City of Witches Chapter 91

“How did it go?”

Yebin was surprised.

She had been so focused that she wasn’t sure exactly, but it seemed she had spent a considerable amount of time on the detailed examination.

The reason was that Baron Marigold was still waiting, shifting from foot to foot in front of the Gate.

She couldn’t help but think, He really cares for him deeply.

Simultaneously, a sense of pressure settled over her.

Because she now had to deliver the news that the condition of the person he cherished so much was far from good.

“First... to give you the conclusion, recovery should be possible.”

“Ahh...”

Amelia staggered as if her legs had gone weak.

If it weren’t for Yebin, whom she had just met today, she might have collapsed right there.

“His entire body is a wreck. There is severe damage to his major organs, and above all, the internal injuries caused by the short in his magical circuits are extreme. If there hadn’t been emergency treatment, he probably would have been beyond recovery... but fortunately, it’s not too late.”

“What do you mean by ‘recovery is possible’?”

“Could I organize some materials and bring them to explain in detail?”

“Yes, thank you for your hard work.”

She was already quite fatigued from the detailed examination process, and she needed pen and paper for a thorough explanation.

So, the rest of the conversation between Amelia and Yebin took place after dinner.

In the dining room.

Yebin showed Amelia the charts she had prepared, summarizing the findings of the detailed examination, one by one.

“This chart very briefly outlines the organs requiring healing... Before regenerating the brain, it seems we must first address the various accumulated injuries throughout his body.”

“........”

On the chart, where the human body and various organs were drawn in lines, only the injured areas were marked with circles.

It would have been easier to find places without circles.

From the tips of his toes to the top of his head, there was no part that wasn’t injured.

Even though she already knew this, seeing it visually on the chart made it feel different—more real.

Amelia felt her head grow faint.

“The most important thing is to rebuild his body to a state where regeneration magic can be applied. And... this is a bit difficult to say...”

“Please tell me everything honestly. Understanding his condition is the most important thing.”

“Then, let me explain about the state of his brain.”

Yebin hesitated.

Amelia urged her on with a resolute expression.

Yebin pulled out a second chart.

It contained four diagrams schematically depicting the entire brain.

“As you can see, the meninges are, of course, damaged. The BA47, 45, and 44 areas—that is, the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex—are severely damaged. Especially since the damage entered through the left eye, the orbitofrontal cortex is almost completely lost... the condition is very poor.”

Yebin paused mid-sentence because Amelia was looking at her with an expression as if the sky had fallen.

I should have said this before dinner.

She felt as if the splendid feast she had just enjoyed—her first proper meal in a long time—was now sitting heavily in her stomach.

Of course, Witches don’t get indigestion, but still.

“Then... what does that mean?”

“Even after surgery, there could be various changes.”

“In what aspects?”

“First, the orbitofrontal cortex... is connected to various sensory organs. It’s where receptors and pathways for taste, vision, smell, and synesthesia exist, so I cannot give a definite answer on whether it will fully regain function after revival.”

“And?”

Yebin steeled herself.

Right now, she was here not as a Witch, but as a doctor.

Objectively conveying a patient’s situation is a doctor’s duty.

“It’s also directly linked to the limbic system, indirectly managing desires and motivation. To be more specific, it manifests a reward system based on desires and motivation, socializing human behavior.

Learning disabilities may occur, and since it’s directly related to desires, there could also be impairments in terms of sexual desire... Should I continue? If it’s too difficult, we can take a break.”

Amelia, who had been bravely holding back tears, could no longer hide them.

Tears dripped onto the back of her hand, but she shook her head side to side.

Yebin concealed a sigh and continued.

“...As for the prefrontal cortex, it handles most ‘executive functions.’ Decision-making, coordinating behavior according to situations, verbal expression, critical thinking—these are all executed here.

I’ve read papers in the Mortal Realm about patients with prefrontal cortex damage, and the most noticeable changes are the inability to process higher emotions and difficulty with impulse control...”

Amelia looked so sorrowful that Yebin couldn’t bring herself to use a metaphor, but in a word, it meant he would become like a robot.

A very violent robot that moves only based on primitive, one-dimensional impulses.

“Will he still be like that even after treatment?”

“May I use just one plate?”

When Amelia nodded slightly, Yebin used telekinesis to shatter the plate that had held a splendid dessert.

She began piecing together the dozens of glass fragments like a puzzle.

“Reassembling torn skin and bone is like this. After all, what cells handle is maintaining ‘structure’ and ‘function,’ and the pieces to assemble are fairly large. It’s not difficult, and even if assembled incorrectly, you can just try again.”

‘Surgical telekinesis,’ weaker in force than ordinary telekinesis but far more delicate, fitted the plate together without a single misalignment.

The plate, with all its edges perfectly matched, retained its original form exactly as before it broke.

“But the brain is more like this.”

-Crunch

The plate shattered into much finer pieces—thousands of fragments.

“In the brain, ‘structure’ itself is closely tied to ‘function.’ Moreover, it’s the most delicate and sensitive organ among all human body parts. No matter how hard I try, perfectly recreating it exactly as it was is impossible. At best, it would be like this.”

Although she restored it as closely as possible to the original, the reassembled plate was covered in spiderweb-like cracks.

Even at a glance, gaps were visible here and there.

“Are you really alright with this? That patient when he awakens...”

“Shin Siwoo.”

“...Even if Shin Siwoo is a different person than before?”

This was as far as Yebin needed to go.

Simply keeping him alive wasn’t the whole solution.Since the patient is in a coma, their will cannot be ascertained, but the guardian's will must be respected.

"I can state this much with certainty. No matter who else might be in my place, they couldn't offer you any more reassurance than this."

Amelia took out a handkerchief and delicately dabbed away her tears.

"It's alright. It's a burden I must bear."

She seemed to have resolved herself.

If that was the case, all that remained for Yebin was to devote her full effort to restoring Siwoo.

"Then, let me explain the planned procedure going forward."

Yebin unfolded the document containing the surgical plan in front of Amelia.

"Prior to brain regeneration, to restore the body, we will partially restore the brain's functions.

The brain possesses a property called neuroplasticity, which allows it to change the arrangement of neural circuits and transfer functions to other parts of the brain even after sustaining damage.

We will induce this remodeling capability to secure the functions necessary for recovery.

This initial phase is expected to take roughly a month. Additionally, during this period, 'mapping' will be performed to determine which parts of the brain are responsible for which functions."

"I will provide all necessary materials."

Yebin nodded and finished the remaining explanation.

"After that, we will regenerate the damaged parts of the brain. The focus will be on preserving as much of the original memories and functions as possible.

Once regeneration is complete, we will guide the relocated neural circuits back to their original positions. No matter how perfectly the recovery is completed, there will likely be a noticeable difference compared to the performance of the parts one was born with."

"Alright, when can we begin?"

"I'll write down the necessary items; can you procure them? I'll start right away."

Yebin was burning with fervor.

The academic zeal of being able to directly apply a surgery she had only tested on coyotes and seals to a human was the second reason.

The primary reason was to alleviate the worries of Baroness Amelia, who was shedding tears before her.

She was reminded once again of how grave and important a responsibility it is to handle life.

"Understood."

With Amelia's full cooperation, Siwoo's treatment began.

Yebin devoted 16 hours a day to Siwoo's recovery.

The magic deployed throughout the room to slow the biological clock.

While excellent for emergency treatment, it was merely an obstructive element for fundamental recovery.

Yebin's primary goal was to rebuild Siwoo's body to the point where he wouldn't die even if his time was restored to normal.

Even though it was a task of restoring only the recovery ability of cells degraded to their limit, it required a massive amount of magical power and stamina.

It was work that literally required stitching each and every cell, one by one, utilizing surgical tactile sense and telekinesis to the utmost.

"Phew..."

Yebin, wearing a mask, let out a sigh and blinked her tired eyes.

Just restoring the tattered cardiopulmonary system alone had consumed nearly three days.

Should she take a short break first?

Holding her throbbing head, Yebin opened the door and immediately encountered the twin sisters.

With doll-like beauty, they looked exactly alike, as if placed before a mirror.

"How is Assistant-nim's condition?"

"Is he alright...?"

The twins asked, holding each other's hands tightly and fidgeting their feet.

Yebin could easily discern their identity.

They must be the apprentice witches of the House of Gemernai that Shin Siwoo had helped escape using magic.

"Ah, hello. I am Yebin Smirna."

"Ah, I am Odile Gemernai."

"I am Odet Gemernai."

In their haste, they had forgotten to greet her, but now they finally held the hems of their skirts neatly and bowed in unison.

Their perfectly synchronized movements, without a hint of misalignment, made Yebin feel a sense of wonder.

"I just finished restoring the cardiopulmonary system."

"That's good, right?"

"It's definitely a relief, isn't it?"

Seeing Yebin nod calmly, Odile jumped up and down, expressing her gratitude and relief.

Their visibly immense worry made Yebin feel a renewed sense of emotion.

Baron Avenuga, who had visited not long ago, was like that, and Amelia, the mistress of this mansion, was like that too.

The affection directed towards him felt profound, but these twins took it a step further.

"Is it okay to go in now?"

"We want to see Assistant-nim's face..."

"No, for the time being, he needs absolute rest... so that might be difficult."

Seeing the twins' shoulders slump simultaneously made Yebin feel pity and sympathy.

Although she hadn't exchanged a single word with him yet to know exactly what kind of person he was, someone who had earned this much affection must surely be a good person.

"Is there anything difficult for you?"

"Is there anything we can help with?"

"Ah, no... there's nothing in particular..."

With Amelia already providing all necessary items and seeing to her convenience, Yebin could focus solely on the treatment.

Nevertheless, the twins grabbed Yebin by the wrists.

"Please don't say that, come see our carriage."

"We prepared something we think Smirna-nim would like."

"Huh? Wha-?"

Half-forcibly pulled into the carriage, Yebin received an enormous pile of gifts, from splendid clothes to what appeared to be rare magical tools, along with the twins' earnest request to take good care of him.

An hour-long, uninterrupted, tearful account of Shin Siwoo's heroic tale was an added bonus.

"Our Assistant-nim is a slave and a man, yet he uses magic."

"He even bravely confronted a vicious 21st hierarchy Exile. To save us..."

"I, I see."

"He had a chance to escape, but he evacuated us first."

"He is our hero."

The alternating speech from both sides was enough to make one's spirit leave their body.

The twins' final request wasn't much different from Amelia's.

"Please take good care of Assistant-nim."

"Our Jemernai Count Family will not forget this favor."

After the conversation with the twins ended, Yebin returned to the mansion with a burden on her shoulders.

"........."

She already knew he had used magic to confront an Exile, but this was the first time she had heard such detailed circumstances.

Knowing he could die, yet risking his life to confront an Exile and protect witches.

As the twins said, it was a devoted course of action that truly deserved the title of 'hero.'

She was directly treating a wonderful person she had only ever encountered through news or newspapers.

"What kind of person is he?"

Even if he wouldn't be quite the same after treatment was over,

Yebin found herself wanting to have a conversation with Siwoo too.

Author's Note (Afterword)

I suddenly felt like receiving recommendations.

There's no need to feel overly frustrated about the novel's content.

I'm diligently preparing rewards that readers will find satisfying..!

3.The Witch's city complies with a length of 5300–6000 characters including spaces (not Shiajun, haha).

I don't have any stockpiles or anything...! And if you do a 10-pull, I'll die—that chapter will be the last one.