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chapter 19
He glanced at me once, then looked back down at the report on Rudels.
Chuckling softly, he placed the pipe he had been chewing on onto the desk and looked at me.
The intensity in his gaze—like a predator eyeing its prey—made me shiver in surprise.
He looked at me with an inscrutable smile.
“Why did you mark this as confidential?”
“I thought that part could be sensitive for the patient. Also, I considered it something that could leak during transport, so I noted it as such.”
I steadied my trembling heart and spoke clearly.
Master Haol muttered to himself as he continued reviewing the report.
“Louis Ephin. Paralytic toxin symptoms in the hind legs. Appears to have persisted for at least two weeks. Exposure duration too long to identify the exact toxin; administered antidote without confirmation. Heh heh heh… Interesting.”
He placed the last sheet on the desk and looked at me again.
“You treated Master Louis?”
“Yes.”
“You treated him without knowing the exact poison?”
“Yes…”
He narrowed his eyes at me and asked,
“Do you know that a healer must know the exact disease before administering treatment, Iriel?”
Wait… he even knows my name?
I was surprised at that, but I understood why Master Haol was speaking so sternly.
It is the most basic rule for a healer to know the exact illness before using medicine.
Yet I had broken that rule and performed treatment at my discretion.
I swallowed dryly and replied,
“I know that.”
“Then why did you treat paralytic toxin without researching it first? Don’t you know that incorrect treatment endangers the patient?”
He glared at me and scolded harshly.
I closed my eyes tightly. I deserved the scolding, yet I also felt it was unfair.
Hesitantly, I muttered my explanation.
“I knew, but the paralytic toxin had already spread extensively in the hind legs, and if untreated, it could have spread throughout the body. So I used healing magic—”
“So you treated the patient with magic like a cure-all?! Without knowing the exact condition?”
He slammed his hand on the desk, enraged. The papers on the desk fluttered and drifted into the air.
Oren, unfazed, caught each paper and neatly organized them.
Right. Today is the day I get crushed.
I resigned myself to humbly receive my senior’s wrath. After all, it was my mistake.
Master Haol clicked his tongue as he looked at me, crestfallen, without replying.
“Even if you specialize in magical healing, do you think you can treat every illness with magic? Last time, you used healing magic recklessly and ended up bedridden for three days!”
What?! I was bedridden for three days?
I closed my eyes in shock and calmed myself.
Master Haol continued to pour out bitter scolding.
“Because of that magic, you were bedridden, right? A healer must take care of their own body. Are you going to recklessly work here, using your youth as a shield? These young ones have no basic sense—no basics at all!”
Quietly, Oren muttered toward him.
“Master, why do you smoke a pipe without thinking about your age?”
“Be quiet, Oren!”
Master Haol snapped, his face red, at Oren’s quiet reproach.
Hmm… am I really being scolded right now?
I scratched my head awkwardly, unsure how to react.
Master Haol clicked his tongue and lit his pipe. White smoke curled into the air, carrying a peculiar scent.
Is that… the smell of tobacco?
I tilted my head in confusion, and Master Haol chuckled, explaining.
“It’s dried Oregiris herb. Essential for nocturnal birds like me as a tobacco substitute.”
“Oregiris? That herb… students and professors use it to stay awake… Ah.”
Ah, that’s why it’s used to stay awake during the day… but wait, he’s elderly and still smoking it?!
I snapped out of it and exclaimed,
“You’re saying an elderly man smokes that herb?!”
“Why? Are you going to yap like a squirrel too?”
Master Haol smirked mischievously with the pipe in his mouth, glancing at me, then nodding at Oren. Oren, resigned, quietly continued cleaning.
“That’s impossible! Even tobacco is bad for the body, and staying awake with Oregiris is worse! Overuse can cause hallucinations and exhaustion!”
“Eh, who doesn’t know that? I use the proper amount—”
“Even the proper amount is bad! It accumulates in the body and is hard to expel!”
I used magic to extinguish the pipe in his mouth and pulled it out. Master Haol looked at me, astonished.
“No. Means. No.”
Firmly, I stood my ground. Master Haol muttered and returned to reviewing my report.
Oren, who had been watching silently, gave me a relieved thumbs-up.
“Merina Ephin… Heh heh heh. You had a rough time this time, didn’t you? Using medicine like… oh, attempting such a method… fascinating.”
Master Haol fiddled with his beard, treating my report like an interesting toy, his eyes darting left and right.
“The report on Miss Penelope… also intriguing. Not yet reported in academia. Heh heh heh.”
He glanced at me and asked,
“Was this tested experimentally?”
“Yes, I tested it and even showed it to the direct descendants.”
“Ho ho.”
Master Haol stroked his chin, muttering,
“If this is genuine, the value of artifacts and emulrites will rise.”
He then dipped his pen into the ink bottle and began writing on a new sheet. After a while, he handed it to me.
“This bears my signature. You said you’d make medicine for Miss Merina, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then you’ll need to get ingredients from the pharmacy. Most materials are there. And since you’re new, you likely don’t have access yet. Take this; that senile old woman will see it and give you the ingredients.”
“Ah, thank you.”
I received the paper with both hands. The ink was smudged, so it didn’t seem official.
Master Haol remained seated and shouted at Oren.
“Oren! Don’t treat this like your bedroom! Clean up!”
“Then you clean, Master! Look at all the dust! No wonder your throat hurts!”
“You brat! Go, go! Your teacher is leaving now!”
“Really? The teacher’s leaving? I’ll come too! Master, if you don’t ventilate and clean, I’ll tell the head maid!”
“Oh! Such a tiny mouse talks back! The end is near!”
“I’m not a mouse, I’m a squirrel!”
“Same difference. Hah, really!”
Oren and Master Haol bickered like a warm, familial exchange between granddaughter and grandfather, despite being animal humanoids—a squirrel and an owl.
I realized my previous worries about their relationship were unnecessary. I bowed and left the treatment room. Oren glanced at the room, worried, then sighed.
“Are you really worried about Master Haol?”
“Yes. He’s guided me so much as a student… almost like a grandfather.”
“Master Haol seems really kind.”
Oren’s eyes sparkled.
“Right? He grumbles, but he takes care of you.”
I thought so. What did people call that? Some… tsun… something.
I considered Master Haol’s cat-like personality and asked Oren,
“Oren, who’s the pharmacist teacher Master Haol mentioned earlier?”
“Ah… him?”
Oren hesitated, unwilling to speak at first.
“Oren?”
“Uh… that pharmacist is Curale, a hawk beastman. Excellent at selecting herbs due to keen eyesight. And…”
Oren closed his eyes tightly.
“He fought in the previous war and suffered burns on one side of his face. So… he doesn’t like witches much.”
Ah. I understood.
Hearing Oren, a chill ran through me. That war must have been the chaotic conflict between witches and beastmen. The burn mark was likely a magical injury.
This is really bad.
That war! That cursed war! Argh!
I wanted to tear my hair out.
The war between witches and beastmen was so cruel that prisoners were tortured publicly to provoke the enemy.
Nearly three years of such horrors would leave survivors filled with deep hatred.
Curale, having survived that war, might even try to attack me upon learning I’m a witch.
