ASDP Chapter 57

I waited with the children in the carriage, but no monsters came and time just passed by leisurely. The children looked sleepy, so I let them take a nap and waited alone, a little cautiously.
As more time passed, the uncles began bringing in people who should be treated at my grandfather’s clinic. Every time they came to the carriage, I explained the situation and told them they would make sure not to cause any trouble and my father agreed, and they were happy with it.
The person who brought them here for treatment was concerned about the two sleeping children, but didn’t do anything in particular. Still, I’m glad they were asleep, even though I have to explain the children’s current situation every time and tell them not to cause any trouble whenever they are deemed dangerous. From the way they looked when we first met, they already fully understand that something is not normal about their bodies. I don’t want them to feel any more uncomfortable than necessary.
More time passed, and finally my father arrived and we left.

“Huh? What about those who came with us on the trip?”
“Yes. They’re staying at the evacuation center tonight. If the village is going to take in the injured, then those who have recovered will have to leave, otherwise there won’t be anywhere to sleep.”
My grandfather’s clinic had very few beds for hospitalization, so this time, together with the villagers, we prepared temporary beds in the waiting room and other places and packed them in. We left the meals to the restaurant, and the villagers came to help with things like cleaning the patients’ bodies.
“The old man looked displeased when he said he would explain the medical expenses later from the perspective of rescue and ask the mayor for them.”
“…They’re trying to rip us off.”
“That’s probably true. Right now, the treatment is being carried out using your grandfather’s own money, but it’s not an endless source of funds, and the restaurant is providing them with meals, with the promise of being paid back later. However, if the town doesn’t return to normal, it will affect our lives, so we can’t decide not to help.”
The current situation in our village means that we can’t just say we won’t help you if you don’t pay. If the neighboring town doesn’t return to normal, we can’t sell our goods, and we can’t go to the royal capital or other towns.

“…Big sister?”
“Ah, are you awake? We have just left for the village, so you will begin treatment once we arrive. Those here are people from the same village as me, and people like you who need treatment.”
The brother seemed surprised that the number of people had increased while he was sleeping, and he looked around busily.
“Could it be Oliver?”
“Huh? Ah. Uncle Arlo.”
Apparently there was an acquaintance there, as someone called out to the brother.
“What happened to your Mom?”
“…I don’t know.”
“I see. That must have been tough.”
As I listened to their conversation, which was only possible because they knew each other, I decided to leave the boy to them and kept quiet. Perhaps there was some comfort to be found in the fact that they were both victims. No matter what, I was nothing more than a third party.

“That’s right, Dad. It’s a medicine, but how do you think we should actually get them to take it? Even if we try our best, I think there’s a limit to how much we can give them.”
The kids said they would try, but it was so bad that Theo, an adult, fainted. I’ve thought about putting it through a pipe or wrapping it in something, but I can’t actually prepare it yet.
Even if the food is wrapped so that the taste cannot be tasted, there is still a certain amount. Even though the amount is not as much as an adult’s because it is a child, it is still not appropriate to wrap it.
However, I don’t think it’s a simple flavor that can be fixed by adding fruit juice.
“But there’s no other way but to make them drink it. If they had been a bit less monsterized, I would have used holy water.”
“If the treatment goes well, we might be able to change it to holy water halfway through. But it’ll still have to be that medicine at first…”
This is clearly not a treatment that is suitable for children, especially Rosie, whose condition seems like it might trigger a reflex to vomit.
But if I want to help, this is the only way I can think of right now.

Alfie, who has a taste disorder, drank it without worrying, but a taste disorder is not something you want to have.
“…Hey, Dad. Wasn’t there some fruit a long time ago that messed up your sense of taste? Something that made sour things sweet after you bit into it. Do you know of any plants that can numb your sense of taste like that? I’m sure you were researching various things in the mountains back then, right?”
I suddenly remembered a time when my father gave me a strange fruit from an alchemist in the royal capital when I was a child. I remember my father doing some research at the time to see if that phenomenon existed anywhere else.
“Yes. I researched and researched. I couldn’t find anything that would make things sweet, but I did find something that would temporarily block tastes and smells. I see. If I feed it to them first and then give it to them to drink, it should be possible for them to swallow it without spitting it out. I’m sure I gave the nectar from Naturi flowers to the alchemist because he was interested and wanted some, but I’m sure I mixed it with honey and stored it to stop it deteriorating.”
“You mixed it with honey.”
“Honey alone smells good but it doesn’t taste good. But when it’s finished, if you ask what it’s used for you’ll have to shake your head, and it should end up being treated as an interesting topic.”
Certainly. Even if you temporarily lose your sense of taste and smell, it may be interesting or surprising, but when asked what use you could make of it, you can only scratch your head.

“Even useless discoveries can be useful if you change your perspective.”
If I had remembered it a little sooner, Theo probably wouldn’t have had to go through such agony, but I don’t think my grandfather and father would have gone out of their way to discuss it, so he could only have found a use for it at this time.
“Well, I’ll go look for him at home, so can Amelia take the injured to the infirmary today?”
“Yeah. It’s okay. I had it easy while I was away.”
The children were quiet, probably because they had been on guard for so long and were tired, and not a single monster came.

“Is Dad okay? Has any big monster appeared?”
Today I found an undead and children who had become mostly monsterized.
In other words, gradually larger bodies are also turning into monsters. Moreover, they are not turning into monsters due to the influence of the maga, but rather through the influence of other monsters.
“We did find a few undead. There were a few monsters that appeared to have originally been pets, but it seems we haven’t come across any that appear to have been humans turned into monsters.”
“…I see. I’m worried about the night.”
From now on, once the sun goes down, the undead that we were unable to defeat will likely start wandering around town. From now on, we will need to be careful of rooms that are not exposed to sunlight during the day.

“The people who were exploring with me also went to the evacuation shelter, so I think we can thoroughly warn them. We absolutely cannot let the undead into the evacuation shelter, so I told them not to go outside until sunrise, and I instructed them to barricade the windows and entrances. They say the undead inherit their physical abilities from when they were alive, so if they do that, they shouldn’t be able to get in. I also told them not to open the doors, even if they hear voices calling for help outside.”
If you hear a voice calling for help, do not open it.
That would be a very difficult decision. Just like I couldn’t test the children with holy water. No, it would be even more difficult because the voice could be someone they know.
“But today, we were able to guide about 20 people who were unable to evacuate to evacuation shelter.”
“Eh? Is that so?”
“Yeah. Everyone had mushrooms growing on their heads and they were scared they were turning into monsters.”
“Yeah, that’s true. They look weird, but everyone has them.”
In reality, if mushrooms just grow, it has nothing to do with turning into a monster.

“It seems like the drinking water point is contaminated with mushroom spores. Maybe there are mushrooms growing on the walls of the well or something? And so everyone who comes to get drinking water is infected.”
You can tolerate food, but you can’t last long without drinking water.
I think the children I rescued were infected through drinking water, so instead of increasing the infection rate of the mushrooms in one go, considering the possibility that they may be turning into monsters, it might be a good idea to contaminate the well instead… No. It’s fine for now, but I feel like it would be a pain to get rid of them later, so maybe that’s a bit extreme.

“Maybe there are people like those kids who have only partially turned into monsters and are hiding. I hope we can find a cure.”
“Yeah”
There must be people still waiting for help.
I’m scared of what the town will be like tomorrow, but I’ll try my best.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thank you for reading!