Chapter 22: Food Situation / After the enemy attack

Half an hour after the bell rang, the noisy area immediately regained tranquillity. Since it’s an enemy attack, I wonder if it was only the scouts unit due to the small number of people.

After examining all the patients in the sanitary building, one by one, we make sure that they calmed down. In the Medical Record, I then wrote the “medical care” applied for each one.

What I found was that, for the patients undergoing medical treatments, what they were eating was not enough for them to be treated.

However, the lack of certain nutrition is actually not unusual even for people in the capital city which is far from the battlefield.

The most common deficiency is in the body, there is only a minuscule amount of minerals consumed in various places. This too can be supplemented to some extent by consuming green leafy vegetables and nuts. For some reason, when the quality of the soil deteriorates, the nutrition that should be contained may also be missing.

Patients should be considered to have some degree of certain intake of vegetables and fruits even if we are lacking in stored food. However, when I asked Katie-san to show me the food storage, none of the preserved vegetables were so fresh and of good quality.

The soil in the production area is deteriorating… It’s useless if you don’t see it. But the method of soil improvement should not only be widespread in the capital…

“For the past couple of years, monsters have come into the field and the amount of food produced has decreased. The orchards were also damaged… Natural fruit trees are valuable to local residents, so we cannot force to collect them.”

“Monsters… I also saw goblins on my way here. Is that the kind you speak of?”

“No, it seems to be a monster that kills crops, but for details… The land occupied by the monsters is dangerous and we can’t even get close to it.”

As far as I can tell, it’s a very bad monster. If such monsters breed and continue to grow, they will not be able to procure food from nearby areas and will rely on transferring to distant places.

And another problem, the lack of medicines, it will be difficult to solve. Even though the fields where provisions are produced can be moved, there is no room to devote the cultivation of herbs.

“About that monster, were the Knights been called for help?”

“Yes several times. We respond to each case, but… We haven’t solved the problem because it means that if we don’t stop the roots, it doesn’t make sense. Rather, the damage just spreads.”

“…I understand, thank you for telling me everything.”

“No- No, to rely on Glass-sensei who just came here… I’m also sorry to say some self-important words like “You should take a rest.” Thanks to Glass-sensei being here, everyone as well as my subordinates were relieved.”

I’m not really used to being praised after all, for me, I think I’m just mishearing things or I’m just getting ahead of myself.

However, there is a big change in attitude after I got the trust of Katie-san and Presha-san. The fact that they are conscious of me being a man also comes down to me through the gesture of touching their hair and ears.

“… It’s already late today, so I’d be happy if I could talk about future activities carefully next time.”

“I’m looking forward working with you. Well then, I’ll leave now… if I went to see what happened a while ago, would it bother them?”

“How about this… I think if there is an injured person, I will get a report here.”

Katie-san then goes out of the sanitary building to see the situation, but there is no sign of someone coming. If no one was injured, it didn’t matter.

“You may be stopped by guards by walking in the fortress at night. If you’ll go up, please walk in a bright place.”

“Y-Yes, I do not want to be treated as a suspicious person, so be I’ll careful.”

“Fufu… It was a mess a while ago, but it’s already settled down. I thought Glass-san was unreliable, but it wasn’t the case… I’m truly sorry.”

When I look at her like this, each gesture has its own sensuality and I can’t help but notice it. –When I went out, Lendl-san, who’s wearing his colored glasses and collar coat stared at me.

“Glass-sama seems to be vulnerable to older women. I have to report this to the headmaster of the Academy.”

“N-No, not really weak… I may be weak, but it’s not that strong.”

“Uh-huh, No way… Lendl-san, Please keep it a secret. The headmaster of Silvana Magic Academy, Millenia Weed was called the “Jade Witch”, if she’s in a bad mood, it will be terrible… huh?”

Katie-san seemed to notice it as she was saying it. The house name of me and the headmaster is the same.

“…was the headmaster so old that her child was there?”

“No, no … I’m her younger brother, but we have different parents.”

“Well… you’re her younger stepbrother right? Then, is it a forbidden…?”

“N-No, that’s not true … if my stepsister hears that, she would surely get angry.”

“I’m sorry, I have such advanced imagination… But it’s Sensei’s fault too, you showed me an incredibly lovely side. All the members of the medical team from the age of 16 to the age of 40 have become fans of Sensei.”

There is no way such painted story would happen–I tried to say it back.

But when I look at the state of the room we are in, the medics running around the sanitary building along with the patients who have calmed down came to see me.

“Although it had been said that popularity was not built in a day, Glass-sensei taught me that it can happen overnight.”

I was hoping to gradually get results and be trusted. I can only say that it was good that I was able to get a position in the place that will be my most important workplace.

On the other hand, I clearly felt a pair of eyes slightly glaring at me. I could feel the line of sight in the cafeteria and I cannot help but recognize that I am “targeted”.

More than that, I am glad that the patients who had lifeless eyes until I consulted, now shows signs of recovery― is it settled completely?

Anyway, I would like to continue to be careful not to disturb the atmosphere of the workplace.

　　◆◇◆

To get to the walls surrounding the fortress, you have to go up to the 4th floor. Since Dite-san had led the archer squad there for defence, I would have to go that far to hear about the situation.

That was not part of a military doctor’s category of interest though, I wonder if I should just return to the residence.

“Hmm … that is…”

The castle wall extends inwards from the courtyard, and there is a door that seems to be accessible from the courtyard. I was wondering if it could be opened when Dite-san came out.

“Oh, Thank you for your hard work, Dite-san. Does that door have a staircase to go up?”

“No, it is a device that can be moved from the first floor to each floor, though it requires human power. Katie is always worried, so I came to tell her that no one was injured. It’s okay to convey it with the horn, but it’s already night-time.”

Dite-san says while stroking her light red hair. I could see that she was prepared for the battle by wearing a breastplate that makes it easier to shoot the bow.

“As Astina-sama has said, the enemy forces were trying to cross the river. If the response was delayed, they could have climbed the wall, but thankfully we prevented them at the water’s edge.”

Prevented –in other words, shooting an enemy soldier.

Dite-san smiled, but it looks a little empty.

“…I can’t really say this to everyone but, I don’t think there would be many fights if you yourself fear to die. Only those who are prepared to be killed can kill.”

“…Everyone in this fortress is grateful to Dite-san and the archers. I don’t think it’s bad to fight for safety.”

Dite-san looked at me without saying anything.

When I look at her elegant beauty, I once again thought – If not because of the war, as a member of a duke’s household, she would now probably be on social gatherings instead of the battlefield.

“I didn’t wish for consolation. Seems like you are not afraid of me…”

“I’m not afraid. Everyone in this country is proud of you.”

“…Even if I say, from here on, I’ll take you in to search for some survivor?”

―Seems like, Dite-san came down to see if there are some soldiers who survived the attack of the archers from the wall.

I don’t know if she was really going to take me from the beginning as several more soldiers descended from the top of the wall – they were Dite-san’s subordinates who accompanied her in the battle.

“I understand, I will accompany you. Lendl-san, please go back to the residence first.”

“……Understood”

When I commanded Lendl-san who was about to come with me, he was a little hesitant, but he still followed my instructions.

“Well then… let’s go. Thank you for coming without hesitation. Can you ride a horse?”

“N-No, my horseback riding experience is…”

“Then I’ll have you ride my horse. I wish you will like my horse.”

Dite-san starts walking with her subordinates –It seems that we are heading to a general-purpose gate to get out of the castle.

Are there any survivors?

As a military doctor, what I want is to see that there are some survivors.

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