EDM 23

Kafka smiled brightly and answered that he was “very well.” It was actually a somewhat exaggerated response. While he was certainly better compared to when millenka had been confiscated from him…

‘The seizure I had back then really weakened my stamina.’

At eighteen years old, he resented having such a frail body. If he managed to survive until the age when stamina truly begins to decline, how sickly would he become then?

“That’s fortunate then. I can’t tell you how relieved I am that Ibelnoia found a treatment for millenka.”

“That’s right. Thanks to him, I’ve become much more comfortable.”

“Not just Sonder, but countless Eleanor patients must feel the same. It truly was a discovery for the history books.”

Kafka quietly nodded. Though the timing was somewhat early, it was something that would eventually be revealed by Soren anyway, so he didn’t feel particularly anxious. However, he was slightly concerned that the Ibelnoia ducal house had started the millenka tobacco business because of this.

‘I don’t think this was in the webtoon.’

Did it just pass by in dialogue or narration without me noticing?

In any case, it meant the Ibelnoia ducal house had gained another solid source of income. From the perspective of someone who knew the future, this wasn’t particularly welcome news. The greater Ibelnoia’s influence became, the more difficult and complicated it would be for Soren to get the family under his control.

‘Well, that’s something he’ll have to handle himself, so I’ll set that aside for now.’

What was Professor Pomodona’s purpose? Kafka took a sip of tea and glanced at the elderly woman over his cup. Watching her maintain a consistently warm smile reminded him suddenly of his grandmother from his previous life.

As his illness dragged on and even his parents began to find him bothersome, only his grandmother continued to visit him steadily until almost right before she passed away. Each time she came, she would comfort him, saying that good days would come someday. It was entirely thanks to his grandmother’s encouragement that Kafka in his previous life had been able to live hopefully, even if only for a while.

‘Something I could never dream of with my current grandmother…’

The grand duchess of House Sonder was a very strict and demanding person. She was like that with all family members, but even more so with the despised twins.

“How is life in the Magic Department?”

“Pardon?”

“This may be an uncomfortable topic, but you have practically no mana due to Eleanor Syndrome. It can’t be easy to keep up with classes.”

“Oh, that…”

Kafka’s gaze drifted into space for a moment. Since he always did well on theory exams, his grades weren’t actually that disastrous. So it wouldn’t be a lie to just say he was doing fine, adequately.

“It is a bit difficult.”

However, Kafka answered honestly. Since Professor Pomodona probably didn’t harbor any particular malice, there was no need to pretend everything was fine. If this had been in front of Professor Daconeer, he would have gritted his teeth and acted nonchalant.

“Theory is one thing, but practicals are hard.”

“I see.”

“I can’t even use teleportation properly.”

“It’s so bad that even when I’m in a hurry, I don’t think of teleportation and just run around,” Kafka said with a small laugh. Professor Pomodona gazed at Kafka quietly with a warm smile.

“Still, you’ve made it this far without repeating a year. That’s truly remarkable.”

“Thank you.”

“It seems Sonder is quite persistent and diligent.”

With those words, Professor Pomodona also set down her teacup. It appeared the main topic was about to emerge and the conversation would get on track. Kafka straightened his back a bit more with a slightly tense expression. Noticing this, Professor Pomodona chuckled and said he didn’t need to be so formal.

“So I’d like to make a proposal.”

“A proposal… what kind do you mean?”

“It would be unprecedented in Rigel’s history, so I’m not sure if permission would be granted.”

Professor Pomodona paused for a moment. She frowned briefly as if lacking confidence, but soon smoothed her expression and looked at Kafka. Her warm smile faded as her gray eyes took on a serious light.

“I know it’s a somewhat unreasonable proposal given the timing.”

“…”

“But still, Sonder.”

Professor Pomodona’s voice became slightly heavier. Kafka swallowed dryly and waited for the professor’s next words.

“Would you consider transferring to the Healer Department to study pharmacy?”

Kafka froze momentarily at this completely unexpected suggestion.

Professor Pomodona’s expression was extremely serious. As if to show she wasn’t joking, she began to persuade Kafka with a somewhat stronger tone than before.

“Of course, you’re now in 8th year and only have one year left until graduation.”

That was indeed the case. All academies in the empire had a curriculum where students completed their undergraduate courses through December of 9th year, then held coming-of-age ceremonies in February and graduated in March.

Naturally, Rigel was no exception, so as an 8th year student, Kafka had only about one year and two months left at the academy. To suddenly talk about transferring departments at such a time…

‘She doesn’t even know if the headmaster would approve…’

Even if permission were granted, transfers mid-semester were impossible, so moving to the Healer Department would only be possible starting in the first semester of the 9th year. That meant the total time available to study pharmacy would be only two semesters, about eight months, excluding vacation periods.

Would this be meaningful? Kafka’s expression became confused as he looked at Professor Pomodona. She, being a professor herself, would know better than anyone that this was an inappropriate proposal in many ways.

“It’s a cold reality, but think about it carefully.”

However, Professor Pomodona didn’t seem inclined to back down.

“When you can’t even properly use teleportation, the most basic magic, would spending the remaining year in the Magic Department really help your future life?”

It hit the nail on the head. As she said, Kafka’s abilities were essentially no different from an ordinary person who couldn’t use magic. He couldn’t even use teleportation, the most basic of basics, properly, if the distance was even slightly long, he would often end up in the wrong place, and even that wouldn’t activate at all when his condition was poor.

In such a situation, attending advanced magic classes for upperclassmen would be nothing but a waste of time. In reality, while Kafka achieved high grades in magical theory subjects, he was failing or receiving the lowest marks in most practical subjects.

Simply put, he was at a level where he couldn’t proudly boast anywhere that he was a graduate of Rigel’s Magic Department.

Kafka’s expression darkened. In fact, despite not mastering a single proper spell all this time, he had never once thought that staying in the Magic Department wouldn’t benefit his future. But hearing Professor Pomodona’s blunt words just now, his thoughts turned in that direction for the first time.

Once he became an adult and graduated from the academy, he would have to become independent and leave the family. Would it really be okay to graduate with only unusable magical knowledge stuffed in his head?

‘I’ve learned theory well and studied law too, so I should be able to pass the Magic Tower’s employment exam.’

He would end up in a lower management position, so he wouldn’t enjoy wealth and fame… but that was fine either way. It would be enough if he could just make a living and get by modestly.

“Professor Daconeer mentioned that you go into the forest frequently.”

“…”

“You also discovered the millenka treatment method with Ibelnoia. That’s why I thought you were interested in pharmacy.”

“I wouldn’t say I’m interested to that extent…”

So that’s why she made such an unexpected proposal. It seemed some distortion had occurred in the process of Daconeer spreading gossip about him.

The misunderstanding about wandering through grasslands was due to the smell of millenka cigarettes, having his name on the report was just Soren’s impulsive action, and I have no interest in pharmacy whatsoever.

He should have said that and declined the proposal. However, for some reason, Kafka couldn’t easily bring himself to refuse. Some kind of attraction, a strange impulse, had stiffened his tongue and lips.

‘Wouldn’t it be helpful to learn for even a year?’

It’s better to know something than to know nothing.

As he couldn’t readily give an answer with such thoughts, Professor Pomodona seemed to read Kafka’s conflict and fanned the flames.

“If you just make up your mind, I’ll teach you herbology one-on-one starting tomorrow. If you study diligently for even just one year, you’ll accumulate considerable knowledge.”

One-on-one tutoring from a professor. The temptation didn’t end there. Professor Pomodona whispered quietly as if to drive the point home, saying this was just between them.

“As you know, healing magic uses divine power rather than mana, so not just anyone can use it. Because of that, getting treated by a healer is like plucking stars from the sky.”

“That’s right.”

“So recently, there are rumors that the imperial family is planning to hire pharmacists en masse for the people’s welfare. After all, healing magic isn’t the only way to treat illness.”

Indeed. Kafka nodded slightly.

Of course, healing magic could treat diseases or wounds in a very short time, so it was better to receive treatment from a healer if circumstances allowed. However, as Professor Pomodona had said, healers were very few in number, and therefore healing magic was often treated like a limited ‘resource.’

Because of this, ordinary commoners often died without even seeing the hem of a healer’s robe even when suffering from serious illnesses. But if they increased the number of pharmacists and developed pharmacy, while it might not show improvement as quickly as healing magic, they could at least save patients’ lives.