episode_0125

Episode 125. Penicillin Production Plant (3)

****

Mint hugged me again. This time, most of the attendants had been cleared away. I couldn’t think of an excuse to stop Mint.

“Do you know how worried I was?”

“I’m sorry.”

This time, the princess clung close to me and started muttering. I guess the onlookers were already out of the way… … Mint bit my ear with her lips.

It was a little uncomfortable, but I couldn’t force Mint out. I left the Academy for a long time. Mint was smiling, though.

This time he looked quite disappointed.

“Suddenly running away to a place where an epidemic is spreading without saying a word. Isn’t that too much? Avoid dangerous places, isn’t that possible?”

“I have to go as soon as possible.”

Mint dug into my arm and rubbed her cheek against the nape of my neck. She was smiling especially brightly today. Maybe it was because it had been so long since I saw her.

“What were you doing here?”

“The Black Death.”

The princess shook her head.

“I went to see the Black Death last time, but it wasn’t the Black Death. Was it real this time?”

“It was real.”

“I heard it was resolved well. Among the officials, there was some talk that it wasn’t the real Black Death because the damage was small.”

You knew where I went and why from the beginning? Well, come to think of it, there was no reason Mint wouldn’t know where I went.

It’s obvious, you know. This time too, I went to help at the request of the royal family and the imperial government.

Mint could have found out where it went if she wanted to know. That must have been why the factory was able to come without notice.

“Do you think so too, Princess?”

“Huh? I guess the teacher is right, right?”

“It was a real Black Death. So many people died that there weren’t enough coffins in the city. Thinking about it now, it was really scary.”

“Did the teacher save those people?”

“It’s too late. There are many dead people.”

Mint scratched her head for a moment.

“It’s not the romantic conversation I was thinking of coming here… … . Honestly, I’m a little curious.”

“I’m sorry.”

I lowered my head awkwardly.

“No need to be sorry. The teacher was just answering… … . You said you caught the plague. How did you catch it? Is there a separate way to solve it?”

“All rats living in the city were burned to death. Patients were isolated in their homes or wards as much as possible to prevent contact with others.”

“Is it caused by a rat?”

“Well, it can spread from person to person, but rats are the most important vector.”

Mint looked around again.

“The teacher wasn’t in danger, was he?”

“Yes.”

“You shouldn’t get hurt.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Mint pressed her body against mine again.

“Really. You can’t even imagine how worried I was, sir. I didn’t even eat properly while you were gone?”

I stared at Mint. Is it real?

“Really?”

“No. That’s what it was.”

Mint laughed.

I put my arms around Mint’s waist and hugged her as tightly as I could, pushing her hair behind her ears. Mint’s expression brightened even more.

“Teacher, are you glad to see me after such a long time?”

“Yes.”

The princess bumped her forehead against mine, this time with her eyes wide open.

“I wish the teacher would be this happy every day. He wouldn’t make me walk too far… …! When I came here earlier, he really wanted to scold me.”

“Oh, sorry.”

“It’s okay because I’m here today.”

As the mint rustled in my arms, the scent of cherries wafted around. Only then did the princess let go of me, as if she was satisfied. Although she still had her hand interlocked with mine.

“The teacher deserves to be scolded, for real.”

“Is that so?”

“Ao. I won’t let go of your hand.”

“Yes.”

Mint licked her lips for a moment, then grabbed my hand so tightly that it hurt and kicked her feet in the air, as if she didn’t know what to do.

****

The meal was simple.

Mint was sitting across from me.

“So. I came to see the facility.”

“Did Miss Luciana explain it well?”

“Yeah. Well, kind of. But it doesn’t seem like that guy really knows anything… … ?”

“I don’t think the higher-ups explained it properly. Maybe they were worried about the manufacturing method leaking.”

“Aha.”

“This doesn’t seem like a good direction. I wish the cleaners knew what we were doing here and what we were working for.”

“Why?”

“So that you can work with pride in saving people. More realistically. How can you work without knowing? How can you do research?”

Mint nodded.

“You must have heard it too, teacher.”

“What?”

“The investment volume increased? The number of individuals and other group investors who wanted to invest money in this company increased rapidly. The royal family had to promise millions more gold to protect management rights.”

“Oh, right. That’s right. ”

That was the plan.

When people like the Lord of Lapis or the Duke of Ceruleus gather together.

There will come a point where the non-royal group’s stake will not exceed half, and eventually the royal family will have to increase its investment in this charter company.

I didn’t know if the plan was successful or not.

“Oh my, the royal family’s surname is so great.”

“Oh my. Only at times like this.”

“I will repay you as much as I can. I haven’t used the investment money yet, have I? I have a lot planned. This medicine is just the beginning.”

Mint nodded.

“The people who count money are having a really hard time these days. And the prince too.”

“Oh. Is that so?”

“At least the royal family should put in as much money as the other investors. There is a rumor going around the noble community that the medicine you made can cure death, especially the Black Death.”

Wow. The rumors have already spread like that.

“Not that much.”

“Good is good, right? It’s not like you can change the mind of someone who offers to give you money.”

Mint put down his fork.

“It’s like a dogmatic belief in the teacher. He solved the cholera epidemic, solved the Black Death in that port town last time, and prevented the Black Death from spreading this time.”

I’ve only been to one or two social events, but the rumors seem to be going around positively, even if they’re a bit exaggerated.

“Aha. I see.”

“There were so many people who wanted to invest. I guess the Imperial Bank just kicked out those who brought less money? They said it only increased the workload.”

Oh my. Every time I hear something like that, I’m reminded that this is the Middle Ages.

A place where there is still romance. And at the same time, a place where such ridiculous excuses work.

“I’m glad you trust me.”

“Especially. It seems like Emily is pushing the teacher these days. It’s a bit unusual. Emily is not close to the royal family due to her position, but she’s pushing the teacher, who is a royal person.”

Who was Emily, the one who wore clothes made of arsenic? I was wondering.

“There are a lot of people.”

“It’s a good thing that the teacher is doing well, but the fact that the teacher’s salary is skyrocketing… … makes me a little uneasy. He won’t go anywhere, right?”

“Of course.”

“It’s suspicious because it’s so firm.”

It seemed like a joke, but I wasn’t sure. I stared at the princess for a long time.

“Then let me think about it.”

“Oh my god.”

The princess was still laughing hysterically.

It was a situation where I lost my sense of reality. The hospital was always like the threshold to the afterlife. Winia, who had been there until yesterday, was in a particularly terrible situation.

Euthanasia and other methods were also considered, and the citizens were rioting and burning the houses of the infected. That was the situation there.

“It’s nice because it’s peaceful here.”

“Okay then… … .”

What’s the situation right now? I’m sitting in a pastel-colored room, drinking tea.

Well, it’s not necessarily a problem to think about like that.

If we were to mass produce and sell the drug here, we might be able to help more people in terms of numbers.

I am only one person, but the factory can produce enough medicine for millions or tens of millions of people.

“When are you going back to the Academy?”

“I will return to the academy in two days.”

The princess nodded.

****

one side.

Istina was enjoying a moment of leisure on the rooftop of the facility, where a sunbed had been spread out. The city, where the Black Death was rampant, was a living hell.

If I say the sun is shining… … then I’m honestly lying.

Anyway, Palette, which didn’t smell like rotting corpses, was a paradise-like vacation spot compared to that.

Istina sighed in peace. Istina was half-lying down, sipping orange juice. The weather was still fine.

Because it’s not winter yet.

I wish every day was like today. There’s nothing else to do, and no one around me is dying.

The professor was so busy with his penicillin factory and his lover that he didn’t even bother to find out where Istina was. How nice.

Istina’s story was not a great one. She was just a girl who had the opportunity to pursue something beyond the status she was born with, simply by being a good student.

‘Not now.’

It was all thanks to Professor Asterix’s halo effect. Istina was now a respected researcher in academia, her parents were receiving more money than they had ever seen in their lives on business trips, and she was paying off her debt to the Academy.

The professor will be here for three days. I’ll get some rest. As long as he doesn’t ask me to do anything special.