In Another World With JUST MONIKA 34 This Is True Teamwork

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/"I really can't believe we're going through with this. But I do admit this is a n.o.bler reason to have this much power…"/

"Reim is the braver person, after all we're risking nothing."

/"How about making Sue sad? Is that worth the risk? I'd have thought enduring the pain for an arrow stuck shut inside the body and requiring even more surgery would have been safest and required the least amount of effort./

Her voice seemed to come from the left side now. /"Butler Reim, your dedication to duty and her safety is extreme."/

"Lady Monika… it is the least I could do. We must get off this road and get milady to safety as soon as possible."

"I think the bigger question is why Sus.h.i.+e is letting us do this." I looked up at met the girl's eyes. She was still sitting seizstyle on her knees, for some reason imitating Yae's dutiful posture. She blinked and forced herself to meet my blank gaze. "Why, Sue?" I asked.

Her lips dipped down into a frown before forced back to a false smile. "I don't want Grampy Reim to be in any more pain. Knowing he's going back home with a piece of metal right next to his heart… it's scary." She clenched her fists. "What if he just falls…? And then… and then! How can we help then?!

She bared her teeth and added desperately, "We can't be sure of what will happen in two days!"

Reim laughed weakly. "That sort of… far-sighted thinking. I'm really happy that you've begun to realize the worth of preparing for the future.

"Sometimes… you need to take a bigger risk now than allow something worse you have no control over, to happen later. These are the worries that your father… even His Majesty the King, must consider." He wheezed again, trying to keep himself from smiling too much, "You… are becoming strong, dear child."

"No! I don't… if being strong means losing you, I don't want it! But, I hope… I really hope this works!"

Again she stared at me fitfully. "Promise me! If you don't… I'll never forgive you!"

/"Ahhh… that's really not something that can be promised,"/ Monika noted. /"The most a doctor can do is to mitigate risks. There's always something unpredictable even in routine operations."/

"Sure, I guarantee it. I stake my life on it."

/"Player!"/

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So. Field surgery.

We needed to prepare and sanitize an operating area, but there's only so much that could be done outdoors. We had no tables, but we could at least set up a tent around us to stop the wind.

Next there was the problem of tools. We found a fruit knife that, when sufficiently sharpened, could serve as a makes.h.i.+ft scalpel. To make forceps, Elze peeled off broken pieces of armor with her [Boosted] strength, much to the surprise of the guards, and beat it into shape of something like tweezers.

We needed to cut it to shape, and for that we used a short sword as an improvised metal chisel and stamper. We ended up with something that looked like oversized tweezers with an L-shaped end.

Then we needed medical gloves. We ended up having to sterilize and use some of Sue's silk gloves, even if they didn't quite fit.

We sat inside the tent, gauging how well we could move inside of it, with Sue lighting the place with a magic light ball in her hands.

"All right, here's how we're going to do it," I began to a.s.sign orders. Deep breath.

"Once we take off the pressure, we only have a limited time window. Sue. You're going to have to keep your light bright and steady, close to the wound but far enough that it won't interfere with people's hands…" I tapped the flashlight on my headset as the primary light. "We can't have shadows hiding what we need to see."

I pointed to the sharpened knife on a cloth strip, then to Yae. "Yae, you're our surgeon. You will need to widen the wound enough that we would be able to see and pull out the arrowhead."

"… are you certain of this? Can you really trust such a delicate procedure to one such as myself?!"

"Yes. Only you can do this. As a swordswoman, you have a feel for just how deep you can safely cut. I trust you."

She nodded somberly. "Then I shall do as you command, Playdono."

Then I pointed at Linze and towards a pair of L-shaped strips of metal. "Next is to force open the wound while staunching bleeding. This is where you, Linze, will have to work your nerve. You'll have to pull apart the flesh with your own hands."

I sighed sofly. "In many way, I'm forcing you to do the most difficult job – you need to decide for yourself how much pressure to put, how much you can open the wound, without breaking your tools."

"… I… I'll do my best!"

"And Elze, you have one job. Once the way is clear, reach in in, pinch the arrowhead and pull it out. As fast as you can. Don't worry about the damage, just get it out there FAST."

"What will you be doing?"

I held up my fingers. "I'll be keeping Mister Reim alive manually mixing air into his blood from his sucking chest wound. Then once the arrowhead is gone, make the final definitive [Heal]."

/"And my job is to keep Mister Reim all popped up on natural painkillers so he doesn't feel any of this,"/ Monika finished.

"… I have a question," asked the butler.

"Yes?"

"Will I be awake for all of this?"

"Considering we lack sedatives strong enough to knock you out, yes. Your own survival too is under your own control."

He nodded slowly and rubbed at his thick white mustache. "I must admit, that is somewhat… frightening. What should I do?"

There was not the slightest hint of fear in his eyes, however.

"All right. Once the arrow is removed, you are going to bleed out almost instantly. We're going to try and hit you with an overpowered [Heal] spell almost immediately afterwards.

"What is most important here is your WILL TO SURVIVE, do you understand? When that happens all that you need to think about is how you DON'T WANT TO DIE. Calm down, slow down your heart, so that your blood doesn't spurt out so quickly and you fall unconscious."

My hands were still pointed at his ribs and neck. "If you black out, you might never wake up again."

Reim nodded. "I understand." He looked towards Sus.h.i.+e and said "Please pray for me, dear child."

"I will!"

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