Chapter 119

119. The Black Death (2)

****

The plan was set, and the explanation about the Black Death had come to a close. Those gathered in the conference room nodded their heads.

“I’m not sure if this is my place to say, but the most important thing is not losing control of the situation. We’re the last line of defense.”

“Understood.”

The number of patients remaining at the temple is 50.

My guess is half will die, and half will recover. The problem lies with those in between.

Among the Black Death patients, there will be some who don’t respond well to treatment and also don’t die.

“Is there anyone with questions?”

Hedwig raised their hand.

“You seem to think that epidemic prevention is the most important thing? That we need to maintain control over the situation.”

“Yes.”

“What can we actually do?”

“Insecticides, rat poison, and rats themselves. Since rats can spread the Black Death, killing as many as possible will help with prevention.”

“Can other animals spread it too? For example, if we release cats to catch rats, could the cats spread the disease?”

I shook my head. While it’s not impossible for cats to get the Black Death, diseases don’t work that way.

Black Death thrives under specific conditions. Not every animal poses a danger, and certain carriers are more effective than others.

“Different animals have different abilities to transmit disease. Rats are the biggest concern, so using cats might still be effective—to some extent.”

“Hmm, we should try that then.”

“Killing rats…”

I clapped my hands.

“Let’s return to the ward. There are many patients with rising fevers, so don’t forget to manage their temperatures with wet towels. We must keep the fever below 39 degrees.”

“Understood.”

We need to manage symptoms. Istina and the other healers nodded. We left the classroom and headed back to the ward.

When I returned to the ward, I looked at Chris.

A patient suspected of having pneumonic plague.

The last time I saw them, they were showing symptoms like coughing, petechial bleeding, and fever. I prescribed antibiotics and anticoagulants…

It’s unclear if they’ve fully recovered.

The patient was doing what I asked, opening their eyes clearly and muttering something. It was a little scary, but it meant they were trying.

Or maybe they’ve gone crazy.

“Are you feeling okay?”

“Oh, I feel better than last time.”

I nodded.

The patient’s complexion seemed somewhat improved compared to when I first saw them. Last time, they were crying as if they were dying.

“Hello.”

“Uh, yes.”

“Does your head hurt?”

“No, not really.”

The most serious side effects of disseminated intravascular coagulation are strokes and heart attacks. They didn’t seem to have these issues. If they did, they’d likely already be dead.

Good that their head doesn’t hurt.

“The medicine seems to be working. Are you breathing okay? Can you show me your arms and legs?”

The patient extended their arm. Thankfully, the patient’s arm hadn’t turned black. The petechial bleeding didn’t seem to have worsened either.

I nodded.

“Does it look different from yesterday to you?”

“Well… kinda similar, I think.”

I thought about it. Administering anticoagulants won’t immediately eliminate petechial bleeding. At least it hasn’t gotten worse, which is fortunate.

“Are you still coughing?”

“No.”

“Have you taken all your medicine?”

“I’ve eaten it all.”

I nodded. It’s still too early to relax, but the patient seems to be getting better little by little. I hope they recover quickly…

“Doctor, how’s the situation outside?”

“It’s being handled.”

Though things didn’t look good.

I glanced around after looking at Chris. One patient with blackened limbs was carried out on a stretcher. They were probably dead…

And it wasn’t just one or two. Two empty stretchers came into the ward, carrying two people who barely seemed alive.

There were originally 50 patients in the ward. Three just died, leaving 47.

Oh, now it’s 46.

45.

****

Commander Rin knocked on the quarantined house again, but no one answered.

It was highly likely that the people isolated inside had died. Maybe they were scared by the rioters and hid or fled.

“Should we go in?”

“Yeah.”

Commander Rin anxiously stared at the marked door. The soldiers who entered returned with grave expressions.

“Anyone inside?”

“All the patients are dead. No survivors.”

“How many?”

“There are three bodies inside. They seem to have died from the Black Death a few hours ago.”

Commander Rin checked the list.

There were originally three people living in this house. With no survivors, there was no need to waste time on quarantine measures here.

Just burn it.

“Alright… hurry up. We’ll burn the house.”

“Got it. Should we collect the corpses?”

Commander Rin shook his head.

The soldiers who had entered quickly came out and moved away from the house. Commander Rin immediately called the staff once the scene was cleared.

“Firebomb.”

Bang!

The firebomb landed on the roof, and the house collapsed instantly. A small flame lingered among the rubble but wasn’t very large.

Commander Rin scratched his head. He couldn’t figure out what to do next. Even though they were conducting quarantine operations, four houses had already been burned.

It’s not just about people dying and houses burning down—though that is certainly a problem.

If the state cannot guarantee the safety of those in quarantine, how can they ask for cooperation in controlling the disease? This is an issue of maintaining order.

I hope the people sent to resolve this can find a solution. It’s going to get harder and harder to quarantine or burn houses one by one.

A quick solution needs to emerge soon.

****

At the Lord’s castle, three wizards were working. One of them was Commander Rin, whom I had seen earlier. I stared intently at Commander Rin.

Rin tapped their fingers on the desk.

“I heard there’s a solution.”

“There is.”

I cleared my throat slightly. It sounds simple, but I’m not sure if it’s immediately feasible.

“All the rats must be exterminated. The current patients will eventually die or recover, but rats can still spread the disease.”

“Hmm. You mean we have to kill all the rats?”

“Yes. Is that possible?”

“It might be.”

“How is that even possible?”

Kill all the rats?

I was curious about what Commander Rin would say, but they seemed unfazed. Sitting cross-legged, Rin explained casually.

“It’s not overly complicated. Have you heard the story of the Pied Piper?”

“Yes.”

Rin shrugged.

“I also have a flute. If I lead all the rats together and then destroy them at once, we can eliminate most of the city’s rats.”

Well, at least there’s a method.

****

Preparations took less time than expected.

In the central square of the city, wooden barricades and a massive pile of logs were completed. Hedwig poured vodka over the logs.

At least dozens of people had gathered.

A few soldiers from Vinia Castle held brooms, ready to drive the rats. In the center of the square, Commander Rin held a flute.

“I’ll explain the plan again! When I play the flute, the rats will gather. Once enough have gathered, we’ll lower the wooden planks to form a wall and push the rats toward the logs.”

We nodded.

“Be careful with your legs when the rats gather! They might spread the Black Death.”

I swallowed hard as the three wizards of the Lord began playing their flutes.

The eerie sound of the flutes. Whether due to the tension of the performers or listeners, it didn’t sound particularly good.

Is it not working?

I looked around.

The rats weren’t swarming immediately. Crows cawed overhead, and nearby, a cat’s meow echoed.

One rat passed by me.

Two.

Four.

Eight.

The rats formed a black wave. A sea of black fur and tails filled the square.

Too many rats scurried beneath my feet. I stood as still as possible to avoid drawing their attention.

The wooden barricades moved. It seemed like enough rats had gathered. Using wooden panels, we pushed the rats toward the logs.

Hundreds, thousands of squeaking sounds overlapped. People used the wooden barricades and brooms to push the rats.

Many rats were successfully driven onto the pile of logs… Then Rin put down the flute and picked up a wand.

“Ignite.”

Whoosh.

Flames erupted from the pile of logs.

The squeaks grew louder, turning into terrifying screams. I winced as people used tongs to grab the rats and throw them into the flames. Some ran around chasing escaping rats.

“Was that helpful?”

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