IRHWSDD 41

The School Nurse’s Secret (2)

Then she moved to the bustling capital.

She rented a small room near an apothecary and began practicing alchemy again, which she had abandoned. Even though she couldn’t see, with the apothecary owner’s help, she could at least make simple healing potions.

And one day, as if struck by lightning, she awakened the “eye of the mind,” the pinnacle of alchemy.

This sixth sense allowed her to perceive the essence of all substances. It didn’t restore her physical sight, but she could understand the fundamental state of people and matter.

“After losing everything, true mastery finally comes.”

Thanks to this, she was finally able to succeed in creating the fabled Golden Elixir, which, contrary to its name, had a reddish hue.

“The Philosopher’s Stone wasn’t necessary from the start. You can’t focus on just one thing—you must see the whole to create the Golden Elixir.”

Though her equipment was inadequate and the result imperfect, it was a success nonetheless.

〈Hey, Gale. Come down and see this. The military academy is hiring a school nurse.〉

Hearing about the school nurse position and encouraged by the apothecary owner, Gale was able to take the post.

There, she used her Golden Elixir to treat injured students. She diluted it enough to keep its true identity secret, so its effects were gradual.

〈Ugh, teacher! My bone is broken! How can you just put this kind of medicine on it?〉

〈Don’t worry. This will heal you.〉

〈That’s impossible! It’d be better to go to a clinic nearby.〉

Some mocked her as a quack; others teased her for being a devotee of the red potion—but Gale paid little attention. Even if healing was slow, safety mattered more. The students would think it was natural recovery anyway.

Years later, Gale met Luke­na, who had entered the academy.

〈Hello, school nurse. I’m Luke­na Golden.〉

Luke­na, disguised as a boy, hesitated before entering the infirmary. Gale nearly cried.

“Sending Luke­na to a boys’ school under the Golden count’s supervision… The Red Eagle’s surveillance must have been relentless all this time.”

How much had that little child suffered? That child, now seeming as pure as white light.

〈I hurt my arm falling during the entrance ceremony… Are you okay, teacher?〉

〈Huh? Oh, yes. I’m fine. Are you okay?〉

Gale embraced Luke­na tightly.

〈T-Teacher?〉

Luke­na was overwhelmed, but what could she do? As the Clossette lady had said, fate had brought them together. That bond had kept Gale alive. She was simply moved.

〈You said you fell?〉

〈Yes. I clumsily missed a step on the stairs.〉

〈It’s okay. Trust me and fall as much as you need—I’ll heal everything.〉

〈Huh?〉

〈If you try too hard not to fall, you never learn how to get back up. I struggled a lot because of that.〉

Whenever Luke­na visited the infirmary, Gale treated her carefully. If she came bleeding from being beaten, Gale let her endure and supported her as she overcame it herself. She wanted Luke­na to be stronger than her past self.

“She was such a wildflower of a child… Now, by graduation, she’s become so dependable.”

Gale smiled warmly, reflecting on the past. Luke­na had grown strong enough to confront the Red Eagle.

“Fritz… I wonder what decision you made after seeing my gift.”

Though the ending was predictable, Gale secretly hoped. That Fritz had abandoned dark magic and started dreaming of a new future. That he had restarted Golden Elixir research from scratch with the woman he loved.

“My love is persistent too, it seems… because I hope you survive even when you were cruel to me.”

If he hadn’t filled her flowerpot with dandelions, hadn’t patted her back when she was frustrated, hadn’t scored her so poorly… could she have stopped loving him?

“Now, I’ll really let go.”

Gale bowed her head, finally saying goodbye to twenty years of solitary love. She had to be composed for the news that would soon arrive. At that moment, she wanted to try not to stumble, just as she had learned from him. That was the utmost respect she could show when faced with the remains Luke­na would bring.

The students who had resolved the incident returned to school.

After the ceremony awarding medals ended, Luke­na went straight to the infirmary.

Though she had many things to tell Gale, the moment she stood at the door, her throat tightened.

“How do I tell her that my father died horribly?”

The divorce papers had been shredded, the story that he had been having affairs, even attempted to poison the Grand Sage… how could she possibly convey that?

Luke­na hesitated and fretted at the door.

“Why are you just standing there, Luke­na?”

Gale opened the infirmary door for her and welcomed her in.

“I-I’m back, teacher.”

Luke­na followed hesitantly.

“Why the sad face, after so long?”

“Teacher…”

“Yes?”

“My father… has passed away.”

“Haha, it’s okay. I expected it.”

Gale smiled wryly. Fritz probably hadn’t given up his greed.

“They say he got swept away by dark magic, to the point that even his remains couldn’t be retrieved.”

“…I see.”

This was unexpected. Gale had planned to bury his remains on the dandelion hill as a final farewell, but he left in the cruelest possible way, denying even that final chance.

“I’m sorry, teacher.”

“That’s not something you should apologize for. I’m just glad you returned safely. Are you hurt anywhere?”

Gale reached out, feeling Luke­na’s face and arms. When she found scabs, she carefully applied her red ointment.

“Why did you marry such a bad man, teacher?”

“Haha, did he seem bad?”

“Yes. He was greedy, always scoring others and showing off. He told me I was only worth thirty points.”

Gale chuckled.

“At the time, I guess I liked even that. He gave me generous points—at least to me.”

Back then, she was inexperienced and cautious, worried she could barely reach 70 points. She had clung desperately to the points he gave her each day. Now, she knew only she could rate herself.

“I guess I have no eye for men. Now, I can barely stand to look at men, so remarriage is out of the question.”

With the treatment finished, Gale held Luke­na’s hands tightly.

“Thank you for coming through with this, Luke­na. I know it must have been hard.”

“It’s nothing, really.”

As Luke­na turned to leave, she noticed the trash can beside the desk. Gale’s cherished dandelion bookmark was there.

“Oh, by the way… teacher, something odd—I found dried dandelions in your husband’s desk drawer.”

“…Really? Must have been for experiments.”

“Alright then, I’ll head in. Thank you, teacher.”

“Go on, rest well.”

Luke­na left the infirmary.

A few steps away, she thought she heard quiet sobbing from inside, but she clenched her fists and returned to the dormitory.

Arriving at the dorm, Luke­na stared blankly at the first-floor mural depicting the Demon War.

The three heroes and brave knights fighting desperately against the demons were depicted dynamically.

‘High Visby… Am I really the last descendant of the saint?’

「Repeating the same question for the ninth time. The Great Holy Sword suspects its master of dementia.」

‘Unbelievable. It’s just because I asked the same question a few times.’

It seemed her body had a more significant role in the story than initially thought, like the saint in the mural who was cheerfully defeating demons.

‘But now that I look, the mural is strange.’

Among all the figures, only Saint Clossette’s face lacked distinct features.

‘An egg-faced ghost, what’s that about?’

It irritated her that her ancestor seemed to have been ignored by the artist.

Hero Wigratz’s face was blurry too, but that must have been someone’s prank, not originally missing.

As she examined the mural, the dorm lobby grew noisy with returning students, filling the air with sweat.

Ugh, Luke­na thought, blocking her nose as she headed to her room.

“Who was the idiot that gave Luke­na a bad smell?”

Hans, who had applauded the most during the medal ceremony, scowled and approached Luke­na.

‘You. Your smell is the worst, you brat.’

Luke­na met Hans with a horrified expression.