The girl was lying on a bed.
Ace was already in Ina’s room, having never left her side. She stood there, looking at Ina, whose eyes were still closed.
“Firstly, she’s alive for now, I think is the correct way to put it”
Qualia input this information even without the doctor’s explanation.
Her heart was beating, and she was breathing without help… But he could also see that heartbeat and oxygen intake were far from enough.
“I heard it from Ace, including what happened to Ina. Her lung was pierced?”
“…Affirmative.”
Qualia gave a short answer to Lobelia’s question.
To him, just thinking back to it made static run through his brain. He remembered her being covered in blood, and having heartbreaking spasms that were like she was at the end of her life.
And as he pictured her lifeless eyes, he stopped thinking back. The impact those memories caused was too great.
Much like Qualia, Ace shook her head as if clearing away those memories.
“…I have been working as a doctor in the royal court for decades.”
The doctor interjected, as he saw Qualia’s reaction.
“I have never seen someone survive a lung being destroyed. And from what I heard of her blood loss, even the exceptional element healing magic Blessing would have a tough time saving her. Furthermore, the anaphylactic shock is being held back as much as possible. As a doctor, I would like to learn how you did it… But we will leave that for some other time.”
It was true that at that point, her immune system was not going berserk.
Ina’s body was not heading towards death, but Qualia’s expression was still not clear.
“That is wrong. She has yet to reach a state where it can be said she has been saved.”
If she had been saved, she would be awake. And yet, she laid on her bed with no signs of waking up. Her slumber showed no signs of ending.
“…The truth is, her body suffered a lot of damage. That damage has most likely reached her brain due to her having stopped breathing. That is why she is not waking up from her coma.”
“Request explanation. When will Ina wake up?”
“I don’t know.”
The doctor shook his head, but Qualia did not ask any further.
Not knowing when someone would wake up from a coma was something that was also applicable to artificial intelligence of combat androids. The fact that a human would not know that either was not illogical.
“…As a doctor, I have to say the worst case scenario.”
“Request explanation. What is the worst case scenario?”
That was something Qualia had already figured out.
“This is not certain, but it is a possibility. Please be ready.”
Maybe that worst case scenario was an overreaction to the risk derived from his calculations. Qualia wished that was the case as he asked.
“…A vegetative state.”
But the doctor did not lie.
He told Qualia the truth, as was his duty.
“Basically, there is a chance that she will never wake up.”
“[N/A]”
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