I Became a Plague Doctor in a Romance Fantasy Novel

Episode 71. Summer Getaway, and the Conference (1)

Episode 71. Summer Getaway, and the Conference (1)

Today’s Mint was the happiest Mint had looked lately. Mint was wearing a flowing dress and a narrow-brimmed straw hat.

With a very bright smile.

“Good morning!”

“Ah. Hello.”

Today’s the day we leave for Whitby.

It was still pre-dawn, the sun barely up, but Mint, as if the sun were blazing, clutched her hat and looked up at the sky.

“The weather’s nice…!”

“Yeah, it is.”

It’s not even really light out yet. I guess that meant her mood was nice, not the actual weather. Still, I played along. Glad she’s in a good mood.

The carriage procession was quite grand.

Princess Mint’s guards and servants, officials heading to Whitby, and people like me from the academy, or other guests.

As an aside. Amy, who was supposed to go with me to the academy, was riding in a different carriage.

“Let’s get going.”

I climbed into the carriage first, then took Mint’s hand as she followed. Mint took off her hat as soon as she got in.

We were still holding hands.

I looked at Mint.

“Your Highness. Your hand.”

“Ah. Right.”

Mint paused a moment before letting go of my hand. She was still smiling brightly, but this time, the curve in her eyes made her look like she was teasing, or maybe just mischievous.

I looked at Mint.

“You must be happy, Professor?”

“What do you mean?”

“That I’m playing with you.”

Was what Mint said a projection, or just some self-absorbed joke? Honestly, it was a little ridiculous, but whatever. I nodded anyway.

“Yeah, you’re right. Thanks.”

“There’s no soul in that answer.”

“Do they teach mind-reading in magic class?”

“Of course not.”

Mint let out a dry laugh at that. The departing carriage lurched for a moment.

How much time had passed? Mint was staring out the carriage window. The carriage was moving fast, and the scenery was flashing by.

Well, fast for a carriage, anyway.

It’s slow compared to a car.

“Motion sickness patch.”

“Oh, right. Thanks.”

Mint took the scopolamine patch from my hand and stuck it behind her ear.

“There’s a magic seminar in Whitby this time, I heard? Thinking of going to that, when the Professor goes to his conference.”

“Sounds interesting.”

“What’s the Professor going to present?”

“I’m presenting the antibiotic I made. The new one that kills bacteria.”

“You can do that, too?”

“Yeah.”

“Professor. What about starting a pharmaceutical company? If you could, that would be pretty cool.”

“I’ll think about it. Right now, it feels more important to stay at the hospital and in academia.”

That’s for later. Maybe, if more scientific theories are published, my students grow, and we have drugs we can use or make.

It’s not like I didn’t have thoughts of starting a pharmaceutical company or hospital in the future. But I wasn’t going to achieve it by hiding information about penicillin.

Right now, it seemed important to see patients and spread medical theories widely within academia.

“But. If it’s a drug that makes money, is there a need to publish it in academia? Isn’t it better if only the teacher knows the method and sells it?”

I shook my head.

“Uh… I don’t intend to do that. At least not for this drug. I think it’s too big of a discovery to use solely for profit.”

“You really think that?”

“Yes.”

Even in my original world, it was ruled that a patent for penicillin wasn’t possible. In this world, if I pushed it, or took advantage of the information gap, maybe I could…

But that’s a no-go in my book.

“You’re less greedy for money than I thought, Teacher.”

“Princess, do you know how much money comes into my account from book royalties at the academy, hospital salary, patient donations, and things like that?”

Mint shook her head.

“You don’t, do you?”

“Anyway. It’s quite a lot.”

About 300 times Luciana Teacher’s salary is what comes in. Honestly, the fact that I don’t think much about money also has to do with that.

“I wonder how much longer until we arrive?”

“I don’t know, either.”

I checked my watch. It hasn’t even been an hour yet, so it’ll take a while, won’t it?

“I heard we’re going through other cities.”

“Should’ve ridden a wyvern, huh?”

“Next time, let’s do that.”

The sun was finally high. Midday, after dawn. Mint nodded.

“If we have a lot left, I’m gonna sleep a bit.”

“Go ahead.”

“Then, excuse me…”

Mint leaned her head against my shoulder.

Her hair smelled a little like shampoo. I couldn’t see her face, but

I could see her cheek, faintly glowing in the sunlight.

But. If she’s like this, I can’t move until she wakes up, right? Should I not have let her?

After a few minutes, Mint’s breathing turned into quiet snores. Looks like she’s already asleep. When will she wake up, I wonder…?

Another hour or so passed. The scenery outside the window had changed from before. Seems like we’re out of the capital’s vicinity now.

Gotta wake Mint up.

“Your Highness. Wake up.”

“Uhm?”

“Your Highness.”

I poked Mint to wake her up.

Mint leaned even more weight onto me, rested her chin on my shoulder… After a bit more poking, she finally rubbed her eyes groggily and woke up.

I pushed Mint back to a sitting position.

“What? Are we there already?”

“No, I’m just bored.”

“What… what kind of nonsense is that?”

Mint crossed her legs and sat up properly again.

Maybe it was the good sunlight, or maybe it was that she was still smiling. At this moment, she had an aura that made the title of ‘the Empire’s most beautiful’ not seem like an exaggeration.

Not flashy, but the kind of look that came from an impeccable perfection and a pristine impression. Sun-kissed porcelain skin, and soft, flowing hair.

She looked sleepy, though, which made it less than perfect, but that was just the feeling. Mint blinked as if she still hadn’t fully woken up.

“Come to think of it. If I’m leaning on you, you probably can’t even doze off, can you, teacher? You must’ve been just sitting there, staring blankly.”

“That is correct.”

“Want me to give you a lap pillow?”

“I’ll decline—no, you’re joking, right?”

Ahem.

Mint nodded slightly, smiling.

A moment later.

Mint rustled around in her bag for a bit, then pulled out a thin notebook and spread it open on her lap. Guess she’s thinking of studying since there’s some time left.

“Teacher.”

“Yes.”

“Tell me what you were talking about earlier. About making medicine?”

Ah, that.

How to explain this in the easiest way?

“To be specific. This time we discovered a substance with sterilizing properties in blue mold. I want to propose a study at the conference to explore its clinical application.”

Mint was thinking about something.

“Is there a way?”

“We’re still researching it in the lab. The production process is complex. We’ve passed the results to the Alchemy Department, but success isn’t guaranteed yet.”

“It’ll work out, right?”

“It has to.”

It really was no ordinary task.

They say that in the early days of penicillin research, they even tried to extract penicillin again from the urine of patients who had taken it.

That meant the research was being done under incredibly difficult circumstances in the early days. We’re way better off than those researchers who were collecting patient urine to recycle penicillin.

“So that’s why you’re going to share it at the conference? Because other researchers might find an answer too.”

“That’s the gist.”

“It’s kind of strange, though. Every time I see you, you’re researching something different. Isn’t that unusual?”

“I’m trying to get results quickly. Medical research, you know, it can help someone right away. So I tend to publish as quickly as possible.”

Even if it means sacrificing other things. I believe it’s better to get the word out to as many people as possible.

“I guess that makes sense.”

Mint turned the page of the booklet she was looking at. Come to think of it, I brought something too.

I opened my bag, and inside was the paper I was going to present at the conference, and a bag of cookies. I bought them yesterday to eat in the carriage, right?

The cookie bag rustled, and I handed it to the princess. Mint ate the cookies I gave her without saying anything.

“It’s taking longer than I thought.”

“Hmm… Well, I guess the journey is part of the travel too, right? Just gotta go with the flow.”

“That’s what I thought.”

Mint looked up at me again, a bright smile plastered on her face. She seemed a little giddy from the trip.

Quite some time passed like that.

And then. We reached our destination after a long carriage ride. The resort city of Whitby. The sights of downtown Whitby flashed past the window.

It wasn’t a big city, but it had everything it needed. Whitby Castle, a university, a port, a road network.

But since it was a city built to serve the Empire’s needs, there didn’t seem to be many ordinary people. Which meant the downtown area was small.

A cool sea breeze was blowing from the south of the castle. The weather near the capital wasn’t horribly hot even in the summer.

Anyway, it was much more pleasant weather than the Empire’s capital.

“That took a real long time.”

“It did.”

“Even the breeze is different.”

The carriage ride was over. I helped the Princess out of the carriage. Mint’s steps were light. She stretched as soon as she got out, though.

“Let’s go see the ocean later.”

I nodded to Mint.

I couldn’t completely ignore the preparations for the penicillin presentation, but the conference itself wouldn’t take up too much time. The presentation itself, at best, would be short.