*
Steroid.
Not the Anabolic Steroid commonly known to the public for muscle pumping.
In medicine, the Corticosteroid used to reduce inflammation is called Cortisone,
and along with Antibiotic and Aspirin, it's a drug that can be considered one of the Three Divine Instruments of Internal Medicine.
With a bit of exaggeration, it's said that an Internal Medicine doctor holding only these three drugs can perform a miracle no matter where they go.
In reality, it wasn't entirely wrong.
Whenever I went to do overseas volunteer work during vacation, I made sure to pack those Three Divine Instruments. (Of course, I was in the Surgery Department, not Internal Medicine.)
However, unlike the first two drugs, there was a good reason why I hadn't been able to make Cortisone until now.
Steroids can be extracted from the Adrenal Gland of humans or pigs.
So in my previous life, when I was busy memorizing drugs like Viagra, I neglected my research on steroids.
And this was the result.
'I didn't know the Yield would be so horrifically low compared to Insulin.'
Insulin is a hormone stored in the body for later use.
Meaning, if you cut open a pig's belly, you can get the hormone the pig had stored up to use.
On the other hand, a steroid isn't a hormone that gets stored.
Meaning it's a hormone the body only produces and uses on the spot when needed.
In other words, no matter how many pig or cow bellies you cut open, the amount of steroid you can get is a mere rat's tail.
Because of that, I didn't have much steroid on hand.
Even if I did, slaughtering a thousand pigs would barely yield enough for a single dose.
Would you believe it if I said I meticulously collected it after treating Freya's Demon Disease, and only managed to gather a week's supply?
So, whenever a situation arose where I needed a steroid, I regretted it.
Wishing I had studied harder back then.
But now, that regret was over.
'Right. Steroids could be extracted from plants.'
It was written like that in the memory that the Cosmic Head Babel handed over in the Library of Memory.
If you boil and fry Wild Yam (Yam. Not a horse), a steroid is born.
I had read it before, but it seemed I had forgotten it.
'I shouldn't forget it, so I better record it all down.'
This knowledge Babel picked out for me was extremely useful.
To the point where I would have taken him as my second teacher if he hadn't introduced himself as a Demonkin.
'It doesn't just end with Cortisone.'
The greatness of this synthesis method lies in the fact that it doesn't end with just Cortisone.
By tweaking the Cortisone synthesis method just a little, the brothers of steroids pop out.
The contraceptive, Progesterone.
Anabolic Steroid used for muscle pumping.
Even Estrogen and Testosterone, needed for the growth of children with a Genetic Disease.
The things I could do with just this one piece of knowledge were limitless.
'Looking at this, maybe that Demonkin named Babel is different from ordinary Demonkins?'
The kin known as Demonkins hate humans.
The proof is that every human who has ever tried to converse with a Demonkin has become their meal.
But Babel was different.
He surely knows very well how helpful this knowledge is to Humanity.
Yet, he picked out this knowledge for me.
Is that why?
'He's too friendly to be called a Demonkin.'
Although he introduced himself as a Demonkin, I didn't particularly feel any hostility.
Anyway.
The knowledge of the steroid manufacturing method was finally in my head now.
'I can finally touch upon the Autoimmune Disease side of things.'
When I lacked steroids, there was practically no progress in my Demon Disease Research.
It's not that I couldn't do research without steroids.
It's just that even if I researched it, treatment was impossible, so I just categorized them in my Research Notebook and stayed silent.
But now, that was a thing of the past.
'The treatment for Demon Disease will also proceed in earnest now.'
Thanks to that, I had a lot of work to do.
First, find the Wild Yam of this world,
extract the steroid from it,
announce that Demon Disease can be treated,
'And finally, I have to let them know it can be treated with black magic...'
The last part is the biggest problem,
but I decided to put that aside for now.
Right now, I needed to find the Wild Yam as soon as possible.
Keep the plan short.
Execute quickly.
As soon as the snow stopped, I immediately made a request to the Adventurer's Guild in Limbus Pit's B Sector.
It was a request to indiscriminately gather all yam-type plants found Outside the Wall.
'When I made Quinine, I went around looking for it myself, but...'
Not anymore.
When I have money, why would I do the legwork myself?
After leaving the search for the Wild Yam to the adventurers, while staying at the Mansion, I...
"Ugh. This is hard, Teacher."
"It's an unfamiliar concept, so of course it is."
Helped Eri with her Blood Magic training.
The Blood Magic I was passing down to her was a refined version of a Black Magician's knowledge.
The knowledge that Adrian from Count Barlot's family had been learning from a Blood Mage.
"Teacher. Does this have a principle or something?"
"Sorry, you just have to memorize the symbols."
Their knowledge was useful.
For Eri, not me.
Because my Blood Magic knowledge was entirely on the science side, whereas the blood mages' knowledge leaned toward Folk Belief.
Such as using Red Spider Lily Juice, which symbolizes blood, as a Catalyst, or using the symbol of a bat.
To Erika, who had been raised as a scientist up to now, it seemed to be a rather overwhelming concept.
Since I also struggled to memorize those things, it was an understandable reaction.
"Ugh... I hate memorizing..."
Eri melted onto her Desk, puffing out her cheeks.
Without a word, I brought a piece of fruit to her mouth.
It was her favorite, a peach.
"Shall we eat this and try to cheer up again?"
"Nom nom..."
Despite what she said, she was doing well.
If it were the old days, she would have just slammed her head on the Desk and fallen asleep.
These days, she complained, but she tended to do what she was told well.
"Teacher."
"Yeah?"
"Come to think of it, I got accepted into the Academy this time. I heard I'm Second in Class in the Hero Department."
"Really? You worked hard."
She had already passed with the highest Practical Exam Score last year.
And the Written Exam Score she took this year was 3rd place.
"Is there a present you want?"
"It's fine. Teacher is paying all my Academy Tuition Fee, I can't shamelessly ask for a present on top of that."
With that, she muttered.
"Besides, I feel like Teacher keeps pushing yourself because of me..."
At her strangely dejected appearance, I gave a Bitter smile.
It seemed Eri still thought she was the reason I collapsed last time.
She had been like this ever since that day.
In that moment, someone's advice came to mind.
— [A tower should not be built in too great a hurry.]
He was someone I had met for the first time, but his advice resonated with me surprisingly well.
Is that why?
Without realizing it, I was saying the exact same words as him.
"Eri. There's no need to be impatient. You can do it. The important thing is going all the way to the end, so it's important not to exhaust your strength already."
"But Teacher pushed yourself too."
"I made a mistake, too. Thinking I could cure you, I ended up rushing uncharacteristically without realizing it."
"Because of me?"
"Yes."
To me, Eri was like family, no less than Freya.
At first, I thought she was just an expensive Medical Device and a Fortuitous Encounter I found through the Orphan Lottery(?).
But before I knew it, I was considering her family.
The time I had spent together with her was by no means small.
"I won't push myself either. So Eri, don't rush too much either."
"Mmm... Okay."
"Good."
I closed the book she had been reading.
There is a Limit to the amount a person can memorize in a day.
Unless one receives the help of magic like I do, forcing oneself to memorize doesn't make it one's own.
"That's it for today. Let's have a snack."
"A snack?"
"I picked up baking as a hobby when I was at the Academy."
When I was at the Academy, the students kept gifting me sweets.
But I thought I could make them better than this, so I tried it myself, and...
"It turned out I have more talent in this than I thought."
It worked when I tried.
So I started baking when I needed to cool my head.
"Ms. Perisia said they were delicious, too."
At those words, Eri looked at Perisia, who was in the corner of the room.
The Elf woman nodded.
"It's as delicious as what I ate at a master's bakery."
I let the flattery go in one ear and out the other.
My sweets weren't delicious because they were good sweets, but because the ingredients were good.
Honestly, it's embarrassing to compare them to the masters.
"Eri. Rest for a bit."
I patted Eri's head once and stood up from the chair.
In the meantime, Eri picked up my Research Notebook, saying she'd cool her head.
After I said I was going to make a steroid, she showed a particular interest in that medicine.
"Hehe. He said it's a medicine made because of me."
Whatever she found so nice about it, Eri read the Research Notebook over and over.
I left her be and headed to the kitchen.
***
The snow stopped, and the Academy's Winter Vacation ended.
It meant the time was slowly approaching for this year's new students to enter the Academy.
I arrived at the Academy a week before the Entrance Ceremony was set to begin.
Not as Yulian, but as Director Schun.
"Welcome, Lord Saint. Welcome to the Academy."
As I stepped off the Airship, I saw hundreds of Healing Priests who had come out to greet me.
At the head of the priests was the master of Limb Amputation, Cardinal Wendras.
"Is this your first time at the Academy, Lord Saint?"
"Yes, it is."
Strictly speaking, no.
I had visited this place unofficially to treat the Marquis's parasite.
And before that, as Yulian, I even ate and slept here for a year.
But since all of those were confidential, this was officially The Black Saint's first visit to the Academy.
"Lord Saint, then these people are..."
"This is my Escort Holy Knight, Gregor."
Gregor bowed, his Beard twitching.
"And this is my Acolyte Priest, Simeon."
"Oh. It is an honor to meet the master of Parasitology."
"It is an Honor for me to meet Cardinal Wendras as well."
The two men exchanged greetings.
And finally, I introduced the girl hiding at the very back.
"This is my Disciple. Ayla. Say hello."
"H-Hello..."
She bowed to the Cardinal while hiding her body behind me as much as possible.
The Cardinal politely brought his hands together and bowed his head to her.
"I am in the presence of The Saintess of the Lamp."
Within The Order, the Status of a Saint and Saintess is by no means low.
They were on the same level as a Cardinal, and depending on the situation, even higher.
Therefore, it was not strange for someone as high as a Cardinal to bow to such a young girl.
"..."
Of course, that didn't lessen the burden felt by her, a Commoner.
She stealthily hid her entire body behind me.
Cardinal Wendras must have guessed her state, as he didn't speak to her any further.
"Lord Saint. Before heading to the Infirmary, there are people waiting at the Terminal Entrance who wish to catch a glimpse of you."
Since this was my first official visit here.
It seemed everyone had come out to see my face, or rather, my Mask.
"What would you like to do? If you are tired, we can secretly move you in another vehicle."
"No. They are people waiting for me, and I wish to meet them as well."
"Understood."
With those words, the Cardinal gave various orders to the holy knights.
Only after word came that safety had been secured,
did the Cardinal, who had been blocking the Exit, step aside to clear the way.
As the hundreds of priests parted, the scene beyond came into view all at once.
— Waaaaaah!
From the Airship Landing Pad to the Main Building's front door.
The crowd tightly packed on both sides of the road let out a simultaneous cheer, as if they had agreed upon it.
Apprentices wearing white Priest's Robes.
Department of Healing students in their School uniforms.
Even people who had come out in wheelchairs.
The Entrance Ceremony was clearly still a week away, yet this many people had gathered just because of Ayla and me.
「The Black Saint!」
「Please look this way!」
A mixture of cheers and sobs washed over us.
'...This is a bit much.'
Inside my mask, I quietly broke into a cold sweat.
I thought I was a person who enjoyed receiving interest.
But at this level, it felt burdensome.
Filled with Worry, I looked at Ayla.
"Are you okay?"
"..."
Ayla was clutching my hand tightly, the Veil pulled down over her face.
It seemed the heavy Interest was quite a burden for her as well.
It was the moment I was swallowing a Bitter smile behind my mask and crossing the massive sea of people.
"—Lord Saint! Lord Saint!"
A shout close to a scream burst out from one side of the Crowd.
Looking toward the sound, I saw an old woman and a middle-aged woman throwing their bodies against the holy knights' blockade.
Thud. Thud.
The two women's scrawny bodies slammed into the armor of the holy knights forming the line.
The old woman barely broke through the line using the gap the middle-aged woman created, and then came running toward me.
However, she couldn't reach me.
"I'm sorry, Elder."
Gregor, who had moved behind the old woman at some point, subdued her.
He subdued her with Consideration, making sure not to hurt the old woman.
The sight of a strapping young man subduing an old woman wasn't very pleasant to look at.
But the old woman, forced to her knees on the ground, didn't give up and shouted at me.
"Lord Saint... Please, please help my daughter..."
Just as other holy knights were approaching to drag her away.
I raised my hand and waved them back.
Then, I bent one knee, lowering myself to match the eye level of the old woman sprawling on the ground.
"You can speak slowly, Mother. What happened to your daughter?"
"M-My daughter... is a graduate of this Academy. Last year, during that terrible Incident..."
Last year.
The Incident where the Airship crashed.
The Incident I had personally cleaned up.
"She was swept up in the flames... Her entire body was severely burned. She was on the verge of death, but the priests barely managed to keep her alive with Heal. I am truly... truly filled with Gratitude."
The old woman's cracked lips trembled.
"But... But... her wounds have all healed, yet... the Scar left on her face is so severe..."
The old woman couldn't bring herself to finish her sentence and dropped her head.
"That beautiful child, she doesn't even look in the mirror anymore. She won't go outside. She's confined herself to her room all day."
Hearing those Words, Gregor bit his lip tightly.
The past of being shut in a room didn't seem to sound like someone else's business to him.
I could feel strength gripping Ayla's hand that was tightly holding mine.
She must have been reminded of the time in the past when her older sister was Kidnapped and didn't come out of her room for a while.
At that moment, someone mingling in the crowd interjected in dissatisfaction.
"Whoa there, Mother. Escaping with her Life alone is a great Mercy from God."
Starting from that remark, other citizens also joined in the Criticism aimed at the old woman.
"To hold up the Lord Saint's precious time over a mere Scar."
"You should show Gratitude just for breathing properly; your Greed is too excessive."
"T-That's not it..."
Amidst the Criticism of the citizens, the old woman didn't know what to do and only bowed her head.
Even the priests, though they didn't voice it, seemed to be having the exact same thoughts as the citizens.
It seemed like no one was taking her side.
Soon, under the glares of the people, the utterly intimidated old woman bowed her head and spoke.
"I apologize. For me to dare trouble the Lord Saint..."
"By any chance, does your daughter have difficulty opening her eyes or breathing?"
"Pardon?"
"Or does she complain of Pain even though there are no open wounds?"
"How did you..."
"I see."
Just as I thought.
"I will treat her."
"Lord Saint?"
Cardinal Wendras looked at me with eyes full of Doubt.
"It's a Scar; are you saying you will treat it?"
"Yes. Among Scars, there are Scars that must be treated."
A Scar doesn't simply just ruin one's appearance.
Among Scars, there are Scars that make Daily life impossible.
Scars on internal organs can even threaten a person's Life.
I squeezed the old woman's hand firmly one more time, then stood up from my spot and looked back at Cardinal Wendras.
"Your Eminence. I have a Request."
"Please speak, Lord Saint."
"Ever since last year's Incident, please bring everyone who was left with a Disability or a Scar to the Infirmary, without leaving a single person behind."
"Pardon? You mean everyone?"
"Yes."
I nodded.
"I intend to finish the treatments that might have ended incompletely that day."
It was time to showcase the Detail of modern Surgery to the people of this Era, who thought simply amputating was the end of it.