Knee Pillow
"Hahk."
He exhaled raggedly. His head was spinning. Even after blinking several times, his vision remained blurry. It was dim all around—was it the dead of night? He vaguely remembered what had happened up to a point. He'd successfully completed the practical exam and returned to his room in high spirits. The goblin corpses, the musty underground soil, and the mossy stench clinging to his shirt had been unbearable, so he'd taken it off first...
And then, nothing.
"Cough, cough."
A cough escaped him involuntarily. He wanted to say something, but all that came from his throat was the same scraping noise the goblins had made during the day. What the hell? Why is this happening?
First things first—status window.
Diagnosis ranked up from D to C.
Medicine ranked up from E to D.
Blood Test D skill unlocked.
His medicine skill had leveled up. Thanks to using it nonstop during today's practical exam. He'd dealt with real patients all day, so experience points had piled up whether he liked it or not.
"A blood test skill, huh. Wonder how far it goes."
The standard test drawn from fasting patients at hospitals was a CBC. It analyzed components like red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets, giving a broad overview of a patient's condition. It was the most basic and versatile exam. If the skill did something like that, it would let him assess patients in even more detail than diagnosis.
But why was his body in this state?
Scrolling down revealed the reason.
Talent ranked up to D.
Debuff: Continuous Stamina Drain E (growth-type, irreversible) ranked up to Continuous Stamina Drain D.
Ah, so his talent had grown, and the debuff grew with it. Great. Just great.
"Nngh."
Suddenly, a stinging sensation intensified in his stomach. It felt like stomach acid was melting his insides from within. Remaining stamina: just over 4. Max was 11. He'd used a fair bit during the exam, and the debuff had kept draining it steadily.
'Basically dying slowly, that's all.' Even the best doctors couldn't heal themselves, and diagnosis didn't work on him. Symptoms pointed to a stomach ulcer, maybe.
'The drain outpaced the candy recovery, that's how it got this bad.'
At least he'd collapsed into a comfortable position for sleeping, so the drain had been minimal while he was out. Even now, something soft and plush cradled his head comfortably.
...Huh? What was propping him up off the floor?
He slowly turned his head. Looking toward the ceiling, two glowing golden eyes stared at him intently from the darkness.
'Oh.'
His heart must've stopped for about two seconds. Good thing he was still alive.
"You're awake."
Asella's cold voice buzzed in his ear.
"Princess, why are you... cough, cough."
He couldn't finish before coughing again. Luckily, he clamped his mouth shut, sparing her face from his foul breath.
But it seemed to annoy her anyway—she furrowed her brow.
"Young master, you're coughing too?"
"Just something caught in my throat for a second."
"You were collapsed on the floor."
Was she suspicious of his condition? No good if word got out that the head physician couldn't even manage his own health. Especially not to his own patient. It would destroy professional trust.
"Me? No way. I was just so wiped from the exam that I face-planted and passed out."
"...On the floor?"
"That's comfy for me."
"While changing clothes?"
"I was that tired."
Asella narrowed her eyes, staring him down like she could see right through him.
Wait—were her knees currently under his head? How long had she been in his room?
"Princess, why is my head...?"
"Don't like it?"
If it was a matter of like or dislike, obviously not. By the feel, it was definitely her knee propping him up, and her hand was even resting on his head. Like shoving his skull into an open crocodile maw—one that had already clawed his face multiple times, at that. He wanted to get up before provoking her further, but his body had no strength.
With no response from him, Asella spoke.
"Lucy does this for me mostly."
"Who's Lucy?"
"My head maid."
Ah, the stern woman who'd impassively supervised the exam.
"I don't know how this happened, but you seem to be misunderstanding something. A lady like you entering a man's room alone isn't exactly proper."
"We're engaged."
"Well... true."
"Am I misunderstanding something?"
"The sun shines white and bright at noon, but turns sticky orange in the afternoon."
It was a metaphor: things aren't always what they seem at face value. He was signaling his body was fine.
"Why lie to me?"
"Not a lie. Even if it was, it's not something for you to worry about. A head physician's job is to ease their patient's concerns."
"...I see."
Asella seemed skeptical but accepted it, dropping the interrogation about his condition. Relief.
...
Silence fell for a moment. Then, whoosh. Asella placed a hand on his cheek and leaned down. Her cool hand felt nice. From his angle lying down, her face appeared upside down.
"Young master, want to keep going like this?"
Asella posed a question that was hard to parse. He'd stayed still too long, and she was getting bored.
He wanted to move too. He just had no strength.
"Princess, one favor?"
"What?"
"Could you grab me a candy?"
"What's the price?"
Typical princess—no freebies.
"...I'll give you one."
At his answer, Asella's lips twitched up.
"Where?"
"Ah, inside the shirt I took off. Right behind you on the bed."
"Where... wow, you have a lot. One won't break even."
"One. That was the deal."
Rustling sounds. Asella pulled out two candies and tossed one onto his chest.
"Want me to unwrap it too?"
"No way."
He couldn't even imagine what that would cost. He peeled off the wrapper and popped the candy in his mouth. Sweet honey flavor filled it, and text appeared: stamina increasing. It offset the drain for now, but he needed another way to recover more.
"So this is the taste."
Before he knew it, Asella had one in her mouth too. Click, clack—it rolled between her teeth.
"Like it?"
"No, I hate sweets."
Me too, originally.
"Still, this one's decent. Special flavor since I stole it from you."
"Glad you're satisfied."
Her mindset was something else. This notorious villainess sure enjoyed theft, plunder, and others' suffering.
Asella pulled the candy from her mouth with a pop and dangled it in front of his eyes, shaking it.
"If I take something precious and don't finish it, won't your sense of loss be huge?"
"Absolutely."
So if it made her happy, fine by him. Sure enough, she looked like she was fighting back a laugh at his response.
"So what should I do with this?"
"If you're throwing it away, give it to me. Waste not."
Asella flinched, pulling her head back slightly.
"...You want to eat something I had in my mouth again?"
"I like the candy."
"No."
She said it firmly and snatched it back to her chest. Tossing it, but not to him. Fair enough. Do what you want.
...More rustling. Asella was carefully repackaging the candy.
What are you doing?
"Young master."
"Yes."
"The exam?"
"Made it to the final candidates."
"Of course you did."
Asella said it matter-of-factly and tucked the candy into her dress's inner pocket.
"Nngh."
The sugar was finally giving him a bit of strength, so he decided to sit up.
"Princess, it's dinnertime. Shouldn't you head to the evening banquet?"
He suggested politely, but she didn't budge.
"Princess?"
"Wait."
She held out her palm toward him. He wasn't Max—what made her think he'd wait like a loyal dog? Well, for now, he kinda had to.
"Why not get up?"
"I said wait."
Looking closer, Asella's leg was twitching. Her little toe wiggled restlessly, unable to settle.
Her leg had fallen asleep.
"Princess, in cases like this, massage from the upper thigh down for quicker relief. Here, follow my posture. Slowly extend your knee while leaning your upper body forward and..."
"Get out of the room, young master."
"It's my room."
"...Then at least put on some clothes!"
Asella whipped her head away and shouted. Trouble. She'd entered the irritated phase. Whatever it was, he'd messed up big time. Push her further, and his head was gone. He snatched his shirt and bolted from the room like a fugitive.
He sent Asella ahead to the evening banquet. In the meantime, he reworked the rose candies overall. At his current level, enhancement wouldn't boost recovery—the ingredients were too weak. So he used property change to alter some rose extract components, then enhanced them. Changes were probabilistic, so he gacha'd multiple times.
And then—jackpot.
(Refined, modified, synthesized)
Extremely sweet!
Effect:Recovers 0.6 stamina lost to internal bleeding over 6 hours.
Finally, a candy that could cover his stamina drain. He'd wasted twenty precious ones in the process, but he could make more. The drain would only increase from here.
"Whatever, I'll just keep recovering stamina."
Regular sugar boosts weren't bad. Just gotta watch for diabetes.
Treating himself sparked one curiosity.
"What's Asella's debuff?"
Diagnosis would reveal it easily, but as a non-official head physician, he couldn't use skills on her casually. Magic-sensitive Asella would notice immediately. And his low diagnosis rank might not even pinpoint it accurately.
"Talents come with a price. Remove the debuff..."
And the talent vanishes too. His own incurable state made it a slim chance, but if possible, it could erase multiple bad endings at once. Weaker magic meant fewer catastrophes she could cause.
"But first, I gotta become her head physician."
The final exam was tomorrow. For tonight, time for a good rest.