Jirukoma carried the fates of all the refugees here on his shoulders. This intensity
was something lent to him by the weight of his burden. However, I bore a heavy
burden of my own, too.
"...Owen."
"Yes, sir."
"Fetch me the thing we discussed."
"Understood."
I had Owen go and get a long tube for me. It was about twice as thick as the sort
of tube you would put a diploma in, and more than five times as long. Inside was a
large piece of paper rolled into a cylinder. I unfurled that paper in front of everyone.
When they saw what was drawn on that paper, Jirukoma and Komain's eyes went
wide.
"Is that... a city?" Jirukoma asked.
"Yeah," I said. "The new city being built on the coast. Its name is Venetinova."
I showed them a map of the new city, Venetinova, that I'd had constructed as a
strategic point for transportation and commerce in order to speed up distribution.
"This is a city that I built at the same time as I rolled out a transportation network
when I first came to this kingdom, but it only just recently became ready for people
to live in," I said. "We've still only created the residential district, the commercial
district, and the port of commerce so far. From here on, there will be more
institutions being added, and I plan to develop it as a city at the leading edge of
culture. Also, we're going to be putting out a call for residents soon."
I looked at Jirukoma and Komain and said, "I am thinking of including the
refugees in that group of residents."
My words made Jirukoma and Komain gulp.
"If you will give up on returning to your homeland and become people of this
country, I will prepare residences for you," I said. "This being a new city, there will
be lots of work available. Everything from physical labor like the transportation
industry to employees in the stores. For a while, I'll continue to provide financial
support, too. If you become members of this country and work honestly like the
mystic wolves, I am prepared to give you a place where you won't starve and you
won't freeze."
"That's..."
Jirukoma and Komain's expressions trembled.
It's weird for me to say this myself, but I wonder how I look through Jirukoma and
Komain's eyes right now. Am I a savior reaching out to them in their time of need... or a
devil, tricking them with sweet words?
Jirukoma and Komain opened their mouths at practically the same time.
"Can you really offer us something so wonderful?!" Jirukoma burst out.
"What you're offering us is horrible!" Komain screamed.
Jirukoma and Komain turned to look at one another. The two of them seemed
more surprised than anyone that, although they had spoken at the same time, their
opinions were total opposites.
"Wh-What are you saying, Brother?! It's the same as if he were saying, 'Here's
some tasty bait, now wag your tails for me'!"
"Komain," said Jirukoma. "His Majesty is offering us a foundation to support our
lifestyles. Without the need to cultivate the land ourselves like in the Gran Chaos
Empire."
"Even so, how can he demand we give up on going home?! Doesn't it frustrate
you?!"
"If we can set aside that frustration, he's saying he'll keep us from starving or
freezing. Don't you understand how important that is for refugees?"
The siblings had two completely opposite views of my offer. ...That was probably
just the way it was.
"It's little surprise that the two of you don't agree," I said. "I myself think that this
proposal could be considered very sweet or very cruel. There's no guarantee that
two people looking at the same thing will necessarily come to the same opinion.
Whether someone will think it is kind or unkind will depend on how that person
looks at and feels about things."
They were both silent.
I took a deep breath, then put my hand down on the map. "This is the best that I
can do for you now. Now, all I can do is hope you'll take the hand I've extended you.
From here, it's up to you to decide."
When I said that, Jirukoma groaned in distress. "There are those in this village
who will remain intent on returning home."
"You mean... like your little sister?" I asked.
"No! Komain is flexible! She only objected earlier to represent the people living in
this village who cannot give up on their feeling for their homelands!"
"B-Brother..."
"I am sure that is true," said Jirukoma. "The reason you said it was horrible was
out of consideration for the ones who you know feel that way. Because you... are a
girl who understands the pain of others."
"Urgh..." Komain fell silent. Had he hit the nail on the head?
Jirukoma sat up straight and bowed his head low. "We are deeply grateful for
your kindness, sire. This is not something I can decide on my own, so I would like to
gather others from the village to discuss it."
"I believe I told you I came here to push you to make a decision, did I not?" I
asked.
"I know. However, I want to persuade as many as possible to take the hand
you've kindly extended, sire. Even if... that should mean splitting up the refugees."
I was silent.
Splitting up the refugees. In other words, any of those who couldn't accept it
would have to be chased out.
Was this the best I could do for now? If I rushed them too much, no good would
come of it.
"But there isn't much time," I said. "Even if I can push back the search for
residents, I can't push back the changing of the season, you know. Winter has
already started."
A season with a lack of preparation would mean freezing to death. Children and
the elderly, the ones with the least ability to resist, would be the first to die. If
possible, I wanted them to make their decision at a point where they could be fully
moved in before it got too deep into winter.
Jirukoma bowed his head deeply once again. "Yes, sir! I am well aware."
"Well, that's fine, then."
The rest was up to them. No matter what their decision, I would have to take the
appropriate response to it.
If possible, I didn't want to have to show my cold-hearted side...
It happened just when it was starting to feel like talks were done for today.
That was when a man in a white coat rudely barged into the tent.
He was a human male with sharp eyes who looked to be in his mid-to-latetwenties. What was distinctive about him was his unkempt hair that, despite his
seemingly young age, was stark white all the way to the root.
"I heard Hilde was here," the man said sharply.
Carla and Owen warily reached for their sword hilts.
The man paid them no heed. When he spotted Hilde, he brusquely walked over to
her.
Hilde rose, glaring straight into the man's face. "Brad! How dare you push off
teaching lectures onto me!"
This white haired man's name was Brad Joker. Together with Hilde, he was the
other doctor who was supporting this country's medical revolution.
Brad paid no mind to Hilde's complaints, suddenly grabbing her by the arm.
"Wait, what are you doing?!" Hilde shouted. "That's not how you treat a woman
properly."
"If you want to complain, I'll hear it later," he snapped. "Sorry... But I need you to
lend me a hand."
Maybe she sensed something from the earnestness in Brad's eyes, because Hilde
now had a serious look on her face. "Did something happen?"
Brad released the arm he was holding, then nodded quietly. "Yeah. We have an
emergency case."
Brad Joker was the Traitor Doctor.
On a continent where almost everyone in the medical profession was a
practitioner of light magic (recovery magic which worked by activating the systems
of the body), he was this country's sole surgeon. He attempted to treat serious
illnesses without relying on magic, using only medical examinations and surgery.
"Even without clinging to the gods, people can heal one another with their own
power." That was Brad's personal view.
On this continent, people had a tendency to see light magic as "the blessing of the
gods," especially in Lunarian Orthodoxy, where it was seen as sacred. That made it a
pretty dangerous opinion to hold.
Brad had wandered across many battlefields in many different countries. He
would take custody of the remains of unknown soldiers who died in combat,
dissecting their bodies to study the structures of the different races' bodies. He
developed his own independent field of surgical treatment which used anesthesia
and operations.
He had also approached the knowledge of the three-eyed race without prejudice
and absorbed it. He knew a lot about the existence of microorganisms and the effects
of antibiotics, and he applied those techniques to his work.
His skills were such that it would be fair to call them godly. (Though, for the godhating Brad, it would come across as sarcastic.) The biggest factor in this was that he
had been able to cure malignant tumors, which had been untreatable using light
magic, by removing them with surgery.
"Light is not the only thing that can cure people. The dark can comfort, too."
It sounded like he had a case of middle school syndrome when he said it like that,
but I could sympathize. I'd requested his assistance, but it hadn't been easy to
convince him.
By which I mean...
"I sought this power (surgery) so that I could save the poor who couldn't afford
treatment and the people in remote areas where there are no light mages. I have no
interest in money, power, or the like."
...was what he had said to me.
Now, as for how I got him to cooperate, I hooked... erm, negotiated with him...
using not money, or power, but things.
To be precise, in order to make it so everyone in the kingdom had easy access to
medical care, I created a national system of health insurance like the one in my
world and promised to have the finest blacksmith in the country forge a scalpel,
suturing needles, and a full set of medical equipment for him. Then, by arranging a
system where he would be a collaborator, not a vassal, he finally agreed to
cooperate.
Up until now, I'd had him working with Hilde to guide this country's system of
medicine forward.
His corpse collecting and dissections had offended a lot of people, so he was seen
as a total heretic in the medical world. The hardest part of hiring him had been
getting rid of that prejudice against him. The way he acted, I couldn't count on him to
defend himself, after all.
Having no other choice, I'd had him examine an important executive who was
well connected in this country and was suffering from illness. By having him treat a
sickness that was believed to be untreatable, I had made that executive recognize his
skills.
Once people know something is effective, their views change quickly. The
number of medical practitioners seeking to learn surgery had begun to increase, too.
That being the case, by putting the important executive he had helped to make a full
recovery in charge, we were now training new surgeons in this country.
As for me, I was currently rushing to rework the laws and issue surgical licenses
so that fake surgeons who lacked the necessary skills wouldn't appear. At first, I
would only require licenses for surgery. Eventually, I intended to make treatment
with light magic and everything related to pharmacology require licenses, too.