Chapter 650: Pharmacy
I walked through the island with Captain Cat perched on my shoulder.
By the way, the crew was off sightseeing on their own. When I left the small plaza, Captain Cat jumped onto my shoulder, saying I should let him roam free once in a while.
Marlu danced ahead with light, graceful steps, while Pamela walked beside me and Auro trailed behind.
Marlu, with her red hair and petite frame; Pamela, glamorous with her soft, wavy, pale hair; and Auro, with his blonde hair and well-defined features.
This island might not just be a feast for the eyes in terms of scenery. People passing by were stealing glances at us! Mostly tourists.
I thought they were looking at Captain Cat, but that wasn’t the case.
Soleil and the others were still deepening their bonds back at the plaza. I had slipped away to give Captain Cat a little sightseeing tour.
Auro naturally followed along, while Marlu had just finished a playful spar with Kiel.
“The residents of this island… no, never mind,” Captain Cat began, then fell silent.
“Yeah, it would be surprising if they suddenly started fighting right in front of you. But don’t worry, it seems there’s a rule that they can’t touch anything or anyone except for the items and participants,” I reassured him.
There’s no risk of being attacked or used as a stepping stone, so you can relax.
And there are also regular folks around.
“So, Soleil and the others didn’t seem shaken at all… No, they’re too accustomed to this, aren’t they?” Captain Cat pondered, realizing something else was off.
“If you don’t try to enter the Underworld yourself, you won’t get dragged into it. We keep things properly separated,” Auro explained matter-of-factly.
“Isn’t it a bit too open for an Underworld?” Captain Cat, with his ears still perked, seemed to be losing his composure.
Sorry about that, a lot is leaking out.
“Today, Bartolone-kun was on guard duty, so we couldn’t sneak in,” Marlu said, sounding a bit disappointed.
Bartolone-kun is a former Sword Master. Wait… didn’t he lose and have his Spirit Sword taken? Is he still a Sword Master?
Well, whatever.
He’s the kind of guy who charges in with snacks, calling it training, and ends up getting tricked by Marlu and Kiel.
I think he’s the complete opposite of someone who fights honorably, but I worry that he might be looking for strength in the wrong places.
I parted ways with Marlu when we reached the main street on our way back to the castle.
“How long do medicines last?” I asked.
“It depends on the item. But when you’re at sea, you should worry more about humidity,” Pamela replied, as we were heading to buy medicine at Captain Cat’s request.
There are also fastidious doctors, but since we’re looking for supplies for sea voyages, we headed straight to the pharmacy.
Pamela’s pharmacy isn’t on the castle side; it’s located on the town side by her request. It’s off the main street that runs from the sea to the castle, tucked away to the north.
The island’s land is limited, so the residents don’t have much of a garden, but Pamela’s house has a small plot of land. There’s not much flat space, but I’ve told her she can use the sloped area behind it. There’s even a narrow waterway that I had drawn separately.
She’s the only pharmacist on the island. Fada—the fastidious doctor—can do a bit of compounding, and you can buy from Naruadeid, but it’s definitely better to get a prescription based on symptoms.
Doctors in this world seem to deal with urgent cases that require direct treatment for physical ailments, while pharmacists take their time to gradually improve overall health.
Injuries can heal if recovery potions are available, so both tend to deal more with illnesses and aftereffects.
At the end of the alley stood Pamela’s shop.
Next to the shop were medicinal trees, what looked like weeds in a field, bundles of dried herbs, and something spread out on a flat sieve. In the waterway, something resembling berries was submerged in a net.
Inside the shop, there was a counter with a scale, and behind it, shelves lined with glass and ceramic jars with numerous small drawers.
Dried bundles of herbs hung from the ceiling.
“What kind of medicine do you desire?” Pamela asked as she stepped behind the counter.
“Something for diarrhea, headache relief, ointment for scrapes, and an antiseptic. —I’ve asked Soleil for lemons and oranges.”
When I met Captain Cat in the Land of Mail, one of the crew members had been suffering from severe scurvy.
A severe case of vitamin C deficiency. I thought the sailors from the Northern Lands would know about prevention methods, like pickled cabbage, even if they didn’t understand the concept of vitamins, but apparently, they didn’t.
Maybe they were keeping it secret to maintain their advantage. Ships coming into Naruadeid arrive from various places, and it’s not uncommon for them to start fighting as soon as they leave the inland sea.
I ignored that and informed the Merchant Guild and Shipping Guild in Naruadeid, and I even got a few people at the tavern to spread the word.
“Preventing scurvy, huh? Recently, there’s a doctor going around touting concentrated barley juice as a cure,” Pamela said.
“I trust Gene, who actually helped, over some strange doctor,” Captain Cat chimed in, his tail flicking.
“Thanks.”
Besides scurvy, there’s also a lot of beriberi.
It seems many sailors are getting off the ship due to water retention in their knees, which makes their legs weak. Some don’t have the money to disembark.
It’s easy to store, and I think eating brown rice is quicker, but cooking at sea has its firewood issues. Should I make something like brown rice biscuits?
The diseases affecting sailors in this world seem to stem mainly from nutritional deficiencies and unsanitary conditions. Captain Cat’s ship was much cleaner compared to others.
Pamela took notes as she asked about the common symptoms seen on Captain Cat’s ship, checking the number of cases, frequency, and upcoming voyage plans.