Archmage Serrano conducted his affairs with considerable steadiness. Being abroad, he had no intention of starting a conflict with the Lord of Radiance’s team over some trivial matter, nor did he ask the innkeeper to drive them out. Instead, he negotiated with the innkeeper, Borlu, to arrange rooms separately.

In the end, it was the merchant who had booked rooms for the Radiant Knights who took the initiative to gather his caravan’s personnel, freeing up a few rooms. The innkeeper, a barbarian himself, squeezed together with his own kind, vacating their rooms and thus barely managing to provide lodging for everyone.

After much ado, everyone was finally settled down. On the side of the Radiant Church, the leading priest and the captain of the knights exchanged a few glances and then kept silent. Once everyone had settled in, the innkeeper went back to prepare the meals but was delayed in coming out.

After a while, he suddenly rushed towards the magicians, holding a child in his arms:

"Master! Look at my son—"

Halfway through, a young knight suddenly stood up and stopped him with a smile:

"Is the child uncomfortable? We have many high-ranking priests here, would you like to have them take a look?"

While speaking, he directly reached out and pulled the person towards the Radiant Church’s side. Meanwhile, several priests dressed in black, white, and red robes rose from their seats and gathered around. The closest black-robed priest held a holy symbol, murmuring prayers, as white light already began to shimmer on it.

Borlu paused in his steps and looked around. The young barbarian who delivered the Raven Flag pushed him:

"Hey! From the age of two till now, how many healers have you consulted? Who really cured him? What’s the use of calling ordinary healers, when we finally have someone who can cure madness? Shouldn’t you quickly ask them to take a look?"

The barbarian’s voice was naturally loud, and at this moment, he did not intentionally lower it, causing the entire hall to hear his clamor. Garrett paused, turning his head to look, and immediately saw a group of priests coldly looking over.

...Why are you looking at me?

It’s not like I’m competing with you for patients!

After a long day of travel, if your healing spells can cure him, I’d be relieved!

Glancing aside, the white light shimmered, already beginning to fall upon the boy. Garrett quickly turned his head, cutting a piece of meat, and chewed vigorously. The food on the Black Gate Peninsula was simply indescribable. They had landed three days ago, and all they had eaten was meat, and meat, and more meat!

Deer meat, cod meat, salmon meat, whale meat, seal meat...

Eating it once is enjoyable, but after a day it becomes tedious, and by the third day...

Can we have some more green vegetables, please?

After a healing spell, the boy’s complexion eased, clearly relieved of his pain. Borlu, the innkeeper, let out a sigh of relief, his eyes filled with gratitude towards the priests of the Lord of Radiance:

"Then, could one of you please take a look? My son often experiences this: he gets better, then after a while, his stomach hurts again and he can’t eat much. Many healers have looked at him, all..."

"Ordinary healers and high-ranking ones are not the same. Moreover, Lord Martin is also in our team, don’t you trust us, or do you also doubt him?"

The young knight pointed towards a dining table not far away. There, the old priest smiled and nodded. The innkeeper hesitated for a moment, then looked down at his son:

"I’ve indeed heard of Lord Martin’s reputation..."

He walked over with his son. His steps were slow and cautious, fearing any slight jolt might make his son cry out in pain again. Approaching the table, the old priest rose with a smile and patted the barbarian boy’s head:

"What’s wrong?"

"My stomach hurts..."

"What kind of pain is it? Constipation? Diarrhea?"

Garrett had just heard this when suddenly the volume in the entire hall dropped by more than half. Glancing around, a blue-robed mage casually withdrew his hand: �

"Let’s eat!"

Garrett suppressed a laugh. Indeed, aside from doctors who are accustomed to discussing such matters, it’s best for others not to consider issues below the belt while eating...

However, not being able to hear the diagnosis on the other side was indeed a pity. The boy frequently suffered from abdominal pain, which easily recurred after treatment. What could it be?

Pinworms?

Incarcerated hernia?

Intestinal strangulation?

Intussusception?

Bowel obstruction

?

Irritable bowel syndrome?

Or, do barbarians have some unique diseases different from humans?

Tsk, without a detailed medical history, physical examination, or various tests, differential diagnosis is impossible...

Garrett thought as he sped up his eating. The mage had isolated the sound but not the light; he clearly saw another elderly, lavishly dressed red-robed priest pressing on the boy’s stomach, rubbing it, then bowing his head in prayer.

Tiny spots of white light emerged from his hands, silently falling and washing over the boy like raindrops.

"Remove disease," muttered Simond, a mage from the medical branch, with a grim face beside Garrett. "They copied it quite well!"

"Can ’remove disease’ cure chronic illnesses?"

Garrett whispered. Simond pondered for a moment:

"It depends on the disease. Some are self-inflicted—like never eating properly, not sleeping well, or alcohol abuse. Diseases caused by such behaviors can’t be cured by ’remove disease.’ Even if cured, they’ll likely recur soon."

So many chronic diseases are incurable... Garrett mused. Soon, the boy was bouncing around energetically again. The mage who had isolated the sound tapped his plate, and the sound from the other side immediately came through again:

"Daddy! I’m cured! It doesn’t hurt anymore!"

He ran off. The innkeeper bowed to the priests and hurriedly followed behind.

As they ran and chased, Garrett suddenly noticed something unusual on the boy’s face. His heart skipped a beat, and without thinking, he put down his utensils and chased after them:

"Hey—"

No one paid him any mind.

Even the agility of a barbarian boy was beyond Garrett’s comparison.

Garrett tried to intercept from the side, reaching out to block, but the boy dodged like an eel.

Fortunately, the young man who delivered the Raven Flag caught up head-on. With a quick grab, he lifted the boy by the collar and turned to Garrett:

"Sir, did you notice anything?"

"…Put him down, let me take a look," Garrett intently stared at the boy’s face, not blinking. During the conversation, Borlu, the innkeeper, also hurried over:

"Who are you?"

"This is the gentleman who cured our chief!" the flag-bearer shouted. Borlu hesitated for a moment, then promptly bowed:

"Sir, you—"

"Yo, such a small child, and already a ’sir’~~~"

From the Radiant Church’s side, the young knight who initially stopped them raised his voice in a sarcastic tone.

Several barbarians frowned and looked over. The young knight, undeterred, scoffed:

"What? Am I wrong? Ask him what level he is? With such a low level, he dares to call himself ’sir’?"

"I’m just a level four priest, a level four mage, and I don’t dare to claim such a title," Garrett replied calmly. He reached for his waist, pulled out an oak staff, and held it in his hand:

"But, the innkeeper just mentioned that his son’s condition frequently recurs after treatment. I also want to see what’s going on and if I can help them a bit."

As soon as the oak staff was brought out, the barbarians’ gaze on him warmed a bit, obviously, the Church of the God of Nature had a good reputation locally. In contrast, the expressions on the faces of the priests and knights from the Radiant Church turned even more disdainful:

"Oh, a level four priest can also treat illnesses?"

The sarcastic retort came from behind the red-robed priest who had acted earlier. Immediately, mages on Garrett’s side retorted:

"Oh~~~ the people of the Lord of Radiance can also treat illnesses~~~ Their magical model isn’t even original..."

"Magicians can treat diseases now? Don’t your own cities have a bunch of heretic priests?"

"Unlike you, who only knows how to copy—"

The verbal sparring continued on both sides, with the atmosphere becoming increasingly tense. Finally, Archmage Serrano clapped his hands and stood up, walking to the center. Just as he was about to speak, a red-robed priest from the opposite side stepped forward with a smile:

"Since it’s like this, why don’t we have a competition to see whose healing spells are more proficient?"

"How do you propose we compete?"

"On this little boy, see who can treat him better!"

"But you’ve all treated him already!"

"Your little mage, sorry, heretical little priest, doesn’t seem to think so…"

Archmage Serrano glared furiously. Garrett suddenly raised his gaze:

"I refuse."

"You’re conceding? Not going to treat him?" A younger white-robed priest stepped forward. Garrett looked him in the eye and slowly said:

"I’m willing to examine and perhaps treat this child. But I won’t treat it as a competition

. The life and health of a patient should never be used as stakes in a competition."

The hall fell momentarily silent. After a moment, old Martin stepped out of the crowd and nodded at Garrett:

"I agree."

"You… Lord Martin, whose side are you on?" The white-robed priest turned back, annoyed. Old Martin remained composed:

"Of course, I serve the Lord of Radiance. But treatment is treatment. Our Lord has said…"

Their argument grew quieter and quieter. Garrett didn’t bother with them, pressing on the boy’s stomach and then taking out a stethoscope to listen, his expression turning serious:

The touch felt wrong, and the bowel sounds were off!

How could this be considered cured?

He lifted his hand and then put it down. Looking around the hall, his gaze swept past Priest Martin and the medical mage, finally turning to Archmage Serrano:

"Your Excellency, can you remove that pain-relieving divine magic?"

"What are you going to do?" The archmage hadn’t spoken yet when the barbarian innkeeper shouted. As soon as he opened his mouth, the roof rumbled loudly:

"My son just stopped hurting! You want to make him suffer again?!"

Garrett: "……"

Calm down, calm down, patients and their families are often like this. They come to the emergency department in excruciating pain, asking doctors to relieve it immediately, and if not given pain medication, they complain right away—or worse, start throwing punches.

But really, you can’t just relieve pain willy-nilly!

Garrett took a step back, and Bernard stepped half a step forward, standing in front of the innkeeper. Garrett felt much safer and raised the stethoscope in his hand, quickly explaining:

"Normal people’s stomachs make gurgling sounds! You can use this to listen, or just put your ear to the stomach, and anyone can hear it! But your son’s stomach has a spot with no sound! That’s not normal, I need to know where it hurts to determine what’s wrong!"

The barbarian grabbed the stethoscope. Garrett quickly let go, thankful his palm wasn’t scraped off a layer of skin. The innkeeper listened to five or six people in succession with the stethoscope, finally casting a doubtful glance at the red-robed priest:

"Something’s definitely wrong with little Larry.—So, do you have to let him be in pain to make a diagnosis?"

"You can’t relieve pain before diagnosing! Sometimes, relieving the pain can mask the real cause!" Garrett preached and educated with proficiency:

"For example, sometimes stomach pain is due to intestinal issues. If you relieve the pain too early, you might not even know if there’s a perforation, and end up with everything inside rotting away! So, absolutely do not hastily relieve pain before finding out the cause!"

"Is it that serious?" The innkeeper was startled:

"Then… can you remove the divine magic?"

This question was directed at the red-robed priest. The priest’s face showed displeasure, and he turned away without answering. Archmage Serrano stepped forward with a smile, about to perform the removal of the divine magic on the spot. Before he could act, a shower of white light spontaneously emerged from around the boy.

"It’s already been removed." Old Martin spoke softly:

"Now, would you please take a look at this child?"

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay