Volume 6, Chapter 27 – The Dire State of the Field Hospital

“Oh, this is even worse than I imagined.”

The field hospital at the garrison, where I had been led by the knights, was exactly as disastrous as the name suggested.

A single building, roughly the size of a gymnasium, was being used entirely as a hospital; the interior was so packed that beds filled even the hallways.

Even then, there weren’t enough beds for the number of casualties, as some people were lying directly on the floor.

As I entered the field hospital, I noticed the patients staring at my robe and whispering things like, “Oh, no way,” which led me to conclude that they were severely short on Healers.

“Welcome, Saint-sama. I am Dominic Brandel, the director of this Airoll field hospital.”

As he spoke, Dominic-san looked me up and down with a sleazy, appraising gaze, practically licking me with his eyes.

“I hail from the glorious House of Baron Brandel—”

“Yes. I’m Fiene. I will treat the patients in order of severity. Please lead the way. Also, gather all those with minor injuries in one place.”

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I cut off Dominic-san just as he was about to launch into a needlessly long self-introduction and gave him the necessary instructions.

“Y-Yes. Understood.”

“Also, are there any issues with poisons, diseases, or the like, such as curses?”

“Eh? Eh? S-Such reports… uh…”

Yep. This guy was definitely useless.

Deciding as much, I spoke to a middle-aged man nearby who looked like a doctor (*), wearing a white coat.

“Excuse me, Doctor.”

“Hm? What is it? I’m currently busy… Saint-sama!?”

“Yes. I am Fiene Argentata. I will be assisting you starting today. Now, what I want to know is: are there currently any problems regarding poison, disease, or curses?”

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“Y-Yes! I’m not sure about curses, but no epidemics have broken out so far. No one has been affected by poison yet either, though we don’t know what will happen if monsters with poison appear.”

“I see. Thank you. Doctor, may I ask your name?”

“Y-Yes! I-I am Melveik… I mean… I humbly present myself as Melveik… er…”

Somehow, his polite speech had become a complete mess.

“Dr. Melveik, I look forward to working with you. Also, you can just speak normally with me.”

“R-right… I’ll… uh… do that.”

While I was having this conversation with Dr. Melveik, the useless Dominic-san interrupted.

“Enough already! Don’t waste Saint-sama’s time, you eccentric! Get back to work!”

Having been chased off, Dr. Melveik politely excused himself before leaving.

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“Honestly. A mannerless commoner who doesn’t even greet me,” the useless Dominic-san muttered under his breath. Then, he turned back to me with a creepy smile plastered on his face.

“Saint-sama, that man is an eccentric—no, a madman who knows nothing of etiquette. Even when treating the wounded, all he does is tell people to wash their wounds, wash their hands, and even wash their hands before eating. Furthermore, he heats precious alcohol in some strange apparatus to make a suspicious liquid and forces everyone to use it. It is unacceptable for him to force such groundless practices on us nobles. He is a town doctor who happened to be caught up in the forced conscription, so I haven’t been able to kick him out easily, but please rest assured that I will remove him immediately should he commit any further rudeness toward you.”

“…”

I was appalled by his argument. This guy wasn’t just “useless Dominic-san”; he was “the better-off-not-here Dominic-san.”

In the first place, does he not know that alcohol extracted by distilling liquor is known by another name: Fiene Disinfectant? Ah, he probably doesn’t.

Regardless, that was seriously rude, wasn’t it? Even I was starting to get a little angry.

I stole a glance at the others.

Chris-san’s expression was definitely the one she makes when she’s suppressing her rage. Shizuku-san looked like she didn’t understand what he was even talking about.

As for Lu-chan… yeah, zero interest.

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“The better-off— ahem , Dominic-san. Once today’s treatments are finished, please gather the doctors and Healers so I may speak with them. Make sure Dr. Melveik is also present.”

“! Understood. Finally, I can kick out that quack.”

The better-off-not-here Dominic-san replied in a buoyant voice, but since I didn’t want him doing anything unnecessary, I decided to keep my mouth shut.

Author Note

(*) In this world, “Doctor” is not a Class granted by the Gods.

In the White Moon Kingdom, anyone who can compound designated medicines and pass the national examination can call themselves a doctor.

Nurses must similarly pass a national examination, but they are not required to be able to compound medicines themselves.