Yigret

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Chapter 1. The Heron Prince.

“As you said, there were showers yesterday. Do you happen to be able to read the weathe…… hmm?”

“…… Good morning, Baikal.”

Despite the softly smiling greeting, Baikal looked him over with a questioning expression.

His feverish, flushed face and sweat-soaked bangs made Judas look sickly enough.

Baikal didn’t know whether to point it out or pretend he didn’t see it, so he kept his mouth shut.

Everyone knew that the Heron Prince had a frail constitution.

His complexion was always pale, and his frequent illnesses were nothing new, as he had more absences than anyone else.

But it was unfamiliar because he had never shown up to class as a patient with a high fever.

‘You are so unpredictable in so many ways.’

As Baikal clicked his tongue, Judas recognized the cover of the book he had closed and gave him a curious look.

It was some sort of Ruvarsan Empire biography. The Greats category was mostly made up of Ruvarsan’s royalty and nobility, but every once in a while, a commoner would be hailed as a Great.

A martial artist who distinguished himself in a great war, a merchant who contributed to the advancement of the Empire’s civilization, or an arch-mage who made a name for himself through his prowess carried weight, even if he was a commoner.

“And who do you most admire?”

Baikal, aware that Judas’s gaze was on the book, answered grimly.

“Yigret.”

“Eh……?”

He didn’t know how long it had been since he’d been called by name by someone other than a spirit, and of course, Baikal didn’t know him.

“Yigret, the Great Sage. His intellect, his wisdom, his ability to call upon all four elemental spirits.”

As you might guess from the overlapping classes, Baikal was more of a literary than martial arts, in short a scholarly man.

He recognized only those who excelled academically, and Yigret, aka the Great Sage, was at the top of his list.

“The strong deserve respect.”

It was as if he was saying, “You’re not good enough, and that’s why you’re ignored”.

Judas could only laugh hollowly at the thought of being both respected in one sense and ignored in the other.

Economics was over, and he went straight to his next class, which was staff technique.

His fever showed no sign of abating, but it didn’t matter; his already weak body was just a little more lethargic.

With that thought, Judas grabbed a cold training baton from the gym set and headed to his seat.

Ethan, who had been waiting for him, took one look at his complexion and immediately recognized his condition.

“…… I think you need to rest.”

“Goodness, I’ve rested enough all this time. Are they telling me to rest again?”

Ethan’s expression was tinged with a hint of embarrassment at the joke and the fact that he’d been scrubbed and groomed every time he’d come to visit.

He looked even more frail now that the once-weak prince had shown up with a fever.

He looked like he was going to collapse at the slightest touch, or worse, like he was going to collapse from exhaustion if Ethan left him alone with the staff.

Ethan, who had been observing Judas for the past few days as his partner in the staff class, knew that the Heron Prince was actually quite stern and hard-headed.

He’s also surprisingly outspoken and positive. This image of Judas has become one that Ethan likes to see.

Judas seemed like someone he could get along with, even if he didn’t necessarily like him.

It’s why he’s a little worried that Judas’ trying too hard.

“Your complexion.”

“It’s fine dear. Thank you.”

Judas shook his head and thanked him, but Ethan couldn’t stop him more, so he grabbed the staff.

As expected, his practice today was disastrous.

He demonstrated the stance of holding, swinging, and blocking brilliantly, but the timing of the blow was such that he couldn’t resist the force of the blow, and he lost his grip and rolled over.

As Ethan approached in surprise, Judas staggered to his feet and picked up the dropped staff.

“I’m sorry, we can try agai…….”

“Oh my gosh, mr. Judas!”

Teacher Meiran rushed over and grabbed Judas as he tried to get back to practicing.

She put her hand to his forehead, took his temperature, and looked down at him with a serious face.

“You have quite a fever. Have you been to a doctor?”

“…….”

She read the answer in his impassive expression, though he didn’t say it, and she sighed heavily, snatching the wand from his hand.

“Hurry up and go. Ethan, I’m sorry, but will you accompany Ms. Judas?”

“Yes.”

Without giving him a chance to argue, Meiran pushed Judas away and led Ethan out of the gym.

For the safety of its students, the Ruvarh Academy had nurses’ stations scattered throughout the facility.

Even the gymnasium, which was particularly prone to injury, had a nurse’s station staffed by an advanced therapist.

“Oh, hello. What’s bothering yo……eh?”

As soon as Judas entered the nurse’s office, the female student in charge of assisting recognized him and her eyes widened. Judas recognized her as well.

“Hmph? I’m glad to see you again.”

“Th-thank you last time! I was struggling with the proportions back then…….”

This was the same girl who had bumped into Judas and broken the beaker.

He had given her a tip at the time about making healing food, and it had probably helped. The girl smiled shyly.

“I succeeded……, hehe.”

“Liina, didn’t you have a patient?”

The doctor’s voice from inside startled her, and she glanced back and forth between Judas and Ethan.

“Uh, well, um… Where does it hurt? Who?”

Her wandering gaze quickly fixed on Judas.

He laughed softly and patted her on the back as the girl floundered once more at the sight of his sickly coloring.

“Haha, it’s just a cold.”

At the soothing touch, the girl calmed down and led them inside.

The doctor was a middle-aged man with a pleasant face. He scribbled Judas’s name on the chart, took his temperature, and then turned to the girl beside him.

“Liina, take antipyretic C1, a comprehensive cold medicine, and a stomach tonic for three days.”

“Yes!”

While she went to collect the medicines, the doctor took another look at Judas’ condition.

“Regarding you, Mr. Judas, I am well-informed about many aspects, but honestly, your physical condition is surprisingly weak. How have you been coping with it recently?”

“…… Hmm, I’m fine, a little weak, but I’m getting better.”

“Well, even if you’re getting better, most of your body’s functions have shut down. You shouldn’t push yourself at all.”

Judas’s body was not that of a 12-year-old who was supposed to be growing up. Judas looked like a toddler, the therapist cautioned.

Meanwhile, the girl who had brought the medication in a bag held out her hand to Judas as she handed it to him.

“Umm, your hand, please.”

“……?”

Thinking she meant to shake his hand, he reached out and grabbed it, and the girl wrapped her arms around it and closed her eyes.

Whoosh!

A warm pink current gathered under her touch, a clear pink that symbolized life force. As it absorbed the energy through her palms, he felt more refreshed.

Judas stared at the girl, eyes wide.

“Is this ‘heal’?”

“Liina, it’s a big part of why I have her here as an assistant. Fufu, your cold should be gone in no time.”

Healing wasn’t as powerful as spiritualism, but it was one of the rarer abilities.

Those who could heal with only general medical knowledge were called doctors, while those who could restore health in an instant with innate healing powers were called healers.

It was an unfamiliar ability, one he hadn’t encountered often, even in his days as a great sage, and Judas eyed Liina with interest.

When she had finished healing Judas and opened her eyes, Liina blushed furiously at the gaze and released his hand.

“I-I hope I did help.”

“I’m feeling better already, thank you. Liina.”

With a smile on his face as if she was commendable, Liina stared blankly at him.

‘He’s just like a dad…….’

As she thought about that, Liina shook her head in surprise.

Although Judas was actually two years older than her, regardless of his age, seeing a child so much smaller than her and thinking of him as a father was something that no one would want to hear.

After leaving the infirmary, Judas thanked Ethan.

“….. I was just doing what I was supposed to do as a pair,”

“I’ll get my strength back up so we can make it work.”

“He said you shouldn’t overdo it.”

“It’s not overdoing, this is called effort.”

Ethan glanced down at him, his tone gravelly. He knew he was weak, but the doctor’s words from earlier had been quite a shock.

‘body has stopped functioning…….’

He’d heard it said that the more pure the blood, the weaker the health.

Even beasts were strong as hybrids, and pure-bloods who were born with the traits of their first parents were usually frail.

The first prince was the physical embodiment of the Ruvarsan dynasty.

His unblemished silver hair and jewel-like golden eyes were pure, unadulterated primary colors.

Not only in color, but also in appearance, he resembled his ancestors as depicted in his portrait.

So when the first prince was born, the current emperor was overjoyed and took him in his arms.

Little did he know that his perfect appearance hid a grave flaw.

While Ethan was thinking about this, he arrived at the gym.

He still had more than half of his three-hour class to go, but he couldn’t let Judas join him in practice after his trip to the infirmary.

Once again, Judas was forced to sit on the sidelines until Meiran gathered the students.

Once the students were lined up in rows, Meiran began passing out parchments one by one.

Made of fine leather, the parchment was stamped with a sacred sanctuary mark at the top.

============================ Ending credits

TL by Shir104

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Also, to add another 2 cents, the main character is stubborn like an old man(?). In the days of Egret, the spirits suffered the most from that bull’s stubbornness….