episode_0071

Episode 71. Summer Vacation and Academic Conference (1)

****

Today’s Mint was the happiest Mint she had looked in recent times. Mint was wearing a flowing one-piece dress and a narrow-brimmed straw hat.

With a very bright smile.

“Good morning!”

“Ah. Hello.”

Today is the day we leave for Whitby.

Even though it was still dawn, Mint held on to her hat and looked up at the sky as if the sun was shining brightly.

“The weather is nice… … !”

“That’s right.”

It hasn’t come up yet. I wonder if it means Mint’s mood rather than the weather? But it did agree with me. I’m glad you’re feeling good.

The carriage procession was quite grand.

The escorts and servants of Princess Mint, the officials heading to Whitby, and even those like me who are going to the conference or as other guests.

As a side note, Amy, who was supposed to go to the conference with me, was riding in a different carriage.

“Let’s get going.”

I got on the carriage first and held Mint’s hand as she followed behind me. As soon as Mint got on the carriage, she took off her hat.

The hand was still held.

I looked at Mint.

“Princess. Hand.”

“Ah. Yeah.”

Mint paused for a moment before letting go of my hand. She was still smiling brightly, but this time, her eyes were drawn with lines, as if mocking, or rather playful.

I looked at Mint.

“Is the teacher good?”

“What do you mean?”

“Because I played with you.”

Was what Mint said a projection or a narcissistic joke? To be honest, it was a bit ridiculous. But I nodded anyway.

“That’s right. Thank you.”

“There is no soul in the answer.”

“Do you teach mind reading in magic classes?”

“No way.”

Mint laughed at these words. The departing carriage shook for a moment.

Mint looked out the carriage window, wondering how much time had passed. The carriage was moving at a fast pace, and the scenery was passing by quickly.

Of course, this is true for carriages.

It’s not slow compared to a car.

“Motion sickness medicine.”

“Oh, that. Thanks.”

Mint took the scopolamine patch from my hand and placed it behind her ear.

“I heard there’s a magic seminar at Whitby this time? I’m going to go to that, when I go to the teacher’s conference.”

“That would be fun.”

“What is the teacher going to present?”

“I’m going to announce that I’ve made an antibiotic. This time, I’ve made a new one, a drug that kills bacteria.”

“You can do that too?”

“Yes.”

“Teacher. How about starting a company that sells medicine? If you can, that would be great.”

“I’ll think about it. I think it’s more important to stay in the hospital and academia for now.”

That’s a story for later. Maybe it will work out when more scientific theories are published, my students grow, and medicines that can be used and made are created.

It’s not that I didn’t plan on opening a pharmaceutical company or a hospital later on, but I didn’t plan on doing it by hiding information about penicillin.

It seemed important to see patients and spread medical theories to the academic world at this time.

“But. If it’s a drug that’s worth money, is there really a need to announce it to the academic world? It might be better if only the teacher knows how to make it and sells it.”

I shook my head.

“Uh… … . I don’t think so. At least not this time. I think it’s too big of a discovery to be used just for making money.”

“Do you really think so?”

“Yes.”

Even in the original world, it was ruled that penicillin could not be patented. In this world, it might be possible to do so if you were stubborn or took advantage of the information gap… … .

My opinion is that this won’t work.

“You’re not as greedy for money as I thought, teacher.”

“Princess. Do you know how much money I get from the Academy’s book royalties, hospital salaries, and patient donations?”

Mint shook her head.

“Don’t you know?”

“Anyway. There are quite a lot.”

I get about 300 times the salary of Teacher Luciana. To be honest, there was a reason why I didn’t think about money.

“How much time is left until arrival?”

“I don’t know, me too.”

I checked my watch. It hadn’t even been an hour yet, so it wouldn’t take long, right?

“I heard you went through another city.”

“Should I have gone riding a wyvern?”

“Please do that next time.”

The sun was now high in the sky. It was past dawn, midday. Mint nodded.

“If there’s a lot left, cut it.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Then excuse me… … .”

Mint rested her head on my shoulder.

Mint’s hair smelled a bit like shampoo. Although her face wasn’t visible at an angle, all I could see were her cheeks, faintly glowing from the sunlight.

But. If I do this, won’t I be unable to move until Mint wakes up? Did I leave it there for nothing?

Let’s wait a few minutes. Mint’s breathing has become more ragged. She must be asleep already. I wonder when she’ll wake up…

****

Another hour or so passed. The scenery outside the window had changed from before. It seemed like we were now outside the capital.

I need to wake up Mint.

“Princess. Wake up.”

“Huh?”

“Princess.”

I woke up by poking Mint.

Mint leaned more towards me, resting her chin on my shoulder… …. After poking me a little more, she finally got up, rubbing her eyes groggily.

I pushed the mint and sat down.

“What? You’re here already?”

“No, I was just bored.”

“What the… what the… nonsense are you talking about?”

Mint crossed her legs and sat up properly again.

Maybe it was because the sun was shining brightly, or maybe it was because she was still smiling, but at this moment, the title of the most beautiful woman in the empire did not seem to be in vain.

Rather than flashiness, the look comes from flawless perfection and a clean impression. Porcelain skin bathed in sunlight and softly flowing hair.

Although she still looked sleepy, it was a feeling. Mint blinked as if she was still half-asleep.

“That’s right. If I were to wait, the teacher wouldn’t be able to sleep. He’d just sit there blankly.”

“Yes.”

“Should I give you a lap pillow?”

“I’ll decline- No, are you kidding?”

hem.

Mint nodded with a slight smile.

After a while.

Mint rustled her bag for a moment, then took out a thin notebook and spread it out on her lap. She must be thinking of studying since she has some time left.

“Teacher.”

“Yes.”

“Tell me what we were talking about earlier. You said you were making medicine?”

Oh, that.

What’s the easiest way to explain this?

“Specifically, this time, we discovered a substance with sterilizing ability in blue mold. We would like to propose research to the academic society for clinical use.”

Mint was thinking about something.

“Is there a way?”

“We are still only researching in the lab. The production process is complicated. We have submitted the results to the Alchemy Department, but it is not yet successful.”

“Will it be okay?”

“That’s right.”

It’s usually not a difficult task.

In the early days of penicillin research, there were even attempts to extract penicillin from the urine of patients who had taken penicillin medication.

This means that in the early days of penicillin research, the research was conducted in difficult circumstances. Our situation was much better than that of researchers who collected patient urine and recycled it into penicillin.

“So you’re going to spread it at the conference? Other researchers might find the answer.”

“That’s the conclusion.”

“That’s strange. Every time I see you, teacher, what you study changes? Isn’t that usually the case?”

“We try to get results quickly. Medical research can be of help to someone right away. So we tend to publish as quickly as possible.”

Even if it means sacrificing other things, I think it would be best to let as many people know as possible.

“That could be possible.”

Mint turned the page of the book she was reading. Come to think of it, I brought something too.

I opened my bag too. Inside were a paper I was going to present at an academic conference and a bag of cookies. I bought them yesterday to eat on the wagon, right?

The bag of cookies rustled, and I handed it to the princess. Mint ate the cookies I gave her without saying much.

“It’s taking longer than I thought.”

“Um… …. Well. Isn’t the journey part of the trip? I guess it’s just like that.”

“I see, right?”

Mint looked up at me again and smiled brightly. She seemed a little excited about the trip.

****

A long time passed like that.

And. After a long carriage ride, we arrived at our destination. The resort town of Whitby. The view of Whitby city passed by outside the window.

It wasn’t a big city, but it had everything: Whitby Castle, a university, a port, a road network.

However, since it was a city built according to the needs of the empire, it didn’t seem to have many ordinary people. This means that the city center was small.

A cool sea breeze was blowing south of the castle. The weather near the capital wasn’t terribly hot for summer.

Anyway, the weather is more pleasant than in the imperial capital.

“It really took a long time.”

“That’s right.”

“The wind is different.”

The carriage ride was over. I got out of the carriage with the princess. Mint’s steps were light. She stretched as soon as she got out.

“Let’s go see the sea later.”

I nodded to Mint.

You can’t help but prepare for the penicillin presentation, but the conference itself won’t take up much time. The presentation itself won’t be long at all.