Volume 1, Chapter 43 – Endgame

“The Gatilue Saint Emergency Hospital, you say?”

“Yes. They’ve temporarily opened four emergency hospitals throughout the Royal Capital!”

Hmm, from the naming sense to this forceful pushiness, she’s really something.

And while I was standing there impressed, she walked past me to the plaza in front of the Temple and began giving a speech to the large crowd of gathered guards and knights.

“Everyone, I am Charlotte du Gatilue, the next Saint. As you all know, our precious Royal Capital is currently under attack by the demon known as the Mummy Disease. Until now, my rival Fiene Argentata, along with the Temple’s priests, healers, and all of you guards have been fighting desperately to protect the capital from this terrible demon. But the battle of mere defense ends here! Now, through the efforts of myself, House Gatilue, and the noble families and merchants who support us, preparations to eradicate this fearsome demon are complete. Guards and knights gathered here, now is the time we need your strength. We need the strength of you all, the pride of our White Moon Kingdom, who possess the courage to not fear disease and fight to protect the people. Now, shall we fight together?!”

“WOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!”

Wow, incredible. As expected of a noble. Her charisma is on another level. The people gathered in the plaza were swept up in a whirlwind of fervor.

“May God’s Blessings be upon the Royal Capital!”

“God’s Blessings!”

Yeah. It would’ve been perfect if not for that final boon followed by a jumping dogeza.

◇ ◇ ◇

“Now then, please proceed according to the arrangements I have prepared.”

The strategy was extremely simple: block by block, from end to end, a rolling operation to find patients, forcibly transport them to the hospital for isolation and treatment.

And the locations where patients were found would be thoroughly cleansed with Cleansing Magic.

Houses that didn’t open their doors would apparently have their doors kicked in for inspection.

Indeed, this operation would have been impossible for us alone.

It seems only a high-ranking noble could mobilize this many people.

Reаd оո KαtRеαdіոɡСαfе

I was assigned to rotate through the hospitals as part of the cleansing unit during daylight hours, and the treatment unit from evening onward.

By the way, Char’s Skill Levels in both Healing Magic and Holy Magic weren’t high enough, so her role was apparently directing the operation and restoring the stamina of exhausted personnel.

And so, the battle against the Mummy Disease entered a new phase.

Starting from the central plaza and gradually expanding outward, they meticulously tracked down patients and their cohabitants for forced transport.

And those who resisted were beaten and taken anyway.

It was pitiful, but I told myself it was unavoidable and averted my eyes.

The patients weren’t treated on the spot but were loaded onto carriages and taken to the nearest hospital.

We in the cleansing unit cleansed every single building with Cleansing Magic.

Of course, MP Recovery Medicines were indispensable.

I’d completely gotten used to this taste I used to find disgusting and hate.

I wouldn’t call it delicious, but I’d drunk so many during this commotion I’d lost count.

Thanks to that, I’d practically mastered the art of shutting my mind off and chugging it down.

We’d head into town with the 8 AM bell and carry out cleansing operations.

Then, with the 4 PM bell, we’d go to the hospital to treat the sick and perform cleansing.

Since there were more users of Disease Treatment Magic than Cleansing Magic, we’d usually finish around the time the 6 PM bell rang.

Then we’d return to the Temple, share information with Char in the operations room for about an hour, and rest—that was the routine.

Rеаⅾ on КαtReаⅾіոgCаfе

Thanks to Char, things had become much easier compared to when we were running around blindly.

Plus, knowing how many patients there were and which areas had been cleared of infection was psychologically very reassuring.

On the map, the cleared areas would gradually be colored blue, and you could see that blue spread a little farther each day.

The hospitals were also very well thought out.

The buildings were separate.

Transported people were first brought into a building called the intake ward.

From there, they were taken to the treatment room for treatment, but they weren’t returned to the intake ward; instead, they were moved to a convalescence ward.

There, they’d recuperate for about three days, and once it was determined they’d recovered enough strength, they were sent home.

At first, there was backlash against the forced isolation method, but the fact that people returned home safely, combined with the fact that some even had their injuries or chronic illnesses cured upon return, caused the criticism to die down rapidly.

Incidentally, I was the one who cured all those injuries and chronic illnesses. I healed the injuries because I felt bad since some people had been beaten when brought in, but for the chronic illnesses… instead of thinking “Mummy Disease, be cured,” I ended up thinking “Disease, be cured,” and… well, that’s what happened.

Apparently, curing chronic illnesses is quite advanced magic, so I pretended not to know. With my Skill Level at MAX, moderation is difficult.

After about a month passed this way, every district of the Royal Capital had been cleansed and liberated from infection.

And one week after the last infected person was confirmed, the end of the Mummy Disease was declared for the capital.

The number of victims from this Mummy Disease had reached 500, centered mainly in the depths of the northern slums.

It seems there were many cases of people passing away quietly, unknown to others.

Apparently, this finally made the people at the top recognize how important sanitation in the slums really was, so I can only hope they’ll be able to respond a bit faster from now on.

Rеаⅾ оn КαtRеαⅾіոɡСαfe

And finally, I was able to return to the Jez Herbal Apothecary where Shishou was.

“Shishou, Ma’am, I’m back.”

“…Ah, welcome ba—”

“Aaaaah, Fiene-chan, Chris-chan! You’re back! Really, I’m so glad you’re safe. And I heard you were amazing! Ah, I’ve been so worried all this time? Ah, I’m so glad. Really, really!”

Ma’am rushed out and hugged me tightly with tremendous force.

Being crushed against her surprisingly powerful, somewhat plump frame made it a little hard to breathe.

“Ghk—, nngh—”

“Ma’am, Fiene-sama is going to suffocate!”

“Hm? Ah, sorry about that, Fiene-chan. I’m just so glad you’re really safe. Did you two not catch the Mummy Disease?”

Saying that, Ma’am released me from her hug attack.

“Yes. Fiene-sama constantly used Disease Treatment and Cleansing Magic to ensure we wouldn’t catch the Mummy Disease.”

“Is that so? Fiene-chan really is amazing after all. I was truly moved. Ah, but you know, out in the world, it seems like the young lady from House Gatilue who showed up later is getting all the credit for being amazing, rather than you two who worked hard from the very beginning. I just can’t accept that, you know? You two were working so hard from the start.”

“But if Char hadn’t done things that way, I think I’d probably still be fighting the Mummy Disease. So, the reason I could make it back to this shop is because of Char. I couldn’t have done something like that.”

“Hmmm? Is that how it is? But I still think you two deserve a bit more praise.”

“Your saying that is more than enough, Ma’am. Besides, all the patients I treated were grateful to me.”

It’s true, you could say Char took almost all the glory.

Rеaⅾ оn ΚatRеaⅾіngСafе

But I’m grateful to Char, and I think that’s fine.

That kind of mobilizing lots of people just isn’t for me; it’s a matter of the right person for the right job, I suppose.

Besides, Char genuinely wishes to become the Saint to fulfill a promise with a precious friend, and she’s acting to make that happen.

It’s not like I want to become the Saint, and it’s not like I want to defeat the Demon Lord and save the world, so it’s better for the person who wants to be the Saint more to become the Saint.

I feel a bit bad towards Chris-san, who believes I’m the Saint, but I don’t intend to change anything because of that.

But the reason I worked this hard was just that, a little bit—yeah, just a tiny little bit—I’d grown attached.

There were simply more things I wanted to protect now.

That’s all.

It’s just AnnyOn, just a game, after all. Probably.

I’m supposed to return to the real world eventually.

It’s better not to carry extra burdens.

Yes, it’s better not to.

But, just a little bit…

Translator Note

Our Vampire finally said it~