"Then let's begin."
The Empress solemnly declared.
This was the altar in the prayer room, which was also used for gatherings. A small church within the estate grounds.
A servant of our family brought two transparent bottles. The liquid sloshing inside was holy water.
Father and the Empress maintained a serious atmosphere.
Their reasons would differ, of course.
The Empress must be feeling chills down her spine as she gambled a fortune, hoping I would somehow unlock the talent of a Saint.
Father was worried I might come to harm.
Everyone's being too serious.
Being so tense won't help matters succeed.
"If you've brought it, don't dawdle and hand it over quickly."
I snatched the holy water from the servant. He focused intently on my hands, anxious that the bottle might break.
Don't worry. I have no intention of wasting it either.
I opened the cork of the holy water and sniffed it.
"Is this spoiled? It smells a bit sour."
"What? This is premium holy water made by our family's healers. Holy water couldn't possibly spoil..."
"Haha, just joking."
Without hesitation, I poured the bottle's contents into the Holy Grail before me.
This was the process to activate the Grail's power.
The liquid inside could have been ordinary water, but they insisted on bringing the premium stuff just for show.
If they wanted to be fancy, they should have used orange juice. People in this era are vitamin deficient.
"When the Young Lord drinks the holy water in the Grail, his talent will bloom. Whatever it is will be displayed as a pattern on the surface of the remaining liquid."
The Empress explained.
So here it appears as a pattern.
I'll be able to see it through my status window.
"Please recite the prayer."
The Empress requested of my father. Father took out a Holy Book and opened its pages.
As if doing such things would change innate talent. Is this some folk belief where praying before a gacha pull gives you a 5-star?
The result is already determined.
Without waiting to hear more, I gulped down the contents of the Grail.
"Wait, hold on!"
"Ugh, it doesn't even taste good."
As I wiped my mouth with my sleeve and smacked my lips, the Empress gaped in shock.
I set the Grail down on the floor with a thud.
"Now, let's check what we've got here."
The surface of the remaining holy water rippled as a pattern formed.
The Empress immediately prostrated herself, pressing her nose to the floor. Her posture was laughable.
Is it Sakura? It is Sakura!
The line I felt compelled to say rose to the tip of my tongue. I barely suppressed the instinct and focused on my status window.
"Hmm."
I winced as a sudden pain shot through my head with a crack.
I barely managed to suppress the urge to vomit.
That must have been because of the revolting taste of the holy water.
It tasted like vinegar that had been fermenting for months.
"Ah, I feel a bit dizzy."
The letters in my status window became distorted.
My vision blurred into two layers as if my eyes couldn't focus properly.
Well, whatever wonderful thing they're trying to give me...
[The effect of the Holy Grail of Revelation is activated.]
[Talent lock is being released.]
Yes, I know. I just took that shot.
Hurry up and tell me what it is. I'm dying of curiosity. I need to know before I pass out.
[Talent has been unlocked.]
[Medicine(S) skill tree has been unlocked.]
"Oh."
I definitely had two talents.
One of them was [Medicine].
"Medicine is definitely not a skill tree that should exist in the original story?"
It's a concept that doesn't even exist in this world.
Is it possible that the knowledge and talent I possessed before my possession has been carried over and transformed into a skill?
Now I understand why I had two talents.
"I like it."
I check the basic skills I currently have.
―――――――――――
○ Medicine D
A skill that treats targets based on modern medical knowledge.
· Diagnosis D
Partially identifies the patient's condition.
· Prescription D
Slightly improves the treated patient's condition.
· Emergency Treatment Mastery E
Performs first aid slightly faster.
―――――――――――
"Starting from D, huh. It's a system where I raise the rank by accumulating experience or when the next skill is unlocked. Meaning I can raise it up to S."
These are the best skills for utilizing my knowledge in this world.
Right now I only see diagnosis and prescription, but later on, might there be skills like dermatological procedures?
Among doctors, dermatologists were famous for having low labor intensity and earning good money.
This is amazing.
My lips curl up involuntarily.
"It's appeared! This pattern is...!"
The Empress exclaimed while looking at the cup.
Come to think of it, there was one more.
The talent that belonged to the body, not my mind—Lars Gotberg's original talent.
"What will appear here?"
The Empress stupidly doesn't know that there's no such thing as the talent of a Saint or Saintess.
Even what Neria had was just divine talent that strengthened her healing power. Being chosen as a Saintess comes much later.
Since I'm getting it, I might as well make good use of it.
Holding my dizzy head, I scroll through the status window to check the next line.
"What is this... What?"
Anger spread across the Empress's face after hearing the servant's explanation.
This was the expected reaction since I wasn't a Saint.
Suppressing a laugh, I checked my second talent.
[Talent has been unlocked.]
[Alchemy(S) skill tree has been unlocked.]
"Alchemy?"
This was unexpected.
"Alchemy! That has nothing to do with being a Saint!"
The Empress jumped up from her seat and stomped around furiously.
I shrugged my shoulders.
"Well, looks like I was destined to be an alchemist? Father, should I go to some mine to dig for copper now? I could become rich in an instant just by rubbing my palms together!"
When I made a joke, pretending not to understand the gravity of the situation, the Empress grabbed the back of her neck.
"Good heavens. That I trusted this rascal... Oh my."
"Excuse me? Your Majesty, I think I just heard a strange word?"
The Empress bit her lip.
"You misheard. Congratulations on unlocking your talent, Young Lord."
"Come now, I'm taking the physician exam, what use is alchemy to me? You called it an amazing artifact, but it's nothing special. Would Your Majesty like to try it?"
I picked up the Grail.
As soon as I did, the Grail began to melt from the handle I was holding, dissolving into nothing.
Of course, it was a one-time-use artifact.
"My goodness, you said it was expensive, but how flimsy. Hehehe."
"...I must be out of my mind, truly."
The Empress turned abruptly and stomped out of the prayer room.
I continue checking my status window.
―――――――――――
○ Alchemy D
A skill that enhances or changes the characteristics or properties of target substances.
· Enhancement D
Slightly improves one characteristic of a substance.
· Compression E
Reduces the volume while maintaining the properties of a substance.
· Synthesis E
Synthesizes into a substance with the characteristics of two materials.
―――――――――――
"Oh? This..."
Looking at the description, an idea came to mind.
In this world, alchemy is typically a supplementary profession skill.
In other words, compared to talents like swordsmanship or magic, it's considered worthless.
It's usually only used on metals, like enhancing iron to reduce the cost of armor production.
It's mainly a supplementary profession for blacksmiths...
"But it's not limited to metals."
It can be used on all substances.
If I combine this with medicine.
"It's practically a pharmaceutical skill."
In this world where wounds can only be healed with healing arts, I can make medicine?
I'll be raking in money by the handful.
"This is also amazing."
I stood up from my seat, satisfied.
"Lars, are you feeling alright?"
Father asked me with concern. I nodded.
"Yes. I'm just a bit dizzy, but otherwise fine."
"Let's go get you healed first. I've prepared for it."
Father seems to have been worried about the side effects of the Grail.
While I appreciate the trust, I'd rather check myself than receive that tedious healing.
"I think I'll be fine after going back and resting. Don't worry too much... *cough, cough, ahem*. Don't worry."
"Hmm... If you say so, but..."
"Yes. *cough, cough*."
Strangely, I keep coughing.
Somehow, I feel like I can't breathe properly.
I continue checking my status window.
[You have acquired a debuff.]
[Continuous Health Reduction E (Growth type, Cannot be removed)]
What is this?
"Father."
"Yes, Lars."
"It's nothing serious, *cough*, but I might need some support after all..."
"Lars? Lars!"
I lost consciousness before finishing my sentence.
***
[Health has decreased.]
[Health has decreased.]
[Health has decreased.]
"So, basically."
It's a debuff that reduces my health by 0.1 even when I'm just breathing.
And when health reaches 0, I die.
"This is ridiculous. *cough, cough*!"
The next day, waking up in my room, I coughed up phlegm mixed with blood.
My maximum health is now 4.
About 2.8 remains.
The one fortunate thing is that while sleeping, the natural recovery rate exceeds the reduction rate.
"Neria just ended up not growing as tall."
Why am I facing a life-threatening crisis within days?
As if being engaged to a villainess who wants to kill me wasn't unfortunate enough.
"Still, I unlocked two talents."
Alchemy and medicine.
One didn't just spring up from nowhere.
The knowledge I had before possession became a skill.
I always thought I was running on a hamster wheel, but somehow it feels good to have my results acknowledged.
"It should make deleting bad endings easier too."
But if I collapse first, it's all for nothing.
Is this the price for talent?
"There's nothing fair about this price."
No matter how I look at it, I got screwed over.
If luck were displayed as a stat on my status window, it would definitely be in the negative, reaching underground levels.
"Then I'll have to overcome it with talent."
I need to fix my own body, don't I?
Whatever, I just need to raise my fallen health.
"Medicine, alchemy."
Let's write a prescription and make some medicine.
The patient is myself.
It's time for this quack doctor's first consultation.