Ah, seriously. He caught my expression again in that brief moment. I need to stop thinking, stop thinking.
"......Please bring clean new bandages. Ah, and Rishar. Wash your hands first."
From now on, everyone around Jin would have to be extremely thorough with sterilization and disinfection. He was already on the brink of death as it was—I couldn't just let him die like this.
Rishar's expression soured slightly at my request, as if he found it unpleasant. I understood. People in this era had no concept of germs or viruses. Ah, still, let's wash those hands.
How could I make him understand? That not washing his hands could put Jin's life—the life of Rishar's friend he couldn't live without—in danger.
Would he understand if I talked about immunity? Did he even know the word 'immunity'?
"Do as she says, Rishar. She must have her reasons."
Jin said.
Yes, as expected, the smart Jin was different.
While Rishar went to wash his hands, I continued disinfecting the wound ever so carefully.
A short while later, Rishar returned with clean hands and fresh bandages. As I looked at Jin's wound, I recalled the ointment Astrid had made. It felt wasteful to just wrap it up like this.
The ointment, made by mixing rose oil, turpentine, and egg yolks, also contained herbs that aided wound healing. It would have been great if I'd brought some of that. Unfortunately, the imperial army had confiscated all of it.
After wrapping Jin's wound with the bandage, it looked much cleaner and better than before. Fortunately, I was familiar with bandaging in real life. I had a younger brother who was always coming home injured as a kid. Whether I should call that fortunate or not...
"From now on, everyone entering this room must wash their hands thoroughly. And it would be great if they wore masks too."
I said. For a patient this critical, he'd ideally be isolated in an ICU with everyone in sterile gowns, but since that's not possible here, this would have to do.
"......Without exception?"
Rishar asked, sounding perplexed.
"Yes. Without exception."
As I replied firmly, Rodent tugged at my sleeve.
"Teacher, me too?"
Rodent looking up at me with his sparkling eyes was, as expected, too cute. I'd been so mesmerized by Jin's face for a moment that I'd forgotten about our adorable Rodent.
"Yes, Rodent. You too."
Jin would talk to newly arrived children in the rebels, assess their potential, and if he deemed them talented, teach them personally.
Our male protagonist Rodent was, of course, very bright, and that meant he'd be receiving special lessons from Jin going forward.
Honestly, I wanted to stop him from teaching kids in his frail state, but... stress would be poison among poisons to Jin's body. If I kept this workaholic from working, the stress would be immense, so it was better to let him teach Rodent at least.
"Ah, and one more thing...... Drink lots of water. About 2L a day. Lukewarm water if possible."
For a patient who spat up blood at the drop of a hat, hydration was obviously essential. If possible, I'd love to shove saline solution directly into his veins, but... there were just too many things impossible in this era.
"The new doctor has a lot of orders. Interesting."
Jin smiled brightly as he watched me rattle off instructions. The kid who'd been expressionless or frowning in pain the whole time was grinning like this—the impact was... Ugh, bad for my heart.
"There she goes again, mesmerized by my face."
Ah, seriously. Even if I think he's handsome for just a second, he reads it—how am I supposed to deal with this? Should I wear a mask or something...
At that moment, Rishar asked,
"Is there anything else you need, Ober Teacher?"
Hmm...... There were tons of things I needed to take care of. Managing Jin's room hygiene, his diet, and making ointment for his wounds too.
"Who handles the patient's meals? I'd like to meet the person in charge. And the one who cleans the room. Ah, and I'd like to meet the alchemist who makes the detergent too—"
As I listed them off, Rishar looked flustered. Why?
"......You're not the same person who refused to come with us. If you'd been this enthusiastic from the start, why refuse at first?"
......Ouch, that hit a nerve. It hurts, bro. Go easy.
Of course, I'd initially tried to run for my life, but now that I'd been brought here anyway, working hard wasn't a bad thing.
Absolutely, definitely not because Jin's beauty was too precious to let die in three months. This is for my survival. If Jin dies, I'm doomed too.
"Rishar, how about showing the doctor to her quarters? Introduce her to the others too."
Jin spoke up. Rishar, who had been eyeing me suspiciously, obeyed without a word.
As I left Jin's room with Rishar, the stunning Underground City came into view again. The golden city was truly beautiful.
"Finn."
At Rishar's call, a boy who looked to be in his late teens came running.
Finn...... Why does that name feel so familiar? He doesn't seem like a major character in the original novel...
"Eh? Ober Teacher!"
The brown-haired, freckle-faced boy shouted in surprise upon seeing me. He must be an acquaintance of Astrid's.
Finn...... Ah! He was the boy Astrid had saved from the streets when she first inherited the clinic.
"Finn, long time no see. Have you been well?"
Seeing the scrawny, half-dead kid from back then grown so big made me proud. How happy would real Astrid have been to see this?
"Looks like you know each other. Save the reunion for later...... New arrival. Rodent, go with Finn. He'll show you to your quarters."
But Rodent was still clutching my hem, refusing to let go. He clearly didn't want to be separated from me. Cute Rodent.
"Rodent, go on. There'll be lots of kids your age."
I patted his back and spoke gently. Only then did Rodent hesitantly follow Finn.
"You know Finn? He handles managing the new children."
At Rishar's words, I rummaged through Astrid's hazy memories, searching diligently for the page on Finn.
"I looked after him briefly six years ago. He was twelve then, so he's eighteen now. He's grown a lot."
I finally recalled the exact time and his age. Good job, me!
But Rishar's expression upon hearing me was somehow odd. What was with that look? If only I had Jin's mind-reading ability right now.
"......I thought we might have gotten the wrong person since you were so different from the rumors. I apologize for my rudeness."
Rishar said.
This guy, why does he keep hitting where it hurts? So, you're saying I'm not angelic right now?
"Rumors are always exaggerated a bit, aren't they? Ho, hoho."
I covered my mouth lightly and let out a pretentious laugh. Rishar gave a bemused snort at my act before leading the way.
"This is the room for you, Ober Teacher."
It was a small room right next to Jin's. Smaller than his, but it had a large bed, a decent desk, and bookshelves full of medical texts.
'I should throw out all those medical books.'
They were probably full of nonsense like bloodletting and cauterizing wounds with hot oil. Trash, utter trash. Perfect as kindling.
The best thing about the room was the modern-feeling attached bathroom. This toilet, sink, bathtub...... I blissfully turned the faucets on and off, touring the bathroom.
This was what I'd missed most since coming to this world. Being able to take a hot shower—pure bliss. I hadn't been able to wash properly in prison.
"By the way, how do these plumbing facilities work?"
I couldn't hold back my curiosity and asked. Rishar fell silent for a moment at my question.
"......I'll introduce you to our engineer later. You can ask them."
I couldn't help but hold back a laugh at his words. This bro doesn't know either, does he? He's just passing the buck because he doesn't know himself.
