Chapter 36

Instead, other questions came up.

"Then, Deputy Director Ethan… Is it truly safe to use cow pus in the process?"

"Based on the findings with the villagers, yes. We will need to do more tests to verify it, so only a few people will be vaccinated as a trial batch."

Perhaps because the word 'vaccinate' was unfamiliar, but murmurs here and there followed.

Right then, the person sitting at a far corner in the town hall meeting cautiously raised one hand.

"Excuse me… What exactly is a vaccine? I don't understand it entirely."

For a question like this, it was Reina's time to speak. It would be difficult to expect someone else to explain, so she turned to Ethan and nodded.

"Simply put," she said. "A vaccine provides a guideline for our bodies."

"Guide…line?"

"Yes. You can think of it as introducing a preventative plan to your body so that it will know how to deal with this endemic disease in the future."

The person who answered the question nodded slightly, then replied.

"Ah… So then is it similar to doing evacuation drills in case an emergency like an earthquake happens later?"

By now, everyone had a general grasp of the vaccine's concept. That is, all except Pedro.

"Yes, that's right. Think of the vaccine as a weak earthquake simulation. It won't be the exact recreation of a full-scale earthquake."

And as they came to fully understand what a 'vaccine' was, exclamations erupted from all over the town hall meeting.

Everyone became somewhat familiar with the concept. Then, the key question finally popped up.

"T-Then… Who will be participating in the trial demonstration? By chance, it is us here…"

Actually, the officials here who had been dispatched were mostly of noble birth.

In other words, rather than becoming a public official because of a good reason, most of these people decided to take up their positions only for the aim of reducing their own tax cuts. That's why they're shocked right now.

"By way of example, I personally volunteer to be part of the trial batch. And the rest will be volunteers as well. No one will be coerced," Ethan said.

And in response to his answer, sighs of relief could be heard throughout the room, which was full of oak furniture. Reina looked around and studied the reactions of the health officials, then she counted in her mind.

'The volunteers, umm… At best, maybe around or less than a quarter of the people here.'

Around her, she saw that the health officials had a mixture of aversion and curiosity in their expressions.

"Haa."

She let out a small sigh, but she soon shook her head.

'Yeah. This is good progress anyway.'

It might not have even been possible to come this far if not for Ethan's support. His authority as a genius mage was terrific.

'But to the people in the elder council, who've already stepped away from public office, Ethan's just a cerulean freak.'

Actually, the Ethan Liam Reina was seeing in action right now was both similar and dissimilar to how she pictured him before, judging by what she heard at the Chantra household.

'Cold, but also decisive. Scary, but also amazing.'

In other words, Ethan was the object of admiration. But why was such a person so antagonized by House Chantra's elder council?

"However, regarding prevention via the vaccine and the treatment of those already infected with the disease—aren't those two separate matters?"

With another valid point raised, Reina nodded slowly, letting out a small sigh.

"Unfortunately, there is no cure for smallpox. Only symptomatic treatment can be provided to the patients for now."

"Hmm… Then it's important that we won't get infected, since we'll be the ones treating them."

Even as a few religious people still held onto their beliefs, most of the health officials here quickly understood and adapted.

"Now, until the vaccine's safety has been clearly confirmed, we will proceed first with voluntary participation. If you would like to receive the vaccine, please come by this evening."

* * *

After the first few volunteers in the trial batch had been vaccinated, they fortunately did not get infected with smallpox. And so, this confirmed the vaccine's efficacy.

"We will still need to observe more, but as of now, there have been no complications with the people who've been vaccinated."

Ethan concluded neatly after he read through the report.

"How have the other health officials reacted?"

"Fifty-fifty. There were people who eventually decided to get vaccinated later, but there's still a number of people who are hesitating as well."

"I see."

With her fingertips, Reina fiddled with one rough corner of the table.

'The villagers who aren't ill have been exposed to cowpox once already anyway.'

So there was no need to vaccinate them. However, it was imperative to do a vaccination drive for other villagers around Mount Thurn.

But to do that, a wider sample size to confirm the vaccine's efficacy would be needed.

"Hm…"

The people who've been vaccinated thus far were the dispatched health officials, Ethan, Reina, and then the immune Thurn villagers, so it's somewhat convincing.

"Ethan, you know, an epidemic won't die down easily. That's why we need to prepare for it. If the disease has already been spread to the villages around Thurn, then this area isn't safe."

Fortunately, smallpox was a type of DNA virus and strains won't occur easily, that's why it can be eradicated through vaccination. Assuming that it was the same smallpox in Han Jae-hee's world.

"I've already reported the matter to His Majesty, and he sent me a reply. Both His Majesty and His Highness are deeply aware of the need to vaccinate the people in other villages around this one."

"Oh… I see."

She's glad that things were working out as she wished, but… Since things were going well, it's also true that it could be better.

Nevertheless, what's good is good, so Reina decided not to think about it complicatedly.

'After all, we have Ethan and the two imperials at the very top who's leading the entire country.'

Instead of being wary against new ideas and rejecting them, what a blessing it was that these three people were prioritizing efficiency instead.

"The next step would be to manage the cows that have cowpox," Reina said.

"Yes. Just as you instructed, a dedicated group who'll be managing the cattle will be organized shortly."

"But will the other villages accept it? The people here at Thurn thankfully welcome the dispatched health officials, and while they do trust us, the others might…"

"We will have to persuade them somehow. That is our duty."

While Reina was contemplating about this and that regarding the vaccination drive, at that moment—

SLAM—!

"Jay! Morgan woke up!"

The one she was most critically concerned about in the whole village finally woke up.

t/n: the current arc has been making my brain short-circuit every other paragraph XD i am but a humble literature major, so please forgive me if I might have translated some medical jargon erroneously alkdjlkdf