Chapter 61

Episode 61. Monster Hunt Festival (1)

“Teacher, I’ve been thinking…”

“You actually do that too?”

I lifted my head from the desk and glanced at Mint sitting on the sofa in the research lab. She looked a bit annoyed.

“Sorry. Please go ahead.”

I awkwardly scratched my head.

“Why are there monsters on the back hill of the Academy? Shouldn’t they all be exterminated since it’s dangerous?”

“I don’t know. Maybe there’s a reason we can’t eliminate them all? Like they’re too strong or something.”

“There must be some reason, but I just don’t know what it is.”

“Exactly.”

Possible reasons could be many – maybe the monsters there are particularly powerful, or they hide in the sewers of the Imperial Capital, or they’re kept for training purposes.

While not entirely logical by our standards, this world has its own set of rules. Guess we’ll just have to accept it.

I clicked my fountain pen shut with a tap.

“What brings you here today, Your Highness?”

“Alchemy studies.”

She paused thoughtfully.

“Though honestly, it all seems like a scam to me. The fundamental magic used in alchemy resembles transformation magic, you know?”

“Yes.”

I still don’t see how that makes it fraudulent.

“If everything can be explained away by some kind of transformation magic, I’m not sure what purpose the study of alchemy serves anymore.”

I think I see what she means. Though I don’t know much about alchemy, such thoughts could arise. But upon further reflection-

“Isn’t the main focus of alchemy studying what can be achieved without using magic? Otherwise, it starts overlapping too much with other branches of magical studies.”

“Are you saying that knowingly?”

“No, just my opinion.”

If you consider alchemy as this world’s equivalent to chemistry, then it makes sense. There’s no science department without chemistry, regardless of one’s major.

Mint nodded slowly.

“Maybe… Do you have any cookies in the lab?”

“Yes, wait a moment.”

I placed a bag of cookies on the desk, and Mint flicked her fingers. The bag floated over to her. It’s always fascinating to watch.

“What did you do today, Teacher?”

“Morning was spent writing research papers. This afternoon I need to visit the hospital ward. Wish the patients would stay away today.”

Crunch.

Mint was munching on the cookie – judging by the bite size, she just tasted it.

“Oh right, I hired a new graduate student.”

“Eh? Are you replacing Istina?”

“No, I hired another one.”

Hiring someone new sounds odd.

I’ll definitely keep Istina until she finishes her Ph.D. That goes without saying.

But what if she decides not to pursue her doctorate? I should think of ways to persuade her…

Anyway,

Mint seemed to have more to say.

“Is it a girl?”

“Yes.”

“Figures.”

“Your Highness, she is a female student, but I don’t personally select graduate students. People apply and get accepted.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

She narrowed her eyes skeptically. Come on, it’s true! I don’t choose my graduate students. If I could, I’d take on at least seven.

“Do you want to meet her?”

“Sure, let me know.”

I nodded.

Mint may be prickly, but she got along fine with Istina when they met. Meeting the new graduate student shouldn’t be a problem.

“I should go now…”

“Take care, see you next time.”

Mint gathered her things and left the lab. For some reason, she seemed in better spirits – probably because I agreed to introduce them.

A few minutes after Princess Mint left, Istina entered the lab.

“Professor, I’ve posted the notices as you instructed. But why are we doing that?”

“To preempt anyone trying to steal our paper during the review process. You know how long reviews can take.”

“Ah, I see.”

This is the most reliable method. With my name on the notice, it’ll be harder for anyone to steal our research. A lesson learned from Rosalind Franklin who missed out on the Nobel Prize.

Istina was looking at her notebook through her glasses – she seemed unusually serious. Did she have some new schedule?

I looked at her.

“Anything up?”

“Professor, there’s a Monster Hunt Festival coming up in a few days. It’s an event where people go around hunting summer-plaguing monsters.”

“Really?”

“We’ll likely have injured patients.”

Of course we will.

“What do these people even do? Spring has swordsmanship tournaments, summer has monster hunts. They never get a break.”

“Knights fight, that’s their job.”

While their actions still seem reckless to me, people in this world aren’t stupid. There must be reasons behind it.

I’ve heard before:

Only one person per noble family gets awarded titles. Even second sons of knight families aren’t guaranteed futures.

Most aspiring knights need to prove themselves on the battlefield.

Those aiming for titles, and those above them, all need to demonstrate their qualifications – usually on the battlefield.

So every season they basically compete to see who dies first. Or so I suspect.

“When is it?”

“Tomorrow.”

Great, more work incoming.

The next day,

As soon as the Monster Hunt Festival started, patients began arriving. While I question why anyone would willingly get hurt,

“Professor!”

“Right here. No need to shout.”

A patient arrived on a stretcher. Judging by their outfit and the staff carefully carried by their companion, they appeared to be a mage.

Quite a fantastical scene:

Knights, mages, archers, healers – looks like they’re forming four-person raid parties and wandering around.

It was too early to jump to conclusions, but at first glance, the patient didn’t seem too bad off. They were breathing, and their complexion was decent.

However, the drooling was concerning. Didn’t appear to be from trauma.

I once saw a similar case with someone who ingested organophosphate pesticides. Could be related?

Istina cleared her throat.

“This is a 22-year-old male patient named Eijiti. He collapsed during the monster hunt. The healer who brought him in thought he suffered a head injury.”

While possible, normal people don’t typically drool and collapse from bumping their heads. We’ll need to observe further.

“What’s wrong with him?”

The party’s healer looked distressed.

“I don’t know! He collapsed while we were moving. After casting healing magic, he could breathe but couldn’t speak or walk properly. His eyes lacked focus.”

“Did he collapse suddenly?”

“Could it have been a trap?”

Unlikely. If it were a trap, his ankles or shins would have been injured.

I took out a handkerchief and wiped the saliva from the patient’s mouth. Upon closer inspection, his breathing rate was low, and his breaths seemed shallow.

“When did he collapse?”

“While patrolling the forest. He muttered something on the way here.”

“What did he say?”

“Rainbow-colored ferns.”

Delusions.

I turned to Istina.

“Go fetch a rubber tube and bellows.”

“Yes!”

Besides breathing less, the unconscious mage didn’t seem critically endangered. Still, somewhat uncertain.

“Wake up, young man.”

“Ughhh…”

The healer who brought the patient looked anxiously restless.

“See, he must have hit his head while walking…”

While possible, there were no visible signs of head trauma.

Could the healing magic have compensated for reduced breathing? No way to know for sure. Istina returned with a bucket and rubber tube.

“Looks like he ate some mushrooms.”

“Mushrooms? Why?”

How should I know…?

People in this world do all sorts of strange things. Anyway, diagnosis established:

Toxic mushroom ingestion causing cholinergic crisis.

Typically caused by excessive stimulation of muscarinic acetylcholine receptors – something I’ve seen before with pesticide poisoning cases.

Main symptoms include drooling, tearing, muscle weakness, and hallucinations in some patients.

Treatment for cholinergic crisis involves atropine, though it doesn’t address respiratory failure. Atropine affects muscarinic acetylcholine receptors, while the receptors connected to the diaphragm are nicotinic acetylcholine receptors.

After explaining the complicated details, the conclusion is this: treatment with atropine is possible, but separate respiratory management is required.

I shook the patient awake again and injected atropine into his arm. Antidote administered. What’s next?

Gastric lavage first, or artificial respiration? He’s currently breathing, showing no signs of cyanosis.

Gastric lavage should come first.

“Let’s start with gastric lavage.”

I began inserting the rubber tube down the patient’s esophagus. Istina watched worriedly.

“Please monitor the patient’s breathing closely.”

“Yes.”

The patient’s gastric contents drained into the bucket. Gastric lavage proceeded smoothly.

“Will he be okay?”

“He’ll be fine since we’re at the hospital. If he had arrived any later, he might not have made it.”

The healer student, who had been frowning throughout, visibly relaxed upon hearing the reassurance.

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