episode_0022

Episode 22. Plague Doctor Dispatch (5)

****

Creak.

When I opened the door to my lab in the morning and went in, Princess Mint was sitting at the desk waiting for me. I closed the door for now.

What the heck, I’m seeing things.

When I opened the door again, it was the same. For some reason, Princess Mint was still sitting there waiting. And on top of that, she had a look on her face that seemed to be dissatisfied with something.

I think I need to think carefully about what I’m going to say.

Princess Mint has many nicknames. She is the socialite’s doll, the royal moon, the best daughter of the empire. And today, she is the girl who annoys people for no reason.

“I came here because I missed you, but you weren’t there. I haven’t seen you in a few days. Where have you been?”

Despite his appearance, his speech was not very cute. That’s to be expected.

“What are you talking about… … .”

“Where have you been?”

I went on a business trip in a hurry and came back.

“Where does it hurt?”

“No.”

Then there’s no reason for Mint to care, no matter where I go. I thought for a moment and then answered the princess.

“Ah. It’s nothing serious. There was an epidemic in the Lapis Territory, so I was called in as a quarantine advisor and came back after a few days.”

“The plague is not a big deal, so I guess I’ll see all sorts of strange people.”

“The plague is a big deal. I’m just saying that what I’ve been through isn’t a big deal. Your Highness, may I take a seat?”

Mint shook her head.

I sat down at the desk. Since Mint was sitting in my original seat, I had no choice but to sit facing Mint in the guest seat.

The real Istina point of view.

“From now on, report and move.”

“Are you kidding or serious?”

Mint ignored my question.

“I went to stop the plague. How was it?”

His tone was indifferent, but his expression seemed interested. I wondered what he would say.

“The scene was horrible. The dead were so numerous that there was no room to bury them, so they dug a big hole and stuffed them in. Separately, the solution was simple. They came back with the disease.”

“What was the solution?”

“Distilled liquor was poured into the well.”

Mint looked down at me.

This time, he looked dumbfounded.

“You poured alcohol into the well?”

“Yes.”

“I feel this way every time I talk to the teacher, but I can’t figure out what he’s talking about. What does that have to do with the plague?”

“Oh, dysentery is caused by bacteria that live in water. Most bacteria are destroyed when they come into contact with alcohol, so pouring alcohol into a well can solve most cases of dysentery.”

“That’s it?”

“Yes.”

“That’s ridiculous. There must be hundreds of cities and towns in the world that have been devastated by a dysentery epidemic. Was that really the solution?”

I nodded.

“Yes. The related research will be compiled soon.”

“It’s horrible. When I think about how many people have died because they didn’t know about it.”

Mint looked into space.

“Lapis. Is that where the young regent lord was? Laplania, the Baron of Lapis?”

Not young. Rather, isn’t he a little older than Mint?

“Oh, that seems right. I came to see you.”

“How was it?”

Princess Mint’s reaction was a bit strange. It seems she doesn’t like the Baron of Lapis very much?

“Well, I don’t know about the others, but they cooperated well with what we said. Thanks to them, we were able to change the situation in two days.”

“You must have had your mouth caught in your ears, because you overcame this crisis smoothly during your regency.”

Mint shook her head.

“Aren’t you worried about the plague coming?”

“No. The plague is an inevitable disaster, but the solution to the plague is the leader’s ability. From that perspective, it’s a good thing.”

If you think about it, it’s not wrong. Is that what the high-ranking nobles think? I thought it was a slightly inhumane reaction.

“Aha.”

“You must be feeling very proud, Lapis.”

“I guess so.”

It’s none of my business.

“Do you hate Mr. Laplania?”

“It’s not that I hate you. I just know you. We’ve met before.”

I guess I’ll have a lot to meet in Imperial social circles. After all, the Lapis Barony is not far from the Imperial Capital or the Academy.

“He said that he was acting as regent because his father was sick.”

“What, Grandfather Lapis? He’s not sick. He’s just old.”

I have never seen it before. I think I met the princess somewhere like the Imperial Society.

“I also received something similar to a letter of recommendation. They asked if I was interested in working at their estate.”

“Oh. Really? What did you say?”

A look of displeasure crossed the princess’ face for a moment. I don’t know what made her feel bad, but I thought about what to say next.

“Of course I declined. I came to the academy to teach, so I can’t just leave. I have to do research too.”

“I see. That’s fortunate.”

Mint nodded.

“Now, please step away from my desk, Your Highness.”

“I hate it.”

“Then stay there.”

It’s not a kid. No, is it really a kid?

Do whatever you want.

****

If the princess sits at my desk and refuses to leave, there’s nothing I can do. What am I going to do? Should I grab her by the collar and drag her out?

But that doesn’t mean I can take a break from work.

I had no choice but to sit and shuffle through the papers. What was there to do? There were hardly any patients in the ward, and I had to do some research or write something.

I handed it over to Istina, but I still have to do some research on cholera. If I’m lucky, I might be able to stain and observe the cholera bacteria themselves.

On a more fundamental level.

Modern medicine can begin only when it is proven that bacteria do not occur naturally, that they are transmitted through specific sources of contamination, such as contact, air, or water, and that hygiene is necessary in everyday life and clinical settings.

The schedule has changed a bit.

I should first present Snow’s map to the academic world, then Pasteur’s experiment to disprove the theory of spontaneous generation, and then Lister’s paper.

“Does your highness not have class?”

“Not today.”

You’re not going to be hanging out here all day, are you?

“What did you eat?”

“Why are you curious about that?”

“It’s just a polite chat.”

Mint looked at me with a suspicious look. Why aren’t you sitting in someone else’s lab? Why are you treating me like a crazy person instead of acting up?

“That’s right, Your Highness. Please help me with that graduate student. It’s too slow because there’s only one person.”

“Come back to the palace. Then you’ll have ten or so imperial healers at your side.”

Who, the Imperial Healers?

Aren’t they all gamblers, alcoholics, and smokers? And there are no patients, no access to research facilities, and so on… … .

It’s not for nothing that I ran away from there.

“I must be careful what I say in front of the princess.”

“Normal people are careful about what they say in front of the princess. You just don’t have any sense.”

“Is the class worth taking?”

“It’s so obvious that you’re changing the subject.”

Mint was a bit worried.

“It’s worth listening to. It’s not that difficult. But it seems true that the Academy doesn’t give any special treatment to high-ranking nobles.”

“Isn’t the right to reign something you have to fight for? I’m glad you can do it. It was worth it for me to help you get better.”

“You’re a master at picking on others.”

No, I didn’t say anything.

****

I began to think that it was time to go. If you’re going to kill me, then kill me. I pinched Mint’s cheek and pushed her out of the seat.

“Now go out.”

“Oh my, that’s rude. Don’t push me.”

“Ugh.”

The princess left the lab after muttering like that for about 30 minutes. Sometimes I get annoyed. When I see her like that, she acts like a complete child.

“Finally gone.”

Mint left and Istina came in.

“No, Your Highness, why aren’t you going out?”

“I’m curious too. Go ask.”

“I was going to come in after the princess left. I waited for a long time but she didn’t leave. She was reading a book on the floor in front of the door.”

I nodded.

“You must have waited a long time.”

“The princess looked at me as she left. She looked at me as if to say, “Who are you, sitting on the floor reading a book?” … … .”

Oh my.

It was kind of funny when I thought about it.

Istina, who couldn’t wait any longer, squatted down on the floor and reads a book. Princess Mint, who wondered why there was someone on the floor, looked down blankly and passed by without saying anything.

“By the way, are you doing well with your writing?”

“That’s why I came here anyway.”

“Yeah, right.”

“What you mean by fecal-oral route infection is that epidemic dysentery is spread through drinking water contaminated with human feces, right?”

This is also a natural logical conclusion.

Now that we know that cholera is transmitted through tiny particles, the only conclusion we can draw is what symptoms it causes.

“If you get cholera, you’ll get diarrhea. That has to be the cause of the infection for it to spread. I keep saying that bacteria are living things too.”

“Aha.”

Structure and function are closely related. The characteristics of a disease cannot be distinguished from its pathological mechanism. This is also the case with cholera.

“If it’s a disease that causes sneezing, it’s spread through phlegm or droplets. Epidemic dysentery causes diarrhea, so it’s spread through feces. Do you know what I mean?”

“It’s a bit of an unpleasant reality.”

“Right.”

Istina just took note of what I said.

“Professor, please hire more graduate students.”

“I want to do that too. I wish there were ten of them. They could manage everything from research to ward management to class preparation without any gaps.”

The more slaves, or rather disciples, the better.

“Why don’t you pick more?”

“No one said they would come. In fact, there are more professors than students going to graduate school. It doesn’t seem easy to take two.”

Istina sighed.

“That may be true.”

The original plan was to use Princess Mint’s name to capture a graduate student. I hinted at this plan to Mint, but all I got back was a question about what I was talking about.

Well, it’s fortunate that you don’t get in my way.