The Academy Regressor is Obsessed

Colds, flu, and pneumonia have similar symptoms. However, none of them could be taken lightly in the slums.

If it’s just a simple cold, one could rely on their immune system and naturally heal over time, but even this requires gambling. There were as many people dying from colds as there were insects in this place.

Flu and pneumonia were worse than colds. These terrible diseases were practically impossible to cure completely without professional treatment.

Even if miraculously cured, they always left some form of aftereffects. Most often, it was walking with a strange limp or being unable to speak properly. Both were common disabilities in the slums.

But even that was a product of miracles. In general cases, patients with flu or pneumonia don’t overcome the crisis and all die.

Could Evelyn be free from death? Could she miraculously recover without any treatment and leave no aftereffects?

Impossible. The time to believe in such fairy tale-like stories had long passed. Asel gritted his molars as he placed a cold metal object on Evelyn’s forehead, who was breathing heavily.

According to his past life memories, pneumonia and flu weren’t such serious diseases in that world. Although the mortality rate was quite high, advanced medicine had completely conquered these two diseases, and if treated in time, death was rare.

But this place is different.

Is the medicine here lacking compared to his past life? To some extent, that’s true. However, it’s not to the point where they can’t treat pneumonia or flu. While perfect treatment might be difficult, if one could receive treatment from a doctor in the city, there wouldn’t be much of a problem.

The issue is that they can’t even get such treatment.

In the end, it’s a money problem. It’s an environmental problem, a problem of this damn reality. From the moment they left home. No, it was a fact he had felt deeply since being under his parents’ shadow. He just realized it late.

“…Asel.”

As Asel was writhing in the pain of reality, Evelyn, with her eyes half-open, called his name. Asel’s consciousness returned at that calm voice.

“Sis! Are you okay? Can you talk?”
“…Asel. Blood.”
“…What?”
“You’re bleeding… idiot…”

Evelyn said this as she lightly wiped Asel’s mouth with her finger. A stream of bright red blood followed. It was bleeding from his gums tearing due to clenching his teeth too hard. Asel hadn’t noticed until Evelyn mentioned it.

“Don’t be in pain…”

Evelyn said with a strained smile as she roughly wiped the blood on her finger onto the blanket. Asel felt more choked up by Evelyn’s words than her actions.

“Who are you to say…!”
“I’m fine, Asel… I’m fine… Don’t, ugh, don’t worry.”
“Bullshit.”

Asel immediately dismissed Evelyn’s words. He removed the now hot metal and placed another cold metal on Evelyn’s forehead.

Evelyn opened her mouth to say something in response to Asel’s actions, but Asel was faster.

“Wait here. I’ll bring medicine.”
“…Asel.”
“Don’t die until then. Don’t faint either. I’ll be back before sunset, so stay conscious until then.”

He didn’t wait for an answer.

Asel immediately got up and left the rotten shack. The cold winter wind felt like it was freezing him to the bone, but Asel moved without hesitation.

He thought about Evelyn.

His only blood relative who took responsibility for him until the end, in place of parents who were possessed by demons and committed murder and cannibalism. Although not naturally healthy, the image of her climbing trees to pick fruits for him and smiling is still vivid in his mind.

After coming to the slums, unlike him who rested when there was no work, the image of her going to the factory every day without rest and always sharing the edible parts when they luckily got decent food, is unforgettable.

To just watch such a person die? To at least keep vigil because she might die at any moment?

‘Bullshit.’

Asel had no intention of doing that. Miracles don’t happen just by quietly praying. You have to do something for even something similar to a miracle to occur. He hadn’t forgotten that rule for a single day since settling in the slums.

Asel continued walking, forcibly warming his cooling body. His destination was the drug manufacturing factory.

‘It’s practically impossible to go to the city and steal medicine.’

The city’s security is never lax. Even near simple peddlers, guards to prevent robbery are visible, so how would it be possible to break into a clinic and steal medicine?

Even if he was lucky enough to quietly infiltrate a clinic, there would be no way to distinguish pneumonia and flu medicines among the numerous drugs. Asel had no knowledge about medicines.

So he had to find another way. Almost the only way, and one of the things Asel does best in the slums.

“I want to deliver drugs.”

He shouted that as soon as he entered the factory.

The drug factory operates more simply than one might think.

The factory owner, who is also the drug supplier, brings in drugs from outside, processes some of them for production, and distributes the rest for sale.

If asked which is more important, most associates choose processing. This is because selling high-quality goods by processing drugs well leads to much better sales.

In that respect, the factory Asel visited was considered quite good at processing, even within the slums. This was information he knew from his many experiences working as a delivery person here.

“So.”

Asel, seated in a chair, focused on the voice coming from across him. A middle-aged man with sharp features opened his mouth while staring down at him.

“You want to do the delivery with the highest pay?”
“That’s right.”
“Why?”
“I need quick cash. I need to buy medicine.”
“Medicine…”

The man, the factory owner, muttered this and leaned back on the sofa. Then he took a sip of coffee with a smirk.

“Do you know how unusual it is for me to be having this private conversation with you right now?”
“…I know.”

Just a few weeks ago, when Asel spilled the drugs and they all became powder worse than sand. The supplier of the drugs he was transporting at that time was the factory owner in front of him. Asel had miserably failed that delivery and disappeared without a word for days.

Because of that, the factory owner not only lost a customer who regularly ordered drugs but also had his reliability slightly damaged in the eyes of his clients. He suffered a small but not negligible loss.

And now he suddenly appears asking for a high-paying delivery job.

“Don’t you think there’s a limit to shamelessness?”
“……”
“To be honest, I want to kill you right now and sell your organs on the black market. There are quite a few enthusiasts for children’s organs. Whether they’re simple collectors or demon worshippers, I could get a high price from either.”

It was a chilling statement. But Asel didn’t tremble. He knew that saying such things was equivalent to declaring that he wouldn’t actually do it. The factory owner also knew that Asel was quite sharp, so instead of continuing to intimidate him, he quickly moved on to another topic.

“You said you need to buy medicine.”
“…Yes.”
“Is it expensive medicine?”
“I don’t know. I can’t know the market price. But it’s a common medicine.”
“So about 5 silver coins or so. In this garbage dump, that’s enough to eat and play for half a year.”
“……”
“As it happens, a job with similar pay just came in. The problem is that no one wants to do it.”

It was good news and bad news at the same time. It was good that a request remained, but the reason it remained was a problem.

No one wants to do it.

That means there’s a reason why no one would accept the request. And a reason that’s life-threatening at that.

The factory owner explained the reason without hesitation.

“It’s a request that came in for a corpse mage.”
“…A corpse mage, you say?”
“Yes.”

The factory owner nodded. On the other hand, Asel’s face started to sour.

Corpse mage. As the name suggests, a magician who deals with corpses. Unlike ordinary magicians, they don’t convert mana into magical power, but into death energy to manifest spells. Due to this distinctive characteristic, they tend to have a rather poor reputation.

In reality, they’re not much different from their reputation. For them, intelligent life forms are nothing more than resources for magic, and morality or emotions are just useless byproducts that are discarded as soon as they learn magic.

What they consider important are the rituals and transcendence achieved through corpses. The lingering thoughts left by the dead. And individual achievement.

“They want five boxes of drugs. They’ve already paid an advance, and they said they’ll add extra when the goods are delivered.”
“……”
“The reward for the delivery person is 7 silver coins. More than what you’re hoping for.”

The factory owner said with a grin. Asel chewed his lips for a moment, then asked in a low voice.

“…I assume there’s a price for arranging this request. Otherwise, no matter how bad the request is, you wouldn’t propose it to someone untrustworthy like me.”
“Haha! You’re smart indeed. If you were born in a noble family, you might have become something!”

The factory owner said this and leaned forward towards Asel.

“I’ll get straight to the point. In exchange for assigning you this request, I want to include you in my organization. Of course, including your sister as well.”
“……”
“I see you as quite decent, you know. Not just your mind that works well beyond your age, but your memory is good too. It’s a bit concerning that you ran away once, but as long as I have Evelyn as a hostage, you won’t be able to run away as you please. Right?”

Asel kept his mouth shut. Regardless, the factory owner continued speaking with a wide grin.

“As time passes, your mind will become even sharper. I’ve seen quite a few like that. Those who stand out from a young age always make a name for themselves later. I think you’re that kind of person. I’ve never seen anyone who can memorize the map of the slums in their head for deliveries, and immediately memorize the descriptions of the drugs they’re transporting as soon as they hear them.”
“…You’re overestimating me.”
“That’s for me to judge.”

The factory owner moistened his throat, which was stinging from talking so much, with coffee, and looked down at Asel as he spoke.

“So, will you do it?”

The answer was already decided.