Chapter 58
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Chapter 58
"Dale. That Alchemist who went to the Kelofeldt Trading Company. How is Hibrius doing?"
"...."
Dale regarded me with a puzzled expression. His face seemed to darken slightly for some reason.
"You don't know either?"
"I do know. I've heard that he's been producing many practical items at the Trading Company, proving quite helpful."
"Really? What's he been working on?"
"From what I understand, he's succeeded in creating special containers that prevent food distributed by the Trading Company from spoiling during transport, and he's also developed specialized carriages necessary for transporting particularly heavy goods."
After finishing his explanation, Dale gazed at me quietly before averting his eyes.
"You were curious about that man's well-being, weren't you, Enya?"
"What if we created a first aid kit?"
"...A first aid kit?"
Dale's eyes widened.
"Something that lets people treat minor wounds at home without traveling far."
The idea had come to me after meeting that Scholar earlier. But what if we paired it with a sturdy container?
Currently, medicine bottles were merely simple glass or wooden vessels, vulnerable to environmental damage and rapid deterioration.
Dale listened to my words seriously, then nodded.
"An excellent idea. It would be convenient for quick treatment when someone cuts their hand while cooking, or gets injured touching broken objects, or steps on something sharp."
"Exactly."
"However, such things already exist. Households with means keep medicinal herbs stored within their homes."
Dale answered objectively.
"There must be a reason behind what you're proposing, Enya. What distinguishes it from the existing practice of keeping a small supply of medicinal herbs and bandages?"
In truth, first aid kits already existed.
The simple tool box I'd used when Dale was injured was one such thing.
But that alone wasn't sufficient, and the most crucial point was—
"The phrase 'households with means.'"
I emphasized exactly what Dale had said.
Medicinal herbs were expensive. The special candied medicines formulated at the Magic Tower were even more costly and rare.
"And visiting the Medical Clinic for treatment costs money too. Since individuals operate them, they don't use fixed pricing."
"Access is difficult."
"Then even when people are sick, they won't go to the hospital and will just suffer through it, repeating the inadequate medicine crisis that Hexagon once orchestrated."
We had to break this cycle of suffering.
It was also to prevent Hexagon from gaining power again...
And Duke Hexagon's return wasn't far off.
Like a whack-a-mole game, I had to keep striking him down whenever he emerged.
"There's also a shortage of physicians relative to the number of sick people. Those with colds, those bleeding from falls, those with broken legs struggling to walk—everyone visits the Medical Clinic regardless of severity."
When I recalled the visitors to the apothecary I'd run during my wandering days, it was much the same.
Severe fractures weren't something I could treat, but there were people who came to me out of necessity when the Medical Clinic fell short of demand.
Even when truly critical patients arrived at the Medical Clinic, they often missed their window for treatment because of the overwhelming crowd.
It was crucial to make remedies more affordable and accessible.
I couldn't expand the Medical Clinics en masse immediately, but I could start with something small.
Dale's expression grew grave as he lowered his voice carefully.
"Would you be willing to share your plan with me?"
"I'll ask Marquis Schultz to help me learn how to produce medicines in a simpler form."
"The Marquis is meticulous. There's no guarantee he'll oblige easily."
"The Marquis dislikes Hexagon just as much as I do. Especially considering he deliberately withheld Hexagon's medicine from House of Schultz despite knowing how desperately it was needed—he'll help me not because he wants to aid me, but because he despises Hexagon."
"...That's quite likely."
Dale, recalling the meticulous nature of the fastidious Tower Master, agreed with that assessment.
"And I'll portion the medicines. Even if medicine is available, people who can't read or have poor eyesight will struggle to understand dosage instructions. Spoiled medicine isn't medicine—it's poison."
I sketched a container design on paper that could hold portioned pills.
"I'll have containers made in this shape."
"It's a form I've never seen before."
"However, the container will actually raise the unit cost slightly. It will extend the medicine's shelf life and be effective for hygiene, but that's the downside."
Dale nodded in understanding.
"So initially, we'll need to mass-produce to drive down the price. And we'll need someone capable of doing this."
Dale paused in thought, then looked at me.
"That's the Alchemist you mentioned earlier, isn't it?"
"Exactly."
I broke into a bright smile.
* * *
"Hmm..."
As I stared intently at the letter, Dale approached me.
"What response did he send?"
"He says there's no problem developing the device. It's entirely feasible."
"That's fortunate."
"And he suggests adding medical instruments to prevent complications when treating wounds by hand—it seems like a sound idea."
I mentioned that I'd conceived of such plans before, but they'd been shelved for lack of support and seeming impracticality.
I could help him.
And he could help me.
I received his confident reply that he could implement the modern first-aid kit and storage containers exactly as I'd sketched them.
This part resolved far more smoothly than anticipated.
But then.
"There's a problem, though."
After the Hexagon Family monopolized pharmaceuticals and caused a major crisis in the Empire, the Imperial Palace assumed direct oversight of all public health and medicine.
A first-aid kit, given its purpose, falls under healthcare administration rather than simple commerce.
"Kelofeldt Trading Company can't manufacture it themselves. The Empire has a separate agency managing medical affairs, and a trading company whose primary focus is commerce finds it difficult to obtain authorization."
Because such authority could be exploited the way the Hexagon Family once did.
The stated purpose—public health for all—doesn't align with private profit-seeking.
The trading company could potentially help distribute the items, but they cannot manufacture them.
For that to be possible, either the Emperor's direct permission or a noble's endorsement is required.
The Kelofeldt Trading Company's proprietor, who sent the letter with me, pointed out this very obstacle.
"We can't proceed until we find a noble house willing to sponsor us."
"Then we need to find a noble family."
"Exactly."
I needed a patron to present our case to the Imperial Palace—someone to share the burden of responsibility.
But finding even one willing person was difficult enough, and how many nobles would dare undertake something so similar to what the Hexagon Family had done?
The Emperor's faction, being newly risen nobility without firmly established power, wouldn't risk it. The Old Nobility Faction wouldn't step forward for fear of drawing the Hexagon Family's ire.
Even if such a noble existed, the endorsement of an ordinary house wouldn't secure the Imperial Palace's approval.
We needed a noble house with enough influence to persuade the Imperial Palace itself.
"It seems we need the backing of a very prominent house. What do you think?"
"My thoughts align with yours, Enya."
"Do you know any noble families who might help?"
"Families I know..."
Dale began listing noble house names one by one.
I'd heard of several of the families he mentioned.
When we finished the list, we had ten houses in total.
And when we excluded those unlikely to help...
"Zero."
There were none.
Because I wasn't living as a mere lady-in-waiting anymore.
I had nothing I could present with confidence.
"Or perhaps..."
I bit at my nails, deliberating.
"It might not be entirely absent, after all."
"And who would that be?"
"There is a family that both Dale and I know. Particularly, I know them rather well."
Dale grasped my meaning with remarkable quickness.
He regarded me with eyes that seemed to ask if I truly meant that.
"Yes. There is precisely one."
I drew a deep breath and spoke.
"The Lockhart Family."
* * *
I ultimately made my way to that family's estate.
Reaching this point required considerable courage.
For instance, the courage to rise early.
The courage to step outside.
The courage to face them and make my request without shame.
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