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Chapter 09 …
The Graduate Student Is the Final Boss
“I heard you were looking for me.”
The moment Heon stepped into the reception room, the face that came into view belonged to a woman he had never seen before.
“…Sorry to keep you waiting. It’s our first time meeting.”
At his formal greeting, the woman sitting in her seat slowly rose to her feet.
“Not at all. I was just looking around while I waited.”
She had black hair and sharp, cat-like eyes.
The instant he saw her, Heon instinctively sensed that she was not someone to be underestimated.
When he gestured for her to sit, she gave a slight nod and took her seat again.
“Hello. You’re Young Master Heon Leonard, correct?”
Heon also sat down across from her.
“That’s right. And you are?”
“My name is Adel Catherine. I used to be a researcher at the Magic Tower.”
“A former researcher?”
When he asked in surprise, the woman answered calmly.
“Ah, I’m no longer affiliated with the Magic Tower. I came today because I have a personal proposal I’d like to make to you, Young Master.”
Heon’s gaze sharpened.
“…A proposal? You weren’t sent here by my father?”
“The Duke? No, nothing like that.”
“I think you should begin by explaining exactly why you’ve come to see me.”
Faced with his wary stare, Adel merely shrugged.
“Well… I’m an engineering stud— I mean, a researcher, so I’m not very good at beating around the bush. Would it be alright if I got straight to the point?”
“…Go ahead.”
Heon replied with a somewhat dubious expression.
Normally, whenever he deliberately lowered his voice to intimidate people, they would shrink back in fear.
But instead of being intimidated, this woman looked far too calm.
“Young Master, have you recently experienced your knees or legs suddenly giving out, or feeling numb without warning?”
Silence filled the room.
Having struck the mark precisely, Adel’s words caused Heon’s expression to stiffen.
“You’re fine while sitting still, but the moment you overexert yourself, you feel a tingling sensation… Sometimes you’re walking normally, and then suddenly your legs lose all their strength. Isn’t that right?”
She continued before he had a chance to interrupt.
“It started with your left hand, then your right leg… and now even standing up or sitting down has become uncomfortable for you.”
“…How… do you know that?”
Heon’s voice cracked badly.
The fact that she knew about his illness itself wasn’t particularly shocking.
The Duke’s family had searched everywhere for treatments, so it wouldn’t have been strange if someone had heard rumors.
But I never told anyone about the symptoms I’ve been experiencing recently.
Yet this woman wasn’t merely repeating secondhand information.
She was pinpointing the progression of his illness as accurately as if she were a fortune teller.
Who exactly is she?
Over the years, countless physicians and mages had tried to help him.
Yet almost no one truly understood his condition.
After all, it was an extremely rare disease whose cause and progression had never been clearly identified.
Even within the ducal household, people had begun quietly avoiding any mention of him.
Yet a complete stranger had perfectly grasped his condition.
Standing before this unfamiliar woman, Heon unconsciously held his breath.
Adel cleared her throat before continuing.
“To tell you the truth, when I was still at the Magic Tower, I once met a patient with symptoms very similar to yours. At the time, I conducted separate research on a way to improve that patient’s condition.”
“And?”
“To put it simply… I found both the cause of the illness and the solution.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“Why wouldn’t you? I’m an incredibly talented genius.”
“What…?”
Calling herself a genius with her own mouth.
An incredulous laugh escaped him automatically, but Adel remained completely shameless.
“If you don’t believe me, grab anyone from the Magic Tower and ask if they know Adel Catherine. I’m actually pretty well-known over there.”
At that moment, Heon vaguely realized that the purpose of her visit was anything but ordinary.
At the same time, he also understood that this woman was far from an ordinary researcher.
“…Go on, Miss Adel Catherine.”
By now, Heon had become genuinely absorbed in her story and nodded seriously.
“Well then… The reason you’ve ended up like this is actually very simple.”
Heon’s eyes wavered.
“And what is that?”
“Because there’s too much mana inside your body.”
Adel spoke each word clearly.
“When mana accumulates beyond what’s necessary, it disrupts your body’s natural flow. That disturbance irritates your nervous system. As time passes, your senses become dull, and pain begins to appear.”
“Exactly the condition you’re experiencing right now.”
Heon couldn’t say a word.
Not a single person had ever explained his illness this clearly.
So when she claimed she had been a brilliant genius at the Magic Tower…
Perhaps calling herself a genius wasn’t as absurd as it had first sounded.
“So I’ve named this condition Mana Overload Neural Damage.”
Mana Overload Neural Damage.
It was the first proper diagnosis Heon had ever heard.
Until now, people had only said things like stress-induced paralysis, the cause is unknown, or try sleeping and eating better.
“So, if we simply deal with the excess mana inside your body, your illness can be cured.”
“…So.”
Heon narrowed his eyes.
“Is that why you came to see me? Just to tell me this?”
“No. My real purpose is, of course, something else.”
Without the slightest hesitation, Adel continued.
“I’ll cure you completely. But I have one condition.”
“…A condition?”
His tone had changed noticeably from before.
For the first time since standing before him, Adel looked slightly embarrassed.
“Ahem! Well… you see, I’m planning a business venture right now. But I need quite a bit of startup capital.”
“Startup capital?”
From her bag, Adel produced a worn notebook.
Inside were complicated blueprints.
Afterward, she launched into a long explanation that Heon couldn’t understand at all, no matter how carefully he listened.
“…Basically, in exchange for curing your illness, I’d like to ask you to invest in this business.”
Unlike her earlier confidence, the woman now looked slightly discouraged.
Judging by her expression, she seemed worried that this deal might not go through.
“An investment…”
Glancing down, Heon silently examined the research documents she had brought.
A subspace pouch capable of holding something as large as a small house.
And depending on certain conditions, the space inside could even be duplicated infinitely.
…Ridiculous.
To be honest, until she’d shown him these blueprints, he had believed about half of what she’d said.
Her explanation that excessive mana caused nerve damage had sounded surprisingly convincing.
But now, there seemed to be no reason to listen any further.
Heon clicked his tongue softly.
Every so often, there were people in the world who sold worthless trinkets at outrageous prices, claiming they were elixirs of immortality or treasures from distant lands.
Apparently, one of those people had finally appeared before him.
She must have heard somewhere how desperate I am because of this illness.
The worst part was that she looked so young and harmless.
Then again, swindlers rarely looked like swindlers.
Heon let out a faint, mocking chuckle, as though he’d never taken her seriously in the first place.
“How interesting. A complete stranger claims she’ll cure my illness, then asks me to invest in her business in return. Don’t you think you sound like a con artist yourself?”
“I know it’s difficult to trust me. That’s why I’m not asking you to believe me immediately.”
“…”
Seeing that he remained silent, Adel reached into her bag and took out a small vial.
“The next time your symptoms flare up, try taking this.”
“It’s free.”
Inside the translucent glass bottle was a clear liquid with a faint blue glow.
“…What’s this?”
“It looks like ordinary water, but it’s a Mana Absorption Agent brewed from refined magical ore.”
She placed the bottle gently on the table and continued.
“This will gradually absorb the excess mana inside your body, slowly restoring the disrupted flow of mana to its proper state.”
