One week later...
Hilde and Brad came to the governmental affairs office to report on
how things had turned out. For some reason, Merula was also with them.
The quarantine period had ended for those involved at this point.
People had been investigating Gerula's route in the meantime, but there
were no new infections in the country. Even Gonzales, who had clearly had
contact with him, was fine. This all seemed to indicate that this disease
really didn't pass from person to person.
Liscia and Hakuya joined up shortly, then Hilde first explained how
Gerula had died, and how Brad had performed an autopsy in accordance
with his will. While it had been at his request and signed off on by the Spirit
Kingdom King, it still felt...awful.
Unable to bear the silence, I asked, "His death wasn't in vain, right?"
Hilde nodded. "Of course not. We learned many things from his body.
Including how pernicious this disease is."
"Well...that's good then. And what of his body?"
"We secured the samples we needed, and I embalmed him," Brad
answered. "Externally, it should be in good condition. I'd like you to return
it to the bereaved."
"It's an infected corpse, right? Don't we need to cremate it?"
"This isn't the kind of disease where someone could get the infection
from a cadaver. It shouldn't be a problem."
"Oh, yeah? Did you find something out then?"
Hilde and Brad both nodded with pensive looks on their faces.
"Between how Sir Gerula had described his symptoms to us and what
Brad found from investigating his body, there were discrepancies in our
findings. Simply put, what Sir Gerula felt and was actually happening
didn't always match."
"What does that mean exactly?"
"This disease has many symptoms, but..." Hilde started, flipping
through some papers she was holding.
Probably clinical records.
"Ah! Here's an example," she continued. "He said he was itching or
had stabbing pains in his skin. If you went purely by what he told me, I
would have assumed it was some kind of toxic reaction."
"Wait, like he'd been poisoned?"
It isn't a disease? If this is because of a monster's poison, that would
explain why it only affected warriors...
"No, we can't say that for certain. In my investigation, I found nothing
wrong with his skin. It was the organs that had taken the real damage. I feel
like the symptoms are close to those of a parasitic infestation," Brad added.
Hilde nodded. "In the interview, it seemed like poisoning of some sort.
When we examined the body, it looked more like a parasitic infestation.
That being the case, we should assume both were happening at the same
time. The parasites inside his body were releasing some kind of poison."
"Which means...what we need isn't an antidote, but a deworming
medicine. If we don't deal with the parasites, we can't solve the
fundamental problem," I said, but Brad shook his head.
"A dewormer isn't going to cut it. That only works when the bugs are
in the digestive organs anyway. Unfortunately, I didn't find any there."
"Huh? Where were they, then?"
"That's what we brought Merula here to explain," Hilde said, ushering
her forward.
"Sir Souma. You asked Genia to investigate magicium, right? I know
because I was there at the time."
"Ah, yes, that's true."
When the possibility arose that magicium was nanomachines, I had
asked Genia and Merula to prioritize researching curse ore, which might be
a mass of them.
"Healing magic is the work of nanomachines inside the body. When I
heard that idea, I had questions, and Genia and I talked about it. If the
magicium or nanomachines is inside the body, where is it?"
"Where?"
"I think that the smaller they are, the less impactful they can be. In
order for something small to exert a large power, it would take a large
number of them gathering together. In order to heal wounds, the magicium
in the body would need to be gathered quickly. In other words, there needs
to be some kind of large path. And if we're talking about pathways laid out
across the entire body..."
Merula slapped her hand down on a diagram of the human body she
had prepared.
"The blood vessels. Magicium is flowing through our blood. That's my
and Genia's idea."
"I see..."
Nanomachines circulate through the body in the bloodstream, huh?
Depending on how you look at it, the idea of a foreign object like
nanomachines in your bloodstream could be chilling, but if this world was
in the far future, maybe it was possible.
Merula continued, "And now we have this disease, the Spirit King's
Curse. It makes the infected unable to use magic, and causes healing magic
to no longer work on them. This could be seen as having an effect on the
magicium in their body. And we believe that magicium is in the
bloodstream."
"So, basically, the bugs are in their blood," Hilde concluded, pulling out
two little bottles containing dark red liquid. "One is Sir Gerula's blood,
violated by the Spirit King's Curse. The other is Madam Merula's healthy
blood. With my third eye, I was able to see bugs squirming around."
Bugs in the blood... Ah!
"Like blood flukes or rat lungworms!"
"What are those?" Liscia asked.
"They caused endemic diseases in the world I came from. The parasites
entered the body through the skin, lived and bred in the blood vessels,
eventually eating away at their host until the person died... It's a horrible
disease. There are definitely parasites that can live in the blood vessels."
Merula nodded at my explanation. "I don't know the specific case
you're talking about, but if you say that bugs in the blood could be affecting
magicium, I can understand how that might cause poisoning symptoms. If
magicium is so small even the three-eyed race can't see it, then we don't
know what it's made of. And if they lose their proper function and become
foreign bodies floating through the body..."
"That can't be good for us, yeah."
I was kind of convinced. I didn't know what the nanomachines would
be made of, but if it was metal, leaving it to float through the body could
cause a toxic reaction.
There's a history of cadmium causing itai-itai disease, and organic
mercury causing Minamata disease too... It was still vague, but we were
starting to see the full picture of the Spirit King's Curse here. No, wait...
"If you knew what the parasites were, couldn't you treat them, Hilde?"
I seemed to recall that if we knew what the nature of the parasites was
and the damage they were doing, it was supposed to be possible to treat
them with light magic. And she might be targeted by theocracies as a result.
Ever since I'd received that report, I had given the light mages who
wanted to become doctors in our country medical training, and worked to
increase the number of people who could do the same things as Hilde.
While it was still secret, their numbers were steadily rising.
Hilde shook her head in disappointment. "Even with my magic, I
couldn't treat Gerula."
"It seems most likely that Madam Hilde's magic uses the magicium
inside the body to eliminate parasites. Once that magicium has been
rendered inactive by the bugs...I think there's nothing left that we can do,"
Merula explained.
"I see..."
It was too late for Gerula, then, huh? No... But still...
"If they still have limited symptoms, couldn't we save them? If the
magicium in their body still works, couldn't it be used to eliminate the
parasites?"
"Yes. It's possible," Merula agreed with my speculation.
Gerula's death wasn't in vain by any stretch. I felt like we were seeing
the light at the end of the tunnel now.
"So, Your Majesty!" Hilde suddenly moved up real close to me. "In
order to confirm that, would you let us go where the patients are?"
Seeing how serious she was, I scratched my head.
I understood how she felt, and I saw the necessity. When I consider the
risk of anything happening to the two of them, I can't give my assent so
easily.
"We understand how you feel, but we cannot allow that," Hakuya said
as I was thinking about it. "You are the two leaders of the Kingdom's
medical world. It would be a great loss if anything were to happen to either
of you. What if there was an outbreak here while you were away? You
wouldn't be able to treat it, Madam Hilde."
Hilde was quick with a retort.
"That will be fine. One of the king's key policies has been to increase
the number of people who can cure parasitic diseases with light magic the
way I can. I'll explain everything about these bugs before I go, so even if
there is an outbreak here, they should be able to treat it."
"But—"
"No, in this case, I think we should do as Hilde says," I said, cutting off
Hakuya, now that I had my thoughts sorted out.
Hakuya stared into my eyes.
"Are you sure that's all right, sire?"
"With a disease like this, our first steps will be crucial. We couldn't be
careless before we knew the nature of it, but now Hilde and the others have
figured it out. If we know what we're up against, we should deploy
everything we have and try to wrap things up as soon as possible."
If you mess up the initial response, you'll constantly be on the back
foot. That was something the history of my past world had taught me.
Hilde and Brad nodded firmly.
"The king's got it right," Hilde said. "Time's our enemy in the fight
against a disease like this."
"Yeah," Brad agreed. "Fortunately, now that we know what type of
disease it is, we can keep the people treating it safe. Black-robed Prime
Minister... Could you leave this to Hilde and I?"
At this, Hakuya finally gave in and nodded.
"I understand. I lack the knowledge to handle medical issues to begin
with, so I will defer to your and His Majesty's opinions."
"Sorry, Hakuya. You had to make the objection because I was slow to
decide," I confided.
"Don't worry about it. That's the prime minister's job."
And so, it was decided that Hilde and Brad would go to the site. Once
they were prepared, I'd send them first to the port city that Fuuga had given
us, and then have him help get them to the Father Island.
"The question is who to send with them..."
"Don't tell me you're planning to go too, Souma?" Liscia asked,
looking incredibly worried.
In order to wipe away her concerns, I put my hands on her shoulders
and silently shook my head.
"No, I can't go with them right now. It would let me make political
decisions on the spot if they become necessary, but...I think there's other
stuff I'll need to be doing. Things only I can do, probably."
"Really?"
"Yeah. But, like I was saying, I want to send our best team. So, for a
start, I want Tomoe, Ichiha, and Yuriga there."
"Tomoe..." she gasped, shocked. "You're sending the children?! Isn't it
way too dangerous?!"
With a stern expression, I nodded and said, "Yeah. I know it's
dangerous. But... Hilde, since this disease only affects warriors, you
theorized that it came from the monsters they fought, right?"
When I turned the question to her, Hilde nodded.
"Huh? Oh, yes, that's right. When you consider that the parasites live in
their blood, I think that contact with monster blood is what causes the
infection. It's possible that the parasites entered through their skin after all
the spatter from slashing and stabbing monsters got on their bodies."
"In that case, to prevent the spread of the infection, we'll want to know
what monsters—no, if we think using the MPI system, it might be better to
ask 'the monsters with what part.' We need to figure out the answer
immediately. To that end, Ichiha's knowledge as a monster specialist, along
with Tomoe's ability, will be effective tools."
"I get that, but...why Yuriga?" Liscia asked.
"We're sending them to Fuuga's territory, after all," I said, scratching
my head. "If his little sister is around, that should keep his people in check.
Even if some of the men are uncooperative because they look down on the
kids, she'll be able to keep them in line. And if the opposite happens—like
if someone who understands Ichiha's value tries to kidnap him—they won't
be able to take drastic measures that would risk angering Yuriga."
"I see... So you've thought this through..." Liscia seemed to understand
it intellectually, but was still worried.
"I'll send bodyguards for the kids too, of course... Hakuya."
"Yes."
"I'm sure there's going to be the need for someone to make political
decisions over there. Would you go, and chaperone the kids while you're at
it?"
Hakuya seemed a little surprised when I asked that.
"Me?"
"I'm uneasy about sending my prime minister to the site of an
epidemic, but could I ask you to handle it?"
"If that is your command, sire. It's certainly true that if one of us goes
to the site, we can avoid any delays in decision making. However, you were
just saying there are things you'll need to do. Is it all right for me to be
away from the castle?"
"Yeah, that won't be a problem. Er, well... It'd be reassuring to have
you here, but I can use Julius as a sounding board too. Let's have everyone
do what they're best suited for."
"Very well. I'll accept the job."
Good. The team's been decided then.
"Well then. Hilde, Brad, and the team of doctors made up of their
apprentices will be going to the port city on the west coast together with
Prime Minister Hakuya and the three kids, Tomoe, Ichiha, and Yuriga.
Inugami and some other Black Cats will be going as bodyguards too. Oh!
What about Hilde and Brad's daughter? Do you want us to take care of her
here at the castle?"
Hilde and Brad looked at one another before shaking their heads.
"There's no telling when we'll be able to come back. We'll take Ludia
with us, I think," Hilde said.
"If we take the right precautions, we can minimize the risk of infection,
after all," Brad agreed.
Looks like they'll be taking her along. Ludia was about a year older
than Cian and Kazuha. They'd probably be worried about leaving her with
us too long. If that was their decision, I was fine with it.
Now, with all this hashed out... It's time for those of us staying behind
here to get to work.
"Liscia. Send an emergency messenger to Julius and have him report to
the castle for duty."
"At the house of the Lastanian royal family, right? I'll get that done."
"And Hakuya, before you go, contact Kuu in the Republic and Shabon
in the Archipelago Union to set up a broadcast meeting."
"Understood."
Okay, that was our general policy more or less set. I rose and said, "All
right, everybody, let's give this everything we've got."
"""Yeah!"""
◇ ◇ ◇
Roughly another week later...
Whoosh... Rattle... Woosh... Rattle...
"It's the sea..."
"It sure is..."
Tomoe and Yuriga were standing together on the pier in the port town
given by the Great Tiger Kingdom. They could hear the sound of the waves,
and small boats moored nearby shaking as they rose and fell on them.
Yuriga spread her wings and flapped them.
"I like looking at the sea, but I hate the sea breeze. I felt the same way
in the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago too. My wings feel all sticky."
"Jeez, Yuriga. We're not here to play around, you know?"
"Yeah, I know... So, where's Ichiha gone?"
"Gathering information on the monsters with Mr. Hakuya. They say
they want to find out what monster's causing this. They're hoping to have
some ideas before we go to the Father Island."
Yuriga grinned at Tomoe's explanation. "Well, your ability isn't so
useful until we go where the monsters actually are, huh?"
"Murgh... You say that, but you've got nothing to do either."
"I'm doing my job just by standing right here. It's what your brother
asked me to do."
Before their departure, Souma called Yuriga aside and asked her to
keep a keen eye on Tomoe and Ichiha and protect them to make sure that
none of Fuuga's men mistreated them. At the time, she'd asked, "So, um...
If anything does happen to them, what will happen to me?"
"Well...if anything does, I won't be able to let you stay in this country
anymore. We might get into a head-on confrontation with Fuuga's country
over it, after all."
"Y-You'd go that far..."
"Well, I'm trusting it won't come to that though," Souma replied curtly.
His eyes didn't give off the usual laid-back impression. They were the
eyes of a king who wouldn't hesitate to let his power do the talking. Yuriga
understood quite well how much he cared for his family, and just how much
laying a hand on any of them would enrage him.
"R-Right! Obviously, I'll look after them for you. I still want to learn
here, and I don't want to be chased out either."
That answer had made Souma mellow out.
With a slight bow to Yuriga, who was younger than him, and a lower
social stature, he said, "Please take care of them."
Yuriga sighed as she remembered this.
I still want to stay in his country, huh? Just how long will all this be
able to last?
She wasn't as good a student as Ichiha or Tomoe, but Yuriga was
cleverer than her years showed, and knew exactly what position she was in.
She'd likely be able to stay with them until she graduated from the
academy. But what about after that? What would happen to her then?
Yuriga was one of Fuuga's few relatives. As the younger sister of a
king, it was easy to see she'd be used in a political marriage. That was a
given for the royal families of this world, and Yuriga agreed it was only
natural. But...she had to wonder where she'd be married off to. Who Fuuga
saw as his enemies and allies would likely change that.
Yuriga glanced at Tomoe.
This girl would no doubt be putting down roots in the Kingdom of
Friedonia. Based on the way she was acting lately, she might take Ichiha as
her husband. Lucy and Velza would likely live in this country too.
When the time comes, where will I be, and who will I be with? When
she thought about it, frustration welled up inside her. What am I even
thinking about...?
If she'd just blurt it all out, maybe it would be easier for her. But she
couldn't tell Tomoe. Their positions were too different, and moreover...it
just rubbed her the wrong way.
If I'm looking for someone in a similar position... Oh! Suddenly,
someone flashed through Yuriga's mind. A lovely lady who had married the
current king for political reasons, but still shone brilliantly even now.
Tomoe's adopted big sister. When we get back...I think I'll talk to her about
it...
Suddenly, a voice called out, "Ship's coming!"
Looking out to sea, Yuriga could see the sails.
"They're here, Yuriga."
"I know. We're going to go greet them."
The two of them hadn't just been killing time at the pier. Today, the first
batch of patients from the Father Island was arriving, and they had been
tasked with greeting them.
"They're all people with relatively light symptoms, right?" Tomoe
asked and Yuriga nodded.
"Yes. And those in positions of leadership in the military. Without
them, their units won't function, so..."
As the large ship arrived, Yuriga thought, Sir Shuukin must be on this
ship.
The ship landed, and Tomoe and Yuriga rushed to its side. The "cargo"
was already being unloaded. Stretchers with four handles were being
lowered from the side of the ship by rope.
"We've got sick men on there! Easy does it!" an energetic young
woman shouted up above.
Tomoe and Yuriga looked up to see a beautiful woman with clear white
skin and pointy ears standing there.
"An elf?" Tomoe wondered.
"Must be one of those high elves from the Spirit Kingdom, right?"
Yuriga replied.
As the two were talking, the elf woman jumped down from the ship.
Despite the height, she landed agilely and stood in front of the two
surprised girls.
"Children? We're unloading the patients, so you should stay a—
wait...you have wings."
The elf woman's eyes widened. Yuriga was miffed about being treated
like a child, putting her hands on her hips and puffing out her chest.
"I am Yuriga, younger sister of Great Tiger King Fuuga. And this is
Tomoe, adopted sister of King Souma of Friedonia."
"H-Hi," Tomoe stammered with an awkward smile.
The elf woman reacted with surprise and hurriedly bowed. "Ah! I-I
apologize! I am Elulu, daughter of Spirit Kingdom King Garula! I
apologize for treating you so rudely when I didn't know you were foreign
princesses!"
"Um, it's okay... You don't have to be so polite. You're a princess too,
Ms. Elulu," Tomoe said. She wasn't fond of being treated so reverently.
"R-Really?" Elulu raised her head.
Yuriga's anger seemed to have subsided by this point, and she asked,
"So, Madam Elulu. Is Sir Shuukin aboard this ship?"
"Huh? Oh, yes. If you're looking for Lord Shuukin..."
"I'm right here, Lady Yuriga."
A hand reached out of the stretcher that had just been lowered, and it
waved to the three of them. Yuriga rushed over, and there was Shuukin,
looking much paler than the last time she saw him.
"Sir Shuukin..."
"Ah ha ha... It's been a while, Lady Yuriga. I'm glad that you seem to
be well. Sorry you have to see me like this."
"No... Don't be..."
Shuukin was acting cheerful, but his expression couldn't fully hide the
fact that he was suffering.
Yuriga didn't know what to say. As she struggled for words, someone
planted their hands on her shoulders. Turning to look, she saw it was
Tomoe, who nodded with a soft smile on her face.
Looking at Shuukin over Yuriga's shoulder, Tomoe said, "Hello, Mr.
Shuukin. I'm Yuriga's friend, Tomoe."
"Sir Souma's little sister. I remember seeing you at a distance during
the demon wave. I apologize for causing the men and women of the
Kingdom of Friedonia trouble because of my own shortcomings this time."
"Don't say that! You did a great job as my brother's representative!"
Yuriga protested, and Elulu emphatically agreed.
"That's right! You saved me many times, Lord Shuukin. And not just
me. The only reason we were able to liberate the Father Island at all was
that you and your men fought so hard."
Elulu took Tomoe's hands, holding them tight as she bowed to her.
"So, please, if there's anything I can do, I'll do it. People of Friedonia...
Please save Lord Shuukin."
"I'm not the one you should be saying that to..." Tomoe got flustered by
Elulu's desperate appeal.
However, when Tomoe felt the hands she was holding start to tremble,
she came back to her senses. Seeing someone who was more uneasy than
she was, she decided she shouldn't worry the girl any further.
Tomoe squeezed Elulu's hands right back.
"But Dr. Hilde and Dr. Brad have my brother's trust, and I'm sure
they'll do something about the Spirit King's Curse. So it's going to be fine."
"Right!" Elulu did her best to smile.
As Shuukin watched them warmly, he said, "I see you've made yourself
a good friend in the Kingdom, Lady Yuriga."
"I just can't get away from her. That's all," Yuriga said, looking away
peevishly.
Shuukin chuckled. "A bond is a bond either way. If I were with my
friend, Fuuga...I could run ten thousand miles. Here's hoping I can run
together with him again."
Shuukin looked up to the heavens as he spoke. Yuriga shrugged.
"I'm sure you can. Didn't you hear what that little kid was saying?"
Then, putting a hand on her hip and thrusting her chest out, she said, "Well,
maybe it's hard to sense this without actually living there, but the Kingdom
of Friedonia's potential is incredible. If they're serious about this, I'm sure
you'll be fine."
"It's an amazing country, huh?"
"I'm always writing to my brother to make sure he doesn't
underestimate them."
And so, Shuukin was moved into the treatment facility at the port city,
with Tomoe, Yuriga, and Elulu in tow.
◇ ◇ ◇
A research facility was established at the port city. Here, Hakuya and
Ichiha kept records of the various dead monsters sent from the Spirit
Kingdom of Garlan. They also cross-referenced which monsters were
fought by those who had contracted the Spirit King's Curse.
In another room in the facility, Brad was performing autopsies on
monster remains, and using a microscope to search for the parasites
responsible.
On the table in front of Ichiha and Hakuya was a lineup of monsters
that Ichiha had drawn based on the accounts of patients who'd fought them.
Looking down at them, Hakuya finally picked out two.
"I think these are the most suspicious."
"Yeah...I agree," Ichiha replied with a nod.
The two chosen were a snail ant, which was a large ant with a spiral
shell for its midsection, and the snail bee, which had a spiral shell on the
part with its stinger. A common feature they had was their distinctive spiral
shell.
Ichiha collected all the pictures of insects with similar characteristics,
saying, "Now that we've gathered all these accounts, we can see there are a
lot of monsters with this spiral shell trait. And mollusks are famous for
causing illness if not properly cooked."
"Hilde was telling me that's also the work of small bugs...parasites.
And then there were those endemic diseases His Majesty mentioned. There
were mollusks involved with them too."
Before Hakuya and the rest were sent to this port city, Souma had told
them that the Spirit King's Curse had some things in common with a
disease from his old world called schistosomiasis, which was also caused
by parasites in the blood. He talked about a case where parasites in the river
used mollusks as an intermediary host to eventually infect farmers working
in the mud. Souma had gone to the Sugiura Memorial Museum in Showa
Town with his social studies class, and he had to write a report about it
after, so he remembered a lot of the details.
"Memories from when you're little really stick with you. I thought
writing that sort of report was just a pain back then, but you never know
what's going to come in handy..." Souma had said earnestly. And so they
kept that in mind too.
Hakuya touched his chin as he thought. "The Spirit King's Curse is
likely caused when warriors fight insect-type monsters with the shell trait
and get their fluids on them."
"That's right," said a third voice.
Turning towards the sudden inclusion, they saw Brad had come in
wearing his white coat while carrying Ludia on his back. Not a lone wolf
and cub, but a doctor and baby.
Brad produced two vials from his coat pocket and laid them down on
top of the monster drawings. They were filled with fluid and had little
things inside them.
"One of those is the parasites that came out of a patient who died of the
Spirit King's Curse. They're big enough to be seen with the naked eye,
right? Hilde says they match the ones in Gerula's blood that she saw with
her third eye."
"I see. So then these are..."
"The parasites that cause this disease?"
Hakuya and Ichiha both let out a sigh as they looked at those parasites,
each no larger than a grain of sand. They were small enough that Ichiha,
who always wore glasses, struggled to see them. It was hard to believe this
organism was the cause of so many deaths.
"It's inconvenient not having a name for them," Brad continued. "They
are bugs that hide in the blood vessels, eating away at our magicium... Let's
call them blood-borne magic-eating bugs. And we found what seems to be
magic-eating blood bug larvae in the dead bodies of monsters."
Having said this, Brad showed them the other vial. It looked similar to
the others, but this time it was hard to see anything other than liquid inside.
Ichiha squinted but couldn't make out anything.
"The larvae...are in there?"
"They are. But they're only large enough that someone with good
vision might just barely be able to make them out. It's only with the threeeyed race's third eye or a microscope that they're easily visible."
Brad picked up the vial between his fingers. "The monster I found these
in had a spiral shell, like you said. The infection is caused by contact with
fluids from monsters with them...just like you were thinking."
"Is it possible for there to be person-to-person transmission? Like if we
touched someone's infected blood..." Ichiha asked.
"You don't want to try it, that's for sure." Brad crossed his arms and
cocked his head to the side. "But it seems like there are practically no cases
of transmission that way. Even if you come in contact with their blood, so
long as you wash and disinfect yourself afterwards, there shouldn't be a
problem. The risk to those who get covered in monster fluids during battle
and then don't clean themselves is far higher."
"What measures can be taken to prevent infection?" Hakuya asked.
"Well... First of all, you could stay away from them. Fighting up close
with these monsters is dangerous. If you really have to fight them, then
ideally you want to finish them with ranged attacks, at a distance where
their fluids won't get on you."
"It seems they're already doing that, but I'll let them know to take
special caution with monsters that have spiral shells."
"Also, if you get fluids on you, wash and disinfect anywhere it touches
immediately. If you leave it as is, you run a higher risk of infection."
"Understood," Hakuya said, nodding. "Sir Ichiha."
"Right! I'll go let the people from the Great Tiger Kingdom know!"
Ichiha replied before running off.
Brad scratched his head as he watched him go. Turning to Hakuya, he
said, "Still...I know I shouldn't say this, but I never expected to find the
cause so easily... This would never happen with a normal disease."
"You're probably right. It seems a lot of things came together to help us
out. We had you, who is familiar with the inside of the body; we had
experts on monsters; Hilde, who can remove parasites with magic; His
Majesty's knowledge of a disease in his former world; and..."
"And someone who donated his body to the cause."
They both looked pained as they remembered Gerula, who had fallen
victim to the disease.
"Yes... It was all thanks to this confluence of events."
"So it only worked out by coincidence, huh?"
"Perhaps. However, without His Majesty's decision to pursue medical
development, Madam Hilde's and your assistance, and the contribution of
Gerula, who wanted to save his homeland, such a coincidence wouldn't
have happened. Even if it was the result of chance, our will to overcome
diseases is what brought it to fruition."
"You've got that right."
Brad was often a contrarian, but on this, he readily agreed.
◇ ◇ ◇
Patients from the Father Island afflicted with the Spirit King's Curse
were arriving at the medical facility in the port city. These were ones with
relatively minor symptoms, and would be experimental subjects to test the
efficacy of the treatment Hilde had discovered.
The first subject was going to be Shuukin.
"I've heard the reports from Yuriga, so it's not like I don't trust the
Kingdom's medical science, but I don't want to test anything on my men
when I don't know the risks. Besides, if I show them that I've accepted your
treatment, my quick-tempered lot will be more willing to submit to it too."
Shuukin was lying in bed as Hilde examined him. Tomoe, Yuriga, and
Elulu were watching at a distance. Yuriga seemed unsteady on her feet, and
Tomoe had to help her to stand.
"Are you okay, Yuriga?"
"Ungh... I'm a little dizzy, but I'll be fine."
Hilde made a shallow incision in Shuukin's arm with a scalpel. Shuukin
didn't bat an eye at it, but all three of the girls gulped. Hilde immediately
began using light magic on the wound. It was a little small and shallow, but
it took far longer than normal to heal.
"Your case is fairly advanced," Hilde said with a sigh as she examined
him. "The blood-borne magic-eating bugs—okay, apologies to Brad, but
that's way too long. I'm just going to call them magic bugs... Anyway, the
magic bugs have damaged the magicium in your blood pretty badly. If I was
going to exterminate them with just the magicium you have left, it would
take a long time. Considering your symptoms, that'd be the death of you."
"Is...that right?"
"If I did it the normal way, yes. Honestly...since we're trying to test the
safety of this, I'd have preferred a subject who had somewhat lighter
symptoms," she grumbled.
Shuukin laughed. "Sorry for putting you out like this. But Lord Fuuga
entrusted me with those men. If this body of mine is no longer fit to stand
on the battlefield, then let me offer it up as a test subject."
"I hate the way you warriors think... But if that's what you're going to
say, I'm going to take you up on it."
With that, Hilde produced a large bottle containing a dark red liquid,
causing Shuukin's brow to furrow as he saw it.
"What is that?"
"The blood I took from that girl over there," Hilde replied, pointing to
Yuriga. Shuukin's eyes went wide.
"From Lady Yuriga?!"
"Yeah. The method I've developed for treating the Spirit King's Curse
involves identifying the magic bugs in the blood and using an awareness of
where they are to control the magicium in the body to eliminate them with
light magic. If I know what effect the magic bugs have on the body, I can
treat the other symptoms too, but...Brad's still busy dissecting cadavers and
looking into that. That's why I'll be focusing on eliminating the magic bugs
for now. If your magicium has been thoroughly destroyed, though, I can't
do it... Which is what this is for."
Hilde held up Yuriga's blood for Shuukin to see.
"I'll give you a transfusion from this girl, who's of the same race as
you, and supplement your magicium with hers. I've already checked that
she's a viable blood donor for you."
"N-No! How could I make you shed the blood of my liege's sister?!"
Shuukin was hesitant, but Yuriga, despite seeming somewhat anemic,
waved her hand as Tomoe helped her stand.
"Oh...don't worry about it, Sir Shuukin. My brother needs you on his
path to supremacy, and it's no big deal for me to give up a little blood for
that."
"Lady Yuriga..."
"You should be grateful for the situation, and accept it with grace. It
was a stroke of good fortune that there was a healthy member of the same
race here to act as a donor... Some lives couldn't be saved even after
coming up with this method," Hilde said, her expression clouding. "It was
all too late for the high elf patient we saw back in the Kingdom. The only
other high elf there wasn't a blood-type match for him, so we couldn't even
have tested this method. Although, with the organ damage he had already
suffered, it would have only extended his life a little at most... His name
was Gerula Garlan."
"Huh?! Uncle..." Elulu murmured.
Hilde lowered her eyes before responding. "He was...a relative of
yours?"
"Yes. He knew he didn't have long, and was looking for a way to use
what life he had left. I see... So he passed away in the Kingdom, then..."
Elulu looked down as tears filled her eyes.
In an uncharacteristically gentle tone, Hilde said, "To that end, he
passed away with one of his own kind watching over him, and a peaceful
expression on his face. It was only thanks to him offering up his body that
we uncovered the true nature of the disease, and I was able to come up with
this treatment."
"My uncle's death...wasn't in vain then?" Elulu asked, looking up, and
Hilde gave her a firm nod.
"I'd never let it go to waste. None of us would."
Sniffling, Elulu replied, "Right!"
"It sounds like I'll have to be prepared too, then," Shuukin said,
exposing his arm with a look of determination. "Princess Elulu's uncle gave
his life to help find this treatment. If my body can be the one that proves it's
effective, I couldn't be happier. Lady Yuriga, I will be borrowing your
blood."
With Shuukin's resolve set, Hilde began the treatment. First they
extracted some of Shuukin's blood, then transfused Yuriga's healthy blood
into him. Because blood couldn't be preserved for as long as in Souma's old
world, time was of the essence. And so the blood was transfused. Hilde also
used light magic to eliminate the blood-borne magic-eating bugs.
Shuukin sweated heavily throughout the procedure.
He didn't seem to be in pain, but the feeling of something messing
around inside his body was unpleasant. It was exhausting too, and
eventually he passed out like someone had flipped an off switch.
Two hours went by...
Hilde used light magic on every blood vessel in Shuukin's body. She
sent an image of the magic bugs to the magicium inside the body, and then
they destroyed them. There was no standard for how many it might be safe
to let escape, so she was as thorough as she could be.
After a long time, Hilde stopped casting magic on the body.
"Please...let this work."
And then, making another incision on Shuukin's arm, she tried casting
light magic on it. When she did, it still healed slowly, but faster than before,
showing that the magicium in the body was functioning properly.
"Whew..."
Hilde collapsed into a chair, exhausted.
"Um, Doctor. Will Lord Shuukin..." Elulu asked, unable to wait any
longer.
"I can't say for certain until I've had time to observe," Hilde said,
waving her off. "But this should have eliminated the magic bugs in his
blood. I'd say we can call it a success so far."
"Really?! Thank goodness!" Elulu cried out with glee, gently taking the
sleeping Shuukin's hand.
With a sideways glance at her, Hilde let out a great sigh.
"For now, I think it's safe to say we've established a treatment. If it can
be treated when it's advanced this far, then we should be able to treat the
others with comparatively light symptoms without even needing a blood
transfusion. But I hear there's still far more patients on the Father and
Mother Islands."
Hilde leaned back in the chair, looking up at the ceiling.
"It took all this time and effort just to treat him. Much as I hate to admit
it, I can't handle all of them with just the doctors we've brought with us...
No, even with all the doctors in the Kingdom, it still wouldn't be enough.
What can we do..."
"It will be okay," Tomoe said, leaning in to peer at Hilde's face. "Big
Brother stayed in the Kingdom because he said there are things he needs to
take care of. I'm sure he has an idea. So...it's going to work out."
"Here's hoping..." Hilde replied, smiling wryly at Tomoe's total belief
in her big brother.
◇ ◇ ◇
One week later...
With the treatment of the first batch of patients at the port city
complete, they were all on the way to recovery. Shuukin had had the
heaviest symptoms, and even he had recovered to the point where he was
doing training as a form of rehab. When Shuukin stood up and got out of
bed on his own, Elulu jumped into his arms in glee.
And now, on this day, Prime Minister Hakuya; Tomoe, Ichiha, and
Yuriga; Hilde the doctor; Brad the surgeon; Shuukin; and Elulu were
gathered in one room to discuss the current state of things and what they
were going to do going forward.
"How about we start with the condition of the patients?" Hakuya
suggested.
"That's no problem," Hilde replied. "They're all on the way to
recovery. Even the one with the worst case of it, who's right here with us."
"Thanks to you, Doctor," Shuukin said, bowing his head. For some
reason, Elulu, who was next to him, bowed hers too.
With a wry smile at the two of them, Hilde told Hakuya, "For now, I
think we can safely say that we've established a treatment for the Spirit
King's Curse. The light mages with a knowledge of medicine should be
able to perform it the same as I did without any problem."
"That's a relief to hear," Hakuya said with a nod before looking to
Brad. "Now, what can you tell us about the blood-borne magic-eating
bugs...the magic bugs?"
"All we know so far is you can get infected with them by touching the
fluids that come out of the spiral shell part of a monster's body," Brad
replied, crossing his arms. "But when you consider the almost total lack of
infections coming from patients, I think the magic bugs only have the
power to infect humans when they're covered in monster blood."
"Is this that 'intermediary host' thing that His Majesty told us about?"
"Yeah, that's probably it."
Souma had told them about Japanese schistosomiasis. It was an
endemic disease from the world he came from, and it infected people
through mollusks that lived in the rice paddies and rivers. In the country
Souma lived in, they had overcome the disease by preventing the mollusks
from reproducing and eliminating the environment that allowed the
parasites to exist.
"It's not clear if the demon wave caused preexisting parasites to change
inside the bodies of the large number of monsters it produced, or if they
existed in the monsters' bodies all along. The one thing we do know is that
to stop the chain of infections, we need to completely eliminate the
monsters with spiral shells that are causing it."
"I've reported that to our forces on the Father Island. They're to make
eliminating any spiral shell monster their top priority. They have strict
orders to do so from a distance; defeating the enemy with long-ranged
attacks or magic, and avoiding contact with their blood."
Elulu nodded at Shuukin's explanation.
"I've given the same report to my father, the Spirit Kingdom King, on
the Mother Island. I think that should help lower the rate of new infections,
but..." Elulu's expression darkened. "There are still a large number of
people suffering from the Spirit King's Curse on both islands. Could you
possibly perform the Kingdom's medical treatment on all of them? Please!"
Elulu bowed her head and Shuukin joined her.
"I'm asking you too. Please save my wounded soldiers and the high
elves."
"That seems to have been His Majesty's intention all along..." Hakuya
said.
Hilde began vigorously scratching her head.
"But the patients on both islands vastly outnumber this first group,
right? And from what I hear, many of them are in even worse condition than
Sir Shuukin was. I already told little Tomoe and her friends this, but we
don't have nearly enough people to handle them all with just the doctors we
brought here. Even if we brought every light mage in the Kingdom with
medical knowledge, it still wouldn't be enough."
"Also, it would be inefficient to bring them all to this port. There's no
telling how long it might take if we only brought them in batches as large as
we can house here, and we don't have enough blood for Hilde's treatment
either," Brad added, pointing out further problems. He looked at Yuriga.
"We got lucky that her blood happened to match Shuukin's, but if it hadn't
then his treatment would have been delayed further... Well, if it came to it,
we'd have relied on using blood from another race."
"Hm? It's possible to do blood transfusions between different races?"
Hakuya asked.
"If you're asking if it's possible...then, yes. Even if people's races are
different, so long as the blood types match, there is no problem with doing a
transfusion, but...the medical society doesn't encourage it," Brad answered
awkwardly.
"Why is that?"
"A little knowledge can lead to rampant superstition. Blood transfusion
isn't an established medical practice outside of our country. What do you
think would happen if it became known that you can transfuse the blood of
a long-lived race like the elves into humans? What if that started a baseless
rumor that doing so could extend a person's life or restore their youth?"
"I see... I'd rather not think about it." Hakuya got depressed when he
considered what would happen.
Hunts for members of the long-lived races, completely disregarding
their rights, and trafficking in their blood—every illegal method might be
tried. The long-lived races wouldn't just take it, of course. In the worst case,
it could develop into a civil war.
Brad nodded. "Let me just tell you straight up, their blood doesn't have
that sort of effect. But if people are ignorant, they won't believe you when
you tell them. We should save transfusions from other races until the people
have been enlightened as to how it works."
"You make a good case... It would be advisable to stick to transfusions
between the same races until then. That being the case... Should we go to
the Spirit Kingdom of Garlan, where there are members of the same race, in
order to treat them?"
Hakuya brought his hand to his mouth as he thought, looking at Tomoe.
"If I recall, you and your friends are on summer vacation right now,
correct?"
"Yes. We have about another month."
"It's kind of a problem that I haven't even touched my assignments
yet..." Yuriga said, getting dispirited. "If I don't get them done, I'm in for
more remedial lessons..."
Hakuya thought for a short time, and then made his decision.
"Yes, let's go to the Father Island and treat the people there. Since
Shuukin has recovered, we'll want him leading his men to prevent further
infections."
"Sure! Thank you, Sir Hakuya!"
"Thank you so much!"
Shuukin and Elulu were overjoyed, but Hilde's expression was still
grim.
"I'm fine with going there, but that doesn't change our shortage of
staff."
"Ah, as far as that goes, I suspect..." Hakuya began to say, but hadn't
even finished before it happened.
A messenger rushed into the room, handing a letter to Hakuya.
"It's a report! It came from the Kingdom of Friedonia, by messenger
kui! It's from His Majesty!"
"Oh! Let me see it."
Hakuya accepted the letter and looked through it. When he was done,
he let out a sigh of relief. Everyone could immediately tell that it wasn't a
negative report.
Looking around at each of them, he said, "The manpower shortage is
resolved. Let's head to the Spirit Kingdom at once."