After getting to the other side of the building, I look down at my clothes, and aggressively wipe them, brushing all the leaves and dirt from my white shirt, and black pants.
Ugh… the dirt just won't come off! I can mostly remove the dirt from the pants, but it still leaves a blurry brown area! These leather shoes are just beyond saving.
I finally put away the anxious expression on my face and look up. As I do, a field of flowers and tall, uniformly lined bushes planted on the grass plain that surround the stone pavement appear.
Ah whatever, my shoes would have gotten dirty anyway hiking in the mountains. The plants planted on this estate are very numerous, it's expected that a Clinic should have their own garden of herbs for fresh ingredients, but the Mint Clinic here practically grows all the herbs that have medical properties in their vast gardens, even having space for decorative plants like flowers and large bushes.
The flowers change as I walk through the garden, blooming beautifully as the sun rises over the building behind me, casting the shadows away. The vibrant flower colors in my peripheral vision swim past me like a rainbow river, so calm, diverse, and uniformly arranged.
The queen must really treasure the Mint Viscounty, to give them such a large estate in the capital.
As I make a right turn to an open area the shadow over me finally disappears, another structure, far more different than the peaceful garden of flowers around us appears in sight. Its dominating presence stood tall in the sky, over the height of the other buildings, just barely tall enough to be visible above the tall wall of bushes.
Nevermind, the queen gave them two estates. I had almost forgotten about that one. Ahh, this place really is calming. I can see why the Mint Clinics are considered the best, they have the most clean buildings, the best environment, the most Physicians, and the best Physicians.
In the midst of my enjoyable sightseeing, I suddenly hear a noise, like light rain dropping on soft grass.
Is it going to rain? It would make this peacefulness even nicer if it would, but it would surely hinder me if it rains while I'm in the mountains.
I turn my head up to the sky, squinting my eyes, while also holding my hand, horizontal to my forehead to block the sun's blinding rays from entering my eye.
"No, there are no clouds in sight. There is no rain."
I turn my head back down, my long hair automatically blocking the sun from entering without the need of manual blockage.
What could it be then? I might as well find out since I'm lost regardless. I've never been at this location before.
I close my eyes and concentrate deeply on the constant sound of a light drizzle of rain. The sound originally sounds like it's coming from all directions, and also from nowhere as I fail to locate the direction it comes from.
But as I block off my other senses, first my sight, then my touch, then my smell, and finally, my taste, I enter a state of total concentration on my ears, my hearing now comparable to that of Heightened Senses. As I continue to wait, the range of where the sound comes from changes from just a direction, to a location, until finally, I sense a single drop of water falls onto a blade of grass, a sound that normally couldn't be heard, but to me in a state of total concentration, I hear it. Like a droplet of water falling into a void of complete silence and stillness, that tiny vibration from it echoes loudly inside it. And after that single vibration in that void, my eyes finally open.
There you are.
I record the distance and direction I heard the vibration from, visualizing it into the physical world as all my senses begin returning to me.
237.65 feet in a straight line away, 77.12 degrees counterclockwise from my currently faced direction.
I stare out at the pavement in front of me and tilt my head in confusion.
So… basically go straight, and take two lefts? I was going to do that anyway.
"Haaa… and even after all that, it's still not as good as Heightened Senses."
I put my hand over the back of my neck and start walking over while staring at the sea of blue up above, circling the aggressive red ball of fire that cuts off its peacefulness that would exist had it not been for it.
I try to whistle again as I continue strolling, but it ruins the peacefulness even more than the sun, so I stop.
"Hm?"
As I take a left turn around the large bush, the sound of falling rain gets clearer and louder, easily able to tell the direction it comes from.
Taking another turn, I pause for a moment, while my foot hangs in the air before I set it back down and continue walking.
Ha, it was just a gardener watering plants. It was so obvious, but I just kept overthinking.
I manage to take another 70 steps closer to him before he finally turns around and notices me.
"Hey there, what can I do for you?"
The man says with a big smile, as the water coming out of the sprinkler in his hand stops.
Not ignoring, but yet to respond to his question, I stare very attentively at the long wooden rod in his hands, that has a large wooden circle in his hands, with a hundred tiny holes.
A Magic Tool? It's just like the waterfall made of runes I used in the Grand Library! Only– smaller. I took the effects of Runic Tools and Magic Engineering for granted before I entered the Grand Library, Lamps, Toilets, and Heaters. I only thought of Runic tools as Enchanted swords and staves, a lesser version of artifact weapons, made of Magical material, used by those who can't afford the price of artifact weapons, as a less powerful, but still, very useful alternative.
I had thought of all other Magic Engineering products, and its engineers as failures, not used for fighting, but instead, for utility, simple quality of life since that was what the nobles around me believed. I like to think of myself as different, who appreciates all things for what they are. But this is one of the few times I was wrong, I was so vested in the idea that anything not used for battle and war was lesser, since nobles love their glory or whatever, that I failed to realize how much magic engineering improved life.
After reading the biographies of those who lived in the past, it became clear to me that we have life so good.
Though the information is a little outdated, since runes and magic engineering, unlike elemental magic and alchemy, has only been constantly improving each day since its creation in the Mythical Era by a little known mage, who only managed to reach the 5th circle by the age of 50, truly a great story, I really want to test the runic engravings I learned from those ancient books. I've been wanting to since the first year I entered the library, but since there was nothing to carve with, or carve on, I could do nothing. Truly a terrible regret.
I nod with my eyes closed, my body with myself.
As I open my eyes again, I stare for a short while before flinching back in surprise.
Shit, I was too lost in my thoughts! It's so weird because it feels like I'm thinking at the same speed, but I'm not. My entire perception of time has changed!
After pulling myself forward again, looking back up at the gardener's calm, still smiling face, I start laughing awkwardly.
"Hey hahaha… sorry for wasting so much of your time, I was just lost in my thoughts."
The gardener continues to look into my eyes while he continues to smile, his white teeth shining brightly in the sun, reflecting its light into my eyes, making me all the more nervous.
"Uh… so how long was I out?"
The gardener puts his hand up to his chin, and rubs at it for a while while he stares up at the sky.
"Hmm… not too long, just under two minutes, I'd say."
Two minutes?! Wow. That is a long time, and I wasn't even able to pull myself out of my thoughts anytime in between. I only escaped because I finished processing everything!
As the Gardener sees my eye twitch, without any other part of my body moving, he drops the sprinkler and his smile as he reaches his hand out to reassure me.
"Oh! But you don't have to worry, I don't mind it at all. It's these interactions with patients that are the highlight of my day!"
Patient? Do I look like a patient? I thought my disguise was pretty good, how did he find out? Hoo… just calm down Arthur, just play it cool.
"So, what can I help you with? I haven't seen you here before, are you a new patient? Did you get from your room?"
No! He totally thinks I'm a patient! I can totally still play this off, I'm the Heavenly Brain, or mind, same thing.
"Oh– no, I'm not a patient here–"
I suddenly pause as I come to say my last word, stretching its syllable out as long as possible, as he looks at me with curious, anticipating eyes.
Think of a reason! Any reason at all!! You can't waste time thinking, you think slowly! Ack! I'm doing it right now! Come on! Wait, that's it! Lillian!
"I'm a friend of Lillian's! I'm also a student at Wolkan Academy, we're on break for the weekend so we're just wandering around the city."
I say in a confident voice, emphasizing Wolkan Academy greatly.
"I was just wondering where the exit to this estate is, I just overslept, and it seems that Lillian and Martha left without me hahaha…"
HAHAHA Yes! This is why they call me the Heavenly Brain! My reasoning is flawless! Sure it's not true that students get exempt from school on weekends, but how would he know that? Plus, I added that Martha and Lillian just left, and if he knows where the exit to the estate is, he should know that I'm telling the truth!
After I look up with my smug face, my bubble of confidence is popped as I see the gardener staring very intensely at me.
Shit! Did he see through my lies?
We lock eyes without any words being spoken for a few seconds, him continuing to examine my eyes as I nervously await his response. The silence is finally broken as a bird chirps in the background. The gardener's face lights up with a smile once again.
"Hohoho, if you go to Wolkan Academy, that must mean you're a noble right? I apologize for my terrible manners, I'm not well versed in the etiquette of nobles."
He slightly leans his upper body down, as if a bow.
"Ha… hahaha– don't worry about it, I can see you're a very good person who enjoys their job."
Phew, thank Pyro he believed me. I'm sorry for lying, but I really gotta go right now.
The gardener crouches down to pick up the sprinkler, before he brings his body up straight again.
"You wanted to know where the exit was right? You see that estate in front, over there? Not the clinic to the right."
He points at the large building where the main estate of the Mint Viscounty in the capital is stationed. The building where I had stayed in my previous life.
"Just go through those doors, and take a left after you reach the receptionist's desk. That building serves as both the lobby to this plot of land on the lower floor, as well as the residence of the Viscount's family, and his vassals on the upper floors."
Oh, I was wondering why the rooms were the exact same in the building I just escaped from, I was put in a different room this time! The room I originally stayed in, in both my lives, was in the Viscount's Capital Estate.
Just as I begin to turn around to run, following his directions, I pause before turning back.
"Do you by any chance grow Ashveil ferns, Lunarfrost Blooms, or Windshade roots?"
The Gardener scratches the top of his dry hat made of straw.
"I'm just a farmer who waters the plants. All I know is the names of the medicinal herbs. I don't know anything about the names of those decorative plants or those poisonous ones."
Well, it was worth a try.
"Alright, thank you very much sir, have a good day!"
I shouted back at him after I began running, turning my torso around to face him as I waved to him.
He waves back at me, before turning around, and returning to watering the plants, the soothing sound of rainfall returns behind me as I pretend to run.