The Saint's Banquet and the Student's Inquiry
"Director Shun...?"
"From the Merkur Merchant Guild...?"
"Did he really come in person?"
A buzz of murmurs filled the room. Quinine. The terrible fever that had slowly pushed back the imperial southern front, and the new medicine that had stopped it. To the public, Director Shun was famous as the man who had created that miracle drug. As soon as such a director appeared, the students began to whisper among themselves. However, not all students reacted that way.
'Why are they so surprised?' Valeria tilted her head. The scholarship officer had sent the invitation. The scholarship officer had said he would host the banquet. Then wasn't it natural for the scholarship officer to come?
Beside her, Ayla wore a similar expression. "Sister, why is everyone so surprised?"
"I don't know."
The sisters whispered in voices too low for others to hear. But before long, Valeria realized why the other students were reacting this way.
"I didn't think he'd come himself."
"I naturally thought a representative would come."
"I thought a butler would come."
Valeria's ears perked up. A representative. Right. Come to think of it, it was common for a representative to come in such situations. It was something she had experienced often while attending the Academy's middle school division. Nobles or the wealthy often dealt with commoners through representatives. So, it was natural to think Director Shun would be the same.
'I didn't think of that.' The reason Valeria and Ayla hadn't thought of it was simple. Before coming to the banquet, their mother had been the one to get overly excited first. 'Mother...' Realizing that fact, Valeria gave a bitter smile to herself.
The murmurs of the scholarship students did not subside easily. Director Shun waited for the students in silence. Only then did the students realize they were being rude and shut their mouths. Under the shadow of his fedora, the corners of Director Shun's mouth drew a faint curve.
"You don't need to be nervous. I'll say it again: the protagonists of today are you. It's fine, so if you have anything you'd like to say, please feel free to speak without hesitation."
His low, soft voice permeated every corner of the room. The students' shoulders dropped a little.
Just then, "Th-that... if so..."
A boy carefully raised his hand. It was Karl, the swordsmanship student who had caused the knife accident earlier. His gaze turned toward Julian. "If... if it's not too much trouble, may I ask one thing?"
"Of course. Please, speak comfortably."
"Th-then, if so..."
Karl's gaze fell away from Julian. He fixed his eyes on the red-haired woman who wore a woman's suit coat over her shoulders like a cape and said, "By any chance, how old is your bodyguard?"
"I'll answer that for the Director instead. She's not even a year or two older than you."
"Then, by any chance, I'd like to ask which master she studied under. Her movements just now were truly incredible."
In the world of swordsmanship and magic, skill was lineage. Of course, there were students who built their foundations from the Academy up. But true masters usually inherited secret techniques passed down from master to master, ancestor to ancestor. Because of this, children of prestigious swordsmanship or magic families sometimes didn't enter the Academy until they were in the high school division. It was not uncommon for a supernova to suddenly appear in the academic department (the course following the high school division) for this reason.
'With movements like that, it's not impossible that she's a high-ranking disciple of a famous school or a descendant of a prestigious knight family.' Karl clearly remembered Erika's aura from just a moment ago. Unlike himself, who had to focus just to manifest it, Erika was handling aura as if she were breathing. She must be at a level far higher than Karl, the runner-up of the swordsmanship department. That was why Karl couldn't help but be curious about the master who had made Erika that way.
"..."
However, Erika, who received Karl's question, tilted her head. That was because she had no master. Naturally, she had no school either. No, wait. She learned aura from Wangcho, so was Wangcho her master? But while she might count Department Head Shen, who taught her magic, it felt somewhat awkward to call that gang boss a master.
In the end, after much deliberation, she spat out one word.
"...Actual combat."
"Pardon?"
"In Limbus Pit, I learned through actual combat."
It wasn't a lie. The way Wangcho taught aura was always through actual combat. He would throw her into factional wars without warning and only protect her enough so she wouldn't die; that was Wangcho's way of teaching aura. Thanks to that, Erika had been able to reach the level of using aura as if she were breathing.
However, Erika's answer unintentionally left Karl stunned.
"Through actual combat...?"
Without an Academy, a school, or a master. It meant she had reached that level solely through actual combat. Karl's mouth shut tight. He had held a sword since he was a child and grew up hearing that he was talented. Sometimes, he had even inwardly mocked children who were born in better environments than him but still fell behind him. The man who had been like that now couldn't say a word. Erika had surpassed Karl's level through more blood-sweating effort in a much harsher environment. And at this age, she had been recognized for her skills and taken the seat beside Director Shun.
'...I was arrogant.' Karl realized his own arrogance. He had been too puffed up by the fact that Director Shun had noticed him. If he weren't careful, he might have become drunk on that arrogance and neglected his efforts. 'I'm truly glad I had this meeting today.' Karl clasped his fists together in a salute.
"I have learned much! Big Sister!"
Erika tilted her head as if she didn't understand Karl's sudden reaction. But following the etiquette ingrained in her body, Erika returned the salute.
"Yeah, well. I'm glad it helped."
Though the etiquette hadn't perfectly stuck to her mouth yet.
Around the time the conversation between Erika and Karl ended, Julian suddenly rose from his seat.
"Excuse me for a moment."
The students' gazes turned to Julian in unison.
"I have a schedule for a moment. Please, make yourselves comfortable."
As Julian headed toward the door, Erika followed him up. At the door, Julian looked back once.
"I will return when the appetizer is served."
With a soft smile, the two left the room.
Creak.
The door closed. And,
"Phew..."
Someone let out a long breath. That served as a signal, and the students began to open their mouths one by one.
"Ah, I thought I was going to die from the tension."
"Me too... I was even careful about breathing."
"But he's not as scary as I thought. His voice is nice, too."
Murmurs rose among the students. With Julian and Erika gone, it finally felt like they could breathe.
"But is it okay to talk like this?"
One student raised a question. To this, Karl answered the student's self-talk.
"I've eaten with nobles a few times, so I know, but usually in cases like this, they leave the seat so we can talk comfortably."
"Then how long can we talk?"
"Probably until the appetizer comes out."
"Oh, is this noble etiquette? Where did you learn things like this?"
"The swordsmanship department has a practical training course where we escort political science students during lectures. I learned it there."
"Wow, so is a knight your goal?"
"For now. Just in case, if there's anyone who doesn't know the etiquette, I'll check them."
Karl began to quickly teach the contents to the children who didn't know dining etiquette. Even the children who had initially been wary of what Karl's intentions were gradually opened their hearts to his cheerful voice and enthusiastic teaching. Naturally, Karl had become the center of the scholarship students.
While some students were receiving a crash course from Karl, Valeria interacted with a few students. Most were students from departments with similar tendencies to Valeria's Department of Diplomacy and Economics, who preferred playing with pens over moving their bodies.
"Wow, to think I'm having a meal with Director Shun."
A male student opened his mouth with an exclamation. Valeria recalled that the male student was a student in the Department of Military Science. Furthermore, he was a second-year high school student, the oldest in this group. The male student, who had a bear-like build, had broader shoulders and a thicker voice than Karl from the swordsmanship department.
'He looks like he should be a general, not an officer...' While Valeria was harboring such thoughts, the military science student began to preach the greatness of Director Shun to the students.
"You've all heard of the Quinine story, right?"
"Yeah. They say because of that, the front lines were able to be maintained again? It's a great medicine."
However, the military science student shook his head, saying that wasn't what was important.
"No. What's great isn't the effect of Quinine."
"Then what's great about it?"
"He cut the price in half so that even the lowest-ranking soldiers could easily use that Quinine. And he did that even while giving up his own shares."
The military science student turned his head toward Valeria. "You said you were in the Department of Economics, right? Then, do you learn about the profits Director Shun has given up so far?"
"Would I learn something like that?"
"Still, you can calculate it roughly, right?"
"Hmm..."
Valeria let out a hum and did a rough mental calculation. If the price of one Quinine was approximately 4,000 Marks. And considering that the commission fee when selling patent rights to a guild was usually about 4 percent...
"Well? There are too many variables to calculate, so mental math is difficult. Still, it seems he gave up roughly the average income of a Baron's family."
"Look! That's the kind of person he is!"
The bear student began to preach the greatness of Director Shun with fervor. "He even developed Insulin and vaccines!"
Heat was added to the military science student's voice. "The very fact that we are having a meal with him right now is a miracle!"
At the big brother's long speech, the students nodded, saying, "Oh, I see."
Just then, a small voice cut in. "B-but... I don't think the Director made the medicine alone."
The students' gazes gathered in the direction the small voice came from. Where the gazes gathered, there was a female student wearing glasses. Ellie, the top student of the high school division's Department of Alchemy. She seemed conscious of the gazes gathered on her and shrank back slightly.
"Ah, no. I mean..." Her fingers fiddled with the eyeglass frames. "Quinine is right. Director Shun must have developed it himself. There's a thesis, and the manufacturing patent is also in his name. He also grew the company with that."
"That's right."
"But..." Ellie's voice became a little smaller. "It's... d-difficult to see it as him making Insulin or vaccines all by himself."
The military science student's eyebrows went up. It was a reaction as if to ask if she dared to insult the great person he respected.
"What are you trying to say?"
Ellie shrank her shoulders even more. But even so, her mouth didn't stop. "O-oh, don't misunderstand. I'm n-not saying Director Shun took someone else's research results."
"Then?"
"Th-that is, alchemy isn't that simple."
Ellie's gaze fell onto the table. It seemed difficult for her to make eye contact with anyone.
"Quinine is in the infectious disease category. But Insulin is a completely different area. It's on the blood physiology side... The department is completely different."
"..."
"For one person to create new medicines in such different fields at the same time... it's not theoretically impossible, but realistically..."
Her words trailed off. Silence descended. Ellie's shoulders hunched. '...Ah.' Regret surged. It was a conversation that had been flowing well. There was no need to intervene. But out of greed to become friends, she had ended up forcing herself to speak.
'Did I say something useless?' She glanced around from behind her glasses. The military science student's expression was strangely stiff. The other students were also in an awkward atmosphere. Ellie's fingers fiddled with her eyeglass frames again.
At that moment, as if picking up on Ellie's words, Valeria opened her mouth. "That's true. I think so too."
Ellie looked up. Valeria continued, wetting her lips with the pre-meal drink. "Do you know how fast the Merkur Merchant Guild has grown in the last few years?"
Valeria's voice was calm. "It usually takes several years to develop one new medicine. But Merkur is releasing several new medicines every 2 to 3 years. They even said he releases physiology papers in his spare time, right?"
"...Th-that's right."
Ellie's eyes sparkled. Director Shun was famous for his medicine, but in the Department of Alchemy, he was a person even more famous for his groundbreaking research results. Of course, if you don't clarify the principles, you can't make medicine, so it was natural if it was natural. Ellie felt a sense of familiarity with Valeria before she knew it, because a student from another department knew that fact.
Valeria, who read Ellie's thoughts, continued with a bitter smile. "This isn't work one person can do alone. There has to be a team."
Valeria tapped the table with her finger. "Director Shun probably raised funds with Quinine and used that money to recruit excellent alchemists. It's likely a structure where he oversees and sets the direction, while the team is in charge of detailed development."
At Valeria's words, the military science student also lowered his eyes and stroked his chin. "Ah... The military is similar, too. It's not that the general wins the war alone, because there's a staff."
"Right. Originally, big organizations all run like that, don't they? That's what you meant, right? Ellie?"
Ellie nodded enthusiastically. Seeing that reaction, the military science student's gaze softened considerably. "What, so that's what you meant."
"S-sorry. Director Shun is still a great person, that remains the same."
"That's true. No matter how great the staff is, the greatness of a master general doesn't fade."
The atmosphere softened again. Ellie glanced at Valeria. '...Thank you.' She didn't say it in words, but gratitude was contained in her eyes. Valeria shrugged her shoulders slightly.
Just then, one student suddenly raised a question. "By the way, how old is Director Shun?"
"Hmm... well? Still, he would have at least graduated from the Department of Alchemy or the Department of Healing..."
"His tone also seemed to have more experience than our instructors..."
"He looked a bit young?"
"Isn't he an elf or an elf half-breed?"
"That's right. We have one instructor like that at our school, and he's very short. He always says he's only 96 years old."
"Then that means he could be older than he looks?"
The conversation about Director Shun's age continued. The older Director Shun's presumed age was, the more Valeria felt that Ayla was strangely disappointed. She didn't know the reason, though.
Before long, when the age of Director Shun was compromised among the students to about an 80-year-old elf half-breed.
Creak.
The door opened again. "I apologize for making you wait."
With a soft voice, Julian and Erika entered the room. Behind them, waiters entered in a line. On silver trays, transparent golden soup and very small blinis were placed. While the food was being placed on each table, a man in a white uniform stepped forward. He appeared to be the chef.
"Today's appetizer is truffle consommé. It is beef broth simmered at low temperature for 24 hours, with this year's first harvested black truffles added to infuse the aroma..."
The students held their breath. They didn't know many of the words, but they could tell it was an amazing dish.
"The blini was baked with buckwheat flour and yogurt. If you eat it with the consommé, the flavor becomes even deeper."
The chef bowed lightly and stepped back. Valeria carefully picked up her spoon. From the steam rising over the golden broth, the scents of mushrooms and beef mingled and flowed out. Valeria's eyes widened.
"Waaa..."
Beside her, Ayla also let out a low exclamation. It was because it was such a deep taste for the sisters who had eaten food consisting of oats, pigeons, and sausages. It was hard to describe, but 'This... is the taste of truly fresh ingredients...' She could assert that it was the most delicious food Valeria had ever eaten.
Valeria slowly took a second spoonful. While the meal progressed like that, Valeria's gaze naturally turned toward Julian.
"..."
At first, she had glanced sideways to match her speed, recalling the etiquette of matching the host's meal pace. But once she started looking, she couldn't take her eyes off him. Julian's hand moved, and his knife sliced the blini. And when he put one piece in his mouth, the food left on the plate was still beautiful. It was gradually changing from the shape the chef had plated, but that beautiful form was being maintained.
Valeria looked down at her own plate. The half-eaten blini was already hard to recognize in shape. The caviar she had touched with her spoon was scattered here and there. The other students' plates were the same. The more they ate, the more the shape was ruined. Valeria thought it was unavoidable while eating. However, looking at Julian's plate, she had no choice but to change her mind.
'Is this the true difference in class with the upper class...' As his plate emptied, the remaining food looked even more neat. It was a meal only possible if one perfectly understood what intention the chef had when decorating this dish. Valeria stared blankly while holding her spoon. Is the etiquette beautiful? Is the atmosphere beautiful? Or is it all mixed together? But one thing was certain: her scholarship officer was a more perfect person than she thought.
'I too...' I too want to become an upper-class person like that. Just as such a small longing was blooming in Valeria's heart, as the meal progressed to a certain extent, Julian opened his mouth.
"Shall we talk comfortably?"
Julian wiped his mouth with a napkin. A soft voice came from beyond that napkin.
"Don't be stiff, and if you have any questions, ask me anything."
The students looked at each other. Who would open their mouth first? In that silence, '...Now is the time.' Ellie quietly inhaled. Her fingers fiddled with her eyeglass frames. It was a habit that came out when she was nervous. 'I have to ask.' The conversation she had with Valeria earlier grazed her mind. Director Shun's specialty is in the infectious disease category. It's highly likely he received help from other alchemists for Insulin. If so, if she asks a deep question about Insulin, Director Shun might not be able to answer perfectly.
'But even so.' Ellie didn't want to miss this opportunity. Insulin. A miracle drug for diabetes patients. However, among recent alchemy department papers, cases of death from heart attack after Insulin administration were being reported cautiously. Ellie had also heard about those cases in class. And while learning this, she had a few questions. It was still just her own hypothesis, but if she could confirm it with Director Shun...
'It's an opportunity to imprint myself on the Director.' To be honest, there was also a calculation. This seat is an opportunity that might not come again. To imprint herself as a person among the ten scholarship students, she had to raise her voice now. She had to ask a question, have a conversation, and leave an impression. It didn't matter even if Director Shun couldn't give a perfect answer. Rather, that was natural. Because it wasn't a shameful thing to show limits in a field that wasn't one's major. What was important was the question itself. As the top student of the Department of Alchemy, showing that she was studying. '...Let's go.' Ellie raised her hand.
"Um."
Her voice came out smaller than she thought. The students' gazes gathered. Ellie's shoulders shrank slightly, but this time she didn't back down.
"May I ask one thing?"
Julian nodded. "Of course. Please, comfortably."
"It's about Insulin..."
"Yes. To be preparing a question about Insulin at that age already. You must have studied hard."
"Hehe..."
No. This isn't it. Ellie's fingers fiddled with her eyeglass frames again.
"I heard in class, recently cases of death from heart attack after Insulin administration are being reported. B-by any chance..."
Ellie inhaled. Julian quietly waited for Ellie. Thanks to that consideration, Ellie was able to continue speaking again.
"By any chance... is it a side effect you are aware of... and do you have any improvement plans for that side effect... may I ask?"
Silence descended. Ellie waited for Julian's reaction. It was highly likely that Insulin was not Director Shun's major. If so, the reaction that would return was usually one of three. "I'll check with the team," "That's a good point," or "It's a part still under discussion at the company, so it's difficult to give a definitive answer." Usually, if one doesn't have complete control over oneself, it's natural that one can't answer so easily. However, the answer that returned far transcended the expectations of the students who were there.
"That's a good question."
Julian's voice was still soft. "For an alchemy department student to even take care of discussions in the healer's area. I know it's not in the exam range, but that's amazing."
"Hehe..."
"To give you the answer to the question first. Yes. I knew, I was predicting everything, and the countermeasures were already prepared, so the administration guidelines have already been announced."
"...Pardon?"
The top student of the alchemy department stared blankly at Julian. Julian looked at such a top student as if she were cute and continued his explanation.
"First, I'll explain the background."
Julian lightly wiped his fingers with a napkin.
"It's true that cases of heart attack after Insulin administration have increased. But the cause is not a defect in the medicine itself."
"...Then for what reason?"
"It should be seen as a problem with the patients' medication adherence."
Ellie's eyes blinked. She had heard in class that alchemy professors were still trying to clarify the cause... Julian was speaking as if he had already grasped the cause a long time ago.
"When Insulin first came out, it was a miracle drug for diabetes patients. People who had to cut out sweets for the rest of their lives were suddenly told that they only had to take medicine. That's what happened."
"..."
"So what happened?"
Silence. Julian didn't wait for an answer.
"They trusted the medicine and overate. Thinking that since Insulin exists anyway, a little bit would be okay. With that thought. The result was diabetic shock... no. It was an acute worsening of diabetes. To save the patient, they administered a large amount of Insulin in a hurry, and as a result, a heart attack occurred."
Ellie's mouth fell open. It was a logic that seemed too natural and easy. But... why hadn't anyone grasped this? And how did Julian, whom she thought was a non-major, know this so well? Meanwhile, Julian continued his explanation.
"So if you just follow the dosage properly, basically side effects don't occur well."
Julian nodded. "Of course."
His fingers lightly tapped the table.
"Even so, side effects can occur. There are cases where you have no choice but to administer an overdose in an emergency situation, and unexpected reactions appear depending on the patient's constitution."
"..."
Ellie lost her words for a moment. Before she could even ask, everything was already prepared. Analysis of the cause of side effects. And countermeasures for situations that could occur even so.
'...Perfect.'
Only after hearing that answer could she acknowledge it. Including Insulin, Julian was perfectly overseeing all medicines. He was a genius beyond what people thought. While Ellie's mind was being dominated by such thoughts, Julian suddenly snapped his fingers.
"Ah."
Ellie looked up.
"From here on, it's content for the healer department's academic division, so it's not shameful at all if you don't know. Still, I'll give you a chance."
"...Pardon?"
"If you harbored such a question, I think you might have your own thoughts."
Julian's gaze turned toward Ellie. "What was the solution the student thought of? And what was our supplement?"
It felt as if a soft, yet somehow sharp gaze was piercing her from the shadow of the fedora.