SSS-Ranked Surgeon In Another World: The Healer Is Actually OP! - Chapter 251: Weight Of Shadows!

Chapter 251: Weight Of Shadows!

At the front, Lucy sat tall, her posture straight and dignified, gaze steady as she guided her mount forward. There was no hesitation in her movements, no uncertainty in her presence. In that moment, she looked exactly like what she was becoming, the matriarch of a rising empire.

Behind her rode Bruce and Sophie.

Sophie felt it keenly.

The stares.

Curious. Awed. Some fearful. Some reverent. She could feel eyes following them from every direction, lingering longer than they should, drawn not just to the Shadow Wolf beneath them but to how close they were, how naturally she sat in front of him, how securely his arm rested at her waist.

Heat crept up her cheeks as she leaned closer to him without even realizing it, suddenly aware of how intimate it must look from the outside.

Bruce felt it too.

The weight of attention. The shift in the crowd. The way the city’s rhythm bent subtly around them.

A faint smile touched his lips.

“Looks like we’re getting more attention than I expected,” he murmured, his voice low enough that only Sophie could hear.

She huffed softly, flustered. “You’re enjoying this far too much.”

He chuckled, the vibration carrying through his chest and into her, grounding and warm. “Maybe,” he admitted. “But admit it, this feels good.”

She hesitated for a heartbeat. Then nodded, barely perceptible.

“…It does.”

The Shadow Wolf’s movement remained impossibly smooth, its stride perfectly balanced beneath them. Sophie felt safe, unnaturally so.

There were no jolts, no instability, just absolute control. Bruce’s arm stayed firm around her waist, anchoring her without effort, as if no force in the world could unseat her while he was there.

She became acutely aware of him. The warmth of his body. The strength in his frame.

The quiet confidence in the way he sat, completely at ease despite the countless gazes fixed on them. It made her calm, made her feel everything so safe…

“Relax,” Bruce murmured, sensing the tension in her shoulders. “They’re just looking.”

“That’s the problem,” she whispered back, cheeks burning. “They’re all looking.”

Bruce leaned back slightly, his head tilting just enough that his voice brushed her ear. “Let them.”

Her heart skipped.

Ahead of them, voices rose and fell as they passed.

“Those beasts… their aura feels oppressive.”

“Who are the riders?”

“Look at the woman in front, she looks familiar…”

“And the young man behind her… wait, is that…?”

“No way.”

“Are you saying that’s Ackerman’s son?”

“That would explain a lot…”

“Since when did the Ackermans have beasts like these?”

Whispers spread like wildfire, speculation layering atop awe and disbelief. Bruce felt the shift clearly, the subtle tightening of the atmosphere, the admiration tinged with fear.

He didn’t need to lift a finger.

Sophie noticed it too, the way people instinctively stepped aside, the way even seasoned adventurers straightened unconsciously as they passed, eyes sharp with appraisal and caution.

She sighed.

Bruce smiled, his grip tightening just slightly, surprising Sophie.

But that was all it took. Her grip loosened, tension bleeding away as trust settled in. She leaned into him just a little more, no longer fighting the closeness.

The Shadow Wolves continued forward, dark silhouettes carving through the city streets, their presence reshaping the flow of the world around them. By the time the Ackerman Transport Company’s headquarters came into view, the road ahead had all but cleared.

People now stood to the sides openly, watching, some in disbelief, some in excitement, others already raising smart bracelets to record, message, and share.

Lucy slowed her mount and glanced back once, a small, satisfied smile playing on her lips.

’Perfect timing.’

The gates of the Ackerman Company loomed ahead.

The moment they entered the compound, the stunned staff snapped out of their daze and hurried forward. Wide eyes followed the Shadow Wolves as they passed through the gates, dark auras rolling across the grounds like a silent tide. A few workers swallowed unconsciously, others straightened their backs as if standing before something far greater than themselves, but all of them moved quickly, urgently, to open the gates fully.

“Madam Lucy!”

The gates shut behind them with a heavy clang, sealing the compound off from the outside world.

Inside, the true state of the Ackerman Transport Company revealed itself in full.

Rows of mount type mutant beasts occupied the grounds, arranged neatly, maintained as best as limited hands could manage, but the truth was impossible to hide. Two meter tall mutant tigers rested in shaded pens, their powerful frames leaner than they should have been, ribs faintly visible beneath striped hides. Mutant boars lay near feeding troughs, thick bodies dulled by fatigue rather than strength.

Mutant horses, creatures once known for elegance and endurance, stood quietly, heads lowered, mana circulation sluggish and uneven. Even a pair of mutant unicorns were present, their horns still intact but noticeably dimmed, the natural luster dulled as if something had been slowly siphoned away.

There weren’t many.

Bruce counted without meaning to.

’Ten.’

That was all.

For a transport company.

For a business that had once handled large scale logistics involving beast convoys and long distance contracts, this wasn’t just bad, it was dire.

Lucy dismounted smoothly, her expression calm, her posture steady. But Bruce saw it anyway. The slight tightening of her fingers as her boots touched the ground. The fleeting pause before she straightened fully. Pain she refused to let surface.

After her husband’s disappearance, she had carried everything alone.

Beasts required food. Medicine. Mana supplements. Routine maintenance. Handlers. Trainers. Contracts. Negotiations.

And manpower was scarce.

Only five workers remained in the entire company.

When Lucy had told him earlier that business was doing well, Bruce understood now. It had been a lie, but a gentle one. One meant to spare him worry.

His chest tightened.

He looked around the compound again, this time with clarity sharpened by guilt.

So this was the truth.

A quiet anger stirred within him, not directed at Lucy, but inward.

He had the power. He had the means.

Yet in his obsession with growing stronger, with surviving his own battles and chasing ever greater heights, he had overlooked this place. Overlooked her struggle.

’I won’t let this continue,’ he vowed silently. ’Never again.’