~Chapter 18~
Right after that, the place I headed for was the Administration Office, located on the second floor of the main palace.
Since it was nearly quitting time, it seemed I’d only be able to exchange greetings today and return.
Taking a short breath in front of the door, I knocked.
Knock, knock.
“Excuse me.”
There was only one person inside the office. That wasn’t the problem.
The problem was… that person happened to be the insufferable blond I’d met on my interview day.
According to Kinya, his name was—
“Mr. Harry?”
Yes, Harry. A common name, despite his refined looks.
“Rinnegrim. What are you doing here?”
“What do you mean? I came to greet Director Nilsen, but it seems he isn’t here. Why are you here, Mr. Harry?”
“I came to see Director Nilsen as well.”
He came to see Nilsen too? Could he be a new recruit in Administration, like me?
I thought he was already an established administrator here, but to think he was also a newcomer… certainly an unusual man, though I already suspected as much.
“So it’s true they were hiring a new type of talent…”
With his condescending tone and lofty gaze, I supposed he did qualify as a “different type.”
“What did you just say?”
“Nothing. I said I look forward to working with you.”
When I extended my hand, he tilted his head slightly, then clasped it briefly and shook.
Our short handshake ended, and awkward silence filled the room—until the door suddenly burst open. A person in a white coat stepped in.
Judging by the fatigue on his face, he had to be a senior staff member.
“Hello, I’m Rinnegrim Feahil. I look forwa—”
Before I could finish, something was shoved into my hands: a bucket of water and a stack of white towels.
“What are you doing here! We’re short on hands!”
“Sorry?”
“Follow me at once!”
“I… don’t start work until tomorrow—”
But he didn’t hear a word, already running down the hall.
“You heard him, Mr. Harry? Hurry!”
“…You mean me?”
“Who else is here? Let’s go!”
I dumped the pile of towels into Harry’s arms and ran after the senior.
“Haah… where are we going?”
The bucket had already spilled half its contents. Harry, unable to watch, snatched it from me to carry himself.
The senior disappeared into the area near the prayer room. The palace had a special prayer hall for sick spirit beasts and Divine Beasts, the entire underground floor dedicated to it—so there was no telling which room he’d entered.
“Hurry! We need more towels and warm water!”
“Yes!”
I followed his head as it popped in and out of a doorway, and stepped inside.
What I saw stopped me in my tracks.
“May the Lord Raltea watch over us. Please, let this cruel illness be defeated quickly…”
A healer in sacred robes recited prayers, while administration staff bustled about at his side. And nearby—
Screech! Screeech!!
—squirrels whose legs had turned black, writhing and screaming in pain.
“We need more towels! And warm water! Quickly!”
I took the bucket from Harry and rushed over. Up close, I could see it clearly—clusters of squirrels, each with limbs in advanced necrosis. Their mouths were caked with vomit, and they gasped with open jaws, struggling for air.
“…Get out.”
“May the Lord Raltea watch—pardon?”
“I said get out, now!”
Covering my mouth and nose with a towel, I stared grimly. I hadn’t expected to face this disease here.
“This is the plague! No amount of praying will cure it!”
“W-what disease?”
“How long have you been praying together in here?”
“This is the second day. We must pray for at least three—”
“Forget the prayers! You could already be infected! Don’t go anywhere crowded—get to the next room!”
“Wha—oof!”
“Harry! Put this man in the next room!”
I shoved the robed healer toward Harry.
The senior was still hovering, wide-eyed.
“Let’s get out of here first!”
“O-okay?”
Grabbing his hand, I pulled him out of the prayer room.
“Explain the situation. When did the squirrels start showing those symptoms?”
“Uh… three days ago, one complained of pain in its blackened leg. We brought it to the prayer room and started prayers, but—”
“Who else was in there? Besides the healer and you?”
“Two others, but they went to rest…”
“Quarantine those two the moment they return. Does Director Nilsen know about this?”
“Of course. But he said prayer wouldn’t be enough and suddenly went to the apothecary—wait! Where are you going?!”
“To the apothecary! To find Nilsen! You must stay in the prayer room—no contact with anyone else!”
I shouted as I ran down the corridor.
“Haah… the apothecary? Where is it?”
“First floor, last room of the main palace.”
“What—when did you catch up?!”
Harry was suddenly beside me, matching my pace—well, more like walking briskly while I ran. If I had legs that long, I’d be there by now.
“You know what this illness is?”
“Of course I do…!”
The same vicious disease that had turned medieval Europe into a field of corpses—the plague.
An acute febrile infection spread by fleas. Those squirrels must have been bitten by plague-carrying fleas.
If necrosis had already set in, they were days past the incubation period—meaning the disease could already be spreading through the palace via droplets.
“Director Nilsen!”
At the apothecary, I heard urgent voices calling for him inside. Harry and I exchanged glances, then entered.
“Director Nilsen! Stay with us! Are you alright?!”
Staff were supporting him.
When Nilsen saw me, he managed a faint smile.
“Rinnegrim… you’ve returned safely. Welcome to Administration…”
His head dropped forward.
Even from here, I could feel the heat radiating from him. His fingertips were black—necrosis.
The Director himself was infected.
The only way to cure it was with antibiotics—something like gentamicin.
“But how am I supposed to make that here…!”
Antibiotics require precise preparation. Those that inhibit protein synthesis can be dangerous if compounded incorrectly. Making one on short notice was nearly impossible.
“Damn it!”
But I couldn’t just stand there.
“Harry! I need your help!”
“What do you need me to do?”
“Move all the medicinal ingredients from here to the Administration Office! And you—”
“Y-yes?”
The named staffer flinched.
“Go to the Divine Beast Palace and fetch my belongings! Handle them carefully—they could break!”
“What’s in them?!”
“…Magical tools.”
They were my father’s legacy—tools that could help me make an antiparasitic.
“Got it!”
Another staffer tried to stop him.
“Wait—Lauren, you’re trusting a rookie with—”
“I know you doubt me. But if we don’t act now, many will die.”
“So you’re saying you can stop this disease?”
I didn’t answer immediately. I only knew two things: plague needs antibiotics, and what its main components were—by modern standards. In this world, I didn’t know which herbs, or how much, would work.
But one thing was certain—
“If we stay still, more people will die. Prayer is meaningless. I’m sorry, but… the old ways you’ve relied on won’t work.”
“What—!”
“Daniel…”
The fevered voice belonged to Nilsen, leaning on the man called Daniel.
“Do as Rinnegrim says… I’ll take responsibility…”
“Director! What are you saying?!”
“It’s my fault… As Director, I let it get this bad without a solution. My negligence in reforming the Administration led to this… So I’ll bear the blame. Just help her.”
Lauren and Daniel, stunned, soon regained their focus.
“I’ll get the magical tools.”
“Senior…”
“If prayer doesn’t work, we have to try something else.”
Lauren patted my shoulder before running out.
Daniel sat Nilsen down, then turned to me.
“What should I do?”
“Thank you. Please move the medicinal stock here to the office—with Harry.”
“Harry…?”
Daniel glanced behind me, to where Harry stood, then paled for some reason, fumbling to gather herbs. Harry silently assisted him.
I grabbed a bundle myself and hurried to the office.
Lauren soon returned, panting, with my tools. I laid them out along the long desk—microscope, heating device, separator, purifier.
Throwing open the windows, I covered my face with a towel and retrieved a vomit-stained rag from the squirrels. Using tweezers, I placed a sample on a glass slide and looked through the microscope.
Rod-shaped coccobacilli came into focus. As expected—it was the plague bacterium.
“If I can just find an herb that kills it…!”
Mixing would come later—first I needed the raw material.
“We’ve brought everything!”
Daniel and Harry arrived with around five hundred herbs. All of them would need to be tested against the sample.
“Daniel, Lauren—another task. Find everyone who had contact with Director Nilsen and isolate them. Cover your mouths and noses. Time is critical—move quickly.”
“Understood…!”
They tied towels over their faces and left.
“Harry, you should get out too—it’ll be bad if you’re infected.”
“…And you?”
And you? Yes, that is a very important question~