Chapter 18
Chapter 18
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Something Only I Can Do
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Around the time Rain Ortiz headed to the slums, Rachel Arte, who had been conducting her research alone...
"Is that really true?"
She had just heard the news that her prized student had skipped class.
"...That's unexpected."
"Well, damn. I had such high expectations for this once-in-a-century genius."
The one who brought the news was Professor Cecil from the Knight Department.
Rachel was quite surprised.
The Knight Department's classes were scheduled only once a week, and she never imagined he'd skip that one.
'Is he feeling overwhelmed?'
In truth, the expectations placed on Rain lately did seem excessively high.
No matter how much of a genius he was, Rain was just a fresh-faced twenty-year-old newbie. And physical training was a completely different field from what he'd done before...
It was understandable if he wanted to avoid it.
"...As his supervising professor, I'll have a talk with him. Thank you for letting me know, Professor Cecil."
"Sure thing. Take good care of him. You seem really fond of that student."
Professor Cecil let out a sigh and took her leave.
Cecil wasn't the type to meddle with students. She didn't care if they skipped class or half-assed their assignments.
The fact that she'd gone out of her way to tell her meant she felt regretful about it too.
"I wonder if he's in the dorm."
Rachel immediately stopped her research.
She threw on a light coat and used spatial leap magic to teleport to the dorm where Rain was staying.
Knock knock.
"Student Rain."
Knock knock.
"...Student Rain?"
What was this?
Why no response?
No way he'd be asleep at this hour.
"Student Rain? You in there?"
The academy dorms didn't have soundproofing.
If he was inside, he'd hear it, and Rain would come out.
But he didn't.
Was he out?
Rachel left the dorm with listless steps.
Yeah...
Rain needed a breather sometimes too. He wasn't in the dorm, so he must be wandering outside the academy.
"Is it my fault?"
The thought suddenly struck her.
Maybe she hadn't been considerate enough of someone who hated the spotlight.
But it was also true that she didn't want to let him go.
Rachel fell into deep contemplation.
"...Looks like I need the counseling."
Her emotions were a tangled mess.
She had no idea how to handle Rain.
It was the first time she'd ever been this invested in a student, so it was only natural.
In the end, Rachel decided just to confirm where Rain was.
"Ugh."
But she couldn't find him even after the sun went down.
Rachel decided to head back to her lab for now.
She wouldn't get any research done like this, but she couldn't just do nothing either.
Whish-
It was then.
"...A messenger pigeon?"
A small pigeon was circling above Rachel's head.
It slowly descended and perched on her finger.
As expected, there was a paper tied to its leg.
"This is..."
Video paper.
A type of magic tool that could record and send video, just like its name implied.
Who could it be from?
Rachel unfolded the paper.
A purple-haired woman and...
A black-haired man.
Somehow, familiar silhouettes.
...
What the hell is this?
Rachel's hand began to tremble.
The video cut off there.
Rachel froze in place.
Then she tore the video paper to shreds...
"Pelliana Miron."
"Never thought she'd stoop so low...!"
"Think that did the trick?"
"You even got a promise for top marks, right? Just say the word—no issues."
"Yeah, Professor Rachel would understand."
I felt a twinge of worry about skipping class like this.
But it was Professor Rachel. She'd probably be fine with it.
"Never knew a place like this existed."
"It's not exactly a secret... but yeah, no one really comes here."
A somewhat modest building caught my eye, located far from the academy.
Apparently, this was Professor Pelliana's private lab for developing new drugs.
No decorations whatsoever, not a single useless item in sight.
A space built purely for research.
I let out a small sigh of admiration as I stepped inside.
"Pretty much anything you need should be here. Use whatever you want..."
Professor Pelliana turned on the lighting magic tool and asked,
"So, what's this other method you mentioned?"
I paused for a moment before firing back with a question of my own.
"What do you think causes people to get sick?"
This was a fantasy world, but it was also 'medieval.'
Compared to the 'modern' world I'd lived in, their level of common knowledge was lower.
So, what did they think caused illness here?
"...Nothing's been figured out yet. We don't know where it comes from or what causes it."
Exactly.
They wielded magic and swordsmanship, but they were sorely lacking in 'medicine.'
Disease was an unknown terror, so they just believed in curses or divine punishment.
"The cause is closer than you think."
The cause of disease.
Most of it is infection. Over 90% are infections caused by bacteria.
In the modern world, this is basic knowledge—a minor illness.
But to the people in this medieval fantasy who didn't know how to deal with it, it was different. Plenty of them would die from these trivial sicknesses.
"Professor, no matter what I say from here on out, can you believe me?"
Until now, people outside my sight had been completely off my radar.
I'd never had reason to go to the slums, never witnessed people dying from the poor medical system.
Out of sight, out of mind.
Like not thinking about things you haven't learned, I'd lived indifferently all this time.
I liked normalcy.
I didn't want to be some protagonist.
But now that I'd seen so much, I couldn't ignore it anymore.
That was the only reason I'd changed my mind.
Because it was something only I could do.
"I'll believe you."
Professor Pelliana answered.
I gave a small smile and explained everything to her.
Bacteria.
Infection.
And the existence of antibiotics.
I believed a professor could understand, so I explained in as much detail as possible.
After hearing me out, Professor Pelliana fell silent for a while.
She squeezed her eyes shut and furrowed her brow, as if it was hard to accept.
I waited quietly.
"I said I'd believe you, but..."
It took about ten minutes before Professor Pelliana spoke again.
"It's really hard to believe."
"I figured as much."
"How did you discover these bacteria?"
A tricky question.
I answered as calmly as I could.
"Because I don't believe in curses or divine punishment."
Truthfully, I couldn't explain the process of discovery.
There were no microscopes here. How could I claim to discover something undiscovered?
So I needed a substitute answer.
"All living things start to rot after they die. No exceptions. I'm convinced there's something that causes life to rot."
Not 100% convincing, but enough to get past it for now.
"It also makes sense why healing potions don't work on the same lifeforms."
Once infection sets in, healing potions are useless.
They'd just regenerate the bacteria inside the body too. Same with elixirs.
"If we develop a drug that kills only bacteria, we could reduce diseases a lot."
Damn, my brain's not turning fast enough.
How do I explain it convincingly without it sounding weird?
Is this the best I can do?
"So, it's all just a hypothesis?"
"...Yes."
"Alright, I'll believe you."
"Pardon?"
Unlike the worries flooding my mind in that instant, Professor Pelliana calmly accepted it.
"How could I keep up with a genius's brain?"
Professor Pelliana approached me.
She took off my academy uniform jacket, folded it neatly, and hung it on a rack.
"You said you'd help me, but now it feels like I'm the one helping you?"
She let out a smirk.
It was the first genuine smile I'd seen from her.
"So call me Pelliana instead of Professor. Just for today."
Her nonchalant tone made her seem far from a professor.
To me, Pelliana had been the person I hated most.
I'd been wronged by her, so it made sense.
...But not anymore.
She was a good person.
Someone with true humanity, who worked for others.
"Can I really call you by your name?"
"I said you can."
"Then... just for today, Pelliana."
"Good."
Pelliana stretched languidly. Looked like we were starting now.
Time to brace myself.
This wasn't something an AI could speed through just because it existed.
Wonder how many all-nighters we'd pull...
"To make antibiotics, we need one thing."
"What?"
Antibiotics are special drugs harmless to multicellular organisms like humans but deadly to bacteria.
And for that, there's one 'organism' we absolutely must culture.
I spoke in a somewhat grave tone.
"Blue mold."