Chapter 47: Was Mistaken for Daddy-Long-Legs (6)

“What solution did the student have in mind? And what was our supplement?”

Under the shadow of the fedora.

Yulian's sharp gaze turned to Eli.

'What an interesting question from a student.'

Strictly speaking, it wasn't a very high-level question.

Yulian had already recognized the side effects of Insulin and was prepared for them.

He had already sent a guideline to the Healing Order about it.

The healers were already dealing with the side effects according to that guideline, using a supplement made by the Merkur Trading Company.

It had been that way for two years already.

In other words, Eli's question was, in a sense, based on dead knowledge.

However,

'She must have paid close attention in class.'

Yulian didn't forget that she was a middle school student, and her only means of gaining knowledge were textbooks and the Academy.

'The knowledge taught in school has to be correct, so it can't be helped.'

Textbook knowledge is quite conservative.

This is because you can't teach incorrect information to students who are building their basics.

In his previous life, unlike the field where knowledge was updated annually, textbooks were very slow to update.

Let alone in a world without the Internet.

It was only natural that Eli didn't know the correct answer.

'Rather, I should see it as a sign that she paid that much attention in class.'

Therefore, Eli, who asked such a question, seemed commendable to Yulian.

There was just the minor problem that she was currently unaware of her own image.

'Please, answer comfortably.'

In his own mind, Yulian thought he was playing the part of a kind Daddy-Long-Legs.

A mysterious and reliable adult who was always gentle with children and never spared investment.

He was projecting that image of an adult onto himself.

But the person actually sitting at the seat of honor in the restaurant was a completely different figure.

A genius Half-elf Director whose face was hidden by the shadow of his fedora, and whose depth of knowledge was unfathomable.

The weight of a question posed by such a Director to a middle school student could not feel light, no matter how much he consciously used gentle vocabulary and a soft voice.

'Ugh... Should I not have asked?'

Feeling the sharp(?) gaze of Director Schun from beyond the fedora's shadow, Eli lowered her eyes to the table.

She wasn't afraid that Director Schun would harm her.

It was just that, like a student afraid to answer a professor,

she felt a sense of reluctance that was difficult to put into words.

'Still, I asked the question. And I have an answer prepared.'

Eli took a deep breath, having a staring contest with the white tablecloth for a long while.

Finally, she steeled her resolve and answered Director Schun.

“Digitalis...”

Her voice gradually grew smaller, belying her newfound determination.

“It's a main ingredient in the Elixir of Concentration... It slows the heartbeat and, in turn, strengthens the force of the heart's contractions.”

Eli recalled what she had learned in a recent class.

In alchemy, there is a potion called the 'Elixir of Concentration' used for doping when one needs to focus on sniping or chanting.

Among its ingredients was the Digitalis plant, used to slow the heartbeat and strengthen the heart's contractility.

It was also a potion sometimes used for the elderly with weak hearts.

“When the heart is weakened by an Insulin overdose, I thought, what if we supported the heart's contractility with Digitalis... That's what I was thinking.”

Eli waited for Director Schun's response.

Director Schun was silent for a moment.

Eli's fingers fiddled with the frame of her eyeglasses again.

Soon, Director Schun spoke again.

“You've studied very hard.”

Yulian's voice was still gentle.

Eli's shoulders straightened slightly.

“Logically, it's a decent guess. The heart has weakened, so you use a drug that strengthens the heart. It's an intuitive and rational approach.”

“...Thank you.”

“However.”

Yulian's fingers stopped on the table.

“Unfortunately, the principle behind heart attacks from Insulin overdose is a bit different.”

“Is... that so?”

“Yes. The side effect of Insulin isn't that the heart stops because it's weakened. It stops because the blood potassium level drops rapidly.”

Eli blinked.

Potassium.

It was an element that an aspiring alchemist, who had to live and breathe the periodic table of elements, would surely know.

However, this was the first time she had connected it to the heart.

“Insulin draws glucose into the cells, but it pulls potassium in with it. That's why the blood potassium level drops sharply. If you administer Digitalis in that state...”

Yulian paused for a moment.

He then glanced around at the students' faces.

Blank stares were fixed on his hat.

Erika was even dozing off next to him.

“...”

A faint, bitter smile spread across Yulian's lips.

The ones he was dealing with were students from the Middle and High School Division.

And there were even students from unrelated departments present.

Above all, this was a restaurant, not a lecture hall.

He realized his mistake and corrected his words.

“I'll explain it more simply. Insulin has a property that maximizes the effect of Digitalis. Like oil and fire.”

A few of them nodded.

Most were the top students of departments where they spent a lot of time at a desk.

It was clear that students like Erika, whose main focus was physical activity, didn't understand but were just nodding along.

“So if you administer them together, it's the Digitalis that causes the heart attack. It's not helping a weakened heart, but stopping a perfectly healthy one.”

“I... I see. I've been presumptuous...”

“No. It was a good question.”

The lower half of Director Schun's face broke into a slight smile.

“You don't need to be afraid to ask questions or apologize for it. Rather, that is the proper attitude of a scholar.”

“...”

“And you said this is taught in the Undergraduate Division of the Department of Healing Arts. It's natural for a student from the Middle School Division's Department of Alchemy not to know. In fact, it's amazing that you even thought that far.”

As he spoke, Yulian glanced toward the restaurant entrance.

It was to check if the next course was being served.

Seeing that there was still time before the next dish arrived, he continued.

“And to give you the answer to your question, you use a supplement called Hartmann's Solution.”

Hartmann's Solution.

In the world Yulian originally lived in, it was an IV fluid created by a doctor named Alexis Hartmann.

The name, of course, came from the creator's family name.

However, in this world, Yulian had created it.

In this case, he could have naturally named the solution the Schnabel Solution.

But just as he hadn't called Quinine 'Tinin,'

he simply named the solution Hartmann's Solution because he himself would get confused.

'Come to think of it, Ringer was a person's name too...'

Yulian pushed the rambling thoughts to a corner and explained Hartmann's Solution to Eli.

“It's an IV fluid made with potassium salt, sodium, and lactic acid.”

“I-IV fluid?”

“You know what IV fluid is, right?”

“Yes... I do.”

Eli from the Department of Alchemy and Ayla, an aspiring Healing Arts student, nodded.

IV fluid was also one of the pharmaceuticals supplied by the Merkur Trading Company.

It was a drug mainly for treating patients with excessive bleeding and dehydration, a basic of basics treatment taught starting from the middle school division.

'I can't believe there was such an IV fluid... The Director had a plan for everything.'

Of course, the middle school curriculum did not yet teach Hartmann's Solution.

So, this was the first time she learned that it could reduce the side effects of Insulin.

Director Schun smiled sheepishly at the students' reactions and said.

“It wasn't that special of a supplement. Still, you studied very well. I look forward to you becoming an even more excellent alchemist in the...”

At that moment.

Director Schun's mouth snapped shut.

“...”

The students looked puzzled.

The person who had been speaking so gently just a moment ago had suddenly stopped.

What was going on?

The students anxiously watched Director Schun for his reaction.

“Director...?”

Erika called out cautiously.

He didn't answer, his gaze fixed on a point somewhere in the empty air.

“...Hmm.”

He let out a low groan for a while,

and then spoke again.

“Talking with the student, it occurred to me that this could be used in reverse. Why didn't I think of this before...”

“Pardon?”

“Insulin must have a protective effect on the heart muscle.”

Yulian took out his notebook.

Scratch, scratch

[GIK Therapy]

A treatment method where glucose and potassium are first injected into the blood, followed by insulin to push potassium into the heart.

Acute myocardial infarction, open-heart surgery, severe trauma and sepsis...

It was a modified use of insulin that Yulian had often used in his previous life.

'Why did I forget about this?'

He had forgotten because it was too obvious.

Just as a fish forgets it's in the sea,

GIK Treatment was so obvious that Yulian hadn't thought to announce it.

He even placed a bookmark in his notebook in case the memory evaporated.

“...”

The students stared blankly at Yulian.

A student frozen with a spoon in hand.

A student who stopped mid-chew on their blini.

A student who paused with a water cup to their lips.

The story of the genius Archmage who, upon receiving inspiration while bathing, ran out into the street, came to mind.

A strange silence filled the room.

And beside him, Erika pressed a hand to her forehead as if to say he was hopeless.

Soon, Yulian, having finished his memo, looked up again.

“Thank you, Student Eli.”

“Y-Yes... Could it be that you've thought of a new medicine?”

“Not exactly. Thanks to you, I was able to think of a new use for Insulin. There's no need to invent anything new; I just need to add a new guideline for the medicines the company is already selling.”

Yulian said as he put the notebook in his pocket.

“The heavy snow will be here soon, so I should send a telegram with the guideline to the Healing Order then. It will be a great help to patients with heart disease during the winter.”

It might become a standard first aid guideline as early as next spring.

Yulian thought so and smiled gently.

“This was a truly wonderful time.”

Eli's heart pounded wildly.

It wasn't the thrill of youthful infatuation.

It was simply her heart racing from the fact that, as a scholar, she had contributed to a historic moment.

The other students looked at Eli with envious eyes.

With that, a small murmur arose among the students.

“What just happened?”

“I don't know... We were talking about Insulin and then suddenly...”

“I understood that he thought of a new treatment method.”

“During a conversation?”

“Is that even possible...?”

Yulian ignored the students' whispers.

A flood of compliments he hadn't heard in a long time.

He fought back the corners of his mouth from turning up.

'To get this kind of reaction over a simple IV fluid.'

To him, the IV fluid was the easiest medicine he had made so far.

No, he was embarrassed to even call it a medicine.

All he had done was mix potassium chloride, sodium, and so on into magically purified water.

Development time: one week.

Yulian could confidently say that there would be no other effortless invention like this in his lifetime.

And yet, the students were reacting to the combination of that IV fluid and Insulin as if it were a discovery of the century.

'At this rate, I might mistakenly think I'm a genius myself.'

Creak.

Just then, Yulian returned to reality with the sound of the door opening.

“The main course is ready, if that is all right, Director?”

“Ah, please, Chef.”

The chef nodded and snapped his fingers.

Soon, ten staff members entered the room carrying silver trays.

“Today's main is Beef Wellington.”

Yulian focused on the chef's explanation.

Along with the thought that it was too easy to play the genius in this world.

***

Civitas Square.

In front of the boarding house where the sisters Ayla and Valeria lived.

Under the light of a streetlamp, a woman was pacing.

It was the priestess, the mother of the two daughters.

She waited for the carriage carrying her daughters to arrive, repeatedly looking to the end of the street.

'They'll come back safely, right...'

Of course, she wasn't without worry.

Even if it was a banquet for the Scholarship Foundation, it was strange to keep middle school children out this late.

What if something had happened?

What if this person named Director Schun was a bad person?

Such worries followed one after another.

It was then.

Rumble, rumble.

The sound of carriage wheels rolling on the road could be heard.

The priestess's head shot up.

A carriage was appearing at the end of the street.

Upon confirming the carriage bore the foundation's mark, the priestess's heart began to race.

The carriage soon came to a stop in front of the boarding house.

“Mom!”

Ayla jumped out.

Valeria followed slowly behind her.

“...”

The priestess scanned her daughters' faces.

Anxiously checking if they were hurt or had experienced something frightening.

Fortunately, both daughters' faces were full of bright energy.

If anything, their faces seemed to glow.

The strength left the priestess's shoulders in a sense of relief.

“Let's go inside quickly. It's cold out. Thank you for bringing them home, Coachman.”

“Have a good night, Mother (Formal)!”

Clip-clop.

The coachman gave a good-natured smile and disappeared back into the darkness of the street.

The priestess took her two daughters and went into the room.

2nd floor of the boarding house, inside a small rented room.

Having returned home, the priestess sat across from her daughters at the table and asked.

“How was it? This person, Director Schun...”

Ayla smiled brightly as if she had been waiting.

“The food was so delicious, and the Director was very kind!”

“I-Is that so?”

“Yes! He even knew that I like growing flowers!”

The priestess's eyebrows rose slightly.

It was a reaction that far exceeded her expectations.

The priestess then asked Valeria.

“And how was it for my big girl?”

Valeria nodded, cradling a teacup in her hands.

“...He wasn't a bad person. In fact, it felt like he paid attention to each and every student. Like Ayla said, he knew what the students liked.”

“I see...”

The priestess's expression softened a little.

Thankfully, it seemed this Director Schun was not the villain she had imagined.

Just then, Ayla's eyes sparkled as she spoke.

“Oh! And Mom, I learned a lot today!”

“What did you learn?”

“Insulin and IV fluid... uh... that thing...”

Ayla's gaze turned toward the ceiling.

She looked like she was trying hard to remember something.

“That... what was it again. Potassium? And glucose... if you use them together, it can protect the heart...”

“...What did you say?”

The priestess's eyes widened.

“And he said if you do a pre-treatment with some kind of IV fluid before using Insulin, it can reduce the side effects!”

“...”

The priestess was speechless for a moment.

What on earth did he teach a middle school child?

“That's... something you learn in the Undergraduate Division of the Department of Healing Arts...”

“Right! The Director said so too! He said it was okay not to know!”

“...”

The priestess was dumbfounded, but at the same time, felt a strange sense of relief.

At least he didn't seem like a strange person.

Someone who intended to harm children wouldn't bother teaching them such things.

At the same time, she caught a glimpse of Director Schun's humanity.

'Director Schun...'

A mix of complicated emotions washed over her.

He wasn't a bad person.

That was very good news for both her daughters and herself.

However, the reason she had formed a connection with him wasn't a very good one, and that bothered her a little.

'I just have to keep quiet.'

Director Schun was now a heavyweight in the field of Healing Arts, comparable to a high-ranking priest or a cardinal.

The Director of the Capital Infirmary would have to bow his head to Director Schun.

To use a military metaphor, it was as if a common soldier had caught the eye of a Knight Commander.

Thinking about it that way, her stomach started to hurt, regardless of the fact that Director Schun might not be a bad person.

In the end, the priestess resolved to stop by an alchemy workshop on her way to work tomorrow morning to buy a stomach-protection potion.

While the priestess was thinking this, Ayla spoke again.

“Mom.”

“Yes?”

“I want to become a healer just like Director Schun.”

At those words, the priestess's hand froze.

“...Really?”

“Yes! I'm going to study hard too, and help a lot of people like the Director when I grow up.”

The priestess looked at her daughter's face for a moment.

It was a bright face, one that still didn't know the cold reality.

First of all, to become a healer, simply graduating from the seminary was not enough.

A priest who graduated from the seminary was just a regular priest, not a healer.

To become a healer, one must not only graduate from the seminary but also undergo an awakening of divine power.

And this awakening of divine power was not something that could be achieved through bloodline or effort.

It was a realm that depended solely on luck.

'I was only able to become a healing priest because my awakening came late.'

Besides, even if one awakened their divine power, not everyone could become a healer.

Like a mage, knowledge was also required.

There was a reason why even a low-rank healer received a status comparable to that of an artisan.

'And even healers like that are no match for Director Schun...'

And Director Schun was someone even those carefully selected healers couldn't dare to compare themselves to.

Unaware of such facts.

Ayla was blindly declaring that she would become like Director Schun.

A bitter smile spread across her face as she looked at that face.

“...Alright.”

The priestess stroked her daughter's head.

“Of course you can, Ayla.”

Ayla was still a 14-year-old child.

Isn't she at an age where she is still allowed to dream?

Thinking so, the priestess wiped a bit of sauce from the corner of Ayla's mouth.

*

Meanwhile.

At that time, Yulian was on his way back to the mansion in a limousine.

Rumble, rumble.

Every time the car shook, red hair swayed on his lap.

“Heheh.”

It was Erika.

The bodyguard was asleep with her head on the lap of the person she was supposed to protect.

Even snoring contentedly.

It wasn't the first time this had happened, so Yulian chuckled and opened his notebook.

'Lots to memorize...'

He was about to organize his memos on the students he met today, as he remembered them.

The fountain pen scratched across the paper.

=====================

Kal

Department of Swordsmanship.

Persona:

Hot-Blooded Type.

Seems like he'll be the center of this year's group.

The kind of young man who'd shout 'Delicious!' if you gave him a lunch box.

Seems to have a crush on Eli from the Department of Alchemy.

Potential: Medium

——————————————

Eli

Department of Alchemy

Persona:

Glasses-wearing Bocchi.

Has a habit of fiddling with her glasses.

Curious about her teacher.

Potential : Medium-High

——————————————

Bear (Forgot his name)

Department of Military Studies.

Persona:

Martial Artist to the bone. General material.

Potential: Medium-Low

=====================

Yulian paused his pen for a moment.

All that was left were the sisters.

====================

Valeria

Department of Diplomatic Economy.

Persona:???

Potential:???

====================

To be honest, he didn't know much about this child.

She had been quiet throughout the meal.

Was she introverted, calculating, or just nervous?

He needed to observe her more next time.

'Based on her appearance, she seems like a good fit for the disciplinary committee... No. I'm not a physiognomist.'

He also considered trying to guess her personality based on her appearance, following the convention of web novels.

According to that convention, the girl named Valeria had a rather strong-willed impression.

But such a guess had the potential to create unnecessary prejudice.

In the end, Yulian left Valeria's section blank.

And finally.

===============

Ayla

Seminary Middle School Division

Persona:

Airhead

Potential:...

===============

Yulian's pen stopped for a moment.

Something about Ayla's special skill came to mind.

— Very good at growing flowers.

Yulian had remembered this detail before the meal and asked Ayla about it during dinner.

— “I heard you like growing flowers, Student Ayla.”

— “Yes! I love growing flowers! When I become a healer like my mom, I'm going to grow medicinal herbs myself!”

In the process, because she revealed that her mother was a doctor, there was a brief misunderstanding among the students that the two sisters were from a 'golden spoon' family.

Anyway, at that time, Ayla had said this.

— “I'm even growing a sunflower right now!”

'A sunflower...'

Remembering this, Yulian's eyes narrowed.

A sunflower.

A flower that loves sunlight.

No, a flower that absolutely cannot grow without sunlight.

But what about this world?

A world where sunlight is blocked by Magi Smog.

It is difficult to see a clear sky in the walled city.

Especially in a middle-class area like Civitas Square.

The sunflower was a flower of very high ornamental value even in Sanctum Hill.

Not to mention the maintenance costs.

'A sunflower in a place like that?'

Naturally, a child whose family circumstances required a scholarship couldn't have raised it with the power of money.

In other words, this meant there was something about Ayla.

Yulian was lost in thought for a moment.

If Ayla really did raise a sunflower...

And without sunlight at that...

'...Perhaps.'

The corners of Yulian's mouth slowly rose.

The fountain pen moved again.

==============

Ayla

Seminary

+ Aspires to be in the Department of Healing Arts.

Persona:

Airhead.

+At least a healing priest

+Potential Romance Fantasy Female Lead. Or a Saintess.

Potential: Highest

Note: Close protection and buying low seem necessary

===============

'Hmm...'

Yulian thought while biting his pen.

Seriously wondering if he should give them a factory tour next time instead of another meal.