NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 48
What on earth is this disease? After seeing the mayor’s son, one patient came to mind.
It wasn’t a patient from my past life but someone who visited the academy hospital.
Here’s what happened:
A few days ago, an academy student walked into the clinic. They were worried because a nasty cold was spreading through the dormitory.
Since the person hadn’t caught the illness yet, I just gave them some Vitamin C and sent them off—basically, lemon-flavored candy.
This situation feels exactly like that. Cold and Vitamin C.
Until now, I thought it was about coughing up blood, but actually, the coughing is secondary. It’s more about bleeding from the mouth. There’s a very famous disease where blood comes out of your mouth, you know?
I returned to the conference room with Istina. The heavy door creaked open as I announced:
“I think I know what the disease is!”
The mayor of Imentia and the bureaucrats looked at me. Teacher Hedwig was still silently holding her ground. At least we have a hypothesis now.
“Wait, already?”
“My apologies for taking so long.”
“It hasn’t even been an hour.”
That’s late though.
During the cholera outbreak, I figured out the disease and its solution before even arriving at the scene. This time, it took a whole day.
In the time it took me to diagnose and come up with a solution, countless lives might’ve been lost. Still, considering I had the answer in my head all along, it’s fair to say it was indeed too slow. Anyway…
“The disease affecting these people seems to be scurvy caused by Vitamin C deficiency.”
Scurvy—a disease resulting from Vitamin C deficiency that primarily damages connective tissue, causing gums to bleed. Treatment involves consuming Vitamin C. While permanent damage like tooth loss can’t be reversed, most symptoms should improve within a few days.
Hedwig and Istina both stared at me with bewildered expressions. Clearly, they doubted my claim. And honestly, so did I.
“Does that even make sense?”
“It’s still just speculation at this point.”
“But isn’t scurvy something sailors get from lack of sea breeze?”
Ironically, everyone seems aware scurvy exists but has different ideas about why or how it occurs.
The expedition knight’s son thought it was due to traveling abroad, while the bureaucratic plague doctor blamed sea winds. Both are wrong, though.
“Scurvy happens when there’s a deficiency in specific nutrients, like Vitamin C. It can occur during insufficiently prepared voyages or expeditions.”
“But malnutrition isn’t technically a plague, right?”
“Well… it depends on the context.”
The mayor sighed deeply.
“My son wasn’t starving.”
“It’s not necessarily about starvation. We don’t know what happened during their voyage or expedition. If no one considered this issue…”
The British Navy solved the Vitamin C deficiency problem by feeding sailors preserved vegetables and limes—not out of care, but because sailors dying from scurvy were useless.
In short, without putting in extra effort, this problem won’t resolve itself. Even small efforts matter.
There was murmuring in the conference room. Even Hedwig, who usually trusted me, flipped through her notes skeptically.
“Professor, scurvy doesn’t explain hemoptysis, does it? Many patients actually coughed up blood!”
“Upon closer inspection, the blood came from the gums, which led me to suspect scurvy.”
“What about the patients found inside the city?”
“It’s a port city, isn’t it? Surely there must have been cases of scurvy in the past.”
They still didn’t believe me. I rubbed my temples.
Partial fractions.
Let’s assume there’s a test that detects a disease with 90% accuracy. If 9% of the population has the disease, it seems like a highly accurate test affecting many people.
But if you randomly test anyone… false positives will outnumber true positives. Same principle here.
Even if skilled doctors investigated patients with 90% accuracy, false positives would overwhelm real ones.
Judging based on fake patients leads to chaos. The assumptions, information, everything about this disease and its patients could be wrong.
How do I explain this logically?
“Hedwig is mistaken.”
“Excuse me?!”
Hedwig gasped. The mayor sighed again, rubbing his face repeatedly. Istina scanned the room anxiously.
“So… whose side are we on?”
The mayor’s voice carried irritation. Understandable, given the confusion and concern for his son’s safety.
“First off, there was no hemoptysis. Knight Mantar also had coughing and bleeding from the mouth—not blood mixed with phlegm.”
“Alright, let’s go with that.”
“Skin damage and rashes may resemble the Black Death, but clinically, they’re completely different. In the Black Death, the skin turns black, unlike our patients.”
Hedwig looked uneasy.
“I’m not sure… This interpretation relies too much on coincidence. Didn’t you teach us medicine leaves no room for chance? Scurvy doesn’t cause colds, after all.”
True, it doesn’t directly cause colds.
“There are several possibilities. Maybe seasonal flu, allergic rhinitis due to late spring pollen, or just a common cold. Or perhaps weakened immunity from Vitamin C deficiency makes people more susceptible to colds.”
“Professor, what exactly is Vitamin C?”
Ah, good point.
I realized I was speaking strangely. Opening my mouth to explain, I paused when the mayor raised his hand.
“Never mind. What’s the solution?”
Hedwig bowed, conceding she had nothing further to add. Reluctantly, I spoke.
“Um, distribute citrus fruits to those showing signs of scurvy. If citrus isn’t available, other fruits or edible vegetables work fine too. Symptoms should improve within three days.”
“Vegetables?”
“Yes.”
The mayor wore an extremely displeased expression.
“Are you telling me you rode here on wyvern cavalry under imperial orders, only to tell me to eat vegetables? Does that sound reasonable to you?”
His tone shifted, likely out of frustration. Still, I understood his perspective.
“Isn’t it… reasonable?”
“Professor, the city is under curfew, travel restrictions, and quarantine measures. You don’t seem to take the situation seriously.”
“I’m not dismissing your earlier mistakes. Implementing preventive measures before understanding the cause is natural. However, new evidence is emerging.”
Here’s the key point:
While this might seem simple by modern standards, solving it requires deliberate effort. Hearing ‘just eat lemons’ might make it hard to accept…
So why didn’t they eat them?
“Getting fruit shouldn’t be that difficult, right? Let’s try it anyway.”
“Hmm… Alright. What does Teacher Hedwig think?”
The mayor seemed calmer, willing to consider my suggestion. If eating lemons works, trying it first makes sense.
Hedwig simply nodded, appearing somewhat convinced despite staring blankly into the distance.
I felt a twinge of guilt for being too harsh earlier.
“Thank you. I’ll head to the temple to check on patients. If I discover anything new, I’ll let you know.”
“Um…”
“Is something wrong?”
The mayor hesitated before speaking.
“Professor, please refrain from speculating publicly about the disease’s cause or initial quarantine steps—at least outside this castle.”
It’s an unreasonable request, but I sighed softly. Preventing confusion is necessary.
“Understood. Until we reach a definitive conclusion, I won’t say anything at the quarantine sites that could cause confusion. That’s only logical.”
The mayor exhaled in relief, gazing far away. Fortunately, the death toll hasn’t risen significantly yet.