At the End of the Opening Battle

Author: Iwashi-zukushi
Raw: https://ncode.syosetu.com/n3388fm/23/
Translator: Lilia v4
Editor: Yuriko AYA

Nasti had been watching me treat for a while, but.

“Well, well. It seems the herbs will be used rather well.
Then we’ll bring more tomorrow.”

She left, saying something like a parting shot.
I had been given the minimum of recognition, I supposed.
But.

Patients did not cease after that, either.
Kira and I were turning at full speed, when it happened.

“Doctor!! This child fell in the mud and has a terrible scrape!”

A pair of women burst in suddenly, looking frantic.
One of them had indeed apparently fallen; she was a muddy mess.

…I see. With an injury like that, they come in that much of a hurry.

“I’m sorry—I’ll treat this person as urgent. Please wait a moment!!”

When I raised my voice, the people waiting nodded, looking convinced, and stayed quiet.

…I see. They accept it. I see.

Why! Do you all understand how bad this is without me explaining!?
Is that it, is this Dia’s doing too, is that it!!

Even as I thought that, I first yanked the injured person’s clothes off.
Yes. A thing you could do precisely because it was not the modern day.
The patient let it be done.

“Kira, sorry, go upstairs and get a tunic!”
“G-got it!”

As I said it, I looked at the state of the wounds. Fairly large ones on the elbow and knee. No festering.
In that case.

“I’ll wash the wound. It’ll sting a little!”
“Ah, yes!”

As I said it I took the bottle I had set beside me.
The patient squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for pain.
Onto that, I dumped the bottle’s liquid over the wound without mercy, jaba jaba.

“…Ah, huh? It doesn’t… hurt much…??”
“It’s a bi~t of special water. I’m sorry, from here it will hurt. I’ll wash it thoroughly.”
“Y-yes, I’m fine!”

What I had used to wash the wound was water that had been boiled once, with a little salt added. In other words, a simple saline.
With this, it did not hurt so much yet even touching the wound.

That water stings in a wound is said to be a matter of osmotic pressure.
When water touches a cell, the water moves into the cell, where the concentration is higher.
As a result the cell swells, and in the worst case bursts.
That is the cause of the stinging pain.
So with saline of nearly equal osmotic pressure, the pain can be lessened.

That said, of course it still hurt if you washed thoroughly.
She seemed to know; she was bearing it as best she could.
I’m sorry, I don’t really want to do this, but I have to!

When you make a wound where there is soil, the scariest thing is tetanus.
The most effective thing is to have been vaccinated, but there is no vaccination in this world.
That being so, you are forced into methods like this.

Tetanus bacilli can be in every kind of soil in spore form. In mud, of course.
If you make a scrape in the mud, it is almost certain tetanus bacilli will be on it.

And the troublesome thing is that in spore form, alcohol disinfection barely works.
Preventive antibiotics are an option, but with hardly any antibiotics in the present situation, all you can do is wash the spores away.

“I’m sorry, it hurts, doesn’t it? Bear with it a little more.”
“I-I know!”

The patient answered desperately at my call.
I was sorry, but I was desperate too.

If you left the tetanus spores as they were and the person was infected with tetanus, in the worst case they would die.
Incidentally, in an age when medicine is not well developed, it is a disease with a fatality rate over eighty percent.
That it was that bad a situation was something almost everyone here recognized.

How far does it go. How far have the people of this town been educated!!

Whether it was Dia’s work alone or something else, I did not know.
In any case, being given this much cooperation was very welcome.

“I’ll disinfect the wound… um, something like washing it with liquor. It’ll sting a lot. I’m sorry!”
“—nn!!!!”

After declaring it, I disinfected with alcohol. The patient bit her lip and bore it desperately.
I was truly sorry, but this too was a necessary measure.
If there were tetanus bacilli that had begun to be active, this ought to kill them.

Then I washed the wound out with saline once more.
If surface cells died with alcohol still on them and oxygen supply was cut, and tetanus spores had slipped in there, tetanus bacilli, which are anaerobic and hate oxygen, would take that as a stronghold and multiply.
So I washed the alcohol away.

“You bore it well, well done! Just a little more, please bear with it!”
“Y-yes!”

No, I really thought so from the bottom of my heart. She must have been considerably anxious.

Even as I thought that, the next treatment.
I took out wood shavings I had been given while going around town yesterday, that had been boiled and disinfected.
I disinfected them with alcohol as well, shook them pata pata to drive the alcohol off.
I wound them near the wound, without touching the wound itself.

“U-um, this is?”
“Ah. If you wrap a bandage directly it hurts, right?
This way, you can wrap without it hurting.”
“I-I see…”

Her face said is that so? is that all right? but it could not be helped.
Closing a wound directly hurts, but it feels properly protected, doesn’t it.
But lately they say it heals faster if you don’t.
At any rate, I wound the bandage gently as if laying it on the bridge of wood shavings, and fastened it at the end.

“Please keep from touching the wound for a while like this.
And until it closes, may I have you come every day?”
“Ah, that’s fine. I’ve spoken to my superiors as well.”

…She can take sick leave. What a white workplace.
I found myself getting a little misty inwardly. Toward the patient, I smiled.

“That’s good to hear. Then I’ll get the rest of you cleaned up~”

As I said it, I wiped her body with lukewarm water made by diluting the medicinal-decoction hot water with tap water, then wiped with rubbing alcohol.
With this, bacteria flowing in from places other than the wound ought to be prevented to some extent as well.
In this town’s sanitary conditions, even this could not be called enough, but…

“Asha, I brought it!”
“Ah, thank you, Kira!”

While I was treating, Kira had brought a long tunic, like a dress.
I could not send her home in clothes still filthy with mud.
I put it on the patient.
I told her to wash the clothes later, and handed them to the woman accompanying her.

“There, the treatment is done.
After that, please take one pinch of this medicine after each of three meals.
And I’d like to see the wound, so please come in the morning every day.”

What I prescribed was a mix of antimicrobial and analgesic.
I hoped prevention and easing of pain would go well with this.

“Yes. Thank you.”

She must still have hurt all over, and yet the patient smiled, stoutly.
When I see this sort of thing… I find myself thinking I’ll absolutely make her better.

“Yes, take care!”

But I, with not a single cheat, could only do all that was humanly possible and wait on heaven.
Ah, afterward I should ask Gerda to introduce me to someone who can use healing magic.

I was thinking that, when it happened.

“Quite the bustle… Asha, is there anything I can help with?”

As she said it, Gerda came in.
The timing was so good I found myself blinking, shipa shipa.

“Gerda!? Um, the things I asked…”
“Ah. I have arranged all the appointments. They are bringing in the seawater now—though I say that, I was able to secure laborers as well, so it seems we need only wait.”
“Th-that was fast!? Or rather, you’re efficient, aren’t you!?”

I see. This person, too, was a capable one, I realized again.

But what I would have her do now was…

“I’m sorry, could you draw tap water again and take it to Kira?
And if you could dilute the medicinal-decoction hot water with tap water to make it lukewarm and put it in that bottle.”

And then. I tried asking something I thought Gerda might be able to do.

“Also, no one has come yet, but if someone with a broken bone comes, may I ask you to set it?”
“Ah, that much is a trifle. In the army we receive that training as well.”

She said it as if it were a matter of course.
To be honest, it was a considerable help.
I had only an ordinary human’s arm strength, so setting bones could be quite a bone to pick depending on the situation.
…I’m sorry. That was nothing.

At any rate, with Gerda’s strength and experience, it was reassuring.

“Then I’ll ask you when the time comes!”

And so we became a team of three, and with Gerda, who was well known in town, joining, we were able to see patients efficiently.

“Please, take care!”

We were able to send the last patient off by noon.
And then, I was sorry, but I put out a sign that we would be closed in the afternoon.

“Hafuu~~~~~. Kira, thank you for your work!
Gerda, thank you as well!”

I let out a large breath and turned.
And then.
I saw Gerda with a wry smile, and Kira slumped in a chair.

“H-huh? Kira, are you all right!?”

I ran to her in a hurry, and she nodded, weakly.

“I-I’m fine… just a little tired…”
“Ah, ah~… of course… thank you, really, you saved us, Kira!”

When I told her my thanks, her face went surprised.
Then she showed a shy sort of smile. Yes, cute.

“After working that much, the first thing you do is worry about Kira.”

Gerda smiled wryly, in a voice both exasperated and impressed.
…Put that way, it might well be true, but.

“Ahaha~, it’s habit, habit.”
“Even so, I think you’re considerably tough, even from my view.”

…Well, it was a fact that I had been turning at full speed even after Gerda joined.
I thought we had turned it well, giving Kira the occasional rest.
Ah~… I might indeed have been trying hard.
A sense of fulfillment covered my whole body. …The fatigue might come a little later.

At any rate, I chose to take Gerda’s words as praise.

“I am most exceedingly delighted to receive your compliments.”

So saying, I smiled and curtsied, pinching the hem of my skirt.