“Ugh, the smell.”
Hills said, clutching his nose.
While saying, as they approached the barracks, the stench pricked their noses. It was rude to say that sick people smelled, but this time, they understood Hills’ attitude.
Arundel also did her best to pretend to be okay, but she couldn’t help but frown.
Looking to the side, the situation of the priests didn’t look much different. The only person who maintained the usual attitude was Lucas.
He rummaged through his luggage and pulled out a small cloth. And he wrapped it around his face. Soon he came to Arundel with the cloth.
“We don’t know the route of infection, so we should be careful with breathing or saliva. But we can’t help but touch them.”
Arundel suddenly remembered what the Pope had said.
[Do priests not get the plague?]
[Yes. So far, there have been no reports of priests getting sick. But it won’t hurt to be careful.]
He was right. It wouldn’t hurt to be careful. Arundel nodded and wrapped the piece of cloth that he gave around her face.
It was a bit stuffy, but the stench that stimulated the sense of smell felt less, and it seemed like they could survive.
Not only Arundel, but Hills and other priests also covered their faces with cloth.
When they finished preparing, Lucas explained.
“The current treatment center is full of patients. As you can see, patients who have lost their place have been driven into the barracks.”
“I see.”
Arundel nodded with a serious face.
“The patients in the barracks are in worse condition than the patients in the treatment center. There are limits to treatment because the supply of goods is not properly carried out, and sanitation is not managed.”
It was as Lucas said.
Tents were lined up on the street, and people were barely lying on the dirty cloth spread on the ground. Some were just sitting anywhere because there was no place to lie down.
“So, what should we do?”
Arundel asked Lucas. Lucas closed his eyes for a moment and then opened his mouth.
“Her Majesty the Empress, I ask you to look after the children and the elderly who have a high mortality rate. I will assign you priests.”
“What about Lucas?”
“I need to meet the administrator here.”
As he said that, Lucas noticed Hills standing still.
“You are…”
“I came to protect Her Majesty the Empress. I’m not going to work.”
“We need someone to fetch water.”
Lucas’s tone was firm. Hills exhaled as if he was absurd.
“Ha, then you fetch it.”
“First, I need to meet the administrator here to accurately understand the situation. Then I will help as much as I can.”
At Lucas’s ambitious words, Hills just shut his mouth and glared at him.
Unable to watch any longer, Arundel intervened between the two.
“Captain Hills.”
Arundel lifted a bucket nearby.
“Please fetch the water.”
And she pushed it in front of Hills.
“If you won’t go, I will.”
At Arundel’s threat that wasn’t a threat, Hills took the bucket. And he turned around and walked away briskly. His walk was full of emotion.
It seemed like he was a little more upset than before… but it couldn’t be helped now. They were short-handed as it was, they couldn’t just watch him play alone.
And what was he protecting? There was no demon here, only patients who were dying.
Just looking at his fast-walking back, Hills’s pouting expression could be imagined.
‘…I’ll let him off later.’
Arundel shook her head.
****
So Hills disappeared to fetch water, and Arundel took two priests and went into the tent where the children and the elderly were.
The sound of groaning was heard from all around.
As they heard from the Duke of Lillit, everyone’s skin was darkened, and large spots were spread all over their bodies.
‘…I’ve never heard or seen such symptoms.’
Arundel approached the doctor who was taking care of the patients in the tent.
The doctor’s face brightened noticeably when he saw Arundel’s group.
“You must be the priests who came to support.”
“Ah, this person is…”
Because of the robe she was wearing, it seemed like he mistook Arundel for a priest.
One of the priests tried to correct him, but Arundel quickly stopped him.
“Yes, that’s correct. We are the priests who came to support this time.”
“Nice to meet you. Most of the priests were at the treatment center, so it was difficult.”
The doctor’s face showed deep fatigue. It seemed like his dark circles would reach the ground soon.
“So, what can we do to help?”
“You can lower the fever.”
At the doctor’s words, Arundel looked at the priests. From their troubled expressions, it seemed they were thinking the same thing.
They could control a person’s body temperature with divine power, but its duration was not long.
The divine power stays in a person’s body for at most a day. They couldn’t use divine power every day.
Arundel, who was pondering, asked the doctor.
“Are other priests also treating people like this?”
“Yes, they are.”
The doctor added an explanation as if he knew what Arundel was curious about.
“I know it’s not a fundamental solution. But right now, there’s no other way. We can’t directly treat with divine power because we can’t identify the route of infection…”
As the doctor said, to treat with divine power, they needed to know the affected area precisely. It was impossible for a regular priest to infuse divine power into the whole body.
“Even if you lower the body temperature for a few days, the immune system often recovers and gets treated. That’s what we’re hoping for in this situation.”
“How often does recovery happen?”
“About 10%. It may seem small in percentage, but if there are patients who get better like that, we have to do it.”
Arundel understood the doctor’s words.
It was right to do anything if they could save even one person. But it was also true that the efficiency was poor.
They had divine power, and all they could do was lower the body temperature.
Arundel, who was biting her lips in frustration, turned her head at the sound of crying from the side.
Wah-!
A child, who seemed to be half the size of Arundel, was curled up and crying.
Arundel quickly approached the child and checked his condition. Black spots almost completely covered his face.
“Good boy.”
Arundel, who was stroking the child’s head, gathered divine power in her hand. And she pushed it into the center of the child’s body.
The divine power would lower the body temperature.
Whether he felt a little more comfortable, the child stopped crying and exhaled evenly.
The doctor, who saw this, approached.
“It’s amazing. This is the first time I’ve seen a case of a patient calming down so quickly.”
Since she had injected a considerable amount of divine power, it probably had a positive effect besides lowering the body temperature.
But Arundel, who couldn’t tell the truth, just smiled awkwardly.
****
The day passed really quickly. They used divine power without a break, and Hills wiped the surroundings with the water he fetched.
Thanks to that, the smell around them subsided a lot, but since the clothes the patients were wearing were already heavily contaminated, it was hard for the stench to completely disappear.
“Shall we go back now?”
Lucas appeared in the tent and signaled the end of the day.
They were able to leave the tent when it already got dark and the surrounding could hardly be seen.
‘Ah… we came by horse.’
Arundel thought, looking at the horse neighing in front of the tent.
Her body was exhausted from using excessive divine power with a human body. Arundel weakly grabbed the horse’s reins.
If you want to go, you have to ride…
As Arundel was about to get on the horse, a strong force holding her waist made her feet touch the ground again.
He thought it would be Hills, but Lucas’s neat face appeared.
“Ride with me. I’ll give you a ride.”
At Lucas’s consideration, Arundel waved her hand.
“I’m fine…!”
“No, you’re not. Her Majesty the Empress worked so hard today. It will be hard for you to ride a horse.”
At Arundel’s firm words, one of the priests who had worked with him today intervened.
“Considering that you used much more divine power than us, it’s natural that you’re tired. If a regular priest had used that much, they would have already collapsed.”
Is that so…
Arundel looked at Lucas with an intrigued expression.
“Let’s ride together.”
Lucas suggested again with a kind smile.
‘Then, pretending to lose, let’s just ride together…’
“Doing whatever you like.”
You showed up now? Weren’t you upset…?
Arundel looked at Hills with a tired face. His face was full of anger. It seemed like he was about to explode.
“Are you crazy? Trying to touch Her Majesty the Empress!”
“I’m not trying to touch her, I just want to give her a ride because she looks tired.”
Despite Lucas’s calm words, Hills was raging. Arundel knew how to suppress Hills at times like this.
“You pervert, thinking I wouldn’t know your intentions…”
“Hills.”
Hills, who was shooting daggers at Lucas, stopped talking and looked at Arundel. His face was red and blue, and he seemed very angry.
“You give me a ride.”
“…What?”
“I’m tired, so you give me a ride today.”
Hills made a dumbfounded expression for a moment, then brought his fist to his mouth and coughed.
“If Her Majesty the Empress commands, I have no choice. I will give you a ride today.”
He was like a fox, not a dragon.
Hills laughed as if nothing happened. And he didn’t forget to throw a scornful laugh at Lucas.
He gently pulled Arundel onto the horse. Hills’s eyes sparkled, he seemed excited.
‘Yes. It was time to let him off.’
Was he going through puberty? He had been quite rebellious lately. He was like a young child craving affection. At times like this, a carrot was needed rather than a whip.
As expected, Hills happily accepted the carrot.
Arundel, looking at Hills who was satisfied, looked at Lucas. Lucas, as if he didn’t care at all, got on the horse with his usual peaceful look.
After about an hour of horse riding, they arrived back at the Duke’s mansion. After stopping by the stable to tie up the horse, Lucas gathered the group.
“Everyone, you’ve worked hard. We’ll meet at the same time tomorrow morning. If you experience symptoms like fever or cough, please let me know right away.”
Lucas looked quite neat considering the hard day he had. Everyone nodded, saying ‘Understood’.
“You’ve worked hard. See you tomorrow.”
Arundel also gave a faint smile and bid farewell to the priests, including Lucas.
Hills grumbled from behind, ‘Do we have to see each other again?’ but she ignored it lightly.
Arundel and Hills were the first to leave.
The remaining priests were about to move, but Lucas stopped them.
“Was there anything unusual today?”
At Lucas’s question, one of the priests thought for a moment and opened his mouth.
“It wasn’t anything special…but there was more difference in the patients than I thought.”
“Do you mean by divine power?”
Lucas asked with a puzzled expression.
He knew it well, but coming here, Lucas felt it again. Divine power was a temporary measure, it could never be enough to cure.
He confirmed that fact once again through the administrator of the barracks.
But there was a difference.
“Yes. To be precise, it’s Her Majesty the Empress’s divine power. Our power was so weak that it didn’t have much effect.”
“The divine power that Her Majesty the Empress uses is very clear and abundant even if you glance at it from the side. It seemed like she was hiding it because of some circumstances, but she didn’t hide it in the barracks.”
Lucas, who heard the explanation of the priests, looked at the dark night sky. His gaze towards the sky looked blank.
“Chief Priest?”
A priest asked in a worried voice. Lucas shook his head with a strange smile.
“No, it’s nothing.”
