I waved and headed to the exit. “I’ll do that.”
I had a few agenda items to address before the next test. The first order of business was getting a Mender to check my condition. Researcher was probably right that I was fine, but I wanted someone specialized in healing to take a look, just in case.
I headed to Derek’s mansion to drop off a couple books I’d picked up in the Divinatory. I’d borrowed a few more tomes on foreign attunements, as well as a couple on advanced enchantments and mana manipulation.
Given my level of access to the restricted section, I also asked Researcher if there were any other powerful magical items that were currently being researched back there….just in case.
She mentioned two more things that interested me. One was a ring that utilized pre-attunement era sorcery, much like the Jaden Box did. The other was a gemstone that appeared to be intelligent.
Unfortunately, both were under more security than the Jaden Box had been, locked inside a safe that required a combination. Even the notes on them were in the safe, so I couldn’t learn more about them.
I got the names of the people who were leading the research teams on the items, but I didn’t recognize either of them. The one studying the ring was a Professor Henge, apparently one of the other enchanting teachers. The other was Lady Whitebrook, who apparently wasn’t a teacher, but a spire researcher who lived right nearby, much like Derek did.
Both of the items interested me, but neither was a priority. I had more than enough things to deal with.
Patrick stopped me when I was heading back out of the manor. “Where you going?”
“The hospital. Nothing to worry about, I just might have done something slightly unwise.”
“Again?”
I folded my arms. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Patrick laughed. “I’m just teasing. You’re always experimenting with stuff. There are bound to be a few little things that go wrong here and there.”
He was right, of course, but I waved a hand dismissively anyway. “Fine, fine. You’re forgiven. I’ll be back soon.” I started heading for the door.
“Wait, hold on.”
I turned my head back. “Hm?”
“If you’re going to the hospital, there’s something you should know.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”
“Jin is there.”
I turned right back around. “Wait, what?”
Patrick turned away, looking sheepish. “I was going to tell you, but…I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea. I checked in on him when Sera and I went to the hospital the other day. He was in bad shape at the time, and, well… I didn’t know if he was going to make it.”
I took a step forward, staring at him. “And you didn’t tell me?”
He didn’t meet my gaze. “If you visited him, and he died afterward, you’d have never forgiven yourself. You’d have told yourself that you should have done something, that you could have fixed things if you’d tried harder. It’s who you are.”
“And if he’s dead now, I have to deal with the fact that I didn’t do anything because you didn’t tell me about it. Thanks for that.”
Patrick turned back to me, shaking his head. “You’re not a doctor, Corin. And you can’t fix everything in general. If you’d tried, you might have made things worse. And honestly? There was someone who did need you at the time, and I was worried that if you went to help Jin, you’d forget all about her. You always focus on one person at a time. Whoever you feel like you need to save.”
I winced. He…wasn’t wrong. “You still could have told me.”
“I could have. And you could have told me about everything with the book and the prisoners in the tower immediately. I just waited a few days. You waited a lot longer.”
I sighed. I wasn’t good at conversations like this. “Fine, fine. I’ll just….I don’t know.”
“Talk to him.”
This time I was the one who looked away. “I don’t know what I’d say. He tried to kill someone.”
“Sure, because none of us were thinking about the consequences of what we were doing for other countries, including his. I’m not saying I agree with how he did it. I don’t, not in the slightest. But he’s your friend, and you should probably hear him out.”
“Bah. Fine.” I couldn’t handle this talk anymore. I waved to Patrick. “I’m leaving. Tell the others I’ll be back later if they ask.”
Patrick returned my wave with his usual enthusisam. “Good luck.”
I almost laughed. Luck was one of the few things I trusted even less than I trusted my social abilities.
Getting my medical check was the easy part.
“Looks like you’re just fine,” the Mender informed me. “You said you infused your mind with more mana somehow?”
I nodded. “Yeah. It’s a rare attunement.”
I could have said restricted, but they didn’t need that much detail. I wasn’t going to be dishonest, either, though. Misleading a doctor could get me false information about my own condition.
“Sometimes students try to make it through their exams by drinking a bunch of potions with a similar function, and end up causing themselves long-term damage. My advice is to avoid doing it too frequently, and don’t try to push yourself to more than one stage higher in your attunement. As long as you use your attunement sparingly, you should be fine.”
I gave a gesture of acknowledgement. That was similar to what Researcher had told me. “Thanks.”
After that, I just finished up my paperwork and payment and such. I felt relieved that I was physically okay, but I was dreading what happened next.
I asked at the front desk for Jin’s status. They’d finished his surgery a day ago, and he was in a recovery room by himself.
Unfortunately, visitors were allowed, so I didn’t have an easy excuse to just run back home.
I knocked on the door to his room. There was a brief pause, then I heard his voice.
“I’m awake.”
I opened the door and went inside.
The room was smaller than one of our dorms, unadorned save for the hospital bed and a nearby table. Jin was sitting up in the bed, holding a book. He was shirtless, but nearly his entire chest was covered with bandages.
“Corin.”
I nodded, stepping in and closing the door behind me. “Jin.”
He closed his book with a crack and set it down on the table next to his bed. “I don’t suppose you’re here to tell me that you’ve finished more of my commissions.”
I shook my head. “Not this time.”
The corner of his lips shifted upward, just a fraction. “I don’t suppose you’re delivering me a meal? The food here makes the cafeteria look gourmet.”
“I hadn’t considered that.”
Jin chuckled, wincing in the aftermath and moving a hand to his chest. “A shame.”
I gestured to a chair near his bed. “May I?”
His expression shifted to stern. “That depends on why you’re here.”
I wasn’t sure how to answer that. “Patrick told me you were here.”
Jin nodded. “He’s checked in a few times. Loyal, that one.”
“Saying that for contrast?”
“Maybe.”
“Which one of us is the disloyal one?”
Jin shrugged a shoulder. “I’ve been debating that for a while. Probably both, in our own ways.”
“You didn’t have to shoot Vera.”
“Obviously.” He folded his hands. “But I was afraid. I’m still afraid. And I couldn’t count on anyone else to help.”
I balled my hands into fists. “We could have talked about options.”