Volume 4 Chapter 68 Infectious Disease
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
As expected, Granny, the elf mage who’d lived over two hundred years, was familiar with syphilis—the venereal disease that had run rampant through the Androgynos Group’s territories.
”So, can you cure it, Granny?”
”And just who do you think I am?” she shot back, fixing me with a look. “I’m a mage who specializes in Simple-type Magic—a Golems User. There’s no way I can cure infectious diseases.”
So it’s hopeless, then.
In my past life, I remembered it took at least two weeks of penicillin antibiotics, either oral or IV. In this world, what would they even do? Also, the cure—meaning, when would my s*x ban finally be lifted?
”There is one thing I can tell you,” Granny said, a sly grin spreading across her weathered face.
What’s that?
”You, who can’t keep it in your pants—you won’t be having s*x for the next ten years.”
”Ehh? Wh-what?” I sputtered.
Nobody told me that! Seriously, no s*x for ten years?
”Fool,” she cackled, waving a gnarled finger at me. “Don’t panic—I was obviously lying. And I told you not to call me Granny. Call me Master.”
She was laughing at me, watching me fluster and fumble. Toying with an innocent boy’s heart.
”Do you remember when I said that no one in the royal family died during the plague six years ago?” Granny asked, her tone turning serious.
”Yeah, that was right after we finished militia training, and you were healing us.”
Granny nodded, looking satisfied, and continued.
There are different types of plague. The one that killed people’s parents and siblings six years ago was the Black Death. There were also cholera, influenza, smallpox—many died all at once.
”It was discovered eighty years ago that the treatment for Black Death was also effective against syphilis,” she explained.
That treatment, apparently, involves continuously sending mana into the patient’s body—but specifically, cyclic mana from a mana pentamer.
Sending it into the body… so it acts like some kind of antibiotic?
But if my memory serves, both are Gram-negative bacteria, yet the drugs used are different. Plague requires streptomycin; syphilis uses penicillin-based antibiotics. Their chemical structures are completely different, and their mechanisms of action differ as well—the former is bacteriostatic, the latter bactericidal—which affects dosage and treatment duration accordingly. There’s no similarity in antibiotic treatment between plague and syphilis. But apparently, magically speaking, the same method works for both.
”However,” Granny continued, her expression growing grim, “almost no one can create cyclic mana in a pentamer configuration—even I, an elven mage, can’t do it. That’s why during the plague, they could only save the royalty.”
So that’s why the Androgynos Group had requested aid from so many elven mages.
But one question remained.
”How do you determine someone’s cured?” I asked.
”Thus, the ten-year sexual prohibition,” she replied with a wicked glint in her eye.
I already got that.
”Master, would you please teach me?” I ventured, swallowing my pride.
The moment I said “Master,” her face brightened.
”Hmph. I’ll commend you for using the proper address,” she said, clearly pleased. “But what I know is only a little.”
Even so, Granny’s knowledge wasn’t complete. There was a theory that you could tell by changes in mana flow inside the body, but that had proven dubious.
Generally, if the next stage of symptoms doesn’t appear, one could say the patient is cured—but syphilis takes a long time for symptoms to appear, and sometimes they don’t manifest at all. So they were apparently considering testing through blood sampling.
She’d heard about this from the Androgynos Group. They were attempting the Wassermann reaction using bovine heart, but struggling with phospholipid extraction. Apparently they lacked the right organic solvents for extraction. Without the expansion of scientific foundations, medical progress would remain slow—even with knowledge.
”It’s been eighty years since then, so I assume there’s been technological progress,” Granny mused, stroking her chin. “However, syphilis never spread beyond the Androgynos Group’s lands, and ever since, they’ve mostly cut off contact with other races.”
That matched the story about the goblins entering through the transfer gate in the elven lands, causing disaster, and the gate being closed.
”However, I’m surprised a transfer gate still remained in Schweilitz,” she added, raising an eyebrow.
Well, let’s keep that confidential.
”By the way,” Granny said, her tone shifting to something more probing, “you mentioned keeping an Amazoness slave?”
”I’m not keeping her—it’s more like Kenze is my bodyguard,” I clarified.
At least, she didn’t seem to think of me as her master.
”So, which Amazoness tribe is she from?” Granny pressed.
”She said she was from Takshurgan,” I replied.
When Emma heard my voice and tried to stand, Granny held her down. On the other side of Granny, Emma was breathing heavily.
”You said you bought her at auction earlier, didn’t you?” Granny continued, her eyes narrowing with curiosity.
”Yeah, well, there were circumstances…” I trailed off.
Kenze had been planted as an agent of the Turkic Empire’s intelligence services, working undercover as a fabric shop worker in the Kingdom of Schweilitz. Due to various circumstances, she’d apparently received orders to kidnap or assassinate me. But she failed, was captured by Schweilitz, and ended up on the slave market as a piece with a troubled history.
I couldn’t exactly say: I deliberately bid against the person who’d been hired to buy her, and since I just wanted to go home, I raised the price to speed things up even though I had no intention of buying—and ended up winning her anyway. I was wondering how to explain when Emma asked if that Amazoness’s name was Kenze.
”Yeah, that’s right. Her family name is…” I began.
”Hashina,” Emma said, her voice flat.
Emma answered before I could remember. I’d heard it once—Kenze Hashina was her full name.
”In that case, do you also know Kauhar?” I asked.
When I asked, Emma made a sour face.
She told me that she, Kauhar, and Kenze were from the same hometown, and that Kauhar had been her superior officer.
”Then, that Kenze or whatever—she’s having children with you now?” Granny asked, her eyes gleaming with interest.
I nodded when Granny asked, and she looked at me as if she’d had a good idea.
”Hey, won’t you take Emma with you?” she proposed suddenly.
What are you talking about? I don’t understand. Just earlier, she was genuinely trying to kill me. Kenze had been the same way.
”Emma’s running from the Amazoness organization,” Granny explained, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper.
And…?
”If she’s with you, I get the feeling she won’t be targeted,” Granny reasoned.
Granny’s theory: since Kenze, who failed to kill me, hadn’t been executed by her comrades and was still alive—it was likely because she was under my protection. So if Emma were also placed under my protection, maybe she wouldn’t have to worry about her own kind coming after her.
Emma herself stood frozen, not moving a muscle.
I thought Granny was probably right about Kenze, but whether the same applied to Emma was questionable.
”Kenze is officially mine—bought through legal channels,” I said slowly, weighing my words. “But what about Emma? Is that going to be okay?”
When Emma first came to the village, she’d helped the sister-in-law with resident registration and poll tax calculations. She’d never been registered as an Amazoness—she was supposedly registered as a human girl born in Pannonia. That meant her race and birthplace had been falsified on the application. Possibly her age too.
”We can just say I sold her to my junior disciple in Obernbach,” Granny suggested with a dismissive wave. “If we change the owner’s name, it’ll all get swept under the rug.”
I suppose since they’re not using computer management systems, the race might be a stretch, but… it could probably work.
”After she’s under my protection, what happens to Emma?” I pressed, glancing at the silent woman. “Does she stay with me forever?”
”And what does that Kenzesay about it?” Granny countered, deflecting with a question of her own.
There was a time she’d talked about starting her own country on the New Continent. But she probably hadn’t been serious about that—I didn’t know how to answer.
”Those children—what are you planning to do with them?” Granny pressed, not waiting for my response to her last question.
”During mating period, the original plan was to leave them with Kauhar,” I admitted.
But I’d heard that the Amazons had disappeared from Schweilitz after Rosa’s kidnapping.
”Things never go according to plan, do they?” Granny sighed, rising slowly. “I understand.”
I didn’t know what she’d understood, but Granny stood up with surprising agility for her age.
”Eventually, you’ll come back to the country through proper channels, right?” she asked, fixing me with a knowing look.
Of course, that was the plan.
”Then do it then. Take Emma with you. Anywhere’s fine,” Granny insisted, her voice carrying an edge of urgency. “If she stays here, she’ll eventually be found out for what she is—just like Larry realized. And when the Lord or the kingdom gets involved, Emma won’t just be wanted. The whole village might end up in trouble.”
I’d spent so much time around Amazons—starting with Kenze—that I could recognize Emma for what she was. Most people probably couldn’t tell the difference.
”Also,” Granny added, her tone turning calculating, “I want you to have children with Emma, just like you did with that Kenze.”
Is there even a reason for that? There’s no reason needed to have and raise children.
”Ferris—you’ve already had children, haven’t you?” Granny asked, turning to Emma.
For the first time, Emma spoke. “Yes.”
”What happened to them?” Granny pressed.
At Granny’s words, Emma fell silent. Had they died?
”If that Kenze is raising new children, she must have some agenda,” Granny reasoned, turning back to me. “Emma should ride along with that plan.”
There’s a possibility she hasn’t thought anything through. Actually, she probably hasn’t. Is this going to be okay?
I made a mental note to keep silent about Nikaure—who was likely being held hostage in the country—about Rosa’s kidnapping, about the Suez matter, and about my visit to the Nyunpai Kingdom’s capital, Lamu, to meet the Queen.
What bothered me was that the Nyunpai Amazons—the main branch—looked down on the Takshurgan Amazons. And the Oceanus Amazons, the main family line, seemed to look down on Nyunpai. Kenze clearly wasn’t the type to accept that hierarchy quietly. Which was why her talk of building a country on the New Continent hadn’t felt entirely like a lie.
Granny, having witnessed my return through the transfer gate, seemed to sense that I was knee-deep in classified matters. I was grateful she didn’t try to touch my skin—if she’d used mind-reading, things would have gotten complicated.
”Well then, we’re leaving, Emma. Understood?” Granny announced.
Emma followed Granny’s lead without a word. From her demeanor, I believed she’d truly come here intending to kill me. Granny must have known that and come along anyway.
Thanks to her, I’d survived—but if Emma knew Kenze, there was something I wanted to ask.
”Emma, there’s one thing I’d like to know,” I called out, getting to my feet.
She turned, her expression guarded. “What?”
”It’s about Kenze. She’s incredibly strong, but she’s terrified of the Boltechino for some reason. Do you know why?”
It was already dark, and the lights of the pleasure quarter across the river illuminated her profile.
From here, there are graphic expressions. If you’re uncomfortable, skip to the end
”So… she’s still afraid, isn’t she?” Emma said, her voice barely above a whisper. She made a troubled face before continuing.
When Kenze was still in her mating period—still a Male-bride—she’d traveled with a merchant caravan conducting intelligence operations. They’d stopped at a certain walled city for the night. Unfortunately, that was when the Boltechino attacked.
The lord of the city refused their surrender demands and organized a city-wide resistance. But faced with fierce attacks, the city fell five days later. Over ten thousand people were massacred. Women and children were distributed among the army.
Members of the merchant caravan’s intelligence unit who’d been caught in the crossfire tried to flee—most were killed. Kenze, still a child, was given to a soldier as a slave.
The Boltechino army was followed by their families. These camp followers brought spare horses, weapons, and supplies—and when the soldiers went looting, they helped carry back the plundered goods and livestock. Kenze, as part of the spoils of war, was handed over to that soldier’s family.
Heavy metal shackles were clamped onto her feet. There was no escape. Thanks to them, she got to ride in a cart during travel—but she still had to work. Eventually, the shackles chafed her ankles raw, the wounds festered, maggots appeared, and she developed a fever.
The soldier’s family had no use for a sick slave, so they sold her in a run-down town along the way. But since she was sick, no slaver would buy her. The only buyer was a human meat shop.
When Boltechino troops passed through an area, they consumed all the food—and such shops thrived. In the shop’s cages were girl children, waiting to be eaten.
No matter how hungry, people can’t quite bring themselves to kill and eat their own children. So they’d bring their children to the shop, exchange them for a different child in the cage, then take that one home and kill it.
Most families who came to exchange children at a human meat shop had no money. They couldn’t pay the fee, so they’d cut off one arm of the child they were taking home and leave it behind as payment. Almost every day, Kenze had to listen to the screams of children having their arms severed.
The severed arms were bought up by an affiliated inn, apparently. Once a destitute family had no children left to exchange, they’d bring their wives to the shop.
Kenze, being somewhat older, wasn’t exchanged for a while. Only children too young to work were traded—she didn’t qualify. But once families started coming in to sell their wives, older children became targets too. She’d thought she was next when Emma and her companions, searching for the merchant caravan, found her and rescued her.
Just hearing this story made chills run down my spine.
”Before they were turned into meat, the girl children were given nothing but scraps,” Emma said, her voice hollow. “To survive, Kenze drank human urine. She even ate feces. I’m amazed she kept her sanity.”
Emma finished speaking, then disappeared into the old city with Granny.
That explained why no matter how strong she was, Kenze froze up at the mere mention of the Boltechino. And thank goodness I hadn’t forced Kenze to tell me this story herself.
Back in my past life, I’d occasionally come across accounts of cannibalism in ancient texts from various continents. But this was beyond imagination. I stood frozen, unable to move for a long while. This wasn’t history. In this world, this was still happening.
The next morning, while I was sleeping on the boat, the old man and Mr. Lubellman returned in high spirits.
”Look at that sour face. Cheer up, you syphilitic bastard,” the old man cackled.
Mind your own business, you old shit!
Once the old lechers returned from their debauchery, the boat departed as if it had been waiting for them. Thanks to favorable winds, we reached the Royal Capital’s harbor by the evening of the second day.
—
Summary:
The protagonist consults the ancient elf mage Granny about curing syphilis, only to learn that the magical treatment is nearly impossible to perform. The conversation shifts to the protagonist’s Amazoness slaves, prompting Granny to propose Emma come under his protection as well. Emma reveals the horrifying backstory of Kenze’s traumatic past with the Boltechino, which finally explains her deep-seated fear.
—
Trivia:
Granny has lived over two hundred years and is an elf mage specializing in Simple-type Magic as a Golems User.
The plague that killed many commoners six years ago did not affect the royal family because the mana pentamer treatment was too difficult for most mages.
The protagonist knows about penicillin and streptomycin from his past life, but in this world, mana-based treatments are used instead.
The Wassermann reaction was being attempted as a blood test for syphilis using bovine heart, but extracting phospholipids without proper organic solvents proved difficult.
Kenze was originally a spy for the Turkic Empire, planted in Schweilitz as a fabric shop worker, who failed to kill the protagonist and was captured and sold at auction.
The Boltechino are a brutal warring faction known for massacring cities and distributing women and children as spoils of war.
Kenze’s trauma includes being enslaved, shackled, developing infections with maggots, being sold to a human meat shop, and surviving by drinking urine and eating feces.
Emma, Kauhar, and Kenze are all from Takshurgan, and Kauhar was Emma’s superior officer.
The Nyunpai Amazons look down on the Takshurgan Amazons, and the Oceanus Amazons look down on the Nyunpai branch.
Rosa was kidnapped by Amazons, and Nikaure is likely being held hostage in the country.
The protagonist visited the Nyunpai Kingdom’s capital, Lamu, to meet the Queen, but keeps this secret.
Granny notices the protagonist is involved in classified matters and refrains from touching him to avoid mind-reading.
The Fourth Sage is mentioned as appearing in the next chapter.
Notes:
• Al – Alberto (Al), a massive red‑haired man recently wed to Mary, lives near the Dish Basin. He’s a companion of Hans, helping intimidate and rally elders as a villager and leader.
• Master – An old master who serves as a mentor to the protagonist. He maintains a calm and pragmatic demeanor.
• Ho – Ho is the family name of Oliver, a 17-year-old deck crew member and comrade of the protagonist. As a member of the military unit that defended Garao Village, the young man was ultimately murdered during a night watch, slaughtered alongside Marx-san.
• Schweilitz – This kingdom, featuring towering academy spires and a full military arsenal of Royal Army troops, forces the protagonist to return. Ruled by a king involved in a hostage exchange, this political power holds a captive feared for execution. It also ordered the confirmation of Princess Rosa’s corpse, driving a scheme that the Queen has caught onto.
• Kenze – A muscular, brown-skinned Amazoness, former Takshurgan operative, and one of the women in Earnest’s history. This lethal crew member and dragon-tattooed guardian is deeply bonded with the protagonist, now quietly wasting away while nursing her newly laid egg and larva. Despite declining health and a rural background, she shows acceptance and strength, speaking warmly as she worries about the sea.
• Emma – A twenty-four-year-old Amazoness slave with a small face, large black eyes, and a cold, sorrowful expression, her black hair tied in a bun adorned with a three-colored crest; once Deputy Commander of the Durara Assassination Squad, she’s an expert bowwoman now serving at the inn alongside Ferris-san, witnessed a healing session, and is a candidate for Larry’s rite—regarded as incredibly cute yet suspected of drugging Edmond, with a legendary side-boob presence that draws attention despite her quiet, tragic demeanor.
• Kauhar – An operative for the Turkic Empire intelligence agency and Kenze’s former superior, this woman led a group of Amazonesses while posing as a fabric shop owner. She has since vanished, along with the Amazoness fabric shops.
• Rosa – A genius dwarf-human hybrid engineer and former student of Larry, this Naval Academy professor designed the Izumo and fought in the Fifty-Third Defense Battle. Kidnapped from Suez by Amazonesses to build black ships, her technical expertise is a major geopolitical threat. Now sought by Larry and the Major, her safe return is the primary motivation driving current negotiations and regional tension.
• Larry – A dark-haired, weary 16-year-old reincarnated Second Lieutenant, this cynical, analytical youth is the Schweilitz Navy cruiser Izumo’s Acting Captain, chief engineer, and Associate Professor. A Mana user and Fee Grand Principality founder, he carries Saba’s letter and Philip IV’s sword. He distrusts superiors and protects Rosa while dealing with trauma from Henrietta’s death and past wives.
• Ferris – Granny Ferris is an ageless elf mage in her 30s who wears provocative black dresses and runs the village inn. A blunt flute player and former Golem Battalion Commander from a medical and old-model golem lineage, she was mentioned by Camillo, closely associates with the Second Sage, and is the elderly woman Martin hopes to marry.
• Nikaure – A beautiful Amazoness princess and tribe ambassador, she is the sister of Ade-Saba, distinguished by her compact, muscular build, dark skin, and a royal blue forehead gemstone. Once a navigator seeking a Black Ship, she is currently held prisoner in Schweilitz, where she was mentioned as a potential hostage for an exchange involving the Captain. Her current whereabouts remain unknown to negotiators.
• Nika – A fourteen-year-old personal maid to Teressa. Freckled, has wavy bronze hair, flat chest, and prone to mocking Larry. Lady’s maid and cousin to Terese. Educated free person with a prickly personality. Terese’s lady’s maid and cousin. Known for being sharp-tongued toward Larry.
• Boltechino – An entity that departed from Rus, this explorer traveled to discover a continent that became the birthplace of shipping trade.
• Lubellman – A shop clerk who watched over Larry during his recovery. He acts as a protective presence during the confrontation with his master. A young man who works as a shop assistant for the Vogt family. He is approximately twenty years old and speaks with a refined, polite tone.
• Fourth Sage – The Fourth Sage of Schweilitz is a cool-headed, elderly high-ranking official and enigmatic advisor who oversees the protagonist’s life, issues lethal bureaucratic orders, and controls Larry’s housing. They believe diplomacy relies on military might. Aloof yet manipulative, they are actually a reincarnator from Japan who preceded the protagonist, referenced by writing from their past life.
• Fourth – An enigmatic and cunning figure also known as the Fourth Sage. This mysterious entity actively seeks advice from Larry while simultaneously insisting on Larry’s crucial participation in the upcoming New Continent mission.
• Sage – An elderly instructor and mentor who acts as a schemer behind the scenes. He is responsible for recommending Larry for various academic and safety-related positions.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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