Chapter 76

Episode 76. Return to Daily Life (1)

Mint returned to the Academy’s dormitory. It didn’t feel like she’d ever get used to it, but after being gone for a few days and coming back… now she understood.

The dorm felt as familiar as home.

The Imperial Princess opened the door to her long-neglected dorm room and was instantly enveloped in an inexplicable sense of ease. She must be getting used to Academy life now.

“Haa…”

Mint waved her hand, and the luggage she was carrying flew off to its rightful place in an instant. Freeing herself from all the clutter, she plopped onto her bed. A stuffed animal on the bed stared at her.

Mint hugged the doll tightly.

Unfortunately, the bear showed no reaction. It didn’t return the hug, wrap its arms around Mint, or even try to say anything cute.

This doll lacks charm…

It’s not like the real thing. Should I go visit again later…?

***

Istina arrived at the research lab and checked the calendar. The professor had been away at a symposium, giving her a few relaxing days off. But when did the professor return from the conference?

Ah, yesterday!

Which meant today he would be back at work. Istina finally realized the gravity of the situation.

‘What time does he usually arrive?’

She needed to clean the lab and make it look like she’d been doing some research. After all, she had practically been on vacation these past few days.

If only someone fed me moldy rice, my problems would be over.

This wasn’t entirely Istina’s fault—at least that’s what she thought. Even with Amy’s help recently, she was still handling the workload of three or four people: hospital shifts, research, outpatient observation…

Didn’t she deserve a break after a few days?

Anyway, those days are over now, and the professor will be back soon. What should she say?

No idea. Istina decided to just clean up before the professor arrived. That way, maybe she wouldn’t get yelled at too much.

Oh right, I almost forgot!

There was a patient admitted to the ward early this morning who needed the professor’s attention. She’d have to report that as soon as he arrived…

Even though the professor hadn’t shown up yet, Istina already had so much to do. Pulling out her notebook, she reviewed her to-do list.

First things first: check when the professor is arriving.

***

I returned to my own lab after a while.

Feels like it’s been almost a week.

Istina, who hadn’t come along to the symposium, was cleaning the lab. Was she upset about not being invited? She didn’t seem bothered, though.

Maybe she was glad to skip the boring event.

“Ah, Professor! Good day!”

“How’ve you been?”

“Yes.”

“What’re you doing here so early in the morning?”

Istina gestured toward the petri dishes.

“I came to check if the cultures grew properly.”

“Ah, you’re here to feed the moldy rice.”

Seeing how busy she looked, I decided not to bother her further.

I put down my bag and sat at my desk. Istina finished tidying up and approached my desk with the broom.

What else do I need to do? There are overdue outpatient consultations to catch up on, and we should probably admit new patients soon. But right now, the most important task is checking the progress of penicillin purification. Not much time has passed, but there might be some results.

“Istina, how’s the extraction process going from the blue mold? Any progress?”

“I haven’t consulted Alchemy Department yet, but I’ve tried spinning the culture medium in the centrifuge.”

Was there any success?

“As expected, we can separate solids and insoluble materials using that method.”

“Good job.”

“You said that last time too. They mentioned it could precipitate target compounds using specific substances, but it’ll require trial and error to succeed.”

Probably referring to barium, though it might be hard to obtain. Still, I feel like we’re close to discovering the method.

Things are changing rapidly every day.

“Do we have a large centrifuge available?”

“I’m looking into it. We’re trying to get the biggest one possible, but since they’ve only been used for a few months…”

Building one will take time.

Is there a machine capable of performing large-scale centrifugation? The modified magical fan we made last time was crude but functional.

Can we build a large centrifuge with this era’s technology? Thinking about it, creating something on that scale might be impossible.

On the other hand, maybe magic could provide a solution. Worth experimenting with.

“After visiting Professor Wolfram’s lab, please check if there’s been any progress in the research.”

“Yes, understood!”

Istina turned back as if remembering something.

“By the way, Professor, I asked if we could transfer a few more patients under your care. Since you’re back today…”

“Why would that be necessary?”

“They said critically ill patients would benefit more under your supervision.”

That makes sense. Based on outcomes, admitting patients under my care rather than other professors seems preferable.

“Alright, I’ll take a look.”

Another task added to my list: reviewing patients wanting admission to my ward.

I left the lab with Istina, who headed toward the Alchemy Department building.

Lately, I’ve spent too much time with molds. As a doctor, I need to see patients.

Let’s temporarily delegate the penicillin project to the graduate students and alchemists.

***

Still, if they waited for me to return, their conditions can’t be too critical. Let’s check the patients who wanted to be transferred to my ward.

As soon as I entered the ward, a nurse approached me.

“Professor, you’re here.”

“Yes, good day.”

“Other wards are over capacity, so they asked if we could admit a few more patients to your ward. Starting from early this morning.”

As expected, patients piled up during my absence. I nodded.

“How many patients?”

“Two.”

“Admit both. I’ll examine them.”

I hope they aren’t critically ill.

***

First patient:

“Uh, the patient says they’ve had a headache since yesterday, along with rising fever and swelling below the neck. No clear cause suspected, and herbal teas haven’t helped.”

Amy nervously glanced between the patient’s medical record and me. This was her first time assisting with a real patient.

“Hmm.”

“The patient attempted bloodletting to remove poisoned blood, but it didn’t improve.”

Fucking hell.

I looked at Amy.

“What disease do you suspect?”

“Well, since there’s a fever… perhaps bacterial infection?”

“Fever is often caused by infections.”

“What kind of bacteria?”

“Let’s ask the patient.”

A few possibilities came to mind.

High fever, palpitations, rapid breathing, impaired consciousness—serious but non-specific symptoms.

How do we know the severity? Because they resorted to bloodletting and visited this major hospital. Why did they even attempt bloodletting?

This condition is classified as seasonal infectious disease back in Korea, but given the colder climate here, it seems to appear earlier by a few months.

Though it’s unclear how much effect the bloodletting and herbal remedies had… regardless, I believe it’s the disease I suspect.

I walked with Amy to the bedside of the first patient, who appeared unwell, wincing in pain.

“Good day, patient.”

“Ah, yes.”

I briefly observed the patient’s overall demeanor. Despite the discomfort, their posture remained upright, reducing the likelihood of localized pain.

For example, if the liver were affected, the body would naturally tilt toward the right side where the liver is located. This suggests the pain source is non-specific or systemic.

The patient’s hands showed calluses and dirt under the nails, indicating outdoor work. Breathing was steady without signs of coughing or phlegm, though the respiratory rate was slightly elevated.

This raises suspicion of systemic inflammation.

“What is your name?”

“Joseph.”

I grabbed the patient’s wrist to check the pulse… which was normal in rhythm and speed.

Ah, that’s where the bloodletting happened. Lifting the patient’s arm, I noticed Amy quickly applied a bandage.

“What is your occupation?”

“Rose farming.”

“Ah, I see.”

I anticipated farming, but growing roses was unexpected.

“Have you been outdoors recently?”

“Yes.”

“Have you been bitten by insects?”

“Not sure, maybe occasionally?”

I turned to Amy.

“What disease do you suspect?”

“Um, I think it might be pneumonia. The patient’s breathing is fast, they have a fever, and their breath sounds seem abnormal.”

Possible, but less likely. While the breath sounds are irregular, it doesn’t seem severe enough to classify as pneumonia. I shook my head.

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