A Failed Knight Who Went to the Academy To Get Married

025 Opening for Pride

That night, the knight academy’s classroom was bustling with numerous students.

Gathered together were students from other departments and even the seniors,

holding an emergency meeting about the Quartz Pharmacy.

Elizabeth stood in front of the lectern and said,

“Then let’s set up a new pharmacy right next to Quartz Pharmacy and compete.”

At that, the students cheered and began to divide the roles among themselves.

Those who will provide the funds.

Those who will gather the items from the pharmacy.

Those who will recruit servants to run the store.

Amidst it all, only Train had a serious expression, lost in absurd thoughts.

‘Could it be Yuril?’

Train might be oblivious, but not to the extent of failing to recognize her outright.

The only person who could say ‘despite having run away’ would be her,

And Yuril, too, had once aspired to become a pharmacist, following her mother’s footsteps.

If it really were Yuril, Train’s dislike for her would be completely justified.

…But ultimately, Train shook his head, dismissing his own thoughts.

‘Don’t be foolish. There’s no way Yuril would come all this way to set up a shop just for me.’

Train was currently poisoned, lacking in confidence.

That’s why he concluded that it absolutely couldn’t be her.

As he agonized over this alone,

Elisabeth looked at Train and asked.

“Traine, can we just say you’re the owner of the shop formally?”

“Huh? Why?”

“It’ll be great for promotion, and as a noble, you should have at least one source of income.”

Traine himself had no particular desire to be hostile towards the Quartz Pharmacy.

However, faced with everyone’s solemn expressions,

He couldn’t bring himself to say no.

In the end, Traine reluctantly replied,

“Fine… I might as well give it a shot.”

***

The fact that Yuril had bought a pharmacy close to the Academy was purely coincidental.

It was simply a matter of choosing a shop that dealt in rare ingredients.

Besides, it was rare for Academy students to come into town,

So Traine showing up less than a week after the opening was truly coincidental.

If this was indeed a twist of fate, it was a cruel one.

…No, the real issue was that he had no idea the students from the Knight Department could be this foolish.

“Are they really such fools?”

Yuril muttered to himself as he looked across at the building that had sprung up overnight opposite his pharmacy.

Where there had surely been an empty lot, a two-story shop had risen by morning.

The building itself could be constructed with alchemy, so that was plausible,

but it was twice the size of Quartz Pharmacy, and there seemed to be more than ten clerks.

Even more, numerous students were out front, actively distributing flyers.

‘Grand Opening! 80% off all items!’

To think someone would pull such an outrageous stunt just to compete with Yuril’s shop.

Well, that didn’t really matter.

The biggest issue was the name of the store.

‘Train Pharmacy.’

It was highly likely that Train had already noticed Yuril.

But it was unlike him to spearhead such a scheme.

So perhaps Train was just caught up in it all…

But it didn’t seem to be just that.

“Welcome! It’s a bomb sale at Quartz Pharmacy until we go out of business!”

For some reason, Train was out front, megaphone in hand, shouting away.

Yuril was slightly annoyed.

“You couldn’t possibly have missed noticing me, could you?”

Of course, she had cast a perception-inhibiting spell to hide her identity,

but even after she had blatantly slipped up in her speech yesterday, for him to act this way…

She felt foolish for having been so nervous that he might recognize her.

Just then, an elderly regular customer entered Yuril’s shop.

“Welcome.”

“It’s quite the chaos outside.”

“He’ll probably run himself ragged and go under soon enough.”

In truth, ‘Train’s Pharmacy’ wasn’t really harming Yuril’s shop.

After all, a pharmacy isn’t just a place to sell goods; it’s akin to a hospital.

What’s important is the ability to diagnose the customers and prescribe the right treatment.

Such skills were hardly expected of mere novice students.

Indeed, for half a day, most of the regular customers still came to Quartz Pharmacy.

“Are you here for the shoulder pain medicine again today?”

“Please give me the same one as last time.”

Then, Yuril offered the handmade ointment she had prepared in advance and said,

“I’ve reduced the mint ingredient for Mr. Lamba since you have sensitive skin.”

“You’re the best, miss.”

The old man grumbled as he paid.

“You fit the Academy much better than those riff-raffs.”

“They’re all just immature kids.”

“If they’re brats, they should behave like brats.”

The old man muttered disdainfully as he looked out the window at the students.

“Sending students to rescue Princess Shia in the first place is nonsensical.”

“Is that so.”

“Surely, their parents just want to spoon-feed them achievements.”

“That might be the case.”

In reality, the majority of commoners, unaware of the actual circumstances, did not believe the newspaper articles.

A student, of all people, couldn’t possibly have accomplished such a difficult task.

Considering the students from the knight academy, some must be children of high nobility,

it was natural to believe there must have been some sort of deal.

Yuril was indifferent to the situation, so he just played along,

“Especially that Train fellow, he’s definitely a con artist.”

That insensitive remark made Yuril bristle without realizing it.

“A commoner in the knight academy? That doesn’t make any sense, does it?”

…No.

If anyone, Train was the man most suited to be a knight.

Putting aside his own relationship with Yuril,

he could never accept others denying him.

But he couldn’t afford to be rude to the guest, so he replied calmly,

“Yes, well, that seems to be the case.”

“It must be a fallen noble trying to wash his status, pretending to be a commoner.”

“It’s not entirely impossible.”

“Look at that guy’s face. He looks exactly like a lazy nobleman’s son who’s never suffered a day in his life.”

Yuril couldn’t bring herself to argue with that.

The fool still shouting outside the window, megaphone in hand,

looked too frail in stature and expression to be a hero.

But Yuril knew better.

The word ‘lazy’ was the least fitting description for him.

“Anyway, the villagers are on your side, miss. No need to worry about them.”

“Thank you.”

As the old man left the store,

a postman hurriedly entered.

“Miss Yuril! There’s been a disaster! The healing herbs are all sold out!”

“The common healing herbs? Why?”

“They say the Trine pharmacy hoarded them all.”

“Are they really that foolish?”

Monopolizing the recovery grass, the most crucial ingredient in the pharmacy, was a decent idea in itself.

However, according to the regular customers,

It turns out they couldn’t properly handle even one recovery grass and ended up selling only ready-made products.

In other words, it was nothing but an act that wasted money and caused harm only to the villagers.

Yuril frowned with her arms crossed and muttered,

“This is serious. We hardly have any stock left.”

At that, the postman asked with a somewhat troubled expression,

“What should we do? Should we visit the neighboring village for now?”

“No, I can’t impose on you to go that far.”

If Elford had been here, he would have been instructed,

But since there’s a chance that Train might notice, I’ve told him not to come for now.

In the end, Yuril had no choice but to resolve it herself.

Yuril briefly closed the shop and headed to Train’s pharmacy.

Ignoring the stares fixated on her,

She stood in front of Train with her arms crossed and stared at him intently.

Startled, Train stepped back slightly and asked,

“What, what is it?”

“What are you, exactly?”

For a while, they glared at each other fiercely.

Amidst the tense silence that even hushed the people around,

Yuril suddenly extended her palm.

“Hand over the healing herbs you’re monopolizing.”

“I refuse. We bought them because we need them too.”

“Is that so? Then, may I hear what you intend to use them for?”

“It’s a pharmacy, so of course we need them.”

Yuril stepped closer to Train and pressed on.

“Do you know how to preserve healing herbs? How to prepare them? What about their compatibility with other medicinal ingredients?”

Train, overwhelmed by her presence, took a step back.

Yet, surprisingly, the answer rolled off his tongue smoothly.

“Healing herbs should be dried in the sunlight for three days to be preserved, shouldn’t they?

“When using it, only grind the leaves and discard the stem.

It’s compatible with most herbs, but don’t mix it with, uh, Coriolis…”

Yuril’s eyes widened slightly.

A textbook-like, rigid response.

Yet, it was evident that he had hurriedly studied on his own.

As always, he seemed unnecessarily serious about everything.

When Yuril remained silent for a moment,

Train awkwardly asked,

“Did I, get it wrong?”

Yuril inhaled deeply and said,

“Are you going to take responsibility if the villagers can’t get treated on time because of you?”

At those words, Train’s pupils wavered slightly before he calmly replied,

“If it’s urgent, we can just send those villagers to our shop.”

Then Yuril abruptly grabbed Train by the collar.

“Do you even know how to make a gout remedy?”

“Do you know how to test for allergic reactions?”

“What measures should be taken if a seizure occurs?”

When Train failed to respond,

Yuril roughly pushed him over.

“Is this pharmacy a joke to you? Are you planning to kill the townspeople with such childish antics?”

Then, the other students crowded around Yuril in unison.

“Hey! Why are you causing trouble in someone else’s store?”

“You do realize this is clearly disrupting business, right?”

“If you don’t leave immediately, we’ll call the knights!”

Yuril turned his back, ignoring their voices.

“I’m truly disappointed in you.”

***

After Train’s pharmacy closed for the day,

Train was left alone in the pharmacy, groaning.

“It feels like everything has gone wrong…”

As Hwaran approached him, she initiated a conversation.

“No, everything is going smoothly.”

Train glared at the cover Hwaran had taken out.

“Don’t joke, how can you even say that.”

“Don’t they say the ground hardens after the rain?”

“Whatever happens, we can’t let it harm the villagers.”

Train hoisted a bundle of healing herbs that had been stacked in a corner of the store.

“At least, I should return this to Quartz Pharmacy.”

Stepping out of the store, Train,

after making sure no one was around,

slyly headed towards the back door of Quartz Pharmacy.

Just as he was about to secretly set down the bundle at the back door—

“What are you doing?”

Suddenly, the back door of the store burst open, and a clerk popped out.

“Ah, well, that…”

As Train fumbled in embarrassment,

the clerk sighed upon seeing the bundle of healing herbs.

“Come in.”

Train meekly followed the clerk into the store.

Sitting awkwardly in front of the table,

soon the clerk brought out tea and sat opposite him.

“What exactly do you want?”

“Just, no matter what, monopolizing the healing herbs seems a bit much.”

“It’s good that you’ve realized it now.”

While the clerk took a sip of tea,

Train cautiously spoke up.

“Excuse me, I’m just asking out of curiosity, but are you Yuril?”

The clerk calmly set down the teacup and replied,

“No. Who is that?”

“Oh, right? Hahaha, it’s nothing.”

Traine scratched his head awkwardly.

“Anyway, if you could just stop discriminating against the Academy, we’re willing to step back.”

“I refuse.”

“Why? Do you have a grudge against the Academy?”

“The demand from the Academy is too high, causing disruptions in treating the villagers.”

At that, Traine’s expression turned slightly surprised.

“…I had no idea there was such a story.”

“I’m not as skilled as the previous owners of the pharmacy, so it was an unavoidable choice.”

“That’s impressive. To think that much of the villagers.”

“It’s nothing impressive. It’s just what a pharmacist should do.”

“No, I truly think it’s admirable.”

Traine continued, a smile forming on his face without realizing it.

“Somehow, it reminds me of the person I admire.”

“…Is that so.”

“They said they wish for no one around them to be unhappy.”

“That’s a ridiculous thing to say.”

“No. At least I think it’s the most fabulous thing in the world.”

Suddenly, the clerk kicked Train’s shin under the table.

While Train was groaning in pain,

for some reason, he got angry with a face that turned red.

“Can you stop with the embarrassing talk?”

“Uh, yes? No, I’m sorry, sorry?”

After a fake cough, the clerk said,

“Anyway, for that reason, we will absolutely not lower the price.”

After a pause, Train asked,

“If the academy finds another supplier for the materials, will you lower the price then?”

“If that’s possible, I’ll consider it.”

“Got it. Then I’ll try to find a way.”

Train extended his hand for a handshake.

The clerk stared at the hand for a moment, then,

Just as he was about to reach out his hand.

-Clang!

Suddenly, the shop window shattered, and

a small, round object flew inside.

“What, what’s that!”

Feeling danger instinctively, Train sprang up.

He then threw himself to shield the clerk.

Train’s intuition was not wrong.

The object exploded.