Episode 98: Fulfilling My Duties
After lunch.
The three ‘Blue Comet’ members returned…
It seemed one of them was injured.
A dog-beastkin girl, huh?
“Ugh…”
“Sensei! Lina got hit! She’s injured!”
Hmm, she’s conscious.
But her face is pale, and she’s bleeding a lot.
“Lay her down over there.”
“O-Okay!”
Hmm, examination findings.
Right forearm laceration, cut wound from a bladed weapon. 4cm wide, 15cm long. Moderate bleeding. No nerve damage.
Left flank puncture wound, from a spear-like weapon. 7cm long, 2cm deep. No internal organ damage.
Overall bruising, multiple contusions on her back. Swelling particularly around the left scapula.
Oh my, she really took a beating.
I put on a mask, tied up my hair, and asked the girl who came with her while cleaning the laceration.
“What was the opponent?”
“An Ogre! It had an axe!”
“Was this wound from the axe?”
“Yeah, but the puncture wound was from a raging bull that appeared at the same time!”
Raging bull… a raging bull, huh?
There are hygiene issues with its horns, so I’ll need an antibacterial agent too.
“I’m going to stitch up the wound, bite on this cloth and endure it!”
“Ugh, I understand…”
I had the patient, Lina-chan the beastkin, bite on a towel and started the suturing.
Fortunately, it’s only down to the muscle layer, so it won’t be too bad.
Sew with thread… and then apply my special ointment on top.
Okay, that takes care of the laceration.
For the puncture wound… I’ll secretly use magic to see if there are any foreign objects inside. Like an X-ray.
…Well, there aren’t any. It’s shallow, so it should be fine for now.
After cleaning the wound, I administered an antibacterial agent. There’s also the possibility of tetanus, but there aren’t any vaccines.
I applied gauze and wrapped it with a bandage.
For the bruising… okay, another X-ray magic.
…It’s not broken.
Then, I brought ice from the freezer in the wagon, put it in a bag, and applied it to the affected area. It’s a bruise, so it’s icing.
After cooling it down, I’ll tape it up for compression.
For now, that should do it.
“S-Sensei! Is, is Lina…? Is Lina going to be okay?!”
Oh, the human girl who carried Lina here.
“Lina got hurt protecting me! She’s going to be okay, right? She’s not going to die, is she?!”
“She’s fine, there’s no problem. I’ll have her rest for three days, but she should be able to return to the front lines in a week.”
“…That’s good, I’m so glad!”
“Well, take care of Lina for now. …Hmm? You’re a little injured too, aren’t you? Come here, I’ll treat you.”
“Eh? I-It’s okay, these small wounds are nothing!”
“No, it’s not okay~! Infections are scary, so I’ll at least disinfect and bandage them~! …Ah, Lina-chan, drink some water. You sweated a lot, right? Hydration is important.”
Yeah… yeah.
It’s going to get busy from now on…
“Isn’t working as both a field hospital and a lunch lady just plain hard labor…? Isn’t it?”
Dusk.
The girls who returned weren’t seriously injured… but they all came back with injuries.
I finished the alcohol disinfection and bandage wrapping, and fed them the meal I had prepared.
Tonight, I used two iron plates, heating the bottom one with direct fire and the top one with the enchanted Demon Sword, using the space in between as a makeshift oven to bake pizzas.
At the same time, I heated a pot on the upper iron plate and fried potatoes.
I was doing pretty much whatever I wanted, and the risk of exposing my magic was high, but frankly, I was too damn busy, too busy.
Even if I get called out on it, I can just play dumb…
I’m hiding it, but I’m not skilled enough to keep a major secret from people I’m close to in the first place.
“This is delicious! The one with meat on it is the best!”
While Shio ate a large pizza by herself, I finished treating the last person…
“Alright! All done! I’m going to eat too… Margherita is the best.”
It’s bad manners, but I moved while eating pizza.
I listened to the details from the kids who received treatment.
“Then the Monster came, like, grrr! So I was like, whoa! But then, I went, yaah! And it worked out…”
“I see! That’s amazing! …So, what was the Monster? A Magic Beast? A Magic Insect?”
“Huh? Um… a Demon, I guess? It was an Orc. You told us to report it if we got bitten by a Magic Beast or stung by a Magic Insect, right? I know, I know!”
“Even if it’s not that, if the wound is unsanitary, you can get tetanus, so report all wounds, even small ones, okay? Even small wounds can kill you if you’re not careful.”
“Okay, okay!”
Really now? (Educational program mascot)
I listened to them while eating pizza…
“Um, excuse me, Sensei?”
“Hmm? What’s wrong?”
“It seems like my period has started…”
“Ah, I see. Then, greasy food is probably too much for you. Can you drink anything? How about fruit?”
“I can eat that… probably.”
“Then I’ll give you a clean cloth, wrap it around you. You can just sleep after that.”
“B-But, everyone else is fighting…”
“It’s okay, I’ll tell Commander Katrina. These things can’t be helped.”
“Ah, thank you, Sensei…”
I listened to things like that too.
“I’ll change the bandages for the injured kids tomorrow~! Come to me after breakfast in the morning~!”
“”””Yes~!””””
I did my job…
Took a bath and went to sleep.
Yeah… it’s hard labor.