Proper Education Incoming
Jinny.
When she was born, her parents rejoiced.
A genius of alchemy has been born!
Such words were whispered often enough, for Jinny truly was different from everyone else.
"An explosion potion? You're saying you made that?"
"Yes. But it's a failure. It's weaker than actual explosion magic."
A genius who, from the age of five, could create things no one else could manage!
Yet Jinny's true brilliance shone in recovery potions.
"A recovery potion that normally takes five years of effort… finished in just a few days. And the effect is ten times stronger, no less."
"A pain-suppressing potion? Alchemists have tried and failed at that for years, and you just… made one."
In the kingdom, when someone was injured or wounded, they turned to recovery magic or recovery potions for treatment. Recovery magic, however, was rare—those who could wield it were few, and the mana cost was enormous—so potions were the usual recourse.
"Potions aren't omnipotent. Compared to recovery magic their performance falls far short. But… with a potion made by Jinny…"
If these could be put into mass production, countless more lives would surely be saved. Even impoverished commoners would be able to heal their wounds. Jinny's parents believed that wholeheartedly.
But then—
"You're not going to make any more recovery potions?"
"Nope! I'm sick of them."
"S-sick of them…? Jinny, you're the only one who can make those. If you make them, you can save so many people's lives."
Even her parents' pleas left Jinny unmoved.
"I only want to make the things I feel like making."
As parents, listening to their daughter's wishes might have been the right thing to do. Yet because only Jinny could produce such exceptional recovery potions, they never stopped trying to persuade her.
"I am never making them again!"
That only backfired. From then on, Jinny refused to craft another recovery potion.
Still, people refused to leave her alone. They begged her to make recovery potions, and every time Jinny simply answered:
"No."
Despite her stubbornness, her teachers and parents never gave up. Even senior alchemists who found the whole spectacle distasteful decided to stick their noses in.
"I don't care how good you are at potions—what kind of alchemist refuses to make recovery potions?"
"If I don't want to make them, then I don't want to make them."
"Who the hell do you think you are?!"
That was when the bullying began. They swore they would not stop until Jinny declared she would produce recovery potions. Reporting it to the teachers achieved nothing. Her parents were no different.
If she simply made the recovery potions like a good girl, everything might return to normal. Jinny knew that. Even so, she refused.
If my heart isn't in it, all I'll produce is defective junk.
So Jinny chose to endure the bullying with stubborn resolve.
"Declare that you'll make recovery potions. Until you do, you'll never escape this situation."
"……"
"So hurry up and hand over the potions while I'm still asking nicely!"
Her body flinched and trembled. The students tormenting her were tall; that alone made her shrink even further.
This is why I hate tall people.
At least those shorter than her had never picked on her. They had never raised their hands like this.
As the senior's hand rose, Jinny squeezed her eyes shut.
That was when it happened.
"Teacher, over here!"
The cry rang out clearly.
Reina?
The only girl shorter than herself—the one person Jinny had decided would never bully her, and therefore the only one who had caught her interest. That girl's voice was echoing through the corridor.
"Doesn't look like she's even an alchemy student."
"Fall back for now. If another subject's teacher catches us, it'll just get messy."
The seniors shouted as much and fled.
Left alone, Jinny turned toward the direction of the voice. Reina, however, showed no sign of coming out.
"Reina, I know you're there."
At Jinny's words, Reina reluctantly stepped into view. She was alone. There was, of course, no teacher. Everyone at the academy wanted Jinny's recovery potions; none of them would lift a finger to help until she agreed to make them.
…Then why did Reina help me?
She didn't need to think deeply. No doubt Reina intended to use the rescue as leverage to demand recovery potions. After all, Reina had already used both Jinny's recovery potion and her pain-suppressing potion. Anyone who wasn't a complete idiot would have noticed how extraordinary those effects were.
…I only helped her that first day because she was short like me, you know.
On the very first day of enrollment Reina had been targeted as well. Another girl had intervened before it could escalate into full bullying, but still. That was the only reason Jinny had paid her any attention at all.
And that was the end of it. Even if Reina asked for recovery potions, Jinny had no intention of agreeing.
So she spoke.
"Reina, stay out of my business. Don't meddle where you're not needed."
I rescued the girl I suspected was being bullied, and the thanks I got was "don't meddle where you're not needed."
Not that I had been hoping for gratitude. I had been bullied myself once; I knew perfectly well that sometimes help from others only made things more uncomfortable. I understood the fear that interference might make everything worse.
…But that doesn't feel like what Jinny meant.
It was resignation—the look of someone who had given up on receiving help, given up on escaping the situation. Exactly like my past self.
"Not needed? What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means nothing will change even if you interfere."
Once upon a time I had thought the same. But I knew better now. Even one person—just a single person—taking an active interest and stepping in could alter everything.
"I'm used to this sort of thing. So leave me alone."
I bit my lip at Jinny's words. Having been through it myself, I knew the truth: no one ever truly gets used to being bullied. Never.
"If I just endure it, it's fine. Whatever people say to me, whatever they do—if I simply don't care, then it doesn't matter."
See? That wasn't familiarity speaking. A person who truly felt nothing would never talk about "enduring."
"Then don't care, Jinny. I'll care for you."
"Excuse me?"
Jinny stared at me as if I had grown a second head. Fair enough—I had just declared I would meddle after she had told me not to.
With Ceryll nowhere near me, the loneliness pressed in hard. To endure that solitude I needed something to throw myself into. So I decided to interfere in Jinny's life with everything I had.
I followed her around and appeared the instant anyone tried to bully her, sabotaging every attempt. At first I used the "teacher's coming" bluff; midway through they stopped falling for it, so I had no choice but to show myself openly.
"New girl! You planning to keep getting in our way?"
"Wouldn't everything be fine if the seniors simply stopped bullying Jinny?"
I met the senior's gaze without flinching. She looked utterly incredulous.
…The intimidation is no joke, though.
Whether I liked it or not I had to crane my neck upward. My own short stature was one thing, but her sheer bulk made me shrink involuntarily.
"We're doing this for the kingdom!"
"For the kingdom?"
What kind of nonsense was that?
"You at least understand how incredible the recovery potions that little freak makes are, right?"
Jinny's recovery potions. Having experienced them firsthand, I understood better than anyone.
"I know."
So what?
"If that freak would just make recovery potions, half the kingdom's disease problems would vanish! Yet she's being stubborn and refusing!"
"And?"
The senior shouted as if I were being deliberately dense.
"And so we're giving her a proper education! To fix that rotten mindset that refuses to make recovery potions…"
I didn't need to hear another word.
"Why is that the seniors' job?"
"What?"
"Let's say, for the sake of argument, that Jinny making recovery potions would be better for the world. That still doesn't give you any legitimate right to bully her, does it?"
The senior bit her lip.
"It's not bullying—it's education…"
"It's bullying. At least that's how it looks to me, and I'm certain that's how it looks to Jinny as well. Seniors, I saw you raise your hand to hit her last time."
The moment violence entered the picture, it was bullying, pure and simple.
"…We only resorted to that because the freak wouldn't listen to words. All she has to do is quietly make the potions, yet she keeps digging her heels in!"
The senior screeched. I answered with pure disbelief.
"You're the one digging your heels in."
"What?"
"She's made it clear she doesn't want to make them, yet you're still forcing her—using violence, no less."
"You…"
The senior gritted her teeth and raised her hand. I caught her wrist lightly.
"The type who resorts to fists the moment words fail, I see?"
Crack.
I applied a little pressure.
"Aaaagh! That hurts!"
"Does it hurt, senior?"
"It hurts, damn it!"
"Strange. I'm only giving you the same proper education you claimed to be giving—because you wouldn't listen to reason. Yet somehow it hurts… isn't that odd?"
She had spat out absurd logic, so I simply fed it right back to her.
"You—this is bullying…"
"You did the exact same thing."
Bullies never accept their own guilt until they experience the same treatment.
"Aaaagh! Fine, I get it—let go!"
I released her wrist.
"You… I will never forgive you for this."
"I didn't even hit you. I just held on for a second."
It wasn't a lie. Her bones were fine, and there wouldn't even be a mark.
"But senior, you're surprisingly fragile for someone so big. I figured if you spent all your time bullying Jinny instead of studying alchemy, you'd at least have some strength."
My sarcasm earned an outraged yell.
"She could at least make potions for the sake of the kingdom!"
"……"
"If just that one freak sacrifices herself, the world becomes a better place! For the many! All she has to do is break her stubbornness and make the potions!"
There was one word I hated above all others.
Sacrifice.
If the original protagonist were here, he probably would have agreed with her.
Sacrifice the few for the many. That was the original protagonist's creed—the method he used to save countless lives. In the end he did save the kingdom with that belief. Only the kingdom.
I had despised that ending of the novel more than anything.
"Senior. The only person who can decide whether to sacrifice themselves is the person involved."
It was never something outsiders got to debate.
"So never bully Jinny again, senior."