"Miss Peasant. Since you EARNED your position, do your job and nurse me."
"..."
The boy declared with a malicious smile, causing the nurse's expression to turn severe, but she could only comply. The only fault in that student's behavior was expressing himself in a rude manner, after all.
"Magic crystal? No healing spells? What kind of hard work did you actually do to get to your position, Miss Peasant?"
"!!!"
Seeing the nurse take out a green gem from the first aid kit, Rotsard asked mockingly, and this time the woman ended up speechless from rage at the implication.
"You are not the only patient today, student Vall… student Rotsard!"
The nurse spat through her teeth, ending up changing the way she addressed the bleached-haired boy.
The way she glared at him, it was clear that it was a provocation…
"I see. Your insignificant mana pool of a peasant is the issue here, then. Proceed."
"...!"
Rotsard chuckled, slightly shaking his head with pity, causing the nurse to bite her lips, barely holding herself back before beginning the treatment.
Healing with magic had to be done on conscious patients because of the natural mana barrier all creatures born with mana possessed, although conscious patients could also reject the healing. The only instance in which an unconscious person could be healed by another was when the patient had completely drained their mana beforehand, so there was nothing that could create a barrier.
The nurse had her head down to not look at Rotsard and was silently chanting the activation formula while moving the crystal towards the boy's hand…
"ACK…!"
Only to get her hand zapped and numbed by the jolt of reaction from his mana barrier…!
"Oh. Sorry, sorry. My head is still kind of fuzzy after the vi.. After the hit. The last thing I remember is that filthy peasant's training sword swinging at my head."
Rotsard snickered and shrugged his shoulders in amused mockery, only to hurriedly bite his tongue and turn serious the moment he realized he almost talked about the vision of the office and the meeting with the deofol.
The nurse's ears perked up as she was picking up the crystal she dropped, and a faint smile appeared on her face.
"Hmph. That's right, I've heard Student Justin got you good. Aren't you ashamed as a member of a noble family? He has to work hard to become someone, but don't you have a family honor to uphold?"
Sensing a weak point, the woman jabbed right into it as a revenge while properly activating the crystal this time around.
"..."
"...!?"
Since she was holding onto Rotsard's arm, the nurse noticed him tensing up and smiled with satisfaction, but then she made the mistake of looking at his face, tempted by the urge to see his face twisted with anger or bitterness, and ended up looking into his eyes…
"...!"
His beastly yellow eyes full of killing intent, that piercing gaze shook her to her core and completely terrified her to the point of making her legs weak, which ended up in her pitifully plopping to the floor.
Because in the end, even a weak and flabby wolf is still a wolf.
"Hmph. Your treatment was sufficient, it seems."
Sparing her only a single glance, Rotsard checked his body and nodded in approval after confirming that the sore spots from moments earlier weren't causing him pain upon being pressed.
Rotsard then straightened his clothes, wrinkled by being laid down by whoever brought him in, before getting up.
His academy uniform wasn't in tatters per se, but it was crumpled and dirty.
That, coupled with the poor shape of his body, made Rotsard look like some low-level thug.
"..."
That made him stop and think.
That vision... It was too clear to be just a dream.
Deofol possessions weren't something all that uncommon, on the contrary, they were the number one danger in their world, to the point that those even suspected of being contacted by a deofol would end up under constant surveillance… if they were lucky, because being sent to the dungeon or killed on the spot were far more common methods.
That meant Rotsard should not reveal what he saw and learned under any circumstances.
That said…
It still could be the result of getting hit in the head a bit too hard.
…only that everything he witnessed was exactly how a deofol would do, they tempted and tormented humans, revealing the future to a human only to see him destroy himself over the impossible problem? Definitely.
For the moment, the best option for Rotsard would be to wait and confirm how the events will play out.
After all, the story read to him by the deofol was inscribed in his memory down to the most minute detail, so he will be able to tell if it matches.
...yes... that couldn't have been just a common deofol...
And Arch.
Arch Deofol, a being of the highest threat... it would make sense that something that had access to the records of the future would be something like that.
Because... deofols couldn't lie.
And Arch Deofol is still a deofol, so it could hide its identity like that...
...but the perfect future in which mankind thrives isn't something that can be twisted...
After coming to that conclusion, Rotsard dusted off his shirt without any effect and walked out of the hospital wing without acknowledging the presence of other patients and nurses.
"Whoa!? Ah…! My lord!"
"...?"
As he walked to the hallway, he almost knocked out someone with the door he opened with a bit too much gusto. That someone turned out to be a tall but skinny girl with terrible posture.
As she backed off and called out, slouching terribly, her nest-like black hair immediately got Rostard's attention.
The girl was older and taller than him, and it appeared that she was slouching so badly to appear shorter.
She was clutching a bunch of potions and ingredients while shying away, clearly out of breath.
She must have grabbed everything and run there in a hurry, causing her uniform to turn disheveled.
For one of the best alchemy students in the Royal Academy, Mira Vultress wasn't exactly the picture of an honor student despite being one.
"...are those supposed to be for me…?"
"...! Y-yes…!"
Rotsard moved his gaze from Mira's hair to everything she was holding close to her very modest chest and asked, causing the girl to tremble and whimper in embarrassment.
After all, she once again did something unnecessary.
Considering that this whole time Rotsard treated Mira, his fiancee, like a mere servant, she was bracing herself for a barrage of harsh words…
"...!?"
That's why she flinched when she felt someone's hand under her chin and was unable to comprehend what was happening when Rotsard lifted her head to have a clear look at her face.
"M-my lord…?"
Mira whimpered when Rotsard's face was getting closer and closer to her own.
"...wh-wha…?"
And mumbled when their foreheads touched, and Rotsard rubbed his head against hers in an intimate manner.