Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Hey, Rice Tastes Better in a Flower Field
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"Fuck...!"
Blever de Stifula spat out a venomous curse, the word echoing sharply against the sterile, white-tiled walls of the infirmary.
He sat up abruptly in his bed, the motion still a bit stiff.
After the intensive treatment involving high-level divine power and potent medicinal concoctions, followed by a long, drug-induced slumber, he had finally regained consciousness.
Outside the window, the golden light of the day was already bleeding into the bruised purples and deep oranges of dusk.
His right shoulder blade, which Ras had so ruthlessly dislocated during that humiliating Combat Magic Engineering spar, had been reset with surgical precision.
However, a persistent, dull ache still throbbed deep within the joint.
To be more precise, the sharp pain was largely gone, but a searing, burning sensation—like a smoldering ember buried under his skin—continued to pulse in his right shoulder.
It felt as though someone had permanently planted a tiny, flickering flame there.
Still, considering the severity of the dislocation, the fact that he was already sitting up was a testament to the academy's medical prowess.
Under normal circumstances, even the most elite trauma centers in the Imperial Capital couldn't have mended a joint this quickly.
Leone Academy's infirmary was a misnomer; it was a full-scale medical ward, renowned even outside the academy walls.
Most notable was the head infirmary professor, whose reputation for healing surpassed that of most high-ranking specialists in the Empire.
Knock knock—
A soft knock was immediately followed by a voice that felt almost sticky and dangerously seductive as it drifted through the door.
"May I come in~?"
Blever, who had been grumbling like a common back-alley thug only moments ago, felt his face flush a brilliant, hot crimson.
He quickly caught his breath, smoothing his hair with a trembling hand.
"Uh...!! Yes. Please, come in, Professor."
The curtain around his ward bed was pulled back, and a woman stepped into the small enclosure.
She was a strikingly mature beauty, her hair a lush, smooth bob that framed a face of impeccable clarity.
Her dizzyingly voluptuous figure was impossible to ignore, even beneath her prim and professional attire.
A sweet, natural body scent wafted from her—a fragrance that required no perfume to intoxicate the senses.
She was the legendary Angel of Leone Academy’s infirmary, a woman who had set the hearts of countless male students ablaze, dragging them straight into a fiery, unrequited hell.
Rozali Berhart, the head professor.
Five years ago, she had been dispatched from the Sephiros Empire’s Celestial Church as an elite priestess, making her one of the most special and respected figures at Leone.
Especially for those students who frequently found themselves broken during practical classes, she was light and salt in human form.
Her indescribable mature allure had also earned her the whispered nickname "Infirmary Milf" among the students.
Blever, who usually prided himself on being a rough-edged wild child, turned into a fidgety, wide-eyed kid the moment Rozali began to check his condition.
Her skilled hands probed various parts of his upper body with a practiced touch.
"Okay, I’m going to press lightly on your shoulder now. You tell me right away if it hurts, understood?"
"Y-Yes... sure..."
Rozali gently pressed on the formerly dislocated shoulder for a final check, her fingers moving with grace until she confirmed no issues remained.
"For the time being, you are not to strain your right shoulder at all."
"I’ll prescribe a week’s worth of medicine—make sure you take them without fail."
"And absolutely no alcohol while you're on them, got it?"
"Yes, ma'am...!!! I'll be careful...!"
Rozali gave a parting smile to the boy, who responded with an almost comical amount of enthusiasm, and she stood up to leave.
"Well then, I'll be off. Get yourself together and make sure you check out properly~"
As he watched Rozali’s retreating figure, the swaying of her hips nearly made Blever blurt out an invitation to dinner.
But then, the shimmer of the particularly pretty ring on her left ring finger caught the light, and he swallowed his words with a bitter lump in his throat.
"Sigh... yeah... fuck... A woman that gorgeous wouldn't be single. Damn it...!"
He grumbled softly, but still grabbed his medicine bag securely as he prepared to leave.
The ward fell into a deep silence once Blever was gone, leaving Professor Rozali alone at her small desk.
The ward was peaceful today; being a Monday, no other students had been admitted.
She sat quietly for a moment, flipping through documents, then glanced around cautiously to ensure she was alone before letting out a loud, frustrated whine.
"Ughhh...! Fuuuck...! Mondays are truly the worst...!"
"Sparring is one thing, but why do they have to pull a whole shoulder out of its socket!"
"The guy who did it is a total idiot! I had research to finish today, and now I'm just wiped out..."
The mature, reliable beauty from moments ago had vanished, replaced by a spoiled, childish tone full of baby talk.
It was a side of her personality she usually kept under a heavy seal to appear competent to her students—a private stress-relief quirk that bubbled up on exhausting days.
Though her figure, accentuated as she stretched languidly in her chair, was anything but childish.
"Aww... it's been ages since such a rare case landed in my lap for research."
"Mana crystallization near the heart, appearing like ice crystals in the mana-scans?"
"But we'd probably need high-level surgery for this one...?"
She sighed, looking at a stack of research reports on a girl with a rare symptom.
It had been sent to her by a Celestial Church clinic in the slums—a special case sent to her department for her expertise in mana anomalies.
Rozali was currently obsessed with studying unique symptoms caused by mana side effects.
Though she was a genius at trauma healing, she felt a nagging inadequacy when it came to complex diseases.
"Argh...! It’s so hard!! Even if she wanted the surgery, the cost would be insane for an orphan."
"Her body is literally freezing her from the inside out. Only six months left... Poor thing."
"If it were a simple trauma, I'd go treat her myself."
She clutched her head, groaning with pity, then decided to cast it all aside for the sake of dinner.
She often provided free treatment to such cases, but she needed a full stomach to think.
"Gotta eat well to keep the brain spinning. Out for dinner after ages!"
"I'll drag Isera to 'Bald Man's Ecstasy.' Perfect flavors, no flaws!! Heehee!!"
She stood up, preparing to find her close friend.
"Hmm... The patient's name, Mirha Livingston. It rings a bell? Do I know someone with that name?"
She tilted her head briefly, then finished her preparations and left the ward.
Mana-Related Rare Symptom Research Report
Case098765-a6674
Research Subject Name: Mirha Livingston (Livingston Orphanage)
"Fuuuck...! Isera is never around when I'm actually looking for her. Total dumbass!"
A little later, Rozali grumbled as she stepped out into the night air alone.
She kicked a pebble on the roadside in petty frustration.
She had planned a whole night of hot pot, spicy broth, and sparrow roast with Isera. Now, her mood was completely soured.
"Hm...?"
As she walked, she spotted a man and a woman in the distance, walking arm-in-arm, clinging to each other tightly.
One of them looked very familiar. "...Isera...? And next to her..."
From her angle and the dim lighting, it looked like a sticky, passionate embrace.
Rozali, at an age where loneliness was starting to creep in, felt her jaw drop.
"Gasp...! Oh my god, Isera... in the academy, so passionately...! She's lost it!"
"Fooling around with a student...!"
She tailed them discreetly, catching snippets of their conversation.
"S-Sorry. I guess I went too hard..." Isera was saying.
"I said stop, but just one more! Just one more!! This is really the last one!!" Ras retorted.
Rozali’s eyes nearly popped out of her head.
One more...!? What the hell have you been up to, Isera...!
She felt like she’d glimpsed a hidden, carnal side of her friend. She followed them all the way to a restaurant in the city.
Agh...! I thought, my entire body feeling like it had been run over by a carriage.
This woman was truly a training demon.
In my past life, I hadn't known Isera well—just that she was a neutral professor who died in the war.
But experiencing her firsthand? She can't resist a talented newbie.
She had drilled me until I was on the verge of vomiting, forcing me to do 1.3 times my planned workout.
Of course, she felt guilty afterward, which worked in my favor.
She gave me an expert mana-infused massage and offered to buy me dinner.
"Ras, I know a great spot. Amazing sparrow roast. My treat."
We ended up at "Bald Man's Ecstasy." As we entered, a familiar voice greeted us.
"Welcome...! Huh??? Ras? Professor Isera???"
It was Irha, working her shift as a server. A quirky job for a quirky girl.
Isera ordered enough food for four people, and I scanned the empty restaurant.
"It's legit," Isera assured me. "Rozali and I come here all the time."
Hearing that name made me pause. Rozali Berhart.
The woman who had fought so hard to save me when I was crippled in the past.
I owed her more than I could ever say.
"Hm...? That person over there looks familiar... Wait here, Ras," Isera said, approaching a woman at a back table.
It was Rozali. They bickered briefly, then Rozali joined us, smiling awkwardly at me.
"Haha... It's Ras? Small world."
She remembered my name from the few times she'd treated me after spars.
I explained that Isera had overtrained me, which made Rozali shoot her friend a look of pure disbelief.
Irha wobbled over with trays of food, teetering dangerously.
I stood up and took the trays from her, helping to set the table.
Isera, clearly finding the scene amusing, dragged Irha into a seat next to us.
"Sit and eat. The boss won't mind. Join us, Irha~!"
And so, my impromptu dinner began.
I was sitting with the woman who would have treated my future wounds, the one training me now, and my loyal minion.
Surrounded by these three, I realized that rice really does taste better when the company is this lively.
Munch!