episode_0118

Episode 118. Black Death (1)

****

The bodies haven’t even been laid out on the streets yet. Is it the smell of death, or is there something supernatural about crows?

Black birds were landing on the city.

It wasn’t just one or two. There were dozens of them at first glance. It was as if the animals were anticipating the imminent disaster that was to come to the city.

It was an unsettling sight.

The man gestured with a gloomy expression. The soldiers came out carrying the coffin containing the deceased patient. The coffin was placed in front of the house.

“Um. We’re going to start disinfecting now. We’re going to burn everything that can be thrown away in this house, we’re going to have to polish the furniture, and we’re going to have to sprinkle salt on the house and repaint it.”

“Why?”

The reason is simple. The pests living in your home may be infected with the plague bacteria. The plague bacteria does not survive in fleas, but you need to minimize the risk.

“The Black Death is a disease transmitted by fleas and bedbugs. Some people transmit it through coughing. If you do quarantine work, many fleas will die.”

“Yes, well… … . Not many. I’ve never seen bedbugs in my house.”

I thought it would take a long time, but this house was not as cluttered or full of furniture or stuff as a modern apartment. When I think about it, it’s natural.

No matter how big a serf’s house is, how big can it be, and no matter how many belongings it has, how much can it have?

Things progressed faster than expected.

The clothes and belongings of the deceased were burned, as were the old furniture. The furniture that was to be thrown away was taken out of the house and polished.

Salt was sprinkled all over the house. The cracks and crevices were blocked with paint and such. Fortunately, there were no rats on the street.

Given the statement that there were no more patients here, it is possible that there were no insects in this house that could transmit the plague, unless there were fleas or bedbugs that could come into direct contact with the patient’s blood.

But that doesn’t mean you can let your guard down.

We believe that we must respond as much as possible while maintaining social order and the functions of the city.

If the spread continues, it will be difficult to do this.

****

Quarantine work was in full swing around the area.

Fleas are relatively easy pests to deal with. Bedbugs are the problem. Even with modern technology, bedbugs are difficult to catch.

Captain Lin crossed his arms.

“Professor, do you think all this makes sense? What do you think?”

“This is how I see it. If there are no more plague patients left, it’s over. There aren’t many left, to be honest.”

The captain narrowed his eyes.

It depends on how many patients come in tomorrow, but most patients with septicemic plague don’t seem to last more than a day or two.

“Everyone’s dead?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm. It sounds like you mean that the problem will be solved if we kill all the plague patients as quickly as possible.”

Well, I sighed.

“That’s a way. It’s not a perfect solution, but it’s easier and more certain than treating it. Of course, the infected bugs are a different story.”

Captain Lin sighed.

“If the current task fails, that will be the next step, right?”

“It’s up to the Lord to decide, but I think so. That’s how I explained it.”

If today’s work fails, we’ll have to carry out a completely different quarantine operation starting tomorrow. Director Lin’s expression became deeply worried again.

****

The first house’s quarantine work has been completed.

We moved towards the next house, but before our target house came into view, screams and smoke met us.

“That’s… … .”

Houses quarantined by the Black Death were marked by soldiers. This was originally intended to ensure that food and water were delivered to the doorstep… … .

“Who set the fire?”

It would be the most reliable quarantine method.

I sighed.

All the houses currently under quarantine due to the Black Death will be marked, and burning them down doesn’t require any great skill…

I doubt there will be any remaining homes under quarantine until tomorrow. This was usually not a problem.

Manager Lin promoted the staff.

“What. Think about the complicated stuff later. We need to make sure the fire damage doesn’t spread. We’ll make sure there are no survivors inside the mansion, and once we’re sure there are, we’ll tear it down.”

Soldiers from the side brought in one or two people who appeared to be survivors. They seemed to have gathered some of their belongings and left before the house burned down.

“Are these all the survivors?”

“Yes!”

Captain Lin aimed his staff at the flames. Blue mana gathered at the tip of the staff.

“Move, Earth.”

Captain Lin’s spear.

The ground beneath the house shook, and the house collapsed like a sand castle after a while. A lot of dust rose up, but the fire was quickly put out.

The captain dismissed the staff.

I stamped my feet impatiently.

“We have to move quickly. If we keep going like this, there won’t be any houses left to quarantine. If people go around setting fire to houses with sick people… … .”

Captain Lin nodded slowly.

“Professor, go back to the temple. We have figured out how to quarantine it, and we also know that the streets are not safe right now.”

“Okay.”

At first glance, you might think that setting fire is the most effective way to prevent the spread of disease.

Honestly, there is that aspect to it.

But if you think about it, that’s not necessarily the case. There’s a risk that pests will scatter everywhere, and there’s also a possibility that new patients will hide their illnesses out of fear. There’s also a possibility that order will collapse.

A bad situation in many ways.

****

Again, in one of the temple’s conference rooms.

I returned to the temple. Due to an unexpected chain of events, the quarantine work in the city seemed to be ending much earlier than scheduled.

Even when people’s lives are at stake, you can’t try harder than your best.

I tapped on the blackboard in one of the classrooms inside the temple. This time, several healers, Hedwig, and Istina were sitting in the classroom.

Hedwig opened her mouth.

“Hmm. It seems like the officials of Winia Castle don’t really want to meet us. I think they’re worried about catching the Black Death.”

People who came to see the patient are contacts, so that’s inevitable. I nodded.

“I saw the lord earlier. There seems to be no need to bring the officials here. It is not wrong to say that we should reduce contact.”

“Well, I guess so.”

More than that. I moved the chalk. The number of patients is now in the double digits. If you include the isolated patients, it could be over a hundred.

“Outside, city people are setting fire to the houses of the infected. Since order is already collapsing due to fear, we need to announce effective measures as soon as possible.”

Hedwig nodded.

“Let’s think about the origin of the disease. You said the first patient appeared a week ago, right?”

“Yes.”

“The patient collapsed with his limbs turning black. This information was relayed to the Winia City authorities, and then to the Imperial Government, and it took a week for them to respond.”

“Yes.”

It was a very quick response. The Black Death was an issue that could not be dealt with slowly as usual, not even for the city or the imperial officials.

“The first infected person occurred a week ago. People living in the same house and those living nearby got the plague, right?”

“Yes.”

“I think it was probably caught by eating raw wild animals. It is usually carried by rodents.”

“How do you know that, Professor?”

“Originally, each disease has a vector or animal that easily transmits it. In the case of the Black Death, you can think of rats as a simple example.”

“Aha, rat.”

“Anyway, I think someone ate a wild rodent raw, and that’s how this epidemic started.”

Istina wrote something in her notebook.

“Wild rodents are the cause of the Black Death.”

The hypothesis that the Black Death originated from the marmots of Central Asia, large rodents, was strong.

In the modern era before reincarnation, in Mongolia and China, there were cases of people who hunted wild marmots getting the Black Death. That is why the Black Death has been studied up to the present day.

“Anyway, I think we need to make a law prohibiting the hunting and eating of wild rodents. It doesn’t have to go as far as a law. If you tell the citizens that they are causing the Black Death, they won’t even come near it.”

The people gathered there nodded.

“I think it would be better to make it clear that the temple can accept and treat patients. That would reduce some of the fear.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

I thought about it for a moment.

“What’s the situation in the Temple Plague Ward?”

“Ah. I started using opium for patients who were complaining of severe pain. This is… … .”

“If a patient who is already in poor health becomes mentally unstable due to opium, it is virtually giving up on treatment. Is that what you are trying to say?”

The priest who was sitting in the seat nodded his head gloomily. In fact, both he and I have the same general desires. It was not strange for us to reach the same conclusion.

The medieval people were only about half a day late.

“It’s a sad situation, but it’s better than not using it. It’s hard to see how opium use affects short-term prognosis.”