episode_0135

Episode 135. The Saintess of the Empire (4)

****

There is one issue to consider.

How can I explain to others how I cured the saint? I pondered this question for a long time.

It won’t be easy.

In the case of the princess.

Although asthma is a complex disease, there is a clear explanation. Certain substances cause symptoms such as asthma attacks. Avoid exposure to these specific substances and use cough suppressants.

On the other hand, myasthenia gravis… … .

I wonder if there’s a medieval-level explanation. Let’s try it on Istina.

“Istina. Listen carefully.”

“Yes?”

“I’m going to explain why the saint got better. If you don’t know anything, just ask. Do you know that nerves send commands to muscles?”

“Oh, right.”

“There is a junction between the nerve and the muscle.”

“Since it’s attached, it’ll be joined too.”

I’m already feeling anxious.

“Look. Information is transmitted through this neuromuscular junction. If this information is transmitted incorrectly, it can have the effect of weakening the patient’s muscles, right?”

“Hmm. Yes.”

“So it’s myasthenia gravis.”

“Hmm. I don’t know what you mean by information being transmitted at the neuromuscular junction.”

“Look. The nerves in the human body transmit information like wires. Do you know what a wire is?”

“What is the wire?”

“A wire is a wire that transmits information through electricity.”

“Oh, I see.”

Is this a waste of time?

Istina tilted her head with a look of ignorance.

“Look. Nerve cells have something called electrical potential. It’s because the electrolyte concentrations inside and outside the nerve cell are different, so there’s a voltage applied, right?”

“What is electrolyte?”

“Ion- That is. A substance dissolved in water.”

“Aha. It’s a substance dissolved in water!”

Istina finally nodded. She understood that electrolytes were substances dissolved in water. I sighed.

Well, that’s it. The antibodies produced by the body due to the autoimmune disease attack the receptors at the neuromuscular junction, resulting in muscle weakness, and this disease can be treated by inhibiting the breakdown of acetylcholine, a substance that stimulates the neuromuscular junction receptors.

It didn’t seem like something that could be explained to medieval people. I scratched my head.

There’s nothing I can do.

“Istina.”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry. Let’s go eat.”

“Oh my, is the professor buying it for me?”

“Why, are you buying it?”

Istina shook her head. I took Istina with me and left the lab.

It seems difficult to explain. First, from the previous step. Shouldn’t we prove that nerves play a role in transmitting information within the human body?

Let’s eat and then think about it.

The weather was nice for the first time in a while.

I took Istina to a restaurant in front of the academy for the first time in a long time. Istina ordered the most expensive menu item in the restaurant, steak.

It didn’t really matter.

How pitiful are graduate students. They have to eat, go out, work, and do research.

“Professor. But.”

“Yeah.”

“Professor, you know, right? The method of curing the saint or something like that. The healing process is not a miracle, but there is some kind of logic to it, right?”

I nodded.

“Actually, it’s me.”

“Huh?”

Istina looked at the distant mountains.

“I came to the academy with debts from home. I’m not from a wealthy family. If I don’t succeed, my family will be ruined. Even if I succeed, my family could be ruined.”

“So you decided to pay for graduate school tuition?”

“That’s why I’m grateful. I think about it every day, what would have happened if you weren’t my advisor? I probably would’ve had a really hard time… … ”

Yeah. When I first came here to the Academy, what was Istina doing?

I was worried because I was kicked out of another professor’s lab for some trivial reason.

It was so pitiful.

****

Rumors traveled faster than anything else in the world. The news that the saint’s leg had been healed reached the temple on the same day that she met Professor Asterix.

The reaction was, of course, explosive.

It was only natural that an all-night debate would take place in the central temple. However, the debate taking place in the church had a somewhat different atmosphere than the debates taking place elsewhere on this issue.

There was no disagreement that the saint’s legs had been healed by a miracle. It was not easy for someone in the church to express such an opinion.

Because the evidence is right in front of you. It would be the same as trying to deny the existing church power led by the saint by making ridiculous excuses.

anyway.

The central church of the empire had no disagreement that what happened to the saint was a miracle. However, if there is one thing to discuss here… … .

Who is the subject of this miracle? Should we consider the saint as the one who performed the miracle, or should we consider the saint as the object of the miracle?

Ordinary people may not know why it is important, but it was an important question to the clergy. Who performed the miracle?

“The saint is the object of miracles.”

“Isn’t he the subject of miracles?”

The priest who had been speaking shook his head.

“In order to forgive the sins of mankind, a miracle happened and the saint who could not walk was saved through the healing teacher.”

“That’s what the professor said. He has so many achievements, and he’s cured more than one or two patients miraculously. From the princess, the son of the Lord of Imentia, to people who visit the Academy Hospital.”

The cardinal nodded.

“There’s more to tell the believers. The saint who was injured while fighting a monster, met a genius healer, and a miracle happened. What a great picture to tell the believers.”

“Creating sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, and making the lame walk. Isn’t this the holy work, the work of God?”

The gathered clergy gave a standing ovation. The conclusion was set. They would mobilize the church organization to tell the people the story of the saint and the healer who cured the saint.

If Asterix had known the stories going on here, he would have been appalled.

****

Bad news.

I don’t know if it’s really bad news, but Mint was holding the newspaper and smiling.

“Teacher. Have you seen this?”

“Yes?”

“The newspaper says that the teacher miraculously healed the saint. Some people believe that a saint who can make cripples walk has appeared.”

I sighed.

“Well. That’s what it was.”

“She’s not a special patient compared to other patients the teacher has treated, right? It’s because she’s a saint and she’s a cripple.”

Just thinking about it gives me a headache.

This is not what I wanted.

“There were several coincidences.”

“A saint who works miracles. It doesn’t really suit the personality of a teacher. But… … . It’s natural for people to think that way.”

I looked at Mint.

“Why?”

“Think about it from another person’s perspective. In every city the teacher went to, plagues subsided, a saint with an incurable disease was cured, and the curse on the duke’s family was lifted.”

“No, it’s all explainable.”

“That must be what the teacher thinks.”

The church should at least give us a heads up. What if they suddenly drop a bomb like this?

Mint looked at me.

“People would think so, of course! How many people and cities has the teacher saved so far? I think it’s natural for him to be praised.”

Well, Mint also had a strange dogmatic belief in me. It might have been a natural reaction to something she couldn’t understand, maybe.

****

Mint looked at Asterix.

Asterix cured the saint? What would the saint think? What if she also fell in love with Asterix?

No. Mint shook her head.

How many people have you treated so far? Of those who are the same age as you, there’s no way they’ll all like you – huh?

The princess shook her head.

Oh my, this is terrible.

All the people Asterix cured are obsessed with Asterix. I wonder if the teacher himself thinks it’s terrible.

Mint shook off the eerie thought that crossed her mind. It wasn’t good to cure illnesses. Asterix had ended her lonely, unpleasant, and painful life in the palace, and had been with her.

That’s what’s important.

It’s not that I didn’t want to keep it to myself, but honestly, it was an unrealistic expectation. The teacher had become quite a famous and important person.

There’s nothing we can do about it.

Instead, Mint decided to think so. At the beginning of the year, the teacher might have been a person who was somewhat lacking in qualifications to marry Mint.

now?

Would Mint’s father, the Emperor, oppose Mint’s marriage to the teacher? I doubt there would be any reason for him to do so.

So. The more famous Asterix becomes, and the more successful he becomes, the more likely it is that Mint will succeed in marrying the teacher… …!

So is mint.

I looked at the teacher again.

“Why are you like that?”

“Huh? No.”

The princess nodded as if satisfied.

We must use all the assets Mint can muster to spread the rumor that Professor Asterix has worked miracles.

‘lol.’

Mint grabbed Asterix’s arm. Wrapped her arm around his waist. Then, she hugged Asterix. Asterix stroked Mint familiarly.

We need to get engaged before the year ends.

Mint was confident that she would get engaged soon. She had a plan. It wouldn’t be that hard to get engaged.

The princess stroked Asterix’s head, and the teacher remained silent, not knowing what was going on.