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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: A Genius in the Slums
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Brandon, on the other hand, was just playing along with Lumina, planning to leave when he could.
In truth, though he suddenly had not long to live, he was more dedicated to his mission than ever.
That mission was to find out about Lumina.
He planned to watch her for a while and report back to Lucius on what kind of child she was before he died.
A strong sense of professional duty.
From what he had gathered so far, she seemed to be caught up in some strange delusion.
She could neutralize a poison developed by the Doctor? The only real antidote would be in the Doctor's possession, wouldn't it?
*‘She can only say that because she doesn't know the Doctor.’*
Besides, the chances of finding a solution in a slum filled with people who had never received a proper education were zero.
Absolutely zero.
“I think this is it.”
The cute girl's voice snapped Brandon out of his thoughts.
They were in front of the house the children had pointed out.
It was almost embarrassing to call it a house; it was little more than four walls and a roof, on the verge of collapsing.
The shabby door looked like it would come right off its hinges if one knocked with too much force.
So Lumina hesitated for a moment.
Should she really touch this door?
But she couldn't just barge into a stranger's home, could she?
Just as Lumina was about to knock.
“Useless thing!”
The walls were so thin that a man's gruff voice came through clearly.
“The effect is too strong! I can't use it properly! This isn't what I asked for!”
“B-but…”
“I don't need excuses!”
*Crash—.*
A violent sound came from inside.
Lumina decided to forget knocking and just break down the door.
*Thump—.*
It must not have been locked, because it swung open with a clatter when she kicked it.
“Hello!”
A man in his late thirties and a girl who looked to be in her late teens lying on the floor. And scattered medicinal herbs.
The interior was small, so she took in the scene at a glance.
“Who are you?!”
“A customer!”
“A customer?”
Lumina recalled what the little kids had said.
“I heard you sell medicinal herbs here. Is that not right?”
“I don't know where you heard such nonsense, but get out now!”
Lumina looked at the agitated man, who was practically snorting with anger.
She had come to the right place.
Even though she didn't know Erica's appearance, she could easily recall this man's face, having seen it briefly in her past life.
*‘Erica's stepfather. What was his name again? Well, no need to remember that, so let's just move on.’*
In her past life, there was a person whom everyone called a genius of herbology.
Erica.
*‘...Or rather, her stepfather.’*
He had seized both wealth and fame by publishing a series of papers that turned the academic world upside down, even earning a degree.
A pearl in the mud.
Everyone praised him with such expressions.
For about six years.
*‘Then at some point, he started acting like an idiot. By the time people found it strange and investigated closely...’*
…it was after Erica, the one who had actually written the papers and developed the unknown antidote, had died, unable to endure the severe abuse.
The empire was turned upside down by the revelation that the genius they had praised was actually a fraud who had stolen his stepdaughter's achievements.
“Oh, so this isn't an apothecary? Then I've come to the right place. I'm here for Miss Erica.”
“And who are you to do that?!”
“Since you're asking who we are, it's only right that we answer.”
After replying, Lumina nudged Brandon in the ribs.
“Huh?”
Brandon, who had been standing there dumbly, made a dumb sound.
Unlike his son, Ash, their timing was so off it was almost unbelievable.
Lumina sighed internally, gave up, and demanded money in a small voice.
“Mister. Money.”
“Huh?”
“Give me the money. Quickly.”
Lumina urged him.
Bewildered, Brandon placed the entire pouch of money onto Lumina's palm.
The hefty weight.
It was very satisfying.
“Anyway, to say it again, I'm here for Miss Erica.”
“Brat. What right do you have to make such a claim! Get lost!”
Naturally, he wasn't about to obey the words of an uninvited guest who had suddenly barged in.
But if he wouldn't listen, she just had to make him. Lumina reached into the money pouch.
“I don't have the right, but I do have money.”
“What? Money?”
“Yes!”
Lumina replied cheerfully and, without hesitation, threw Brandon's money into the air.
*Clatter—.*
It happened in an instant.
Glistening gold coins rained down.
“Wh-what the?!”
The man panicked as shiny objects fell all around.
And there were eyes watching them.
The children and adults of the slum, who had been waiting for just such an opportunity, swarmed in like hungry ghouls.
“What do you think you're doing!”
The room instantly descended into chaos.
While the man was panicking, someone who had picked up a gold coin Lumina threw shouted.
“I-it's a real gold coin!”
That shout was the signal for people to pour in. Everyone dropped to the floor, busy scooping up the gold coins.
“Now's our chance. Let's go.”
Taking advantage of the chaos, Lumina grabbed Erica's wrist. She didn't have time to wait for a reply, so she just started running.
“W-w-wait!”
“We don't have a moment to wait! Move your legs!”
Swept up in the moment, Erica found herself running alongside Lumina, who was scurrying forward on her short legs.
Despite the considerable height difference due to their age gap, Erica, who had initially been behind, soon found herself matching Lumina's pace.
“Huff, huff…”
*I guess we ran for too long.*
Lumina gasped for breath.
Looking around, she saw they were quite a distance from the slum. Brandon, who had the longest legs of the three, approached them leisurely.
“I scattered the gold coins quite evenly, so they'll be too busy picking them up to think about chasing us for a while.”
Lumina reassured Erica, who kept looking back, worried that the man would follow them.
Then she took off her black hood.
“That was surprising, wasn't it? My name is Lumina. It's nice to meet you.”
She deliberately didn't reveal her last name.
But one look at her face made it clear she was a noble, so Erica stared at Lumina with a bewildered expression.
“Why me…?”
“I heard a rumor!”
Lumina said, her lovely pink eyes sparkling.
“That there's someone around here who can make excellent medicine even with low-quality ingredients.”
“That's not me, that's my mother…”
Erica's voice trailed off. She seemed unskilled at lying.
“Come on, there's a rumor going around that you're even more talented than your mother.”
Hearing this, Brandon glanced back and forth between Lumina and Erica, his expression saying *that can't be right*.
He had never heard anything about Erica before.
There were no rumors Brandon, who operated in the shadows, didn't know about.
That was true even for rumors related to the slums. So how could Lumina, who had spent her entire life at home, have heard such a thing?
She was clearly lying, but her brazen, intense confidence kept drawing Brandon in.
“Actually, I came here because I have a job I'd like to commission.”
“…A commission? For me?”
“Yes!”
Lumina nodded.
“Before I tell you the details of the request, just a moment. Mister!”
“Huh? Me?”
“Yes! When was the last time you washed up?”
“Don't tell me I smell?”
“Yes! So, when was the last time you washed?”
“…This morning, at dawn.”
“And before that?”
“I wash every morning at dawn.”
Feeling somewhat miserable, Brandon buried his nose in his clothes and sniffed.
*I don't smell anything.*
Being misunderstood as someone who hadn't washed in a long time made him feel inexplicably gloomy.
Regardless, Lumina nodded, as if her guess was more or less correct.
“Have you ever encountered a slime?”
“Y-yes…”
“Then you'll recognize this, too.”
It seemed the slums' poor security meant there were surprisingly many opportunities to encounter monsters.
Lumina took out a cylindrical, transparent glass tube from her dress. Inside was something that was neither liquid nor solid.
“Have you ever seen a slime that can't hold its shape and keeps melting away? I want you to fix that slime.”
Asking her to fix a monster, not even a person.
Erica's bewilderment was palpable. No, it wasn't just Erica.
Brandon, who had suddenly been treated like a slime, was staring at Lumina as if she were a strange person.
*‘But I can't just talk about Legion directly in an open, public place like this.’*
Swallowing the truth, Lumina looked straight at Erica.
Right now, monsters were widely perceived as evil beings that Legion simply took care of, but in the future, serious research into monsters would begin.
Thanks to Erica.
Because of her papers.
“Three days.”
Lumina held up exactly three dainty fingers.
“That's how long I can give you.”
“…”
“During that time, I'll provide as much support as you need, and if you succeed, I'll guarantee you a bright future.”
Erica hesitated, unable to readily accept the offer.
“Your mother is probably still earning money while being looked down on by people. If you accept my commission, you won't have to live so miserably anymore.”
*Flinch.*
“And surely you've thought about not wanting to live in hiding.”
Living in the slums because of a lack of money, hiding her identity as a useless Legion member behind her mother as a shield.
And in the future, her stepfather's name being brazenly attached to the papers she wrote and the medicine she invented.
She must have wanted to escape all of that at least once.
“The offer I'm making now is the first, and perhaps last, chance for you to stand in the light.”
“But I don't know if I can do it…”
“You can. Because I believe in you.”
Everyone else here was doubtful, but Lumina alone held no such suspicions.
“So you have only two answers to give me right now. I'll do it, or I won't.”
Lumina, with her soft features that made her look like she should be pestering her parents for a toy, pressed on resolutely.
“What will it be?”
Standing at a crossroads, Erica squeezed her eyes shut. A moment later, she uttered a short reply.
