CH 71

After dying from his illness, this man had turned into a ghoul. Ghouls were quite unpleasant, but they weren’t a major threat in and of themselves. Rather, it was more alarming to hear that the other members of the Allos Caravan, who had stayed with the dead man, also showed the same symptoms.

“It’s an infectious disease! An epidemic!” The people ran out of the restaurant. They fell into panic and acted as if they would kill the ghoul and the other members of the caravan.

Luisen and Carlton also slipped away from the restaurant– they wanted to avoid being swept away by the panicking mob. After all, infectious diseases were like invisible envoys; they had no choice but to be even more scared. Who knows when the sickle of death would cut down someone’s life. Those that believed the epidemic was a curse tried to cling to Luisen, who dressed as a pilgrim. If Carlton hadn’t blocked them with his body and moved quickly, Luisen would be ensnared within their grasp.

Carlton pushed Luisen into his room and locked the door. Moving corpses, infectious diseases, people rushing to the young lord to request a prayer… it was all too overwhelming.

He was certain that the young lord would have been alarmed as well. Carlton turned to the young lord to try and appease him, but Luisen had taken the initiative to take off his robe. Contrary to his expectations, the young lord was tranquil and calm; he wasn’t frightened at all.

“You should also quickly disrobe,” Luisen said.

“What?”

”Though we didn’t come into contact with him, we still saw the ghoul and the person from the Allos caravan. It’d be safer to change out of your outerwear,” Luisen stated with conviction. Although the mercenary didn’t understand the relationship between an infectious disease and his coat, he still did as he was told and placed his coat in a bag.

Next, Luisen poured out water and washed his hands. “You should wash your hands as well.”

Carlton haphazardly washed his hands. Luisen looked so calm it was strange.

“Don’t do it like that – do it properly.” The young lord held the mercenary’s hand and rubbed it to create soap bubbles before rubbing insistently. Luisen’s soft palms embraced and rubbed at Carlton’s hands. From the man’s palm, hardened with calluses, to the tender flesh in between the fingers, Luisen rubbed his companion’s hands thoroughly.

Carlton unconsciously blushed at the sliding sensation. At the sight of Luisen’s white, long fingers entangled in his rough ones, he suddenly felt dizzy for no reason. However, the young lord was careful–like someone washing their dog’s paws; he had no ulterior motives. The mercenary coughed, embarrassed, “…What are you doing?”

“This is what you’re supposed to do. It’s a precaution.”

That’s what everyone did in the future. Luisen wiped Carlton’s hands with a clean cloth and discarded the water.

“You’re very calm. I thought you’d be more surprised,” the mercenary said.

Luisen shrugged. Whenever the kingdom underwent a crisis, horrible things were sure to follow. Before his regression, a large variety of diseases became very prevalent throughout the land. Moreover, a great number of those diseases were highly contagious. Except for the South, he had wandered throughout the kingdom and heard many rumors and information about the diseases. And, thanks to following the one-armed pilgrim, the young lord had gathered a lexicon of knowledge about this matter.

The various things he had experienced during his nomadic life had allowed the young lord to maintain his calm. “I’m not worried about this plague. I’ve never caught such a disease.”

Luisen wasn’t afraid of infectious diseases. His long wandering and hunger had weakened his stamina and ruined his body; he had obsessively worried about contagions, but he was still somehow fine.

He had even passed through an infectious village; he had even ridden the same carriage with a contagious person. However, he had never been infected. He couldn’t tell if it was because his body was particularly good or because he had been blessed by a high-ranking member of the church as soon as he was born. The young lord was certain, though, that his body was more robust than it looked. “And you?”

“I’ve never had to worry about getting sick either. I’ve never been sick in my entire life.”

“Then that’s a relief.”

Luisen had heard rumors, in the past, that Carlton had fallen to an infectious disease…or that he had run away from the plague in fear. Although he really couldn’t confirm the veracity of his companion’s statement, it was fortunate that they wouldn’t need to huddle inside the room, trembling with fear. “More than that, I’m worried about the ship. What do you think will happen? Will the boat still continue on its path? Do you think it’ll turn around and go back to Mittil?”

“It’s up to the captain, but… We’re probably not returning to Mittil. I believe matters become complicated when things like profits are involved.”

Besides, it would be best for them to proceed–the two didn’t want to return anyway.

“I believe we’ll arrive at our destination as scheduled. Since the price of our tickets was  cheap, the captain will try to reduce damage to his profit margin as much as possible.”

“Well, that’s good to hear.”

“That’s not the issue, though. The ship may not be able to dock at the port.”

“Oh?” Luisen’s eyes opened wide. He hadn’t even thought of that possibility.

“The infectious disease could spread, after all. Our destination city can refuse entry. In the worst scenario, the ship may not be able to dock anywhere and will be forced to wander down the river.”

“That’s not good!” The worst scenario for Luisen and Carlton would be being stranded over water. With Ruger chasing from behind, a long road ahead, and the king possibly dying at any minute, it would be disastrous to have their feet tied while aboard ship!  “Then, what should we do? We can’t waste time.”

“We’ll either take a smaller boat and escape or pray that the disease isn’t contagious.”

“Ahh…” Luisen hung his head. Why, of all boats, did this have to happen here?

“If this disease originated on Mittil, this would be a problem for other ships as well. Perhaps the other ships that depart after this one would not be able to set sail at all.” Carlton consoled the young lord, but the soothing words didn’t reach his heart.

Luisen sat, arms crossed, and began to wander back through his memories. ‘What kind of diseases were prevalent this year…?’

A few candidates for the outbreak came to mind, but he wasn’t sure if they matched the disease plaguing the Allos caravan. After all, he had never seen the diseased up close. The young lord was too busy with his own matters to even see the ghouls properly. “Whether it is ghouls or the sick, I believe I’ll be able to judge what happened if I were to observe them… It’s possible that I may know the cure.”

""

“My Duke?”

Luisen nodded and steeled his resolve. “Let’s return to the restaurant. The man from the caravan and the ghoul should still be there. We should hear more from them and see if we can meet the rest of the members. What do you say? If you’re uncomfortable, I’ll meet them alone.”

“You’re going back there?” Carlton contemplated knocking the young lord out and escaping the ship with him. No matter how healthy he may be, the mercenary was reluctant to let him meet a corpse and the sick during a possible epidemic. However, Luisen was ready to do this all alone.

‘Just what is he thinking…?’

Though Luisen’s head may be pretty and round, the mercenary had zero idea what was going on inside; the mercenary’s own head was throbbing. Generally, the young lord was docile, but sometimes he was determined to do something crazy.

Considering Luisen’s dismal academic records, it was obvious that he would be ignorant in specialized fields such as medicine. However, the young lord seemed confident, and the mercenary was well aware that the young lord had surprising insights at times. Luisen always had a reason when he was stubborn and often produced positive results.

‘It looks like he has faith in himself… And I can deal with any conflicts with people should they arise…Besides, it’s not like he’ll listen if I tell him not to go…’

Ignorant of all of the scary happenstances, Luisen made it a habit to do all sorts of strange things. This was a man who would secretly do whatever he wanted unless his hands and feet were tied and body imprisoned. In this perilous world, wasn’t he the only one that could take care of Luisen? After much consideration, Carlton made his decision.

“Where in the world would I go without my Duke?” Carlton said bluntly.

Luisen, used to the mercenary’s prickly way of speaking, just laughed. The mercenary i’s all bark and no bite.

The two returned to the restaurant. This time, they covered their noses and mouths with cloth and wore gloves. The mercenary had no idea how any of these methods could help, but he just followed the young lord’s orders.

***

As expected, because most of the onboard residents ran away from this area, the restaurant was empty. Instead of a crowd, there stood a ghoul, the man from the Allos caravan, and an unexpected person–Morrison.

Morrison, like the young lord and his companion, covered his nose and mouth with cloth; with gloves on, he used a long rod to push the ghoul into a corner. The man from the Allos caravan wept as he observed this scene.

“Mr. Morrison?”

“You two. Didn’t you two return to your room? Did something happen?”  Morrison reacted rather sharply. It seemed like the man was especially sensitive due to the unexpected crisis. He was like a fox wary of his surroundings.

“Yes, well, there was something I wanted to check so I’ve returned. What about you?” Luisen asked.

“While passing by, this person looked like he was troubled. Even if he may be a ghoul now, we can’t ignore that he was a human before. I’ve come here to help him.”

‘This was definitely Morrison-like. I’m only calm because I know the future; Morrison is ignorant and yet has come forward to help.’ Luisen’s heart felt tugged as he reminisced on the merchant’s warmth in the previous timeline as he handed the young lord a boat ticket.

‘Though that man may entertain all sorts of strange misunderstandings and delusions–he’s a kind and gentle person, through and through.’

“We’ll help as well,” Luisen said.

“Ah, I’d appreciate that. I thought about pushing the ghoul into an empty, unused storage room.”

“Couldn’t you just hit it in the neck?” Carlton asked.

“Well, he could get up after a while and start to move again…”

“That’s right. It’d be best to cremate it, but it’s best not to light a fire on a boat. Though the ghoul may not necessarily be dangerous, it is unsightly and presents hygiene issues… It’s best to lock him up somewhere. It doesn’t have the intelligence to open the door.” Luisen nodded, admiring Morrison’s wealth of knowledge.

Carlton, however, felt differently. “You must know a lot about ghouls–they aren’t common though. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen such a thing.”

“Those who are in the know, know. Reverend Pilgrim also seems to know a lot about these beings–he must know a lot of things.” Morrison responded with an affable smile Carlton felt that Morrison’s words had an edge to them somehow. What an unsettling man.