The Price of a Smile
Damn, it hurts like hell...... It was a much deeper gash than the scratch I’d gotten while sparring with the class rep last time. Yoon Siwoo seemed to be struggling with a fair amount of guilt, perhaps because he was the one who’d left the mark on my hand. Honestly, it wasn’t entirely his fault—I was the one who’d tried to block a blade with my bare hand, after all. So, I gave him a casual nod and told him not to worry about it.
"Don't worry about it."
When I said that, he gave me this look like he was about to cry—typical of a protagonist, always so overflowing with a sense of justice. Seriously, I told him not to worry, yet he still makes that face.
I managed to peel off my protective gear with one hand, clutched the area around the wound, and started walking. I caught a glimpse of a color that wasn't just red near the injury, so I tried my best not to look at it. Usually, when you get hurt like this, staring at it just makes the pain worse...
Last time, one of my classmates had been able to use a simple healing spell to patch me up, but this one looked like it was beyond that level of treatment.
"I'm going to head to the infirmary."
I told Eve, and judging by the way she looked at me—a student of hers dripping blood—her expression wasn't exactly pleasant.
When I opened the door to the infirmary, the school nurse was, once again, leaning back in her chair, dozing off. As I stepped inside, she must have sensed my presence because she jolted awake, looking startled.
"I wasn't sleeping! I wasn't sleeping, teacher! I was just... meditating for a moment!"
Seeing her "meditating" every time I walk in, I’m starting to think she’s on the verge of becoming a 9th-Circle Archmage. The fact that her reaction was so strikingly similar to last time suggests she hasn't just been slacking off for a day or two. She must be doing something behind the scenes, but whenever I see her, she’s always napping. It really makes me wonder if being a school nurse is actually the easiest job in the world.
The nurse wiped away a bit of drool, stared blankly for a second, and then her eyes went wide when she saw me. Maybe it was because the girl she thought was just a gag character—the one who’d collapse after smoking—had just walked in with her hand bleeding profusely.
She looked at my hand, then at my face, and asked with a dubious expression, "You... are you okay?"
I’m bleeding like this—do I look okay? A bit dumbfounded, I asked back in a small voice, "Do I look okay to you?"
"No, not at all. First, give me your hand. I'll treat it."
As I held out my hand, the nurse applied pressure to my arm, wiped the blood away with gauze, and pulled out a bottle of saline to wash the wound. Then, she placed her hand over the injury, and it began to knit together slowly. Was this magic, too? It was fascinating to watch the gaping wound close up bit by bit.
Still, she did all the standard stuff like stopping the bleeding and disinfecting it. After seeing Eve’s illusion magic, this oddly realistic treatment felt out of place. In a fantasy world, shouldn't it be a quick *poof* with a healing spell or a potion? That’s what the healing spell my classmate used last time felt like.
Curious, I asked the nurse while my wound was healing, "The healing spell my classmate used last time was super fast. Can't you do it like that?"
"It's not impossible, but unless it's an emergency, it's much better to use magic that boosts your natural healing ability rather than a spell that forces a full recovery all at once. Healing magic isn't a panacea; sometimes the wound can fester from the inside due to bacterial infection, and if you keep receiving healing magic, your body gets used to it and your natural recovery rate drops. Plus, mages with the skill to heal a major wound in one go are rare to begin with."
Seeing her answer so thoroughly while casting her spell, she felt like a true expert, completely different from the image I had of her earlier. Well, being a teacher at Aegis meant she was an elite, after all. Even if they weren't on Eve's level, everyone here had to be an expert in their own field.
Still, the idea that relying on healing magic would make my body stop trying to heal itself was terrifying. Doesn't that mean I’d naturally develop something like hemophilia? People are dying left and right in this world—no, let's stop thinking about that.
Once the wound vanished, leaving only a faint red tint, the nurse bandaged my hand and said, "It might look healed, but it could easily tear open again, so don't do anything that puts strain on your hand for a while."
After saying that, she met my eyes and added in a concerned tone, "I also offer counseling, so if there's anything you want to talk about, feel free to come by anytime."
Counseling alone with the school nurse... that sounded a bit suggestive. I stopped my brain from spiraling into a delusion, nodded, and left the infirmary.
When I returned to the classroom, it was break time, so all eyes were on me. The class rep approached me with eyes full of worry and asked if I was alright.
"I'm perfectly fine."
I waved my hand, which had no wound but was lightly bandaged, back and forth to show her.
"...I see. If you're struggling, please make sure to tell me."
The class rep seemed strangely disappointed. ...Are they all hoping I’m *not* okay? Why does their expression sour whenever I say I'm fine? I don't get it.
I stopped thinking about it, sat in my seat, and spent an hour blankly listening to the "Good Morning" song until it was lunchtime. I’d emptied my stomach earlier that morning and lost a lot of blood, so I asked the cafeteria staff for a large portion. I received a plate piled high with food, and remembering the nurse's advice not to strain my hand, I carried the tray with my uninjured right hand. I felt Yoon Siwoo watching me.
I suppose it’s strange to see someone eat this much. I’d always wondered how women managed to fit a full meal and dessert into their small bodies, but now that I’ve become one, I finally understand. It just keeps going in, doesn't it? Even if I’m not particularly hungry, it feels like my capacity to eat has actually increased.
As I was busy shoveling food into my mouth, I noticed Sylvia’s ears twitching. I reflexively suppressed the urge to bolt toward the cafeteria shop. From the moment her ears twitched, I knew Sylvia was strangely conscious of me.
Trying to buy her a macaron now would likely result in her refusing it, or worse, backfiring entirely. Was there any other way? A way to give Sylvia a macaron... If I just tried to buy and hand it to her like this, she would never accept it. I had to rack my brain to prevent the "Sylvia Coin" from being delisted.
Pa-pa-pa, pa-pa, pa-pa-pa-pa, Good Morning~
Ah, seriously! It was impossible to think while listening to this "Pa-pa-pa" song. It was worse than hearing "Ring Ding Dong" the day before an exam...
Feeling stifled, I headed up to the rooftop, where I found Leonor. Is she some kind of resident rooftop NPC? It was a location that suited her appearance perfectly, at least.
I deliberately took a seat far away from her, but for some reason, she noticed me and slid over to my side. I thought she was a stationary NPC, but she actually moves? I felt like I should have had an exclamation mark pop up over my head and shout, "Battle!" when our eyes met, but since the BGM was "Good Morning," I decided against it.
Leonor leaned her back against the railing next to me and started a conversation. "You seem to be in a good mood today. Something happen?"
In a good mood? Oh, right. I was smiling. Today was "Smile Evande" mode. Huh, I feel like I had this exact conversation this morning. I answered while listening to the lyrics echoing in my head.
"Just... the day is beautiful."
"The weather is nice today, sure. Anyway, try smiling like that more often. It’s a waste to have such a cute face and keep it expressionless all the time."
Leonor said with a smirk. As expected of a blonde-tanned delinquent type, her flirting game was natural. Even if she was a girl herself.
While I was thinking that, I saw Leonor pull a mana-herb from her pocket and put it in her mouth. As soon as I saw it, I instinctively reached out with my right arm and lit it for her. She gave me a nod of thanks, let out a dry laugh, and started smoking the herb. The smell was as good as ever...
After sniffing the air for a moment, I asked her, "Senior, how much for one of those?"
"This? Hmm... about 3,000 gold per stick?"
That's insanely expensive...! To think something that small is worth three "host" units... But... but I didn't pay my "friendship fee" today, so wouldn't it be fine?
"I'll pay you, so give me one too."
"I don't really need the money... but fine. Don't inhale it all at once like last time, okay?"
Leonor handed me a stick with a playful warning. I have no intention of creating another self-inflicted dark history. I took it, put it in my mouth, lit it with my right hand, and inhaled the smoke.
Sigh, whoo...
Slowly, the smoke from the mana-herb lingered in my lungs before drifting out. Once I inhaled, the tension in my face melted away; twice, and the song echoing in my head quieted down. Ha... the effect is incredible, really.
"...Hey, are you okay?" Leonor asked from beside me, her voice laced with concern.
Am I okay? I’m not. My brain, which I’d been trying to force into a haze, was now wide awake and buzzing, which was a bit rough. But, maybe this was for the better right now.
I inhaled and exhaled the smoke. My head, cleared of the song, began to spin. Sylvia, macarons, 3,000 gold, the cost of the mana-herb, money, Leonor. Cooking club, part-time job, 100,000 gold.
I laughed inwardly as a plan began to take shape in my mind. The laugh was a mix of self-derision, mockery, and a bitter chuckle. What a piece of trash I am.
Even while mocking myself, my brain was already calculating the possibilities. If I wasn't going to do it, I wouldn't have thought about it in the first place. Having made up my mind, I turned to Leonor.
"By any chance, are you free after school today?"
What kind of expression was I wearing as I said that?