#18. What Only I Can Do

Around the time Rain Ortiz went to the slums, Rachel Arte, who was conducting research alone…

“Is that really the case?”

Heard the news that her prized student had skipped class.

“…Unexpected.”

The one who told the news was Professor Cecil from the Knight Department.

Rachel was quite surprised.

The Knight Department’s class was only scheduled once a week, so she never imagined he wouldn’t go.

‘Is he feeling burdened?’

Actually, it seemed like the expectations placed on Rain had been too great lately.

No matter how much of a genius he was, Rain was just a fresh-faced twenty-year-old. On top of that, using his body was a completely different field from what he’d done so far…

She could well be avoiding it.

“…As her assigned professor, I will speak with her. Thank you for letting me know, Professor Cecil.”

“Yes, well, I wish you luck. You seem rather fond of that student.”

With a sigh, Professor Cecil retreated.

Cecil wasn’t one to meddle with students. Whether they skipped class or half-assed assignments, she wouldn’t bat an eye.

Yet, for her to come all the way to tell me meant she too felt a certain disappointment.

“Could she be in the dorms?”

Rachel immediately ceased her research.

Casually throwing on a coat, she utilized space-warping magic to teleport to the dorm where Lane resided.

Knock knock.

“Lane, it’s Professor.”

Knock knock.

“…Lane?”

What is it?

Why no answer?

She wouldn’t be asleep at this hour, surely.

“Lane? Are you not there?”

The Academy dormitories didn’t have individual soundproofing.

Surely, if she were inside, she’d hear, and if it was Lane, she’d come out.

But she didn’t.

Absent, then.

Rachel left the dorm with a weary step.

I see….

Lane needed a change of scenery now and then. If she wasn’t in the dorm, she must be wandering somewhere outside the Academy.

“Is this my fault?”

The thought struck her suddenly.

Had she been too considerate of someone who disliked being the center of attention?

But the truth was, she didn’t want to let her go.

Rachel fell into contemplation.

“…Looks like I’m the one who needs the counseling.”

Her heart was heavy.

She hadn’t the faintest idea how to care for Lane.

It was only natural, since it was the first time she’d taken such an interest in a student.

In the end, Rachel decided to simply find out where Lane was.

“Ugh…”

Though, come nightfall, she still hadn’t found her.

Rachel resolved to return to her lab for the time being.

In this state, she couldn’t focus on research or anything else, but that didn’t mean she could do absolutely nothing.

*Whoosh-*

It was then.

“A messenger pigeon…?”

A small dove circled above Rachel’s head.

The dove slowly descended, landing on her finger.

As she’d expected, a paper was tied to the dove’s ankle.

“This is…”

A video scroll.

A type of magical artifact, that, just as its name implied, could record and transmit videos.

Who could it be?

Rachel unfurled the scroll.

─Since the image quality isn’t good, you should state your personal information.

─What kind of personal information?

─Hmm…

The purple-haired girl, and.

The black-haired man.

For some reason, the silhouettes were familiar.

─Look at the magic circle and say your name and major.

……

─My name is Rain Ortiz.

─Your major?

─Magical Engineering…

What is this?

─From now on, I plan to research all night with Professor Pelliana.

Rachel’s hand began to tremble violently.

─I don’t think I can go to class for a while. I’m sorry, Professor.

─Alright, that’s enough.

The video cut off like that.

Rachel stood frozen in her spot.

Then, tearing the video scroll to shreds…

“Pelliana Mirion.”

She ground her teeth.

“I never would have thought you were like this…!”

*

“Do you think that was enough?”

“You were promised top marks, right? If you just say the word, there won’t be any problems.”

“Well, Professor Rachel seems like she’d be understanding.”

A worry gnawed at him that it was wrong to skip class like this.

But it was Professor Rachel. She’d probably be okay with it.

“By the way, I didn’t even know there was a place like this.”

“It’s not like we’re keeping it a secret… well, there’s no reason for anyone to come here anyway.”

Located far from the Academy, a somewhat quaint building caught his eye.

Here, they say, is the laboratory where Professor Felliana develops her new medicines.

Unadorned in the slightest, a space possessing nothing superfluous.

A place built, quite literally, for research.

I entered, quietly impressed.

“Nearly everything you need should be here. Use it freely…”

Professor Felliana activated the enchanted lights, then asked,

“So, what is this ‘other way’ you speak of?”

I was silent for a moment before countering with a question of my own.

“What do you believe causes people to fall ill?”

This is a fantasy world, yes, but also ‘medieval’.

The level of common knowledge is undeniably lower than in my ‘modern’ world.

What, then, do they believe is the cause of sickness?

“…Nothing has been discovered yet. We don’t know where it comes from, nor what causes it.”

Indeed.

They wield magic and swordsmanship, but are somewhat lacking in ‘medicine’.

Disease is an unknown terror, so they simply believe in curses or acts of the gods.

“The cause is closer than you think.”

The cause of disease.

It’s mostly infection. Over ninety percent of illnesses are caused by bacterial infection.

This is common knowledge in the modern age, a matter of only slight concern.

But it’s different for people in a medieval fantasy world who don’t know how to deal with it. Many will die from that slight concern.

“Professor, can you believe everything I’m about to tell you?”

I hadn’t cared at all about people outside my field of vision.

I had never been to the slums, never seen people dying because of the poor medical system.

I couldn’t even ignore it, because it was invisible to me.

Just as no one thinks of what doesn’t enter their mind, I had lived on in indifference.

I liked being ordinary.

I didn’t want to be like a protagonist.

But now that I’ve seen so much, I don’t want to ignore it anymore.

That’s the only reason I changed my mind.

Because it’s something only I can do.

“I’ll believe you.”

Professor Felliana answered.

I smiled faintly, and then explained everything to her.

Germs.

Infection.

And the existence of antibiotics.

I firmly believed the Professor would understand and explained it in as much detail as possible.

After hearing the explanation, Professor Felliana was silent for some time.

As if struggling to accept it, she closed her eyes and furrowed her brow.

I waited patiently.

“I said I’d believe you, but….”

It was nearly ten minutes before Professor Felliana spoke again.

“It’s truly hard to believe.”

“I imagine it is.”

“And how did you discover this…germ, then?”

A difficult question.

I answered as calmly as I could.

“Because I don’t believe in curses or divine punishment.”

The truth is, I can’t explain the circumstances of the discovery.

There’s no microscope here. How can I claim to have discovered something I didn’t?

So a substitute answer was needed.

“All living things begin to rot when they die. There are no exceptions. I became convinced there was something that made life rot.”

Not completely convincing, but enough to get past this for now.

“It also explains why recovery potions wouldn’t work on the same living organism.”

Once an infection takes hold, recovery potions can’t do anything.

They would just regenerate the very germs that have entered the body. Elixirs, too.

“If we could develop a medicine that only killed germs, we could reduce disease significantly.”

Damn it, my brain isn’t working properly.

How can I explain this in a way that’s both logical and believable?

Is this the best I can do?

“So, this is all hypothetical, then?”

“…Yes.”

“Alright, I believe you.”

“Pardon?”

Despite all the worries that had flashed through my mind, Professor Felliana calmly accepted it.

“How could I ever keep up with a genius’s brain?”

Professor Felliana approached me.

She took off her academic robes she was wearing, carefully folded them, and hung them on a hanger.

“You said you were going to help me, but doesn’t this mean I’m the one helping you?”

She chuckled softly.

It was the first genuine smile I’d ever seen from her.

“So call me Felliana, instead of Professor. Just for today.”

The way she spoke, so casually, made her seem very unlike a professor.

Felliana used to be my most hated person.

I think I was justified in feeling that way, considering what she did.

…But not anymore.

She is a good person.

Someone with proper humanity, someone who strives to help others.

“Are you certain I may address you by your given name?”

“So be it.”

“Then… just for today, I shall call you Feliana-ssi.”

“Good.”

Feliana stretched languidly, a full-body yawl. Looked like it was about to begin.

Time to brace myself, I figured.

This wasn’t the sort of task that having an AI meant you could breeze through.

I wondered just how many nights I’d be pulling.

“To create the antibiotic, there’s one thing we need.”

“And what’s that?”

Antibiotics were specialized medicines harmless to multicellular organisms like humans, yet lethal to bacteria alone.

And to make them, there was a ‘creature’ that absolutely had to be cultivated.

I spoke with a touch of solemnity.

“Blue mold.”