Chapter 61 - Sixty-One ... Salt, Sugar, and the Four Humors

Chapter 61: Chapter Sixty-One ... Salt, Sugar, and the Four Humors

Chapter Sixty-One ... Salt, Sugar, and the Four Humors

Nobles had never looked kindly on mages. Noble society was tightly bound together by bonds of vassalage, of loyalty and honor, while mages were thoroughly calculating and meticulous to the core. They stood at opposite ends.

That was why Agphiel had thought well of the young lord simply for showing him a friendly look at first, even if it had seemed more curious than anything else.

And now he was playing tricks on him like this?

It seemed this man was just like any other noble after all.

Agphiel smiled bitterly as he spoke.

"Hmm. It seems you’re fond of jokes, my lord."

Surely by now the young lord would apologize for his prank and look embarrassed. But contrary to what Agphiel expected, the young lord’s expression didn’t change.

And neither did those of the vassals around him.

’Surely not...?’

Had he really cured the plague? When even he, the Great Sage of the Forest, had only just shut himself away to work out how to deal with it? But it seemed his guess was right.

Just in case, he had the young lord show him around the village, and it was already out of danger from the plague.

For the first time since he had become the Great Sage, Agphiel could do nothing but let out a hollow, deflated laugh.

"Huh... Heh heh."

"They call you a worker of miracles, and you truly are remarkable, my lord. To bring a plague under control in so short a time..."

"Ahem. And where did you hear that?"

"That bishop over there told me. Heh heh."

"You don’t actually believe it, do you?"

When Jan asked, Agphiel gave a small laugh and shrugged.

"I don’t know what method you used, but it certainly looks like a miracle. How on earth did you cure this plague?"

"Oh? You knew it wasn’t a curse?"

Agphiel answered as though Jan had said something absurd.

"If there were a curse powerful enough to cover so wide an area, do you think any of us would still be here like this? Besides, curses don’t work in this way."

"Oh!"

"What’s more, the signs I’ve seen are typical of a plague. Though it is a little unusual that there’s only diarrhea and vomiting, with no high fever or other symptoms."

"Mm, mm."

It felt like the first time in ages that he’d met a true man of learning. Someone who could make such rational judgments! All this time he’d felt like a two-eyed man in a land of the one-eyed, and at last he’d found someone he could actually talk to.

Filled with emotion, Jan nodded in admiration.

"...?"

’This young lord seems a bit strange, contrary to the rumors.’

Of course, the way the Great Sage Agphiel was looking at him seemed a little odd.

"So, how did you cure it? If you tell me your method, I’ll repay you. In particular, I’ll answer any question you care to ask."

"Oh?"

"That ’oh’ of yours. Why is it that nobles always react exactly the same way?"

Perhaps Jan had been too obvious, because Agphiel grumbled. Jan let out an embarrassed laugh.

"Ahem. My apologies. It’s just that magic is so rarely seen, isn’t it?"

Mages were so rare that even a great noble like Jan seldom got to meet one. Even in his past life, he had never seen a mage enter anyone’s service. They came and went like passing storms.

In that sense, seeing a mage in the flesh couldn’t help but be fascinating!

"There’s really nothing to it, Master Agphiel."

"Well, even if there’s nothing to it, I’ll listen carefully if you explain it."

Agphiel pressed him in a coaxing voice. In truth, he had come at the dwarves’ request to bring the crisis under control, yet he still hadn’t found a proper solution. It was a considerable blow to his pride.

’What’s gotten into him?’

Of course, Jan, who didn’t know this, could only wonder.

"Curing the plague really was nothing special. The truth is, this disease isn’t deadly in itself."

"Not deadly? For something that isn’t deadly, people have been wasting away and dying one after another, my lord."

"Did you try giving them water? People need to keep replenishing their fluids, and this is a disease that keeps draining them away."

"Of course we did. We gave them water that had been boiled and cooled."

Agphiel said it as if it went without saying. A mage and scholar called the Great Sage had at least that much common sense.

But that was as far as it went.

"Just plain water?"

"What else? Should we have given them something along with it? When we fed them, they threw it all up, so it was no use..."

"No. Did you mix anything else into the water?"

Agphiel answered as if disappointed by the question.

"Hmm? Surely you don’t mean the spices and myrrh those fake mystics in the street go on about?"

Mystics from the east claimed that fragrance could cure anything, but to Agphiel it was nothing more than a trick to sell already expensive spices at even higher prices. If that turned out to be Jan’s method, he would be very disappointed.

Catching on to what Agphiel was thinking, Jan smiled wryly.

"Of course not. I was asking whether you’d added things like salt and honey, or sugar."

Agphiel’s face went strangely still.

"What’s that look for?"

"Ah, no, it’s not that. It’s just that you said salt. Isn’t salt used to purify what’s unclean? I wondered whether it really was a curse after all."

"..."

Somehow, Jan felt his trust in Agphiel drop sharply. Agphiel seemed to read his mind, because he quickly added.

"Ah, ah, of course it isn’t a curse. You think it’s a plague too, don’t you? So do I. Ahem."

"Yes, well, I do, but..."

"Still, how unexpected! Salt and sugar? Whatever for? Is there some reason behind it?"

Agphiel was curious, but explaining it in detail was difficult for Jan.

’I’d have to explain things I only understand from hard experience, not from any learned theory... and honestly, I don’t know enough to explain it properly.’

Well, it couldn’t be helped. He’d have to give a plausible answer, suited to how people here understood things.

"People often compare human blood to wine, don’t they?"

"Hm, they do."

"Losing fluids means losing the body’s liquids, and that’s the same as losing blood, the most important thing in our bodies. So the sick have to drink water made as close to our own blood as possible."

’Hm... Will that work?’

He felt like he was spouting nonsense, but he’d explained it as plausibly as he could. Surprisingly, Agphiel nodded.

"Oh, I didn’t expect you to know the theory of the four humors, my lord. That’s very plausible indeed. Since it’s a disease that drains a great deal of the body’s humors, giving them water that resembles those humors, that is, blood, will heal them! A remarkable discovery."

"Do you understand, then?"

"Of course. Where could one find a more reasonable answer than this? It’s much easier to understand than the miracle those people over there are talking about."

Hm. To Jan, the four humors and miracles were both close to the same superstition, but fortunately it seemed to suit Agphiel’s taste.