Chapter 5: Putting Their Best Foot Forward
AFTER classes, the team gathered in their usual spot in the library lounge for a strategy session.
“Felix? What’s wrong?”
Felix jumped. He’d been deep in thought. Mia’s intense gaze seemed to knock him senseless for a moment. Her eyes flicked back and forth, scanning Felix’s face with concern.
“It’s nothing. I’m fine.”
Felix shrugged in what he hoped was a casual manner as Henrik returned them to the subject at hand.
“…So anyway, yesterday I think it became clear to us all that we now have another wall to climb over, in the shape of Bralle. Going back and writing a new thesis might be one way to go. If we can convince the others to our way of thinking, then we can move ahead.”
Henrik sighed, arms crossed over his chest. Sometimes Felix really envied his friend—or was he more like a rival? His brilliant way of noticing things, his logical way of thinking. He was a man blessed with all the traits Felix himself lacked.
“But I don’t think we can start from scratch now, not after we’ve come this far… In the meantime, patients are waiting for a cure. Rather than writing theses that will be of zero benefit to those patients, I’d rather go ahead and try to make a medicine that might actually help them.”
Mia had to say her piece. It was all for the patients, after all. There was no way Mia was going to yield one inch when it came to them.
“But if it all comes to nothing, we’ll be rendered completely useless. Isn’t it better to act ahead of time? Trying to convince the general public is one of the hardest things to do.”
Henrik looked thoughtful. Mia frowned, his words doing nothing to sway her desire.
There had to be another way. Henrik always made her feel confident that there was.
She looked at him, her eyes filled with respect and admiration for him.
Felix knew it—he wasn’t the one she relied on the most out of their group. The thought perturbed him. It made him feel like he was worthless, rotting from the inside.
“Why are you always so useless?”
Felix jumped, a disembodied voice echoing in his head. His constant inferiority complex was going to be his undoing, more than anything else. He knew that from experience.
His feelings of frustration and inadequacy suddenly seemed to be choking him. He was getting tunnel vision and couldn’t breathe. He had to breathe, get in more air, or he was going to die…
Someone lightly thumped him on the back, and he stiffened.
“Are you all right? You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Do you need your medicine? It’s right in front of you. Act like a dog and go get your pets and belly rubs, go on.”
The low voice rumbled in his ear, and the tunnel vision reversed itself. He felt like a cool, refreshing breeze had just blown through his mind.
Mathias was watching Felix with a long-suffering expression on his face.
He knew Felix’s weakness better than anyone. He’d noticed the subtle warning signs of one of his panic attacks and jumped in to stop it in its tracks. More than anything, he wanted to spare Felix the indignity of another public attack.
“A dog?”
Felix let out the breath he’d been holding with his words, and the tight pain in his chest lessened. Mia and Henrik were still talking away, having not even noticed Felix’s signs of panic. Good. He didn’t want them to notice. He didn’t want to look like a weakling any more than he already did. He didn’t want anyone worrying about him.
Besides, he was feeling braver now.
“You’d have to be a large dog. I’ll give you that much, at least.”
Mathias handed him a handkerchief, and Felix used it to wipe the cold sweat off his forehead.
“I’d like to become a dog. Mia’s pet.”
Mathias gave him a look that was equal parts exasperation and pity. Then Felix realized that Henrik was watching him too, with a disgusted look. How much had he heard? And—oh no—Mia was looking at him as well, her lips a thin line of concern.
Ah, darn it.
He cursed himself silently, but it was too late.
Sometimes his love for Mia went too far.
He smiled wryly. Still, he was relieved to have regained his composure.
“So, at any rate, it looks like we’ve come to a standstill. Any ideas, Felix? Although I suppose it’s foolish to expect anything great from…a dog.”
Now Henrik had a new insult with which to endlessly needle Felix.
But Felix wasn’t to be discouraged.
He tried to think of a snappy retort. It would help his recovery to focus intensely on something else. Felix was excelled at comebacks. To stay silent and sulking would give Henrik an edge that Felix wasn’t willing to concede.
Did he have any ideas for a plan of action against Bralle, though?
“Dogs have many wonderful qualities, actually. Their superior sense of hearing and smell. And their willingness to help out. They’d do anything for you, as long as it was within their power…”
Felix trailed off. Henrik was blinking rapidly all of a sudden.
“Within their power… Yes, yes, of course…”
“Hmm?”
Henrik had agreed with something Felix had said…how unexpected.
“Remember what Rueger said? ‘Listen here, kids. All you have to do is put your best foot forward, and the rest will follow smoothly. Trust me.’ But I’m a med student. Mia is a pharmacology student. Mathias is a magic student, and you’re a law student. We all have such different skills. And now we’re second years, none of us is a newbie in our field anymore. Rather than working as one, it would be better to act independently. That will get better results, for sure. And we could stick to our original theme.”
“Independently?”
“We could split the workload and pursue different aspects to reach a conclusion faster. For example, Mathias would be the best person to investigate what happened with that student who came down with Angel Tears and who’s been off sick. They were classmates, right? Someone must know which hospital he’s being kept at.”
“Ah…I get it. But I don’t want to make anyone upset by asking too many questions. Hmm, it just seems like too high of a wall to scale, in my opinion…”
Mathias was hedging, but it was obvious he wasn’t keen on the plan. Felix had to swallow back a knowing smile.
He knew better than anyone how shy his childhood friend could be.
And yet, he had such a responsible, rugged-looking exterior. It was so strange how little his personality matched the outside.
Seeing Mathias cringe with discomfort, Felix felt an urge to tease him, mixed with a pang of pity.
“A wall to scale, hmm? Instead of thinking of it that way, why not see it as an opportunity? You could find out some info and get on better terms with your classmates at the same time. Anyway, up until now you’ve been mostly useless. This is your chance to contribute, so snap to it.”
Henrik was clearly not willing to accommodate Mathias’s hesitation.
Mathias’s eyes popped. Being directly hit in his weak point seemed to have knocked all the fight out of him.
Mia couldn’t help smiling, even though she secretly thought Henrik was being needlessly cruel. “Mathias, I know it sounds tough, but it would really be a big help.” She gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile.
Mathias shrugged, giving in. “We just need the name of the hospital, right?” Denying Mia would be tantamount to denying Felix now. Neither of those things would be allowed.
“Now, then, Felix…I’m sure there’s simply tons of ways you could help, but…anything spring to mind?”
Henrik’s eyes were filled with an unspoken challenge. Felix thought for a moment. Then the optimal answer came to him.
It was something he’d already been thinking about back in class earlier.
“I think I’ll infiltrate the army.”
He should be able to find contacts in the Academy to help make that possible. Army brats were plentiful in the law department, after all.
“…”
The other three fell silent. Felix thought it was a great plan, but perhaps he’d been too enthusiastic. He was often accused of taking things to extremes without ever realizing it himself.
“…Then what about you, Mia? Personally, I was planning to spend some more time going through past graduation theses. It would be great if you could help me with that. The other two can’t read academic texts to save their lives, after all.”
Henrik had breezed past Felix’s announcement as if he hadn’t even said anything.
“I can read, duh! And how dare you ignore me?!”
Felix shot an incredulous look at Mia, seeking an ally in his outrage. But Mia only looked away awkwardly.
Ouch! But why, Mia? The answers we need lie within the army. They just have to… My plan is perfect! What gives?!
The questions that had stumped them. What is magical power, anyway? And just how were Neu-Aera made? And how was magic “injected” into people? All of those answers were top-secret, classified, known only within…the army.
Shoulders slumping in dejection, Felix went over his plan in his head, again and again.
I mean…that’s really all I can do to contribute right now…