The weekend before the evaluation test, Saturday.
I took an express bus to the countryside.
"There's a… hospital here."
Today was the day to receive that 'Mana Quark Treatment'.
[Spring Water Hospital]
However, Yu Hains' private hospital was almost in the countryside.
It wasn't too rural. There was an express bus route, a medium-sized casino nearby, a mine, and the air was good because it was surrounded by mountains. The problem was,
"Why is it so old?"
The exterior. It looked like a hospital from 20-30 years ago that you'd see on TV. It even had a sign saying 'General Hospital'.
"..."
With a doubtful face, I walked in. Fortunately, the hospital lobby and facilities, including the counter, were not as old as the exterior.
"I'm here to see Professor Yu Hains…"
"Ah, yes. Please go to the director's office."
The nurse pointed to the director's office. I nodded and went in.
Yu Hains was there.
"Sit down. Did you bring the money?"
"...I brought it, but you're speaking informally again."
I said, putting down my money bag.
"If you don't like hearing informal speech, you can leave."
"That's not it. Please check."
I pushed the money bag towards him. Yu Hains checked inside.
"Look. The amount should be correct."
It was a raw cash bundle that had not undergone any money laundering process.
I withdrew the cash from the department store gift certificates I received as a service fee from [At Your Service], the dark web DP I earned from selling mandrake, and put all the advance payment from Soliette into it, preparing 200,000 Ren in cash.
"Let's deal in cash like this in the future. How about it?"
"It sounds like you're trying to pass on the money laundering."
Unfortunately, Yu Hains was very smart.
"No. You said this isn't an approved procedure anyway. And, you can launder money easier than me. It's really hard for me."
"..."
Yu Hains stared at me without saying a word. My heart dropped for a moment.
"Hey~ hey. I'm a patient with Cancer of the Magic's Core. I have to earn 200,000 Ren a month, and if I have to do the money laundering myself, it shrinks to 100,000 Ren. You know that. Are you going to send me away? Then-"
"I understand."
Fortunately, Yu Hains gave his permission. I turned my face slightly and let out a sigh of relief.
"Phew."
"Follow me."
The professor, who got up from his seat and disappeared behind the director's office.
I followed him.
It was an operating room.
"The facilities are quite modern compared to the exterior of the hospital?"
"There's no more foolish waste of money than caring about the exterior."
Microscope cameras and monitors, as well as operating tables, lights, scalpels, suction, blood transfusion packs, monitors, etc. There were quite a few state-of-the-art equipment.
"This is the Mana Quark Treatment device."
Among them, he pushed a thin cylinder connected to the ceiling.
"That's it?"
"That's right."
"...Is this really it?"
I was slightly anxious.
I had only trusted this so far.
If this is a scam, I have to entrust my body to that hellish cancer treatment swamp again.
"The Quark Therapy Machine is the entire ceiling, or rather, the whole second floor. This cylinder is merely a tool that sprays the quarks from the second floor."
"Ah, I see. But can this machine operate in this hospital? Does it need any fuel?"
"The fuel is my 'Spectrum', magic power, and the mana core inside the machine. That's why only I can use it."
'Spectrum is the fuel.'
A very confident statement.
Well, then, there's nothing to be done.
"Yes, I'll trust you, Professor."
After coming this far, it would be a problem if I didn't trust him.
"I'm the director here. Change your clothes and lie down."
"…What? Are we going into surgery right now?"
"The more innovative, the simpler. There's no need to wash hands. Though I did wash them."
I would have filed a complaint if he hadn't.
"Yeah, sure."
I took off my clothes. Yu Hains glanced at me.
"What are you looking at?"
"…Your body seems to be growing."
"Ah. Yes. It's a symptom of Cancer of the Magic's Core, isn't it?"
"Not all patients with Cancer of the Magic's Core have that."
"…Huh?"
Yu Hains left without a word. I changed into a surgical gown. It was a green fabric with a hole in the stomach.
─Lie down on the bed.
A voice came down from the ceiling speaker.
I did as I was told and lay down on the bed.
Whiiiiing-
Then, with the sound of something working, the cylinder moved. It was almost attached to my abdomen, and at the same time, a blue light emanating from somewhere dyed the entire ceiling.
────.
Strangely, a vibrating sound mixed in my ears. It didn't seem like a vibration and the sound was faint, but anyway.
I'm getting sleepy.
─You can rest comfortably.
With that voice, the sleep that was coming on suddenly poured out uncontrollably.
This is that….
Mana Quark Therapy.
With that last thought, I lost consciousness.
______________________________________________________________________
Arbil Orphanage in 'Arman', at the northern tip of the Edsilla continent.
In that place, remodeled from an abandoned school in the mountains into an orphanage, dozens of children and twenty teachers live together like a family.
"40,000 Ren came in, huh?"
Despite the impending spring, the chilly wallpaper of the orphanage sprouted a particularly heartwarming story.
Thanks to the sponsorship of the Endex theater team.
"It's a relief. This month was a bit tough."
Arman is cheap in terms of land and cost of living, but still, the orphanage is staking its life on conservation. They fill several wells sold by Dent for water, get firewood cheaply through a partnership with a nearby woodcutter for heating, replace refrigerators that consume electricity with the cold climate, supplement protein through weekly beast hunting, and so on. Thanks to this, they manage to feed the children even in their tight budget.
The monthly budget is between 300,000 and 500,000 Ren, from various sponsorships and congressional support. With 174 children to feed, clothe, and put to bed, there's really no money left for the teachers' wages.
"No one who receives it seems to care."
"Hmm. Have you decided where to use it?"
Dent asked. He had now become the principal from the instructor. In fact, it was a demotion. This Orphanage in a cold region he had never been to before was almost cut off from Libra, with no family members coming and going, let alone contact.
"Well… isn't it about time we brought in a TV?"
Suddenly, a robust voice of a child echoed from outside the window.
Berry, who controls the kindergarten with a smartphone as a weapon, was the source.
"Get in! Playtime is over! If you don't go in, I won't show you!"
Berry herded all the children inside before lunchtime. Thanks to this class president, the 5-7 year old class is quite easy to handle.
Dent chuckled and said,
"Wouldn't it help maintain Berry's power if we delay buying a TV as much as possible?"
"Rather, we could make a TV room and give the key and remote to Berry…"
"Oh. Indeed, that would be better. We have rooms that are unnecessarily spacious."
They plan to use the sponsorship they received this time for a TV and field trip expenses.
There's no law that says orphans in an Orphanage can't enjoy cultural life.
"So, with 8,000 Ren, we can buy a TV, and the rest can be used for cultural expenses like children's plays or movies…?"
Dent, who had stopped speaking, was looking somewhere. The teacher also looked in that direction.
"Who is that person?"
At the entrance of the Orphanage. There was a woman and an attendant getting out of a luxury sedan.
Her platinum hair fluttered in the north wind, and the coat and sunglasses she wore seemed to be more expensive than the Orphanage's monthly budget.
"She doesn't seem to be of the age to come for adoption…"
Arbil Orphanage does accept adoption applications. However, due to their very strict conditions, there have only been four so far.
There are many stories these days about adopting children to make them slaves or sell their organs.
"I'll go see."
Dent stood up. Just in case, he went with a sword at his waist.
"Ahem."
Crossing the playground, he approached the guest with a fake cough. There was a knight by her side.
Not a low-ranking knight like himself, but a real knight.
"…Are you the person in charge here?"
The woman asked first.
"Yes. I am Dent, the principal of Arbil Orphanage… What brings you here?"
Then the other party took off her sunglasses. Her impression changed dramatically at that moment. She looked much younger. To Dent, she was almost a child.
"So there is an Orphanage… in a place like this."
She looked around with a stunned face. It was a desolate playground full of sand, but there were many playground equipment such as swings, horizontal bars, and soccer fields.
"Yes. There is… huh?"
Dent opened his eyes wide. Looking at Elise, he widened his already wide eyes once more.
Elise took a slight step back, feeling uncomfortable.
"Could it be, Petra's Elise?!"
Dent also often receives news from the College Board. He's almost keeping a close eye on it because of a certain participant involved. He's well aware of promising six-star talents like Petra's Elise, Arkne's Soliette, and Gerkhen Kal Doon.
"Ah… yes."
"A celebrity like you here… what brings you?"
"…."
Elise couldn't bring herself to speak. She had thought of this Orphanage as a 'fake company' related to Shion Ascal, and had come to poke around a bit.
Instead, Dent spoke first.
"I heard you're the biggest prospect of Endex… by any chance, do you know Shion?"
Shion.
Coincidentally, he was the reason Elise had deliberately come all this way.
______________________________________________________________________
At first, she thought it was a 'well-made fake Orphanage'.
Not too blatantly corrupt, slightly suspicious but still made to look reasonably real Orphanage.
A money laundering company contracted by Shion Ascal.
It's not that it's not, there are a lot of these companies and institutions when you take an economics class.
Of course, it doesn't mean he established the company himself. He doesn't seem to have the ability to do that.
However, there are companies everywhere that help money laundering through donations, and Elise thought Shion was trying to swallow money in collaboration with them….
She 'misunderstood'.
"So, was the predecessor of this place Libra Orphanage?"
"Yes."
Dent, the head of the Orphanage, said something completely different.
"….I see."
Elise blinked blankly. She was embarrassed, surprised, and sorry.
She didn't know at all.
"But it's a secret now. In fact, we're almost cut off from Libra's main house. Please don't spread it even by rumor."
"Ah… yes."
Elise nodded. Looking at her, Dent smiled.
"But the land is spacious. It's also our Orphanage's land, with no need to pay rent or ground rent. We received a donation from Libra's main house."
He laughed heartily.
"….Yes."
There's nothing else to say but 'yes', but it's understandable that Libra's main house closed the Orphanage.
The old site has now completely turned into Libra's financial business district. Jade's foresight was somewhat accurate.
"So. What brings Miss Petra here?"
Dent got to the point. Elise also sat up straight.