8. Drawing Unwanted Attention

Memory wipe? Mai's heart pounded, and she looked over at a group in black hooded cloaks emerging. One led the way towards her, and she took a few steps back. Only the government could perform a memory wipe.

"I have information." She would do anything to avoid a memory wipe.

"We've already investigated the entire area, miss. If you stay still, it won't hurt." said Morten, sending her a friendly smile that, in her eyes, looked like he was grinning evilly at her.

But she didn't give up.

"I..."

Suddenly, the General began to cough, holding his hand over his mouth and spat out a blood clot.

A man furrowed his eyebrows and approached him.

"Is it still the cranberry you haven't gotten up yet?"

The General coughed again and spat out another small red blood clot, staring at it, and something dawned on him. He raised his eyebrow.

"The air was poisoned."

For the first time, he looked up at Mai, whom Morten had already grabbed by the arm.

"Stop."

Morten stopped and looked at the General, furrowing his eyebrows.

"She has seen it all."

The General waved him off.

"You, woman, come here and explain."

Mai grunted and frowned but went over to him and bent down. His eyes were still blue, and he looked really handsome up close. She felt like she had seen him before but couldn't remember where.

"I have a name, which is Mai."

She immediately began to explain, starting from when she woke up in case they wanted to investigate her background and save them the time. The group listened carefully, and when she finished, there was complete silence.

The General coughed again and now spat out a dark blood clot.

"Is that healthy?" Mai furrowed her brows at the sight of the blood.

The group looked worriedly at the General, and then at each other, and suddenly something important dawned on them.

"We have no healer."

A woman bent down, but when she tried to touch the General's right arm, he stopped her with a hand gesture. She stood up and took a step back.

The General cast a sharp look at Mai.

"Heal me." His words sounded like an order.

Mai furrowed her brows and felt a tingling sensation in her heart. If she killed an S-class, she would never be able to live in peace. She shook her head.

"If you're from the government, you surely have methods to heal it."

"That boss is not from a Wave, and we have no means to cure him. Our leader is a bit special, so even an S healer is unable to cure him." the group revealed.

Mai looked at the General, and when she saw his cold face, he suddenly resembled a begging puppy reminding her of Kenta. She wanted to help him but was afraid and bit her lip.

"Why do you think I can help him? You can see I'm a C-healer."

"You're not affected by the poison in the air when you fought the boss, so you must have an antidote in your body." explained a man.

Mai hadn't exactly fought the boss, but it sounded good to her ears, and it wasn't every day that one was praised by the government. A smile spread across her lips.

She moved closer to the General, placing her hands on his chest, looking deep into his eyes, and bit her lip.

"I don't know if I can."

She was damn nervous.

The General smiled kindly at her, making her heart skip an extra beat, and she swallowed hard.

"I believe in you." His words sounded like an angel singing.

Mai shot out an energy from her body, feeling it emanate from her heart, which was something new. Something warm shot out to her arms and further out to her fingers, and a thick white smoke spread around his body, covering him completely. She had never named her healing abilities as they did in movies, so for fun, she would try it this time.

"Instant Heal."

*Whoosh*

A warmth spread through the General's body, sending a warm wave to everyone nearby. The group, with small scars on their bodies, felt a tingling sensation, and suddenly they began to heal with the naked eye, causing them to raise their eyebrows. The wave shot further out into the area, unnoticed.

The General closed his eyes, and after a moment, he opened them again, seeing the blood slowly disappear from his hand. He raised his eyebrows and looked at Mai, who still didn't know if her healing had worked.

"Thank you. I feel much better now."

Mai raised her eyebrows, and her heart pounded quickly.

"It worked! Are you sure? You're not lying?"

The General shook his head.

"I never lie."

They stood up and walked towards the group.

*Ping*

A large white pearl floated out of the boss, which the General wrapped in a white cloth.

They bid farewell to each other, but as Mai was about to leave, the General handed her a business card.

She furrowed her eyebrows and pretended ignorance.

"What's this?"

"A job if you're interested." he replied, smiling at her.

She handed it back to him and shook her head.

"I'm already a librarian."

He pushed the card back.

"Keep it in case you change your mind."

Mai was sure she wouldn't change her mind because she wasn't interested in solving murders and fighting monsters.

"Morten, escort her home." ordered the General.