The very next moment, I felt an impact. My father had pushed me to the side and embraced my mother in an attempt to hold her still. He immediately put his lips on hers. I was completely stunned by it at first, but I quickly noticed water the same color as our prototype drug peeking from between their mouths, and I realized what he was doing. My father was administering the drug by transferring it from his mouth to hers.
“Mnnngh?!”
A muffled sound escaped my mother’s mouth as he gave her the medicine, then there was a gulp. She had likely swallowed it, which Sandra also picked up on.
“Sir Reid, use Measure Mana!!!” Sandra exclaimed.
“On it!” I replied, and I immediately cast the spell.
Nanalie: 101 MP
“We... We did it! It worked, Sandra!!!”
I’d heard it clearly. Without a doubt, I’d heard that she had 101 MP. My father and Sandra both understood that the drug had worked, and we all called out to my mother for a response.
“Mnn, d-dear...” she mumbled. “Reid...”
She sounded fatigued, but she definitely responded to our voices. I was finally able to calm down, and I fell to the floor. As I sat there, tears and snot began pouring out, and I couldn’t stop sobbing.
“Let’s call for a doctor right away,” my father said. “I think we all know this, but no one says anything about the medicine.” He immediately left the room and shouted, “Call a doctor!!!”
My father had appeared composed when he’d departed, but he hadn’t been able to hide the tear that ran down his face. I used my sleeve to wipe away my own tears and snot and got back up to check on my mother.
“Are you all right, mother?”
“Yes... In fact, I’m doing better than usual. I won’t lose, no matter what.” She smiled at me, as though proud of her victory over the illness.
After that, the doctor my father had called for came to examine her, and he couldn’t find anything abnormal about her condition. Her sudden pain had likely been some sort of flare-up, and the matter was settled. In order to avoid causing any confusion, we’d kept what had happened in my mother’s room that day a secret between the four of us.
We then discussed how we should move forward, and it was decided that my mother would take the medicine three times a day: in the morning, at noon, and at night. Of course, we made sure to give her a stock of it so that she could take it whenever she needed to. We also decided to always have at least one maid stationed in her room to be there in case something happened to her. My father still had things to discuss with her, so once we had decided on all of that, Sandra and I left them alone.
“I have to say, our prototype was incredible,” I remarked. “I can’t believe her mana was restored to over a hundred.”
When I’d tested the drug, it had only restored fifty mana. Since my mother now had over 100 MP, it had had nearly twice the efficacy this time.
A look of deep reverence washed over Sandra’s face as she said, “That wasn’t our doing. It was thanks to Sir Reiner. He’d determined that Lady Nanalie was unable to open her mouth on her own, so he took a handful of the medicine, chewed it up, then took a swig of water before transferring it to Lady Nanalie’s mouth...”
My eyes widened in surprise. Looking back on it, my mother definitely could not have swallowed a pill at that moment. My father had made that assessment in an instant and broken down the medicine for her. He’d probably taken more than a pill or two—he’d chewed up a bunch of the pills so she would have more medicine to take, which was why her mana had recovered so quickly.
“My father really is incredible,” I muttered.
Unlike him, all I had been able to do was wail when I’d realized what was happening to her. I could never have thought of doing what he’d done. He hadn’t given up even when it seemed hopeless, which had saved my mother’s life. I was filled with admiration and respect for him and knew I had a long way to go to be any match for him.
I let out a deep sigh and said, “Thank you, Sandra. I’m really grateful.”
“No, no. This is the result of all of your hard work, Sir Reid. From obtaining the raw materials to coming up with Measure Mana, you prepared everything. All I did was use those tools.”
Several days ago, I’d passed on my Measure Mana spell to Sandra so that she could use it to make and test the prototype. I’d never expected to see the results of our work so soon.
“You really did help,” I insisted. “For a moment, I truly believed that today would be my mother’s last day.”
It was true that I’d been the one to prepare everything, but I definitely wouldn’t have gotten this far on my own. Just imagining how today would’ve gone if I hadn’t had Sandra’s knowledge sent a shiver down my spine.
“I thank you, from the bottom of my heart,” I said. “If you’re ever in any trouble, I’ll help you, so don’t hesitate to ask.”
“You’d better not forget those words, Sir Reid!”
The unsettling smile on her face was concerning, but it wasn’t anything unusual, so I just ignored it. It was time to move on to the next thing.
“Are you free for a bit longer, Sandra?”
“Yes, I am,” she replied, puzzled.
“In that case, I’m working on a new spell, and I’d like you there with me.”
“Excuse me?!” she exclaimed with disbelief.