The weapons I forge are absolutely flawless.

Tilisa revealed the truth, shattering Baal's illusions.

"...After all, it's Felix."

Baal's expression changed slightly, but he also accepted reality with a sigh.

In the first year, there were only two people that Baal couldn't understand.

One is Wiener.

His forging skills have clearly surpassed those of a student.

It's likely that even if you included all the teachers in the Alchemy Institute, no one could offer him guidance on forging.

The other one is Felix.

As for River, Barr knew he was hiding his true strength all along. After this contest, he saw the gap between them clearly and was able to muster the will to catch up.

But if it were Felix, Baal would completely be unable to comprehend existence.

It is strong when facing strong opponents and weak when facing weak opponents, but it can always win, as if it is guaranteed to win.

Every time he faced him, Baal felt as if he were receiving invisible guidance, and he always learned something new from it.

I really don't know who raised such a freak.

What Baal didn't know was that the master who could train such a freak as Felix was standing right in front of him.

"Where is that student named Sigurd?"

Tilisa asked Ida, who had brought her there.

"He's in the intensive care unit. I'll take you there."

After saying that, he turned back to Bahr and said, "Once this IV drip is finished, you can pull out the tube yourself and leave."

Barr was slightly taken aback, then smiled wryly and said, "...Isn't this a bit too casual?"

"Oh, you were ready to fight to the death, but now you're scared of dying in a hospital bed?"

Ada gave Baal a severe dressing-down and then reiterated her instructions.

"For the injury to your left hand, remember to come in every two days to change the dressing. Do not use your left hand for strenuous exercise for a week. If you experience any discomfort, come in for a check-up immediately."

The difficulty in treating Baal lies in the healing curse on his left palm.

Ada tried to weaken the curse's effect, but couldn't eradicate it. She could only keep it hanging in the air, waiting for the outcome to be decided in the arena.

Strictly speaking, curses are not within the scope of medical science.

If it were a quack doctor, they would probably choose amputation directly, at least to save the patient's life.

Ada, however, wanted to save Baal's life as a herald.

"You were the slowest to arrive."

Ida led Tilissa to the deepest part of the infirmary, to her private office.

"Oh? Who's here?" Tilissa asked curiously.

"Hanniman, Wilford... and Wiener."

“Vina? Who sent him here?” Tilissa heard an unexpected name.

"He insisted on coming, saying that Sigurd was his beloved friend, brother, and that he wanted to seek justice for him."

"You believe his nonsense?"

“I wanted to get rid of him, but Hannemann said he might be able to help, so I let him come along.”

Ada walked straight to the bookshelf, pulled out half of one of the books, and a hidden door in the floor slowly opened.

"It seems that progress is not going very smoothly."

Tissa understood the deeper meaning in Ida's words.

"That's why I asked you to come over."

Chapter 316 Wiener Visits the Sick

"Hey, are you still alive?"

"If you're alive, just say something."

Wiener buzzed incessantly in Sigurd's ear like an annoying fly.

"Enough, I admit you won. What else do you want?"

Sigurd finally couldn't help but say.

“The strong should ruthlessly humiliate the weak, isn’t that what you’ve always done?” Wiener retorted. “When it comes to yourself, double standards only make you look down on.”

Sigurd was so angry he couldn't speak.

If he hadn't completely lost sensation in his limbs, he would have jumped up and argued with Wiener.

He was aware that his behavior was too domineering and that he was often unforgiving when he was in power, but he had never done anything like chasing someone to the ward to kick them when they were down.

I still really dislike this guy named Viner.

When Sigurd's lifeless, empty eyes regained their color in anger, Venere continued to speak.

"Who gave you that Armor of Calamity? I suggest you tell me honestly."

"Armor of Calamity?"

"It's the cursed armor that turned you into this state," Venere said bluntly. "You wouldn't be thinking of protecting someone after being harmed like this, would you?"

"I--"

"Oh, I see. You were all in cahoots, and when things were exposed, you each took the blame and covered for it. In that case, you are worthy of respect."

"you--"

"Don't make false accusations. I'm just here to cooperate with the investigation. Gear like this is just dirtying my hands."

"I told you to prepare 5,000 credits and I'd forge equipment for you, but you weren't happy. Now you've got what you pay for, haven't you?"

When it comes to witty banter, how could Sigurd possibly be a match for Wiener?

After realizing that no matter how angry Sigurd got, he couldn't jump up and slap himself, Viner became even more unrestrained.

"I sent you here to counsel the patients, not to upset them!"

Upon arriving at the intensive care unit, Ida grabbed Vina's shoulder and squeezed him so hard that it hurt.

"I was just... trying to comfort her..." Viner said, wincing in pain.

"Doctor, what's wrong with my body right now?" Sigurd asked, clinging to his last shred of hope.

Aside from feeling his blood pressure spike due to Vener's anger, he couldn't even feel the existence of his remaining limbs.

Ada released Viner, shoving him behind her with one hand, then looked at Sigurd and asked, "Are you mentally prepared?"

"So, that means it's really bad, right?"

“That’s right,” though cruel, Ada still fulfilled her obligation to inform the patient of her condition, “The strong backlash from that cursed equipment has caused serious damage to your body.”

"The organs, limbs, and even the coat of arms have all suffered severe atrophy."

"If it's just physical exhaustion, it can be recovered with time. But the damage to the emblem... with current medical technology, it's irreversible."

Heraldry is as important to heralds as a second heart.

It endowed the emblem with superhuman resilience.

Conversely, if the emblem is damaged, it can never be restored.

Without the emblem, the body can no longer withstand excessive magical energy.

Sigurd's injuries at this moment were far beyond what low-level healing spells could cure.

Only a miraculous prayer spell can cure it without any risk.

However, the Prayer Spell is inherently a life-risking technique, requiring a top human emblem user to expend their own life force to cast it, just to restore the health of a cripple.

Not to mention the Lafner family, even the imperial family wouldn't be willing to pay such a price.

"...How long will it take to regain the ability to move freely?"

"Twenty years."

Ida didn't finish her sentence.

Twenty years is only enough time for Sigurd to stand up again, but it doesn't mean he can recover the life force devoured by the Armor of Calamity.

Sigurd's internal organs don't resemble those of a man in his twenties at all. Even if he were to stand up one day, his death would likely be imminent.

"If it were me, I definitely wouldn't want to live."

Wiener, who was listening behind him, suddenly interrupted.

Dr. Ada turned around abruptly, glared at Viner, and mouthed "get lost" to him.

“I can’t die yet.” Sigurd shook his head.

This is the only action he can currently take.

“Compared to the family sinners who commit suicide out of guilt, I have to live to be the negative example for my family.”

He had a bright future ahead of him, and in his second year, he succeeded Schuster as Her Highness the Princess's deputy, helping the Rafner family to be tied to Edel's cause.

If he were to die like a stray dog ​​on the street, no one would remember his existence, and even the relationship between the Lafner family and the princess's line would be greatly affected.

So he had to live, at least so that when Her Highness the Princess saw the Lafner family, she would remember that there had been such a loser.

"Your injury needs to be observed for a few more days to stabilize. After the Griffin War is over, I will help you with the leave of absence procedures and then notify the Lafner family to come and pick you up."

"I'll just withdraw from school. I don't think I'll have any chance of returning to the academy right now."

"...good."

As a physician, Ada respected Sigurd's choice.

She decided to give Sigurd some time to be alone, so she turned and left, taking with her the spectator Wiener to prevent someone from further agitating the patient.

“Vina”.

But it was Sigurd who spoke first.

"what?"

Viner broke free from Ida's grasp.

"You're right, the strong should ruthlessly humiliate the weak."

"You said that yourself, but it has nothing to do with me. I always respect my opponents, unless they disrespect me first."

"Say what you will, it's because you beat me."

He was a born powerhouse, the undisputed number one genius in his family, and even in the entire empire, it would be difficult to find a few peers who could rival him.

The family had high hopes for him and instilled in him from a young age the belief that he, Sigurd, was destined to lead the family back to its former glory.

Until he entered St. Freya Academy, he had never tasted defeat, and naturally he would not stand on the side of the weak to examine things.

In his eyes, everything in the world is dominated by the strong, and the weak can only survive in this cruel world by learning to accept the dominance of the strong.

Unfortunately, this time it was his turn to be the weaker party.

"Do you recognize that armor?"

"That's it."

"Alright, I'll tell you where I got it from."

"You're actually being so kind?"

Seeing Sigurd's straightforwardness, Wiener became somewhat suspicious.

"After all, even if something happens to you, I'll just be happy for you."

Sigurd made no attempt to hide his aversion to Wiener.

Recalling the various coincidences surrounding the appearance of that cursed armor, each one seemed suspicious and could not be explained away as mere chance.