(Arin's Perspective)
I closed the door to the VVIP room slowly, creating a barrier between two contrasting worlds.
Inside, the laughter of Rose, Elena, and Erika still echoed faintly. They were joking around, basking in the lightness of relief as if the weight of the world had just been lifted from their shoulders.
However, out here in the hospital corridor that smelled of sharp antiseptic and was lit only by dim magic lamps, a suffocating silence immediately seized me.
I let out a long, heavy sigh, resting my back against the cold wooden door. Honestly, dealing with those three girls drained my energy far more than wrestling a Grizzly Bear to the death. A date? A formal dinner? All I wanted right now was a soft mattress and a solid twenty-four hours of comatose sleep.
"Done playing house, Kid?"
A heavy, raspy voice shattered my daydream.
My eyes snapped open. At the far end of the corridor, bathed in the flickering gloom of a dying lamp, a tall, bulky figure stood leaning against the wall. His arms were crossed over his chest, and his black instructor's cloak fluttered gently in the wind blowing from an open window.
It was Instructor Karim. His expression was grave, far stiffer than usual. There was no trace of the routine annoyance he usually displayed when seeing me.
I straightened my posture immediately. My alert mode engaged automatically. Damn, was he angry about the illegal magic duel yesterday? Or perhaps the deforestation caused by Erika's cannon?
"Instructor Karim," I greeted with a polite nod. "If you are here to collect fees for the arena repairs or the forest damage caused by Erika, please deduct it from my future scholarship. I am currently out of cash."
Karim let out a short snort. It wasn't a laugh of amusement; it was a dry, mocking sound. He walked closer, his heavy footsteps echoing on the silent marble floor like the ticking of a countdown clock.
"Forget the arena. That is a trivial matter," he said quietly when the distance between us was only two steps.
His eyes scanned the surroundings, ensuring no other ears were listening. "There is something far more urgent than holes in the ground. I heard you received a formal dinner invitation from Duke Rhyms for tomorrow."
I nodded. "Correct, Instructor. Elena said it was a personal thank-you from her father for saving her life. Apparently, they are preparing a delicious roast turkey."
"Thank you? Roast turkey?"
Karim laughed cynically. His voice sounded bitter, as if I had just told the most naive joke in the world.
"Arin, you are indeed a medical and tactical genius, but you are truly a newborn baby when it comes to politics."
He stopped right in front of me, staring straight into my eyes. His shadow blocked the lamp light, making his face look darker and more intimidating.
"Do you think the protection Elena shouted in the cafeteria comes for free? Do you think Karl Benzzi will just sit quietly in his room while his family's authority is challenged in public by a girl?"
I fell silent, feeling a bad premonition crawling up my neck. "What do you mean, Instructor?"
"This morning, exactly six hours after Elena declared her protection over you, the Benzzi Family completely blocked logistical access to Crystal Mine Sector 7," Karim explained in a cold tone, every word filled with emphasis. "That is the largest mine and the main source of income for the Rhyms Family."
My eyes widened. The Crystal Mine? That was a matter of national scale.
"They raised the transit tax by two hundred percent unilaterally. As a result, Rhyms Pharmaceutical stocks plummeted in the market. Elena's father lost three million gold coins in a single day. All because of Elena's one sentence."
My breath hitched. Three million gold coins vanished just to protect me? The scale was far larger than I had imagined.
"Duke Rhyms was a ruthless businessman before he became a loving father," Karim continued, his voice dropping to a whisper that pierced my ears like a needle. "He isn't inviting you to say thank you or to feed you good food. He is inviting you for an asset audit."
Karim's hand gripped my shoulder. The grip was strong, trembling slightly with suppressed emotion.
"Audit?" I asked weakly.
"In the Duke's eyes, you are now the cause of a massive loss. At that dinner, he will weigh you. He will assess whether this 'Genius Arin' is worth the loss of millions of gold he suffered. If the answer is 'Yes', he will protect you to the death."
Karim leaned in closer, his eyes staring at me with a terrifying intensity, forcing me to see the cruel reality of the noble world.
"But if he deems you unworthy... he won't hesitate to wrap your head as a 'peace offering' and send it to the Benzzi Family's doorstep for Karl to torture. That is the easiest way to stop his business losses."
My blood ran cold instantly.
The dinner invitation wasn't a celebration party. It was a valuation trial. And my life was the merchandise.
I brushed Karim's hand off slowly, then straightened the collar of my crumpled uniform. My brain, which previously craved rest, was now spinning fast, forced from relaxation mode into survival mode.
"So..." I muttered softly, a thin smile that didn't reach my eyes carving itself onto my lips. "This isn't about roast turkey. This is about placing my head on a merchant's scale."
"Exactly," Karim answered briefly.
He saw my quick reaction and nodded in satisfaction. At least his warning hadn't gone in one ear and out the other.
"Prepare yourself. Don't go empty-handed," Karim advised before turning away. "And be careful, Kid. The knives at a noble's dining table are often sharper than the swords in the arena."
Karim walked away, his black cloak disappearing around the dark corner of the hallway, leaving me alone with the threat he had just placed on my shoulders.
Behind the door to my rear, Elena's crisp laughter rang out again. They were unaware that out here, a political storm had just begun because of our actions.
I stared at my reflection in the hospital corridor window. Pale, tired, and now... endangered. Luckily, Karim gave me an early warning. If I had gone in naively, I would have died a foolish death.
My steps didn't head toward the ward, nor toward the exit gate to return to the dorm. I turned around, walking briskly toward Edna's Research Laboratory.
Muscles can fight monsters. But to fight a Noble angry about losing money? I needed something stronger than a fist. I needed absolute bargaining power.
Upon reaching the laboratory door, I opened it without knocking.
Inside, Doctor Edna was sitting relaxed in her chair, sipping hot black coffee. Her feet were propped up on the table, enjoying a rare moment of rest.
Seeing me enter with a serious face, Edna choked on her coffee.
Cough! "Arin?" Edna put her feet down quickly, staring at me with annoyance. "What now? Are they fighting again?"
"No, they are safe. I need your help, Doc. Right now," I answered quickly while grabbing a white lab coat hanging on the rack.
"What help? I was just about to rest!" Edna protested.
"Do you have biological waste?"
"Huh?" Edna gaped, her coffee cup pausing in mid-air. "Waste... what? You want to scavenge garbage at this hour?"
"Biological waste, Doc. Stale bread, rotten fruit, anything with mold growing on it. Where is it?" I pressed while putting on latex gloves with rapid movements.
Edna stared at me confusedly from behind her thick glasses, doubting my sanity. "It's at the end of the cabinet, in the disposal bin. But what for? Are you so hungry you want to eat trash?"
"I don't have time to explain the details, Doc," I replied while walking fast past shelves filled with preserved monster organs. "Tomorrow night I will be socially executed by Duke Rhyms if I don't bring a 'gift' of equal value. I need a weapon."
I reached the damp corner of the room. Inside a glass disposal container, there was a pile of leftover experimental food that had rotted.
My eyes lit up when I saw a piece of ration bread that had changed color. Its surface was covered in a fine velvet layer of blue-green mold. The smell was musty, stinging the nose.
"Disgusting," commented Edna who caught up to me, covering her nose with her sleeve. "That is Blue-Mold fungus. What do you want to do? Poison the Duke with stale bread? Is that your way of diplomacy?"
"Not poison, Doc," I muttered.
With care, I scraped the layer of blue mold using a sterile scalpel, then transferred it to a flat glass dish.
"I am going to save him, and his entire kingdom."
I moved fast. My hands danced over the workbench, preparing distillation equipment. Edna approached; her curiosity as a scientist began to awaken, overcoming her disgust.
I took gelatin from Slime bones as a planting medium because it was rich in nutrients, poured it into several glass dishes, then sprinkled the blue mold spores on top.
"Arin, are you serious?" asked Edna skeptically. "If you need poison, I have scorpion extract. If you need medicine, I have high-quality potions. Why bread mold?"
"Room temperature must be kept constant at twenty-four degrees," I muttered, ignoring her offer. "Doc, please get the distillation flask. I have to extract its essence; separate the toxin from the active substance."
Edna sighed, but she fetched the tool I asked for. She watched me mix the mold essence with a solution of pure alcohol and distilled water.
"You're trying to extract the microbes?" asked Edna again, her eyes narrowing sharply as she observed the process. "What for? Healing potions already exist, Arin. The Alchemist Guild sells them for one gold coin a bottle. You can't compete with their magic using only bread mold."
I paused for a moment. Staring at the murky liquid in the test tube I was heating over a small spirit flame.
"Magic potions work by forcing body cells to regenerate, Doc. That is good for sword cuts or broken bones," I explained quietly but seriously.
I turned to her. "But Potions cannot kill something living inside your blood. Potions cannot kill a fever caused by Golem filth infection or a sewer rat bite. It only strengthens the body to endure, but does not kill the attacker."
I lifted the tube. The liquid slowly changed color to a clear yellowish hue.
"This world cures external wounds with expensive magic. But they let commoners die in masses from fever, coughing blood, and small invisible infections."
I smirked thinly, staring at the golden liquid inside the tube.
"Duke Rhyms lost three million gold from the mine? This thing in my hand... if successfully developed, its value will make a gold mine look like a child's sandbox."
Edna fell silent. Her mouth opened slightly. She looked at the tube in my hand, then at my eyes.
For the first time, I saw a hint of fear in her eyes. Not fear of a monster, but fear of the revolutionary idea I had just thrown out.
"You are playing with fire, Arin," whispered Edna, her voice trembling. "The Alchemist Guild and the Church won't like it if you sell 'healing' without prayer and mana. You are challenging their monopoly."
"Let them be angry," I answered coldly while pouring the distilled liquid into a small glass vial the size of a thumb and corking it tightly. "Because when the plague comes later, their prayers won't save anyone. Isn't it always like that?"
Edna was stunned. She knew I was right. As a doctor, she often saw patients die of infection even after being bathed in healing magic. Magic didn't kill bacteria.
I pocketed the small vial. My political weapon was ready.
"Thanks for the bread, Doc. Just bill it to the Duke's account tomorrow if I survive."
The next evening.
A luxurious black carriage bearing the Silver Wolf crest stopped right in front of the dilapidated boys' dormitory. The striking contrast attracted the attention of several passing students.
The carriage door opened, and Rose Carlos stepped down.
She wasn't wearing her training armor today. The girl wore a formal blood-red gown that wrapped around her athletic body perfectly. Her red hair was bunned neatly, leaving a few strands framing her beautiful face. She looked elegant yet deadly, like a thorny rose.
However, her expression wasn't as bright as her dress. Her face was tense and anxious.
"Get in, Partner," said Rose without her usual mischievous smile. Her voice was low and serious. "Elena's father is in a very bad mood. The servants said he just fired three of his financial managers this morning for failing to cover the losses."
Rose looked at me with worry. "Are you sure you want to go? I can say you fell ill suddenly. We can buy time."
"Running will only prove I am worthless, Rose."
I touched my jacket pocket. The small glass vial felt cold against my fingertips. My confidence was solidified there.
"Don't worry," I said with a thin smile, stepping up into the carriage. "I am not coming empty-handed. I am bringing a dessert the Duke will like very much."
Rose looked at me skeptically, but she didn't ask further. She climbed in and closed the carriage door.
"Driver, go!" ordered Rose.
The horses were spurred. The carriage sped through the pitch-black night, carrying me toward the lion's den.
And the lion didn't know... that the sheep he invited for dinner carried a poison that could change the world order.