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"Luna, I have no intention of nagging you about skipping your studies. That's between you and Tida. But if you get in my way, I'll throw you out, call Tida over, and lecture the pair of you."
The Minister of Finance made it crystal clear that she would drag Tida into this as well.
Even Luna clapped a hand over her mouth and nodded.
"And also, Tenma. From now on, you won't need to ask for permission every time you want to use the archive. I'll speak to His Majesty about it. However, forbidden books are stored in the basement, so don't go down there."
Once the Minister of Finance finished speaking, she turned the pages of her book as if we weren't even there, jotting down notes.
We weren't quite brave enough to sit next to the Minister of Finance, so we claimed seats further away and started searching for books.
"So, what kind of book are you looking for, big brother?"
Luna asked while setting several children's books down on the table.
"Books related to magic. Well, a few on medicine are mixed in there too."
When I said "medicine," I thought I saw the Minister of Finance react, but when I looked over, she was still turning pages just like before.
"Can you make medicine too, big brother?"
"Yeah. When I was in Kukuri Village, my mother drilled the basics into me. So I've been studying how to compound medicines and how to use them."
As I was talking with Luna like that, the Minister of Finance suddenly stood up from her seat and came over to us.
"Tenma, your mother would be Lady Celia, correct? And it was this Lady Celia who taught you how to compound medicine?"
"Yes, that's right, but..."
I gave a half-hearted answer to the sudden question, but the Minister of Finance didn't seem to care about that at all—she suddenly bowed her head to me.
"Please, Tenma. I need your help!"
The Finance Minister's abrupt change in demeanor nearly made my head spin, but I took a deep breath and tried to compose myself before addressing the minister, who was still bowing low.
"For starters, please raise your head. It's hard to talk like that, and more importantly, I can't help you if you don't tell me what's going on."
"You're right... I'm sorry for springing this on you so suddenly."
The Finance Minister raised her head, took several deep breaths, and once she had calmed down, sat in a chair and began to explain the situation.
"The help I need from you concerns my wife. She has actually always been frail, and it wasn't unusual for her to be bedridden from time to time. But starting about six months ago, something has seemed off."
According to the Finance Minister, her wife had been bedridden for roughly half a year now. At first, she figured it was just a mild cold like any other. But one month passed, then two, and there was no sign of improvement whatsoever.
Apparently there were occasions when her symptoms would lighten a bit, but she couldn't stand on her own—propping herself up was all she could manage.
Recently, the movement in her limbs had grown even more sluggish. They had taken her to doctors in the Royal Capital and tried all manner of medicines, but nothing seemed to have much effect.
"But I'm not a doctor or anything. I only learned a little about medicine from my mother..."
I was wondering why they thought I, of all people, could be of any help—and then the minister explained.
"Tenma's mother, Lady Celia, was well-known as an apothecary. Moreover, the medicines crafted from the fine herbs of Kukuri Village were considered hidden gems even in the Royal Capital, and they were highly sought after among the nobility."
That, apparently, was the reason.
"I've never heard any of that... but I'm not sure I can actually be of help."
"That doesn't matter! There may be things that the Royal Capital's doctors don't know, but that you learned from Lady Celia! Right now, I want to try every possibility, no matter how small!"
The Finance Minister's desperation was palpable. I wasn't sure whether I could actually help, but after making that clear, I agreed to at least go and see her wife.
"Thank you. I'll go get everything ready right away—please wait for me at the entrance!"
With that, the Finance Minister hurried out of the study.
"What should we do about the minister's books... I suppose someone else will fix them. More importantly, what about Luna?"
Luna thought for a moment, then quickly began tidying the books back onto the shelves.
"I'm coming too! It's been ages since I last saw my aunt!"
Since Luna said that, we both left the library, and as we opened the door, we happened to run right into Tida.
"There you are! Tenma, what is the meaning of this!"
Seeing Tida looking slightly annoyed, Luna quickly hid behind me.
"Ah, Luna happened to slip into the library while I was reading after Tida and I parted ways. She started studying, so I just left her to it... My apologies."
I lied smoothly, and while Tida didn't seem entirely convinced, she reluctantly accepted when I said the Minister of Finance had been there too... The Minister had indeed been present, so it wasn't a complete lie.
"So, Tida. I'm going to see the Minister of Finance's wife now, and I think I'll bring Luna along."
"To my aunt's? She's ill, so won't Luna be a bother... Besides, she has studies..."
At Tida's words, Luna seemed to get irritated, but before she could make a fuss, I spoke up.
"Sometimes a change of scenery is needed, and I'm sure your aunt would be happy to see Luna. Besides, if it's really a problem, the Minister can stop us... And studying in her current state probably isn't sinking in anyway, right?"
I tried persuading Tida by pointing at Luna, who was sulking with puffed cheeks behind me.
"...Well, that may be true... but refusing to study just because she's sulking..."
"Come on, come on, I have a plan. Luna, you have to behave yourself properly during the next study session, okay? If you do that, I'll make sure Shiromaru and Solomon invite you when they go out to play."
Recently, Shiromaru and the others had been a bit lacking in exercise, and I was planning to have them play to their hearts' content sometime soon.
There was no way Luna, who adored Solomon, could resist this temptation!
Sure enough, upon hearing my words, Luna's face broke into a wide smile.
"Really? Really, really? Then I'll do my best with my studies!"
Tida was surprised by Luna's sudden change of mood and wore a complicated expression, but since Luna was finally motivated, she just made her promise for the next study session and went back.
"Big brother! Make sure you keep your promise!"
Cheerfully, Luna grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the entrance.
In the entrance hall, the Minister of Finance had not yet arrived; only a single carriage was parked there. Incidentally, a person I had never seen before was sitting in the driver's seat.
"Sorry to keep you waiting?"
Not long after we arrived at the entrance, the Minister of Finance came hurrying over, out of breath.
"No, we just got here. Also, Luna says she wants to come along — is that alright?"
As I said this and looked over at Luna, she was already in the process of climbing into the carriage.
"Well, I suppose that's fine. It doesn't seem to be the kind of illness that's contagious, and my wife would be happy to see Luna again after so long."
Seeing Luna peeking at us from inside the carriage, the Minister of Finance said this with a sigh.
"Just get in for now. My estate isn't too far from the Royal Castle, but even so, we might be cutting it close at this hour."
The Minister of Finance hurriedly ushered me into the carriage and told the driver where to go.
It took about twenty minutes for the carriage to reach the Minister of Finance's estate from the entrance.
Once we got out of the carriage, the Minister of Finance led us through the entrance at a brisk pace.
We passed several servants along the way who looked surprised, but when they saw the Minister of Finance heading straight up to the second floor without so much as a glance, they seemed to understand something and went back to their work.
"It's me. I'm coming in, Mizari."
Upon arriving at the corner room on the second floor, the Minister of Finance opened the door without even bothering to knock.
Through the open door, we could see a woman lying in bed looking our way, and what appeared to be a maid attending to her.
The maid bowed upon seeing the Minister of Finance, then left the room.
"What's the matter? Why are you in such a rush?"
"I'm sorry for the sudden visit. The truth is, I've brought someone to take a look at your illness."
Saying this, the Minister of Finance beckoned me over where I was standing at the door.
"I believe I've mentioned him to you before, but he's Tenma — the one who helped my father in Kukuri Village. Tenma, this is my wife, Mizaria."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Tenma."
"Oh my! So you're the one I've heard so much about… I'll call you Tenma, if you don't mind. It's nice to meet you — I'm Mizaria. Close friends call me Mizari. You can call me that too, Tenma. Luna, you've been coming by a lot lately."
"Hello again, Aunt."
Once the introductions had settled down, Mizari turned to the Minister of Finance with a question.
"So that's why you were in such a hurry to introduce Tenma?"
"Well, that's part of it. Tenma apparently learned about medicinal potions from his mother, Celia, back in Kukuri Village. I thought he might know something about your illness, so I brought him along."
"Oh, is that so?"
"Tenma, I know it's sudden, but would you mind taking a look at her?"
"Please, Tenma."
I swapped places with the Minister of Finance and stepped up beside Mizari.
"I'll do everything I can… but please don't set your hopes too high."
With that, I did what my mother used to do — taking her pulse and running a light palpation over her skin.
Her pulse came to about eighty beats per minute, which, by the knowledge of my previous life, should have been perfectly normal.
Just to be safe, I called over a maid of a similar age and measured hers as well. It came to just over seventy, so I concluded there was no problem there.
As for the palpation, however, there were considerable issues.
"Mizari, can you feel this?"
"No."
"And here?"
"No."
I tried pressing with moderate force starting from around the big toe, but her response and sense of pain were both severely dulled.
To make matters worse, her skin had stiffened slightly, and I could hardly feel any Magic Power at all.
"It's only a possibility, but there's a high chance that Mizari is suffering from a Magic Power circuit disorder."
Magic Power flows throughout the body like blood, and in this world, the pathways it travels along are called Magic Power circuits.
When the circulation of Magic Power circuits deteriorates or Magic Power can no longer flow through them, it is referred to as a "Magic Power circuit disorder" or "Magic Power circuit insufficiency."
However, this condition has become rare in the present day, and there are many who don't even know about it.
The reason for this lies in the advancement of magical medicine. In the past, treatment typically involved a combination of medicine and magic, but nowadays, medicine is only used for minor injuries and illnesses, with magical treatment making up the majority of procedures.
This approach gained popularity due to several advantages: "magical treatment is painless and heals faster," "when you consider the time to full recovery, it's cheaper," "there are fewer complaints when a patient dies," and "there are more magic users now than in the past, so treatment is more accessible."
Regarding complaints at the time of death — with conventional treatment, the outcome depends entirely on the doctor's skill, but with recovery magic, no matter how unskilled a magic user is, as long as they can activate the spell, the injury will heal… though how much recovery occurs depends on the magic user's ability…
So even if a patient dies, if you say, "I used my magic to the fullest, but it was too late — the magic had no effect," or, "The injury was healed, but the patient died due to other factors," it becomes difficult to clearly argue that the magic was ineffective, since the surface wounds are often already sealed by the time the magic is applied.
In this world, there isn't even a formal qualification for being a doctor — anyone can call themselves a doctor simply by saying, "I can use recovery magic, so I'll be a doctor starting today."
That said, there are those who properly apprentice under a doctor, study, and gain experience before calling themselves doctors, but since there are no specialized schools like in my previous life, the gap in a doctor's skill naturally widens… and to an extreme degree.
Because of this, doctors who perform treatments based on correct knowledge and experience using medicine — like "internists" — are few and far between.
Furthermore, in the case of Magic Power circuit disorders, both magical treatment techniques and an internist's skills are required, so most modern doctors don't even know how to treat the condition.
"So, Tenma — you know the treatment for this?!"
When I explained Magic Power circuit disorders, the Finance Minister grabbed both of my arms and questioned me.
"I know the treatment for mild symptoms, but I don't know how to treat a case this severe."
I told the Finance Minister what my mother had taught me.
"A Magic Power circuit disorder means that part of the Magic Power circuits running throughout the body can no longer allow Magic Power to pass through. If the symptoms are mild, you just need to externally channel Magic Power through, but in Mizari's case, the symptoms have progressed quite far. Using that method risks damaging the Magic Power circuits, and in the worst case, could cause shock and death."
If you compare the circuits to a hose — in mild cases, the hose itself isn't damaged, it just has some debris clogged inside. If you connect one end to a water supply and turn it on, there's a high probability the debris will be pushed out by the water.
However, in severe cases, the hose itself is damaged and the debris inside is heavily compacted. So if you try the same approach as with mild symptoms, the hose itself won't be able to withstand the water pressure and is extremely likely to burst.
And in this case, the Magic Power needed to burst the hose would damage the physical body, making it highly probable that the patient would die as a result.
When I said that, the air around us grew heavy, but I had more to say.
"I think Grandpa can cure her. Mom said he taught her the treatment method."
"Merlin can cure Mizari?!"
The Finance Minister heard my words and rushed out of the room in excitement.
I was stunned by the sudden turn of events, standing there blankly, until the Finance Minister grabbed my hand on his return and dragged me all the way to the carriage.
When we left the room, Luna waved goodbye, so it seemed she had no intention of coming along this time.
"Finance Minister, wouldn't it be faster for me to fly over and bring Grandpa back—"
I tried saying this to the Finance Minister, who was sitting in the carriage with his arms crossed, fidgeting nervously, but he didn't agree to my suggestion.
"Granted, that would certainly be the fastest option, but we are the ones asking for help, and I cannot be so discourteous as to leave a poor impression. I'm sorry about this, Tenma, but I need you to ride with me in the carriage."
After dragging me all the way here, it was a bit rich of him to suddenly care about etiquette, but I supposed the Finance Minister did have that royal blood flowing through his veins.
When I thought about it that way, I could accept that this was just how things had to be.
From then on, the inside of the carriage was dominated by an uneasy atmosphere.
The cause was the Finance Minister. He had been restless and fidgety since a while ago, repeatedly opening his mouth as if to speak to me, making a face that said he had no idea what to say, and then shutting his mouth again — this pattern went on over and over.
I considered striking up a conversation with him, but the Finance Minister looked like he was thinking about something with considerable seriousness, so I deliberately left him to it.
After this happened several times over, we arrived at Grandpa's mansion.
Grandpa's mansion grounds were guarded by Golems, and two of them responded to the carriage by approaching the gate. Sensing my Magic Power, the two opened the gate and guided the carriage inside.
The coachman was quite alarmed, but when I told him to bring the carriage straight in and that the Golems wouldn't do anything to him as long as he stayed quiet on the driver's seat, he seemed relieved and, still tense, advanced the carriage to the front entrance.
"Finance Minister, please, go right in."
"Y-yes…"
Leading the visibly nervous Finance Minister, I stepped through the mansion's front entrance.
I had intended to guide the Finance Minister to the reception room first, but before I could, Grandpa showed up.
"Well, that was quick, Tenma. And you there — oh my, is that the Finance Minister? Is something the matter?"
"I actually wanted to ask you something, Grandpa. Can you treat someone suffering from Magic Power circuit dysfunction?"
I asked point-blank, and Grandpa furrowed his brow — but judging from the Finance Minister's demeanor, he must have sensed something was going on.
"Well, let's hear the details first... Come to my room."
"Mm, I understand the general situation now. Let me get straight to the point — I can't cure this."
We moved to Grandpa's room right away and explained the situation, and that was his answer.
His blunt response clearly deflated the Finance Minister.
"But my mother said she learned the treatment method from you..."
"Tenma, I do know the treatment method, that's true. But just because someone knows the method doesn't necessarily mean they can perform it. If this were a mild case, I might have been able to treat it myself."
Grandpa said that with visible regret.
"No, just having a confirmed diagnosis is already a step forward. I'll try to find someone who can perform the treatment..."
The Finance Minister stood up from his chair and turned toward the door, but Grandpa called out to stop him.
"Now, hold on a moment. If the symptoms have already progressed this far, searching for someone new at this point could easily be too late. There is, however, a method with a high probability of success."
"Really?!"
The Finance Minister whipped around and hurried up to Grandpa.
"It's true, so stop crowding me. The method is... Tenma, *you* will learn the treatment."
"Huh? Me?"
Caught off guard by those words, I blurted out something idiotic and froze in place.