping for some alone time with Zenos, and decides to wait when she learns he is out. Lynga quickly follows with similar intentions, pouting because she wanted to smother him with affection. A rivalry flares up as both refuse to leave, but Lily firmly interrupts, reminding them that waiting for Zenos is her job. Right on cue, Loewe bursts in, breaking the door in her eagerness to have fun with Zenos. Lily gives her the same update but demands she fix the door before coming inside. Once repaired, Loewe finally steps in, surprised to find the whole group already gathered.
Loewe looks around and jokes that Lily‘s cooking must have drawn them all in, but the others quickly clarify that she is the only one there just for the food. Nearing the end of her cooking, Lily smiles and stirs her secret herb into the stew. She invites everyone to stay for dinner, insisting they wait for Zenos to return before eating, which they happily agree to.
Before sitting down, Lily steps outside to gather the laundry. Left alone with the mouthwatering aroma, Loewe and Lynga exchange a look, grab spoons, and decide to take a quick taste. Instantly, their self-control vanishes as they keep eating under the guise of “just tasting.” Zophia warns them that Lily will destroy them if she finds out, but after catching a whiff of the stew, even she caves. Meanwhile, Lily peacefully folds laundry outside, completely unaware of the culinary crime scene unfolding indoors.
Soon, the girls realize they have devoured the entire pot. Panic sets in, and they start blaming each other before deciding to quickly make a new batch. Just as Zophia suggests adding fresh ingredients, Lily walks in and catches them hovering around the empty pot like thieves.
At the dinner table, the girls sit stiff as statues under Lily‘s silent, furious glare. When she calmly asks what happened, their defenses crumble. They offer flimsy excuses about the smell and start bickering again. Upset, Lily warns that Zenos will be furious with their arguing, lamenting that she only wanted them all to enjoy a peaceful meal together.
The girls quickly apologize and promise to help cook, but Lily reveals there are no ingredients left. Suddenly, Carmilla storms in, furious that her stew is gone. Lynga and the others immediately apologize as Carmilla half-jokingly threatens to devour their souls in retribution. Lily intervenes, ordering the culprits to go out and gather the missing food. The group hastily agrees and disperses, leaving Lily to sigh as she realizes she has also used the very last of her secret ingredient.
Still lingering nearby, Carmilla raises a brow and asks if Lily is mad about the others eating everything. Lily shrugs it off, prompting Carmilla to stare at her like she is some kind of saint. Carmilla adds that if they had drank her wine along with the stew, she would have cursed them. Lily laughs nervously, unsure if she is joking, as her mind wanders to whether she can finish cooking a new dinner before Zenos returns.
Meanwhile, in town, Zenos spots a demi-human girl clutching her stomach in pain. Her master soon appears, revealing she is his slave, and demands to know where she went. She explains she was turned away from a clinic because she couldn’t afford treatment for her stomach ache. Enraged that she prioritized her health over her duties, the master drags her away like a broken tool. Zenos follows and watches as the man drags her to a graveyard, throwing her into the dirt like garbage.
Mocking her, the master kicks her in the stomach and demands she start digging graves for valuables if she wants to eat, completely unaware that his cruelty has just awakened a nearby spirit. As he turns to leave her in the dirt, the girl snaps. Possessed by the spirit, she lashes out and slashes him hard enough to draw blood. Now panicking, the master stumbles backward straight into Zenos, begging for help and claiming his slave has gone crazy.
Unfazed, Zenos tells the man to step aside and calmly asks what exactly he did to her. The master deflects and lies, claiming he merely asked her to resume her farm work. Flipping the script, the man whines about his bleeding injury, demanding medical help and offering to pay Zenos if he will just stop the possessed girl.
The possessed slave attacks her master, but Zenos intervenes. When he asks the girl why she is so angry, she hurls stones at him, which he effortlessly dodges. The noble urges Zenos to kill her, boasting of his high status and callously stating he can just buy a new slave. Zenos outright refuses, firmly maintaining that his duty is to preserve life.
The slave then throws a massive boulder, but Zenos shatters it with his bare hands using a mysterious enhancement, leaving the noble in sheer disbelief. As she resumes her lightning-fast assault, Zenos blocks her claws with a barrier, noticing that the sheer force of her attacks is severely injuring her own body. Driven by pure hatred, she lunges and bites Zenos, who is surprised to realize that possessing spirits can apparently engage in casual banter.
Channeling his magic, he simultaneously heals her wounds and exorcises the malevolent spirit, dryly wondering what kind of “farm work” leads to ghostly possession. After easily mending her crushed foot and finishing the exorcism, Zenos declares he is done for the day. Desperate, the bleeding noble begs to be saved as well, frantically reminding Zenos that he is a healer.
Zenos calmly tells the noble that his work for the day is done. When the desperate noble insists he will be dead by tomorrow and demands immediate treatment, Zenos warns him the price will be steep. The noble offers all the cash he has, complaining that the fee is above market price and threatening consequences for charging illegally. Zenos simply reveals that he is an unlicensed healer.
Surprised that such healers exist, the noble tries to play dumb when Zenos dryly compares his shady business to grave robbing. Seeing right through the man, Zenos demands the slave’s ownership documents as the remainder of the payment. Indifferent, the noble accepts the deal, gets healed, and departs.
Shortly after, the slave slowly awakens, her stomach still churning with pain. Startled by Zenos, she asks who he is. He bluntly introduces himself, explains that he just bought her, and asks for her name, which she murmurs is Ty. Explaining that he needs to thoroughly check his expensive investment, Zenos orders her to remove her clothes. Ty hesitates but, feeling she has no choice, complies. As he examines her, Zenos confirms his earlier suspicions of jaundice; he had followed her because he noticed her symptoms. He discovers her bile duct is severely inflamed and blocked with gallstones.
He heals her in seconds. When she asks what he just did, he calmly explains that he opened her abdomen, removed the gallstones, and closed it back up. She is shocked by the complete lack of chanting, magic sigils, or scars. Zenos brushes it off as something any healer could do, but she firmly corrects him, stating that ordinary healers absolutely cannot. Ty then thanks him from the bottom of her heart, unsure how she could ever repay him. Zenos mentions he has a task for her, and without hesitation, she agrees to do whatever it takes. He hands her a drawing of a specific herb and asks if she can locate it.
Ty agrees to help and soon leads Zenos to the exact herb—the very same one Lily had used in her stew earlier. When he thanks her, she brushes it off as too easy, admitting she expected him to ask for something entirely different. Zenos declares her debt paid, but she feels it is not nearly enough. He explains his rule of only taking compensation equal to his effort, noting that while finding the herb seems small, he couldn’t have done it without her.
Without hesitation, he tears up her slave contract, telling her she is now free to choose her own path. She admits she doesn’t know what her path is yet, but promises to return and let him know once she figures it out. Wishing her well, he tells her to find him if she ever gets hurt again.
Later that night, Zenos returns home. Lily greets him, explaining dinner isn’t ready just as the three food thieves return with fresh ingredients. Confused as to why they are even there, Zenos watches as they keep quiet about having already eaten his share, leaving Lily to whip up a new meal.
Stepping into another room, Zenos is met by a smirking Carmilla, who teasingly notes that he smells like another woman. He shoots her a warning look to keep quiet. When Lily asks him to wait for dinner, he stops her; catching on quickly, she realizes he just wants some black tea and happily goes to make it.
A flashback then reveals a time when Zenos was part of the prestigious Golden Phoenix adventuring party. Everything changed the day their leader, Aston, tossed him a single gold coin like scraps to a servant and unceremoniously kicked him out. Aston called him dead weight, claiming the party would thrive faster without him. Zenos knew better—he was the actual glue holding the reckless team together—but Aston didn’t care.
The truth was Zenos had only been recruited to be a disposable meat shield. Now that the party had grown powerful, Aston believed they no longer needed him. Zenos tried to reason with him, pointing out that his healing was the only thing that kept them alive through Aston‘s reckless decisions. However, Aston simply mocked his rough, unlicensed magic, claiming any half-decent healer could easily replace him.
Elsewhere, in the shadows of a grimy alleyway, two slave dealers were trying to subdue a rare and valuable elf girl, Lily. The woman reminded her partner to be gentle so she wouldn’t lose her value, but Lily fought back fiercely. She kicked the man in the groin and bolted, nearly escaping before he shot an arrow straight into her ankle. When the slaver caught up and tried to pin her again, she bit his hand, forcing him to stab her just to break free.
Just then, Zenos walked into the alley and saw Lily bleeding out on the ground. He confronted the slavers, but they unapologetically told him to back off, reminding him that slavery was legal and she was their property. Knowing his hands were tied by the law, Zenos pulled out the very gold coin Aston had thrown at him and offered to buy her.
While a single coin wasn’t nearly enough for an elf, the traders assumed Lily was minutes away from death. Deciding it wasn’t worth dragging a corpse to the market, they took the money and left. Zenos then approached Lily, who had already made peace with dying and told him to save himself the trouble. Instead, Zenos calmly assured her that she wasn’t dying today. Blinking in disbelief, Lily looked down to find her fatal wounds already completely closed up, without a single scar left behind.
Stunned, Lily quietly thanks Zenos and apologizes for making him spend his gold coin to save her. Zenos brushes it off, admitting he didn’t want to keep it anyway because it just reminded him of Aston. Since Lily was a slave just minutes ago, she has nowhere to go and admits she is starving. Zenos takes her to a nearby diner, buying her a fresh outfit and a hot meal. Lily happily eats but notices Zenos hasn’t ordered anything; he claims he isn’t hungry, but the truth is he is now completely broke and needs to figure out a plan fast.
As they sit there, a lizardman stumbles through the door with a bleeding, scorched arm from a magic gun blast. While lizardmen naturally regenerate, the deep injury would take days of constant pain to heal. Zenos simply lifts his hand and casts a spell, sealing the wound instantly. Frozen in shock at his good-as-new arm, the man asks who he is, and Lily proudly declares him a legendary healer. Impressed and deeply grateful, the lizardman hands Zenos some coins and promises to spread the word.
At first, Zenos is confused by the payment, but then it hits him: healers usually charge for their services. He realizes he could start a new life as a full-time healer. However, being from the slums makes getting an official license impossible. Plus, opening a legitimate clinic means dealing with permits, inspections, and taxes. Seeing the red tape, he decides that operating as an unlicensed, underground shadow healer is the perfect path forward.
Viewing it as an act of survival, Zenos decides to go off the grid and run an underground, no-questions-asked clinic. Lily doesn’t understand everything he says, but she definitely wants in. Zenos hesitates, uncomfortable with dragging a kid into an illegal business, but Lily reminds him that since he technically bought her, he is her master and she is staying by his side. Zenos insists he only bought her to save her life, not to own her. However, Lily hits him with the harsh reality: she has nowhere else to go and would likely be captured and sold again if he leaves her behind.
Defeated, Zenos sighs and allows her to tag along. Lily immediately pledges to “serve him with her whole body,” making Zenos nearly choke and beg her not to make it sound so creepy.
Needing a roof over their heads, Zenos takes Lily to an abandoned, sketchy part of the city. When a nervous Lily asks why they are there, Zenos explains that a forgotten, rent-free area is perfect for keeping his shady clinic off the Royal Association’s radar. Lily can’t argue with his logic, but she warns him that such districts are notorious for monster infestations.
They soon find a house still standing, which Zenos considers a jackpot. Lily, however, freezes at its haunted house vibe, warning that they might attract a wraith—a ghost-type monster capable of turning people into spirits with a single touch, which Zenos is completely unfamiliar with. Stepping inside the pitch-black building, Lily uses a basic light spell, catching Zenos off guard since he didn’t realize she could use magic. She casually shrugs it off. Once illuminated, the room is exactly the dusty, cobweb-filled fixer-upper Lily feared, but Zenos remains oddly upbeat about it.
Although the house looks cursed, its solid structure and leak-free roof are more than enough for Zenos to start his clinic. However, they soon discover the place already has a tenant: an actual wraith named Carmilla, who floats from the shadows and threatens to drain his life.
While Lily panics, an annoyed Zenos simply sighs. When Carmilla lunges at him, he instantly blasts both of her arms off with a burst of healing magic, which is highly lethal to the undead. Unfazed, Zenos considers this a minor inconvenience compared to the horrors he faced when Aston used to force him into dungeons solo, where he defeated countless wraiths.
Zenos casually apologizes for trespassing but politely asks if he can stay since local housing options are nonexistent. Offended by the squatter’s audacity, the wraith queen snaps her fingers and summons a crew of angry spirits to chase him out. Zenos sighs again and effortlessly erases them all with a mass heal spell.
Now panicking, Carmilla realizes she severely underestimated him and fears he could easily exorcise her out of existence. Zenos clarifies that he isn’t there to fight and only needs a place to live and work. Knowing she is outmatched, Carmilla strikes a deal, claiming the second floor as her territory and giving them the first. Zenos happily accepts, leaving Lily to wonder who is more terrifying: the ghost queen or the healer who casually obliterates spirits.
By the time morning rolls around, a restless Lily offers to go outside and advertise their new clinic, but Zenos quickly shuts the idea down.
Zenos warns Lily that advertising openly could attract the royal hospital’s unwanted attention. He urges patience, and right on cue, their first customer arrives. Lily welcomes him, realizing it’s the same lizardman Zenos patched up the day before. Zenos fully expected his return, knowing that people with magic gun wounds usually avoid legitimate hospitals.
The lizardman introduces himself as Zonde and asks Zenos to treat his sister, Zophia. She reveals a shallow wound on her arm that has been acting strangely. Upon inspection, Zenos immediately recognizes it as a magic-based poison. Because the wound was left untreated overnight, the tissue is essentially ruined. Zenos bluntly states that amputating the arm is the safest way to stop the poison from spreading. Zophia takes the grim news like a champ and asks for the price, which Zenos sets at a flat one million.
Furious at the steep cost for a simple amputation, Zonde is ready to fight, but Zophia calms him down. She tries to negotiate by using her status as a major gang leader to intimidate him, but Zenos remains completely unfazed. He refuses to do charity work, especially since his fee includes regeneration magic. This completely stuns Zophia, as she has never heard of a healer capable of restoring a lost limb. Being entirely self-taught, Zenos is equally confused, having always assumed limb regeneration was a basic skill.
Regardless, Zophia gives him the green light and lies down. Zenos conjures a sterile magic scalpel made of condensed energy. Though Zophia is slightly concerned, he reassures her it is perfect for surgery, once again surprised that other healers don’t use this method. After numbing the area with healing magic, he safely amputates the infected flesh. Ramping up his spell’s intensity, his hands glow as he flawlessly rebuilds her arm layer by layer, from bone to skin. Zophia flexes her fingers in sheer disbelief, amazed that her brand-new arm feels completely natural.
Zophia admits Zenos definitely earned his fee and offers to send her injured crew members his way as a bonus. Zenos has no objections, provided they pay like everyone else.
In the following days, Zenos is flooded with patients from the lizardman faction. Noticing his exhaustion, Lily thoughtfully prepares tea to help him relax, bringing an extra cup for Carmilla. Though Zenos doubts the wraith would join them, Carmilla surprisingly has a soft spot for tea. While sipping in peace, Lily asks why the lizardmen are taking such heavy damage. Based on the wounds, Zenos suspects a turf war between rival gangs.
Right on cue, the front door is kicked in. A pack of werewolves storms the clinic, led by Lynga, who immediately announces she is there to kill Zenos. Frustrated that her injured lizardman rivals keep bouncing back, she intends to cut off their recovery at the source. Zenos calmly states he doesn’t work for any faction and refuses to turn his clinic into a battlefield, but Lynga orders an attack anyway. However, thanks to Zenos‘s defensive magic, the werewolves’ strikes harmlessly bounce off him like pebbles on a brick wall.
Unable to hurt him directly, Lynga decides to trash the clinic instead—a terrible mistake, as this is also Carmilla‘s home, and she absolutely refuses to tolerate property damage. The second the werewolves spot the wraith queen, all their bravado vanishes. Carmilla is seconds away from turning them into spirit dust when Zenos intervenes. Reminding her that this is a clinic and not an execution site, he asks her to spare them, offering to let the intrusion slide if they clean up their mess. After delivering a death glare, Carmilla agrees and floats back upstairs. Seeing the terrifying wraith queen actually obey Zenos, Lynga‘s entire demeanor instantly flips.
Dropping to her knees, Lynga begs for forgiveness, promising to repair the clinic and keep her people in check.
The very next day, an orc arrives with a message: Loewe, the leader of the orc faction, wants a personal meeting. Having already dealt with two major slum leaders, Zenos figured this was only a matter of time. Loewe runs the entire orc and ogre scene, raking in cash by smashing through magic stone mines with pure brute strength. While dealing with her isn’t ideal, Zenos realizes that securing her approval will protect his clinic from further harassment. Before leaving, he asks if Loewe is reasonable. The messenger assures him she is incredibly wise and dignified, but reveals the real problem: she cannot move right now.
Wasting no time, Zenos follows the orc to a cave and officially meets Loewe. She greets him warmly. When Zenos asks how she found out about his clinic, she casually mentions that the lizardmen and werewolves haven’t stopped blabbing about a “top-secret” healer. Realizing his underground status is fading fast, he decides to worry about that later.
Loewe wants to see if he lives up to the rumors of healing any injury for the right price. Since she has no visible wounds, Zenos raises his hand to scan her for internal damage. Loewe is surprised, as most healers don’t know how to do this, though the self-taught Zenos assumes it is standard medical practice.
Upon completing the scan, Zenos detects a lump radiating mana deep in her stomach. Loewe confirms his guess: it is a mana stone enchanted with explosion magic. If she moves even slightly, the entire thing might blow up.
Zenos assumed someone had tried to assassinate her by sneaking the explosive into her food. However, Loewe clarified it was nothing sinister—she had simply gotten hungry, mistook the stone for a rice ball, and swallowed it by accident, insisting it was an honest mistake anyone could make. Zenos highly doubted that but wasn’t too worried, figuring mana stones usually pass naturally. He started to leave, but Loewe stopped him, explaining that she had accidentally chewed the stone, meaning it was going to detonate very soon.
Having made peace with dying over her foolish mistake, Loewe couldn’t bear the thought of her loyal men refusing to abandon her. When Zenos asked what she expected him to do, she explained she wanted to leave all her wealth to him so her empire wouldn’t fall into the wrong hands. During her research, she had discovered he never charged for treating children, convincing her he was a genuinely good guy. Loewe then tossed him the key to her treasure vault.
But Zenos never agreed to let her die. Realizing she hadn’t blown up yet, he knew there was still time to save her. He summoned his magic scalpel and moved in. Loewe‘s men panicked and tried to stop him, but he was too fast. In mere seconds, he sliced open Loewe‘s stomach, extracted the explosive mana stone, and flawlessly healed her wound. Everyone watched, speechless, as he calmly held up the dangerous object. Since it was still primed to explode, Zenos tightly wrapped his hands around the stone, completely containing the blast to keep everyone safe.
The explosion could have easily wiped out the entire cave, but Zenos had shielded his hands with defensive magic. Despite the pain, he was completely fine. Handing Loewe back her key, he explained there was no need to donate her fortune anymore. Loewe was stunned that he actually chose to save her instead of grabbing the cash, but Zenos simply stated that taking an entire fortune for a fair-priced healing job would be excessive. Genuinely impressed, Loewe promised to help him with whatever he needed in the future. She even offered to deploy her warriors to guard his clinic, which he politely declined, knowing orc soldiers would attract too much unwanted attention.
A few days later, Lily sits at the clinic’s front desk, sulking because Zophia, Lynga, and Loewe have been visiting a lot more than usual. Zenos also notices their frequent appearances, especially since none of them are ever injured, and assumes they are just bored. However, Carmilla quickly corrects him, pointing out that the three women are clearly in love with him. Seeing himself as just an ordinary underground healer, Zenos can’t wrap his head around the idea. Lily worries that one of the girls might start dating him and steal his attention, but Zenos reassures her he has no intention of dating any of them—mostly because he thinks they are all a bit crazy.
Still, Carmilla warns that it is only a matter of time before the three start a turf war to decide who gets to claim him. Zenos doubts things would ever escalate that far. But as fate would have it, the very next day, Zophia arrives with a basket of fruit, casually mentioning she plans to declare war on the other factions for reasons she conveniently refuses to explain. Soon after, Lynga and Loewe show up with their own gifts, also declaring their intent to go to war against each other. Zenos loudly protests and tries to get them to reconsider, but they flat-out refuse to listen. Finding the entire situation hilarious, Carmilla jokes that a lot of people are about to die thanks to Zenos‘s apparent womanizing tendencies.
Zenos didn’t appreciate the way Carmilla phrased it, but he undeniably had a major problem on his hands. With the death match scheduled for noon, he couldn’t just sit back and let them kill each other over something so silly.
Later at the stadium, Zophia, Lynga, and Loewe had gathered their respective armies, fully prepared for an all-out brawl. The atmosphere was incredibly tense, but just as the battle was about to kick off, Zenos suddenly appeared, bringing everything to a halt. To their surprise, he calmly stated that he wasn’t there to stop them. He acknowledged their long-standing grudges and figured it was better to let them fight it out until they were satisfied rather than forcing a peace they didn’t want.
With Zenos‘s blessing, the girls agreed to fight with everything they had. As an added incentive, they declared that whoever survived the fight would get to claim Zenos‘s virginity. Zenos definitely didn’t recall agreeing to that part! But before he could even object, the battle erupted.
Zophia made the first move, lunging forward with her daggers aimed straight at Lynga‘s neck, but Lynga quickly backflipped to safety. Instantly, Loewe jumped into action, trying to flatten Zophia with a flying dropkick. Zophia sidestepped just in time, causing Loewe to accidentally smash into some poor bystanders like bowling pins. Zophia and Lynga clashed again, locking weapons as they struggled to overpower each other. Just as they were about to land decisive blows, Loewe returned to the fray, leaping down from above and nearly crushing both of them beneath her massive attack.
Zophia stumbled into the orc section of the stadium, forcing her to fight her way out. Soon, everyone else followed suit, turning on each other’s factions and triggering complete chaos. The scene quickly became brutal, with people slashing and throwing punches left and right. Yet, astonishingly, even after six relentless hours of combat, not a single fighter had fallen. It was at that moment Zophia suddenly noticed something strange.
The wounds on her arms were healing right before her eyes. Everyone paused in bewilderment until Zenos finally spoke up, explaining that while he had agreed to let them have their little death battle, he never said he would let anyone actually die. Since they were his patients, he simply refused to let them perish.
Zophia felt silly for not realizing his involvement sooner, but no one had imagined a healer could continuously heal an entire battlefield for six hours straight. The girls finally understood his point: as long as he was there to heal them, their fight would literally never end, trapping them in an endless cycle of pointless conflict. To top it off, he reminded them that he fully planned on billing each faction for every hour of healing he provided. Realizing their foolishness, the three leaders agreed to set their differences aside and maintain peace. However, they were still determined to fight over Zenos—only this time, they promised to compete peacefully without any bloodshed.
Meanwhile, Lily asked Zenos why he went through the trouble of intervening. Remembering his old teacher’s words—that a third-rate healer mends wounds, a second-rate restores the body, but a first-rate healer makes the world a better place—Zenos admitted he wanted to try improving life in the slums. He then joked that if everyone died, he would run out of patients. Lily smiled softly, knowing his tough talk just covered up how much he cared. By stopping the turf war, he was actively reducing his own income, yet he still chose peace over profit. She directly told him that this genuine kindness was exactly why she liked him, though her words went completely over his head.
Since it was getting late, Zenos decided it was time to collect his payment and head home. A surprised Lily realized he was completely serious about charging the factions; healing a stadium full of people was exhausting work, and he wasn’t about to do it for free.
At the same time in the capital, the commander of the Royal Knights held a private meeting with the vice commander, Krishna. Noticing the commander’s troubled expression, Krishna asked if something had happened.
The commander explained a strange rumor: the long-standing slum war among the demi-human factions had abruptly ended. Krishna found it hard to believe they would suddenly play nice after years of bloody feuding. The commander agreed but noted it was a serious problem. The kingdom’s centuries of stability relied on the impoverished fighting each other instead of causing trouble for the nobility. If united in peace, they might demand outrageous things like rights, equality, and free healthcare. Hearing that a single individual was responsible for this peace, the commander tasked Krishna with eliminating the threat. She accepted without hesitation, promising to arrest the troublemaker for the “crime” of disturbing the war by bringing peace.
Meanwhile at the clinic, Zenos suddenly sneezed, making everyone worry he had caught a cold. Lynga immediately offered her fluffy tail as a blanket, while Loewe enthusiastically invited him to warm up in her legendary “black cushion,” leaving a devastated Lily feeling entirely inadequate since she lacked both. Zenos insisted it was just a regular sneeze and told them to quiet down so he could finish healing Zophia.
After patching up Zophia‘s arm, Zenos asked how she got hurt, as it had been a while since her last visit. Zophia admitted she was injured on the job. She usually played Robin Hood by stealing from corrupt nobles to feed the poor, but last night she sneaked into the wrong aristocrat’s home. There, she encountered Krishna, a ruthless knight known for shooting her magic fire guns first and asking questions later.
Hearing this, Carmilla worried that catching Krishna‘s attention could spell trouble. Zenos, however, wasn’t concerned, figuring a high-ranking knight had no reason to care about a low-profile underground healer like himself. Little did he know, elsewhere in the slums, Krishna was already prowling around gathering information on him, highly suspicious of the demi-humans’ newfound peaceful coexistence.
Approaching a lizardman, Krishna bluntly demands to know who ended the demi-human war. Knowing Zenos wants to remain hidden, the loyal lizardman refuses to talk, even when she draws her gun and threatens to shoot him below the belt. He is fully prepared to take a bullet to protect his healer, but the sudden arrival of Zophia and her brother forces Krishna to retreat, as she isn’t prepared to clash with the gang leader just yet.
Wandering into the abandoned district, she accidentally stumbles upon the clinic and steps inside to ask for directions back to the city. Zenos kindly offers to help, but the moment Lily walks in with tea, Krishna spots her elf ears. Without a single warning, she draws her magic fire gun and blasts Zenos directly in the head.
A horrified Lily demands to know what the hell just happened. Krishna defends her rash actions, explaining that she is also investigating local kidnappings; seeing a human keeping a rare elf made her instantly assume he was the culprit. Lily quickly corrects her, clarifying that Zenos essentially adopted her and she is there entirely by choice. Realizing her mistake—and noting that Lily is far too cheerful to be a hostage—Krishna concedes.
Assuming her non-lethal bullet at least knocked him unconscious, Krishna is absolutely astonished to find Zenos standing there completely unharmed. She apologizes for jumping the gun but demands to know how he survived without a single scratch. Zenos casually explains that he just blocked the shot with his defensive magic. This only baffles Krishna further, stating that ordinary barriers should never be able to stop her bullets. True to form, Zenos remains utterly confused, genuinely believing his magic is perfectly average.
Having witnessed countless spells as Vice-Commander of the Royal Knights, Krishna immediately recognizes that Zenos‘s defensive shield matches the power of a grand sorcerer. The moment she reveals her high-ranking title, Zenos and Lily become instantly uneasy, realizing her presence could spell major trouble. However, Krishna clearly has a specific favor to ask. Hoping to avoid further confrontation, Zenos agrees to talk but secretly sends a discreet warning to all his patients, urging them to stay away while the knight is around.
As they sit down, Krishna explains she is on a covert mission and demands his cooperation. Zenos insists he wants no part of it, but she argues it is every citizen’s duty to assist the Royal Knights. Knowing her unpredictable nature and figuring a refusal might earn him another bullet to the face, Zenos reluctantly agrees.
Krishna then reveals her target: she is hunting down the mysterious mediator who recently ended the slum factions’ war, with orders to arrest him on sight despite having no name or description. Zenos nearly chokes on his tea, realizing he is the very man she is trying to capture. Maintaining his composure, he asks why the Knights are pursuing this mediator.
Krishna explains that they simply cannot ignore someone with the power to unite the warring factions. Because the locals stubbornly refused to give her any information—even under the threat of violence—she has concluded that this mediator must be a sinister mastermind who demands absolute loyalty and needs to be stopped.
Trying to reason with her, Zenos suggests the mediator might just want to keep a low profile, and if she simply abandons her search, the man probably won’t cause any trouble. Suspicious, Krishna asks if he personally knows who the mediator is, forcing Zenos to quickly backpedal and claim he is merely guessing based on intuition.
Regardless, Krishna insists she cannot ignore the mediator. Under explicit orders from her commander, anyone capable of uniting the warring factions is considered too great a risk to the country’s stability. Lily jumps in to defend him, accidentally blurting out that the mediator only cares about making money through honest labor. When Krishna points out that Lily sounds like she knows the man personally, a panicking Lily hastily denies it. Though slightly suspicious, Krishna decides to let it slide for the moment.
Since it is getting late, Zenos tries to use the time as an excuse to usher her out. However, Krishna spots the clinic’s patient bed in the corner. When she questions its odd placement, a nervous Zenos claims it is just a spare bed. Taking him at his word, Krishna immediately asks to rent it, explaining she desperately needs a base of operations in the slums while she finishes her assignment. Unable to decline without raising even more suspicion, Zenos reluctantly agrees, much to the quiet amusement of Carmilla.
Lily prepares some green tea for their new guest, which Krishna struggles to drink, having to blow on it to cool it down. Envious that yet another woman has appeared to vie for Zenos‘s attention, Lily decides to assert her dominance. She boldly climbs right into Zenos‘s lap and demands her usual head pats. Zenos complies, though he is completely puzzled by her sudden clinginess. Suddenly, an invisible Carmilla whispers directly into his ear that Lily is just jealous, catching him off guard. Thoroughly enjoying the drama, the wraith watches as Lily becomes extra affectionate, fiercely determined not to let Krishna steal his attention.
However, Krishna doesn’t seem to care and just keeps blowing on her tea. Eventually, Lily dozes off, so Zenos gently tucks her into bed before returning to the living room to continue his conversation. He explains how he rescued Lily from illegal slave traders, which clarifies why Krishna was so quick to pull the trigger earlier. Unfortunately, Zenos doesn’t have any solid intel on the trafficking network itself.
Changing the subject, Krishna notes that since Zenos is clearly a highly skilled mage with perfect defensive magic, she wonders if someone could regenerate an entire arm by putting a similar amount of effort into healing magic. Zenos starts to question if regenerating a limb is really that rare of a feat, but Krishna insists it should be impossible for anyone other than a saint or a top-tier healer. Confused as to why she is bringing this up, Zenos asks for an explanation.
Krishna reveals that she severely damaged Zophia‘s arm during their recent fight, yet saw her yesterday with a fully restored limb. She is convinced that a slum healer powerful enough to regenerate limbs must exist, and that this person likely wields serious influence over the faction bosses.
Planning to resume her investigation in the morning, Krishna hopes to find clues about this supposed “evil” healer. Zenos questions why she automatically assumes the healer is evil, noticing she harbors a deep prejudice against the entire slum. When he asks if there is a specific reason for her hatred, Krishna admits her bias stems from a tragedy: someone from the slums murdered her mother. She explains that her mother was a deeply compassionate woman who frequently visited the area to distribute food to the poor. But one day, she simply never came back.
Ever since that tragic day, Krishna lost her ability to smile or laugh, earning her the title of the “Iron Rose.” Witnesses claimed her mother was murdered and robbed for her wedding ring. This shattered Krishna; despite her mother saving countless lives from starvation, no one in the slums had stepped in to help her when she needed it most. This tragedy fueled Krishna‘s drive to join the Royal Knights and become an unstoppable hero to deliver harsh justice to criminals.
The next morning, Krishna heads out to investigate, letting Zenos get back to treating patients. Zophia soon stops by with a minor arm injury, and Zenos warns her to be careful since the knight could return at any moment. Right on cue, Krishna walks back in, having gotten lost on her way out.
Spotting Zophia, Krishna immediately draws her guns, prompting Zophia to pull her knives in a tense standoff. Krishna demands to know if an evil healer is actually rallying criminals to threaten innocents. Zophia confirms a healer exists but fiercely denies that he is evil. Admitting that she herself is a thief, Zophia points out that many nobles commit far worse crimes. For instance, she knows about the Knight’s trafficking investigation and reveals her own research: the true mastermind is an aristocrat.
Krishna initially dismisses this, believing the kidnapping ring operates strictly in the slums. Zophia counters that the slum operation is just a clever decoy to blind the Royal Knights from the truth. Still skeptical, Krishna demands a name. When Zophia names Callendore, Krishna refuses to believe it, arguing that Callendore is widely respected as a generous philanthropist dedicated to educating orphans.
Zophia fully expected this distrust. She notes that while Krishna blindly views everyone from the slums as criminals, the mysterious mediator treats everyone fairly and offers second chances, unlike her misguided version of justice. Furious at the insult, Krishna prepares to fire her gun. Before she can pull the trigger, Zenos steps directly in front of her, firmly demanding she lower the weapon.
Krishna orders Zenos to step aside, but he refuses to let harm come to his patient. Apologizing for his earlier secrecy, he finally confesses that he is actually the mediator she has been searching for. Krishna assumes he is just lying to protect Zophia. Having already seen his mastery of defensive magic, she believes it is impossible for him to also excel at healing. Zenos doesn’t consider himself a master, but he is confident in both skills since they simply require enhancing the body’s natural processes.
Finding this absurd, Krishna remains unconvinced. However, since it is clear he is siding with Zophia, she decides to exit peacefully out of respect for the hospitality he showed her the night before. As she leaves, Lily notices her heading toward the aristocratic district, and Zenos quickly realizes her destination.
Taking Zophia‘s accusation seriously, Krishna visits Callendore‘s manor to investigate. Unable to confront him directly about child trafficking, she fabricates a story about increased local thefts. Callendore confirms he has had recent trouble with the lizardman gang. Krishna announces plans to boost patrols but asks to inspect his estate’s current security first. Callendore readily agrees and gives her a full tour. Afterward, he asks for her opinion, and she politely praises his meticulous safeguards.
However, something odd caught her attention during the tour. Under the guise of using the restroom, she slips away from his office. While heavy security is normal for a high-ranking noble, Krishna finds the heavily guarded backyard highly suspicious. Peering over the wall, she spots a hidden entrance. She cautiously makes her way down the passage and is absolutely shocked to realize that Zophia was telling the truth all along.
Callendore truly was behind all the kidnappings. Before Krishna can help the captured children, Callendore sneaks up behind her with the guns she left upstairs and mercilessly blows off her arm. He laughs at how easily he defeated a knight, taunting her for poking her nose where it didn’t belong, and prepares to finish her off to resume his trafficking business.
Just then, Zophia and Zenos arrive. Concerned about where Krishna was heading, Zenos had asked Zophia to lead him there. Determined to leave no witnesses, Callendore switches the gun to lethal mode and shoots Zenos straight in the face. To his absolute disbelief, Zenos is completely unharmed, though he casually admits the lethal shot stung a bit. Panicking, Callendore tries to escape but drops the weapon in his frenzy. Zenos scoops it up as Callendore begs for mercy. Luckily for the corrupt noble, Zenos has a strict no-kill policy. However, he has no rules against causing pain, so he switches the gun back to non-lethal and blasts Callendore in the head, knocking him out cold.
Zenos quickly rushes to Krishna, who weakly tells him it is pointless since her arm and a large portion of her stomach are gone. She has accepted her death, but Zenos reassures her she will be perfectly fine—though he warns her to brace herself for a damn expensive medical bill. Moments later, Krishna is fully healed. Astonished by his ability to instantly repair fatal injuries, she finally accepts that he is the mediator. Her desire to arrest him vanishes entirely, and she now views him as a genuine hero.
Zenos brushes off the title, claiming he is just a healer doing his job. He insists that if anyone is a hero, it is Krishna, because she was the one who took action for the children’s sake; despite her misguided moments, she genuinely wants to create a better world. Zophia and the lizardmen then help free the kids from the dungeon. Hearing the Royal Knights approaching fast, Zenos decides to leave with the others, having no interest in dealing with the authorities.
Before he departs, Krishna stops him, curious as to why he saved her when she was an enemy. Zenos simply replies that he needs to ensure she pays her outstanding bills; she still owes him for her overnight stay and now the massive healing fee, and he expects full payment by the end of the week. Amused by his ridiculous reasoning, Krishna genuinely laughs for the first time since her mother’s death.
The next day, while walking down the street with Lily to buy tea, Zenos spots his old home in the slums, pulling him deep into his memories. He had been a dirt-poor orphan with no family and no future, wasting his days in a filthy alley just trying to survive.
Back then, Aston was wandering the slums looking to recruit a child to use as a human shield. Frustrated that no one seemed suitable, he noticed Zenos and decided he was perfect. Approaching with a polite but falsely kind demeanor, Aston manipulated the starving, jobless boy into joining him on an adventure, tricking Zenos into thinking he was a genuinely nice person.
Zenos hesitated, knowing slum dwellers rarely became adventurers, but Aston assured him that skills mattered more than background. When asked what he could do, Zenos revealed he knew some healing magic. Aston was highly skeptical, knowing true healing magic requires years of rigorous academy training. Still, he didn’t care if it was true—he just wanted a disposable distraction in case things went wrong.
Once Zenos agreed, Aston took him straight into the forest where they confronted a wolf monster. During the battle, Aston took a minor hit, prompting Zenos to step up and actually heal him with his magic.
Aston charges the beast, and Zenos secretly uses his magic to enhance Aston‘s speed, allowing him to effortlessly decapitate the wolf in a single strike. Strangely, Aston completely fails to notice that his injuries vanished mid-combat or that his speed suddenly increased, leaving him convinced that Zenos is utterly useless. After years of enduring this dynamic, Aston eventually kicks Zenos out of the party.
While we know how Zenos has spent his time since, the Golden Phoenix hasn’t fared quite as well. Aston and his remaining party members head to a cave for their next mission—a highly important quest they intend to leverage to curry favor with influential nobles. Though they all resent the hard work, Yuma reminds them that the faster they finish, the sooner they can return to the inn to drink. Andre excitedly agrees, noting how ladies always flock to them because their party is renowned for flawlessly defeating magical creatures without taking a single scratch.
Right on cue, they encounter their targets. Aston unsheathes his blade, orders Guile to cast protective magic, and rushes ahead. However, despite the shield, Aston‘s arm gets severely scorched during the clash. At the same time, a wolf ambushes Yuma from behind, taking him out of the fight entirely. Aston shouts at Andre to cast offensive spells, but his incantation takes far too long, and he gets blasted by a fireball mid-chant.
Stunned, Aston wonders if his group has always been this incompetent. Realizing they have no chance of winning, he orders an immediate retreat. Once they safely escape the cave, an angry Aston demands to know why they are struggling against mere B-rank monsters. Andre quickly points out that Aston wasn’t exactly effective either. Guile then hesitatingly asks if there is a chance Zenos was actually telling the truth about healing them all along. Still deep in denial, Aston insists it is impossible, refusing to believe a lowly commoner could have ever mastered healing magic.
Still, to be cautious, Aston decides it might be wise to recruit a healer. Several days later, the party returns to the cave with their new recruit, Umin. She informs Aston upfront that she isn’t skilled at battlefield combat and usually only works in the capital, but she agreed to tag along since she holds an adventurer’s license. Given the Golden Phoenix’s flawless reputation, she wonders why they even need a healer in the first place. Refusing to admit their recent failures, Aston harshly tells her to mind her own business.
Guile then asks Umin if Yuma will recover from his severe injuries. Having treated him herself, Umin is confident he will survive, but his wounds are so critical that his adventuring days are permanently over. You would expect Aston to show some sympathy for his crippled teammate, but he coldly brushes it off, claiming Yuma wasn’t valuable enough to keep around anyway.
The reason this quest is so important is that a nobleman, Fennel, requested a fire fox fur scarf for his daughter. Desperate to get in Fennel‘s good graces, Aston is willing to risk his life for it. However, the plan crumbles mere seconds later when the wolves launch an unexpected ambush.
Aston retaliates, ordering Guile to cast defensive spells on everyone. But as he moves in to attack, Aston fails to land a single blow. The wolves unleash four fireballs; Aston deflects three, but the fourth strikes Andre squarely in the stomach, instantly knocking him out. As Aston swings fruitlessly at the beasts, Umin shouts that they must retreat because Andre is in critical condition. Disbelieving that everything is collapsing yet again, Aston orders a withdrawal. Once safely outside, a furious Aston snaps at Guile, demanding to know why he failed to shield Andre with his magic.
However, Umin points out that Guile‘s defensive spell actually worked; without it, the blast would have instantly killed Andre. Aston impatiently demands she heal Andre immediately, but Umin explains that instantly curing such severe wounds without proper preparation requires a top-tier healer or a saint. Unless they rush him to a medical facility right away, Andre will not survive.
Sometime later, Fennel‘s servant informs Aston that the nobleman is extremely disappointed. Aston desperately begs for one more chance to secure the fur, but the daughter’s birthday has already passed, making the effort entirely pointless. Fennel isn’t just upset about the failed quest; he is furious because Aston repeatedly guaranteed their success. Had Aston just admitted the mission was too difficult earlier, Fennel would have understood and simply chosen a different gift.
For a brief moment, Aston tries to shift the entire blame for the disaster onto Zenos. However, he quickly realizes that since he never formally registered him, Zenos was never officially a party member and cannot be held accountable. Swallowing his pride, a seething Aston bows his head to apologize for the fiasco, hating every second of having to lower himself before a mere servant.
Aston vows to find a way to make amends, though the servant questions how he will manage that with half his group nearly dead. Aston confidently replies that he will recruit replacements to offset their losses and guarantees success the next time Fennel entrusts them with a task. After the servant departs, Guile questions if making such bold promises is truly wise, pointing out they have no capable recruits lined up and cannot possibly undertake missions with only two active members. Aston casually dismisses his concerns, assuring Guile that he already has a plan in mind.
Despite still refusing to admit Zenos has any real value, Aston can’t deny that the Golden Phoenix functioned much better with him around. In his absolute delusion, Aston plans to simply bring him back, entirely convinced that Zenos will jump at the chance to rejoin the party despite all the past abuse.
The next day, Aston and Guile head into the slums. Having no idea where to start, Aston hatches a “brilliant” plan: he decides to hire the three faction bosses to track Zenos down, arrogantly assuming that “low-class scum” will do anything for some quick cash.
However, his plan spectacularly backfires as he visits each leader:
- Zophia: When Aston introduces himself and asks for help finding Zenos, Zophia is utterly disgusted. Since Zenos already told her about his unceremonious exile, she can’t believe Aston is actually stupid enough to come crawling back. She tells him to get lost, noting that looking at him makes her sick. Aston briefly considers attacking her but wisely backs down, realizing she would absolutely destroy him.
- Lynga: Next, he approaches the werewolf leader. The moment Lynga realizes who he is, she immediately kicks him out. Shocked to learn she is also friends with Zenos, Aston receives a swift reality check when Lynga promises she could easily kill him three times over before he even blinks.
- Loewe: Finally, he tries the orc boss. Loewe promptly tells him to go screw himself, threatening that if she ever catches him bothering Zenos, she will personally crush his skull between her thighs.
Fleeing the cave, Aston and Guile are left completely baffled, struggling to comprehend how a supposedly worthless commoner has earned the fierce loyalty of all the major slum bosses.
Aston tries to convince himself that the faction bosses must be talking about a completely different Zenos, absolutely in denial that his former punching bag could hold so much influence in the slums. But speak of the devil—Guile suddenly spots Zenos and Lily walking down the street after finishing their shopping.
Not exactly thrilled to run into his former abusers, Zenos tries to walk away. Aston stops him, loudly and arrogantly announcing that he has come to welcome Zenos back into the Golden Phoenix. Before he can even finish his sentence, Zenos flatly rejects him.
Aston is utterly shocked, having convinced himself Zenos would jump at the opportunity. Instead, Zenos happily lays out the reality of the situation:
- Zero Incentive: After enduring years of terrible conditions and insulting pay, Zenos points out he has absolutely no reason to return to their toxic party.
- The New Price Tag: If Aston is truly desperate, Zenos offers to tag along for a few missions as a freelancer—provided he actually pays up. The new rates? 50,000 for minor healing, 1,000,000 for major healing, plus separate fees for any defensive spells and buffs. Take it or leave it.
Deeply insulted that his former lackey dared to set terms and walk away, Aston draws his blade to attack. However, before he can get anywhere near Zenos, he is violently blasted backward by Krishna.
Stepping onto the scene, the Royal Knight bluntly tells Aston just how idiotic it is to launch an unprovoked attack right in front of her. While she had actually come looking for Zenos to handle her own business, she happily pivots and places Aston under arrest for assault.
However, Aston quickly blames Guile, claiming he was forced into the confrontation, and flees like a coward to avoid imprisonment.
After the chaos, Zenos and Lily return home for the evening. They are soon visited by Zophia, Lynga, and Loewe, who reveal that Aston tried to hire them to track him down. Although they rejected the request, Zophia worries that a resentful Aston might persistently come after Zenos, potentially hiring an assassin from the unlawful underground guild. While assassins are usually expensive and Aston appears to be broke, Zophia remains uneasy. She mentions rumors about a mysterious guild figure known as the Conductor, who sometimes takes assignments for free under specific circumstances. If Aston manages to convince the Conductor, Zenos could be in serious danger.
Later that night, the tension from the encounter keeps Zenos awake. Concerned, Carmilla comes downstairs to keep him company and asks if he truly learned healing magic in the slums. Zenos explains that his healing abilities came naturally after he once tried to resurrect a corpse. Carmilla points out that resurrection magic is strictly forbidden, though Zenos admits he had absolutely no idea about the ban when he experimented with it. This discussion of forbidden magic reminds Carmilla of her own era during the Demon Lord’s reign, when similar spells were used to animate golems for war.
Just then, chaos erupts outside, interrupting their conversation. Carmilla volunteers to investigate and is shocked to discover a large portion of the slums engulfed in flames, with a rampaging golem wreaking havoc.
It turns out Aston truly was vindictive enough to want Zenos dead. Being completely broke, he couldn’t afford a real assassin, so he was directed to the Conductor. The Conductor agreed to consider doing it for free, but only if the backstory caught his interest. After hearing Aston pathetically rant about his situation, the Conductor couldn’t stop laughing at the self-centered clown. Still, targeting Zenos sounded fun and provided the perfect excuse to test out a brand-new creation.
Back in the present, Zenos and Carmilla survey the town, finding the destruction far worse than expected with buildings trashed and streets torn apart. Soon, Lynga, Loewe, and Zophia arrive, desperate for help after the rampaging golem heavily injured their people. When Zenos asks about its origins, they only know it emerged from deep within the slums. This makes Zenos uneasy, suspecting the underground guild might have a hand in the mess. Putting speculation aside, he orders the leaders to gather the wounded in one place for healing, vowing to make the culprit pay once everyone is safe.
Meanwhile, watching from a comfortable distance, the Conductor is highly pleased with his golem’s destructive power, even if its speed is lacking. Knowing little about Zenos, he is eager to see how the healer will react as his friends drop dead right before his eyes.
Back in the city, Lynga, Loewe, and Zophia quickly rally their forces to bring all survivors directly to Zenos. After warning Carmilla to step back to avoid the magic’s effect, Zenos casts a massive high-heal spell across the entire zone. Within seconds, people who were on the brink of death are fully restored and back on their feet, and Zenos urgently orders them all to evacuate the area as fast as possible.
Zenos personally tracks down and heals anyone caught outside his initial spell’s range. Understandably, he is incredibly annoyed—not only was he dragged out of bed in the middle of the night, but he is also treating crowds of people for free. He vows to make the golem’s controller pay, even though they still have no idea who is behind the attack.
Watching from afar, the Conductor is genuinely shocked that Zenos managed to save every single person. Recognizing him as a top-tier healer, the Conductor still knows that the destruction will only pile up unless the golem is physically stopped.
With the wounded finally cleared out, Zenos asks Carmilla if the golem might eventually get bored and wander off. She immediately shoots that hope down, explaining that golems strictly follow commands until their task is finished; this one is clearly programmed to level the slums. To make matters worse, the high-grade mana stones required for golem cores were supposedly wiped out during the Great War, making this attack highly irregular.
Realizing he has to step up before the damage gets worse, Zenos prepares to fight. The slum’s very own “Totally Spies” trio—Zophia, Lynga, and Loewe—step forward to join him. Zenos warns them that he can’t guarantee mid-battle healing if things go sideways, but the girls refuse to back down and let their home be destroyed. Glad to have the backup but needing a solid plan, Zenos asks Carmilla for the golem’s weakness. She reveals that unless they completely destroy the mana stone powering its core, the beast will just keep regenerating no matter what they hit it with.
This is disappointing news for Zenos, who had hoped to sell the golem’s core for some extra cash. Left with no other option, he orders the girls to hit the monster with everything they have while he handles support.
Rushing into battle, the girls receive agility and strength buffs from Zenos. The enhanced raw power allows them to completely shatter one of the golem’s legs, sending the massive stone beast crashing to the ground. However, the victory is short-lived; its core immediately lights up, and the golem begins rapidly regenerating. It viciously backhands Lynga, launching her through three solid buildings. While the impact should have broken every bone in her body, Zenos‘s magic allows her to walk away without a single scratch.
Shaking off the rust from his lack of recent combat, Zenos quickly adapts. He just has to manage two crucial rules: he must stay close enough for his buffs to reach the group, and he has to smoothly rotate his healing, speed, and power spells in real-time, since their different cast sequences prevent simultaneous activation.
Observing the flow of the fight, Zenos realizes the golem’s regeneration isn’t actually instantaneous; a massive, coordinated strike can temporarily keep it down. He orders the girls to break both its legs. They succeed, and the beast begins to topple over again, but disaster suddenly strikes.
Zophia screams that a trapped child is right in the falling golem’s path. Realizing the girl is too far away for a protection spell, Zenos desperately sprints forward to pull her to safety but fails to reach her in time. The child should have been crushed, but miraculously, the golem stops itself mid-fall, completely avoiding her.
This behavior was completely abnormal; according to Carmilla, golems lack the cognitive ability to care for or protect people. Sensing something was wrong, Zenos scanned the construct and discovered the shocking truth: Aston was trapped inside.
Watching from afar, the Conductor was surprised by how quickly Zenos figured it out, but he remained unconcerned. Because his flawed mana crystal couldn’t generate a standard golem core on its own, he had lured Aston in and used him as a human lab rat. By planting the crystal directly into his chest, the Conductor permanently fused Aston with the golem. Now, the villain watched eagerly, wondering if a compassionate healer could actually bring himself to kill someone.
Taking a deep breath, Zenos calmly ordered the girls to clear the battlefield. They hesitated, confused as to why they should retreat right before winning. However, knowing the dark truth, Zenos realized this was a personal burden that only he could face. Trusting his judgment, the girls withdrew and gave him space.
Left alone with the beast, Zenos faced Aston, declaring it was time to finally end this. Their history had started when Aston selfishly recruited him from the slums, but the golem’s sudden hesitation to crush the little girl proved some of his humanity remained. Zenos recalled a story Guile had once shared: Aston‘s ruthless obsession with wealth and power stemmed from a tragic childhood where his little sister died because he couldn’t afford a healer. Since that devastating day, he had been chasing money and control like a man possessed.
The trapped child must have reminded Aston of his late sister, prompting his instinctive intervention. While it certainly didn’t excuse his past cruelty, it proved to Zenos that a sliver of humanity still remained inside the beast. Knowing he didn’t have time to hesitate, Zenos drew his scalpel.
Aston tried to crush him, but Zenos quickly dodged, morphed his scalpel into a full blade, and leaped into the air to tear open the golem’s chest. Exposing Aston‘s real body, Zenos slashed him across the torso. Watching from afar, the Conductor was genuinely surprised by the decisive strike, assuming it was revenge for years of abuse. However, Zenos was actually performing a highly precise, mid-air surgery. Instead of dealing a killing blow, he was carefully severing only the parts of Aston that were fused to the mana core, immediately healing the physical damage as he cut.
The Conductor was absolutely stunned that Zenos could maintain such ridiculous precision and focus right after healing an entire city. Truthfully, Zenos wouldn’t lose sleep if Aston lived or died, but someone had to pay for the town’s destruction. Knowing Aston was completely broke, Zenos refused to let him die until he revealed the name of the golem’s creator. Furthermore, despite Aston being a terrible person, the severance pay he provided had allowed Zenos to save Lily and open his clinic. Above all, Zenos had sworn an oath as a healer to save lives, and that included his former abuser. Raising his blade one last time, Zenos completely shattered the mana crystal, freeing Aston from the golem once and for all.
With the chaos finally over, Aston regained consciousness, and the heavy reality of the situation set in. Having remained partially aware while trapped inside the golem, he had witnessed Zenos coordinating the faction leaders like a master tactician. For the very first time, Aston truly understood just how insanely talented his former party member was.
That’s when it finally hit him: Zenos must have been doing the exact same thing back in their old adventuring party. Getting turned into a mindless puppet and used like trash made Aston realize just how terrible he had been all along. Knowing no apology could ever erase the crap he pulled, he still tried to make amends.
Zenos, however, wasn’t having it. Unable to stand watching Aston stutter out half-baked regrets, he ordered him to lift his head—not to offer forgiveness, but to finally land the clean hit he’d been dying to deliver for years. Knocking out a half-conscious man just wouldn’t have been satisfying, but now that Aston was fully awake, nothing was stopping him. Quietly casting a ten-times strength buff, Zenos stepped forward and unleashed the most cathartic punch of his entire life, knocking Aston out cold.
A few hours later, Aston woke up with a pounding headache to find Krishna standing over him. She calmly explained that she had already spoken with Zenos and knew exactly how everything went down. Noting he was damn lucky no one died, she officially placed him under arrest for property damage, assault, and public indecency—since Zenos‘s magically enhanced punch had apparently knocked every single piece of clothing clean off his body.
Finally, Krishna relayed a few parting messages from the healer. First, Zenos had confiscated Aston‘s well-crafted sword while he was unconscious; selling it would perfectly cover all the city’s damages. For the final message, she instructed Aston to look at his hand. Opening it, he found a single gold coin—Zenos‘s ultimate idea of severance pay.
With that single coin, Zenos made it clear he never wanted to see or hear from Aston again. Sitting in silence, Aston felt completely gutted, knowing he deserved every bit of his downfall.
After the adrenaline wore off, Zenos could barely stand, his legs turning to jelly from exhaustion. Although the others offered to carry him home, he tried to decline, figuring they were just as wiped out as he was. However, the girls refused to listen; after all the times Zenos had supported them, they were determined to return the favor.
Back at the clinic, Carmilla updated Lily on the night’s chaos. When Zenos finally arrived, Lily greeted him warmly with a cup of tea. Soon after, Krishna joined them, reporting that she had exhausted every resource trying to track the golem’s creator. The only lead she uncovered was the alias “Conductor,” but the man was a ghost. She tried retracing Aston’s steps to their meeting spot, only to find the area wiped clean. Zophia added that even her underground contacts knew nothing, as the Conductor had only recently started appearing in the guilds.
Krishna officially classified the Conductor as a high-priority threat but doubted he would resurface soon given how carefully he covered his tracks. Zophia disagreed, arguing that villains like him only vanish when they are planning something massive. When Krishna told her to stop jumping to conclusions, Zophia quickly pointed out that the knight was doing the exact same thing moments ago. Zenos sighed, telling them both to chill before an argument broke out, then asked Krishna why she was sitting on the opposite end of the room since trying to talk like that was a total nightmare.
Krishna explains that while she appreciates the help during the golem incident, her position as a Royal Knight means she shouldn’t be seen casually socialising with demi-humans. Sensing a headache-inducing argument brewing, Zenos shoves the entire group out the door, telling them not to return unless they are actually bleeding.
Once the clinic is quiet, Zenos tries to unwind. A shy Lily approaches, noting how exhausted he must be after burning so much mana. Just as she is about to suggest a trip to the hot springs, Zophia suddenly barges back in and beats her to the punch, loudly inviting Zenos to go with her. Zenos, thinking a change of pace sounds nice, agrees. Zophia leaves with a triumphant grin, leaving Lily speechless.
Shortly after, Lynga slips in. After checking that the coast is clear, she leans in and asks Zenos to join her at the hot springs. Though he is still interested in the idea, he is hesitant because Zophia already asked. Before he can explain, Lynga simply smiles, says she’ll see him there, and departs. Moments later, Loewe arrives. Zenos anticipates her request before she even speaks; she too is there to invite him to the springs. Seeing his knowing reaction as a “yes,” she cheerfully heads out.
Finally, the exact same thing happens with Krishna. By this point, Zenos is baffled, wondering why everyone is treating the hot springs like a romantic battlefield. He recalls that Lily was trying to ask him something earlier before the interruptions. Though she stands there quietly in embarrassment, it is obvious to Zenos that she had intended to invite him as well.
Meanwhile, Carmilla overhears everything from the next room and cracks up watching Lily lose her nerve after finally working up the courage to ask. Zenos, naturally, has no clue why she’s laughing. Sensing that things are about to get interesting, Carmilla decides she isn’t missing out; it’s been ages since she relaxed at a hot spring, so she announces she is coming along too.
Sometime later, Zenos is finally chilling in the bath when Zophia struts in. He immediately points out that she is on the men’s side, but Zophia dismisses his concern, revealing she hung a fake “out of order” sign to ensure they wouldn’t be interrupted. Intent on seducing him, Zophia plays it cool at first, striking up small talk. She mentions how people say she has changed since meeting him, and Zenos agrees, noting she is far less hostile. However, she quickly gets too close for comfort. Just as she tries to wriggle into his arms, Lynga barges in and calls her out for “jumping the line.”
Lynga is clearly there for the same reason, faking lightheadedness to try and collapse into Zenos. Zophia isn’t having it and catches Lynga mid-fall, leading to the two grappling like jealous cats. In the middle of the chaos, Loewe suddenly rises out of the water like a battle spirit, demanding to be part of the madness. Zenos is horrified, especially when he realizes she isn’t wearing a towel. Loewe casually explains she had been lurking underwater the whole time waiting for a private moment. Proud of her athletic figure, she gives Zenos a full display and bluntly asks him what he thinks.
Zenos squints, but the steam and light make it impossible to see much. The entire situation is pure insanity, and he sits there silently praying the girls will exhaust themselves fighting. Naturally, Krishna storms in next, furiously scolding the others for turning the men’s bath into a circus. The others immediately fire back, pointing out that she clearly showed up for the same reason. With all four women now arguing over him, Zenos finally snaps, shouting for them all to get lost and return to the women’s side.
From the other side of the wall, Umin hears the commotion. Soaking in the women’s bath, she can’t believe how bold some girls are, though she just hopes their drama doesn’t ruin her vacation. A minute later, the group trudges back into the women’s area, dejected after Zenos turned them down. Surprisingly, they aren’t angry with each other; instead, they actually seem to be bonding. Umin is genuinely taken aback to see a human, a werewolf, an ogre, and a lizard girl all chilling together like old friends.
Later that evening, the group enjoys a massive post-bath meal. Krishna still tries to act distant, pretending she isn’t part of the group, but even she can’t help sneaking glances at the fun and laughing under her breath. Once the night winds down, Zenos tucks Lily in and joins Carmilla on the balcony. She asks if he’s finally enjoying the trip, and Zenos admits dinner was nice—at least until everyone got drunk and started fighting over who got to sit on his lap.
Carmilla cracks up, telling him to savor the peace while it lasts. Zenos tells her to stop jinxing him, but the wraith shrugs, claiming her gut feelings rarely miss. This reminds Zenos to ask how she even traveled there, since wraiths usually can’t handle sunlight. Smirking, she points to a staff resting against the wall. She explained that she simply possessed the item—which she was connected to in her past life—and had Lily carry it along.
Zenos naturally asks what Carmilla did before she died, but she remains protective of her past and quickly changes the subject, offering him a drink instead.
The next morning, a loud blast erupts in the kitchen. Umin rushes over to find an innkeeper sprawled on the floor; a magic fire stone in the stove exploded, leaving his arm severely burned. Umin steps in to stabilize him but admits the damage is beyond her skill. She insists he needs a royal hospital immediately, though she doubts he will ever regain full use of the limb.
Zenos arrives to see what the fuss is about. Umin asks for his help transporting the man, but from Zenos’s perspective, the injury isn’t actually that serious. Deciding it isn’t worth a hospital trip, he quietly heals the man as a gesture of thanks for the inn’s hospitality before casually walking away with Lily.
To Umin, it initially looks like Zenos completely ignored the victim and dipped. She prepares to call him out, but her jaw drops when she realizes the man’s injuries have totally vanished. For a split second, she wonders if her own magic was more effective than she thought, but she knows better—her skill level isn’t capable of such a miracle. Realizing only a saint or a legendary healer could perform such a feat, it finally clicks: Zenos is an elite-level healer.
Umin immediately reports her findings to her superior, Bernardo, who is stunned to hear of a healer with such talent. A healer of that caliber would be a massive asset to the kingdom, but tracking him down seems impossible since Umin only remembers his black hair. Bernardo initially shrugs it off, figuring Zenos is a decent person for healing without charging a fee. However, once Umin mentions the black overcoat, Bernardo changes his mind and decides they must find him.
Suspecting Zenos is an unregistered healer working deep in the slums, Bernardo hatches a plan to smoke him out. Later that afternoon, Zonde barges into the clinic, frantically dragging a half-conscious Bernardo who is coughing up blood. Zenos immediately warns everyone to stay back, fearing a contagious outbreak.
After a quick diagnostic scan, Zenos identifies the symptoms of Red Lung Syndrome—a deadly, extinct disease that once wiped out entire populations. He tells Lily to keep her distance, baffled as to how the man could have contracted it. Suddenly, Bernardo sits up, completely alert, and compliments Zenos on his rapid diagnosis. He introduces himself as a senior healer from the Royal Hospital, though he admits his own healing skills are lacking.
Just then, Umin rushes in, scolding Bernardo for recklessly faking a deadly illness just to secure a meeting. Bernardo defends his actions, claiming it was the only way to see Zenos face-to-face, though he admits that maintaining the fake symptoms is starting to become quite unpleasant.
Bernardo pulls a vial from his coat and swallows the contents, explaining that it is the antidote to the self-engineered drug he used to mimic Red Lung symptoms. He knew the locals would rush him straight to Zenos, and since he developed the original vaccine trials years ago, neutralizing the effects was simple. Zenos immediately realizes he is speaking to the legendary elite healer responsible for saving thousands from the Red Lung plague.
Bernardo reveals his true motive: Umin’s description of Zenos—specifically the black coat—reminded him of someone from his past. When asked, Zenos confirms the coat belonged to his former teacher, though he admits he has no idea where the man is now. Bernardo then officially offers Zenos a position at the Royal Hospital, explaining that a complicated situation is developing where Zenos’s expertise is desperately needed.
Just then, Zophia and the other girls arrive, ready to fight off the “sketchy stranger” bothering their healer. Bernardo calmly reassures them that he isn’t there to kidnap anyone; it is strictly a professional offer. To their surprise, Zenos agrees to go. He explains to a skeptical Zophia that since the Royal Hospital has already discovered his underground clinic, it is better to have a powerful ally like Bernardo.
Furthermore, Zenos remembers that when Red Lung was ravaging the city, Bernardo personally ensured the slums received free vaccines. This act of genuine compassion convinces Zenos that the doctor is a good person worth trusting.
The next day, Zenos joins Bernardo and Umin at the Royal Hospital and is genuinely stunned by the building’s massive scale. Once they reach Bernardo’s office, the senior healer wastes no time explaining the assignment: Zenos is to investigate a recent wave of mysterious disappearances. Zenos accepts the job but admits that reconnaissance isn’t exactly his specialty, questioning if he is the right person for the task.
Bernardo reassures him, explaining that as a new member of the hospital staff, Zenos will have access to specialized programs that make gathering intel much easier. To protect his identity, Bernardo has already fabricated a backstory: Zenos is a healer who has just returned from studying abroad. Though Zenos worries other skilled mages might see through the ruse, Bernardo insists that his personal endorsement will prevent anyone from digging deeper.
Later, Umin escorts Zenos to the hospital dorms, where he is surprised to find Lily already waiting. Umin explains that Bernardo approved the paperwork for Lily to move in, as hospital policy allows healers to live with family or spouses. Lily playfully teases that this makes her Zenos’s wife, though Umin clarifies she officially listed her as his younger sister. Umin pushed for the arrangement so Zenos would feel more at ease, and he genuinely appreciates the gesture since he was anxious about leaving Lily alone. After Umin steps out to let them settle in, Carmilla suddenly manifests as well.
Zenos understands why Lily is there, but he can’t fathom why Carmilla followed them to the capital. Carmilla admits she simply enjoys the chaos that tends to follow Zenos around. When Zenos warns her that the hospital is full of healers who could exorcise her, Carmilla remains unfazed, noting that very few mages in the building are actually powerful enough to pose a threat to her.
Later, while sitting in the cafeteria, Umin asks Zenos how he is settling in. Zenos admits it’s fine but expresses confusion over how to obtain an official healing license. Umin explains the grueling process: first, passing an aptitude test to enter the Royal Healing Academy, followed by years of brutal study, and finally a licensing exam. Even after that, additional exams are required for military or adventuring contracts. The sheer amount of bureaucracy sounds like a nightmare to Zenos, who prefers practical work over academic rankings.
He steers the conversation back to the missing persons case. Umin explains that one of the vanished individuals is Alfred, a brilliant, top-level researcher. Alfred was known for his gentle nature and played a crucial role alongside Bernardo in developing the Red Lung cure. While Zenos agrees that Alfred sounds like someone worth saving, he realizes they still lack solid leads.
Just as they are discussing the case, the cafeteria doors swing open and Goldran walks in.
Zenos asks about the newcomer, and Umin explains that Goldran is the Vice Director of the Royal Hospital and a Level 7 Advanced Healer. Since Zenos is unfamiliar with the ranking system, Umin breaks it down: healers are divided into Beginner, Advanced, and Elite tiers, each with seven levels. Being Level 7 Advanced is the highest peak before reaching Elite status.
Essentially, Goldran is a major power player aiming to become the next Director, especially since the current one is elderly and rarely present. However, his leadership has changed the hospital for the worse; wealthy patients receive VIP treatment while the poor are lucky to get an ice pack. Rumor has it that Goldran even bought his way to Level 7 and has stopped practicing actual healing.
Zenos quickly realizes Goldran is someone to avoid, but Umin suspects the Vice Director might be linked to Alfred’s disappearance. Goldran is known for collecting elite talents to bolster his reputation, and Alfred was one of his top researchers. Although Goldran publicly denied any involvement, Zenos knows he needs to get close to him to find the truth. Umin suggests that if Zenos showcases his extraordinary skills during the hospital’s official programs, Goldran will inevitably take notice.
Though Zenos is confident in his abilities, he has never compared himself to formally trained healers and is curious to see how he stacks up. Just as they are planning their next move, Umin’s colleague, Cress, strolls over and asks why she’s hiding in the corner without him.
Umin tells Cress she is free to eat wherever she wants, but he mistakenly assumes she is just teasing him. His attention quickly shifts to Zenos, and upon realizing he is the healer backed by an elite sponsor, Cress becomes visibly jealous. He throws a passive-aggressive jab, warning Zenos not to embarrass his benefactor, before walking off. Umin explains that Cress was once a decent classmate, but his ego has spiraled out of control since Goldran scouted him.
The encounter triggers a memory for Zenos from his childhood. Years ago, he had found a corpse in an alley and attempted to use magic to resurrect it. Just as he was about to succeed, his future teacher struck him, scolding him for wasting his talent on the dead instead of helping the living. That day changed Zenos‘s life. The man took him in and taught him healing magic alongside another student named Veritra. Within a single year, both were skilled enough to treat severe wounds, yet their teacher remained strict, warning them that fixing cuts and bruises was merely beginner work and they remained third-rate until they understood the true meaning of healing.
Back in the present, Zenos attends his first lecture at the academy, which focuses on the undead. While he isn’t learning anything new—having gained far more practical knowledge during his adventuring days—he is impressed by how clearly the professor breaks down the material for those without field experience.
When the instructor opens the floor for questions, a student asks about wraiths. The professor admits he has little information to offer, stating only that wraiths sit at the apex of the undead hierarchy. He adds that encounters are exceptionally rare and usually result in the total annihilation of any adventuring party involved.
The professor’s ultimate advice is simple: run—especially if the wraith is capable of speech, as that level of intellect indicates terrifying power. Zenos is internally baffled, considering he has a talking wraith like Carmilla living with him and Lily. He never realized she was considered that dangerous, but he wisely keeps his mouth shut to avoid causing a panic.
The professor then asks if anyone has actual experience fighting the undead. Cress is the first to jump up, bragging with over-the-top flair about his past as an adventurer who exorcised 30 ghosts. As the class cheers and feeds his ego, Cress notices Zenos isn’t impressed. He targets him, smugly asking how many ghosts Zenos has handled. Zenos, wanting to avoid attention, casually matches the number and says 30.
Cress immediately calls him a liar, but Zenos clarifies that he didn’t mean 30 in total—he meant 30 at once. The room goes dead silent as he explains he once got swarmed in a haunted labyrinth and simply spammed healing spells until they were all wiped out. When the class realizes he’s talking about the Garm Labyrinth—a place so deadly even Gold-class adventurers avoid it—the students are blown away. Cress is left sulking in disbelief, convinced Zenos is making it up.
The next lecture focuses on magic circles, and Cress pointedly sits next to Zenos, determined to outshine him. Zenos has always found magic circles somewhat pointless, but he stays for the lesson. When the professor asks for a volunteer to recreate a circle on the board, Cress shoots his hand up. He confidently draws a perfect circle for a basic healing spell, earning high praise from the professor for his precision.
Cress grins and volunteers Zenos to give it a shot, dragging him into the spotlight. Zenos never cared much for standard magic circles, but he recalls a strange one his master taught him and draws it on the board. Cress mocks him because the design doesn’t match any textbook, but the professor is stunned. What Zenos drew is a complex regeneration circle.
Zenos explains that while it can regrow lost fingers, it is inefficient and burns through more mana than most healers can manage. He casually mentions it’s useless to him since his personal methods are faster, leaving the professor convinced Zenos is on an entirely different level. The professor immediately offers him a research position, which Zenos respectfully declines, leaving a seething Cress in his wake.
Later that day, rumors of Zenos‘s talent reach Goldran. Though skeptical of the “30 ghosts” story, Goldran sees an opportunity when reports of undead at the cemetery come in. He decides to send Zenos on an exorcism mission as a test. That night, Zenos is deployed with a student squad, including Cress, who arrogantly takes charge.
The group is quickly surrounded, and Cress begins to panic as the situation spirals out of control. Before disaster strikes, Zenos unleashes a massive healing spell that vaporizes every ghost instantly. To save the group’s pride, Zenos tells them they did a great job luring the ghosts into the open so he could finish the task. However, before he can even finish his sentence, Cress cuts him off and shamelessly claims credit for the powerful spell himself.
The other students, clueless about the truth, believe Cress when he shamelessly claims credit for saving them. He even encourages them to brag to the professors about his “heroism” before bluntly telling Zenos he will never acknowledge his skills. Zenos couldn’t care less about Cress’s desperate need for attention, but he warns him not to leave just yet—the real threat hasn’t even arrived.
Seconds later, the ground tears open and a massive Zombie King climbs out. The students are terrified but assume Cress will handle it alone. Umin and Zenos decide to sit back and let him take the spotlight. To his credit, Cress attempts to blast the monster with his strongest healing magic, but it barely makes a dent. His pride refuses to let him retreat, leaving him running in circles just to avoid being flattened.
As the chaos unfolds, Umin notes that powerful undead often draw in weaker ones, suggesting the earlier ghosts were just following this monster. Zenos, however, senses something deeper is at play. When Cress starts getting brutally hammered, Zenos prepares to intervene, but Umin stops him briefly; she wants Cress to learn a hard lesson for his arrogance.
Eventually, the zombie catches Cress. Just as it prepares to devour him, Zenos steps in and unleashes a “Mega Heal.” A blinding surge of pure energy vaporizes the decaying monster instantly. With the job finished, Zenos reflects on Umin’s comment about undead attractions. It finally clicks: Carmilla‘s presence is the real reason these monsters were drawn to the area in the first place.
Sometime later, Zenos returns home and asks Carmilla if she knows what is causing the sudden rise in nearby undead sightings. She is completely clueless and had no idea her presence was drawing in such trouble. Looking uneasy, she asks if he plans to throw her out because of it. Zenos pauses to weigh the situation; since her power influences the surroundings, he decides it is safer to keep her close. Carmilla’s face turns bright red, as no one in her entire undead existence has ever expressed wanting her around. She promises to stick by his side, though she makes it clear she will still mess with him whenever possible.
The following day, Cress meets with his supervisor, who is eager to praise him for the recent exorcism. Word has spread that Cress destroyed all the monsters with one massive spell. However, Cress knows Zenos did all the work. The supervisor remarks that since Zenos didn’t stand out, the rumors about him must be exaggerated, meaning he won’t be joining Goldran’s group. Cress could have kept the glory, but guilt eats at him. He finally admits the truth: Zenos was the one who destroyed the undead and the Zombie King. Cress leaves the office feeling miserable, knowing his reputation has taken a hit, but he feels he has settled the debt since Zenos saved his life.
Later, Bernardo arrives with a smile to inform Zenos that Goldran’s research team officially wants to meet him. Zenos is surprised, assuming Cress would have stolen all the credit, but he is glad to have cleared the first hurdle in getting close to Goldran. Bernardo warns him not to celebrate yet, as he still has to pass an interview with a professor. Zenos is annoyed by the constant hoops he has to jump through, but Bernardo explains that Goldran has immense influence and is incredibly picky about his recruits.
Zenos asks why Goldran has so much influence. Since Bernardo is a higher-ranked Elite, Zenos assumes he should hold more power. Bernardo laughs, explaining that titles don’t always equal political clout; he earned his rank through medical breakthroughs in drug research, not by playing power games. Zenos doesn’t care for politics, but he departs for the meeting as the others wish him luck.
Upon arriving at the meeting room, Goldran delivers a brief introduction before bluntly asking what Zenos brings to the table. Zenos simply replies that he is a healer who helps people, but Goldran is unimpressed, calling the answer too basic. He explains that while healers are the backbone of the nation, only the elites truly benefit. Goldran’s goal is to climb the ranks not to improve the world, but to exploit the system for himself. He believes a person’s worth is tied strictly to their utility and has no time for those who offer nothing. After laying out his cold philosophy, he commands Zenos to recreate the complex magic circle from the lecture for evaluation. Zenos complies, and after examining the work, Goldran officially admits him to the lab starting the next day.
The following morning, Zenos is walking through the halls when Goldran’s research group marches past. He spots Cress at the back of the line, who waves him over. Grinning, Cress welcomes him but reminds Zenos to respect his seniors, claiming he only got in because Cress spoke up for him. When Zenos asks why he told the truth instead of protecting his own reputation, Cress admits it was partly guilt, but also a calculated move: he figured riding Zenos’s coattails would eventually work out in his favor.
Zenos respects the honesty, but he’s mostly confused by the strange formation they are walking in. Cress explains that this is Goldran’s daily routine: patient rounds. Zenos questions why a whole squad is necessary for one patient, but Cress reveals it’s all about optics. Goldran only visits influential VIPs, so appearing with a large entourage makes a powerful statement. Since Zenos joined specifically to uncover Goldran’s secrets, he realizes he can’t see anything from the back and begins moving toward the front.
The patient informs Goldran that his foot has been hurting since the previous day. Goldran diagnoses it as a simple sprain and announces he will need three assistants. Zenos watches in shock as Goldran casts a spell that physically drains energy from three students and funnels it into the patient’s foot. While the injury is healed, the students are visibly weakened.
Zenos hurries back to Cress to ask about the technique. Cress explains that Goldran’s specialty is “Health Transfer,” a type of magic that shifts life force from one person to another. This allows a caster to heal major injuries even if their own magic is weak by using “donated” vitality from others. For severe wounds, the cost in life energy is much higher, so it’s spread across multiple people, usually resulting in nothing more than temporary fatigue.
Zenos finds the mechanics fascinating, as it perfectly explains why Goldran hoards so many healers. However, Cress drops a bigger piece of information: Director Shaard is expected to step down soon, and Goldran is already aggressively securing votes to ensure he wins the upcoming leadership race.
Zenos thanks Cress for the information and asks if he has ever heard of a man named Alfred. Cress nods, admitting he knew him but didn’t particularly like him. He reveals that Alfred vanished right after being invited to one of Goldran’s exclusive dinner parties for top-tier subordinates. Zenos later updates Bernardo, but the elite healer warns him that this isn’t enough proof. He needs Zenos to climb the ranks, earn Goldran’s trust, and secure an invitation to one of those dinners to find the truth. Zenos agrees to continue the investigation on one condition: once the job is done, Bernardo must reveal everything he knows about Zenos’s former master.
Meanwhile, back in the slums, Lynga picks the lock to Zenos’s clinic, intending to tidy up while he’s away—and perhaps indulge in sniffing a few of his belongings. Her privacy is short-lived when Zophia arrives carrying a mop, proving they had the exact same idea. Moments later, Loewe literally busts the door down, also intent on cleaning. Zophia and Lynga are annoyed, noting that her grand entrance just gave them more work to do.
The following morning in the capital, Cress catches up with Zenos and claims he has been granted the “honor” of babysitting Goldran’s precious dog. In reality, Cress is just dumping his pet-sitting chores onto Zenos. As he takes over the task, Zenos can’t help but wonder if Cress actually does any real medical research at all.
Cress explains that Goldran is currently in a high-stakes meeting with seven top noble houses, which is why they’ve been relegated to dog-sitting. To Cress, this is just the price of admission to the inner circle. When Zenos asks if he’s really just chasing a promotion, Cress admits that while he once dreamed of saving lives, he realized his magic has limits. Since he can’t save everyone, he’d rather use his skills to secure money, comfort, and women—the “every man’s dream.”
Their conversation is interrupted by Bonds, Goldran’s first secretary, who mocks Cress for being on dog duty again. Bonds tells him it takes more than “brown-nosing” to move up before swaggering off. Zenos is skeptical that someone so reckless holds such a high position, but Cress explains that Bonds is simply an old friend of Goldran’s who coasts through his job.
Proving Zenos‘s point, a drunken Bonds suddenly yells Cress‘s name—likely having overheard the trash talk—and hurls a bottle at him. The bottle misses Cress but shatters right next to Madame Milk, Goldran‘s prized dog. Terrified, the dog bolts into the distance. Cress immediately spirals into a panic; he knows that if anything happens to that dog, Goldran will skip the reprimand and go straight to murdering him.
Cress dashes after the dog, but it’s too late—Madame Milk bolts into the road and is struck by a passing carriage. Cress frantically attempts a high-tier healing spell, but the dog remains a mangled mess. Zenos steps in and stabilizes her, but Cress continues to spiral; he knows Goldran only prizes the dog for her flawless appearance. Any visible scarring would mean the end of Cress‘s career—or worse.
Despite Cress insisting that perfect skin regeneration is a feat reserved only for the highest-level healers, Zenos quietly gets to work. By the time Cress finishes his pessimistic rant, the dog is completely restored. There isn’t a single bruise, cut, or broken rib left; her coat is as fluffy and perfect as if the accident never happened. Zenos casually advises that she should still take it easy for the day, leaving Cress speechless.
Later that evening, Zenos returns home to find Umin waiting for him. She asks him to join her for a walk, and once they are alone in the woods, she offers a sincere apology. She feels guilty that her own perceived “uselessness” in catching Goldran‘s attention forced Zenos into this dangerous undercover mission. Zenos immediately shuts down her self-blame, pointing out that Bernardo is paying him well and that this is his best shot at uncovering his master’s history.
Relieved, Umin asks more about this mysterious teacher. Zenos admits the man was fairly sketchy and hard to pin down, but he remains grateful because the man didn’t just teach him magic; he taught him how to read, write, and understand the complexities of the world.
It seems Zenos isn’t the only one with a complicated mentor dynamic. Umin explains that she owes her career to Bernardo, who took her under his wing much like Zenos’s master did for him. However, Bernardo’s obsession with his research was so intense it drove his girlfriend away, leaving Umin to essentially look after him ever since. When Zenos raises an eyebrow at their closeness, she clarifies the “red flag”: Bernardo is actually her uncle.
Their walk is cut short when a frantic Cress bolts toward them, dropping to his knees and pleading for Zenos’s help. Whatever has happened, it’s clearly far beyond a runaway pet this time.
The scene shifts to Goldran returning to his office after a tense dinner with Lord Fennel. His second assistant notices his foul mood, which Goldran attributes to a request from the Lord. Fennel’s daughter has developed a disfiguring rash—likely “Oddface Disease.” While not life-threatening, it’s a social death sentence for a noblewoman. Goldran knows the standard surgical fix would leave a hideous scar, and while his “Health Transfer” magic could regenerate the skin perfectly, it requires a crowd of donors. The girl is so ashamed she refuses to let more than one or two people even look at her, making a large-scale transfer impossible.
Seeking a distraction from these political headaches, Goldran heads off to visit Madame Milk. On the way, a drunken Bonds off-handedly mentions that the dog was recently flattened by a carriage. Goldran nearly loses it, but Bonds casually tells him to relax—apparently, the dog sitter handled it with healing magic.
Goldran is left reeling after inspecting Madame Milk. Seeing the dog in such pristine condition—without even a faint scar—convinces him that Cress is a generational talent capable of “flawless” regeneration. Naturally, he decides to capitalize on this and tasks Cress with the high-stakes job of curing Lord Fennel’s daughter.
This brings us back to Cress’s desperate plea. He explains to Zenos that the young noblewoman is suffering from Oddface, a condition Zenos initially dismisses as a minor, self-clearing ailment. However, Cress clarifies the political nightmare: the girl refuses to appear in public with the rash, and the infection is so deep that any standard surgical removal would leave her permanently disfigured. If Cress leaves a scar on the daughter of one of the kingdom’s most powerful nobles, his career (and likely his life) is over.
Umin is baffled that Goldran would gamble such a massive task on a student, but Cress admits it’s because Goldran believes he was the one who performed the miracle on the dog. When Umin suggests just telling the truth, Cress nearly has a heart attack—admitting he stole credit again would get him expelled instantly. He begs Zenos to perform the healing in his place so they can both survive the ordeal.
The tension is briefly broken when Lily arrives with tea. Upon being introduced as Zenos’s younger sister, Cress is immediately struck by how adorable she is. Lily takes the compliment in stride but wasted no time setting boundaries, playfully announcing that she “belongs” to Zenos and that Cress—no matter how nice—doesn’t stand a chance.
Cress quickly clarifies that he meant he and Zenos are so close they’re practically brothers, which would make Lily his sister, too. Zenos dryly shuts that down, noting he never signed up for a “big brother” bond with the guy.
The next day, Goldran brings Cress and Zenos to Lord Fennel’s lavish estate, but they are met with a frantic father. Charlotte, Fennel’s daughter, has locked herself away and is refusing the procedure. She’s paralyzed by the fear of permanent scarring and doesn’t trust anyone to touch her face. Fennel begs Goldran to use his authority to change her mind, so the whole group heads to her chambers for a high-stakes negotiation.
Fennel tries the “trust your father” approach, but Charlotte immediately throws a broken promise about a birthday fox-fur coat back in his face. With his credibility shot, Goldran steps up, leaning on his prestige as a Royal Hospital director. Charlotte isn’t impressed; she’s convinced his political rivals might have bribed him to intentionally disfigure her.
While the two powerful men fail miserably to sway a stubborn teenager, Cress starts daydreaming about a fairy-tale ending where he saves the day and Charlotte falls madly in love with him. Zenos doesn’t even have the energy to roll his eyes at the delusion. Cress finally asks for permission to speak, hoping his “young aide” charm will work where the elders failed. He barely gets his introduction out before Charlotte shuts him down with icy indifference, leaving him standing there looking like a fool.
Charlotte’s icy demeanor remains unchanged as she tells Cress his very voice is irritating and he has no business speaking to her. With everyone else failing, Goldran turns to Zenos as a last resort. Zenos calmly approaches the door and, before she can shut him down, he takes a completely different tack: he validates her fear. He admits that anyone would be terrified of a scalpel near their face and notes that the condition isn’t fatal—it just means she’ll eventually develop a massive, grandmotherly mole that will make her look like an old hag for the rest of her life.
That image does what logic couldn’t. Terrified, Charlotte halts his departure and finally opens the door, desperately asking if he’s telling the truth. Cress tries to jump back into the conversation, but she instantly silences him, claiming his “toxic breath” is polluting her air. Goldran confirms Zenos’s “diagnosis,” explaining that in a month, the rash will indeed morph into a permanent growth resembling an elderly woman’s face.
Charlotte is horrified and begs for a solution. Goldran reiterates that surgery is the only way, while Lord Fennel pleads with her to trust the medical team before the marks spread further. When she demands a guarantee that she won’t be left with a single scar, Goldran pauses. He admits he can’t give his personal word on the outcome—because he isn’t the one who will be performing the procedure.
Finding Charlotte alone on her veranda, Zenos watches as she tends to a group of birds. She points out one with a mangled wing, comparing its fate to her own; she believes that once her face is ruined, she’ll be grounded forever, forgotten by high society. When she snaps at him to stop talking about surgery, she realizes too late that while she was venting, Zenos had already mended the bird. It takes flight effortlessly, leaving her stunned.
Zenos tells her plainly that he treats everyone the same—noble or commoner—and that he can give her that same freedom. Moved by his quiet confidence and the literal miracle she just witnessed, Charlotte finally agrees to the operation.
Once she is sedated, Lord Fennel leaves the room, placing his daughter’s future in Goldran’s hands. But Goldran, true to his nature, has no intention of getting blood on his own robes. He dumps the entire burden onto Cress and Zenos, warning Cress that failure isn’t an option if he wants to keep his career. Zenos, seeing Cress spiraling into a panic, offers to take the lead. He mentions he’s performed this exact surgery before—though he leaves out the part about being a literal child at the time.
However, Goldran intervenes, insisting that Cress act as the lead surgeon to maintain the narrative that his “star pupil” is the one performing the miracle. Zenos is relegated to the role of assistant. Cress picks up the scalpel, but his hands are shaking so violently he can barely hold the blade, let alone make a precise incision on a noblewoman’s face.
While Cress tries to stick to the textbook procedures he learned at the hospital, Zenos interrupts to perform a full internal body scan. He maps out every single “wart root” hidden beneath Charlotte’s skin, providing Cress with a literal roadmap so he doesn’t have to cut blindly. The surgery proceeds smoothly until they reach the final root, which Cress realizes is dangerously entwined around the facial nerve. Slicing it would cause permanent paralysis and disfigurement.
Cress urgently suggests halting the procedure to move her to the Royal Hospital for specialized care, but Goldran refuses. Panicked that a delay will ruin his reputation with Lord Fennel, Goldran abandons all medical ethics. In a move of staggering cowardice, he grabs Cress’s hand and physically forces the scalpel through the nerve. The moment the damage is done, Goldran begins shouting, pre-emptively framing Cress as a bungling assistant who just maimed a noblewoman.
Lord Fennel bursts into the room at the sound of the shouting, and Goldran immediately points the finger, loudly declaring that Cress’s incompetence has left Charlotte permanently disfigured. It’s a career-ending lie, and Cress is too shell-shocked to defend himself.
But Zenos has had enough. Having given his word to Charlotte, he refuses to let Goldran’s power play ruin her life. He tells Fennel to ignore the noise, coolly stating that a severed nerve is “no big deal” for a real healer. Shoving past the stunned Goldran, Zenos takes the scalpel, delicately extracts the final root himself, and then weaves a high-level regeneration spell that flawlessly knits the facial nerves back together.
A few hours later, the tension finally breaks as Charlotte opens her eyes in her own bed, her father waiting anxiously by her side.
Charlotte immediately reaches for a mirror, and the moment she sees her flawless reflection, she breaks into tears of pure relief. Lord Fennel is overjoyed, fully believing Goldran’s story that he was the one who performed the miracle. In his gratitude, Fennel pledges his family’s massive political weight to Goldran’s campaign for the Directorship.
Charlotte, however, isn’t fooled. She vividly remembers the calm, steady voice that reassured her during the surgery—a voice that certainly didn’t belong to the arrogant Goldran. She knows Zenos is her true savior and carries a quiet, deep gratitude for the man who actually kept his word.
Later that day, Zenos helps Umin haul a suspicious collection of potions out of Bernardo’s lab. Umin admits she has no idea what her uncle is brewing this time, but their manual labor is interrupted by a frantic Cress. He brings the news they’ve been waiting for: both he and Zenos have been officially invited to one of Goldran’s exclusive dinner parties. While Cress tries to act excited, Zenos notices his lingering hesitation after the near-disaster at the estate. Ultimately, the lure of elite status wins out, and Cress agrees to go.
The grand event kicks off that evening. Goldran wastes no time taking the stage, gloating about his new alliance with Lord Fennel and declaring his path to the Directorship a certainty. The room erupts in applause, and even Cress loses his nerves, getting swept up in the glamour of rubbing shoulders with the capital’s elite.
While Cress is busy trying to climb the social ladder, Zenos slips into the shadows to begin his real work. He starts probing the guests for information on Alfred. After some careful digging, he uncovers a specific lead: Alfred was last seen at the previous gathering, appearing to look after a heavily intoxicated Bonds.
Zenos approaches Bonds and brings up Alfred, which sparks a rare moment of genuine memory for the drunk secretary. Bonds recalls that during the last party, Alfred was the only one kind enough to bring him water while everyone else ignored him. He admits that Goldran actively warns his students to stay away from Bonds, labeling him a liar. This strikes Zenos as bizarre—why give your “lying” old friend a high-ranking position as First Secretary if you don’t even trust him?
Lily, sensing a breakthrough, decides to take matters into her own hands. When Bonds refuses to explain how he and Goldran met, claiming he “doesn’t remember,” Lily doesn’t buy it. She begins a masterclass in social manipulation she learned from Carmilla, charming Bonds and relentlessly refilling his wine glass. Zenos is a bit disturbed to see Lily using such “shady” tactics, but he can’t argue with the results.
Once Bonds is completely hammered and vulnerable, Zenos asks him directly what happened after Alfred walked him out for air at the last party. Hoping to jog his memory further, Zenos guides the stumbling man into the garden. As they walk, Bonds drops his bottle and starts laughing, his mind slipping back thirteen years. In his drunken stupor, he mistakes Zenos for Goldran and begins rambling about the “old days.”
He mentions that Goldran was once a failing researcher whose career was dead in the water—until a mysterious explosion changed everything. That “incident” allowed Goldran to secure Lord Fennel’s backing and climb to his current position. Just as Bonds is on the verge of revealing the dark secret behind that explosion, he loses consciousness and collapses. Zenos sighs in frustration; he was seconds away from a massive revelation, but with Bonds passed out, the trail has gone cold for the night.
Zenos decides to leave the unconscious Bonds with a caretaker, but as he tells Lily they need to rest, Carmilla suddenly materializes from behind a couch. Zenos is nearly gave a heart attack—reminding her the room is literally crawling with healers—but she dismisses the danger, claiming the risk only makes the “chaos” more fun. She reveals she overheard Bonds’s rambling and has a lead on the mystery.
Meanwhile, a crisis strikes the slums. Zofhia and the crew are struggling with Zenos’s absence when a blood-drenched subordinate bursts in with horrific news: Zand has been impaled through the stomach by a construction beam. The injury is catastrophic. Lynga and Loewe immediately advocate for rushing him to the Royal Hospital, arguing that while it might blow Zenos’s cover, Zenos would never forgive himself if he let a friend die just to stay undercover.
Back at the hospital, Carmilla drops a massive piece of gossip: during that explosion 13 years ago, Lord Fennel was at the epicenter of the blast. By all accounts, he should have been vaporized, yet he walked away without a single scratch. Since that day, his unwavering loyalty to Goldran has been the foundation of the healer’s power.
Zenos analyzes the medical impossibility of the situation. While he admits full-body reconstruction is possible if the heart is still beating, he knows for a fact that the Goldran of 13 years ago lacked the raw talent to pull off such a miracle. Lily pieces it together: a “phantom healer” must have performed the life-saving surgery and vanished before Fennel woke up, allowing Goldran to swoop in and take all the credit.
Lily’s theory paints Goldran as a typical opportunist, but Carmilla suggests a far darker reality. She points out that a blast that massive would have produced dozens of casualties, yet only Lord Fennel emerged unscathed. Combining this with Goldran’s specialty in Health Transfer, the truth becomes chilling: Goldran likely used the dying crowd as a massive “battery,” draining the life force of every other victim to reconstruct Fennel. Since the victims were likely commoners, the kingdom’s laws would have barely considered it a crime, but Zenos is revolted by the callous sacrifice of lives for political gain.
Zenos decides his part is done; he’ll report these findings to Bernardo and wash his hands of the hospital’s corruption. However, his exit is cut short as the entire party shifts its attention to the main entrance. Umin is at the gate, desperately trying to bypass the guards, but she isn’t alone.
To Zophia’s horror, Loewe shouts Zenos’s name, completely blowing his cover in front of the capital’s elite. Goldran, disgusted by the sight of demi-humans at his prestigious event, orders the guards to “clean up the trash.” He doesn’t get the chance—Lynga drops the guards in a heartbeat, and Loewe storms into the grand hall with a dying, blood-soaked Zand slumped over her shoulder.
The Current Situation
The Choice: To save his friend, Zenos will have to perform a miracle in front of the man he is supposed to be spying on.
The Scandal: Zenos is now publicly linked to “lowly” demi-humans in front of the very nobles Goldran is trying to impress.
The Emergency: Zand is on the brink of death with an abdominal impalement that would kill any normal man.
The grand hall erupts into a scandal as the elite guests realize Zenos is associated with “lowly” demi-humans. Goldran is livid, demanding an explanation for why Zenos is consorting with such people. Zenos, however, has completely tuned out the politics. Loewe explains that Zand was crushed in a construction accident and they had to track Zenos down through Umin.
Goldran delivers an ultimatum: if Zenos helps these people, he is permanently barred from the hospital’s inner circle and any future in the capital’s medical elite. Zenos doesn’t blink. He states plainly that his job is to heal anyone who needs it, regardless of status. He bids a final goodbye to a stunned Cress, scoops up Lily, and leaps over the balcony to the ground floor to begin the emergency surgery.
Goldran vows to destroy Zenos’s career, but his words have an unexpected effect on Cress. While Cress has always chased power, seeing Zenos prioritize a life over a promotion forces him to reflect on his own character. Realizing he doesn’t want to be a coward like Goldran, Cress throws away his own “bright future,” leaps over the railing, and follows Zenos to help.
By the time Cress catches up, Zenos has already finished the miracle of patching up Zand. Umin calls Cress a “dumbass” for throwing away his career for a surgery that was already handled, but she admits his choice was the most honorable thing she’s ever seen him do. For the first time, she is genuinely proud to call him a friend.
The next day, Zenos meets with Bernardo to hand over the final pieces of the puzzle. Bernardo realizes that Alfred likely survived the explosion 13 years ago as a child. If Goldran was the one who caused the blast, Alfred might be planning a lethal confrontation at the upcoming promotion party. Bernardo decides he must attend personally to see this through, officially ending Zenos’s undercover assignment.
Bernardo confirms that the assignment is over, though he needs a few days to finalize the paperwork before revealing the truth about Zenos’s master. To mark the occasion, Umin organizes a farewell party in Zenos’s room. Cress spends the night as a drunken wreck, mourning the departure of his friend, and at one point, he frantically claims a wraith is glaring at him through the walls—a “hallucination” the others find hilarious, though Zenos likely knows better.
The following morning, as Zenos and Lily prepare to leave, they head to Bernardo’s office to collect the promised notes. However, the room is empty, and they discover something deeply unsettling hidden in his desk—a sign that their employer isn’t who he seemed.
Meanwhile, the scene at Goldran’s victory gala turns into a bloodbath. Minutes prior, Goldran was at the height of his arrogance, receiving congratulations from Lord Fennel. The moment triggered a flashback to the truth of the explosion 13 years ago: Goldran was a failed researcher heading home when he stumbled upon the dying noble. He used his Health Transfer magic to save Fennel by literally draining the life out of the other victims nearby. Bonds caught the atrocity on camera, leading to his permanent “hiring” as a secretary to keep him silent.
Back in the present, Bernardo approaches Goldran with a bottle of wine. Goldran mocks him, assuming the elite healer is there to suck up to the new Director. He even dismisses Zenos as a “disappointment” who threw away a glorious future to heal demi-humans.
Goldran remains oblivious to the fact that Bernardo has already slaughtered everyone else at the celebration. The man he thought was a harmless, obsessed researcher has just turned his victory party into a graveyard.
To Goldran, the logic is simple: a healer’s standing is built on the status of their patients. Prioritizing “peasants” over power players is a fast track to political ruin. As Lord Fennel prepares a toast to the man he believes is his selfless savior, Goldran basks in the glory, toasting to a “bright future” that is already curdling into a nightmare.
While the party is in full swing, Zenos and Umin discover the smoking gun in Bernardo’s desk: a photograph of the explosion 13 years ago. It’s a horrific image of Goldran actively siphoning the life force from dying victims to mend Fennel. Umin identifies a young Alfred in the wreckage, confirming he was a survivor with a motive for revenge. However, her blood runs cold when she spots a woman in the background of the photo—someone whose presence changes everything they thought they knew about this case.
Back at the gala, the “bright future” turns pitch black. Goldran regains consciousness to find himself bleeding and surrounded by the slumped bodies of his elite guests. Bernardo calmly explains that he spiked the wine with a custom toxin; the guests have one hour to live, while Goldran has two.
Panic-stricken, Goldran demands to know how Bernardo discovered his secret. Bernardo gives all the credit to Zenos and the drunken ramblings of Bonds, who finally surrendered the photographic proof Goldran thought he had destroyed. When Goldran tries to justify the massacre by claiming the victims would have died anyway, Bernardo drops the final bombshell: Alfred didn’t just vanish—he was a living witness who survived the blast that Goldran tried to bury.
The tension in the wrecked hall reaches a breaking point as Bernardo reveals his true motive: his own fiancée was one of the commoners Goldran sacrificed thirteen years ago. In a twisted mirror of that day, Bernardo forces Goldran into a horrific ultimatum. With dozens of poisoned elites dying around them, Goldran has just enough power to save one person—including himself.
Showing his true colors, Goldran doesn’t hesitate. He ignores the dying guests and begins draining their remaining life force to heal himself first, planning to save Lord Fennel only as a political insurance policy. He mocks Bernardo’s suggestion of self-sacrifice, declaring his own life infinitely more valuable than anyone else’s.
Just as the toxin begins to take hold of Bernardo, Zenos, Umin, and Cress burst into the hall. Umin is devastated; finding the photo of her uncle’s fiancée made her realize he was on a suicide mission for revenge.
Bernardo finally lays bare the full history: thirteen years ago, he and his fiancée were young, idealistic healers. He spent over a decade believing she died in a tragic accident, only for Alfred to approach him at a recent party with the soul-crushing truth—she was murdered by Goldran’s magic to save a nobleman. Alfred vanished shortly after sharing this secret, leaving Bernardo with no choice but to hire a “wild card” like Zenos to infiltrate the hospital and find the proof needed to tear Goldran’s world down.
Umin confronts Bernardo, telling him that no matter the tragedy, his actions are still wrong. Cress suddenly snaps, yelling through tears that while he understands the pain of losing a loved one, poisoning an entire room of people is a betrayal of everything a healer stands for.
Zenos calmly steps in, finally answering a philosophical question Bernardo had asked him once: if he dropped a gold, silver, and bronze coin, which would he pick up? Zenos declares he would pick up all of them. Having grown up with nothing, he refuses to rank the value of a life. He announces his intention to save every single person in the hall—not for the nobles, but to prevent Bernardo from becoming a murderer and to protect Umin from being dragged down by her uncle’s crimes.
When Umin realizes he’s doing this for her, Zenos admits it’s his way of saying thank you; her farewell party was the first time anyone had ever been genuinely sad to see him go.
Bernardo warns him that healing magic won’t neutralize the toxin, but Zenos already has a plan. He explains that most poisons eventually leave the system naturally—the trick is keeping the patient alive long enough for the body to flush it out. He begins an unprecedented feat: a massive, sustained area-of-effect healing spell designed to “outlast” the poison.
Umin and Cress immediately jump in to assist, focusing their magic on the weakest victims. Bernardo watches in absolute shock; a basic healing spell isn’t supposed to be able to maintain that level of intensity or duration. When he questions how this is even possible, Zenos simply shrugs—since he never had a formal education, he never learned what was “impossible.”
The weight of the situation finally hits Bernardo, and he begins to open up about the woman he lost. He describes his fiancée as the most selfless person he had ever known—a healer who lived purely to save others—making Goldran’s existence as her “killer” feel like a personal insult to the profession. He admits he couldn’t stomach the thought of someone so corrupt becoming Director, but looking at the chaos he caused, he regrets letting his hatred turn him into a monster. He thanks Zenos for stopping him, to which Zenos dryly suggests he can express that gratitude with a massive bonus once this is over.
As the guests begin to recover, Goldran is left pale and twitching on the floor. He tries to command Zenos to heal him, but Zenos coolly informs him that he doesn’t take orders from people like him. Desperate, Goldran turns to his own faction, but the healers—having witnessed him trying to drain their life force while they were dying—refuse to lift a finger.
Seeing an opportunity, Zenos offers his services… for a price. He scribbles down a fee with more zeros than Goldran has had mistresses. Goldran screams that it’s highway robbery, but when Zenos simply turns to walk away, the coward panics and agrees to the debt. However, before any magic is cast, Lord Fennel approaches. The noble’s icy stare makes it clear: they will be having a very long, very detailed “talk” about the truth of the explosion. Goldran finally realizes his career, his reputation, and his freedom are officially dead.
A while later, Bernardo is behind bars, and Zenos and Umin arrive to visit him. Bernardo is his usual cheerful self, surprised they gained access so quickly. Zenos credits his connections in the Royal Guard—though the moment is interrupted by Chris, who insists Zenos only came as an excuse to see her. Zenos doesn’t even bother arguing with her delusion and turns his focus back to the man in the cell.
The final visit with Bernardo takes a shocking turn when he clarifies the “poisoning.” He admits he never intended to kill anyone; his formula was only supposed to knock the guests out to recreate the trauma of the explosion and force Goldran to confess. However, the moment he saw real blood and realized the symptoms were lethal, he knew someone else had tampered with the wine. He suspects Alfred was hiding in plain sight among the guests, watching the massacre unfold.
Umin is relieved her uncle isn’t a pre-meditated murderer, but Bernardo remains somber, admitting he was still willing to let everyone die once he saw the chance for revenge. Krishna, moved by the complexity of the situation and her “bond” with Zenos, promises to pull strings to secure Bernardo’s release soon.
As Zenos prepares to leave, Bernardo delivers a chilling warning: Alfred shouldn’t have been able to survive being drained by Goldran thirteen years ago. This suggests that whatever is inhabiting Alfred’s body might not be human anymore. Bernardo believes this entity has goals far darker than simple revenge, and since Zenos ruined the “show” at the party, he is likely the next target. Zenos, true to form, just shrugs it off. He quips that if this “Alfred” wants a piece of him, he’ll just hit him with a massive bill for the inconvenience.
With the hospital’s corruption exposed and Goldran facing the wrath of Lord Fennel, Zenos returns to his clinic in the slums. He settles back into his life with his chaotic, unwanted harem—Lily, Carmilla, and the others—reclaiming his title as the underground healer who treats anyone, or anything, for the right price.
Meanwhile, in a hidden corner of the kingdom, the true puppet master is revealed: the Guide. Having possessed Alfred’s body, he stares out with cold disappointment, frustrated that his elaborate plan to destabilize the capital’s medical elite was thwarted by a “third-rate” healer from the slums.
