Ch.135Chapter 18. Trust (5)

In the end, Leticia returned to her room. Camilla, who had been quietly observing, left saying she would keep watch from the rooftop. So only Cassandra and I remained in the laboratory.

“Johan. Let’s do your examination first. Open your mouth.”

Cassandra lightly swabbed the inside of my mouth with a cotton swab. She seemed to be collecting cells for analysis. After finishing the blood draw, she applied Kibele Company ointment to the injection site.

Usually after having blood drawn, you’re advised to avoid showering and bathing for a day, but with this ointment, the flesh heals quickly, reducing discomfort.

Cassandra activated the analyzer and threw her sanitary gloves into the trash.

“That’s it for today’s examination. We’ll do a more thorough check later. First, we need to address Leticia’s health issues.”

“Health issues? But you didn’t mention that earlier.”

“Her nutritional state is good. Her health is relatively fine. But she has severe inflammation in her blood and elevated liver enzymes. I didn’t mention it, but her cholesterol is quite high too. She’s suffering from chronic fatigue, heavy drinking, and severe stress. And now the Cro viruses are fighting each other inside her.”

Each issue might seem minor on its own, but listed together, it sounds quite serious. Surely Cassandra wasn’t deliberately trying to create that effect?

Meanwhile, Cassandra took some medicine from a drawer and handed it to me.

“Take these to her. The red pills are for general cold symptoms, and the white ones are painkillers. They won’t expel the Cro virus from her body, but they should ease the burden.”

“Thanks, Cassandra. And, has everything been okay?”

“Okay? Yes. Minor compared to what’s coming.”

Was that a yes or a no? Cassandra’s attitude had grown quite cold. She wouldn’t meet my eyes and was briskly organizing things around her.

“What do you mean? What’s coming?”

“Well, I mean no one will take the wrong medicine and vomit blood, or develop a stomach condition they didn’t have before. There won’t be silly mistakes like treating the left arm when the right one is injured. But who can predict a person’s future?”

Her calm, logical tone made it even more chilling. I stared at her with my mouth slightly open.

“Cassandra was detained in the 8th National Military Police Medical Corps Special Ward—special ward in name only, actually a psychiatric ward. During that time, Commander Virginia intimidated Cassandra and forced her to give testimony. And Virginia’s adjutant, who transcribed my testimony, is now lying upstairs with a cold. Brought here by that nice man Johan.”

“Did Leticia mistreat you?”

“No. She didn’t. She just spent three hours silently writing down Cassandra’s testimony. But having that woman here is humiliating for Cassandra. It brings up memories I’d rather forget. And yet our Johan even slept with that woman?”

Cassandra tilted her head slightly to the side. The cracking sound of her bones was ominous.

“As a doctor, I’d advise that you take care of Leticia. After all, occupation happens faster with reinforcements. Just like how Römer quickly occupied Elza and promptly made it a colony, resulting in exploitation and plunder happening rapidly but with minimal conflict.”

“Um, that’s a rather frightening analogy.”

“Anyway.”

“Listen, Cassandra. I thought about you a lot. Really.”

Maybe I should have let it go. Cassandra let out a heavy sigh.

“When you were thinking you needed one more woman because two wasn’t enough?”

“…No, it wasn’t like that…”

While I hesitated, Cassandra finished tidying up.

“Go see your patient. Leticia’s problem isn’t just that one thing. As a field officer, she must have gone into many contaminated zones. That means the virus in her body is probably particularly virulent. From your and Camilla’s perspective, it’s like a foreign virus invading your bodies. So it’s better to adapt early, like getting a vaccine while it’s still weak.”

“Oh, then Camilla and I can nurse her together.”

I thought it was a decent suggestion, but Cassandra pursed her lips.

“There’s no need for that. You’ll sleep with Leticia and then with Camilla anyway, right? That will naturally create herd immunity.”

This clearly wasn’t working. I needed to clear things up right away. I stood firmly in front of Cassandra.

“…What.”

“You’re right, Cassandra.”

“About what?”

“That I added one more woman because two wasn’t enough.”

Cassandra glared at me. Still, I tried to continue seriously.

“I needed someone else I could trust. The Minsk mercenaries crossed the border and came all the way here, didn’t they? I thought bringing in one more reliable person was a way to protect you and Camilla. That’s all there is to it.”

“That’s sophistry.”

Cassandra turned away from me again. I moved closer and gently took her arm. When she didn’t push me away, I moved even closer.

I pressed my chest against hers, as if daring her to push me away. Finally, Cassandra looked me straight in the eye.

“Why her of all people?”

It just happened that way.

“…Good question.”

I feel like there should be a better answer.

* * * * *

“Leti. Take your medicine.”

I gently knocked on Leticia’s door.

“Come in.”

The room was dim. Still, I could see Leticia lying in the new bed, covered with a blanket. The baby doll dress was neatly hung on a hanger, and a basket next to the desk seemed to contain a shirt, pants, and underwear.

“Here’s your medicine. You can use the water bottle that’s here.”

Leticia sat up, wrapping the blanket around her body, using one arm to keep it from slipping.

“…You don’t mean…?”

“It’s uncomfortable sleeping in clothes.”

“You have a cold right now.”

“Just give me the medicine.”

For someone who was sick, Leticia drank the water quite vigorously. As a result, the blanket slipped down to just below her chest.

“Ugh. This isn’t rat poison, is it? I was quite respectful to Dr. Cassandra. Maybe…?”

“I should have eaten half of it first.”

I placed the back of my hand on Leticia’s forehead. It was quite hot. The viruses inside her body must be fighting fiercely. I was about to get cold water and a towel when Leticia grabbed my wrist.

“Just come here.”

I had no intention of getting in, but Leticia spread the blanket like a net, catching me. I could feel her body through my clothes.

“Everyone hates me. Well, it would be stranger if they liked me. I don’t particularly like them either.”

Leticia grumbled as she slipped her hand inside my shirt. Her hand was hot as it touched my stomach and chest.

“You’re cool.”

“Cool? Me?”

“Be quiet. I’m trying to feel better.”

Leticia hugged me tighter, as if I were some kind of summer cooling pillow. Strangely, I felt overwhelmingly sleepy.

“Johan.”

“Yes?”

“Do you sleep completely naked too?”

“No.”

“Want to try?”

Maybe I should.

* * * * *

Two days later.

Cassandra was half right. Her claim that Leticia could give Camilla and me a cold. Camilla didn’t catch it, but my nose was stuffed up, so she was half right.

It wasn’t because I slept naked in Leticia’s bed; it seems the virus from her body actually invaded mine.

So Cassandra performed another “comprehensive test.” She placed viruses collected from Leticia and me in the same dish and left them. The two viruses competed fiercely in the dish, and eventually, the virus from my body won.

“Leticia’s condition should stabilize soon. It seems she’s past the worst of it. Now then…”

Cassandra took out a new dish. I already knew what was in that dish. It contained Cro virus collected from someone who had died not long ago, still retaining some warmth.

Cassandra put “my virus” in the dish. And after a day…

“Look at this. Interesting.”

Cassandra handed me the results.

“Interesting? What are these figures?”

“The virus from your body won again. Quite fascinating. It’s remarkable that it even conquered a virus from someone who had already completed zombification.”

“What does that mean? So, you can re-infect zombies?”

Cassandra nodded.

“Yes. It seems possible. Any living organism can be infected. Zombies are still living, moving organisms.”

But what’s the point of re-infecting someone who’s already a zombie with my virus?

“Remember what I said before? That your body emits a very unique scent? Zombies, if you look closely, still have some metabolic activity. So if zombies could emit certain pheromones to each other… and understand those signals, what do you think would happen?”