Chapter 37

Georg stood by the classroom door, took a deep breath, and firmly held the secret letter his mother had given him.

"First, we have to stop the bleeding!"

Georg reached for the clean cloth in the first aid kit, but William stopped him.

"No, we need to rinse it first. Normally, chemical burns don't cause this much bleeding... Let's rinse the blood and slime body fluids off the wound with water and then examine it."

William had gathered the water bottles that the hunters carried as part of their equipment. These bottles contained boiled water, which served both for hydration and wound cleaning.

As water flowed over Emma's cheek, the melted outer layer of her skin began to peel off.

"Meow..."

Leaving the other cats to deal with the slimes, Komai stayed by Emma's uninjured left side. Emma's right side was bright red and felt hot to the touch, while her left side, having lost blood, was pale and cold. Komai tried to warm Emma's left side without touching her wound.

"Meow..."

The worried meows of the cats called out to Emma.

Georg and William continued to rinse Emma's wound with water. Half of the hunters, tasked with protecting the prince, went to fetch more water before it ran out. The cats used air pressure to scatter the slimes each time they attacked.

Emma's skin peeled off with just the touch of water. Beneath the skin, the flesh was swollen and red, with deep, radiating wounds. These might be the areas where the slime's body fluids had directly touched her. There were also numerous, thinner wounds connecting the radiating lines, likely from the movement as Georg dodged the slimes' attacks.

The deep wounds seemed to have damaged her blood vessels, causing blood to seep out even as they rinsed with water. They also carefully removed Emma's tattered clothes using tweezers while rinsing with water. Georg untied the ribbon and rinsed the wound on her arm, which he had bitten.

"Brother!"

William, holding the tweezers, pointed to Emma's wound. The wound under her clothes was worse than the others. The deep wound from her side to her abdomen was extensive and bleeding heavily. Holding her with such a severe injury, Georg could only move around.

Georg's face grew stern. Even as they continued to rinse with water, blood kept flowing from the deep wounds. Applying pressure to stop the bleeding was difficult because the surrounding skin was also damaged, making it hard to apply a cloth.

The first aid kit contained ointments and antiseptics, but using them on Emma's skin, which was peeling and breaking down with just water, seemed questionable. There was no established treatment for injuries caused by slime body fluids. Due to their rarity and the fact that attacks were usually fatal, with the bodies being consumed by the slimes, no treatment had been developed.

They tried to cool the heated skin and rinse away the slime body fluids, similar to treating burns and chemical burns, but the state of her skin made it seem like applying salt to a wound.

"What should we do..."

William was anxious. The condition of her skin was worse than he had expected. Even if they applied a cloth to stop the bleeding, it would tear her skin each time they changed it. But if they didn't stop the bleeding, she would die. In this world, there was no blood transfusion or organ transplantation. The melted skin would not regenerate, and the risk of infection was high. Perhaps, it would be better for her to die.

But he couldn't bear to let his sister die. Neither he, nor his brother, nor their parents could bear it. No matter what she looked like, it was better than losing her. William reached for the cloth in the first aid kit.

"Sister, I'm sorry. I'm going to apply pressure to stop the bleeding. It will hurt, and it will leave a terrible scar, but I will definitely... save you!"

Tears overflowed from William's eyes. This was his selfishness. If she survived, her future would be painful. Emma was unconscious and hadn't moved for a while. The only signs of life were the faint pulse and breathing in her left neck.

Suddenly, Violet landed on William's hand.

"Ah! Violet, why suddenly!?"

He couldn't hold her with one hand, so he used both. She had been quiet on Georg's head, but now she was interfering with Emma's treatment. Maybe she had something to communicate.

William stared at Violet's eight eyes, but he couldn't understand. Emma might be able to interpret Violet's intentions.

Suddenly, Violet spat a purple, glowing thread toward Emma's wound.

"Hey!! What are you doing!!"

Georg tried to remove the thread from the wound, but Komai stopped him.

"Meow!"

"Hey!! Ah! Oh!"

Before they knew it, the purple, glowing thread had covered all of Emma's wounds. Komai's intervention made it impossible to resist physically. But Komai wouldn't allow anything harmful to Emma. Violet, looking satisfied, moved from William's hand to Emma's side.

"Stopping the bleeding with spider silk??"

He had never heard of such a thing, but the blood that had been flowing so much seemed to have stopped. The purple spider silk didn't seem to be letting any blood through. The thread, gently laid by Violet, fit perfectly over Emma's wounds, stopping the bleeding without pressure. The principle was unknown, but it seemed to work. When he touched the spider silk covering Emma, it felt cool.

Previously, Emma had passionately explained that Violet could choose the appropriate silk for different situations. He had only half-believed her, but the silk restraining the men was clearly different from the silk covering Emma's wounds.

"Let's trust Violet and Komai."

Nodding at Georg's words, William took off his jacket and covered Emma. There was nothing more they could do here.

"Let's rinse your arm too."

Saying this, Georg began to rinse his blood-soaked hands with water. He looked at William curiously, but his hands gradually began to sting. Emma's blood, mixed with slime body fluids, had also affected Georg's hands, though not as severely. He had been too tense to notice. He also realized his mouth was sore and rinsed it out.

Komai hissed, and they turned to see the prince approaching. Though he was a bit intimidated by Komai, he didn't sit down like the hunters and took a step back, watching Georg and William.

"Why don't you evacuate Emma? The first aid is done, right?"

To a bed, not the ground. Not just first aid, but medical treatment.

The prince's concern was understandable. However,

"Emma is still a target for the slimes. We can't move her from here."

William answered while carefully rinsing Georg's hands.

"Aren't the cats... enough to protect her?"

The prince urged.

If they could evacuate her, they would have. The hunters were trying to protect the prince first.

"When the target is out of a certain range, the slimes either split to search a wider area or self-destruct if they can't find the target."

The prince's expression twisted. The creature they had underestimated as a mere puddle of water was impossible to defeat, impossible to escape, and could multiply. The cats were only defending, not defeating the slimes. Emma's injuries were severe, and they were trapped. The cats were only preventing further attacks; they couldn't truly save Emma. He was so ignorant. Lack of knowledge was terrifying. He couldn't do anything for the girl he liked. Even if she survived, her face and body...

A tear traced a path down his cheek. He growled low and strained.

"Still, I want to save Emma..."

Violet spat spider silk over Georg's hands. The cool sensation on his inflamed hands was soothing. No one in this situation wanted to leave Emma behind. But they knew...

"The slimes don't just split into two or three, but into billions."

When the slimes lost their target, they split into billions.

Each individual would be smaller, but they would continue to grow and split until one found the target. Three slimes were already a challenge; billions would be catastrophic. If they self-destructed, the country would be destroyed. This knowledge, passed down from ancient times, was a tragic story from a long-lost civilization.

The cats could defend against the slimes but couldn't defeat them. Physical attacks were ineffective. The only hope was the hydrochloric acid in the palace, but the slimes, having absorbed multiple vinegar bottles, were now active again. Given the state of Emma's skin, a significant amount would be needed to neutralize them. There were now three slimes. Would the acid Emma made be enough? Would it even work?

The prince might not know, but the only way to save Emma, Georg, and himself was to defeat the slimes.

The prince's shoulders slumped. The hunters had said the slimes were unbeatable. Even the current state of defense was a miracle.

Komai gently licked Emma's left cheek. Emma's body twitched slightly.

"...Ugh... Mom..."

Emma seemed to regain consciousness, calling for her mother. Not Mersa, but the way she called for Yoriko.

"Sister!!"

William called out desperately. Looking into her eyes, he saw a determined green gaze. Despite the pain, Emma was trying to communicate.

"Mom... hurts..."

Her lips moved painfully, but she tried again.

"...told... and... hot..."

"Slime... attack..."

Her voice was weak and broken. William and Georg strained to understand, but it was difficult.

"Salt..."

Emma weakly gripped William's hand with her left hand, trying to repeat her message.

"Emma... I don't understand! What are you trying to say!?"

Georg stroked Emma's head, trying to understand, but he couldn't. All he could do was stroke her head as she tried to communicate despite the pain.

William repeated Emma's words to himself.

Mom

Hurt

Told

And

Hot

Slime

Salt

...!!

"Wait! Sister! You mean...!?"

William looked at Emma, who nodded.

"...Swim... down... salt!"

Hearing Emma's words, William ran off.

"Hunters! Help me! We might be able to defeat the slimes!"