Chapter 180: An Approaching Crisis (4)

The day after receiving the good news, I had to hear something difficult to accept.

“…What?”

All the residents of Stockpin were gathered in the center of the village.

Everyone was visibly shaken by what Baran had brought.

Shawn and Jackson calmed the agitated crowd.

At the center of it all, Baran spoke again.

“I can’t be certain. But…”

Baran gritted his teeth.

He was as disturbed as I was.

It seemed he too was hoping this issue was nothing serious.

“…”

But if it’s not a plague, then why would Burns fall ill?

Just yesterday, he was healthy.

He wasn’t the kind of man to catch a common cold.

Even if he did, it wouldn’t be severe enough to make him collapse.

I blinked and cautiously looked back.

Sien, who was just as shocked, stood there.

Sien, who was carrying my child.

“…Be…Bell…”

She looked somewhat scared.

Seeing her like this, I steeled my resolve.

I looked at Baran and spoke.

“Take me to Burns.”

.

.

.

.

“Cough! Cough!!”

As soon as I entered the room, I heard a cough that sounded like his throat was tearing apart.

A wet cloth was placed on Burns’ forehead, as if trying to reduce his fever.

A woman, who appeared to be his lover, was tending to him.

When she saw me, she immediately stood up.

“C-Captain what… what should we do about Burns?”

“…”

I had no answer to give her.

Instead, I approached Burns and looked down at him.

“…Burns.”

“Cough!! Cough!!”

When I called his name, Burns smiled up at me.

He replied in a voice that had become hoarse overnight.

“…Captain.”

“How do you feel?”

Burns continued to cough.

“Cough! Cough!!”

While struggling to catch his breath, he spoke.

“…Captain… please leave the room. Take my girlfriend with you.”

“…”

“I know my own body… Cough!! This is… Cough!!”

He slowly opened his eyes, never losing his smile.

Looking straight into my eyes, he spoke as if to reassure me.

“…This isn’t just a cold.”

“……”

“…Damn, I really hope it’s not the plague…”

There were two possible explanations for Burns’ illness.

It could be a sudden issue with his existing health condition…

…Or he could have contracted a plague during yesterday’s battle against the bandits.

I was leaning towards the latter.

The bandits we defeated yesterday had traveled from afar.

It wasn’t out of the question.

I slowly gritted my teeth.

This problem felt like it was my fault too.

Could I have foreseen such a thing when Burns trusted and chose to follow me?

Was I going to lose another of my people?

“…Phew.”

I exhaled, pushing away the negative thoughts.

“…Burns. Just rest for now. Have you eaten anything?”

“…Cough! I have no appetite…”

“Eat. That’s an order. We’ll prepare something easy to digest, so eat it when it’s brought to you.”

Burns weakly nodded.

“And since it could be the plague, we’ll isolate you in this room from now on. Your nurse will stay outside, so call if you feel worse.”

“Cough! Cough!!”

“…And tell me who you shared a room with last night.”

“…V…Vice Captain Baran knows. Cough!”

Burns, finding it difficult to speak, deferred to Baran.

I nodded in response.

“Got it. Rest now.”

I gestured to Burns’ girlfriend.

She looked pained and kept frowning, but with Burns’ persuasion and my suggestion, she left the room with me.

Once outside, my heart felt even heavier.

I met the eyes of the other members waiting for me.

“…How is Burns?”

Baran asked worriedly.

“Baran.”

“…Yes?”

“Quarantine everyone who shared a room with Burns last night.”

Baran nodded.

“…It’s already been done.”

I nodded and walked away.

I needed to discuss this with Gale.

****

The news spread through the village faster than the plague itself, and Gale had already heard it.

As soon as he saw me, he let out a long, deep sigh.

“…Haa…”

He tapped the table thoughtfully for a long moment before asking,

“…How is Burns?”

I saw no reason to hide the truth.

“He’s struggling.”

“Do you think it’s the plague?”

“I don’t know.”

“…This is a problem.”

Baran’s quick response was a relief, but the outcome would only be clear with time.

I could only hope that this would pass without further issues.

I prayed Burns hadn’t contracted the plague and that he would recover quickly.

Even if it was the plague, I hoped Burns would be the last to suffer from it.

“…What will you do, Berg?”

Gale finally asked, as if pressing me for an answer.

Perhaps we were both thinking of a certain family known for their medical expertise.

I sighed and spoke, knowing the final decision rested with me as the lord.

“For now, we need to keep an eye on things… Do you have any suggestions?”

“…”

Gale shook his head.

“For the moment, I agree with you. We need to observe for a while.”

“What are the symptoms of the plague spreading in the kingdom?”

“Severe coughing, fever. Chills and nausea in some cases…”

I closed my eyes tightly.

Burns was already showing symptoms of coughing and fever.

I could only hope the other symptoms wouldn’t appear.

“What’s the mortality rate?”

“I heard two out of ten die. Even if they survive, they suffer long-term aftereffects.”

I sat down and rubbed my face at his words.

A headache was starting to set in.

This was happening at a time when we were already short on hands.

If this plague started to spread in Stockpin, we wouldn’t stand a chance.

We still had a lot of work to do.

We had to farm, and we had to catch the bandits.

We didn’t have the strength to withstand a plague on top of everything else.

…My child was about to be born, but the fief was faltering.

I found myself speaking to Gale without even realizing it.

“…Sien is pregnant.”

“…What?”

It was a piece of news I had originally planned to share for celebration.

But now it was just an expression of my desperation. I was voicing worries I hadn’t shared with anyone.

“Sien is already frail. If this gets worse…”

“…”

What would Adam Hyung have done if he were here?

He would probably have acted as if he knew the answer.

I opened my eyes and spoke.

There was no need to nurture unnecessary worries.

“…For now, we’ll just have to keep an eye on things.”

Gale nodded in agreement with my words.

****

I gathered the residents of Stockpin and reported the situation.

I emphasized the need to live cautiously, as the plague might spread.

But as I spoke, I realized there was a problem.

Stockpin was a village built around the Red Flames group.

It was more of a military village than a regular one.

As such, many still lived communally.

It was common to distribute food in a mess hall fashion.

While some members had families, most still lived in shared accommodations.

It was an environment where a plague could easily spread.

I sighed and returned home.

Lua flew to my side and perched on my shoulder.

Lua rubbed her small face against my cheek.

It was as if she could read my mind and was trying to comfort me.

“…Are you comforting me, Lua?”

-Chirp! Chirp!

I smiled at the little bird’s affection.

As a leader of the village, there were many times when I had to hide my true feelings.

If I didn’t act resolutely, the entire village would be shaken.

But with Lua, I could be honest about my feelings.

After all, she was just a bird who couldn’t talk.

I stroked Lua’s soft blue feathers and spoke.

“…Why am I so unlucky?”

Lua didn’t chirp; she simply accepted my touch.

I smiled and spoke to her again.

“…Bring me some luck, will you?”

As I walked, I saw my house in the distance.

I could also see Sien waiting for me at the gate.

Lua left my side and flew towards her.

From afar, Sien smiled gently, trying to ease my worries.

She held out her arms, asking for a hug.

“…”

Her gesture made me chuckle.

Feeling lighter thanks to Sien’s consideration, I continued walking.

“I’m back.”

“Welcome home.”

I approached Sien and gently hugged her.

She leaned her full weight into me.

A short hug was followed by a light kiss.

As we shared this moment of affection, Sien whispered to me.

“…I’m sorry, Bell.”

“What for?”

Her sudden apology puzzled me.

Holding my face, she continued.

“…If I were still a saintess… we wouldn’t have this problem…”

Behind her smile, she was hiding her guilt.

I shook my head at her unreasonable words.

“Don’t say that.”

“…”

“…It’s not your fault. So, relax.”

Sien nodded at my words.

At the same time, I thought.

I would do anything to protect Sien and our child.

****

Baran was organizing the members’ quarters, preparing for the plague.

It was all under Gale and Berg’s orders.

They were trying to ensure everyone lived as separately as possible.

This was to be ready in case the plague spread in the village.

Shawn joined Baran and spoke.

“…This is a sudden blow.”

Baran replied to Shawn.

“…Indeed it is.”

Shawn sighed deeply.

“…Ha.”

“…”

“…My daughter better not catch it.”

“…”

Baran looked at Shawn’s worried face.

He had always teased Shawn for having a daughter, but now Shawn’s worried expression was simply pitiful.

For Shawn’s sake, and for the village’s, he had to focus even more on the task at hand.

“It’ll be alright, Shawn.”

“…”

“Don’t worry too much.”

Yet Shawn couldn’t relax his expression. Shaking his head, he spoke.

“Have you heard about the Captain?”

“What?”

“…My wife told me, Madam is pregnant.”

Baran slowly stiffened at the news.

“…What?”

Shawn shrugged, expressing his sympathy.

“That’s what I’m saying. They had such a hard time conceiving, and now this happens...”

“…”

“It feels like the world is against the Captain. Such bad luck… coming from the slums, dealing with separation, divorce, and Adam’s death…”

“…”

Baran sighed.

Even he thought Berg had shouldered too much pain.

Right now, managing the fief was probably giving him a headache.

Still, Baran wanted to share some hopeful words.

“But the Captain always gets back up.”

“…”

“So, just like the Captain does, we’ll get through this situation too.”

Shawn clicked his tongue and spoke.

“…The Captain seems to endure rather than overcome.”

“…”

Baran eventually gestured for Shawn to go about his business.

He didn’t want to continue this bleak conversation.

Shawn finally moved away at the gesture.

Baran resumed checking on the quarters where the mercenaries were staying.

‘Cough! Cough!’

At that moment, Burns’ coughing echoed.

Baran felt sorry for Burns, who must have been struggling.

Who would have thought that a comrade who had crossed countless deadly lines would fall to such an illness?

It would be so unfair to lose him to this.

‘Cough! Cough!’

“…?”

Suddenly, Baran noticed something odd.

The immediate coughing wasn’t from Burns.

The chilling possibility made Baran’s blood run cold.

-Thud thud thud!

He quickly increased his pace and rushed into the room from which the coughing was coming.

“…Who is it?”

The room fell silent, everyone staring at one particular member.

‘Cough! Cough!!’

The member coughed once more, then looked at Baran with fear in his eyes.

“Vice-captain…”

“…”

“…What should I do?”

****

The next day, Gale and I sat quietly in the office after receiving the report.

Four more patients had emerged.

We could no longer deny that the plague was spreading through the village.

I had no idea how long we had sat there in silence.

Countless thoughts and solutions crossed my mind.

And each thought and solution had its flaws, making it difficult to present any as a viable option.

After a long silence, Gale spoke.

“…The situation is becoming very difficult.”

“…”

“Berg, you know that early response is crucial. From now on, we must focus on every step we take. The future outcomes will depend on these decisions.”

I nodded.

Knowing it was a burdensome question for Gale, I eventually asked.

“…Can we not request help from the king?”

“From His Majesty?”

“To send someone knowledgeable about this plague…”

“His Majesty is likely without resources to spare. He has been dealing with problems like the one Stockpin faces for a long time.”

“…”

I closed my eyes tightly.

I sighed.

Gale spoke to me.

“…Berg.”

“…”

“…We need help.”

“…”

“The sooner we act, the less the damage will be.”

I looked at Gale.

“What are you suggesting?”

But somehow, I knew what he was about to say.

Gale looked at me steadily and spoke.

“…You know better than anyone the families and races skilled in medicine.”

– – – The End of The Chapter – – –

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