288 - Other Countries' Circumstances and a Reunion with Barbara
Regarding the Mustine medicine, since the materials would be gathered at the Sedovara Church, I decided to write a letter and have Alfred deliver it. As I continued looking into the last one, the preventive medicine for Greenwich Pox, Alfred promptly came to the detached palace.
"You're quick this time."
"One shot from Jasper and that was it."
I deliberately refrained from reporting the spectacular failure of my luck-based gamble. Back then, Christoph and the others had clearly told me I could choose again even after I picked the Pant medicine. Despite that, it was I who decided not to rechoose, insisting "I chose by luck." Honestly, I don't want to think about my luck-based crushing defeat anymore.
I asked Alfred to deliver the letter to the Sedovara Church while reporting my progress to him.
If the efficacy recorded in the transcription is to be believed, the preventive medicine for Greenwich Pox is a wonderful medicine capable of preventing Wards disease. Though it cannot cure advanced Wards disease, the ability to prevent infection alone is significant. Recovering from Wards disease requires the patient's own physical strength, but dedicated nursing care also becomes important. Since the caregiver becomes the next infected person, once an infection occurs, it takes time for the disease to subside. That is the horror of Wards disease. If it's possible to prevent infection even among caregivers, then the end of the disease is not a dream.
...The problem is that it doesn't seem to be the kind of medicine you can take casually like a regular medication.
Since it's a medicine with considerable efficacy, continuing to take it when unnecessary could conversely cause harm. A medicine only works when you follow the dosage and administration guidelines.
"Did the Sedovara Church choose the preventive medicine in preparation for the next epidemic?"
"No, the Sedovara Church doesn't think on a national scale. They think across all churches placed in various regions, and likely chose what they deemed most necessary at present."
"Huh? But Wards disease has, for the most part, subsided, hasn't it?"
"In this country, yes."
With that slight pause, I understood somehow. The small animal (ushiri) that Marcel bought was originally merchandise carried by traveling merchants. Since that small animal was the source of infection, the infection was likely spreading to suppliers and along the trade routes. Because I lived near the fortress in Grenore, where information reached me, I had assumed Wards disease had subsided, but it seemed the correct understanding was that it had subsided domestically. In other words, it was still possible that it was raging abroad, and the Sedovara Church seeking a preventive medicine meant exactly that.
"As a country, we could leave it alone, but the Sedovara Church, serving Sedovara the god of medicine arts, cannot ignore it."
"The reason our country can leave it alone is because it's another country's misfortune?"
"...Because it was originally brought into this country from that country."
I sympathize with the people suffering from the disease and want to do something for them, but protecting our own citizens' lives comes first. I don't want to believe they brought the disease intentionally, but a not-insignificant number of our people died from the infection brought from over there. It's hard to immediately change our mindset and offer support just because things have gotten a little easier on our end.
"That certainly does create complicated feelings..."
"If you say you don't want to, we can decide not to make the preventive medicine."
"How could I possibly say I don't want to after hearing all that?"
I have plenty of thoughts regarding Wards disease, and while there are human-caused aspects to the spread of infection, the disease itself is an unfortunate accident. Just because the small animal that became the source of infection comes from that region, I don't think the local people deserve to die. Even if told I could choose a different medicine based on my feelings, I couldn't bring myself to pick another.
I saw Alfred off as he returned with the letter, then went back to the library. Jasper was still continuing his transcription in the living room, but when I was searching for material collection sites on old maps, he had been helping me with research in the library.
"The preventive medicine for Greenwich Pox too... the materials might be obtainable at the Sedovara Church. If not, the materials should be collectable in Waiyakku Valley."
"It's convenient having Jasper around. You can tell just from the name of the material."
"Memorizing materials is the most basic of basics for a pharmacist."
Since he has them memorized, apparently he can tell to some extent where materials can be harvested or whether they're kept in stock at the Sedovara Church just from knowing the name. The problem would be materials like those used in the Pant medicine that only Aurelia handled anymore. Nothing remained at the Sedovara Church, which had confined Aurelia, who inherited the secret arts, in the valley and killed the defectors (disciples) who had gained partial knowledge. After Aurelia's death, all the materials and equipment hoarded at Aurelia's house were reportedly collected by the Sedovara Church, but materials whose handling methods are unknown would just end up stored away uselessly.
"...This is basic knowledge for a pharmacist, but Waiyakku Valley is a place so rich in medicinal herbs that it's called 'the medicinal garden of Sedovara, god of medicine arts.' If there's still a caretaker after Aurelia's death, the materials themselves should be easy to gather."
The processing of raw materials into medicinal ingredients would require time and research from here on, Jasper continued. Time and research being necessary was pretty much decided from the moment we set out to revive the secret arts. It's not something to worry about now.
...Speaking of medicines related to Wards disease in Waiyakku Valley, I wonder if there were any among the tasks I helped with?
Though all I could do was trivial things like drying leaves whose names I didn't know, or grinding stones into powder with a mortar. Thinking that it might have been connected in a roundabout way felt strangely mysterious.
The letter from Barbara at the Sedovara Church in the capital was enclosed with a letter addressed to Jasper. Since I supposedly have no connection with Barbara similar to Basilia, letters addressed to me apparently take time to reach me.
...If they're considerate enough to intercept letters, I wish they'd stop the love letters instead.
They've decreased considerably compared to after the Recollection Festival, but a few love letters still arrive. I've sent a letter to Barbara myself once, but I have neither acquaintance nor any connection with the senders of those love letters. No matter how I think about it, the suspicious letters that should be intercepted are the love letters, but nobles apparently receive a certain degree of trust just for being nobles. It's truly unreasonable.
...I wonder if going out to the inner city could count as my twice-daily walk?
For reasons similar to why letters don't reach me directly, it seemed difficult for Barbara to come to the detached palace within the royal castle. So I decided to go to the Sedovara Church in the inner city myself.
Within the vast capital, there are four Sedovara Churches in total. The one near the royal castle and the noble district is called the Provall Central Branch, while the others are called by directions like the South Branch or West Branch. The Central Branch is probably the Sedovara Church for the noble district. The other branches have their church buildings closer to the city gates, making them more accessible from the Outer Town as well.
"It's been a while, Barbara-san."
"It's been a while, Christina-sama."
Her way of addressing me had changed, but I decided not to touch on that. This was probably the correct way to address me in the first place, we weren't close enough to call each other by nicknames, and Barbara is the type to keep a distance from others. When dealing with the daughter of a noble raised within the royal castle, if she knew, she would likely choose to use the formal name rather than a nickname.
Since she seemed to be treating me as a lady, I returned a lady's curtsey as well. Even without thinking too hard, someone who arrives by carriage with guards is hard to treat as a commoner, even for Barbara.
"Thank you for sending Aurelia-san's belongings. I heard from Paula that you sent them for me, Barbara-san."
"...I thought it would be better than having her relatives receive them now. I thought Master would be happier if they were sent to Christina-sama."
This is embarrassment hiding, I realized, noticing Barbara's gaze slightly averted. I had watched Aurelia and Barbara live together in Waiyakku Valley during winter, but it was only ever a master-disciple relationship. Even that relationship hadn't seemed particularly good, but though hard to read, there did seem to be something like genuine affection for her master within Barbara. A slight crease formed at the corner of her eye, and I understood this was an action taken out of consideration for Aurelia.
"More importantly, let us discuss the important matters. I did not come here for reminiscences about Master."
I was guided to a room prepared as Barbara's private quarters. A simple bed, a study chair and desk, bookshelves packed with books and boxes containing compounding equipment. A room with nothing unnecessary whatsoever.
"What you wished to ask about was how Master gathered materials from remote locations, was it not?"
As I drank the tea Kalisa had brewed, the method Barbara told me about wasn't much different from what I had seen in Waiyakku Valley. What I had seen were Black Knights carrying materials and ingredients on their cart beds, but that was apparently a special measure only for emergencies. Normally, merchants would come about once every six months to sell materials gathered from foreign lands. Though none came during my stay, Barbara, who had lived in Waiyakku Valley as an apprentice for some time, apparently had opportunities to meet the merchants.
"There were some materials that seemed difficult to obtain..."
"Merchants are merchants. If they think it's merchandise, they'll gather it. Right about now, they've lost one of their customers due to Master's death, and they're probably troubled that the goods they gathered have become unsellable."
She told me they would likely appear in Waiyakku Valley around this time, so I decided to quickly send a letter to Paula. I don't even know the merchants' names, so I can't write directly to them, but if I entrust the message to Paula, at least some contact should be possible. If they're troubled by losing a buyer for their goods, even if the price goes up a bit, they might come to the capital to sell.
"...By the way, would you be willing to assist me, Barbara-san?"
I deliberately didn't specify what with. Aaron was standing before the door as a guard in lieu of a watcher, but it would be better not to make unnecessary remarks within the Sedovara Church. Though I phrased it vaguely, the meaning reached Barbara clearly. Her lips tightened and her expression itself was tensed, but it was somehow a face filled with determination that felt like a smile.
"Speaking personally, this is a truly intriguing invitation. There is much to learn as well. As a pharmacist still immature and on the path of learning, I would be happy to cooperate with the great undertaking Christina-sama is pursuing."
The method of collecting materials from remote locations is becoming visible. Since this is a continuation of yesterday, it's a bit short.
Will fix typos and errors at a later date. The next update will be skipped due to the Bon Festival.