episode_0206

Episode 206. Unidentified Pneumonia (4)

****

A bit of a shame. Last time I went to a city where the Black Death or cholera was rampant, there was a clear way to stop the spread of the disease.

The Black Death came from rats, cholera from wells.

Things were a little different here. It was winter, and bacterial pneumonia was running rampant, and there was no weak point to exploit.

Now Hedwig was sick in bed.

‘This is a mess.’

Hedwig was moved to the sickroom. The temple somehow managed to make a single room for her. Here, they did take the necessary quarantine measures, but…

There is no perfect quarantine.

There are always vulnerabilities in what people do.

“It’s not Hedwig’s fault.”

“Yes.”

“If it’s before lung damage occurs, you’ll get better with medicine right away. Don’t worry, you might have to rest for a few days.”

“Okay.”

Hedwig lay soundly in her sickbed.

“I’m more worried about the patients than myself. I’m a healer myself, so I won’t die. But I have to lie down while the patients die.”

“What… … . Is saving people a big deal to you, teacher? It’s something you do every day of your life anyway. Just rest a bit and do it when you feel better.”

“Yes.”

Knock knock, knock.

Hedwig covered her mouth with her hand and coughed a few times. It was a deep cough that didn’t sound good. Even though she was taking antibiotics, she was still worried.

“How about the number of patients?”

“I can’t think of any way to control the epidemic. The number of patients continues to increase, especially inside the hospital.”

The patients aren’t just pneumonia patients.

Just because pneumonia is spreading doesn’t mean there are no more people with other diseases, but hospitals are practically completely occupied by pneumonia patients.

It’s an easy fact to miss.

“You’ll get better soon, right?”

“Yes.”

“It’s funny. It’s because I’m sick that I end up saying the same things I heard from my patients.”

“That’s because he’s human.”

I’m really glad I didn’t bring grad students.

What would have happened if it had been my graduate student who was sick? I would have been really worried. But Hedwig didn’t seem scared.

It’s probably something you’ve seen a lot. But, isn’t it normal to be more scared if you’ve seen it in person often?

I don’t know.

“Get some rest until tomorrow. If you need anything, just ring the bell next to your bed.”

The hospital’s single room had pretty good facilities. There was a bell to call the medical staff, and it wasn’t a shared space with other patients.

“What treatment do you do?”

I thought about it for a moment.

The most serious symptoms caused by pneumococcus are bleeding, blood clots, and pneumonia.

It is impossible to use medication preventatively as both bleeding and blood clots can occur.

Antibiotics are prescribed now, and if you’re a little careful, you can use cough suppressants. Antibiotics don’t need to be injected; you can just take them orally.

Hedwig started coughing again.

“I gave you some medicine, so you’ll get better soon.”

“It feels new when I listen to it while lying down.”

I won’t die, but it was creepy to see my colleague bleeding from the nose. I should be careful too. I should think of a preventive measure too.

****

It’s hell.

If this is not hell, then where is hell? At least that’s what Alabaster, the strategist at the market in Karnak, thought.

‘I’m gonna die, fuck.’

This is a big deal.

The market was good people, but inevitably, its ability to deal with crisis situations was poor. It was fortunate that it listened to other people.

If you had been stubborn, what would have happened?

Fortunately, it was fortunate. It also meant that the responsibility for practical matters fell back on the minor nobles of Karnak, especially the market strategists.

Alabaster has been the mayor’s secretary for eight years. In fact, he is the most powerful person in the Karnak castle.

anyway…….

Let’s start with what needs to be addressed immediately.

The market clerk was pounding the abacus. His calculations on distilled spirits were off.

– Distilled liquor in the warehouse of Carnac Castle.

-About 1000 bottles.

A thousand bottles is by no means a small amount of alcohol. The number of pneumonia patients currently hospitalized in the temple is easily in the three digits.

If we assume that each patient uses one bottle per day, it will be gone in no time. How much distilled liquor is produced? Where can we get it all of a sudden?

“Um… ….”

Obtaining the distilled spirit was the first step of the plan. If this doesn’t work, won’t the plague doctor we saw earlier come and kill us?

I was really scared when I threw the mask.

If they had brought it to us a day, or even an hour earlier, people would have been able to survive. The amount in the castle was small compared to the amount used in the temple.

About as much blood as a bird’s paw.

Distilled spirits are a luxury item, and no one is crazy enough to drink a whole bottle of sake.

There were other problems as well. It was winter, it was cold, and there were so many things missing that nothing was running smoothly.

There is no other way left. It is time to call the fairy who grants all wishes.

Professor Asterix. I know he’ll get annoyed if I call him, but I guess there’s nothing I can do about it. It’s better than doing it sloppily and then causing problems.

‘I need to call the professor.’

Is the professor still at the temple?

****

He was hastily summoned to Karnak.

Still, it’s nice that the medieval town plan is extremely simple. All the important facilities are inside the walls, and are a few minutes’ walk away anyway.

“What’s going on?”

I didn’t hide my annoyance at being called back to the castle. No, again? I crossed my arms and looked at the market clerk.

“Professor. I’m sorry, but.”

“Yes.”

Why should I tell a busy person to come and go? I crossed my arms and looked at the market clerk.

“What is the current situation on the ground? What should I report to the mayor?”

I thought about what to package it with, but nothing really came to mind.

Things are not going well.

It’s funny how they package it.

“It’s worse than I thought. The number of patients has not yet decreased. Just now, my colleague was hospitalized with the plague.”

“I see.”

“When will the alcohol arrive?”

If that falls, all the healers might run away. Even now, it’s being used a lot as if it were a field that blocks diseases.

Obsession because you’re anxious.

“There is not much Cheongju. There is almost no ethanol made for disinfection.”

“Is that so?”

“Distilled liquor, vodka, aren’t these luxury items? Even nobles don’t stack bottles of distilled liquor and drink them.”

I scratched my head.

Why aren’t there people who stack bottles of distilled liquor and drink them? When I was in college, all my seniors drank several bottles of soju. I also often saw people blowing bottle horns.

Was Korea weird?

“I see.”

anyway.

The bookseller continued his explanation.

We’re talking a little better than when we last met. Maybe that’s the difference between a politician and a practitioner.

“Alcohol is hard to find.”

“Other alcohol. Even if it’s beer or wine, please bring it distilled. Even if it’s over 10% alcohol, most bacteria will die if you soak it in water.”

The bookseller nodded.

“Will that work?”

“It will work. If this continues, the disinfectant alcohol will run out quickly, and it will be difficult for the ward to function normally.”

It’s a minor issue, but it’s a big deal. The bookworm nodded with a serious expression.

****

Suddenly, the temple gate opened.

“Supply arrived!”

at las.

The healers at the temple were busy with the good news. There were over a hundred patients to manage, and there were dozens of healers at the temple.

The distillery was running low on spirits.

That’s fortunate.

Disinfectant spirits have arrived at the hospital in Karnak, apparently gathered from all over the city.

Some of it had a purple tint to it, perhaps because the wine had been distilled… … . As suggested.

Anyway, it’s better than nothing.

Behind the pile of glass bottles in front of the temple, the mayor was there. His name was Christophe, I think. He waved at me as soon as he saw me.

“Here we go, Professor.”

“You prepared alcohol.”

The market nodded.

“I had a hard time finding it. There isn’t much alcohol in the city, is there? I told them to bring all the beer and wine they had distilled.”

I prepared it well as you said.

There’s no need to worry about running out of disinfectant. If that had run out, quarantine and everything else would be over.

“Whatever it is, I’m glad you have it.”

The pile of glass bottles smelled strongly of alcohol, or rather, alcohol. The healers of the temple began to move busily, moving the alcohol.

The mayor looked at me with a proud expression. No, was he asking for a compliment?

What praise should I give?

“If we had run out of alcohol this time, we would not be able to do the quarantine work and would have had to give up most of the treatment. Thank you very much.”

It was funny.

This isn’t some rigged game of Go-Stop.

It was I who asked for the spirits, it was me who made the plan to get them, it was me who thanked them for the alcohol.

There was no such thing as a farce.

“Oh, no. Isn’t it because the professor came and treated us that so many people are alive now?”

The mayor started to say something, but I didn’t listen and walked towards the ward. There were already two veteran healers who had left the treatment area.

“Hey, where are you going?”

“Ward.”

Even ten bodies are not enough these days. If you think that working one or two more hours can mean the difference between one or two patients living or dying…