54 - Jean-Jacques' Shopping 1
Even though Leonardo could occasionally return home now, many people were still confined in the quarantine zone. It was true that there were those who had recovered, but that did not mean they could be immediately released from the quarantine zone. The scabs and saliva of recovered patients apparently still had infectiousness, so we could not be optimistic just because the patient's own symptoms had subsided.
What had been troubling Leonardo and the Sedovara Church lately was rather the question of how to handle the recovered patients going forward. According to the remaining records on Ward's disease, the scabs and saliva apparently retained infectiousness for a year. The new issue for the time being was where to keep the recovered patients together until the infection source lost its power.
Recovered Black Knights could be posted as quarantine zone guards, and some of the prostitutes could be hired as quarantine zone caretakers. But hiring everyone was impossible. Manpower was only needed now while there were many infected. While waiting for the year for the infectiousness to fade, patients would disappear, and those who had been patients would become caretakers. And the patients those caretakers were supposed to care for would presumably be gone if the isolation of the disease proceeded smoothly.
...A few villages had completely disappeared, and I think they could just make new villages there and live, though?
If farming villages disappeared, the country's tax revenue would also decrease. Even if there was a guarantee that those who had caught the mysterious infectious disease would absolutely not infect others, from the perspective of those who had not been infected, they probably would not want to live next to them. If the infected wanted to continue living in the city, various conflicts with those around them would inevitably arise.
...Well, even if they made a village, they would need to build houses and get furniture and all sorts of things, and it would be hard to tell people who had been living in the city to suddenly go to the countryside and plow fields.
It seemed like the simplest solution could not be beat, but if you looked closely, it was full of holes and unfeasible. Either way, it certainly was not something for me to think about. Making the decision after consulting with the Sedovara Church would be Leonardo's job.
...I did not know Leonardo-san was doing lord-like work too.
Regarding the work of creating a quarantine zone and confining the infected, since armed force was sometimes needed in an emergency, I could somewhat understand the Black Knights handling it. But I did not think it was Leonardo's job to think about how to handle the recovered infected. When I asked if that was not more of a civil official's job, Alf told me it was the work of Leonardo, who was in charge of the fortress. More precisely, what Leonardo was in charge of was not 'Grenore Fortress' but 'the Fortress City of Grenore.'
The explanation had been simplified for a child, so it was really rough. But apparently each knight order was given something like a territory, and they supported the knight order with the tax revenue from there. It seemed they had a certain degree of discretionary authority, though they needed to consult with the capital on basic policy. Of course they did not just dump tax calculations and territory management on the knights. There were apparently civil officials dispatched from the capital. Rather, it was because those civil officials existed that the Black Knights could determine their top through a ridiculous method while claiming to be meritocratic, and still manage the territory.
...Too complicated, I do not really get it. Is it like a high-ranking Self-Defense Force person also being a prefectural governor?
I had not been that interested in politics or the Self-Defense Force in my previous life, so I could not really understand even Alf's simplified and rough explanation. Maybe it was actually harder to understand because of the sensibilities from my previous life living in Japan.
...Japan did not have knights, lords, or territories, and religion was not so deeply integrated into daily life there either.
Either way, as a normal person living an ordinary life, these were professions I would probably never have anything to do with. It just so happened that the knight who took me in was the strongest at the fortress.
...It must be about time for the third floor sheet change to finish and for the sheets to be collected.
I was still going in and out of the quarantine zone as usual. Since they were hiring recovered people as additional manpower, we had enough help, but I had already become familiar with most of the patients, so even if we had enough manpower, I felt reluctant to stop visiting. With an ordinary illness, I might someday run into them in town and exchange greetings like "Oh, long time no see," but with the patients on the second and third floors of this quarantine zone in particular, once we parted ways here, we would almost never meet again outside. The next time we would meet would be decades later, after we were already dead. I did not want to say I was seeing them off, but I could not turn my back on them either.
As I turned toward the corner of the hallway where the sheets had been collected, the world shook for a moment with a loud noise. I reflexively thought it was an earthquake, but the people around me were not panicking. They were blinking. The fact that they could stand there dazed meant the shaking just now was not an earthquake.
...Was it from Jean-Jacques' room?
Turning my head toward the direction of the sound, there was Jean-Jacques' room, where he had recently been moved back from the underground to the third floor. Leonardo should have been visiting today. Maybe Jean-Jacques had thrown a fit and fallen out of bed. The noise was too loud to ignore, so I decided to peek into Jean-Jacques' room.
"Jean-Chack, did you fall off the bed fwom flailing? That was a weally loud noise."
Peeking into the room, just as I had expected, Jean-Jacques was not on the bed. However, I had thought he might have fallen off the side of the bed, but Jean-Jacques' body was lying collapsed by the wall along with the side table.
"Huh? What is this? Did Jean-Chack do something bad?"
Leonardo, Alf, and Jean-Jacques were in the room, and Jean-Jacques was by the wall instead of on the bed where he should have been. From that, I judged that Jean-Jacques must have done something to anger the two of them and had fled to the wall.
...Even I have to admit I have absolutely zero trust in Jean-Jacques.
I felt bad for jumping to conclusions, but I could not imagine Leonardo and Alf acting as roughly as Jean-Jacques did. So the only reason I could think of for Jean-Jacques being by the wall was that Jean-Jacques had gone there himself. The wall a bit above where Jean-Jacques was seemed to be dented, but that was probably my imagination.
"...Tina."
"Yes, sir."
Called, I obediently shifted my gaze from Jean-Jacques to Leonardo. Leonardo's face, with a somewhat stiff voice, was firmly covered by Alf's hand.
...What did Jean-Jacques say to Leonardo-san? It looks like he made a face I am not supposed to see...
I could not tell what expression Leonardo was making, but the result of angering Leonardo was probably Jean-Jacques by the wall. Jean-Jacques was rubbing his right cheek, so maybe Leonardo had punched him.
...If Leonardo-san punched him, does that mean he hit him hard enough to send him flying to the wall?
I had better not make Leonardo angry. I am just a little girl. If I got punched hard enough to fly to the wall like Jean-Jacques, I would die from that alone.
"...Tina, go shopping with Jean-Jacques in the city."
Apparently Leonardo's face had become presentable again, because Alf removed the hand that had been covering it. The face that emerged from under Alf's hand was smiling, but it was scary. Partly because of Jean-Jacques, but I still was not used to Leonardo's face with his bangs pushed up.
"Shopping, sir? Is Jean-Chack allowed to go outside?"
"Since there is a risk of spreading the infection, you will move by carriage, and we will also have a Sedovara Church member accompany you. We need to disinfect the places you go."
Just taking Jean-Jacques out was quite a commotion. Taking an infected person outside, and borrowing Sedovara Church personnel to disinfect for that purpose.
"Would it not be better not to let him out of the quarantine zone until he is fuwwy healed?"
"Circumstances have come up where we cannot say that. We will do our best not to bring the infection outside, so Tina, go with Jean-Jacques."
"Can't Jean-Chack stay home and send anotheh person to do the errand?"
"That would be the best option, but..."
As Leonardo trailed off, Jean-Jacques by the wall hurriedly spoke up.
"Commander! That thing, I have to! I absolutely have to...!"
"Do not open your mouth."
"Guh...!"
Jean-Jacques tried to press his case, but was shot down by Leonardo. He seemed quite reluctant to let Jean-Jacques out of the quarantine zone, and Leonardo's face frowned again.
"Alf will watch Jean-Jacques. It is possible that the whole story about wanting to go shopping outside is a lie and he is just trying to escape the quarantine zone."
"Commander, I would never tell a lie like..."
"Look who is talking, the man who just massively betrayed my trust."
Every time Jean-Jacques opened his mouth, I could tell Leonardo's mood was getting worse. His voice was low and quiet, but there was anger lurking underneath.
...What did Jean-Jacques do to make Leonardo-san this angry?
Three adult men and one little girl climbed into the box-shaped carriage Alf had prepared. Looking at the seats, it sat six, but it felt cramped. They had said they would bring a Sedovara Church member, but the one who climbed into the carriage was Jasper. Between Jasper and the disinfection equipment and chemicals, the carriage seats were occupied.
"...It is cramped."
"There is a cargo bed outside, but..."
"Why don't you put it thewe?"
"It is better not to expose this disinfectant to sunlight. If we are moving by carriage, it is better to put it inside."
...Something about degrading under ultraviolet light, maybe?
It was a small question, but I did not think I would get an answer if I asked, and even if I got a detailed answer I would have trouble understanding it, so I kept the comment in my head. In doing so, Jasper barely spoke a word. As always, he was a person with little idle talk outside of work, easy to get along with.
...Even though he is mean and I find him a bit hard to deal with, though.
I secured a window seat and sat down. The ride did not seem very comfortable, but the outside I could see through the small window felt a little fresh.
"This is my first time in a cawwage."
"Did you not go out to the city with Leonardo the other day? You did not ride one then?"
"Leonyaldo-san wanted to show me the roads that are safe for me to use, so we went out walking."
When I also told Alf that we had stopped at a tailor, a shoe shop, a candy shop, and a secondhand clothing store that day, he gave a wry smile. Maybe he could imagine just how much Leonardo had been spending.
"...Those roads Leonardo taught you about that are safe to use?"
"He said they are roads that are safe even for a girl to walk alone. Just the main stweet, the shopping district, and the district with lots of knights' houses, appwoximately. But he said I can walk alone now."
When I recited what I had learned counting on my fingers, Alf corrected me, saying it was only the north shopping district. Apparently there was also a shopping district in the south of the city. Being forbidden probably meant the public safety was different. Thinking about it, the customers and passersby at the shops Leonardo had taken me to were all wearing well-tailored clothes. It was probably a district with many wealthy people. A district with many wealthy people should also have more security.
"You can remember the roads this carriage will pass through from now on, but Tina should not walk here."
"Are we going somewhewe I am not supposed to go?"
"Today is special, right? We have three guards."
"One of them is a patient, though."
And the other one was not a knight but a Sedovara Church scholar. While having this conversation with Alf, I gazed at the scenery flowing past outside. Jean-Jacques, who had been so eager to go out for this shopping trip, was quiet.
...The people around here have patches on their clothes.
Besides patches, the cloth had a tired impression. There were stains, and the clothes were not ironed. It was a different kind of area from around Leonardo's house.
"What area are we in now?"
"This is Artisan Street. A bit further and we will reach Wholesaler Street, and beyond that is the south shopping district. Past the shopping district is the lower town, then a gate, and outside the gate is outside the city."
As I was talking without taking my eyes off the window, Alf warned me not to stick my face out too much. When I asked why, he told me that a child riding in a carriage would be seen as a rich child. If bad adults remembered your face, you might get kidnapped.
...I should definitely be careful about that.
I myself was just a village girl, but Leonardo, who had become my guardian, was different. I was basically left alone because he had work, but the way Leonardo spoiled me was almost unhinged. He had given me clothes and shoes made lavishly from high-quality, soft fabric, and even though I only ever went to the quarantine zone at the fortress, he had bought me plenty of hats and bags too. I was just wearing the clothes my guardian prepared, but right now I probably looked like a rich young lady from every angle. There was more than one reason I should not go out alone besides being a girl.
[Author's Note]
I will stop here since it has gotten long. Leonardo is busy. In Tina's sense, a knight order commander was about "a high-ranking Self-Defense Force person," but I thought that during peacetime, high-ranking Self-Defense Force people probably do not stand on the front lines with swords at the ready. They are the ones in suits working in conference rooms and at their desks, and Leonardo's peacetime work was probably like that too.