86 Operation Quickpoin (1/2)
”And who might you be?”
The group was startled by a voice coming from the door. Nana reacted immediately, turning around and dropping on one knee. Her hand reached for the handgun on her belt but stopped after she took a look at the speaker. When both Iten and Onuki reluctantly turned around and prepared their weapons, Nana warned them:
”Wait a moment, everyone.” She rose up and addressed the person in front of them: ”Night-night, lady maid whose name I don't remember.”
”Mhm, isn't it young Lady vas Flamie? I see that your tongue is still too sharp for your own good,” said Maria Pestoni and took several slow steps forward after closing the door. When she came into the moonlight, it revealed an even grayer person that lost too much weight too quickly, just like her ward. There were traces of severe distress on her face. ”And who are the people by your side?”
”We are Tiana's squad mates,” answered Iten with a hostile tone, slowly removing his mask. Onuki and Nana followed his example.
”And what business do you have here?” Maria inquired. ”Came to finish what you started?”
”How dare you!?” both Iten and Onuki yelled in anger, then Iten continued: ”We aren't monsters like you who starve the poor innocent girl, hastening her passing!”
”I see. So you mean Lady Tiana no harm?”
”It has nothing to do with you or this cursed family. Now, be gone before I do something to you,” spat Iten through his teeth, anger burning in his eyes.
”Iten, wait a moment,” Nana urged him as she understood the situation. ”You shouldn't-.”
”It's alright, young Lady. I deserved such treatment.”
Maria let out a sigh in which relief was mixed with pain. She took the nearest chair and almost slumped on it, her legs and hands trembling slightly. After taking another look over the children in front of her, she began:
”My name is Maria Pestoni, and I'm Lady Tiana's caretaker.”
”Then why is she in such a state?!” Iten asked aggressively.
”Iten, maybe let her finish?” Nana rolled her eyes and casually sat on the edge of Tiana's bed, giving the girl another sad look.
”Don't worry, young Lady, he is right. I'm Lady Tiana's caretaker and... but...” her voice suddenly cracked, and she turned away as tears began to rain from her eyes. She bit her lip and clenched her fists, fighting emotions that were raging inside. A few seconds later, she continued, but each word was followed by a sob of a broken old woman: ”I'm not allowed to do much. I can visit her only twice a week and I had to grovel before the Master to let me at least clean the room. Only I can enter the room, and guards stopped me from bringing healers. The only thing I could do was to learn several spells to keep my Lady alive. I'm afraid my skills aren't high enough to keep her going any longer. I'm so sorry, I'm... My Lady... I failed you, I'm sorry...”
Maria hid her face in her palms and burst into tears, wailing like a wounded beast. Nana and Onuki moved towards her to try and comfort the maid while Iten contemplated his words, at the same time thanking Nana inwardly for her silencing spell.
”Please, forgive my rude words. You clearly did not deserve them. I'm ashamed of my behavior,” the group's leader said a moment later.
Maria only shook her head, still crying her pain away. The girls tried to calm her down, feeling extremely uncomfortable in this bizarre situation.
”Forgive me my weakness,” the maid said a few minutes later, calming down. Her eyes and nose were still red, but her voice at least sounded steady. ”Why did you come here? To check on young Lady?”
”Actually, we thought to try and help Tiana, but-.” Iten began uneasily but was immediately interrupted.
Maria rushed forward, falling to her knees in front of him. She clenched Iten's pants, looking upward with more tears in her eyes, and pleaded in a husky voice:
”Please! Please, I beg you. Whatever you can do, help her. Save young Lady, please. I'll do whatever you ask of me. Anything!”
Flustered beyond words, Iten helped Maria up, but she grabbed his arms and didn't let them go, begging him again and again.
”Please, stop. We planned to give it our best from the very beginning, so you don't need to say another word,” Iten added hastily. ”I won't promise anything, though, since the situation is quite dire. While this world's magic is a great addition, I'm not sure my skills would be enough to help her recover.”
”Your skills?” Maria asked.
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”Yes. I am, um, I mean, I was a neurosurgeon back in my world. It's a profession in charge of brain surgery, so Tiana's condition is my job to fix. ”
”Oh, now I see why Orisa asked you specifically,” muttered Onuki thoughtfully, and Iten nodded to her comment and added:
”Indeed. Although, I'm surprised she remembered my brief mention.
”What are the chances?” Maria let go of his hands and moved back to the chair with Nana's help.
”I can't say. I don't know,” answered Iten, and it was clear that he already began to blame himself. He turned to Tiana and stared at her, deep in his gloomy thoughts. ”I'm not confident in my skills, and I don't even want to talk about how out of practice I am. I'll need to prepare and to learn more about magic here. Aside from that, we'd need instruments and time. And even after that, I'm not sure of the chances.”
”Considering her state and where this is going, I'm sure they are still higher than zero,” muttered Onuki.
”I agree, and will help you in any manner possible,” Maria said in a firm tone.
---
---
The group was preparing for another six days while also keeping in touch with Maria Pestoni. Iten ordered a set of instruments from Toatre. The prodigy girl managed a miracle and completed the order in a mere thirty hours, providing Iten with a variety of tools capable of enhancing their function with the user's Mana. It was Iten's time to dive deep into the training, and he even used the Concentration Potion to speed up the process.
Despite having a contact inside the mansion, they had to infiltrate via the same route. This time, however, Toatre went with the group, leaving Marina and Shou outside to watch the alarm-breaking equipment. Iten insisted on having her with the main force in case something went wrong with the equipment. They also took Nene with them to provide more brute force for the worst scenario of being discovered by the guards.
The raid gathered inside Tiana's bedroom, and it was the newcomer's time to gasp in horror from witnessing her state. The past week didn't help her condition in the slightest, making her look like a real corpse. Iten coughed to get everyone's attention and began:
”Nene and Miss Pestoni, you are on the lookout inside the room across the corridor. If anybody were to appear, try to knock them off silently. In the worst-case scenario, we are sealing the room and finishing the operation, and then we'd take Tiana away with us. It's a huge risk, but we'll have no other choice.” He waited for the two people mentioned to leave and continued: ”Toatre, be on standby. Nana, after each instrument is used, wash and disinfect it immediately. Onuki, you are following my lead and not doing anything unless I specifically say so.”
The tension inside the room skyrocketed. The group was on edge despite their training and mental preparations. They swiftly unloaded their supplies and instruments, preparing an improvised operation table. Hands were thoroughly washed and disinfected, instruments, wipes, and clean water ready for Iten on a nearby nightstand.
While the surgeon team went through the preparations, Nana proceeded to shave the back of Tiana's head. After that, she also unpacked and prepared drip with saline and disinfected its needle and Tiana's hand. The bed was also modified with pillows and blankets to place Tiana face-down.