"Morning, professor Shonda." Carl greeted Shonda, who had just arrived. He deliberately waited in front of the garden, also a greenhouse, which was still closed.
"Morning, Carl. You came very early," replied Shonda. It was past seven.
"I want to stop by before class."
"A morning class?" she asked as she scanned her finger at the door. She then pushed it to open.
"Yeah. It's professor Raphael's class." He followed her into the garden.
"Oh, Raphael," she reacted upon hearing his name.
"You know him?"
The answer was obvious. "Sure. What does he teach?" She took them to her desk in one corner of the garden.
"Weapons."
She nodded in understanding. Once she got to her desk, she put her bag down. "Last year, he taught unarmed fight for the first year."
If the fight was unarmed, it was Julian's class. Apparently, they were changing classes.
Then he realized something. "You're a fighter too?"
"Me?" Shonda pointed at herself. "No. I'm just a healer taking up the teaching job here."
After making sure her bag and desk were tidy, she said, "Let's water the plants."
Then Shonda led him to another corner and pressed a button. Suddenly, a sprinkler with a long hose floated, making him slightly startled.
"I'm sorry to startle you," she said while walking over to the faucet and turning it on. It was the waterline to flow through the hose attached to the sprinkler.
"Is that automatic?" Carl asked when he saw the sprinkler moving away from him. It stopped at the end near the door and started spraying water.
"Yes. Everything is automatic now. We don't have to walk from plant to plant to water it."
He didn't respond, but he understood the sentence. He was just amazed at how the idea came to be. Maybe this was Max's pleasure behind the lab work.
"It has information about how much water each plant should have. Something we probably can't do right." Shonda said again when she didn't hear his response. "I'll show you something."
She then led him over to a row of dwarf plants. "You know that not all plants are useful for healing? Some have the opposite effect. Some even have two functions: healing and harming. Here are some of them." She pointed to the plants she was referring to. It was beautiful plants with small and beautiful flowers.
"All of these?" he asked for sure.
She gave the nod. "It has a calming effect, kills bacteria, and a lot. But if used alone, it can be toxic." She explained.
"Is it deadly?"
"It depends on which plant you use and the amount of it. Some plants use only a drop of their extract, and it causes a month's coma."
"A coma? But it doesn't cause death, right?"
Shonda turned to him and smiled. "What happens if you use ten drops?" she asked back.
Without thinking hard, he could answer it. "They will be in a coma for years."
She nodded while thinking about his answer. "That's not entirely wrong. They may be in a coma or die." Her last words sounded horrifying. "Their body may not handle it and end up broken."
Carl swallowed his saliva. The thought of death flashed through his mind, and that the drug caused it made him shudder.
"It's scary that drugs can harm someone, isn't it?"
He agreed but didn't say it. "Professor," he called suddenly. "Are all healing companions able to use their magic to heal?" Somewhat he remembered his conversation with Julian the day before. It was about Miku being able to heal him.
"I don't think every companion can do it."
"Why? Can Hena do that too?"
Shonda shook her head. "She can't heal using her magic. It requires a special ability to adapt magic to living cells. Not every companion can master it."
Carl fell silent thinking about it. But somehow, it was hard to accept. "I still don't understand. So, what do doctors use to heal their patients?"
"The equipment. Inventors maximize the function of the equipment so that it increases its capabilities, such as a scalpel that can temporarily suppress bleeding, stitch a wound so that the wound heals faster, and more."
He began to understand. It wasn't much different from a fighting weapon. "Then how about herbs or medicine? Does magic affect the crafting equipment?"
"Yes. Magic is still going through the process to maximize its effectiveness," she replied. "We'll learn about that in the next lesson. You can wait, right?"
Carl nodded.
"Good. Now, I'll show you how to grow them. Wait here."
Shonda walked back to the corner to pick up the gardening tools. But, only halfway through, she turned around. "By the way, where's Miku? I didn't see her with you."
"She took a walk in the hills."
Yes, Carl and Miku separated after entering the gate. She said that she wanted to feel the morning air on the hill.
--
"Miku!"
The call instantly stopped Carl and Miku from heading to the field for Raphael's class. It was Alia and Flo next to her.
"Where are you going?" asked Alia as she arrived in front of them.
"Class," Miku replied curtly. "You?"
"Same. We're going to professor Shonda's class," replied Flo.
That told why Flo and Alia were walking toward his previous destination. "Herbs class?" he guessed.
"How do you know?" Flo showed her surprise. His guess was correct. "Do you study that too?"
He showed a nod. "Professor Shonda also allowed me to help her in her garden."
"Wow, you're lucky! That must be fun learning medicinal plants."
"Yes. I've come to know the benefits of plants. The next lesson will be about making the herbal medicine."
Flo nodded. "I think it's similar to classical medicine. They use the extract."
"Yeah, I think so."
It was a very sunny morning. The sun was shining brightly even though it was eight in the morning. It must have been hot during Raphael's class because they would be out in the open area.
"Flo." Someone near them called Flo. It caught the attention of Flo and Alia, as well as Carl and Miku. And somehow, he saw the displeasure in her eyes.
Flo turned back to him. "I have to go. See you later."
"See you, Miku."
"See you guys. Have fun with the class." Miku ended their brief encounter with a wave. Once they were far enough, she let out a sigh. "We must be so famous that other majors hate us."