«Martha will say that she likes me.» - Kyon repeated slowly as if talking to a slow-witted child.

«Ha-ha-ha, ha-ha-ha-ha! Are you serious? Do you really think she will ever say something of a kind?! Ha ha ha!» - Borya laughed his ass off. He was laughing so hard that his eyes welled up with tears: - «Holy crap! You’re way too naive!»

The second patient got the joke and began grunting with laughter, but the next moment, he coughed and cringed with pain.

Borya stopped laughing at once and turned to his friend, anxious :

«Are you okay?»

«I am fine, forget it.» - Mike coughed again. Slowly, trying not to make any unnecessary movements and wincing with every breath, he lay on his bed.

«I propose a friendly wager. If she doesn't tell you that she likes me, I'll be giving you half of my lunch during a month.» - Kyon said. However, he didn’t mention the prize in case he won.

Bob exclaimed joyfully:

«I agree! Wait, what if I lose?» - He didn’t really think it would ever come to this. The mere idea that a charming mature woman with no formation would show her affection to a snot-nosed brat gave him a good laugh. It would be a cold day in hell if it happened. However, in compliance with all the rules (and just for fun), he decided to ask what the boy hoped to get in this hopeless bet.

«You'll owe me 3,000 rupees.»

Three thousand rupees a month, that’s how much a healthy man could earn working hard in the mine, including a bonus for plan over-fulfillment.

«You won't survive even a week without half of your lunch! Are you sure? Make it last for three months... Just a little bit every day.» - Borya had never been generous, but he felt pity for the 14-year-old boy, who was doomed to toil in the mines.

«All right, it’s a deal, then. Thank you for worrying about me. I'm touched. Let’s shake on it!» - Kyon and Borya shook their hands to seal the deal.

Martha could hear laughter and bits of the conversation from her office, but she didn’t know what was going on. Her hearing was not as keen as Kyon's.

The first phase had been activated.

Kyon continued scribbling with a pencil on paper.

Fifteen minutes later, his drawing was finished. Kyon made a paper accordion, folded it carefully, and gave it to Borya, who was eager to take a look but couldn’t: a bet is a bet, after all.

Soon the door opened, and there stood Bob accompanied by Rogash, who was happily wagging his tail.

«Don’t let the dog in!» - Martha cried out hastily.

Bob blocked the way with his leg when the dog was about to rush inside and said sternly:

«Wait here.» - Then he turned to Martha: - «It’s time. I have an order to bring him for an urgent check-up.»

«I see. Kyon, you must go.» - Martha sighed, watching her “dear patient” go away.

When the door closed behind Bob and Kyon, Martha rushed to Borya:

«Did Kyon leave you anything?»

Borya tensed up. He couldn’t give the charming doctor the note until she said the secret words. «...Hmm ...» - He didn’t know what to say. He couldn’t tell her directly what Kyon wanted from her or he would lose the bet and then farewell to 3000 rupees. But he couldn’t lie either, because the witness and indirect participant of their bet was sitting next to him.

«I can see it in your faces that he has left something. Give it to me!»

«The point is... I can't give it away just like this.» - Doubts had already begun to creep into Borya’s bald head. Maybe he shouldn’t have taken a bet in the first place?

Martha sighed. He wasn’t going to give her anything. She took a deep breath, summoned her courage, and blurted out in one breath:

«I like Kyon.»

Her curiosity had won after all. She was dying to know what the adoring boy had made for her. As for her forced "confession"... Even if Borya got the word out, no one would believe him anyway.

{Shit!} - Borya cursed inwardly. He could see 3000 rupees floating away in an unknown direction real as day.

With a face like a wet weekend, he held out the folded piece of paper:

«Yeah, that's right. Here you are.»

Women! The devil will understand what's going on in their pretty heads!

Martha hurried to her room, carefully unfolded the note and gasped: there she stood out in all her beauty together with Kyon. She passionately pressed her lips to his neck, his eyes reflected a spark of excitement and satisfaction of what was happening... It was very intense and intimate. Hell of an "innocent child"! But how accurately the feelings were conveyed, with such deep understanding and incredible drawing style! She had never seen anything like that.

Martha's face was a kaleidoscope of emotions: shock, embarrassment, indignation, delight, and indignation again…

She felt an impulse to throw the cheeky drawing away. However, she carefully fold it and hid in her pocket.

{Kyon... Who does he think he is? He's gifted, no doubt about that... and... I don't know what I'm supposed to do about it.} – All these emotions were giving Martha a splitting headache.

Kyon’s image in her mind went through a gradual transition from "a little boy looking just like my son" to "a very charming young man."

Kyon was counting on that. More than that, he knew he was in for a private conversation with Martha. No way around it.

Muffled cries brought Martha back to reality.

«Let us have a look.» - Mike was dying to see what Kyon had scribbled, unlike Borya, who was in limbo after his loss. Also, the realization that he knew nothing about women struck him too hard.

«No way!» - Martha yelled back, pleased with herself for locking the door to her office. It was so prudent of her. She was deeply grateful to Kyon for not showing his piece of art to the two miners.

Of course, she was going to keep his gift.

…

The scent of baking was thick in the air, just like the last time.

Martin was sitting majestically in his chair, drumming his fingers on the table, deep in his thoughts. A smile lit up his face when he saw the visitors:

«Bob, buddy! Hello!»

The supervisor shook his hand:

«Hi. I got the order to bring Kyon in.»

«I know. I gave it.»

«It was you? But how did you know that his formation stopped working? Our report is due in a week or so...»

«You see, the situation with this boy struck me as strange at once. I decided to get things under control, so to speak, and take care of everything myself. And voila, this morning, it failed to respond! It must have broken down at night. Now I have to sort this shit out!»

«You do? And what are you going to do about it?»

«Probably, nothing at all. After all, he's just a boy, and none of this is his fault.» - Martin turned to Kyon, squinted suspiciously and asked him pointedly: - «Am I right?»

Oh, those eyes… As if a two-headed chicken was standing in front of him. It was the look Kyon was so afraid of. In response, he just nodded in silence.

Making excuses was pointless. The only thing that could save him was the lion's share of luck and a clear mind. He had to get through this, no matter what.

«I don’t know a thing about applying formations. Tell me, what could have caused the breakdown?» - inquired Bob.

«It's a good question...» - Martin muttered thoughtfully, rather to himself than to Bob. He beckoned the boy with his finger: - «Come here, kid.»

Kyon had summoned all his Synergy back into the whirlpool to hide it from Martin. Then he approached his table, hoping for better luck. Martin put his hand on the formation, closed his eyes and focused.

«Just as I thought... It's not a simple breakdown. All the energy has been wiped clean away! Even if crushed with a boulder, the energy in the formation would have been dissipating for at least three days. But there is no trace of my charge!» - Martin concluded solemnly, nodding to his own thoughts.

«I start doubting that old Flitz had made a drunken mistake when he applied the last formation. There are no coincidences.»

«Is there any other option?» - This abnormal situation piqued Bob’s interest.

«It could be possible if Kyon were it the advanced phase or above. Then it wouldn’t be too hard to destroy a simple formation like this. Also, hypothetically, some do-gooders might have helped him. Someone who could possibly remove the formation. Except, why would they do it and leave the boy here? What's the point? To set him up? It is doubtful. The second option is highly unlikely. However, I will check his phase all the same.» - Martin shared his thoughts while Bob kept nodding. - «Also, there might exist a magic item, or maybe a source of high energy that had completely erased my spell.» - He turned back to Kyon: - «Tell me honestly, kid. Did you see anything interesting in the mine?»

Kyon man shook his head again.

«Did you come into contact with anyone, anything?» - The boss kept inquiring him.

«I had a chat with Borya, nobody else.» - Kyon was smart enough to leave the part about books and other stuff out.

Bob coughed, reminding them about his presence. «Is there anything I can do?»

«You're the only one I can trust, Bob. Be so kind and bring in all the patients and the boy's personal belongings here. Martha is only at the beginning of the base phase. She could hardly have done anything, but I'll talk to her anyway.» - By “personal belongings,” Martin probably meant Kyon's pickaxe, compass, and helmet left in the hospital.

«Copy that. On my way!»

Bob scurried to follow orders, leaving the two of them alone.

{The hell you trust him.} - Kyon chuckled skeptically, considering his miserable future.

Martin took a device that looked like a phone and activated it.

«Martha speaking.»

«It’s Martin.»

«How can I help you, sir?»

«Have you given Kyon anything in addition to his treatment?»

«Me? No, I mean, yes… Just usual, things for entertainment, nothing special.»

«No more excuses. I get it, Martha. You have broken the basic rule, which makes it clear that medical staff are not allowed to give patients things that have nothing to do with their treatment!» - His voice was stern. – «Bob will there soon. Give him all that stuff. And another thing, you get a warning for the breach of administrative rules.»

«I understand, sir. It won't happen again...» - Martha sounded a bit edgy as she hung up. She took a deep breath, nervously drumming her fingers on the table. The doctor had always been kind to Martin, they had never had any serious disagreement. She had never heard him sound so harsh. Today he reminded her who was the boss and who was the employee. She broke a rule, so what? Minor offences had always been overlooked.

«Take a seat.» - Martin pointed Kyon to the chair, where the formations were applied. He rummaged through a dusty box. - «Don't worry. I am just going to check if you have reached the base phase yet. Then I’ll apply a new formation.»

Kyon nodded, trying not to give away his anxiety. And so, the moment of truth had come.