As late autumn passed, the harsh season arrived. Even though it doesn’t snow as much as it used to, the green of the forests, fields, and vineyards fades and becomes the same color as the dry soil. The earth looks like a bloodless corpse. No wonder it is called the season of death in many cultures. Until the earth comes back to life, the farmers, like the fields, sink into a temporary death.
As there is no harvest from the fields, the farmers temporarily change their clothes from one job to another. Some become domestic craftsmen, others weavers and some become carpenters for a limited time, doing simple maintenance of the village houses.
With my peasant title removed, I am an inquisitive person. As a result of my activities over the past year, I am now able to pay for my own experiments, so I can proceed much more efficiently than I did with my aloe research in the spring. I’m glad that I don’t get upset about using extra wood.
Recently, I have been researching ways to process bee-based materials for the spring. In the fall, I had worked with Miss Tanya to collect wild beehives in the forest. We were surprised to find that the beehive really did produce an ointment-like substance.
According to the book, it also has bactericidal properties, and like aloe ointment, it can be used as a beauty product as well as a wound remedy. I’m currently researching the possibility of combining it with aloe to get an extra effect.
I was able to make candles from the beehives, which gave me more time to work at night. It seems that this is possible because beehives are a type of beeswax. So how can bees make wax? I have no idea. Also, why does it have a sterilizing effect? These days, when I do research on one thing, many interesting questions come up one after another, but I can’t figure them out, so I writhe in agony. Why didn’t I learn enough about biology in what seemed to be my previous life?
“Oh, Ash, the pot is boiling, is that okay?”
I hurriedly looked up from my research book when my mother warned me.
“Thank you very much. Yes, this is about right.”
Checking the bark in the pot, I began to strain the boiling water. My mother stopped her sewing and looked at my work with great interest.
“That’s how medicine is made. It’s so strange.”
“Yes, I agree with you completely.”
This boiled water can be used as a medicine. The effects have been tested, but I’m not sure why. The bark I was boiling was from a tree that, according to my trusty botanical catalog, has anti-inflammatory, anti-febrile, and analgesic properties. Based on the shape and the effects, it was probably a type of willow from my previous life.
According to my previous life’s knowledge, willow is related to aspirin, a famous headache remedy, and has been used for centuries. I don’t know how willow broth and aspirin work together to become a headache remedy. I don’t know why I didn’t learn chemistry well in what seemed like a previous life. I sigh as I pour the willow broth into a ceramic jar that I have sterilized by boiling.
“Oh, you’re worried about Maika?”
“What? Yeah, I’m worried about her.”
“Yes, I am.”
I couldn’t tell her that my scientific inquisitiveness outweighed my mother’s happy smile. I’m worried about Miss Maika, who is down with a cold, so I’ll pretend that I’m not lying. After all, in my previous life, it was unthinkable that people would die in droves from a mere cold.
I can’t tell how many funerals I’ve attended, wishing I’d had a nanotech injection, and wishing I’d had a memory of what seemed like a previous life…….
However, that will not be the case this year. For the future development of the village, it is essential to maintain and increase the population. For the sake of my dream, I will protect the villagers from the cold. On top of that, Miss Maika is of a high standard in terms of lineage and knowledge, and she has been a close personal friend of mine. It was only natural for me to be enthusiastic, both privately and publicly. I took the antipyretic and painkiller that I had finished making and prepared to go out.
“Well, mother, I’m off to the village chief’s house.”
“Okay, have a safe trip. Give my regards to the chiefs.”
My mother alone sees me off, and I leave. What is father doing? He’s getting together with a bunch of useless men from the village and getting drunk on his winter vacation. I mean that literally.
When I arrive at the village chief’s house, I am immediately greeted by Mrs. Eureka. She looks a little tired because she’s been taking care of Miss Maika. The husband here is doing his job as village chief on behalf of the wife. He is very different from my father.
“Here’s an extra antipyretic. As usual, please be careful not to take too much.”
“Thank you so much for your help. Ash’s medicine seems to be working well and he seems to have a good appetite after taking it.”
“I’m glad to hear that. I can’t cure the sickness directly, so Miss Maika needs to take good care of herself and fight the disease.”
Mrs. Eureka nodded at my words. In this life, illnesses are not thought to be caused by evil spirits, demons, or divine punishments, and even those who think so do not impose painful practices (and thus get rid of illnesses) as a way of dealing with them. Nor do they unnecessarily purge blood.
The general rule is to nourish yourself, keep yourself as clean as possible, and get some rest. I guess it is thanks to ancient civilizations that we have settled down to this prehistoric common sense. If we still had more advanced instruments and facilities, we could have had antibiotics, vaccinations, anesthesia, and other medical technologies. However, there was not that much left, and in this village, even a simple cold could be fatal. Even so, Mrs. Eureka’s expression was not downcast.
“Whenever winter comes, we have to be prepared for many deaths…….I’m hoping that no one will die this year.”
“Yes, I will do my best to make that happen. Both Mr. Van and Mr. Jekyll were very enthusiastic.”
This winter, we have plenty of antipyretics and food. In the storehouse, we suffered less damage from rats than usual thanks to Neko-dono. Also, with more members entering the forest with Mr. Van, we have a large stockpile of both game and forest bounty. With the profits from the aloe ointment, we also have money to spare.
This year, Mrs. Eureka has decided to collect such surpluses at the village chief’s house and distribute them to the sick. For example, drinking water mixed with salt and honey, chicken consommé soup, stewed meatballs, and dried persimmons that are not sweet enough.
Thanks to the antipyretic, they can regain some appetite, so this year’s cold sufferers can be nourished with these foods. It’s just this, but it’s working quite well. This year, we have yet to see any villagers who are suffering and wasting away because they cannot even eat. This gives me a lot of motivation to keep going and welcome spring.
My antipyretic, dried persimmons, and Mr. Van’s family’s (though unmarried) birds and animals, as well as honey, are being purchased with the proceeds from the aloe ointment.
Mr. Van and his family had tried to refuse, saying that it was for the good of the village, but Mrs. Eureka convinced them that this was a fair price and that it would cause problems if it were free, so they settled the bill properly. There were many items purchased from Mr. Quid, and the vendor seemed to be very happy.
By the way, I assume that my father is drinking in the daytime because he is counting on the money I have earned. Unfortunately, I don’t have a single iron coin in the house because I donate all my money to the church that I take care of every day. Our family’s food budget is in jeopardy, but arrangements have been made for only my mother and I to be invited to Priest Folke’s meals.
My mother has been informed of this plan and has given her permission, so only my father can be in despair. It’s a good thing that only my father despairs. He has to take a look at his personal life.
“Oh, is Mr. Ash up to his tricks again?”
“Oops, did that show on my face? I have a plan to punish my father for drinking too much…….”
As I reveal my plan, I wonder what Mrs. Eureka will say.
“Yeah, it’s definitely not a good idea to drink too much alcohol.”
“Yes, for the sake of my health, I am determined to abstain…….”
But that’s not the point. The way Mrs. Eureka said it earlier; it seems as if I’m always playing tricks on her. Not caring about my question, Mrs. Eureka changed the subject.
“Oh, Mr. Ash, do you want to go see Maika?”
“Yes, of course. If it’s not too much trouble, I’d like to see her. I’m sure she doesn’t want to spend all her time sleeping.”
“Maika wants to see you, too, so you should go and see her. If it’s not too much trouble, you can bring her some water.”
With the cup in my hand, I peeked into the room where Miss Maika was recuperating.
“Miss Maika, I’m sorry to bother you.”
“Welcome, Mr. Ash.”
Miss Maika was half-awake, struggling to hold back her bedraggled hair with her hands.
“Are you sure you’re okay getting up?”
“Uh, yeah. The fever was very painful a while ago, but thanks to Mr. Ash’s medicine, I’m completely fine now.”
“Well, that’s a relief. This is Mrs. Eureka’s gift to you.”
“Oh, thank you, Mr. Ash.”
I handed her a glass of water with salt and honey. This was a drink that I had suggested to Mrs. Eureka as a recipe for an oral rehydration solution. In my nine years of living in a farming village, I have seen cases where dehydration is a major cause of death from illness.
When you catch a cold, your immune system becomes active and you develop a fever. You sweat to lower your body temperature. If you don’t drink enough water, you will become dehydrated and weak. The idea was to break this vicious cycle.
The well water in this village is relatively good for drinking, but it is not perfect. When a person is weakened by a cold, diarrhea is quite likely to occur. And the dehydration becomes even worse. Other than well water, there is also alcohol, which is not even tasty, but this puts a strain on the liver. This makes it harder for the cold to heal, so the best thing to do is to boil the well water to disinfect it. However, boiling the water requires extra firewood, which is a big burden for each family to produce. So we decided to do it all at the village headman’s house, and mixed in some more salt and honey.
“Mmm, delicious. I like this.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
Miss Maika’s slightly flushed face is so soft and relaxed; she looks so cute she could be used in a commercial. The salted honey water is a necessity, but it tastes good and makes the sick look happy when they drink it. I’m glad to hear that it’s a welcome distraction from their painful illness. They say that sickness begins with the mind. Miss Maika happily sipped from the cup, which she quickly drank down.
“Thank you for the drink.”
“You are welcome. Are you sure you don’t want to lie down?”
When I took the cup and asked her that, she tightened her expression and said she was fine.
“Thanks to Ash’s medication, I’m feeling much better.”
“Is that so? Your face is still red. You look like you have a fever.”
“That’s not true, I’m fine. Stay with me a little longer…….”
Apparently, she’s bored out of her mind. I can understand how she feels, since she has been in bed for six days with a cold. But that doesn’t mean we should take it easy on her, that’s the job of a nurse.
“Don’t judge yourself if you’re okay or not. It’s easy to tell if you have a fever or not.”
“What?”
I put my hand on Miss Maika’s slightly reddened forehead. It may be rude to a woman, but this is a fine medical procedure. After all, her temperature is still not normal.
“You’re a little hot. Lie down and get some rest.”
I grab her by the shoulders and force her to lie down a little.
“Fluffy……Oh, Ash, you……”
“Your face is getting very red. You don’t look like you’re in top form yet, so please stay calm.”
“Uh-huh…….”
When I covered her with a blanket, Miss Maika obeyed meekly. She is a good listener. In my previous life, I was more selfish. I am keenly aware of the difference in our upbringings.
“You’re leaving?”
“Yes, I am…….”
Miss Maika nuzzled her face into the covers and looked up at me sadly. She must be so bored and even missing people since she is sick. Mrs. Eureka also looked tired from nursing. It would be a good idea for me to take care of Miss Maika for a while so that she can get some rest.
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to talk to you some more. I’ve made a lot of progress in my experiments with the beehive.”
“Really? What’s going on?”
“I’ve been able to make ointment and candles for a while now. I’d like to do more research on the ointment to see what happens when I combine it with aloe.”
“You’ve already done it. You’re amazing after all, Ash.”
“No, no, it’s thanks to the wisdom of our ancestors.”
I had the book that Miss Tanya’s family had passed down to me. There were enough descriptions of the processing methods that it was really helpful.
“As for the ointment, I’d like for Miss Maika to help me experiment with it sometime soon, could you please?”
“Of course! I’m ready right now!”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. If there are any side effects, we’ll be in trouble, so I can’t let anyone else try it until I’ve tested it myself.”
Since it is something that is applied to the skin, it would be especially awkward to try it on a woman out of the blue. In today’s culture, women are celebrated for their external beauty. Men, on the other hand, do not, so in case there is a problem, it is better for me, a man, to be the tester. Also, as a heterosexual man, I personally would be happier if women were beautiful, so I would like to be the first to be sacrificed.
“I see. Ash, have you already used it?”
“Yes, I’m applying it to my left hand first. So far, so good. See how shiny it is compared to my right hand?”
I held out my hands, and Miss Maika reached out and grasped them modestly.
“Ho, it’s true, yeah…….Ash, your hands…….”
“So, in order for you to help us with the experiment, please get well first.”
“Yes, yes! I’ll do my best and get well soon! Leave it to me!”
Even though she is still very young, she seems to have a strong desire to explore beauty, and Miss Maika answers me with a lot of enthusiasm. The aloe ointment seems to be valued more as a beauty product than as a wound remedy, and the bee products may be treated as such at first. It’s still a high-end product, but it seems that in past lives and in this life, new inventions often meet unintended demands.