kalts

The significant majority of them are not remotely feasible.

Well, I'm working on the right plan. I just need a little inspiration.

We needn't have a meeting over this matter. This is something you alone can decide, and you are merely wasting my time right now.

But you ended up sitting here in the Convalescent Garden for forty whole minutes! How could you call that a waste of time?

Did Warfarin ask you to come find me?

Bingo!

That's not the point though. What's important is that you <i>really</i> need some rest. That's something that everybody with eyes can tell right away.

Have you ever paid this place a real visit ever since it was fixed?

I know each and every facility aboard Rhodes Island well.

No, no, no. What I'm saying is, as a normal Rhodes Island operator, you really oughta enjoy places like this where you can relax your mind.

Loosen up a bit, take a deep breath, and enjoy the feeling of being surrounded by all these living plants.

I bet you haven't noticed all these weeds and whatnot that Lena has been planting here or what they are called.

Star Valerians. First discovered by the Gallic scholar Jacques in 817. After the Battle of the Four Emperors, it was brought to Victoria.

It was widely cultivated for its aesthetic and medicinal value, and it is the primary ingredient in many hypnotics.

Gosh darn it. I forgot you had botanist listed on your resume.

Thank you, Closure.

But if you don't need me for anything important, I shall return to the Medical Department to write my report.

Ehh, come on, can't you at least finish your tea first? Think of this as having afternoon tea with your buddy.

Just this cup of tea, then.

Tsk, always so stingy with your time...

By the way, Kal'tsit, how long have we known each other?

Twelve years.

The year was 1086. After we excavated the Rhodes Island landship, Babel needed a sufficiently skilled engineer who can be trusted.

Theresa told me there was a self-taught genius engineer in Kazdel who was rumored to have laid one-fourth of Kazdel's nomadic cities' Originium electrical circuits all by herself.

When Babel reached out to you, you were linking the electricity of three districts to assemble an electric hot-air balloon.

Whoa, you remember even the year? Here I thought old people tend not to fuss about when things happened in the past.

I am not that forgetful yet.

But in these twelve years, you haven't had tea with me even once! Not once! And you call yourself a friend?!

...I don't remember.

Hmph—

Has it really only been twelve years, though? It kinda feels like it's been a lot longer than that.

A lot has happened in these twelve years.

Mind if I ask something? Just out of curiosity?

Do twelve years go by in the blink of an eye to you?

It is not easy to measure a sense of time with a metric. All we can do is speak in terms of relativity.

Twelve years is not a particularly long stretch of time. That said, everything that happened during these twelve years is irreplaceable to me.

Hmm... That's what you say, but I'm still really curious.

If everything around you goes by in the blink of an eye, do you think of everybody around you as insignificant? Like the plants in this greenhouse?

To the significant majority of races, Vampires likewise have an unbelievably long lifespan. Do you feel that way yourself?

Well, I'm still a pretty young gal myself... Maybe I'll feel differently once I'm, god forbid, as old as Warfarin.

I do not proclaim to be a gardener over all other lives that live upon Terra. Never have I, and never will I. This has nothing to do with how long I have lived.

Even though you talk like a grumpy old gardener every time you're worried about something?

Hm, maybe we should talk about something else...

Say, when you dug Rhodes Island out of the ground, did you think about what it was going to become?

I did.

That said, what it has become is nothing like what I imagined.

So your predictions of the future can be wrong, too?

Uh, no offense! Just blurted that out.

I've made many mistakes, Closure.

No one can completely take control of her own future. Not even a Cyclops's Originium Arts can see all of time's possibilities.

Time is like a river. On this drifting boat, we have no way to control the flow of the water or the wind, and we cannot see the reefs and water currents underneath us.

Most of the time, all we can do is hoist the sails. That alone is an exhausting enough ordeal.

Isn't that exactly the issue, though?

If we go by your analogy, you just keep holding tight onto the sails for dear life, not even wanting to let go for a second. How could a person stay so tense for so long? If you work yourself so hard, those ropes are gonna snap.

I agree with your viewpoint.

Rhodes Island will undoubtedly face many more challenges in the future. Both Amiya and the Doctor shoulder heavy responsibilities, and we need someone to share their burden in a different way.

Closure, this is something that only you can do.

*sigh*... You're <i>still</i> worried about others. Too much on your mind, and you're bound to forget what's actually in front of you right this moment.

For example, I bet you didn't notice what was in that cup of tea while you were rambling on and on.

What's... in this tea?

Don't worry. It's just a herbal tea that Lena formulated. Really calms your mind, especially so for someone who hasn't had any shut-eye for three days straight.

I...

Hmph... Finally got this old hag to get some rest.

Sleep well in the garden, Kal'tsit.

I thought my medical checkup isn't for a couple days yet?

Indeed it is, but I personally need to fully grasp your condition.

The environment of the battlefield is particularly harsh to you. I believe your health condition requires close attention.

The tools I have on hand are more than enough for me to carry out this examination. No complaints, Doctor. This will save us both a lot of time.

I heard Warfarin kicked you out of Medical?;She just wants you get the rest you need.

Owing to certain external factors, I've chosen to halt my work at the Medical Department today. However, that does not mean I will waste my time.

Warfarin's concerns are entirely unnecessary. You should have a decent grasp of her personality already.

A lot of times, she is actually not as nonsensical as she appears on the surface. She works with the mindset of a responsible doctor, albeit an overly cautious one as a result.

But the fact is you have the others worried.;A doctor needs to take care of herself, too.

You needn't worry about me. I have sufficient knowledge and techniques to handle my own problems. I will not allow myself to collapse when I am needed.

I am not as weak as you think I am. To the contrary, your body requires more attention. I see that a few of your body indices are somewhat unstable.

Work-life balance, perhaps?

I've been working on some Originium-related research.;I want to take on some more of your burden.

Have you made progress? Or have you perhaps run into a bottleneck?

Perhaps I'll have a surprise for you soon.;Not being able to remember the knowledge I had before irritates me.

I am happy that you are willing to continue making such attempts.

A significant part of Rhodes Island's medical research results are built atop of your previous research. I myself am looking forward to you making further breakthroughs and bringing these lands a new turning point.

But more importantly, you are making this decision on your own will.

You need not be impatient. Although I am just as anxious to see the fruits of your labor bring a turning point to our predicament, but this is not something that can be rushed.

Your past experiences have proven you can regain your past knowledge bit by bit through effort. What we need is patience and time.

You are putting in the effort toward this endeavor, and the meaning behind it has far exceeded its outcome.

In any case, I hope that you can maintain a healthy and manageable condition.

Rhodes Island will need you even more going forward.

I am doing my best to work out and get ripped.;So what's your medical advice for me?

Control your work-life balance. It will be beneficial to your immune system, although I know that is very difficult for you.

Now do what you need. In addition to monitoring your body's condition, I will take full responsibility of your health and safety.

Does having a patient like me give you a headache?;I'm very fortunate to have a doctor like you.

That is not a very proper way to put it.

Dr. {@nickname}, you are a special existence, and you shoulder a special mission.

I believe in your vision, and I will assist you in this undertaking as I always have. As a mere assistant to your vision.

There is no need to thank a person merely because she carries out her duty.

I will never go against my promise, especially when I now have even more reasons to continue to defend everything.

At the very least, you can trust me when it comes to your safety.

Kal'tsit, I have a question.

Why did you choose to become a doctor?

Oripathy is not the crux of all the lands' problems, but it is undoubtedly the most direct source of the hardships and sufferings that countless lives face.