#19. Mold

“Mold…?”

Feliana’s expression soured.

It was a similar face to the one she made when I’d requested ‘hallucinatory snail mucus.’

“You really… have a thing for noxious things, don’t you? Even during the day.”

“It becomes medicine if you use it right.”

“Right…”

She tossed out a comment, as if in jest.

“There’s no law in the Empire that says mold can’t be used as medicine, I suppose.”

Wait, that was definitely something *I* said.

Recalling that time made me think I was completely out of my mind.

Talking back to a Professor like that.

Where had I left my manners?

“Ahem. Where do we obtain this blue mold?”

“You don’t need to get it from somewhere else. A single loaf of bread will suffice.”

Blue mold… or rather, *Penicillium* was said to flourish in places rich with organic matter. Leaving bread out at room temperature until it decayed should make it easy to find.

However, we planned to create the antibiotic as quickly as possible.

My own classes aside, the disease running rampant through the slums was more serious than I’d thought.

“I brought bread.”

“By any chance, do you know how to use rot magic?”

“…I’m in the Alchemy Department.”

Guess there was no other choice.

‘System, can *I* use magic?’

[ Affirmative. ]

[ Magic utilizes mana flowing within the body, and takes the form of either ‘calculation formula’ or ‘magic circle’ activation… ]

‘Skip the basic explanations. Enough that I can.’

Of course, ‘can do’ and ‘doing it right now’ were two different things.

I haven’t truly mastered magic, not yet. And the Corruption spells, well, those are notoriously difficult.

Even if the System started tutoring me right now, I figure it’d take at least two days to cast a single Corruption spell.

So, am I out of options?

“I’ll give it a shot.”

“Magic?”

“Something like it.”

The truth is, there’s always another way.

It’s just a hypothesis at this point, but there’s a method to cast magic without understanding the equations.

Leveraging my specialty.

“I can make circuits on the fly now, you see.”

Ever since the midterm exams, my knowledge of ‘Magitech Circuits’ has been absolute.

I visualized the circuit in my head. Designing complex magic gave me a headache, but the System would handle the rest, so it wouldn’t be a problem.

[ Analyzing circuit. ]

The System’s message chimed, just like that.

The circuit I’d designed gradually transformed into an ‘equation’ right before my eyes.

I’d never seen the equation before, but I knew it was the formula for a Corruption spell.

[ Activating: Corruption Magic. ]

[ Processing magic. ]

I immediately focused my gaze on the bread. The delicious-looking loaf began to decay in Felliana’s hand.

It smelled awful, became hideous, and was covered in something murky, cyan in hue.

I’d achieved blue mold.

“Success.”

The foundation of magic is ‘understanding’. Even if you can solve the equation, magic won’t activate if the user doesn’t fully comprehend it. That’s why I said it would take two days, maybe more.

But I designed the circuit myself, witnessed the process of it being reinterpreted as an equation.

Since it was my circuit, understanding it was easy.

“It’s hard work, casting a single spell, isn’t it?”

Other people just cast magic without a second thought. Having to go this far made me a little depressed.

I suppose the mediocre are doomed to struggle, no matter the world.

“Amazing…Truly. I’m beyond being surprised anymore.”

Felliana stared silently at the rotten bread before placing it on the desk.

I’d been worried she’d panic at the sudden appearance of mold, but she was much calmer than I’d expected.

“What are you looking at? I’m a Alchemy department professor, you know. I’m not going to scream just because I got some mold on my hand.”

“That’s admirable.”

“….Quiet now. Just tell me what comes next.”

Professor.

You are pleased with the compliment, aren’t you?

It’s obvious.

I stifled a grin and explained the next procedure.

“We need to maintain a suitable humidity level and cultivate it.”

Since there’s no appropriate facility available, I’ll have to use magic to maintain the humidity.

System.

Please.

[Analyzing Circuitry.]

[Usage: Water Magic.]

[Setting: Humidification.]

[Calculating Magic.]

The air near the bread shifted subtly. Just the humidity mold loved.

Seriously, the more I think about it, this isn’t ChatGPT.

It’s just too all-purpose.

“You’re remarkably versatile. I’ll admit, I’m tempted.”

“Don’t say such frightening things.”

“Frightening? How about coming to my lab?”

“……”

“Just joking. How could I poach the talent Her Majesty has already marked?”

Though that’s what he said.

Somehow, there wasn’t a hint of jest in her eyes.

“Of course, if you did come, the compensation would be substantial.”

See?

She was hiding a dark agenda.

“I wouldn’t dream of using you as a glorified assistant… Just think of it as me helping you become a professor.”

“I don’t have any desire to become a professor just yet.”

Graduate school is out of the question.

Master’s and Doctorate, absolutely not…

“Let’s move on. The remaining procedure is a little complicated. There’s a lot to prepare, and we might run into some hiccups.”

“Tsk…”

“Focus.”

I explained the remaining steps to Felliana. It was a rather tedious and uninteresting process, so the explanation couldn’t help but be dull.

Even so, Felliana listened attentively. It was a glimpse of her determination.

“Creating the culture medium, the plates… It’s certainly complex. We even need rapeseed oil? Where on earth am I supposed to get that?”

“I’m counting on you.”

“After all this, you’d better not fail.”

She’s betting a lot on this research. Likely because it will bring her a big step closer to her goal.

“Then, I’ll go collect the bacteria.”

I left Felliana in the lab.

Time to head back to the slums.

*

Collecting the bacteria wasn’t difficult. There were quite a few patients with infectious diseases in the slums, so it was easy to obtain with just a small scrape of the skin.

I utilized Felliana’s rapport with the residents to gain their cooperation.

Felliana was noticeably taken aback when I returned in less than an hour.

“I haven’t even finished half the preparation…”

“Guess we’ll do it together.”

The preparations proceeded without a hitch.

Cultivating the *Penicillium* mold, also propagating the collected bacteria. I sure hope it’s the bacteria I think it is…

“Now we just wait.”

“That’s it?”

“No, there’s more to it. We’ve only propagated them. Extraction is another matter entirely.”

There were still things to prepare for the extraction.

“I see.”

“Good. Shall we call it a day?”

“Let’s. The sun’s coming up.”

“Oh, it is.”

Sunlight streamed in through the window.

Had so much time already passed?

Well, considering we practically built the necessary equipment ourselves, it’s no wonder it took so long.

“You’re pretty handy. You were just knocking out one thing after another.”

“Thank you.”

We exchanged meaningless small talk, and then yawned in unison.

Dark circles deeply etched. A body begging to collapse. And yet, I felt refreshed.

Is this the joy of research?

“Want to get some sleep?”

“Let’s. There’s still more to do… but I’ll do it after waking up.”

The lab building had several cots. We each grabbed one, and lay down in our own separate spaces.

Once we lay down, no more words were exchanged. We were both asleep in barely a minute.

As exhausted as we were, the sleep was long and deep. We didn’t wake until the afternoon.

“…”

We ended up skipping class again today.

It would likely be like this for almost the entire time we worked on completing the antibiotics. Less sleep, more work.

The antibiotic we needed to create wasn’t just ‘Penicillin’.

“Professor.”

“…Why Professor again.”

“You only allowed me one day to call you that.”

“Why bring it up now… Just call me by my name.”

A groggy Felliana offered up a not-unpleasant grumble.

“Felliana-ssi.”

“Good.”

Correcting myself quickly, I got straight to my request.

“There’s another room next door. Can I use it?”

“Why, to live in?”

“No, I need to make something.”

“More than you’re doing here?”

“Yes.”

To conduct proper research, one requires equipment far beyond this.

Equipment that, as yet, does not exist in this world.

“I need you to acquire some materials for me.”

[ Searching for microscope schematics. ]

[ Searching for pharmaceutical manufacturing protocols. ]

[ Searching for medical instrument fabrication. ]

[ Searching for mass production blueprints… ]

[ …… ]

[ …… ]

.

.

.

It struck me then, why I was even enduring this hardship.

Though it was all long since finished, rendering it meaningless.

“Mademoiselle Felliana.”

“Hmm?”

“Quit staring at the microscope and rise.”

“…Right.”

I gathered the equipment.

Antibiotics in various forms.

Syringes of sundry sorts for their injection.

Medical instruments for diagnosis.

I employed every ounce of my magic to expedite things; thanks to that, all fabrication was completed within three weeks.

“Finally, today’s the day.”

“So it seems.”

Felliana suffered considerably, as much as I did.

Not only procuring materials, but also assisting whenever machines were built.

After the microscope was crafted, she took on the role of observer.

“What if it doesn’t work? I’m a little nervous…”

Despite everything, Felliana seemed worried.

“We finished all the experiments.”

Even confirming stability with human trials at the end.

I, of course, was the subject.

“It will certainly work.”

I said with confidence, opening the door.

“Let us go save some lives.”