I Became a Plague Doctor in a Romance Fantasy

71. Summer Vacation, and the Symposium (1)

****

Today’s Mint looked happier than she had in recent memory. Mint wore a flowy dress with a narrow-brimmed straw hat.

With an exceptionally bright smile.

“Good morning!”

“Oh, hello there.”

Today was the day we were departing for Witbi.

Though it was still pitch dark before dawn, Mint held her hat as if the sun was shining brightly and gazed up at the sky.

“The weather’s great…!”

“Yeah, sure is.”

It was still dark out—perhaps the comment referred more to Mint’s mood than the actual weather? Still, I played along; it was nice that she was happy.

The caravan of carriages was quite grand.

Princess Mint’s guards and servants, bureaucrats heading to Witbi, and people like myself attending the symposium or other visitors.

Incidentally, Amy, who was also joining us for the symposium, was riding in a different carriage.

“Let’s get going soon.”

I climbed into the carriage first and helped Mint in by holding her hand. Once inside, Mint took off her hat…

But our hands remained clasped.

I looked at her.

“Your Highness, your hand.”

“Ah, yeah.”

After a brief pause, Mint let go of my hand. She still wore that radiant smile, but this time, her eyes curved playfully—as if teasing me.

I stared at her.

“You’re lucky, aren’t you?”

“What do you mean?”

“That I’m here to entertain you.”

Was that a projection on her part, or a self-referential joke? Honestly, it felt a little awkward, but I nodded anyway.

“Yes, thank you.”

“Your response lacks spirit.”

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

“Of course not.”

Mint chuckled at that. As the carriage started moving, it rocked gently.

Some time passed, and Mint looked out the carriage window. The scenery was rushing by quickly.

Well, relatively speaking for a carriage.

Compared to a car, it was slow.

“Motion sickness medicine?”

“Oh, thanks.”

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

“I heard there’s a magic seminar in Witbi this time? That’s why you’re coming with the teacher for the symposium?”

“It should be interesting.”

“Are you presenting something, Teacher?”

“I plan to present my findings on antibiotics. I’ve developed a new one that kills bacteria.”

“You know how to make those too?”

“Yes.”

“Teacher, have you ever thought about starting a pharmaceutical company? If you can do it, it might not be bad.”

“I’ll think about it. But for now, staying within the hospital and academic community feels more important.”

We’ll see about that later. Once scientific theories are published, once my students grow, and once usable medicines become available, it could happen.

I wasn’t opposed to the idea of eventually setting up a pharmaceutical company or hospital, but I didn’t intend to hoard information about penicillin for personal gain.

Right now, treating patients and spreading medical knowledge within the academic community seemed more crucial.

“But if the medicine could make money, isn’t it unnecessary to publish it in academia? Wouldn’t it be better if only you knew how to produce it and sold it?”

I shook my head.

“Hmm… I don’t plan to do that, at least not with this one. It feels like too significant a discovery to use merely for profit.”

“Do you really believe that?”

“Yes.”

In my original world, it was ruled that penicillin couldn’t be patented. Here, with some stretching or exploiting information gaps, it might be possible… but I personally feel it shouldn’t.

“You’re less greedy than I expected, Teacher.”

“Your Highness, with all the royalties from books at the academy, the hospital salary, and patient donations combined… do you know how much comes to me?”

Mint shook her head.

“No idea?”

“Anyway, it’s quite a lot.”

It’s roughly 300 times what Teacher Luciana earns. To be honest, part of the reason I don’t think about money is because of this.

“How much longer until we arrive?”

“Don’t know, sorry.”

I checked the clock. We hadn’t even been traveling for an hour yet, so it would still take a while.

“I heard we’re passing through another city.”

“Should we have taken wyverns instead?”

“Next time, maybe.”

The sun was finally high in the sky. It was mid-morning now. Mint nodded.

“If it takes much longer, I might nap a bit.”

“Feel free.”

“If you don’t mind…”

Mint rested her head on my shoulder.

Her hair smelled faintly of shampoo. Though I couldn’t see her face directly, her cheeks glowed softly in the sunlight.

Wait… does this mean I can’t move until Mint wakes up? Did I make a mistake?

Let’s wait. After a few minutes, Mint’s breathing became soft and steady. Looks like she fell asleep already. I wonder when she’ll wake up…

****

Another hour passed. The scenery outside the window had changed significantly. We must be far from the capital by now.

Time to wake Mint.

“Your Highness, wake up.”

“Mm?”

“Your Highness.”

I nudged Mint gently to rouse her.

She leaned even more heavily on me, resting her chin on my shoulder… but after another nudge, she finally woke up, rubbing her eyes groggily.

I pushed her upright.

“What is it? Are we there already?”

“No, I’m just bored.”

“That… sounds like nonsense.”

Mint crossed her legs and sat properly again.

Maybe it’s the bright sunlight or her lingering smile, but right now, she truly lives up to her reputation as the most beautiful woman in the empire.

Less dazzling and more flawlessly clean—a porcelain complexion catching the sunlight, her hair flowing smoothly.

She still looks sleepy, but that’s just surface-level. Mint blinked slowly, still half-asleep.

“Come to think of it, if I lean on you, you wouldn’t be able to sleep either, right? You’d just sit there staring blankly.”

“That’s correct.”

“Want me to offer my lap as a pillow?”

“I’ll pass—no, you’re joking, right?”

*Hem hem.*

Mint smiled slightly and nodded.

A short while later, Mint rummaged in her bag and pulled out a thin notebook, opening it on her lap. Looks like she plans to study during the downtime.

“Teacher.”

“Yes?”

“Tell me more about the medicine you mentioned earlier.”

Ah, that.

What’s the simplest way to explain it?

“To be specific, I discovered an antibacterial substance in blue mold and want to propose its clinical application at the symposium.”

Mint seemed deep in thought.

“Is there a method for production?”

“We’re still researching in the lab. The process is complicated. I’ve handed it over to the alchemy department, but success hasn’t come yet.”

“It’ll work out, hopefully.”

It’s not easy research.

I heard that during the early stages of penicillin research, scientists tried extracting penicillin from patients’ urine after they took the drug.

This shows how challenging the initial research environment was. Fortunately, our situation is much better than those researchers who recycled penicillin from urine.

“So you’re planning to present it at the symposium, hoping other researchers might find the answer?”

“That’s the conclusion.”

“It’s strange. Every time I see you, you seem to be working on something new. Isn’t that unusual?”

“I aim to produce results quickly. Medical research can help someone immediately, so I tend to publish findings as soon as possible.”

Even at the expense of other things. I believe it’s best to inform as many people as possible.

“Maybe that makes sense.”

Mint flipped a page in her book. Come to think of it, I brought something too.

I opened my bag, revealing the paper I planned to present at the symposium and a packet of cookies I bought yesterday to eat on the carriage.

The cookie packet rustled as I handed it to Mint. She silently accepted and ate them.

“This is taking longer than expected.”

“Hmm… well, isn’t the journey part of the trip? Just go with the flow.”

“Guess so.”

Mint looked up at me again with a bright smile. She seemed excited about the trip.

****

After a long while…

Finally, our lengthy carriage ride ended. We arrived at our destination: the resort city of Witbi. The view of Witbi’s downtown passed by the carriage window.

It wasn’t a large city, but it had everything: Witbi Castle, the university, the port, and road networks.

Since the city was built according to the empire’s needs, it didn’t seem to have many ordinary residents. In other words, it’s a small city.

However, the southern side of the castle enjoyed refreshing sea breezes. Even though the summer heat wasn’t oppressive near the capital…

Still, the weather here was definitely more pleasant than in the imperial capital.

“Wow, that took forever.”

“Tell me about it.”

“The wind feels different already.”

Our carriage ride has ended. I helped Mint down from the carriage. Her steps were light, though she stretched immediately upon disembarking.

“Let’s visit the beach later.”

I nodded at Mint.

I can’t skip preparing for the penicillin presentation, but the symposium itself won’t take up too much time. Presentations are usually short.

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