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¹

The wind over the lake gently rustled my side hair. As I checked the position of the hairpin to ensure my mother’s handmade hat wouldn’t fly off, I glanced over the letter I had just finished writing.

The letter, addressed to my parents, described my imminent arrival at Canalford Academy.

The scenery visible from the passenger ship’s deck had completely shifted from the familiar Torch Town to Canalford Academy as we crossed Lake Venea.

Together with Alfe and Hom, I boarded the large passenger ship bound for Canalford Academy, where I would begin my studies at Canalford Higher Education School this spring.

Canalford Academy was located on the opposite side of Lake Venea from Torch Town. However, despite being opposite, the vastness of Lake Venea, which took six hours to cross by large passenger ship, meant that the city on the other side was not visible².

Now, the modern townscape that was rapidly approaching appeared fresh to my eyes, reinforcing the reality that I was about to live away from my parents for the first time.

There was a reason why I was leaving the parents who had raised me with unwavering love for the past fifteen years. The most significant reason was my mother’s Black Stone Disease.

“Well, I suppose I should write a letter to Director Ludsef too.”

After sealing the letter to my parents, I pulled out a piece of stationery that had been tucked between the ink bottles. Director Ludsef was the head of the Black Dragon Lantern Clinic, where my mother was a patient.

I had entrusted the Black Dragon Lantern Clinic with the Black Stone Disease suppressant I developed—the Demi-Nectar. This medicine, which had the effect of cellular replacement, was expected to help treat not only Black Stone Disease but also many other difficult illnesses. This was Director Ludsef’s view, and I also crafted it with that effect in mind. Therefore, I named it the Demi-Nectar, hoping it would live up to its name as a cure-all.

However, based on my past life’s experience, it was clear that this Demi-Nectar alone wouldn’t be enough to completely cure my mother’s Black Stone Disease. That’s why I had set my immediate goal as developing a medicine that could remove Dark Matter from the human body—the true Nectar that could fundamentally cure Black Stone Disease. To achieve that, I chose Canalford High Education School as my next step, as it offered the ideal environment for research.

The fully residential Canalford High Education School was one of the most challenging higher education institutions in the Empire, and fulfilling its graduation requirements was the shortest route to the Imperial Capital Niflheim Medical University, where I aimed to go.

Additionally, even though it took six hours by passenger ship, the fact that my family home was still within a manageable distance for me to return quickly was a significant factor.

In the letter to Director Ludsef, I made sure to emphasize that he should inform me immediately if there were any changes in my mother’s condition, no matter how minor. In an ordinary household, such news would typically not be passed on to the child, but I had the Demi-Nectar. By stressing this point, I was also implicitly allowing the use of the Demi-Nectar on patients other than my mother. Given Director Ludsef’s sense of duty, I was confident he would keep me informed.

Now that I had finished writing the letters, Hom should be done with packing and should be returning soon. As I lifted my head, thinking this, a strong gust of wind blew the letter I had just completed into the air.

“Ah!”
“Leave it to me, Master.”

Before I could react, Hom’s calm voice overlapped with mine. I saw her effortlessly leap into the air, her body moving gracefully as she caught the letter with her fingertips.

“Thank you, Hom.”
“I’m glad I could be of service.”

When I patted Hom on the head after she retrieved the letter, she closed her eyes as if tickled. While her voice didn’t change much in tone, I could clearly tell that she was pleased.

Compared to Alfe, whose emotions were extraordinarily expressive, Hom’s expressions were still somewhat subdued. However, ever since I had accepted Hom as part of my family, her expressions had been growing more vivid each day. The slight blush on her white cheeks was another sign of this positive change—or perhaps it was just that I’d become better at reading her expressions.

“…We’ll be arriving soon, Master.”

Mooring ropes were being prepared at the side, signaling that the ship was getting ready to dock.

“That’s right. But Alfe hasn’t returned from the restroom yet. Do you know where she is?”

Considering that Alfe mentioned she’d be packing while also heading to the restroom, it seemed unusually late for her. She had said she wanted to admire the view of Canalford Academy from the deck with me, so I would have expected her to be thrilled by this scenery.

“…Could she be seasick?”

She looked fine and seemed more lively than usual, so maybe she was trying to hide her discomfort.

“I shall check on her.”
“I’ve finished writing the letters, so I’ll come too.”

I stopped Hom, who was about to run off to the cabin, and quickly gathered the writing materials on the table. Just then, I heard Alfe’s footsteps approaching.

“Leafa!”

Ah, good. It didn’t seem like she was seasick after all.

Alfe, breathing heavily and smiling as she ran toward me, had a different aura than usual. The slight redness on her lips and cheeks was probably due to some makeup.

“…How do I look?”

Alfe maintained some distance from me and tilted her head slightly, showing off her appearance.

“Did you… put on some makeup?”

I wasn’t well-versed in trends, so I couldn’t be certain. However, I had heard that young women often wore makeup. My mother wasn’t much into it, and since I hadn’t grown out of my little girl’s form, I had little experience with it myself.

“Yes. Since I’m starting high school and Canalford is a city, I wanted to look stylish… Even though I’m not very good at it, so it might look odd…”

Alfe blushed and looked away when I stared at her. The natural flush on her cheeks was even more beautiful than the blush she had applied.

I missed the chance to compliment her makeup, but Alfe was already cute to begin with. I think it was better to simply tell her that even without lipstick or blush, her naturally rosy cheeks when she’s happy were very cute.

“Alfe, you’re stylish as you are, and you’re already really cute.”
“Really…?”

Alfe, who had bent down to match my gaze, looked up at me with her toes slightly raised and her ankle shifting nervously.

“Yes. Your smile is especially cute, and I love seeing your cheeks turn rosy when you’re truly happy. It makes me happy just watching you.”

When I expressed my feelings for Alfe honestly, her cheeks flushed an even more beautiful rose color, and her eyes sparkled with delight. Although she wore a contact lens to conceal her Pure Eye, her golden eye, which was visible in the sunlight, was always beautiful.

“Hehe. Leafa, I love you!”

With a shy smile, Alfe hugged me tightly. Even though the height difference between fifteen-year-old Alfe and me had grown, I had become accustomed to her daily hugs.

By the way, it seemed like Alfe was wearing perfume today. The floral scent she always had was particularly vivid today.

“If you say so, Leafa, maybe I should stop trying to grow up.”
“You should do what you want, Alfe. I love you no matter how you are.”
“Me too!”

As Alfe released her embrace and immediately took my hand, smiling as she looked up at me, the wind over the lake swept between us.

“…”

Alfe, who had been smiling brightly, closed her eyes and bit her lip.

“Did something get in your eye?”
“Yes, but it’s okay. It will wash away with the automatic cleaning.”

Alfe said this while opening her tear-filled eyes and blinking several times.

Still, I might need to adjust the curve of her lens to better fit her grown-up eye³.

1. Robinxen: New volume! New cover image!
2. Robinxen: THAT’S BARELY A LAKE ANYMORE! THE ENGLISH CHANNEL IS SMALLER THAN THIS! Okay before anyone gets mad, I understand that the definition of lake is technically based on how landlocked it is and salt content etc etc etc… but my point stands.
3. Robinxen: From what I remember contact lenses don’t actually need resizing, but it’s hard to confirm this because contact lenses need periodic replacement anyway for a myriad of material and health reasons. So it would be hard to find proof of it I think.