Genius Wizard Conceals His Origins

The sensation of sweat flowing down my face felt unfamiliar.

It was cold enough to be called a coolant rather than sweat. Even though it was a warm spring night and I was running, so it wouldn’t be strange to feel as hot as midsummer, I felt cold.

The source of the cold was clear.

The message Lena left.

The one placed alone on the dining table had only the information I needed to know, clearly written.

Is it because both Lena and I lack medical knowledge, or is it to prevent unnecessary worry?

Whatever the reason, Lena summed up the objectively factual information in a phrase so short it needed no summary.

[ We’re at Frauzen Hospital due to Benjamin’s sudden illness ]

[ Symptoms – Hemoptysis *1, severe coughing, etc. ]

[ Come quickly ]

Below that, she had written the address of Frauzen Hospital.

A message that calmly tells what action to take after a clear explanation.

Thanks to this, I could understand the situation without exaggeration, but it didn’t help me maintain my composure.

Rather, I felt its gravity.

“Since when…”

I muttered while taking big strides.

“Since when was it?”

Since when had Benjamin been ill?

Looking back, the answer was simple.

When we reunited, Benjamin was already quite thin. He coughed severely at times and always carried a handkerchief. Even Dorothy’s parting words to “take good care of Benjamin” might have been an extension of his illness…

I shook my head. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

Deepening such idle thoughts won’t help.

At best, it’s self-blame, and self-blame will only slow down my running speed.

So, I ran even faster. Even when I thought about catching my breath for a moment, I gritted my teeth and ran. I ran, cooling my cold sweat with the opposing wind.

As I did so, attention gathered on me. Why?

Of course, it’s because of my tiresome hair color.

But even if the gray hair wasn’t fluttering, a young man running through the streets in the middle of the night, sweating cold sweat, would naturally attract attention.

Especially if the destination is a hospital.

I decided to use those gazes. When I reached the streets near the hospital, every passerby who encountered me running in an exhausted state threw their gaze somewhere. Surely the hospital would be at the end of those gazes.

Indeed it was.

I arrived at the hospital without getting lost and immediately went inside.

Hospitals are the second most common source of ghost stories after cemeteries.

I became uneasy as curses of uncleanliness, illness, and chaos swirled about.

My heart was already about to burst from the aftermath of the full-speed run. Ignoring the ominousness, I looked around the hospital scene and was relieved to find that the first two of the three curses hadn’t been felt much.

Frauzen Hospital was relatively clean and wasn’t filled with signs of illness inside.

Instead, it was chaotic. Because that much was true, I had to get help from several nurses before I could find a familiar face.

And so…

“……Eugene. You came?”

“I’m here.”

A long bench placed in a corner of the hospital corridor.

There, I encountered Susan, who looked tired, and Louise, who was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed.

It was already completely night, and unlike the University of Magic, the hospital was stingy with lighting mana lamps.

In the absence of light, I rolled my eyes wildly.

Because there were few people.

Soon after, I found Lena. Lena was sleeping covered with a blanket, leaning on Susan’s shoulder, looking like someone who had fallen asleep from exhaustion to anyone who saw her.

I asked:

“Where are Ellie and Sally?”

Susan seemed to lack energy, similar to Lena. So, Louise answered the question instead.

“They say they left them with the elderly couple next door. The hospital is not a place to bring kids.”

“I see.”

But there were still not enough people.

Only after fumbling with my lips several times could I ask what I really wanted to ask.

“Louise. Where’s Benjamin?”

“Benjamin.”

“Where is he?”

#May 17th. Cloudy.

“Kuhehe. You’ve gone through a lot of trouble just to see the face of a healthy old man.”

“Benjamin.”

“I’m fine, Eugene.”

Benjamin chuckled in his patient gown on the hospital bed.

The hospital clock is early. Doctors and nurses bustle around the ward from early morning, making one doubt if the clock hands have actually been moved forward.

In contrast, one private room in the hospital became chilly, opposite to the busy atmosphere.

The story I heard from Louise last night was quite worrying.

It was a type of lung disease, and the reason the family, including Louise, were outside the room was that they couldn’t know if it was contagious until the disease’s name was confirmed.

I didn’t expect to see such an absurd farce as soon as we were allowed to enter the room.

While Benjamin’s expression on the hospital bed was perfectly calm, the four people surrounding him, including me, were utterly exhausted. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

If it weren’t for the hospital bed and patient gown, it would be confusing which side was the patient.

I spoke with a subdued voice.

“Benjamin, are you alright?”

“Yes. I didn’t expect to be thrown into the hospital just for coughing a bit.”

“I heard there was blood in your cough.”

“That can happen in life. People don’t die from such things.”

“……”

In the end, even I was completely drained of energy, leaving one patient and four exhausted people in the room.

Exhausted people need to be cared for no less than patients.

Louise stood up abruptly.

“Eugene. I’ll take these two home first, so have a chat. Benjamin, you need to rest. Understood?”

“Alright.”

Soon after, Louise left the room, supporting Susan and Lena.

Susan was not very strong, to begin with, and Lena had to deal with procedures like hospital admission in the midst of the confusion.

The two were especially tired, and since they had talked with the doctor several times before I arrived, there was no reason for Susan and Lena to stay in the room with their exhausted bodies.

Rather, it was proper for them to return home before getting sick.

So, only Benjamin and I were left in the room.

Suddenly, I realized that I didn’t even know very basic information. I broke the silence and opened my mouth.

“What’s the diagnosis?”

Benjamin answered readily.

“Pneumonia.”

“Pneumonia……”

“If it were tuberculosis, I might have cried a bit, but well… It’s just pneumonia. So cheer up.”

Only then did I realize that my expression was quite grim.

I thought while rubbing between my eyebrows.

It’s a huge relief that it’s not tuberculosis.

Regardless of medical knowledge, the dangers of tuberculosis were widely known, and compared to that, pneumonia was a much lighter illness.

But I didn’t brighten my expression as Benjamin advised.

Essentially, a disease name cannot comfort people.

Pneumonia is also clearly a difficult-to-cure disease.

It’s to the extent that the common treatment is to pray for recovery while continuing nutritional supplements and rest in a good environment. That’s why it’s a disease with a low recovery rate for the elderly.

“……”

I closed my mouth.

I’m confused.

Various questions swirled inside me, from whether I should point out Benjamin’s pretense of being fine to the direction of my scholarly life.

Perhaps because I had spent peaceful days for the past few months, I felt seasick like a sailor who boarded a ship for the first time in years.

How do I continue the conversation in this dizziness?

When I felt like I was sinking into a swamp…

Benjamin, who had been quietly watching me, broke the ice first.

“Eugene.”

“Yes.”

“Have you come to a conclusion about the lecturer offer from the University of Vals?”

“Conclusion?”

Perhaps because it was such an abrupt topic…

For me who couldn’t answer at all, Benjamin added an explanation mixed with a slight cough.

“Cough, ahem. You know, you said you were worried about that friend doing the interesting experiment.”

“Ah.”

“It seems you’ve made a decision. Are you going to accept the lecturer offer?”

‘Yes. I’m going to accept it.’ I was about to answer immediately but closed my lips with a ‘hmph’.

Accept it?

That was the plan. But…

What was the reason I hesitated to accept?

If I were appointed as a lecturer at the University of Vals, naturally I would have less time to spend in Frauzen, and I wouldn’t be able to help with Werner’s experiment.

The workplace is the university and the place to return is home. It’s a neat dichotomy that would maintain a busy life.

But, one more place to go has appeared.

The hospital room. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

As soon as I finished my consideration, I answered:

“I’ve decided not to accept it.”

“Accept it.”

“Pardon?”

“Accept it. Especially if you’re doing this out of concern for me.”

It’s a serious tone. That expression was no less serious than the tone.

When did he laugh it off saying his illness was nothing?

Just as I was about to protest, Benjamin opened his mouth again:

“The treatment is done by the doctors, not you, Eugene.”

“……”

“I haven’t seen an old man with better strength than me except for Klaus. If I die, it won’t be because of pneumonia, but because I’m bored being cooped up in the hospital room. So accept it.”

“Benjamin.”

I looked at Benjamin with a bit of resentment.

I wish he wouldn’t use that word carelessly.

“I’m no longer the sixteen-year-old boy who begged.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean I’m not swayed by emotions. I made a rational judgment. You say I should accept it especially if I’m refusing because of you? I’m sorry, but I’m not cold-blooded, Benjamin.”

After pausing my breath for a moment, I continued.

“Benjamin. Do you know how happy I was when you came back?”

“……”

“I was happy to show you how I’ve become closer to Lena, the twins, and Louise. I was happy to be able to say I’ve become a proper scholar. I was happy that I have a lover, and that I could show you how I’m moving forward with her.”

“Eugene.”

“It would be enjoyable to tease you, Benjamin, who was stripped of his professorship, by becoming a lecturer. Yes. Honestly, I was looking forward to it. But that joy doesn’t exist without you, Benjamin.”

You are my support.

I can’t move forward abandoning my support.

I would stagger immediately.

“I can’t do that. I won’t do it.”

As I finished speaking, I realized. For someone who declared not to be swayed by emotions, there wasn’t a trace of logic in the words that followed.

I raised my head while catching my breath.

And there was Benjamin, who seemed to have listened to all the combinations of my rambling words. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

He said:

“Eugene. What do you think it means to move forward?”

“Stretching your feet forward, isn’t it?”

“That’s right. But that’s not enough. Because sometimes, you’ll trip over stones or fall. And sometimes you have to not look back even if you lose something. That’s how you can move forward.”

Benjamin smiled slightly, yet sadly.

“Eugene.”

“……Yes.”

“Move forward. Go ahead.”

Benjamin was indeed the owner of an incredibly robust physique, as he had boasted.

Pneumonia couldn’t bring Benjamin down.

The symptoms remained, and he continued to be hospitalized, but his complexion was no different from usual.

But with each passing month, Benjamin visibly became more emaciated.

Thus, May ended and summer arrived.

It was a terribly hot summer.

There must have been many things happening, but I don’t remember the details of many.

I vaguely remember, like remnants of a dream, that Werner looked serious when he saw me return to the Frauvian Federal University of Magic, and that I heard “Are you okay?” countless times whenever I met Julia.

There were some things I remember more clearly.

Regarding the lecturer offer, I found the best solution, which was to put it on hold.

It was thanks to the kindness of the University of Vals, and because of that, the box containing the plain silver ring naturally became a decoration placed in the corner of the research room’s bookshelf.

Anyway. 

What I clearly remember is that it was terribly hot.

#September 19th. Clear.

Suddenly, when I, who had been lying face down alone in the research room, came to my senses and looked out the window…

The world dyed red was fading away.

The autumn wind blows. Leaves are falling.

T/N

Hemoptysis is the medical term for coughing up blood from some part of the lungs.