**Gleaning**
“Uwhahahaha! I am the Chaos Emperor Tera Chaos! Young heroes of Turman Village! Bow down before my evil power!”
“Kyaa!”
“Woaah!”
A suspicious person wearing a large Dirt Hydra snake head on his hat is plunging the village children into the depths of terror.
Yes, there’s no hiding it, I, Mongrel… No! I am the Chaos Emperor Tera Chaos!
“Kishaaa!”
“Kyaa! Scary!”
“Th-this!”
“Uwhahaha! Such weapons have no effect on the Chaos Emperor!”
“Take this! And this! Damn you!”
“Ow, you little- hitting exposed skin is a pretty nasty trait! Hmm! An evil boss’s privilege – destroying weapons!”
Yes, snap goes the tree branch!
“Ah! You broke it!”
“Uwhahahaha! The only thing that works on Tera Chaos is the earth energy packed into wheat…! You must cooperate to gather fallen grains, or else this weapon’s seal will never be undone!”
Shouting such things, I took out the small bow and arrows I had tucked away.
“A bow!”
“What’s that!?”
“Uwhahaha! Once this bag is filled to the brim with fallen grains, I’ll give you this! That’s if you can defeat me, Tera Chaos, that is!”
“Let’s gather them!”
“Me too!”
“I’ll go to the field over there!”
Lured by the toy bow, the young children scattered to the fields.
They have so much energy even after getting whacked by tree branches. Kids really are monsters.
“You’ve worked hard, Mr. Mongrel… You’re skilled at handling the children.”
“Oh, Mr. Caspar. Are you done with the morning examinations?”
I took off the chaos emperor costume then asking Mr. Caspar, who had been treating patients in the village square had returned.
He must have used healing magic countless times. His unhealthy gauge seemed to have risen compared to the morning.
“The harvest is just about done as scheduled, then there’s the harvest festival tonight, and we leave tomorrow right?”
“It seems so. I’m glad we were able to finish without any major injuries.”
“Not as much as you, Mr. Caspar… You’ve really worked hard. Are you getting proper rest?”
“Oh, the bugs and frogs keep me up… I’m not used to it out here…”
“Yeah, the capital and cities are quiet at night. Well, take it easy.”
Today is the last day of patrol-like patrol.
It was a short few days, but best of all, it ended without incident like thieves.
Just taking care of bugs, snakes, and goblins coming out near the fields, very peaceful stuff.
Even if some fled out to the highways and other regions, someone on patrol would catch and take care of them during this time. Past that is outside our jurisdiction.
“How are the villagers? Any serious illnesses or injuries?”
“There were many with leg and back pains. They must have had it tough…”
“Yeah, with no clinics out here, fieldwork is hard on the back, huh.”
Maybe that’s also why long-handled great scythes that reduce strain on the back are favored.
But no matter how you try to brush it off, as you age, the accumulated strain becomes difficult to bear.
“…There’s the distance issue. And money issues. But more than anything, they accept and resign themselves to the status quo… Seeing them like that is honestly disheartening.”
While watching the children eagerly gathering fallen grains into sacks, Caspar muttered.
“It’s said villagers like these only live around 50 years compared to city dwellers’ 70 years. Without receiving treatment, their poor health accumulates, and eventually, unable to endure, they pass away… But for the village, that’s normal, nothing to question.”
“Is it an education issue?”
“Yes. That’s how I see it… Don’t go talking recklessly about educating the farmers elsewhere, Mr. Mongrel. Many are reluctant about it.”
“Oof…”
I didn’t know. There are mines like that huh. I had an idea but it wasn’t clearly visible.
“…There’s always a shortage of healers. It’s the same in the capital and cities… The capital has some ‘cutting in line’ for treatment but even considering that, the shortage is overwhelming.”
“If it’s not an emergency you might have to wait days.”
“Yes… I want to do something about that. But there’s a limit to the lives I can save pouring my own strength and spirit into it. That’s why I must nurture the next generation. However…”
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Watching the children gathering fallen grains, Caspar sighed.
Healer is a specialist job. The difficulty of their healing magic is said to be far above attack magic.
So raising the healer population requires thorough education for children, but…
Children born as peasants and expected to inherit the land have few such opportunities.
It may be slightly better than being taxed to death, but there’s definitely a feeling of being stuck.
“If healers like me can’t reach them, then at the very least… I hope they can live healthier, with less injury and sickness than now… At my age, that’s all I can pray for.”
The harvest festival was modestly rustic in food scale, but lively as the night grew late.
As for me, I want to be on the spectating side of these ethnic festivals, but young guys have an obligation to be dragged into the hospitality of old gramps and grannies.
Dancing incomprehensible dances together, singing incomprehensible songs together, eating questionable delicacies, seconds coming again and again until the festival ended while I was doing such things.
I’m too full to eat anything.
I’m very sorry, but the proudly served food was exquisitely not delicious. I do feel sorry, but I dislike what I dislike.
“Thank you, uncle!”
“Thank you for the bow and arrows! Come again, uncle!”
“You can call me big brother! See you! Don’t aim at people with that bow!”
In return, or something like that, I gave away the toy practice bow and arrows that had been pointlessly taking up space for years, and we set off home.
On the way back, there was the trouble of team leader Thomason hurting his back helping with the harvest and becoming baggage on the wagon, but otherwise it was peaceful.
In the end, it was an extremely peaceful job without any major problems on the way there or back.
Although I dread it every year, I got to experience using the great scythes a little and became friendlier with the old men of Legol patrol squad team 3, so that was good.
If we work together again someday, I’ll rely on you guys.
…Considering their age, it wouldn’t be surprising if some of them were dead next time though.
“A person’s life is in full bloom while they’re alive.”
Returning to Legol, I was working on crafts in my room at the inn I use as my base.
I carefully let several paints and oils drip onto the surface of a dish of water, stirred the oil films of various colors floating on the water surface with needles to make patterns, psychedelic, marble-like patterns in slightly unusual colors.
Then I carefully submerged the tiny letter I had just finished writing into that oil film.
“There.”
The letter gets coated in the oil film and takes on the marble pattern.
The thin colors allow the written letters to show through clearly.
Next, stamp over this, fold the letter, and seal it with my original seal stamp.
“…Well, I want to repay them at least before I die.”
It was a letter from Viscount Chaos, not Mongrel.
It had been a while so the timing was good.
I picked up a robe I don’t usually wear and headed out into the night city.
“This is bad, Teacher Caspar! Please look at this! This!”
“Hm? What’s wrong? Did you fail at something?”
The next morning, there was a restless air in Caspar’s patrol squad clinic.
“This! There was a letter from Viscount Chaos in the mailbox! And it seems identical ones were delivered to various other places as well…!”
“Oh? Viscount Chaos is an inventor if I remember correctly.”
“Yes, I don’t know why it was sent here, but! But the rumors of his letter’s pattern match! It must be real! We have to make use of it quickly before other clinics copy it!”
Caspar spread open the marble patterned letter and skimmed the contents.
“Hmm… An oral rehydration solution recipe?”
What was written there was a recipe for a beverage made from water, salt, sugar or honey.
The ingredients themselves were ordinary, just needing some sweetness.
Yet the letter claimed it was a panacea for diarrhea, vomiting, dehydration, and more. It was unbelievable, but considering Viscount Chaos’s various famous inventions heard in rumors, it seemed unwise to dismiss it outright.
Most of all.
If this were true, it could save an unbelievable number of lives.
“…Yukes, we need to verify the recipe’s effects and safety through practice, but… if this is genuine, we should spread this recipe to other medical institutions as well.”
“Huh!? You’re just giving away the profit!?”
“The letter also says ‘I wish for this wisdom to spread widely’.”
“Oh… I see…”
“It seems to have been sent to multiple institutions already, and the ingredients themselves are ordinary. We can’t monopolize this.”
“Ugh… And I thought we’d become rich…”
Yukes was still a vulgar youth as a novice healer.
Caspar smiled at him and reached for the compounding shelf. Now then, first of all, we have to test it out.
“If this recipe is real, it will make treating patients we’ve struggled with much easier. Our work will progress remarkably… Does that displease you, Yukes?”
“N-No!”
“Then isn’t it good? Now, let’s prepare for work…”
“Yes sir!”
And so begins another busy day of work.
But from today, we may be able to save more patients’ lives.
Caspar felt his motivation towards work surge strongly.
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