Aftermath

"Oh, thank goodness you're back," Mrs. Bentley rushed to greet her son as he and Camelia entered the village square in the cart, "Are you hurt anywhere? The others from your group had mentioned how they ran into two of them."

"I'm fine, mom. I'm not hurt anywhere," Jacob said quickly.

"What about headaches? Do you want some water?"

"Mom," Jacob cut her off, "thanks, but we have to get these survivors to Father Dawson as soon as possible."

"Ah. Of course, sorry," Mrs. Bentley calmed down and stepped back to let the cart pass.

"Thank you, Cam," Mrs. Bentley said to Camelia as they left the village square.

Camelia nodded, feeling a little guilty; it was lucky that nothing happened to Jacob when she left him alone and went to chase down that earth type. If they had been unlucky, who knows if Jacob would have even been able to make it back, much less unscathed.

The general atmosphere of the village as Jacob drove through it was one of relief. People were slowly trickling out of the square returning to their homes and their everyday lives. Along the way, they even passed the farmer who had been attacked by one of the earth-types. His arm now had several layers of bandages applied to it and was in a cloth sling hung from his neck. The farmer waved to them with his uninjured arm, to which Jacob nodded in acknowledgment as they passed.

After the farmer was out of view, Jacob sighed and muttered, "What am I going to do…?"

"What?" Camelia asked.

"Ah, nothing," Jacob responded quickly, "just thinking about some things I need to do."

She didn't pursue the matter. The rest of the trip to the clinic was in silence.

"Father Dawson, we have survivors!" Jacob called out as the cart came to a stop. At that moment, the front door of the clinic burst open and a crying Rebecca ran out. She didn't even spare a glance at Jacob or Camelia, and just rushed past them while wiping away her tears.

"Rebecca?" Camelia called after her, but Rebecca didn't seem to hear her and just continued running into the forest.

Father Dawson then appeared in the doorway with a gathering basket in hand.

"Sorry, Cam, do you mind going after her?" Father Dawson asked, tossing her the gathering basket, "and while you're in the forest, pick some coneflowers if you see any."

"Okay…?" Camelia replied, catching the basket. The situation confused her, but keeping Rebecca safe came first. So, Camelia leaped onto her sword in pursuit.

"Looks like they just need some water," She heard Father Dawson say as she left. Then, a little later, "Remove these sheets, we need to avoid more sweating."

Soon, she was into the forest and far enough such that their voices were lost to the wind. Judging from the freshly disturbed shrubbery, with leaves still green on the broken-off twigs, Rebecca strayed from the path.

Camelia dismounted from her blade to better track her through the forest. Rebecca wasn't too far off the trail. She had stopped crying and was on the ground digging up pink-colored flowers with her bare hands.

"What happened?" Camelia asked, setting down the basket and handing Rebecca a trowel from inside it.

"Cam, do you think I can become a good doctor?"

"Of course," Camelia reassured her, "You work hard, care for people, and when it comes to medical knowledge, you're probably second only to Father Dawson."

Rebecca stabbed at the dirt absentmindedly with the trowel.

"I don't know… I might not be cut out for it after all..."

"What do you mean?"

Rebecca took a deep breath, "There was a man who had been attacked by the earth type, the skin on his arm was all rotten. Father Dawson did the best he could to cut off the rot and clean it, but we were completely out of herbs to treat the bleeding and ward off infection. After he left, Father Dawson started explaining to me the importance of conserving resources and saving just those who could be saved."

Rebecca started to cry again, "He wasn't blaming me. I know he wasn't. And it makes sense. If it becomes infected, that man will lose his arm, and if we had just had some leftovers, we could almost guarantee that he wouldn't. But, what about the other survivors? Should I just have let them die without trying to save them? I know the chances were low, I know, but still… I don't know if I can just abandon them."

Rebecca paused, wiping away her tears, "What would you have done, Cam?"

"I… don't know..."

"Yeah, I understand. I don't know either," Rebecca sighed, "But, you know when I asked that question to Father Dawson, he responded without hesitation: 'Abandon them. So that I can be sure to save those who can definitely be saved.'"

Camelia didn't know what to say to that.

Rebecca laughed nervously, "He was just so sure. It was scary. If that's what it takes to be a doctor, I'm not sure I can do it. I don't know if I even want to."

"Rebecca, how you choose to help people is up to you," Camelia hugged her, "All you need are the knowledge and skills, and the desire to do so. There's no need to be exactly like Father Dawson."

"But I might be able to save more people that way-"

"Maybe," Camelia cut her off, "but also maybe not. You said it yourself, didn't you? The chances were low, but not zero, right? If all the survivors you treated ended up surviving, just because you increased their chances just enough, the situation would be different, right? Then, your method would have ended up saving more people."

"I guess… you're right..." Rebecca took a deep breath, "Thanks, Cam. I feel better now."

"Good to hear," Camelia let go of her, "now, I think Father Dawson said something about gathering coneflowers..."

"Yeah. That's what these are," Rebecca said, pointing down at the pink flowers she had been digging up, "They help fight infections. Hopefully, with these, that man won't have to lose his arm."

"Quite the doctor, aren't you?" Camelia joked.

"Just help me dig these up already," Rebecca responded, smiling.

Lunchtime was just around the corner, so they could only finish harvesting that one clump of coneflowers before it was time to head back. By now, Camelia was feeling rather tired, having her sleep the previous night disturbed by the arrival of the survivors and then immediately being dispatched to hunt the demons around the village. She wasn't alone in her feeling of exhaustion; When they got back to the clinic, they found Father Dawson asleep at his desk. Even Rebecca couldn't help but yawn as she put away the freshly picked herbs.

After helping out, Camelia wandered back to the Bentley house. There were lots of people bustling through the streets doing various things, but she was too tired to pay them much attention. When she finally returned to the house, she ignored the lunch on the table and just went straight to bed.

Camelia awoke to the sound of Ms. Bentley shouting.

"My goodness! What happened? Who did this?"

"It's fine," Jacob responded, "Don't worry about it."

"David?"

"If he says it's fine, I'm in no position to reveal the details now, am I?"

"Well. I'm going to find those ungrateful bastards and give them a piece of my mind!"

It was already evening. Camelia got out of bed and stumbled to the doorway. However, at the sight of the scene before her, most of her weariness drained away.

Jacob was covered in bruises. One of his eyes was black and swollen shut, and there was a particularly large patch of swelling on his left leg which was tinted purple. If not for David supporting him, he probably wouldn't even be able to stand.

David himself was in the awkward position of both supporting Jacob and trying to block Mrs. Bentley from getting to the door.

"Mother!" Jacob shouted.

Mrs. Bentley froze.

"It isn't a big deal. Let's just have dinner. I'm starving and tired."

Mrs. Bentley sighed, "Okay."

"What happened?" Camelia asked.

"I had an accident," Jacob said, and David couldn't help but chuckle.

"Forget that," Mrs. Bentley cut in, "Cam, go get Father Dawson."

"We already sent Mia to get him," David said, "He'll be here soon."

David set Jacob down at the dinner table.

"Do you mind if I stay for dinner?" David asked.

"It's not a problem," Mrs. Bentley responded while filling bowls of soup, "but what about Rebecca?"

"She's asleep. It's been quite an exhausting day for her. And there are some things I want to discuss with Father Dawson."

"I see."

Mrs. Bentley placed the bowls of soup on the table and they had dinner. Thankfully, Jacob's injuries didn't seem to interfere too much with his eating. Although, his pace was a little slower than usual.

It was halfway through dinner when there was a knock on the door. Mrs. Bentley got the door and Father Dawson came in with a girl Camelia had never seen before. In many ways, Mia was the complete opposite of her. In contrast to Camelia's long golden hair, Mia's was short and brown. While Camelia had pale skin and a slender figure, Mia's skin was darkly tanned and her figure was well toned.

As they came in, Mia looked Camelia up and down and gave her a cold glare. Slightly confused and still not entirely awake, Camelia simply smiled back, which seemed to just aggravate Mia further.

Meanwhile, Father Dawson examined Jacob's injuries.

"This leg is probably broken. We'll need to get you a splint for that… otherwise, though, everything else should recover by itself in due time."

"A broken leg?!" Mia gasped, "How could that boy have gone so far."

"It's understandable..." Jacob said.

"It's not your fault!" Mia insisted.

"Maybe if I had done things differently..."

"Well, all you can do now is worry about what you should do next time," David said, patting Jacob on the shoulder. Then, turning to Father Dawson, "A word, please?"

Father Dawson yawned, "Sure, I'll need to get some wood for the splint anyway."

The two of them headed outside.

"Do you want to join us for dinner, Mia?" Mrs. Bentley offered as the door shut with their exit.

"Thank you, but I've already had dinner," Mia replied.

Nevertheless, she took a seat at the table next to Jacob and, after dismissing his protests, was soon spoon-feeding him his soup.

"By the way, I hear the festival has been rescheduled to tomorrow," Mrs. Bentley stated, "A lot of the events have been cut, but there will still be some stalls and the bonfire dance is still on."

"Then, it's another year of not participating for me," Jacob said, "This time for a very good reason."

"But, we can still man a stall together this year, right?" Mia butted in.

"I guess… I don't think I'll be much help like this though."

"That's fine! You can just focus on shouting out the product. I can handle the rest."

Although the festival sounded interesting, Camelia couldn't bring herself to pay too much attention to the conversation; the day had simply been too exhausting, and the burst of energy she experienced after seeing Jacob injured had faded as quickly as it had come. While the other three at the table talked about the coming event, she finished eating quickly and went back to sleep.

Meanwhile, outside the house, Father Dawson and David were also engaged in quite a heated conversation.

"I hear that you told Rebecca that she isn't fit to be a doctor."

"I don't recall explicitly saying so, but I will admit that recent events have certainly left me leaning in that direction."

"Don't you know how much she admires you? How could you say something like that to her?"

"It's for her own good. She doesn't have the temperament for it."

With his daggers, Father Dawson cut off a particularly straight branch from a nearby tree. He then cut the branch down to two thin planks of wood, which he then picked up.

"That said, I won't stop her if that's what she really wants to do. But that's not what you mainly wanted to talk to me about, is it?"

"Well, yes. There are just some things I thought you should be aware of and that I should confirm. First, the festival is tomorrow, be sure to be available for some doctoring, especially in the evening."

"Sure."

"Second, we'll need to somehow send the merchants on their way. They'll need horses to pull their wagons, which we can't provide. Even then, given the casualties the merchants suffered this time around, we'll probably need to send some of our own to help them, at least until they get to Sunfall."

"From what I hear from the survivors, most of the horses managed to get away when they were attacked. We might be able to find some if we just look around. But, about who to send with them… who did you have in mind?"

"Well, Ms. Hart, for starters. We need to get her to the capital anyway, so she might as well go with the merchants. Besides that, there are many youngsters who would like the opportunity to explore the world outside the village."

"I see… then, I recommend Rebecca and Jacob. And if Jacob is involved, probably Mia as well."

"Hmm… why do you say that?"

"For Rebecca, the next step in her path towards a doctor requires hands-on experience with surgeries and more complicated procedures. We simply don't have the resources for her to learn that here. As for Jacob, talking to the survivors revealed that he was able to maintain consciousness despite being exposed to the water type's soul aura. Therefore, I have been forced to revise my opinion on his utility as a soldier."

David sighed, "Mrs. Bentley won't be too happy about that. Especially since you used to be on her side in the matter."

The two of them were back outside the Bentley house

"If Jacob would be able to contribute more as a solder than as a farmer, then that is what he should do. The fact that he also wants to do so makes it all the better. For the good of the people. That's my policy. It would be nice if Rebecca would adopt it as well."

"Rebecca cares about everyone."

"Yes, she's a kind girl, but what she cares about are individuals, not the people."

"You and your word games..."

"No, there is a difference. That kindness will bring her to save those in front of her. At that moment, she will not hesitate to abandon everyone who comes after, as long as she can help those before her. But, to abandon anyone will bring her great pain, and yet, she will not think to do otherwise."

"Does it not pain you when you abandon people?"

"I would be lying if I said it didn't bother me, but..." Father Dawson smiled, "We all have a responsibility to act for the good of the people. In doing so, it is natural that we will have our burdens to bear. For me, at least part of it would be the responsibility I must take for choosing who to save and who to abandon."

"That's rather arrogant of you, don't you think?"

"I don't think so. Everyone makes choices. Some happen to be more important than others, but most of the time that is something we can only judge in hindsight. The power to choose is not something limited to the few. Each one of us has a role to play."

"Yeah, yeah," David yawned, "I'm going home to sleep now. Just remember about the festival tomorrow, okay?"

"Sure," Father Dawson said, opening the door to the Bentley house.

"Good night," David called out as he walked away.

"Night."