I Became a Plague Doctor in a Romance Fantasy Novel

Episode 23. We Rule This Class (1)

Episode 23. We Rule This Class (1)

It’s been a while since I’ve been in the clinic.

Peaceful and nice. The clinic in the Barony of Lapis had turned into hell due to the plague. But here… there’s no line, and it’s comfortable.

It doesn’t seem like there are any patients who are about to die.

Istina is not here because she’s handling other tasks. Most of the people coming in for treatment don’t have serious illnesses.

Let’s see what it is. Knock, knock, knock. After a brief knock, the first patient of the day appeared.

“Hello. I heard that you are the best doctor on the continent. Is that true?”

“It might be.”

The patient who just came in was a male academy student who didn’t appear to be sick at all.

“Can you also heal diseases of the mind?”

The mystery was solved more easily than expected.

A disease of the mind, it might be treatable, or it might not be. I don’t have the knowledge to provide counseling, nor the personality for it.

I can make antidepressants, but I’m not sure if that would help.

“Please, have a seat and tell me. You said you came for a disease of the mind. What is your name?”

“My name is Lylas. I’m a second-year student in the Academy’s Department of Knights.”

Judging by the fact that he didn’t reveal his background, he might be a lower noble or a commoner. It’s just a guess, though. The reason I need to know this information is to write his name and social status on the chart.

Social status is often related to diagnosis. Like endemic diseases in certain regions. Well, I don’t know if I’ll use this information, but…

“Yes. Where does it hurt?”

“It’s hard to say.”

“Well. Everything said in the clinic is confidential. You can speak freely.”

“It might sound cheesy, but I miss her so much. I really like her.”

Was it a love affair? Or just a romantic problem?

I wondered what he meant by that.

Uh… Considering the exaggerated tone and behavior, one might think of bipolar disorder or manic episodes. It’s a bit far-fetched, though.

I guess I’ll have to talk more to find out.

“You must have had a hard time because of that. Did it cause you emotional distress?”

“Ah, it really did.”

So, it was a psychiatric issue after all?

“Have you ever felt depressed, gone without sleep for days, or attempted suicide?”

“No?”

Then why did you come to the hospital, I thought. But I can’t rule out the possibility of a serious problem yet. Let’s be patient a little longer.

“Then why did you come to the hospital?”

Now, the answer will determine the course.

If someone else told him to go to the hospital, the likelihood of a mental illness is very high. If he came because of physical symptoms, we need to consider other diseases.

If this were a modern university hospital, we would have considered hormonal imbalances and so on. But here, with the poor facilities, we need to think more carefully.

The patient’s answer was…

“My heart hurts so much. If I don’t see her, my chest feels tight and I can’t stand it.”

His heart hurts so much, huh.

Of course, it could be Hwa-byung, but a more likely disease that causes chest pain related to stress is…

“Reflux esophagitis due to stress.”

“What did you say?”

It was a soliloquy.

I wrote down a few expected diagnoses.

Regrettably, the diagnosis of reflux esophagitis is made through endoscopy. Endoscopy is not a diagnostic method that can be used here and now.

“Do you usually drink alcohol?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll ask you about your symptoms. When your heart hurts, does it hurt like it’s pounding, burning, or aching?”

“It burns and feels tight.”

If it was the first, it would be arrhythmia, the second, reflux esophagitis, and the third, myocardial infarction. Fortunately, it seems to be the most manageable of the three.

Burning is a sign of reflux esophagitis.

“First of all. Go and confess.”

“Indeed, this hole in my heart won’t be filled until I convey my feelings to her, right?”

“Uh… that’s a bit.”

I didn’t say that.

Aside from the fact that this student’s way of speaking is unpleasant, he’s tall and an academy student, so his status is certain. Maybe it will work out well?

The questions continued for a few minutes.

“I’ll prescribe you something. It seems to be reflux esophagitis. Avoid stressful situations, stop drinking, and lie on your left side when you sleep.”

“Then my heart won’t hurt?”

He seems a bit foolish, but the patient himself seems pure and good without a hint of irony, so I can’t say anything.

“It will hurt less. If the condition is still severe after about a week, come back.”

“I feel relieved after telling you everything! I can tell people that the reputation of the empire’s best healer is not exaggerated.”

“Yes, well. Do that.”

It was a rollercoaster of a diagnosis. First it was a mental illness, then a heart disease, then back to a mental illness, and finally, it turned out to be esophagitis.

If I avoid stressful situations, I might get better right away, so there’s no need for medication, right?

The consultation ended without any major incidents. Apart from the lovesick knight who came in first, there were no unusual patients. Common illnesses like colds are the most frequent.

I returned to the lab. In one corner of the lab, Istina was struggling with a map and a compass. What is she doing?

“I’ve just come back from the ward.”

“Hmm, okay. What are you doing?”

“You know the paper on epidemic dysentery? I submitted it for cross-verification. They said they’ll publish it if it passes the cross-verification.”

Come to think of it, when I submitted a paper under Professor Klaus’s name, it passed the cross-verification quickly.

Was it the name value?

It doesn’t matter. If the academic community doesn’t accept this paper, I’ll borrow the princess’s name and submit it directly to the imperial government.

It’s hard to argue with results. In real history, when Snow’s theory was proven by policy, it couldn’t be easily ignored.

“Will it be okay?”

“It’ll be fine. It doesn’t matter.”

Istina scratched her head.

“Have you prepared for the class?”

“Yes, I’ve prepared diligently.”

I have to go to class soon.

I’ve already missed a few classes because I went to Lapis’s territory, and I’m quite behind.

Once again, after a long time, class time had returned.

“Alright, today’s class topic is-“

Huh. I frowned and looked around the lecture hall again. Besides the increase in unfamiliar students, there were a bunch of older men.

They must be professors.

I stopped the class and looked around.

“Uh, what’s going on, everyone?”

When something bothersome happens, it’s always the graduate students.

I looked at Istina, who was closest to the podium, and she got up and ran to my side. As expected, there was a solution.

“We submitted the cross-verification paper on epidemic dysentery last time. I think that’s why the professors and graduate students came to attend the class…”

Aha.

“Yes. We came to discuss with Professor Asterix. The recent research, that is, the cross-verification target research.”

I looked around.

This is a mess.

Graduate students with piles of paper and pens, professors sitting with combative expressions, undergraduates starting to leave one by one.

I felt a bit sorry. They came to attend the class, but suddenly the professors and graduate students were occupying it.

How absurd must it be? Wait a minute. I’m just as dumbfounded. Why are they coming to someone else’s class to protest and cause a commotion? What strange people-

No.

It means they want to do research that much.

It means Istina’s paper draft was that impressive, and what we did in the Lapis territory was fascinating.

“You’re talking about the response to epidemic dysentery, and the research content on the same topic, right?”

The murmuring sound. It seems that the undergraduates are finally starting to grasp the situation.

Professor Klaus raised his hand from the back.

“Professor Asterix. Enough with the class, could you tell us about the epidemic dysentery?”

It was like a high school student asking their homeroom teacher to talk about their first love.

I sighed. As soon as I submitted the cross-verification, they came to me, expressing their intention to run away with the paper if I made a mistake. And it was quite blatant. This is just…

It means they are developing that quickly.

“Alright. Ask me anything.”

I was inwardly troubled. Isn’t this no different from a conference? What’s so special about a conference? When scholars gather, that’s a conference.

“Then, I will briefly explain what I witnessed and the hypotheses I established regarding epidemic dysentery for about 10 minutes, and then take questions.”

Oliver, sitting in the middle, raised his hand.

“Oliver, why?”

“What about the undergraduate class?”

“Do you want to take an exam on this?”

Oliver closed his mouth.

“For those who don’t understand. I was recently dispatched to the Barony of Lapis to help treat and prevent epidemic dysentery and achieved great results. I presented this research with Miss Istina.”

Istina nodded beside me.

“First of all. I will talk about the identity of epidemic dysentery, primary prevention, and secondary prevention, in that order. And finally, I will explain what happened in the Lapis territory.”

I didn’t prepare separately.

“Then, let’s start with the first topic.”