"Se—senpai, do I just lie down like this?"
Kobeni looked timidly at the hospital bed, then at Su Tang in a white coat.
"Mm. Just lie down and relax. I'll give you an anesthetic; you'll sleep, and when you wake, it'll be over. Very fast."
As he spoke, Su Tang had already taken out the bottle of anesthetic he'd bought from the black doctor and started recalibrating the ratio.
"Anesthetic…? Is it necessary?" Kobeni worried. "I heard before that gastric lavage doesn't need anesthesia…"
"That's because in most cases they've drunk or eaten something unclean—like a toxin. You have to race the clock. You're different."
Su Tang flicked the syringe; the needle flashed coldly under the sterile lamp. "You accidentally swallowed a metal foreign body. To prevent you from moving during lavage and the object injuring your insides, we need anesthesia to ensure nothing goes wrong."
He turned and gave the girl on the bed a gentle smile, speaking softly: "Trust me. I never lie."
Mm—from this sentence on, he'd never lie.
Normally, gastric lavage indeed didn't require anesthesia. But what was in Kobeni's stomach wasn't ordinary—it was a talisman. And they still didn't know which!
Although only one talisman seemed to match a shield, what if—right? Su Tang had to be absolutely sure.
So, to avoid accidental activation by her movement during lavage, he decided to use anesthesia.
He didn't want to get taken out by a sudden explosive flame or an eye-beam.
Of course, the dose had to be right.
Kobeni seemed unusual physically. The dose he'd used to cover her mouth and nose earlier could easily knock out an adult male for twenty-four hours. He had upped it due to the Eternity Devil's unkillable trait—yet that devil had been so lame, lasting only two hours.
He had thought to wake Kobeni after returning—unexpectedly, she woke on her own. Plainly her constitution far exceeded an ordinary person's.
He wondered which devil she had contracted with.
Thinking that, Su Tang was already at her side.
Seeing the gleam of the needle, Kobeni's eyelids twitched wildly. She pleaded in a small voice: "Senpai… can you switch to a thinner one…"
"This is the smallest gauge. Don't worry—I'm skilled."
Smiling, he swabbed disinfectant on her pale arm.
As the coolness spread, mist gathered in Kobeni's eyes. Timidly: "Then… then please, senpai… be gentle… mm!"
While she was speaking, the needle was already in.
"How about it? Didn't I say—it doesn't hurt."
Watching the tension fade from her face, Su Tang gently brushed her hair back to her ear and murmured: "Sleep quietly."
As he finished, her breathing evened into a steady rhythm.
She was under.
Pressing a cotton swab to stop the tiny bleed, Su Tang's eyelid twitched. The puncture was visibly closing.
What a frightening constitution.
With a sigh, he brought over the gastric lavage machine.
Such equipment wasn't needed in a psych hospital. But after the last time, when Power swallowed a talisman, he had ordered one during setup—in case. He hadn't expected to use it so soon.
Pinching the girl's cheeks to open her soft lips, Su Tang slid the tube down her throat.
Lavage began; fluid dribbled back from the corner of her mouth.
He glanced at the sweetly sleeping girl; his gaze lingered on her four beauty marks for a few seconds, then he got up to pour himself water.
His work was done; the machine could handle the rest.
————————————
Twenty minutes later.
He carefully withdrew the tube and had the Shadow Ninjas clean up. Then he looked at the talisman lying in clear liquid.
A lifelike rooster was carved on it.
As expected, the inlay on the shield was the Rooster Talisman.
Su Tang exhaled and called to the Holy Lord in his mind.
Not only had the talisman matched the show—so had the method of obtaining it: gastric lavage. Only, one who swallowed it had been Jade; the other, Kobeni.
So both of them had such big mouths? Not going to choke?
He snarked inwardly, and then heard the Holy Lord's voice.
"Very good, boy. You have obtained the second talisman. I am one step closer to my resurrection!"
Though weak, his joy was evident.
"Heh-heh, just what I should do. A little hardship is nothing in the face of resurrection."
As always, Su Tang flattered without blushing.
Again—that sort of praise was free, after all.
"Good. I'll have Valon send you more money."
The Holy Lord generously spent another's purse, then said, "As before, I will borrow your fire-qi and cast a spell to transport the talisman to my body. This time may take a little longer—I am not well."
"Understood." Su Tang nodded and took out a prepared box. "There shouldn't be much going on for now. A few more days is fine."
Fire-qi rose and wrapped the Rooster Talisman.
After that, the Holy Lord fell silent—probably asleep again.
Putting the box in the safe, Su Tang looked at the still-sleeping Kobeni and slipped out, closing the door softly.
He needed to go to Public Safety HQ.
No helping it—Aki, the squad leader, was likely still unconscious. The reporting would fall to him, the vice-captain.
Time to see that woman again.
Changing into a coat with intact sleeves, Su Tang checked the mirror, then left the hospital satisfied.
————————————
Knock, knock, knock.
"Come in."
At the answer, Su Tang pushed the door and saw at once the woman standing with her back to the window.
Makima turned. The wind lifted her bangs; a few strands danced in the air.
She smiled:
"I've heard about what happened with you all. So, should I first say…"
"Long time no see—welcome back."
"Su Tang-kun."
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