Chapter Index

    Episode 43. Graduate Student Diary (3)

    ****

    I thought Mint coming to my lab was an event, but the princess thinks it’s routine. She was here today too.

    “Princess. There are times when I don’t come to the lab. What do you do then?”

    “Don’t wait. Study or something.”

    “Ah… … .”

    I feel a little sorry for him.

    But he never asked me to tell him my schedule or asked why I was coming now.

    Was it because I was afraid of bothering Mint, or did I just really need a place to be alone? Either way.

    “I’ll attach a schedule.”

    “Really? Thanks.”

    The princess’s gaze, which had been wandering around, turned to the travel bag placed in the corner of the laboratory.

    “Where are you going?”

    “Tomorrow morning. I’m going to the palace for a lecture schedule.”

    “Huh? ”

    I nodded.

    The princess had a puzzled expression. It seemed like she had something to say.

    “Would you like to go too, Princess?”

    “Yeah!”

    I was wondering if Mint had some academic schedule that she had to attend to. I don’t think anyone would stop the princess from going to the palace, right?

    “What is the topic of the lecture?”

    “Public health. We will also discuss the control of the epidemic dysentery that we saw last time.”

    “Wasn’t that the topic you were talking about on your way here?”

    “I think so too.”

    The princess fiddled with her tie.

    ****

    A carriage heading to the palace.

    Last time, I came from the palace to the academy in a carriage like Mint. Today, I’m going from the academy to the palace with Mint.

    “Um… ….”

    The princess was looking outside the carriage.

    “Did you take motion sickness medication?”

    “Yeah.”

    “The weather is nice today.”

    “It’s noisy. My head hurts.”

    I kept my mouth shut. The princess was still staring at something outside the carriage.

    I don’t know. When I suggested we go to the palace, he seemed excited, but now he’s grumpy again.

    “There was a garden in the palace.”

    “Yes.”

    “Let’s go for a picnic. What time does the lecture end?”

    “I think it will end in the afternoon. Let’s go then. Should I talk to the gangsters too… … .”

    “Who are the gangsters?”

    “Comrades. Palace healers.”

    “Let’s just go by ourselves.”

    “Yes.”

    Mint remained quiet for a while again.

    The carriage rattled. Still, it was fortunate that the palace was only a half-day’s ride away.

    “Isn’t it exam period these days?”

    “There’s a lot to talk about today.”

    “No. The princess rode in the carriage with Miss Istina following behind, and I rode with her.”

    “I don’t remember that.”

    It was just a joke.

    I let out a small sigh.

    “Okay, I’ll keep quiet.”

    “You know, teacher. I got all the midterms right on the Introduction to General Magic? I was the only one in that class.”

    “You must have worked hard.”

    “Yeah, yeah.”

    Mint stopped looking out the window and looked at me with a proud expression. It seemed like she wanted me to compliment her. What would I say?

    “The princess is smart. If you continue to work hard, I think you will get good results.”

    It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Mint smile so brightly.

    ****

    Arrival at the palace.

    I got out of the carriage first, and as was the custom, I extended my hand to the princess. Mint grabbed my hand and carefully got out of the carriage.

    “See you later, teacher.”

    “Yes.”

    Mint put her hands in her pockets and disappeared into the palace. I looked at the back of Mint’s head for a moment and then turned my head away.

    Where did Istina go?

    15 minutes from the steps in front of the palace.

    After waiting for that long, Istina came walking towards us, walking with a stomping motion. For some reason, she was leaning on a cane, and her clothes were covered in dirt.

    I handed Istina a handkerchief.

    “Ugh, shit. Thank you.”

    Istina didn’t look too well. In fact, she was usually not feeling well, but this time she looked like she had been beaten up somewhere.

    “What’s going on?”

    “The carriage wheel is gone.”

    “Oh my. Are you okay?”

    “I rolled over once, but it’s okay.”

    Well, it doesn’t look that good. Istina wiped the sweat and dust off her face with a handkerchief. I waited a while.

    “Can you announce it?”

    “Oh, yes!”

    I’m sorry to say this, but wasn’t it a good thing that Istina was in that carriage?

    If the carriage the princess was riding in had broken down, someone would have been fired or killed. Above all, I was riding in the carriage the princess was riding in.

    “Where is the bleeding?”

    “Yes. No.”

    Istina limped toward me. Should I help her?

    No, you can walk just fine on your own.

    ****

    The presentation hall was smaller than I thought. I thought it would be like an auditorium, but it was just like a conference room, except that there was a blackboard.

    Istina was standing in front of the podium, and I was sitting in a chair behind the podium, behind Istina, in a somewhat unseen position.

    I’ll just take questions later.

    Istina was leaning on her left leg, still feeling uneasy from the leg she had fallen on earlier, and was leaning on the podium with one arm. Is she okay?

    Istina coughed a little.

    “Hello. I am researcher Istina who will be presenting today on the topic of epidemic dysentery. Thank you for giving me the opportunity and time today.”

    A little applause.

    I looked around at the people gathered there.

    The prince who had summoned the people, one or two palace healers, officials in suits, and a few nobles who had come because they had nothing better to do.

    The healer I saw in the Lapis Territory last time, Hedwig, was sitting there fighting off sleepiness.

    From one side of the conference room, the Lord of Lapis waved at me with a cheerful expression. I nodded vaguely, and the First Prince, who I thought was greeting me, nodded slightly.

    anyway.

    “Cutting it off.”

    I heard Istina’s rustling and talking. Istina was shaking, but her speech was generally steady.

    “Some diseases are spread by pathogenic particles, and today’s conclusion is that we need to think about how to control them.”

    “This is the first case. Recently, we heard that an epidemic of dysentery was spreading in the Lapis Territory, so we went to help with treatment.”

    “We followed the professor’s advice and traced the water source, and confirmed that patients were coming out of some wells.”

    “This is a map made at the time. You can see that the geographical distribution of patients is in concentric circles centered around a specific well.”

    Istina handed over the map she had spread out to the conference room. The dozen or so people in the room were passing the map in question around to each other.

    The map soon reached the prince.

    “Yes, that’s what we can learn from this case. Cholera is transmitted through water. In fact, in this case, when the problematic wells were closed or disinfected, the epidemic subsided.”

    “How long did it take?”

    Istina flinched at the prince’s words, then quickly flipped through her notes and coughed.

    “The incubation period of infectious dysentery is thought to be about one day. It took about a day for the above-mentioned quarantine measures to take effect.”

    “What is the incubation period?”

    “Oh. The time from when you contract the disease to when symptoms appear is called the incubation period. It is a term defined in our paper.”

    “How can you understand if you use words you made up?”

    “I’m sorry.”

    “Please keep talking.”

    Istina nodded.

    “Yes. The solution to the epidemic dysentery was simple, but the point is this: most diseases are transmitted through particles, and if you know how to do it, you can effectively prevent and control them.”

    The presentation went on for quite some time.

    ****

    Shift. You really worked hard.

    After Istina finished her presentation, she sat down in the chair I was sitting in. I stood at the podium.

    As soon as I stood on the podium, the eyes of the people gathered in the conference room changed. Ah, this kid is going to be a loser. Well, it would be a bit much to fight Istina who was injured.

    “They say you can observe bacteria with a new thing called a microscope. But haven’t you observed the microscopic particles that cause dysentery?”

    “Observed. It is a rod-shaped particle 200 times smaller than a hair. However, observing such a small object is not easy.”

    “You answer. What can we do to help people? What policies can we pursue?”

    “I’m sorry to ask you this, but-”

    “I’m sorry to hear that Mr. Asterix is saying this. I wonder what kind of shameless words he’ll say next.”

    The sound of Senior Pirhoh being exiled.

    “Disease does not come from bad air or smells. It comes from exposure to pathogens in people who are susceptible to the disease.”

    “Yeah. That was your opinion, right?”

    “Susceptibility to disease can be reduced by improving living environment and nutritional status, and exposure to pathogens can be reduced by expanding water supply and sewage facilities, etc.”

    “Yeah.”

    “Above all, it is important to identify the cause of the epidemic and its transmission route so that we can devise countermeasures and fight against it.”

    “Think of it like a war against disease?”

    “Yes.”

    “That makes sense.”

    I looked around the conference room again. I wonder if I was convincing enough. There were a few people who were asleep, and a few who weren’t particularly interested.

    But I think I left the idea here today. First of all, I was called here.

    ****

    ‘When does the lecture end?’

    Meanwhile, Mint was lying in her room. It was her first time in a long time. There was a bit of dust on the floor, but it was just as she remembered.

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