Chapter 212: End-of-term exam (1)

Erika became the unofficial youngest Duke's Daughter of the Erunt family.

So what changed?

Nothing changed.

After all, I'm surrounded by royalty and ducal families(?) everywhere.

Adding one more Duke's Daughter to this network didn't really change anything.

And so, the end-of-term exam proceeded as scheduled.

The students left the old fortress and began climbing the ridge.

After the last party disappeared among the conifers,

I finally returned to the tent set up in front of the surgery car.

I planted my rear on a folding chair placed inside the cool barrier.

It was a peace that wouldn't last long.

Probably in an hour, the injured would come rushing in like a flood.

Until then, I had to enjoy this peace as much as possible.

Just as I leaned back against the backrest with that thought,

someone's shadow fell at the tent entrance.

I straightened slightly and checked the identity of that guest.

That guest was the instructor who had been standing on the podium until just a moment ago.

"Hello, Lord Saint. Do you have a moment?"

"Ah, yes. Come in."

I offered him the folding chair on the opposite side.

The instructor perched on the edge of the chair and took off his hat.

The hair inside the hat was soaked with sweat.

When he took out a handkerchief from his bosom, I held back what I was about to say.

Only after his sweat-soaked forehead became dry again did I speak.

"Yes, what brings you here, Instructor?"

"I have something to tell you about Student Kal."

"You mean my scholarship student."

"Yes. He's truly an excellent student. He's talented, and he absorbs teaching quickly. We instructors also have high expectations for him."

I agree.

Kal's talent is considerable.

Of course, I don't have an eye for swordsmanship.

But I could roughly guess from Kal's grades.

Written exams and theory are average.

Magic is impossible.

But in sparring, especially swordsmanship, he has never missed first place.

From his high school days to now, attending Essenwald Academy, not even once.

The important point here.

Essenwald Academy is a world-class prestigious school.

In my previous life, it would be comparable to Harvard.

If someone couldn't recognize talent when he never missed first place there?

I'd seriously recommend that person replace their eyes with prosthetic ones.

"Hearing that makes me proud."

"It's all thanks to you, Lord Saint. No matter how good a raw gemstone is, it only shines when there's someone to find it and polish it. However..."

"However?"

"He has a somewhat reckless side. Because of that, these days I'm as worried as I am hopeful."

I think I know what he means.

Certainly, Kal does tend to not spare his own body.

"If he simply didn't know it was dangerous, we could teach him step by step. But Student Kal..."

"He knows and jumps in anyway."

"Yes. That's right. Every time I warn him, his answers are so sharp. But when I listen, I think he's understood this time, and then he turns around and it's the same..."

The instructor let out a deep sigh as if the ground would cave in.

"If he were a student with no sign of changing no matter how much we taught, we wouldn't be this worried. But he's a student who could grow much greater if he fixed just a few things."

If he were a hopeless student, we'd have given up.

But even in the instructor's eyes, Kal's talent seemed too precious to waste.

"I see. So that's why you came to me."

"Yes. I understand he has no parents, so I came to speak with you, his guardian, Lord Saint."

I nodded.

"I heard something similar during the preliminary evaluation. Another instructor had similar concerns."

"Yes. Even then, he almost got seriously hurt. So this is an impudent request, but I hoped you could give him a stern word. If it's your words, he might take them more seriously."

It seems he believes I can persuade Kal.

And he wasn't entirely wrong.

I try not to interfere with my scholarship students as much as possible.

But if they ask for advice, I gladly give it.

Kal had also once sought my advice.

And each time, he listened to my advice well.

So if I spoke about this matter, Kal would probably change his behavior.

However...

"Thank you for your concern. But what you're worried about won't happen. Student Kal is not the kind of student who would do something that reckless."

"Ah... um..."

The instructor stammered.

He clearly had something he wanted to say but was hesitating.

Eventually, the instructor managed to speak.

"Um... ah. I apologize for repeatedly overstepping, but I think someone needs to warn him before it's too late. You heard what question he asked when I was explaining the precautions earlier, didn't you?"

"Hmm. Well."

I certainly heard the question Kal asked during the speech.

It was a question asking whether a severed neck could also be included as an acceptable injury, probably.

It seemed like a question asked out of trust in my abilities.

Certainly, to others it might have seemed a slightly foolish question.

But knowing Kal as a person, I couldn't find a problem with that question.

'They say the genre convention of academy stories is the healing genre.'

I didn't know it would apply not just to me but also to my scholarship student.

After organizing my thoughts,

I checked outside through the tent entrance.

It seemed no injured had appeared yet.

I briefly opened my pocket watch to check the time.

About an hour.

I guessed the injured would start coming around then.

As soon as I checked the time, I took out a teacup.

With this level of misunderstanding, it could be sufficiently resolved in the time it took to empty one cup of tea.

"Since you're seated, have a cup of tea. I'd like to tell you a little about Student Kal."

"...Understood."

A brief look of discomfort passed over the instructor's face.

He probably thought I was trying to keep avoiding Kal's problem.

Maybe he thought I had spoiled him too much and this was the result.

But that didn't matter.

If he looked at Kal's deeds rather than his behavior,

the instructor would have no choice but to clear up that misunderstanding.

An hour later.

When the teacup was empty, the instructor rose from his chair.

He pulled his hat down and bowed his head.

"It was a truly informative time, Lord Saint. It seems I was misjudging the student. I apologize."

"Not at all. Just knowing there is someone watching over my scholarship student this carefully puts me at ease."

The instructor shook his head.

"No. I thought I had developed some eye for students as a professor, but this consultation made me reflect on my shortcomings again. How embarrassing."

"Doesn't that mean you sincerely care for your students? I don't think it's something to be embarrassed about."

"I will properly speak to the other instructors about Student Kal as well."

He bowed once more and left.

*

Not long after the instructor left.

Past noon, the first party came down from the ridge.

The exam end time was until midnight.

Nevertheless, the reason that party returned early was none other than the interim submission.

— "Here, I'll submit byproducts."

— "Confirmed. A typical goblin's ear. It's confirmed not to be a special individual, so 2 points will be added."

Students returned to camp and set down bags of demonic beast byproducts.

In front of the reception tent, appraisers brought from the Mercenary Guild busily scored the students.

This was the scoring method of the main exam.

Points are assigned to a party based on the rank and type of demonic beasts subjugated.

However, what matters here is type.

Catching ten of the same demonic beast did not increase points.

Therefore, to score high, one needed to catch a variety of demonic beasts.

Since they couldn't carry all the byproducts around, they came down once midway to empty them.

— "I'll ask for confirmation. Will you stop the exam here, or go back out?"

— "I'll set out again."

— "Confirmed. I wish you good luck."

And then they re-entered the forest for a higher score.

In that process, the first to return were mostly first-year parties.

It wasn't because this year's first-years were exceptionally outstanding.

They had simply stayed at shallow depths, so the return trip was short.

I watched those first-year parties closely.

The Valkyries were not among them.

That was natural.

Calling the Valkyries a first-year party was a misnomer.

Even just Erika could take more than half the matches against third-year top students in sparring.

Freya, though somewhat overshadowed by Erika,

is evaluated at second-year level thanks to her veteran composure born of broad knowledge.

And Charlotte is... hmm.

If she has the motivation, she does well enough.

Motivation is the problem, though.

Anyway, the Valkyries were basically a party that transcended first-year status.

Naturally, their permitted depth was also deeper than other first-years.

So their return was bound to be late.

'There's no reason to worry.'

I wasn't particularly worried about them.

First, the party's own skill was excellent.

Enough to hunt black sorcerers after school for spending money.

On top of that, the escort lineup attached to them was splendid.

Lady Keres, and even the second son of the Erunt Ducal Family.

There was no reason to worry about trouble arising from this escort lineup.

While I was handling the first-year injured with those thoughts,

time quickly passed and second-year students began to return.

Along with that, the number of injured began to increase a little more.

The deeper the depth, the more variables and the more severe the injuries.

And among those injured was Kal, carried on a stretcher.

His left arm had dark blue bruises from shoulder to wrist.

There were wounds near his cheek and collarbone, and blood stained the torn fabric at his flank and both knees.

His left pauldron was shattered and hanging by straps.

One bracer was split lengthwise.

It seemed he had sacrificed his left arm, leg, and even shoulder to take the demonic beast's neck.

"Lord Saint. A 21-year-old male patient. Conscious and vitals stable. Severe bruising and swelling on the left arm. Lacerations on the left forearm and right thigh require suturing, and the torso and both legs are mostly shallow abrasions."

Ayla reported quickly as soon as Kal was brought in.

I took in that report while rapidly assessing the wounds.

'The entire left arm is a mess.'

The entire left arm was stained black with bruises.

Fortunately, it was only ecchymosis (the medical term for bruising).

No active internal bleeding was visible.

The bruised skin was slightly swollen, but not urgent enough for an escharotomy.

No fractures were visible either.

At this level, it was a bruise that would heal with an egg compress.

"Student Kal. Try moving your hand."

Wiggle, wiggle.

It moves well.

Skin color was good and not cold.

About two fingers were slightly misaligned.

That much could be fixed by popping them back in.

After assessing all the urgent parts like that,

I next checked the lacerations.

One large laceration on the left arm.

The wound was about 6 centimeters and subcutaneous fat was visible.

Another large laceration on the right thigh.

This one was also deep enough to show subcutaneous fat.

Fortunately, bone was not visible, and bleeding was well controlled.

It seemed the healer in Kal's party had treated him well.

"Teacher. Aren't you going to look at this wound?"

Just then, Ayla, who had been carefully observing my gaze, spoke.

She said it after seeing that I only examined his limbs and didn't even glance at his torso.

The torso she pointed to was almost entirely covered in wounds.

But I didn't pay much attention to those wounds.

"It's a wound that doesn't threaten life, Ayla. Don't panic."

"Th-This is?"

In daily life, where whether a scar remains matters, these wounds have their own importance.

But on a battlefield where life is the priority, it's different.

Scars were not something to consider.

In that sense, the wounds on Kal's torso weren't very important.

"Let's triage. Yellow."

Wounds of this level just needed proper disinfection and observation while lying in bed.

Not red, since his life wasn't fluctuating,

but not green either, since he wasn't perfectly fine.

So I classified him as yellow, right in the middle.

"Student Kal. I'm going to set your finger bones. Do you need a painkiller?"

"This much is everyday for me, so it's fine."

"Then let's reduce it right away."

Crack!

I set the misaligned finger bones and applied a splint.

With that, the actual treatment was done.

All that remained was disinfecting the wounds.

"Ayla, can I leave the dressing to you?"

"Understood, Teacher."

It could easily be healed with Heal, but.

On the battlefield, conserving divine power is the principle.

Of course, with a saint and saintess present, conserving low-grade Heal seems nonsensical...

I must not forget.

This is training, and we must assume that not every battlefield can have a saint or saintess.

For other Department of Healing Arts students to learn the 'system,' we couldn't recklessly use the abilities of a saint or saintess.

"I'll Heal you after training is over, in the evening."

Kal nodded.

Only after he was eventually moved to a bed under the yellow flag did Kal's expression relax.

"Ayla, disinfect it well."

"I know, so stay still for a bit, oppa."

The scholarship students had spent quite a long time together.

So to Ayla, Kal was like a familiar neighborhood older brother.

He was someone who had stepped forward to protect her when her older sister was in danger.

Ayla spoke while disinfecting Kal's wounds.

"How did you get hurt like this? There should have been a knight with you."

"Ow, ow ow... Well, I met a stronger one than expected in the forest. Real combat really is different from books."

"You didn't get hurt because you didn't act according to the book, did you?"

"That's not it."

The one who cut into that conversation was the knight who had escorted Kal's party.

He bowed his head toward Kal and spoke.

"Student Kal is not at fault. It is entirely my fault. I should have paid more attention. I am ashamed."

How had he done his job to let a demonic beast that dangerous get close to a student?

Before such a question could even form, Kal spoke as if defending the knight.

"It's not the knight's fault. It was an anomalous entity. The rank I sensed was no different from an ordinary individual... Ayla, do you really have to cut the clothes? I don't have many clothes left."

"It's the principle, so it can't be helped."

"Ouch, ouch..."

If it was an anomalous entity, I understood.

It refers to creatures that look the same, feel the same magical presence, but act differently.

Unlike new types of demonic beasts or mutants, anomalous entities couldn't be known until trouble occurred.

And anomalous entities were lethal to humans.

Humans gain superiority over demonic beasts not through physical ability but through data and experience.

Unless one crushes them by rank, if the pattern changes, one has no choice but to be defeated.

Roughly, think of a hardcore genre.

Unlike RPG games where you crush enemies with firepower through leveling,

in such genre games, if the pattern changes, even a trash mob can kill you.

This world was the same.

"Student Kal noticed something wrong first and handled it appropriately. Thanks to that, a major accident was prevented. I am deeply grateful for that."

The knight straightened and saluted Kal, who lay on the bed.

Kal glanced at Ayla.

The corners of his mouth rose, and his eyebrows twitched along with them.

The knight continued praising Kal.

"His decisiveness was remarkable. He deliberately let his left arm be bitten, then the moment the creature clung to him, he thrust his sword under its jaw."

The problem was that, where Kal was concerned, that might not be praise.

"...Um, Sir Knight?"

"Deliberately?"

The disinfectant cotton in Ayla's hand stopped above Kal's arm.

Kal's gaze fixed on Ayla.

And then,

"But I still won."

"...You're hopeless. Even during the preliminary evaluation, you kept doing dangerous things. Today, you asked a weird question before we even set out. I'm telling Eli unnie."

"Hey, hey, Ayla. That's a bit... ouch, ouch."

Eli.

It was a name I hadn't heard in a while.

She had studied alchemy in the high school division, but didn't advance to the Academy's undergraduate division.

There was no advanced alchemy course there for Eli to continue studying.

Instead, on my recommendation, she entered another Magic Tower and was learning the magic needed for alchemy.

And she and Kal had been flirting.

There had been signs since high school.

It was a secret from Kal, but Eli had even consulted me about romance once.

That was secretly fun.

I never understood why people were so interested in others' love lives, but after trying it, I got it.

"Ayla, listen. You can just tell her I came back safely. That's not a lie either, is it?"

"Haah. When I first met you, I thought you were so reliable... How did you end up like this, oppa."

"Aren't I still reliable?"

"The problem is you cause more worry than reliability."

Kal scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

But Ayla's nagging didn't stop.

"When you get hurt, Teacher heals you, so haven't you gotten too used to that? That's why you keep getting cocky. I think you need to reflect on your attitude."

"That's really not it..."

At that moment, I cut in between the two.

"Kal, somehow every time I see you, you seem to come with wounds all over your body."

"Haha, I'm ashamed, Director."

"Still, well done."

"Yes?"

Kal's hand stopped on the back of his head.

After a moment, Kal opened his mouth.

"I'm a bit slow about these things, so let me ask... Is that irony, or are you sincerely praising me?"

"I'm sincerely praising you."

"May I ask why?"

"Well..."

I pointed with my chin—no, with a beak gesture—at the party members looking at Kal with worry.

"Didn't none of your party members get hurt? That's worthy of praise."

"That was just coincidence..."

"Student Kal. Hiding good deeds is a virtue, but if you hide them too much, there will come a day you regret it."

Academy healing genre specialty.

The protagonist's vocabulary skills are disastrous.

So it's unsolvable without external intervention.

Kal was a typical case of this.

'Even if you do well, no one notices.'

There's a common misconception people have.

The misconception that if you just work hard, someday they'll recognize you.

But that wasn't true.

I'm working hard, it's hard.

If you don't actively appeal things like that, people won't notice.

I realized that in my previous life too.

How did I find out?

Because of my nemesis and benefactor, my teacher.

Because I learned everything he taught, he thought it wasn't hard for me.

So one time I threw a fit and negotiated a compromise.

Beef that he used to buy once every six months, he would buy once a quarter.

And occasionally, please recommend my name on the Praise Me bulletin board.

— "Is this really enough? This was your complaint? Beef and recommendations, that's all?"

— "What did you think it was? Isn't it too much not to put my name on the Praise Me bulletin board even though I'm a fellow?"

— "You really... I can't tell whether you have no greed compared to your ability or are just stupid."

The teacher who accepted the negotiation at the time looked somewhat dissatisfied.

Anyway, after obtaining beef and honor that way, I realized.

Good deeds aren't meant to be hidden.

They must be actively promoted.

'So in this life too, I go out of my way to stage it and promote myself.'

Just because it's a misunderstanding genre doesn't mean you should assume they'll misunderstand on their own.

You package something trivial as something amazing.

Lie that something easily freeloaded was the result of enormous effort.

Even without talent, you must act as if you have talent.

Thanks to that, I, an ordinary 21st-century surgeon, am revered as a genius of the century and a saint.

My scholarship student Kal also needed to awaken to that truth.

So I intervened.

So others could know Kal's efforts.

"Student Kal is doing well. But trying to hide it too much is not a good habit either."

Ah, for reference, fear of Kal's darkening played a part too.

It wouldn't do for him to come find me later and stab me like a kung-fu snow leopard.

That was exactly the killing intent I once felt toward my teacher.