027 – Miheon’s Sleep Clinic

The time it took to hand over the doppelganger’s corpse to Professor Layton: ten minutes.

It took one hour and ten minutes after disposing of my doppelganger’s corpse to finally convince them I was healthy.

Magical Recovery Pills, two Elixirs, and the Professor’s hospital meals, and so on.

After eating that much, I barely managed to get the Professor to understand that there was no way I could be sick, and slipped away from his side.

“Ah, right.”

I’d bolted from the office, escaped back to my dorm room, and then it hit me.

I hadn’t told the Professor about the information I got from the doppelganger…

“…I’ll have to tell him next time we meet.”

…

“Another dry run, another failure.”

Looking at my cat, fast asleep, I felt a pang of disappointment that I hadn’t found the Hidden Piece today either.

Suddenly, the question arose: did I *really* need to be searching for a Hidden Piece, the existence of which wasn’t even certain?

I mean…

“I got so much for doing so little…”

Magical Recovery Pills.

Elixirs.

Precious herbs.

A dagger, and more…

“…Do I even *need* to find a Hidden Piece?!”

No.

Why *was* I searching for a Hidden Piece?

Come to think of it, the initial reason I wanted to find one was to strengthen my weak self, somehow, to please the Archmage…

“And he even gave me Magical Recovery Pills.”

At this point, I’d already proven myself, so there was no need to search for Hidden Pieces.

In that case…

“I should earn money.”

From now on, steadily amassing wealth would be more beneficial for my future.

“Excellent!”

I even had a fantastic business plan, and I would sweep up all the money within the Academy!

It was called, ‘Mihaen’s Sleep Clinic’.

Kidnapping someone and snapping my fingers for 2,000 shillings would be tempting, but I wasn’t confident that I could win if the kidnapped target tried to attack me.

So, I decided to sweep up all the money by running a cheap, specialized sleep clinic for modern people plagued by fatigue.

…

There were two things I had greatly overlooked regarding Mihaen’s Sleep Clinic.

“Hmm…”

Firstly, this wasn’t the modern era.

Back in Korea, everyone came standard-equipped with the passive skill of ‘Tiredness’, so you could pick someone at random and they’d definitely need sleep…

But here at the Academy, many nobles had servants who helped them manage their health, so there didn’t seem to be much need for a sleep clinic.

Secondly…

“I haven’t been able to sleep well lately, it’s quite a problem…”

“You’re too stressed. How about trying to relax a bit?”

“You know… family troubles…”

“Mmm… what would be good, now…”

More of an introvert than I thought.

There, right in front, an academy student in desperate need of slumber. But to approach her, to say…

‘Hello? Would you be interested in utilizing the Mihen Sleep Clinic?’

…required far too much courage. I wasn’t even sure I could actually put her to sleep. And proving who I even *was* wouldn’t be easy either.

“Hrmmm…”

Sitting on this park bench, stewing over it all, wasn’t exactly conjuring up any brilliant ideas.

‘Should I head back to my room…?’

Or maybe leave the academy and search for a decent part-time gig? But just then…

“That’s quite the troubled expression you’re wearing, isn’t it?”

A familiar female voice cut through my thoughts.

“Huh?”

I raised my head and met the gaze of the woman looking down at me.

—

Daisy Ruin (25)

[Kidnapping] – Activated

[Surveillance] – Layton Isolden

[Sleep] – Activated

—

‘This person is…?’

Daisy Ruin.

The woman I saved from almost being killed by a doppelganger just a few days ago.

‘2000 shillings!’

Also the woman from whom I *didn’t* manage to extract 2000 shillings.

“Oh…!”

If my heart had its way, I’d demand those overdue 2000 shillings right this instant. But if I asked her for money, while she remained blissfully unaware of her kidnapper’s identity…

‘Actually, *I’m* the kidnapper. Heh heh heh. What’s that? The Imperial dungeons? Please, have mercy?’

…that’s probably the kind of conversation that would follow. So I forcefully suppressed the urge to get paid.

“Ah… it’s nothing, really. Just a bit preoccupied with some thoughts.”

Responding to her question, Daisy Ruin settled down beside me on the bench, a pleased smile gracing her lips.

“Was I too forward, perhaps? I apologize if the sudden informality bothered you.”

“Ah, it’s nothing. I don’t really pay attention to such things.”

“Thank you. I just felt compelled to speak to you because you looked so burdened by worries.”

Listening to her, a touch of envy pricked at me.

If only *I* could approach someone looking weary, and brazenly say, ‘You look exhausted, wouldn’t you like me to put you to sleep?’

‘Saying things like that would be like…’

Maybe I should just keep my mouth shut.

What’s with more than half of what she says being about ending up in the imperial dungeon…

“I’m Daisy Ruin. Eldest daughter of the Ruin Earldom.”

“I am Mihean. A commoner with nothing particularly impressive to offer.”

“What? A commoner??”

“Yes. Ah… is there perhaps a problem with that?”

“No, I just… never imagined you’d be a commoner, is all…”

Hmm.

I don’t look like a commoner, you say?

Could it be that I’m quite handsome in this world, possessing features reminiscent of the aristocracy?

Subtly pleasing-.

“Ahem…”

Soon realizing it was merely flattery.

It occurred to me that at Mihean’s Sleep Clinic, I would need to offer similar pleasantries to make customers feel good.

“Thank you very much for saying so.”

“Ah… I was being somewhat sincere, well… never mind. But you see…”

“Yes, please feel free to speak your mind.”

“I don’t recall ever seeing you at the Academy? When did you enroll?”

“Ah, I haven’t officially enrolled just yet.”

“Hmm?”

“I’m an incoming freshman this year, but the Archmage took my family’s circumstances into consideration and arranged for me to stay here in advance, I suppose one could say?”

“Ah! A junior! Such a darling as my junior… I’m simply delighted!”

“Ahaha.”

One could learn a great deal from a conversation with Miss Daisy Ruin.

How to seamlessly continue a conversation with another person.

Which words put the other person at ease and lift their spirits.

Also.

“As I said earlier, our darling Mihean junior seemed to be quite burdened, so I simply wanted to ask. Was I perhaps being too forward?”

“Hmm… It is somewhat embarrassing, but truth be told, I have been troubled by something.”

“Oh my, oh my… Might I be privy to these embarrassing thoughts?”

“Ahem…!”

Approaching in such a natural manner.

If one could peel away the other person’s mental carapace through brief small talk.

Then I, too, could draw out the other person’s true feelings naturally.

“Do you know what a Sleep Clinic is?”

“What’s that?”

“There are various sleep disorders, but I specialize in helping those who suffer from insomnia, specifically…”

*

Recently, I’ve been plagued with worries.

It’s likely… due to thoughts about the man who saved me…

‘Surely, it was an Academy uniform…’

No matter how I searched among the academy students of other years,

I couldn’t find the emaciated man I’d seen that day.

‘…Was he not an academy student, then?’

Classrooms, the cafeteria, the weight room, and so on.

I wandered through most of the academy’s facilities, but couldn’t find the man from that day.

‘Are our paths just… not overlapping?’

I felt a slight pang of disappointment that I couldn’t run into him even after wandering around all day.

Especially when I’d prepared myself to hand over those 2000 shillings at any moment, and now there was no one to receive them…

“Perhaps a little stroll…”

Ultimately, with no more places to check, I took a short walk in the academy’s park, hoping to clear my head. Just then…

“Huh?”

In the distance, I spotted a familiar silhouette.

‘Found him!’

Suppressing my excited heart, I approached the man.

I had to appear as though I still didn’t know his true identity, so I needed to steer the conversation to a different topic entirely.

And just in time, the man looked as though he was wrestling with a rather deep concern…

‘I should offer to help him with his troubles to start the conversation.’

Getting into a conversation with him was easier than I’d anticipated.

…

‘A commoner, not a noble…’

To only expect a mere 2000 shillings as payment for saving a life.

I had assumed he was the offspring of some wealthy noble family…

I couldn’t believe he was just an ordinary commoner.

‘To save me…’

It was then I felt certain once more, that he hadn’t saved me for the money.

‘How…!’

Thump-thump…

While my heart was pleasantly fluttering,

“We’re here.”

He, with Mihaen, entered my dormitory room.

“Welcome…!”

I ended up alone in my room with the man who had saved me.

This was… because Mihaen had just mentioned wanting to help people sleep for a modest fee…

‘Is it finally time to get cozy in bed together?!’

My true desire was, ‘I want to sleep with you.’

But to come on that strongly from the very first meeting… perhaps that wasn’t his preference.

So, I used the excuse of wanting to experience his sleep clinic to bring Mihaen to my room.

“So, what should I do now…!”

Trying hard to conceal my trembling voice, I asked Mihaen what was required.

“Would you like to lie down on the bed comfortably?”

He told me to make myself comfortable in the bed. Without even changing into my pajamas, I found myself lying down.

“You said you haven’t been sleeping well lately, correct?”

“Y-yes…!”

*Because of you.*

*Because I can’t stop thinking about you.*

I omitted those words, but it was true I’d been losing sleep.

“I’ll help you get a good night’s rest.”

Whether Mihahn could truly lull me to sleep was a different question…

Even if I didn’t actually fall asleep, I could just pretend.

Then, tomorrow, I’d meet him and casually hand over the two thousand schillings I hadn’t been able to give him.

“Now… relax all the tension in your body, Miss Daisy Ruin.”

“Okay…”

“Take a deep breath in…”

“Whooosh…”

“And exhale.”

“Haaa…”

*Thump-thump-thump-thump*

My heart was pounding like mad.

There was no way I could fall asleep in this state, right?

“Now, close your eyes… Miss Daisy Ruin will slowly succumb to slumber.”

*Thump-thump-thump-thump!*

Certain that my wildly racing heart wouldn’t let me drift off…

“You are gradually falling asleep… from now on, Miss Daisy Ruin will gradually fall into ‘sleep’…”

I’d be satisfied just listening to his voice today—