BXBX NOVEL Chapter 165 165: Discharge
"No," Val replied.
"Why?" Voidslayer questioned.
Val answered, "Acting strange in public can arouse suspicion. If I keep appearing dazed because I'm communicating with you, people might think I'm possessed or that there's something wrong with my mind. In both cases, I will get in trouble. I did rather avoid that."
He then added, "Wait until we get home before you tell me about the Abyss."
Devils were a reality in this world, so possession wasn't just the stuff of fiction or bedtime tales.
If a person appeared to be possessed, the denizens had a responsibility to report it to the authorities.
A possessed individual would behave differently from a normal person, making it relatively easy to identify such cases.
Still, there were numerous false alarms, as people sometimes mistook mental illnesses or even eccentricities for the work of devils.
Once a report was made, even in the absence of concrete evidence of possession, the authorities would send an official to conduct an investigation. The process could be incredibly invasive and time-consuming, as the individual in question would be interrogated, potentially examined by medical and arcane professionals, and subjected to observation over a period of time.
This could disrupt the person's daily life and plans, especially if they were innocent.
For Val, this was something to be extremely wary of.
First off, he didn't want to attract unnecessary attention, and he certainly didn't want to waste his time on pointless confrontations with the authorities. He had much bigger fish to fry and couldn't afford such distractions.
Secondly, he had too many secrets to hide, especially the system and his status as the devil god and everything related to it.
What would happen if his secrets were discovered? He didn't even want to think how he would end, but he knew for sure it wouldn't be pretty for him!
'If I am ever investigated, I would be royally screwed,' Val thought.
Therefore, it was vital for him to maintain a semblance of normalcy in public, and his conversation with Voidslayer would have to wait until they were isolated, away from prying eyes.
"I understand," Voidslayer said to Val.
Sitting on the clinic's stiff bed, Val peeled off the thin, white sheets covering him and gingerly set his feet on the cold, hard floor.
The tiles felt icy under his bare feet.
His boots had been taken off when he was admitted, but his clothes were still on his body.
Despite the fact that days have passed, he didn't smell bad and his clothes were also clean. Val guessed that he and his clothes had been cleaned by magic when he was in a coma. There were all kinds of bloodline users in this world, so a support type performing such tricks wasn't unheard of.
"Let's see if I have the strength to move around," Val said.
He swung his legs over the edge of the bed. His legs moved back and forth. A sense of relief washed over him as his muscles responded as they should. Warriors' bodies were different. Even if they have been in a coma for days and haven't eaten or drunk, it wouldn't feel impossible to move around right after waking up!
Val's limbs felt weak because he hadn't had a meal in days and had been unconscious, but they were movable.
It signified he was ready to be discharged!
He slipped his feet into his boots, which were placed close to his bed for easy access, and stood up. His legs wobbled, unsteady after days of disuse, but he gritted his teeth and forced himself upright. He stood there for a moment, simply breathing, feeling the strength slowly returning to his body. After strength returned to him, he was able to move around without much difficulty.
"What are you doing? You just woke up from a coma. You should be in bed taking a rest," a nurse came up to Val and said.
"Your worry is unwarranted. I am feeling perfectly fine. I want to discharge," Val replied.
"Very well, if you insist. However, we recommend taking it easy for the next few days." In God's Hands clinic, every patient was treated like an esteemed customer and their words always came first, so the nurse decided to listen to him despite the fact he had been in a coma for days. "I'll arrange the discharge papers for you. Just give me a moment."
"Okay," Val said.
The nurse then scurried off. A few moments later, the nurse returned with a clipboard in her hands. Val quickly scanned through the discharge papers, signed where necessary, and then returned the clipboard to the nurse.
"Why does it say in the paper that I don't have to pay for the treatment?" Val asked.
"Mistress Valentine said it's on the house," the nurse replied.
Val's eyebrows raised. Was she trying to curry favors with him? Actually, she was since he had given her a good deal not too long ago. As a result, she wanted to strengthen their partnership.
"She also said if you've any questions, you can go ask her directly," the nurse added after a moment.
"No, I don't," Val said.
The discharge papers have been signed. He was free to go!
"Is Eliana still here, Miss... Penelope?" Before leaving the God's Hands Clinic, Val asked the woman behind the counter. He picked her name from the tag on her chest. Oliver had told him that Valentine had put Eliana to rest. So he believed she must be in the clinic.
The clerk, Penelope, was a somewhat short woman, standing two heads shorter than Val, with wide hips and a generous bust. Her chestnut hair was cut short, and while she had a slightly plump physique, she was far from being overweight.
As Val called out to her, she looked back at him and her jaw dropped. She could swear he was the most attractive man she had ever seen in her life. His handsomeness was unrivaled!