59 – Triage

The voice belonged to a tall, solidly built man who appeared to be around 40 years old.

Although he was a person with an orderly face, since the lower half of his face was covered in a thick beard, he gave off a strong boorish impression.

Also, judging by his clothes and mannerism, it was easy to tell that he was a person of high status.

“So what? What are you clamouring around for? Do you think we have time for this?”

The man surveyed those gathered around him with a sharp gaze.

“Captain Taülorde! Actually, this impertinent priest is hindering the Holy Maiden’s healing!”

The knight who had pulled out his sword said pointing towards Tatsumi.

“Hindering the healing…?”

The man called Taülorde turned his sharp gaze towards Tatsumi.

However, Tatsumi was unperturbed by the gaze. Calcedonia, standing besides Tatsumi, had a happy expression on her face.

“This impertinent priest you are talking about, do you mean my younger brother?”

“Wha… what!? It’s Captain Taülorde’s… brother!?”

“To be exact, he is my ‘soon-to-be brother,’ but I already think of him as my brother-in-law.”

The knight who had been pa.s.sionately pointing fingers till now, became shocked as he looked at Taülorde and Tatsumi.

“Tatsumi, Calcey. Report the situation.”

Taülorde told Tatsumi and Calcedonia with a strict expression.

Taülorde Chrysophrase.

He was the Captain of the second division of the Kingdom’s Knights, eldest son of Giuseppe and Calcedonia’s adoptive brother.

In terms of age, he and Calcedonia were like parent and child, but he treated her, his youngest sister in law, with the love and affection of a family member.

And so, towards her partner Tatsumi, he felt dubious at first, however, after listening to stories about him from his father Giuseppe and Calcedonia and actually meeting Tatsumi and conversing with him, Taülorde felt that he could leave his cute little sister in his care.

After that, he started thinking of Tatsumi, who would always follow his words, as a brother in law. Also, after meeting him as a family member, Tatsumi also started trusting in his much older brother-in-law.

“Captain Taülorde’s brother. That’s a bit…”

Calcedonia looked back and forth between her brother-in-law and Tatsumi, troubled.

“Ah, that, Captain Taülorde…”

“…Tatsumi?”

Looking at Taülorde, his mood seemed to turn bad and he frowned at Tatsumi with a sharp gaze.

For a moment, Tatsumi’s body trembled, but he quickly changed his words, a bit embarra.s.sedly.

“U, um… Brother.”

“Yes, that is good.”

Having been called “brother” by Tatsumi, Taülorde nodded his head in satisfaction.

Ever since acknowledging Tatsumi, Taülorde had been forcing him to call him “brother” or “brother-in-law.”

When Tatsumi didn’t address him in this way, Taülorde’s mood would turn bad; he had a soft spot for family members.

“This is an urgent situation. Explain concisely.”

Urged by Taülorde, Tatsumi began explaining.

During a disaster or accident where medical supplies were limited, if there were many injured people, those requiring urgent care must be treated first. For this reason, before actually carrying out medical a.s.sistance, it was necessary to separate injured people according to urgency; Tatsumi explained this to Taülorde while desperately trying to recall the knowledge he had acquired from television dramas.

“…Where I’m from, this way of thinking is called ‘triage,’ or ‘Identification Aid.’”

“I see. This certainly is a reasonable way of thinking. However, based on the social customs of this country, this idea is a foreign concept.”

According to Taülorde, in this country, preference was still given to the aristocracy; the higher your social status, the more priority you were given in receiving medical treatment.

Regardless of the pros and cons of it, looking from the point of view of this country’s social norms, what Tatsumi had just said was, without question, a strange concept.

“Also, isn’t it problematic that everyone is in scatters, carrying on their own rescue activities? It would be more efficient if someone took charge and everyone else carried out medical a.s.sistance according to their instructions.”

“Regarding that point, His Majesty the King heard about this incident and ordered me to take command of this site. That is why I came to this place…”

Taülorde surveyed the scene.

There were injured people collapsed everywhere; among them there were some who had lost consciousness.

“Alright. You take command for this place.”

Suddenly, Taülorde turned towards Tatsumi and declared the unthinkable.

“M,me? Take command of this place…!? Tha, that’s impossible!!”

“Be that as it may, this ‘Tree-age’ thing you talked about is beyond our understanding. Nevertheless, I reckon that your method will save more lives. That being the case, isn’t it natural that you take command since you are the most familiar with this method?”

“Wha, what familiarity… I’ve also only heard about it!?”

“Still, it’s better than us who know nothing. Do not worry, I will a.s.sist you with the minor details. Calcey will also follow your instructions.”

After being told this, Calcedonia glanced over her shoulder and nodded with a smile.

“I apologize for going ahead without thinking earlier. I only thought about healing the injured as soon as possible…”

“That can’t be helped. As expected, I still don’t know too much about the social norms of this country.”

If Calcedonia announced her name at this place, as the well-known Holy Maiden it would be convenient for carrying out medical help.

But, this was a situation where Calcedonia had to individually do the healing. There was no doubt that it would be better to do the Triage, as Tatsumi had said, in order to efficiently utilize all the healing magic users in this place.

“…Understood. I’ll go ahead and try it.”

Tatsumi decided after some contemplation.

Right now wasn’t the time to fret over the details. There may be injured people who needed immediate a.s.sistance.

“So, brother-in-law. First, please gather all the users of healing magic. After that, people who can’t use magic but have knowledge of medicine… together with doctors as well.”

“Understood.”

Taülorde sent his subordinates to gather healing magic users and doctors.

His men immediately gathered all the people Tatsumi had requested, and brought them back to Tatsumi.

So then, standing in front of all these people, Tatsumi braced himself and opened his mouth.

“I am Senior Priest Yamagata of Savaiv temple. At the request of Captain Taülorde of the Royal Knights, I was given the command of this place. I’ve got lots to think about, but right now we are in an emergency situation. In this occasion, please follow my instructions.”

The gathered wizards and doctors looked perplexed as they stood in front of this unfamiliar black haired, black eyed young man.

However, since the Royal Knight Taülorde and the well-known Holy Maiden were standing behind Tatsumi, n.o.body dared to complain.

“So first, I would like to request all the doctors present. Please start diagnosing the injured one by one, and then mark them depending on the severity of the injury.”

“Mark you say… for what reason do we have to mark them?”

One of the doctors asked. After that, the rest of the doctors and wizards also nodded in accordance.

“That is so the severity of the injury can be determined in one glance. And then we will start applying healing magic starting from those who are more severely injured.”

“What? Won’t the n.o.bility be prioritised first?”

“Yes. This method is probably unfamiliar to you guys, but please disregard the customs so far.”

The doctors and wizards looked behind Tatsumi at Taülorde with troubled faces.

“I will take responsibility for this matter. Right now, shut up and follow his orders.”

Taülorde said while clapping a hand on Tatsumi’s shoulder.

From the doctors’ point of view, receiving complaints from the n.o.bles later was probably scary.

In this country where the norm was to treat those with a higher social cla.s.s first, if you disregard social status and treat injuries according to severity, the n.o.bles would obviously get angry and complain.

However, if Taülorde who was the Captain of the Kingdom Knights said he would take responsibility then the doctors would not object to following Tatsumi’s orders.

For them, they wanted to save lives where they could help it.

“That’s right… for people who are in danger if they don’t receive immediate care, please draw a big「○」in a place that is easy to spot. To those that have less urgent but severe injuries draw a「△」, and for those with slight injuries please draw a「＃」.”

Tatsumi explained while drawing the said figures on the ground, so it would be easy to understand.

“Do you have something to draw with? If not, will you quickly arrange it for Lord Taülorde?”

“In a medical profession, the doctors always carry pen and ink with them.”

One of the doctors tapped the bag he was holding; the rest of them nodded in a.s.sent. Then, they quickly set about determining the state of the injured.

“Starting from Calcey, all wizards who can do healing magic please start treating those who have「○」drawn on them.”

“Yes, understood.”

Calcedonia bowed followed by the other wizards.

“Brother-in-law, please order your subordinates to gather all the injured in one place. If possible, try to gather people with the same mark. It would make it more convenient for the wizards to treat them. But, don’t forcibly move those who are unconscious or unable to move. Similarly, it is dangerous to carelessly move people with head injuries, so don’t move them.”

“Understood.”

Taülorde nodded and promptly sent his subordinates to carry out Tatsumi’s instructions.

After that, Tatsumi, together with Taülorde, settled down at the corner of the training field, and started giving out detailed instructions for dealing with the injured.

Tatsumi was, by no means, an expert in this field, but compared to anyone else at this place he had the most knowledge about triage.

He seriously considered the questions being asked, and tried to look for solutions by desperately recalling the answer that seemed best.

Being supported by Taülorde who was always by his side, or by Calcedonia who occasionally came over to see the situation, Tatsumi frantically hurled out instructions.

While Tatsumi was dealing with this and that, a knight came up towards him.

“Y, you are…”

Tatsumi immediately noticed who he was. He was a knight who had been tormenting Tatsumi some time ago.

“Lord Priest… I apologize for earlier.”

The knight came close to Tatsumi and deeply bowed his head.

“I heard about your healing idea from the doctor who healed this arm.”

The knight had a bitter smile while he held his bandaged left arm. Because it looked to be slightly injured; there was a bandage wrapped around it.

“Once again, your way of thinking is right. Holy Maiden and the other wizards do not possess infinite magical power. No, there cannot be any person who can possess infinite magical power.”

Now it was Tatsumi’s turn to smile bitterly. Because he was a man with the exact infinite power the knight just said to not exist.

“I have been behaving like a pampered n.o.ble. Even though I’m not a n.o.ble but a knight…”

This person was the third son of an aristocrat. Since he couldn’t succeed his family, he entered the army to become a knight.

“I sincerely apologize. I do not mean to demand recompense, but if there is something I can do to help I would like for you to say it.”

“Is your injury okay?”

“Ah, this is nothing serious. It is a bit embarra.s.sing that I had to rely on the Holy Maiden’s healing magic for this small wound.”

The knight laughed while tapping his injured arm.

“I understand. I will ask you to help out.”

“Ah, although it’s quite late, I am Gyle Eutorillos. I would be glad if you go ahead and just call me Gyle.”

“I am Tatsumi Yamagata. Likewise, please call me Tatsumi.”

Tatsumi and Gyle clasped each other’s hands.

“Husband!!”

While Tatsumi and Gyle were shaking hands, Calcedonia ran over with a despondent expression.

“Please come quickly!! I need Husband’s power!!”

“Understood!! Show me!!”

Tatsumi didn’t ask for a detailed explanation. As long as Calcedonia says she needs his power, he can’t possibly have any suspicion there.

As soon as Tatsumi and Calcedonia started running together, Gyle also immediately followed after them.

At the place they arrived, led by Calcedonia, a single log was rolling down. The ground beneath the log was dark and damp, and a single soldier had fallen down on the damp ground.

When Tatsumi had just arrived at the scene, a stake with the thickness of about 10 cm in diameter was stabbing the soldier’s right thigh.

Unluckily, when the logs collapsed the soldier seemed to have fallen on the stakes used to fix the logs to the ground which happened to be there.

Moreover, when the logs collapsed and fell down, it looked like the soldier got injured on his head and other places and was currently unconscious.

“Perhaps, when the logs collapsed, he may have stepped on the stake’s tip as he tried to escape. That may have caused the sharpened side of the stake to turn upwards and he must have fallen on it.”

Calcedonia explained to Tatsumi with a sorrowful expression.

If you looked closely, the injury on the head seemed to have already been treated, and the bleeding had stopped. Only the stake stabbing the thigh remained.

“…But, if we pull out the stake just like this…most likely, the soldier will instantly start bleeding and may lose his life.”

Gyle, who had been peering at this from behind them, interrupted with a pained expression.

“That is why the moment this stake is pulled out I will apply my healing magic. Then, the bleeding can probably be suppressed to a minimum.”

“However, for a stake as thick as this. It is not that easy to pull it through.”

The 10 cm in diameter stake was completely piercing the soldier’s thigh. If surgery is used it might be possible to get it out, but there was no advanced surgical technique in this world.

In this case, there was no other option than to pull it out by force. Of course, the soldier would have to bear a considerable burden.

“Let’s quickly gather helpers.”

“No, that is not necessary.”

Tatsumi pulled the rushing girl to a stop.

Tatsumi never turned back to look at Gyle, his eyes were fixed on Calcedonia alone.

Looking at Tatsumi’s eyes, Calcedonia nodded. Then, kneeling next to the collapsed soldier, without worrying about getting her clothes dirtied by blood, the priestess began chanting a spell.

Following her, Tatsumi also squatted down beside the soldier and prepared to release his magical power.

“H-Hey… Tatsumi, Lady Holy Maiden, what are you…?”

Only one person, that is, Gyle, was unable to read their intention and was left confused.

Just before Calcedonia’s chant was completed, she glanced at Tatsumi.

Tatsumi, waiting for it, released the magical power he had prepared in one breath, and touched the stake that was stabbing the soldier’s leg.

The stake disappeared in the blink of an eye, and in the next moment a clanking sound rose up and scattered from the ground next to Tatsumi.

“Hah…?”

Looking at the scene in front of him, Gyle’s eyes widened without thinking.

The moment when the stake vanished, blood started spurting out from the open wound on the thigh dirtying the faces and body of Tatsumi and Calcedonia. However, at the same time, Calcedonia’s amplified healing magic started sealing the wound right in front of his eyes.

The wound was closing before their eyes. In addition, the bleeding also lessened, and it looked like the bleeding could be kept to a minimum just as Calcedonia had presumed.

Of course, healing magic doesn’t only close the wound, it also repairs damaged muscles or bones.

Calcedonia checked the state of the soldier again.

Although he was still unconscious, there was no longer any fear of losing his life.

Calcedonia breathed a sigh of relief and turned to look at Tatsumi with a smile.

Tatsumi, who just saw it all, also let out a slow breath.

“Wha…What…? What happened…?”

Gyle murmured in amazement.

His brain couldn’t immediately comprehend what had just happened right in front of his eyes.

He could understand that the wound was healed. The healing magic had been administered by the famous Holy Maiden. If it was her, even severe injuries would heal in the blink of an eye.

But, the fact that the stake that was pierced into the soldier’s thigh instantly disappeared was beyond his understanding.

The surprised Gyle stared at Tatsumi and Calcedonia for a while. As time went on, he recalled a certain rumour he had heard recently.

A wizard that could use heaven system magic had appeared in somewhere near the capital.

It was said that the heaven magic user that had only existed in fairytales and legends until now had really appeared.

Gyle hadn’t believed in the rumour. He had thought that heaven magic users only existed in myths.

However, the phenomenon that took place right in front of his eyes just now, wasn’t it the exact heaven system magic that was often spoken about in fairytales?

The heaven wizard in the fairytales could pull distant objects to his hand, and conversely, a heaven mage could instantly send objects from his hands to the distance. In addition, the legends described the heaven wizard sending boulders into the sky.

The magic Tatsumi used in front of Gyle could only be heaven magic itself.

Also, in the rumour, he remembered it was said that the heaven wizard was a young man from a distant land with black hair, black eyes and pale amber coloured skin.

“…J-Just now, was that heaven magic…? T-Then… Tatsumi is… the rumoured heaven wizard…?”

Gyle, overcome with surprise, asked in a voice n.o.body could hear.