Clinging to invisible hope without receiving any kind of reward is truly a painful thing.
And yet, none of the people in Terminus ever gave up. Just by looking, it was obvious that the research had been conducted dozens—no, over a hundred times—and every single one of them had ended in failure.
‘This is something I refined recently.’
Just as Selene had said, it must have been quite hectic—the inside was far from tidy. I gave Selene, who was standing blankly, a light tap.
“We need to clean up here. Immediately.”
“Uh, huh?”
“Cleanliness is the absolute basic of medicine.”
Although patient rooms were usually kept clean, places where medicinal herbs were stored were often neglected. There seemed to be a common belief: ‘As long as the ingredients don’t get mixed, it’s fine, right?’
But that’s not how it should be.
Even if herbs are completely dried, they still need to be stored properly. Being dry doesn’t mean they’re safe.
Each ingredient had different properties and different shelf lives. It was important to understand all of them and store them accordingly.
Only after the importance of constant ventilation in patient rooms became known did clear guidelines start to emerge for storing medicinal herbs as well. So perhaps the current situation was inevitable.
“Selene, do you happen to have anyone who can help with cleaning this place?”
According to Clara, the only servant in this mansion was Evelyn. But Evelyn seemed busy preparing meals, and I didn’t feel right asking Selene to do it herself.
In response to my question, Selene answered with a completely casual face.
“I’ll call them now.”
“Right now?”
“Of course.”
Selene closed her eyes for a moment and opened them again. Instantly, there was a strange glow in her eyes. A moment later, birds fluttered up noisily outside the medical room window.
“You called, ma’am?”
“D-Dad?!”
The eerie atmosphere made me glance out the window, but a deep voice suddenly spoke right behind me, and I jumped in surprise.
“Yes, it’s been a while since I summoned you all. Normally, it was Diana who called you.”
Dark, shadowy figures politely bowed to Selene.
“This young lady says she’s going to help our territory. Follow her instructions.”
“Yes, understood.”
‘This… this must be the power of Terminus.’
As I stood there, wide-eyed in awe, Selene gave me a wink and whispered.
“This is your second time seeing our power, right? Go ahead and use them as much as you need.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course~”
Swallowing hard, I pointed with my finger and said.
“From here to here—pull everything out and give it a thorough cleaning.”
“And also, reclassify the labeling on the weaker herbs by expiration date.”
“……”
“Throw out anything that’s been left out in the open for too long.”
“……”
“And here! Clean out the dust stuck in the grooves of the ceiling. Wait—before you start dusting, you need to move out all the furniture and the medicine drawers first!”
“……”
I was seriously wondering how long all this would take, but thanks to the mysterious beings—Selene’s so-called ‘attendants’—everything was finished to perfection in less than a day.
‘It’s like they don’t have physical limits…’
Maybe it was because they weren’t truly living beings. Whatever the reason, the job was done early, and I was satisfied with that.
I took a slow look around the perfectly reorganized medical room.
“I’ve never really ordered people around like this before, so I was a bit nervous—but I’m glad it turned out well.”
Someone next to me mumbled quietly.
“For someone who was nervous, you gave instructions pretty confidently.”
“Well then, let’s get started. First, bring me the Cornella seeds!”
Cornella seeds are known to be good for restoring stamina.
“If it’s Cornella seeds, wouldn’t just one or two be enough?”
“Nope. We need a lot. Not by count, but by weight.”
Everyone nearby was taken aback at those words. That’s because consuming Cornella seeds in large amounts could cause indigestion.
“And soaking them in water dulls the effects and makes them too bitter.”
“I was sickly for a long time, so I spent most of my time in the healing chamber. There were a lot of medical books there. I read a lot and picked up all kinds of things.”
“…If I may ask, how old are you?”
“Six.”
Everyone gave me a very doubtful look.
“I’m a genius. Not a ‘Seer,’ but still.”
In the Western Continent, where Seers exist, age doesn’t hold too much weight.
‘They say Seers mature quickly, too.’
One of the collateral lines of the Wita family once passed the Wittar Medical Association’s top-level exam at just twelve years old.
‘Still, I can’t blame them for reacting like this. I am only six, after all.’
Of course, someone as young as me is bound to be met with skepticism—or at the very least, strange looks.
‘It’s Caelum who’s strange—Caelum is the weird one.’
I pointed to ‘Basic Medical Theory I’ with my finger and began reciting its contents fluently.
“There are ten herbs used as the fundamental basis for medicine. These ten serve as the core for compound prescriptions: Devoir mint, horn of the horned rabbit, shell of Manetia… Of course, this isn’t the revised edition. In the new one, they’re listed under ‘commonly available ingredients.’”
Besides, the horn of the horned rabbit is more well-known as a sedative base than a foundational one.
Then I pointed to the recipe notes Terminus had written down.
“I can recite what’s written here, too.”
As I rattled off the contents I’d just read, everyone’s eyes grew wide.
“Did she just memorize that at a glance?”
“Unbelievable… She really is a genius…”
“So, do you believe me now?”
I clapped my hands with satisfaction.
“I’ve got more errands for you. If something’s not here, is it in the storage? Please gather all the needed ingredients here. And lower the temperature in the infirmary a bit.”
Everyone immediately began to move in perfect unison at my command. Only Selene, who hadn’t received any direct orders, approached me leisurely.
“How did you memorize all that in one go? That’s amazing.”
“Huh? Who said I memorized everything?”
“Then how did you do it? Everyone was cross-referencing what you said, so lying wouldn’t have worked.”
I thought about what I had recited.
“The first part—I did memorize that. But for the rest, I just recalled the selection logic if the first attempt failed.”
“……”
“When you start with Manetia shell and it doesn’t work, the usual next steps are to try Dornel leaves, Core fruit pulp, or dried Barton, in that order.”
In short, I didn’t have the entire thing memorized—I just knew the combinations.
I simply had years of experience. It wasn’t that I was a genius or anything.
Of course, there were more combinations and ingredients, but I could list those easily as well—based on the same logic I’d just explained to Selene.
Because that’s the sequence most people would try.
“…Isn’t that even more amazing?”
Selene murmured beside me.
***
‘Even if everything seems like it’s falling apart, the Sixth House still has its strengths.’
I grinned as I looked at the magic herb dehydrator.
This particular dehydrator wasn’t something just anyone could get their hands on.
It was the latest model—cutting-edge magical technology.
‘And it’s engraved with Mahot’s seal—this thing reigned at the top for fifteen years!’
Yes, Mahot. The progenitor of magical science. The king of enchantments. The golden hands of the Eastern Continent.
Devices bearing Mahot’s engraving were extremely expensive, but worth every coin—they were just that good. Even when loaded with a large batch of herbs, it dried each one with precision. It also significantly reduced processing time.
What I really liked was that it dried things just right, exactly as I needed—no more, no less. And not a whiff of smell leaked out.
If I’d gone with air-drying, it would’ve taken ages, and if I got careless even a little during that time, the herbs would have spoiled.
I smiled brightly at the perfectly dried Desmer mushroom.
Off to the side, Cornella seed oil was being extracted by another machine.
Now all that was left was to soak the Desmer in the Cornella seed oil, let the mushrooms absorb the oil thoroughly, and then dry them again.
Of course, I’d be relying heavily on the magic dehydrator again for that.
Thanks to this machine, what would have taken at least ten days could be finished in a single day.
The base of the medicine was Devoir mint, combined with a catalyst I made from Kacho leaf.
I ground up the Devoir mint, mixed it with the Kacho leaf catalyst, and began prepping the other ingredients.
For other tasks, I might’ve asked Selene’s summoned attendants for help—but not for this.
Because this was the cure for the Maddie disease.
‘No one else knows about this yet, so I’ll be registering it later too.’
Since I knew the formula and had all the ingredients, the process moved along smoothly.
When I finished, I suddenly heard pounding on the door from outside.
‘Oh no!’
I’d been so focused that I hadn’t even heard the knocking. As I ran to the door, I found Nereus standing there, wearing an odd expression.
‘Huh? What’s with his face?’
“Hey, you…”
“Dad, why do you look like that?”
“Hey! Of course I look like this! I was worried about you! You didn’t come for dinner! You’ve been holed up in here!”
“But if I mess this up, we’re all done for.”
“As if you’d fail!”
Nereus suddenly raised his voice, and I shut my mouth.
“…No, it’s just… Haaah…”
He bent down to meet my eyes.
“Caring for others is fine—but you need to take care of yourself, too. Okay?”
Through the hallway window behind him, I could see that night had fallen.
“…Wait, when did it get so dark?”
“Right? Do you even know how worried we were about you? Evelyn said not to disturb you because you were focused, but still—she only said you were ‘fine.’ We thought you’d been kidnapped.”
“…Huh? But how did you even get here?”
“You weren’t eating properly, so of course your dad had to come feed you.”
Nereus pulled a sandwich out from somewhere and held it up to my mouth.
“It’s good, right? Not as good as the ones Gil makes, but still.”
“Mmm…”
When I was in the Navy, no one came to find me even if I missed meals. Skipping food while working was just normal.
I wasn’t trying to compare Caelum to the Navy, but the memories surfaced all the same. I rubbed the back of my neck absentmindedly.
For some reason, my heart felt heavy.
To ease the tightness in my chest, I decided to return to my work.
“Dad, can I ask you for a favor?”
