Those Who Live Without the Law

Chapter 212

You’re Lucky (2)Kairus entered the office together with Tanya.

“Oh, unni, hi.”

Nora glanced at Tanya, then waved the magazine in her hand a few times in greeting. It seemed Irena was in the middle of personal training.

Recently, she had been spending noticeably more time training alone, and on top of that, she no longer called Kairus over for help. It was because of what Kairus had done previously while trying to assist her.

“Hello.”

While the two exchanged greetings, Kairus prepared a cup of tea and handed it to Tanya before taking a seat.

“So, you said you could help? In what way?”

At Kairus’s question, Tanya answered in a calm tone.

“If we rely only on drugs, it’d be difficult to forcibly induce definite short-term amnesia. Still, I thought it might be worth checking whether drugs had been used at all.”

Drugs circulated through the body. Some left residual traces for quite a while, making detection fairly possible. It seemed Tanya intended to use this fact to determine whether the people suffering from short-term amnesia had ever been injected with drugs.

“Sounds good. What do I need to prepare?”

Tanya did not believe the possibility was particularly high, but it was better to confirm it properly before excluding it from the list of candidates. She pulled out a sheet of paper and started writing something down.

Alanphytam. Hesorotoram. Virgentosin….

It was a list of countless incomprehensible terms.

“What are all these?”

“They’re enzymes that react to drugs. If you mix collected blood samples with the enzymes and check the reactions, you can determine whether drugs were used.”

She even added that once a month had passed after drug intake, the blood concentration would become too low for detection.

“…The problem is, I don’t have the expertise to look at these names and immediately procure the necessary enzymes.”

At Kairus’s remark, Tanya answered as if it were obvious.

“I’ll have to accompany you. We’ll collect blood samples, store them in containers, and then head to a facility with analytical equipment.”

Kairus did not have the authority to use such facilities. In fact, the same applied to Tanya. What Tanya wanted was not the equipment of an ordinary hospital, but the facilities installed in pharmaceutical factories.

“So we’ll have to sneak in.”

“I’d be delighted if we could obtain permission, but I don’t think that’ll be easy.”

Just in case, Kairus looked toward Nora. Nora immediately let out a deep sigh.

“You do realize both Lunaseeker and the Republic kind of hate you right now, oppa?”

“Ahaha, I suppose that’s true.”

They had gone through all the trouble of helping them start a rebellion against the Empire, only for the Aylan Republic’s imports and exports through the Antaria Grand Canal to suddenly get blocked.

On top of that, Cecilia and the Barenza Onui were currently stirring up trouble throughout the Republic.

‘Kairus, weren’t you cooperating with us? Why the hell aren’t you stopping those bastards?!’

That was the current stance of the Aylan Republic. In a situation like this, there was no way they would willingly cooperate if Kairus requested assistance.

“I feel a little wronged too.”

Would anything really have changed just because Kairus alone opposed it? Kairus was merely one member of the Operations Committee. If the others had already united their opinions, then realistically there was nothing Kairus could change.

“You can talk about that with the boss later.”

It seemed the call with Younia had been prepared. Kairus rose from his seat as he spoke.

“Anyway, Tanya Lysand is a valuable talent we need, so stay at the office for the time being.”

“Yes, I will. Ah, would it be alright if I ate here as well?”

Kairus nodded, then headed toward the telephone together with Nora.

“I’ll make contact first.”

Nora picked up the receiver and connected the call somewhere. After exchanging a few words, she handed the receiver to Kairus.

— The Republic’s in chaos right now.

“That’s truly unfortunate.”

No matter what he said, there was probably only one thing the Aylan Republic wanted to criticize Kairus for.

— Why weren’t you able to stop it? We thought we were maintaining a fairly good relationship.

“How exactly was I supposed to stop it by myself?”

Silence lingered briefly on the other side of the line before the voice spoke again.

— If you had really tried to stop it, there would’ve been ways.

“That’s true.”

Donovan had not agreed with the plan Cecilia proposed in the first place. If Kairus had opposed it as well, that would already have secured two votes.

Lukas had agreed with Cecilia’s opinion, so that part could not be helped, but if he had really tried, wouldn’t it have been entirely possible to persuade the Barenza Onui somehow?

But Kairus had agreed with Cecilia’s opinion. With Lukas, Cecilia, and Kairus all in agreement, the opinions of the remaining two had naturally been buried.

“My, anyone listening would think I was the chairman of the Operations Committee or something.”

Until the very end, Kairus maintained the stance that there was nothing he could have done. No matter how powerful Lunaseeker was, they had no way of knowing what kinds of conversations took place among the Operations Committee members.

‘At this rate, getting cooperation for this matter will be difficult.’

Not only Lunaseeker, but the entire Aylan Republic showed no signs of being willing to cooperate with Kairus.

Still, it was not as if he could forcibly raid the pharmaceutical facilities located in the Aylan Republic. They were already in a foul mood, and doing that would only be like pouring gasoline onto a fire.

‘Looks like I’ll have to target the Empire.’

The aftermath of the rebellion had not yet been cleaned up, so if he intended to raid an Imperial pharmaceutical facility, now was the perfect time.

And, if Kairus had to raid someone anyway, he preferred targeting the Empire.

— For now, both the Aylan government and Lunaseeker have decided to trust you one more time.

If something like this happened again, then the Aylan Republic would likely begin feeling the need to reevaluate its relationship with Kairus.

“My, and I had just started getting close with Nora.”

At Kairus’s words, Nora, who had been standing beside him, flinched slightly. Just as Kairus had grown somewhat attached to Nora in his own way, Nora was also fairly satisfied with the current situation.

Unless there was absolutely no other choice, Nora wanted to avoid fighting Kairus.

To begin with, she could not win against him anyway, and even with the bond they had built together until now, she doubted Kairus would spare her if Nora turned against him.

And Nora’s ultimate goal was living a long and healthy life.

— From our side as well, we’d rather avoid becoming hostile with a survivor of House Featherwing. I believe that if both sides show each other a little consideration, we can become much better partners in the future.

“I feel the same way.”

That concluded the call. For now, it seemed they had decided not to hold Kairus responsible for the current behavior of Bennett’s Operations Committee, which was effectively dumping chaos all over the Aylan Republic.

That alone left Kairus fairly satisfied. While he had been speaking with Younia, it seemed Nora had finished preparing the meal.

“Since I was making some anyway, I made a little extra.”

Four plates had been prepared, each with food arranged on it.

One quarter of the plate held a piece of grilled salmon and a boiled egg, while another quarter contained steamed brown rice.

Finally, a salad drizzled with olive oil and wine vinegar occupied half the plate.

“Ugh, what is this?”

Nora immediately stared at the plate with a horrified expression.

“It’s a simple way to eat a balanced meal. Half the plate should be vegetables. Then the remaining half gets divided equally between protein and carbohydrates.”

That alone made it obvious that Nora had been paying attention to her health.

“We’re people who use our bodies for work. Eating like this would be rough.”

At Kairus’s remark, Nora quietly nodded in agreement.

“I just felt bad eating alone, so I prepared some for everyone.”

“No, unni, you don’t have to feel bad about eating alone….”

Nora stared sorrowfully at the food placed in front of her. Still, it had been prepared for her.

“The fact there are four plates means…”

When he glanced to the side, he saw Irena wiping down the pan that had been used to grill the salmon.

“I actually like meals like this.”

After finishing cleaning the pan, Irena sat at the table and spoke.

“It’s lacking sugar.”

Nora grumbled like that while aggressively stabbing the salmon with her fork. Kairus watched the scene for a moment before speaking to Tanya.

“Do you need anything else for the job?”

“I’d like to examine a few of the missing people who returned most recently.”

What Tanya requested this time was not particularly difficult. A few phone calls and a couple of telegrams would be enough, and after the meal they would probably receive the requested people like postal packages at the post office.

“Come to think of it, should I start calling you Survivor-nim now too?”

At Tanya’s remark, Kairus snorted.

“Just call me by my name, doctor.”

The meal definitely felt healthy. After they finished eating, a knocking sound was heard. It was exactly the people Kairus had requested.

“W-what are we supposed to do?”

A trace of anxiety lingered in the eyes of the summoned people.

“Please don’t worry. Once you finish what needs to be done, you’ll be able to return safely.”

As Tanya reassured them, she took several tools out of the bag she had brought along.

“Now then, please open your eyes wide.”

Using a glowing rod, Tanya examined the seated person’s eyes before opening a book.

“Please look at the problem and answer them one by one.”

“I… can’t read.”

Tanya let out an “Ah,” then coughed awkwardly.

“That’s alright. There are other ways to perform the test.”

Tanya pulled out a different book. Various shapes were lined up across the pages.

“Once I close the book, please tell me the symbols you were looking at in order, from right to left.”

It was a simple cognitive ability test. A procedure meant to determine whether there was any brain damage.

“When did you learn all this? It doesn’t seem like emergency medicine is your specialty.”

Emergency physicians were responsible for saving people dying on the battlefield. Tests like these, and even the countless drugs Tanya had separately written down, were not things emergency medicine specialists would normally possess expert knowledge of.

“While working on the battlefield, I was always thinking about what I should do afterward.”

As she spoke, Tanya pointed at her chest.

“The wounds people suffer on the battlefield don’t only remain on the body.”

Those horrific scars remained in the mind as well. It seemed Tanya wanted to extend a helping hand to people suffering from various psychological problems after completing her duties on the battlefield.

That was why she was so knowledgeable about psychiatric medication and these kinds of tests.

“You’re diligent.”

Kairus gave that short evaluation, then waited until Tanya finished preparing the tests.

“How is it?”

“…It differs from the average results of patients who’ve been taking specific drugs long-term.”

Which meant they had not been swallowing drugs for months. In this case, if specific substances were found in the blood, it would mean they had only been administered over a short period.

Resting her chin on her hand as she sank into thought, Tanya made an uncertain expression.

“But then symptoms like short-term amnesia shouldn’t appear. For now, I’ll collect blood samples too.”

Next came drawing blood. Tanya took the necessary tools out of her large doctor’s bag and quickly drew blood from the people before storing it in preservation containers.

“Can it be preserved?”

“Of course. It’s the same method used to preserve the spinal fluid from you and Miss Irena.”

The spinal fluid separately stored to create blood for transfusions using the vür solution. Even Kairus had not expected it to remain fresh enough to still be usable.

As long as the preservation guidelines were properly followed, it could remain fresh for up to six months.

“To begin with, without this level of technology, how would people even undergo all sorts of procedures?”

Kairus could only agree with that statement. If people could survive after having beast organs or muscles grafted into their bodies, then preserving blood was probably nothing special.