"Little brother, a glass of wine. Remember... add a little love..."
At night, a dead-drunk Himeko slung an arm around Fu Hua's shoulder, tilted her chin up, and breathed alcoholic fumes next to her slightly reddened ear.
"Himeko, you're drunk again..." Fu Hua said helplessly to the woman beside her.
"Haha, it's the weekend anyway. A few extra drinks won't mess anything up... Besides, for someone like me, what's wrong with drinking a little more?"
Himeko's expression turned somewhat desolate. She let go of Fu Hua, grabbed the wine bottle, and tilted her head back to chug it down. The cold beer, carrying a strong aroma of malt, poured down her throat. The double stimulation, combined with Himeko's current drinking posture, resulted in...
"Blech!"
"Himeko!"
---o---
"Sigh."
Fu Hua cleaned up the mess with a sense of resignation. Every Saturday and Sunday, Himeko would drink to her heart's content like this. And of course, she was the one who had to suffer for it.
However... Himeko's condition was indeed not looking good. Although she seemed to have received the gaze of an [Aeon] from [Honkai: Star Rail], her physical condition... showed no signs of improvement...
Schicksal was searching the world for these so-called [Pathstriders], but in the end, they had only found a few. Himeko was naturally one of them.
Besides Himeko, there was Bronya, and the Sovereign of Anti-Entropy... Intelligence reports also mentioned a mercenary named "Natasha" who used to be active in the past, and who bore a striking resemblance to the doctor in Belobog.
That Wende... he must be one of the Pathstriders as well, right?
If that was the case, could [Abundance]... be of any use to Himeko?
Fu Hua couldn't help but ponder this.
If Wende could truly suppress Himeko's condition, or even cure it, then it would be an incredibly exciting development for Schicksal and any other force fighting the Honkai.
After all, the current Valkyries... were still fighting the Honkai at the cost of their own life force.
If Wende's existence could solve the problem of Valkyries overdrawing their vitality...
Mm...
Just like how the Wende in the story could cure the Mara-Struck.
He was like a natural-born savior...
---o---
"Fu Hua? Is something the matter?"
Early the next morning, Wende looked with confusion at Fu Hua, who had come to knock on his door.
"It's like this. I heard from Wendy that you are also a person from Shenzhou and are proficient in traditional Shenzhou medical arts... Miss Himeko accidentally sprained her ankle while drinking last night. The St. Freya school doctor happens to be on leave today, and the replacement doctor has not yet departed from Schicksal HQ..."
"So, you want me to go and treat Miss Himeko? No problem."
Wende nodded in understanding. He left a note for Wendy on the refrigerator, then went out with Fu Hua.
As Fu Hua walked ahead of him, Wende looked at her with a strange expression. Just a sprained ankle... couldn't Fu Hua have set it herself for Himeko? Why call him?
Alright, it wasn't that hard to figure out. After all, the fact that Wendy, who had been corrupted by the Gem of Desire for so many years, could stand again after just two weeks of his treatment was already unbelievable. It was normal for him to attract attention.
However, Wende had no intention of hiding his skills. It wasn't that it was unnecessary... it was simply impossible to hide.
If he wanted to cure Wendy, he had to be prepared for exposure.
He wondered what kind of expressions the people of the Honkai world would have when they truly realized he was the Wende from Honkai: Star Rail.
"We're here."
Fu Hua stopped in front of an apartment building, took a key out of her pocket, opened the door, and invited Wende in.
Wende walked right in. The moment he entered, he could smell the scent of malt and alcohol.
"My apologies. Because the weather has been a bit cool recently, I was afraid Himeko would catch a cold, so I didn't open the windows to ventilate..." Fu Hua said apologetically.
"It's fine. It's indeed not a good time to open the windows. We can do it at noon when it's a bit warmer," Wende said with a smiling shake of his head.
"Is Miss Himeko awake now?"
"She's awake. Just a bit unlucky."
Fu Hua looked helpless.
"How so?"
"She thought twisting one foot wasn't a big deal, so she toughed it out for five minutes... and then she twisted the other foot. And she hurt her back."
"..."
Alright, it seems people can be really unlucky sometimes.
"Let's go in."
Fu Hua nodded to Wende, then walked to Himeko's room and gently knocked three times.
"Himeko? I'm coming in with Dr. Wende."
"Okay, come in," Himeko's voice came from the bedroom.
Fu Hua opened the door and went in, with Wende following close behind.
Upon entering, he saw Himeko still wearing her classic outfit, but her purplish-red ankles gave her away. It must have been just as Fu Hua said: she had endured the pain of one sprained ankle to get dressed, only to sprain the other one. Seeing her slightly flushed face, she had probably hurt her back as well.
"I'm so sorry you have to see me in such a state..."
Himeko turned her head away in embarrassment, tidying the slightly messy red hair by her ear, not daring to look directly at Wende.
In the end... this was truly mortifying for her...
"It's no problem. As a physician, this is my duty," Wende waved his hand, indicating it was nothing. "Then I'll begin, Miss Himeko."
"Mm, I'll be in your hands."
Wende first went to the bathroom to wash his hands, then sat at the foot of Himeko's bed.
His warm hands clasped Himeko's ankle, lifting the pale, crystalline foot. Wende could even see the veins on it, very clearly.
First, he pressed it gently in the direction of the sprain, then in the opposite direction. Then, his hands moved with lightning speed!
Crack!
"Ngh~"
A soft pop was accompanied by Himeko's light groan. That foot was done.
He followed the same procedure for the other foot. Wende also massaged the sprained areas for her and then used a stainless steel needle to disperse the bruised blood. She would be able to walk normally in just half a day.
"Is this the medical art of Shenzhou? It's truly amazing..." Himeko said with admiration, watching the highly skilled Wende.
"Miss Himeko, does your back also need to be looked at? Fu Hua just mentioned you hurt your back as well."
"Ah... yes. I'll have to trouble you, Dr. Wende."
Hearing this, Himeko gave Fu Hua a peculiar look, then turned over and lay face down on the bed.
"Mm..."
Wende checked and found it was just some bruising, nothing that a good massage couldn't fix. After informing Himeko, he began a course of massage therapy for her.
---o---
"Lady Theresa, just buying this much bitter melon probably won't be enough, will it?"
Rita looked at Theresa, who was carrying large and small bags all filled with bitter melon, and smiled helplessly.
"Eh? But..."
Just as Theresa was about to say something, she heard a strange sound coming from her own apartment.
"Nngh~ ahh"
"Wh-what's going on?"
Theresa scratched her head, completely bewildered.