Layla's
Footsteps 3
While
I was feeling slightly overwhelmed by the group of highly motivated, giant men
swinging their arms around, one of them noticed me and walked over. Thinking it
was an unfamiliar face, I gave a light bow.
「Thank you for helping us today.」
「No, no, I owe you a debt, after all.」
A
debt? I was meeting this thirty-something man with a slightly square jaw for
the first time. As I tilted my head in wonder, the knight let out a hearty,
booming laugh with a "Gahaha."
「That's just how I feel about it
personally. Up until recently, I was stationed at the border, and there was a
bit of a skirmish there. I made a rare blunder and nicked a major blood vessel,
and the bleeding wouldn't stop. From experience, I thought, 'this is the end,'
and even resolved myself to at least leave a letter for my wife and child.
However, the hemostatic agent worked, and I was able to make it back safely.
Thank you.」
Saying
so, he held out a large hand that was about twice the size of mine.
「Thanks to you, I was able to reunite
with my family.」
「I am so glad to hear that.」
Seeing
his smile, my nose stung with sudden emotion. When I reached out my hand, he
grasped it firmly and shook it vigorously up and down. I see, I was actually of
use. Thank goodness. As I gently wiped away the tears welling up in the corners
of my eyes so as not to be noticed, knights began coming over to me one after
another, starting with him.
「That salve was the best.」
「When I applied the poultice, I was
freed from years of lower back pain. I can't lose to the young ones yet!」
「The children who used to run away
when I took off my shoes have recently started even shining my shoes for me.
That deodorizer is amazing.」
「Layla! Look at this. I applied the hair
growth medicine, and see, hair has actually started growing!!」
「……」
When
the last man thrust his shiny head toward me, the surrounding knights all fell
silent at once. As for me, the tears that had been welling up instantly
retreated. Well, I can't exactly say it doesn't look like some fine
peach fuzz is growing, but...
「U-Um. I plan to improve it a bit
more, so would you be willing to cooperate in the clinical trials?」
「Yeah!! As much as you need. With
this, I'll have a full head of hair a year from now!」
「…………」
The
surrounding knights made incredibly awkward faces and completely dumped the
responsibility of responding onto me. Though I, too, had no choice but to force
a wry smile.
「Layla, it's not just the knights.」
Ashren-sama, who was by my side before I
knew it, pointed at the well. Over there were three women dressed in maid
outfits.
「It seems the chilblain medicine you
made is quite popular among the maids, and upon hearing what was going on, they
offered to see if there was anything they could help with.」
Noticing
our gazes, the maids bowed their heads to us, so I also hurriedly bent my waist
in a deep bow. With practiced movements, they drew water and steadily filled
the aquariums.
At
their feet, small children were swarming and running around happily. They were
the children from the castle's daycare.
「Children! Please put these stones
into the aquariums filled with water. Make sure you put them in gently, okay!」
「Yeees!!」
At
the Director's words, the children grabbed the limestone all at once and
started putting them into the aquariums, vying to be first. It was a
heartwarming sight, almost as if they were competing. At this rate, the
limestone will likely be gone in the blink of an eye.
The
personnel from the laboratory and the Pharmaceutical Department
carefully cut the algae with small knives and meticulously placed them into the
aquariums with water and limestone. These aquariums have a double structure.
The inside is a fine wire mesh, and the plan is to remove the wire mesh
entirely once the algae grows and sink it directly into the river.
The
preparations for the aquariums were completed one after another, and the
knights lightly carried them away into the royal castle.
「I never thought this many people
would cooperate with us.」
As
I wiped the sweat from my forehead, Ashren-sama gave me a slightly
mischievous look.
「Layla, do you perhaps think that the only
people helping are the ones right here?」
「Is that not the case?」
Ashren-sama nodded lightly and looked up
at the castle.
「When we asked to place the aquariums
in the sunniest spots of each room, everyone gladly cooperated. They moved
their work desks, shifted shelves, and made preparations so they could place
even one more aquarium.」
「They went out of their way to do all
that...?」
I
swallowed the words 'I feel so apologetic'. This is surely a moment
where I should say 'thank you'.
「In this country, dual-income
households are not rare. In households without a wet nurse, when a child gets
sick, parents sometimes have to take time off work to nurse them. Everyone is
grateful to you, saying they were saved by your cold preventative medicine.」
Thanks
in part to the Director's efforts, the preventative medicine had spread
throughout the country. Since it is easy to make, it seems to have reached even
the impoverished classes.
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