Having set my sights on Count Zaintert, I came to the military hospital with
Krone.
She advised me to go to the military hospital because she told me that there
was some information about Count Zaintert over there.
"But is it safe to go in there at this time of the day? I'm worried that we
might look suspicious."
"You don't have to worry about that," Krone rebuked. "Hundreds of people
come inside the facility every day. It's impossible to track each one of
them."
"Certainly, when they are this big, even the doctors won't know each other
very well."
The military hospital where we are in is the largest facility in Krasland.
The height of the hospital building is not as high as the castle of the
Marquis, but it is larger in area.
The doctors alone number more than two hundred, indicating that an
extraordinary amount of money has been invested in the hospital.
So whatever wounds you got on the battlefield, you can receive proper
treatment here. It helps to maintain the morale of the army.
"Even though we are enemies, the Marquis sure have done well, as his
medical care is substantial."
Their technology may not be as good as in Japan, but their accessibility to
the populace is already leaps and bounds, as they don't discriminate the
poor. Even the first-world countries would pale in comparison to them.
Moreover, people's hands are in every corner to ensure everything is
covered and nothing is left ignored.
(Then again, they had no choice as every person in the city counts due to
the threat of the monsters. There is also the fact that people in this world are
sturdier thanks to their innate magic power. Once they are brought in here,
the probability of their survival is already assured.)
As I was thinking this, Krone, who was moving ahead, stopped.
"This is the archives room."
I looked up, and the door was indeed marked "Archives".
But without hesitation, she went inside.
"Hey, is this okay? I thought you couldn't enter these places without
permission."
"Fufu." But she just looked at me and said, "That's just for you commoners.
Let me show you how the aristocrats do it."
He said confidently and went on to talk to the woman who seemed to be in
charge of the place.
"Hey, you there!"
"Y-yes! A-are you referring to me?"
The custodian who was suddenly spoken to in a loud voice looked
surprised.
Before she could regain her composure, Krone spoke to her again.
"Count Zaintert's doctor asked me to come and get his files. Where are
they?"
"…b-but, the materials here are not allowed to be taken out without a letter
of permission from the head of the department…"
The custodian tries to play their part against the bossy Krone.
But the moment she was put on the receiving end, Krone's momentum was
already unstoppable. If yo u a re ab le to r e ad thi s me ssa ge, yo u are rea
din g fr om an una utho rized agg reg ate site. Re ad at my Word r ess at sta
bbi ng wit h a syr in ge. ho me. bl og to su ppo rt me and my tra nsla tions.
"In the treatment of illness, the word of the attending physician is
synonymous with the word of the Count, you know? Are you defying Count
Zaintert's orders?"
"T-the Count's!? T-there is no such thing! But the rules…"
"It was us nobles who made those rules! Did you really think I am the same
as the commoners bound by the rules? You have some nerve. Tell me your
name and where you belong!"
The moment she said that, the custodian's face turned blue.
She looked like she was about to cry as she pulled out a key from her desk.
"H-here… this is the key to the shelf where the upper aristocrats' medical
files are kept. So please…"
"Hmph. You should have put it out from the very beginning. I'll keep quiet
about this deficiency, so you better watch your mouth too."
Krone snatches the key from the custodian's trembling hand and continues
on to the back.
"Hey, that was a bit much, don't you think?"
"Nope. That was just about right. That way, she would also not speak up
about these matters after we are done with this."
She didn't even feel a shred of guilt after threatening someone. Well, I
shouldn't complain as I was saved by her this time.
I guess a genuine nobleman recognizes the commoner as a lower being than
themselves.
"More importantly, this is the shelf we're looking for. There are a number
of them, so I'll have you search them with me."
"Okay. Let's get this over with and get out of here before someone comes
in."
We used the key that we had "obtained" to open the shelves and search for
the Count's medical files.
Fortunately, it was neatly organized by name, so it only took us about five
minutes to find it.
"There is his name. This must be it."
"Give it to me. You don't understand the jargons yet, do you?"
When I handed over the medical files, Krone checked their contents.
Then she blatantly raised her eyebrows.
"This is…"
"What's wrong?"
I asked, and she looked up and answered.
"Count Zaintert seems to have been suffering from the Nobleman's
Disease."
"Nobleman's disease?"
I wonder if it is a disease unique to this world? I tilted my head at the name
I had never heard before.
"The official name of the disease is "magic power mutation disease," in
which the magic power in the body is suddenly altered, putting a strain on
the physical body. For citizens with relatively weak magic power, the body
gets used to it in about a week, and the physical condition returns to normal.
But it can last for years for nobles with strong magic power, especially
upper-class nobles."
"What is the treatment?"
"There is no effective treatment. You just have to build up your strength and
wait for your body to get used to it. Recently, I have heard many stories of
nobles who have lost their lives because of this. It's the only thing nobles
with both authority and military fear."
"I don't think the Count, who already has a sickly and weak constitution,
will survive by this natural method," Krone also added.
"I see. So he is still alive only because of Marquis Krall's medicine."
"It is a disease for which it is said that no cure exists. If the Marquis has
developed such medicine but hides it from us, they will be in big trouble
once this comes out! Nobles who have lost family members to the disease
will not remain silent about this!"
Unusually, Krone is in turmoil. It's such a bad disease from the nobleman's
point of view.
"Thank you, Krone, but I think we should be careful about the implications
for the nobles when we deal with this matter."
Saying that, I think about how to use what I have found out here.
It's risky to disclose the information and have the Marquis and other nobles
fight over it. Because I haven't confirmed the real thing yet. I know the
folly of doing something when you don't know if the other party has it. Th
is cha pt er tra nslat ion is mad e pos sib le by st ab bing wit h a sy ri nge
tran slati ons. ch eck on ly up -to- da te tran sla tions on my Wor dp ress si
te.
The best thing I can do is to obtain the method of making the medicine and
make the Zaintert sisters leave the country.
But the Marquis will naturally be wary about such things. I will have to
think it over more carefully.
"But with this, I've done what I have to do. Let's get out of here."
"B-before we return to the barracks, I d-demand you to buy a dessert in
town. It's my reward for this time."
"All right. Then let's get out of this chemical-smelling hospital even faster."
Just like that, I let Krone return the medical files, returned the key to the
dispirited custodian, and left the hospital.
◆ ◆
When I entered the office, Lucy was at her desk.
"Lucy, you got a minute?"
"Oh, Yuushin. Sorry, I didn't notice you."
"Sorry to bother you at work."
I sat down in a nearby chair and shared the information I had gotten from
the Zaintert sisters and the hospital.
"…I see. So the sabotage was deliberate on the part of Milena and her team,
all in exchange for the Marquis giving them their father's medicine. This is
going to be a big problem."
"The Zaintert sisters and the Marquis behind them are both troublesome
opponents. If possible, we need to use an effective back door to gain an
advantage before confronting them, or else we will suffer great losses."
Lucy is essentially a gentle soul, and she does not want to be suspicious of
her friends once she has fought with them.
But with this case being revealed, it's a different story now.
She would now recognize her sisters and the Marquis as clear enemies.
"Are you really going to do it? It's insane to even think of defeating uncle."
"Then, when the time comes that I say I'm going to stage a coup, will you
stop me?"
"No, because where Yuushin is, that's where I also belong."
I chuckled once at Lucy's sweet words, then returned to my serious face
and continued.
"Well, I'll be heading out for a while. As for you, Lucy, you can carry on as
usual."
"I understand. Just try to avoid doing anything dangerous as much as
possible, okay?"
"Thanks for the warning. I'll try not to get caught before we even get
started."
After saying that, I stood up and went straight out of the room.
Then, as I was about to close the door from the outside, I heard Lucy
talking to herself from the other side.
"I guess we can't avoid another confrontation between Yuushin and my
uncle now… Wouldn't it be better to go to the castle and kill my uncle then
and there? Oh goodness, what am I thinking? Father, please forgive me for
being such a rebellious girl. But I just don't want to let go of Yuushin…"
While asking for forgiveness, Lucy is trying to go in the opposite direction
of her idealistic predecessor.
There was not only dependence but also a stronger emotion in her lines.
I'm honestly happy that she feels that much for me. And also scared of what
she would do if I were to be separated from her side.
For now, I'll try to stay alive and return to Lucy as much as I can.
Thinking of these things, I left the room.