Chapter 112
Translator: Yonnee
RP: Haebaragi_syk
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The same moment the priest said that, chills ran up Reinaâs spine. She reeled and her vision spun for a moment, and the knight captain standing next to her tried to offer an arm to her, however.
âNo. It would be better if we donât have any contact right now.â
She had examined a patient with these gloves. Regardless of whether she would be in contact with a part thatâs covered by clothes, it was still better not to do so.
As Reina refused the captainâs help, she lowered her head and bit her lower lip.
To others, it might have looked like she was mourning the deaths of the people mentioned just now, and so the priest offered words of consolation.
âIt is only natural for Bharanâs touch to reach such despicable men.â
ââ¦â¦â
Yet again, the same tiring mention of âBharanâs touchâ.
People either died or were saved, but why must a godâs intention be so closely tied to such a thing.
âThey would not be able to find solace in Chadarrâs embrace because they had refused Uttaâs guidance. So, Lady, you donât have to be sad.â
In this world, people always said the same thing whenever one would get afflicted with the plague.
âSinners are different from ordinary people who become afflicted with sickness. Because they had committed misdeeds, Bharanâs touch eventually reached them.â
Bharanâs touch. As Bharan was called as the god of death and known as the incarnate of misfortune, Bharanâs touch was akin to karma to all those who had sinned. Therefore, the temple of Utta called patients who had been afflicted with the plague as âsinnersâ.
A deranged smile flickered upon Reinaâs lips.
âEven if the health sector is trying so hard⦠I canât believe their efforts amounted to only this much.â
She already resigned herself long ago to the fact that the people of this era were not even aware of viruses or bacteria. Nevertheless, she felt herself getting nauseous.
Was it because of the patientsâ symptoms?
No. It was all because she had confirmed the plagued with her own two eyes, and she was now witnessing the frightening reality that people were completely accepting this as the will of a god.
Even though she had not eaten anything before this, nausea kept rising up. Her judgment became clouded at the staggering circumstances now, and her thoughts were completely muddled. With her senses disturbed, even her breathing could not flow properly.
âMilady! Are you alright?!â
Forcing her trembling legs to continue standing, Reina shook her head.
âFirst⦠First, letâs all leave.â
* * *
As soon as they exited the temple, Reina and the knights burned all of the outer cloth that they were wearing. And, she also ordered the group who had been in contact with the villagers to promptly take a shower.
âMilady. Iâve prepared the liquor you mentioned, coughâ¦Â By any chance, youâre not drinking, are you? Cough, cough.â
Grimacing, Mary coughed repeatedly as heavy smoke rose up in the air from the fire thatâs burning the pieces of cloth.
âNo, Iâll be using it as disinfection.â
âCoughâ Disinâ¦fection?â
âYes, Iâll explain it to you later.â
Mary would not be able to comprehend it right now even if Reina tried to explain it in detail. They didnât have the time for it anyway, so she firmly gave orders first instead.
âFirst, we must filter out all the sediment in the fermented liquor. Donât touch it for a while and just leave it as is.â
âYes, I understand.â
Reina ordered the knights and attendants of House Chantra to filter the sediment, then she told them to distill the liquor as well. Besides that, she advised them to be particularly careful with the alcohol(methanol) in vinegar.
âYou have to be careful not to inhale it by mistake. Itâs toxic. Then, after that, please collect the alcohol from the currents.â
If ethanol from the currents could be diluted to an appropriate concentration, theyâd be able to come up with alcohol for disinfection.
Of course, this could never treat the disease. Prevention was all that could be done to fight it.
But what could be the extent of prevention? Under circumstances like these, even that was like a welcome rain amidst a drought.
âThere are so many things to prepare⦠But before that, the utmost priority is the villageâs cooperation.â
In this place where the temple of Utta had strong influence, would her words reach them?
She was already worried.
* * *
Two days passed by in a blur. Prior to a full-scale deployment, she had trained the people of House Chantra and prepared all the items they needed in the meantime.
All throughout this period, dead bodies continued to come out of the temple.
Even though she was in a hurry, she couldnât rush this process. Reina desperately pressed down her impatience.
âHuuâ¦Â Our basic preparations are finally completed.â
Fortunately, the knights of the fourth order were originally the personnel to be dispatched to deal with the plague spreading through the Launcer Village, so they all had at least some divine power for healing.
âI told them all to keep coating themselves with a healing blessing, so⦠The odds that theyâd be afflicted with the plague should be lesser.â
Of course, this had yet to be confirmed, but records so far show that people covered with divine power were marginally more resistant to the plague.
âThen, the next step is to get the full cooperation of the village chief and the Elder Council⦠To do that, Iâll have to take a look at the records of the plague from the Bezak estate.â
However, all related documents were at the Ministry of Healthâs head office.
âIâm just an intern, so I canât just request to see the documentsâ¦Paulâs in the Lencian estate right now right now, so heâs out of the question⦠Haa, what do I do?â
Even if she were to send a request for the documents through her household name, itâs unlikely that her father or grandmother would listen to her.
âTheyâre already upset that Iâm in this placeâ¦â
Fully engrossed in her contemplation, Reina held the pendant that was hanging on her belt.
âIn the end, is Ethan the only one I can ask for help?â
She was a little embarrassed to do so because she had cut off the call they had when she first arrived here.
ââ¦No. Peopleâs lives come first.â
Determined now, she began to press on the pendant here and there just as Ethan told her to. Then, from the area where the lace of the pendant and the pendant itself were connected, a red light began to flicker.
âIs it working?â
Beepâ Beepâ Beepâ
A confirmation of the callâs transmission was soon heard, and so she brought the pendant in front of her face.
However, it was a little strange.
âWhat? The sound isnât coming from this?â
She thought that the beeping noise was coming from the pendant to signify that the call was being connected, but when she listened closely, the sound was coming from the hallwayânot the pendant itself.
âIs it an alarm?â
No way. Had a fire broken out?
Reina took her cape from a hook on the wall and put it on. With short and quick steps, she went to the door and opened it.
Then.
âHuh?â
Just the same as it was at the Thurn Village, the last thing she could ever expect was seeing him here, right before her eyes.
âEthan?â