For Rustila, there was no woman who could be considered her rival.

Sonia was an android, and Seti was his little sister. Besides these two, there were no close female friends around Eidel.

She had thought it would be fine to reveal her secretly harbored feelings once they entered college.

That was until some stray cat snatched him away.

"Get away from Eidel," Rustila said coldly.

"Who are you to tell me that?" Zernya retorted nonchalantly.

"Young Master." Sonia made no attempt to hide her discomfort.

Shhh.

A quiet silence enveloped the infirmary.

In this tense situation, Eidel suddenly covered his mouth.

"Cough! Cough! Cough! Cough!"

"...!"

"Young Master!"

"Eidel!"

It was a long, persistent coughing fit that seemed to choke him.

The three girls were startled. Eidel, who had been eating stew, rolled his eyes back and collapsed.

"Eidel, Eidel!"

Rustila screamed and rushed to him. Sonia stood frozen with wide eyes.

"Wake up, Eidel!"

"Miss, look at the IV line!"

"Blood, there's blood..."

Blood was flowing backward through the IV tube.

Zernya frowned.

What a drama queen.

Still, the blood backflow needed to be addressed.

'The main IV fluid and antibiotics are all gone. The regulator is open too. Air has gone down to the flow regulator, so I can't replace the IV with my current skills. In this case...'

"Bring gauze!"

There was no choice but to remove the needle.

Zernya cleaned her hands as thoroughly as possible and removed the tape. Then, after putting on gloves, she pressed the gauze against the site and carefully pulled out the needle.

"What are you doing?"

"Go get the school nurse. Quickly!"

"Where is she?"

"In the cafeteria next door!"

Zernya shouted. Rustila, thinking she needed to save Eidel, ran outside.

After Rustila left,

Zernya organized the lunch basket and put it away.

"Hey, get up."

Zernya poked Eidel.

After rolling his eyes back for three minutes, Eidel sat up with a smirk as if nothing had happened.

"Young Master, are you actually fine...?"

"Cough, yes."

Sonia slumped down.

"Prepare to be severely scolded when you recover."

"Ugh."

Zernya put away the stew spoon and packed her things.

"I can't stay any longer today."

She felt somewhat disappointed.

Zernya smiled wryly after hearing Eidel tell her to be careful on her way back.

And so she returned to the dormitory.

Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump.

Her heart was racing belatedly.

"Haah."

Although she had immediately realized it was an act, she had almost been shocked like the other two.

Making accurate judgments when examining a patient.

Even though she was still not a medical student and it wasn't a real situation, that simple experience greatly shook Zernya's mind.

After all, hadn't she calmly done what needed to be done while everyone else panicked?

"This is... interesting..."

She found herself smiling without realizing it.

She was very much looking forward to next week's major experience fair.

***

[Zernya von und zu Trisha Adelbein: 30/1000]

[Psychological state: She feels attracted to you.]

Look at this one, accelerating so quickly.

"Young Master, why did you pretend to faint earlier?" Sonia asked, expressing her displeasure.

"Because Rustila and Zernya shouldn't fight."

"Miss Adelbein has a bad character. She's not someone you should keep close, Young Master. If she wants to fight with Miss Rustila, let them fight."

I waved my hand dismissively.

"Sonia."

"Yes."

"If I advance to graduate school this semester, who do you think will rank first in our class?"

"Miss Adelbein, I suppose."

"How do you think Zernya will behave if she takes the top spot again in this state?"

"Well... the same as before."

"Seti and Rustila would have a hard time. Zernya would torment them both no matter what, and she might even act rashly toward teachers. Zernya is excellent in many ways and has her family backing her, so she'll try to do whatever she wants."

Ah, Sonia sighed and nodded.

"Currently, only you can keep Miss Adelbein in check, Young Master. You're her peer and overwhelmingly superior."

"That's putting it bluntly, but yes."

"Before that, we should correct her..."

"...behavior."

Very firmly.

Sonia bowed her head and replied.

"As expected, Young Master, you see far ahead. You're not just excellent at research but also at politics."

"Politics..."

I burst out laughing. My lungs stung as if filled with thorns, but I ignored it.

"I've never done politics at this age."

"Where there are people, there's politics. Learning the art of tolerance and the study of kingship—to become the head of the Rheinland family with its power struggles, you must know how to... Oh!"

I waved my hand dismissively.

"Young Master, surely not."

"Sonia, do you know how much our family's assets are worth?"

"I believe it's a little over 200 trillion credits."

"If we poured all that into making a gravitational bomb, would it be enough?"

"...Probably not."

"Would 300 trillion be enough?"

"...It wouldn't be enough."

"Then, would 500 trillion be enough?"

"...It wouldn't be enough."

"Then how much would be needed?"

I got up from the hospital bed and put on my slippers. I looked into Sonia's eyes as she didn't know what to do with my frail body.

"W-well, about 1,000 trillion would be needed."

"Really?"

I hugged Sonia. She felt soft and warm, making it hard to believe she was an android.

"Sonia."

"Ah, y-yes. Please speak."

"After I'm gone, tell my sister what I just said. Tell her to save money diligently, and siblings should..."

"Eidel?"

"Cough! Cough!"

Of all times, Rustila returned just then. I pretended to collapse sideways while holding onto Sonia.

"That's a severe cough. We should give him an expectorant and let him rest more."

Teacher Tierbel replaced the IV and handed over some medicine.

Rustila's eyes were red.

"Where's that Zernya?"

"She left."

"Just let her come back. I'll teach her a lesson."

It seems it will take time for those two to become close.

That day, Rustila stayed by my side until dawn, watching to see if Zernya would return. I thought my stomach would burst from eating all the food she had brought.

***

The next day.

Zernya came to see me when Rustila wasn't around.

"Is she gone?"

She looked around cautiously like a vigilant wolf before entering.

She had packed medicine, wet towels, hot packs, and various other things in her basket.

"Since you took care of me, it's only common sense that I take care of you too. I'm not stupid enough not to know that..."

[Psychological state: She wants to be with you.]

"The bet has already begun. You'd better be prepared."

[Psychological state: She hopes you recover soon.]

How did things end up like this?

Zernya's every action made Sonia uncomfortable. She did everything Sonia was supposed to do, from feeding me to changing my clothes.

She took care of me so attentively that there was nothing I could do about it.

"I must admit, her nursing skills are impressive. I can't find a way to intervene."

"Well, isn't that obvious?"

"Zernya, you just need to say thank you in situations like that."

I instructed Zernya on how to use polite language. Most of it would probably go in one ear and out the other, but something might stick.

"If you were just a little more careful with your words, it would be good."

"Don't lecture me."

"You're cute, so all you need is some humility. Then everyone would like you."

"I told you not to say such nonsense."

"I don't know if I should be the one saying this, but people should be humble."

"..."

[Psychological state: She is wavering.]

"Have you ever heard the saying 'to reform oneself for the greater good'?"

"Are you looking down on me right now?"

[Psychological state: She is greatly wavering.]

"If you've been harsh until now, you can live more warmly from now on. Something will definitely change. I hate to say it myself, but take the long view in life."

It was such bland advice that anyone would call me an old fogey.

Thanks to Zernya's devoted care, my illness subsided quickly. By the second day, the fever had gone down, and the main symptoms were residual coughing, canker sores, tonsillitis, and pharyngitis. My head was also slightly foggy.

All those symptoms eased by the fifth day.

As soon as Teacher Tierbel said I could be discharged, Zernya boasted:

"I took a week, you took five days."

"So what?"

"I won."

"What?"

"My medical talent is superior to yours. If you're thinking of joining the medical school, you'd better give up now. I'll be better than you there."

"I'm not going, really not going."

"..."

As I packed my things, I asked:

"Isn't today that major something?"

"It's the Major Experience Fair, Young Master. College and graduate students from the college come to let us experience each department's major."

"Sounds fun."

We left the building and climbed the hill.

From early morning, people were gathering and setting up tents.

"I heard it runs all weekend. You can look around at your leisure when you have time."

"Let's go now."

I slowly descended the hill with Sonia.

"The medical school and engineering departments are already crowded with students."

"They offer good job prospects."

"But that alone doesn't explain that phenomenon."

Sonia pointed to a booth in a corner.

Under a sign that read [Department of Physics and Astronomy], dozens of people were gathered, engaged in conversation.

"Honestly, we feel wronged."

"What do you mean?"

"We didn't even get a chance to introduce our lab to that student. If he's interested in cosmology, he might also be interested in our solid-state theory lab, right?"

"Eidel came looking for me. He wanted to be my student from the beginning."

"That's just your opinion, Professor. He's still young, so we should introduce him to various fields of physics and give him opportunities to experience different labs."

"Excuse me!"

"Professor Frederick is right. At the very least, he should have time to rotate through labs to be fair to everyone."

It was an argument.

But somehow, all their faces looked familiar.

No, more importantly, there were no college students—only professors.

"By the way, why are professors from other academies here? Eidel has already decided to enroll at Stellarium!"

"That's assuming he'll attend the same place for college and graduate school."

A female professor said with a cunning smile. Her eyes showed more venom than Zernya's.

"Professor Stranov, why are you doing this to me?"

"I wonder, Professor Feynman."

Sensing the atmosphere might turn sour, I moved closer. I approached Professor Feynman and greeted him.

"Hello, Professor."

"Eidel!"

"Rheinland!"

"Student!"

"Student, how's your cold?"

Why did over a dozen people answer when I only called one person?

"Professors, what brings you here?"

"Well, we knew you'd come here."

Does that mean they were openly waiting for me?

I felt a chill run down my spine.

Looking closely, the professors' eyes were ominous.

Sharp and fierce like wolves eyeing their prey.

"Slurp."

What was that sound?

"Student. I'm sorry, but there's something I must tell Eidel."

"Go ahead. What is it?"

"It's..."