episode_0092

Episode 92. The graduate student cries again today.

****

Mint looked up at me with her bright eyes.

“I was bored for a few days.”

“Have you been waiting long?”

“No. I just came out for a walk.”

“Thank goodness. I was also worried that you might have been doing nothing all day.”

“It’s my mind. I don’t have to do anything, right?”

“That’s true.”

I accepted Mint’s parasol, and Mint walked next to me with her arms linked.

“Where are you going now?”

“Let’s walk a little. What have you been doing?”

“Wang Jin.”

“Did you solve it?”

I shouldn’t tell you the details. It’s the patient’s personal history. I thought about it for a moment. How much should I tell Mint?

“I can’t go into detail, but I think it’s been resolved well to this extent.”

“I guess so.”

“I don’t usually go to the doctor’s office, but the patients’ circumstances are so bad. There were a lot of patients.”

I took a break for a bit.

“What did the princess do?”

“Me? Nothing special. Oh, right. The prince came to the academy. He said he was looking for you. ”

“Oh, what did you say?”

“They said they were recruiting alchemists. If you need someone or have a specialty, let me know.”

I thought about it some more, but I couldn’t come to a conclusion right away. What would be good?

“Let’s see first. Do whatever the royal family wants.”

“I see. You’ll like it.”

Anyway, the process of purifying penicillin has been set, and it just needs to be adjusted. I don’t think it’s important who we hire as employees right now.

I don’t know any alchemists right now. I’ll have to try it out and decide. What’s necessary, what’s impossible.

“I don’t need Manfred. Come hang out with me! Do you know how bored I’ve been for the past few days without you? I have no one to talk to.”

“No, Your Highness. Why is there no one to talk to? There are royal servants, and there are many academy classmates who are close to Your Highness.”

“Huh? Oh. I’m not saying I didn’t talk at all for a few days. I’m just saying that’s how I put it.”

“You did say something, right?”

“Of course. The princess is in such an important position, you can’t just say nothing, right?”

It’s good to know that now. At the beginning of the year, it seemed like you were just walking around without really knowing anyone, but maybe your personality has improved a bit now.

“If you know, that’s enough.”

“It’s true.”

I nodded.

The three princesses I saw in the mansion also had quite a few similarities to Mint. It was like that with Elizabeth. She had been sick since childhood, and suffered because of it, so they were somewhat similar in that respect.

So I felt a little more pity for Elizabeth. She reminded me of someone I knew.

“Princess. I can say that. When I saw the patient this time, I thought of you for a moment. It wasn’t anything special.”

“Why, because you’re pretty? Because you’re cute?”

“No way… … . I was a young student who was suffering from a treatable illness and almost dying. That’s why I thought of it.”

Mint nodded.

“So. You’re not my lover?”

“No, really.”

“Good ability, teacher.”

“Oh my.”

I frowned.

No, I said. Looking at Mint’s face, who was smiling faintly, it seemed like she was just joking this time? I didn’t know.

“Let’s go eat.”

“Okay. Okay.”

****

Asterix’s ward.

Elizabeth was lying in the hospital ward. Istina was looking at the third princess with a face full of enthusiasm, holding her medical records.

“Oh, what’s wrong?”

“Ah. I want to write this down quickly before the professor comes. Can you tell me in detail when and where it hurt? Like the head.”

“It’s been like that since about a year ago. It got worse about a month ago. At first, I got tired easily, my hands and feet swelled, and then I got a headache.”

Istina nodded.

“It got worse a month ago.”

“Where is the professor, though?”

Well, I guess I’ll be with Mint now. I’ll have to come back today anyway to see the doctor.

“They left the medicine behind. Um… … . Since it’s a disease that you’ll have to manage for the rest of your life anyway, there’s no need to rush and take it.”

Well, it wasn’t an illness that would get better if the professor came quickly. It was an illness that Elizabeth had suffered from all her life. Elizabeth nodded.

“Thank you for your advice, Professor Asterix. I heard that since you are the best doctor on the continent, you don’t accept personal requests.”

The best on the continent.

It seemed that way, but Istina scratched her head a little. The professor had quite a human side to him, too. Not necessarily a good one.

“Not to that extent. When you come to the Academy Hospital, the professor will look after you in order of severity.”

“Anyway.”

“And. The princess is in critical condition. If we leave her like this, her brain will melt.”

“Ah. Is that all?”

Istina placed a vial next to Elizabeth’s bed. A vial full of pills.

“Take three tablets a day.”

“Three each?”

“Yes.”

Actually, Istina didn’t know why. The professor just said that earlier.

“It’s a medicine that removes copper.”

“How?”

“Stuck with copper. Maybe it will come out in urine? Because that’s what the professor said.”

It was difficult to explain further than that. Istina scratched her head. Still, it was fortunate that Elizabeth seemed to understand the explanation.

“Are there many patients who survive here?”

“Ah. The professor will let all the patients who have a chance of surviving and getting out alive be alive. Don’t worry about that.”

“All of them?”

“Yes. This patient is a bit more difficult. It’s a matter of saving him, but he needs to be managed well so that his head doesn’t get damaged.”

“Ah.”

Living is not the end. In addition, Elizabeth must survive well enough to be able to inherit the family line.

“You said Istina, right? Please pass it on to me.”

“What should I say?”

“I’m healthy. I can do it.”

Elizabeth suddenly became serious.

“Oh, this is just my gut feeling. I think the patient will come back alive and well!”

Elizabeth and Istina, both of them.

Of course, she had experience and responsibility, but she was essentially a young girl. It would be a lie to say that she didn’t have a vague childlike expectation that things would just work out for the two of them.

****

Meanwhile, in Professor Wolfram’s lab.

Luciana pondered for a long time as she received the letter. The imperial letterhead that had arrived yesterday had been so worn by Luciana’s hands that it was now as tattered as a dishcloth.

– The Imperial Family is pursuing plans to establish a new pharmaceutical and chemical company to help the citizens. They need your help.

– Luciana, you are a person raised at the best educational institution in the Empire, and you are a talent that the Imperial Family needs. Please give us a positive review.

My hands were still shaking.

It was a moment I had been waiting for my whole life, but now that it was a reality, I had a lot to think about. I had to finish graduate school right away.

But the question was whether Professor Wolfram would allow it. Would he actually let Luciana go?

“Professor.”

Luciana lowered her head. Professor Wolfram lifted his head from the textbook he was reading.

“What’s going on?”

“I’m really sorry, but I don’t know how to bring this up to you, Professor. I received an offer from the Imperial Household yesterday.”

“Speak comfortably.”

Luciana hesitated for a long time.

“I heard that the Imperial Family is establishing a pharmaceutical and chemical company by royal charter this time. So they are recruiting new students.”

At these words, Professor Wolfram completely closed the book he was reading and looked at Luciana.

“So, you want to go?”

“No. I just wanted to ask what to do.”

“Do you want to go?”

“Yes.”

“What can I do? If you want to go, you have to go.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Did the imperial family ask you to come?”

“I’m not sure, but I think it was sent to some of the graduate students in the Department of Pension Science. It seems to be in order of grades, or maybe they were recommended.”

“What a good opportunity.”

“Yes… … . That’s true.”

“You will be working 24 hours starting tomorrow.”

“Yes?”

“Luciana is not a genius, and she has to work all day to do research quickly and stuff. Then she can publish a paper and graduate early.”

“Graduation?”

“No, you’re going to the palace. I can’t just teach you carelessly and send you away. Even a fool like you will go out and call yourself my disciple.”

“, thank you… … . I will prepare well so as not to bring shame to the professor’s name… … .”

“Are you crying? You said you got a good offer. Why are you crying? Get ready for graduation by next month.”

Luciana lowered her head.

There was no reason for Professor Wolfram to graduate a student who was trying to run away early. There was no reason to teach him anything more. All that remained was Professor Wolfram’s sense of responsibility to teach him properly.

“Thank you so much.”

“What? What is the point of learning? It’s important that people use it usefully and you make a living from it. Isn’t that right?”

“That’s true… … .”

“You don’t have to feel sorry for me, so just study hard. What is that, making medicine?”

“Yes.”

“Teacher Luciana, you’ll help a lot of people with that. I’m just someone who raises students, so the big things should be done by my students.”

Luciana cried.

I just kept crying. I didn’t know Professor Wolfram would think this much.