There were five nurses in total in the hospital wing of the Royal Academy, all in constant rotation so that there were always three present during the day and two during the night, every single day.
It wasn't any different during the late evening right before the start of the exams. Still, somehow, the timing worked out perfectly for all five to get together to enjoy the peace. There were a couple of students who had to be given some herbs or got a calming spell used on them to ease their nervousness before the exams, but nothing that required prolonged attention and care.
"Eh…? Wait…! Wait! Really?! I always thought that you're in your thirties, Chloe! What do you mean you're barely in your twenties!?"
The youngest nurse ended up gasping after the subject was brought up by another nurse, a veteran one who was already thinking about her retirement.
"I might be twenty-two, but you're nineteen, Jane. Which means you're younger and you should still be respectful."
Chloe rolled her eyes and pointed out
"No, I know, but…! Why would you style your hair and put on makeup that makes you appear so much older!?"
"...what point are you trying to make, exactly…?"
The youngest nurse mumbled, glancing to the side before inquiring, making the slightly older nurse to stare at her with one brow raised.
"Y… you know… I mean, come on! This is the Royal Academy! Basically, the only place in the whole Nordenthele where male to female ratio is equal! Don't you want to look your absolute best in order to tempt one of the guys…?"
"...well, that's one way to reveal to us your ulterior motives for working here…"
Jane mumbled, awkwardly twirling a strand of her hair, making Chloe's glare sharper and sharper with each word and finally prompting a bitter response.
"Chloe, don't be mean. It's not like Jane's reasoning is something strange. There's a lot more women than men in this world. If you want a husband, you need to be at least this proactive."
One of the older nurses took the youngest's side.
"I knew you would understand me~!"
"I thought that you met your husband long before you started to work here…?"
Jane gasped in relief, smiling brightly at the nurse who defended her, but that same nurse received a taxing look from Chloe.
"Oh, of course I did~! I'm a fourth wife. Together with my hubby, we brought two lovely boys and a cute girl into this world. His family adores me~! But, they love me a bit too much… to the point that it started to annoy my hubby's first wife. You know how it is. Before my tea started tasting a bit too much like wild almonds, I removed myself from the main house. But since all three of my children are already adults, I was a bit too lonely in the cottage hubby gifted me, so I just went for it and applied to work in the Royal Academy… I started working soon after Lila… Oh, that's right… I wonder how's she doing? I hope she found herself a good man and settled happily."
The nurse went on quite the tangent, giggling to herself as she reminiscent about her life, before turning slightly worried and sighing.
"Miss Lila was the one who created a vacancy for me to fill, wasn't she? I'm diligently praying for her happiness every day for the chance she gave me!"
Jane bowed her head while clasping her hands together and shaking them vigorously as she declared with immense gratitude.
"I can't believe both of you have so little respect for your profession that it's only an afterthought…"
"Oho!"
Chloe ended up sighing and shaking her head over her colleagues, this time irking Jane enough to make her attitude change.
The youngest nurse was no longer smiling awkwardly, and instead her gasp and expression were full of spite.
"Big words from someone who gets handsy with the Vallhall's boy! You think you were being sneaky or something?! Who do you think you are, some sort of moral compass!? I saw the two of you all over each other more than just a couple of times!"
"!!!"
Jane called out angrily, and when the other nurses didn't say anything but make expressions as if indeed the situation wasn't exactly foreign to them... And Chole ended up blushing so hard her face was basically glowing!
"Th-that's not it…! We… we didn't do anything of that sort yet, anyway!"
"Then you're just stupid! If you like him, get him with your body! Or what, does going for a fourth wife spot seem so degrading to the high and mighty moral compass of the hospital wing!?"
Chloe hid her face in her hands and mumbled pitifully through embarrassment, but Jane was too far in to back off and scoffed confidently.
"Chloe. Some of the female students here get deluded by the fact that they spend their days around men every day! Out there, there's a real battlefield! Even the laziest bum has women flocking around them! You should know that men are rare like that! Personally, I might not have heard the best rumors about that guy you're yearning for, but if he treats you well, why not go for it? And don't even start with the excuses about the nurse job being your calling and not being interested in men. I've seen your face when he pinned you against the front door. You were ready to jump out of your clothes then and there if he suggested it! You're a woman, so you should go on the offensive, seriously!"
"...!"
Jane added, and Chloe ended up leaning down and curling up into a pitiful ball of embarrassment on her chair.
"Ehem… although Jane's words are rather crude and she definitely should work harder on expressing herself in a proper manner, she isn't exactly wrong…"
"!"
"See!?"
Even the oldest nurse joined in, clearing her throat discreetly before pointing out, causing Chloe to flinch in shock while Jane called out triumphantly.