Chapter 26

Today, I’m going to buy a pot for the expedition with Deputy Captain Berry in the afternoon.

In the morning, I headed to the medic training session, feeling excited.

The training session invited a doctor to teach us about the latest treatments.

When I entered the lecture room, it was full of burly uncles.

Apparently, medics need to carry injured people and medical supplies, so it’s better to be strong.

Some of them even wore magical accessories on their ears to enhance their abilities; they must be mages who can use healing magic. They also had robust builds, probably to endure the harsh expeditions.

Today’s training session required one representative from each unit. It was a gathering of elites.

Feeling uncomfortable in the tense atmosphere, I said, "Hello," and suddenly became the center of attention. I endured the awkwardness and sat at an empty seat at the end of a row of desks.

Right on time, the instructor arrived.

"Good morning, everyone."

He was probably in his mid-twenties, a young male doctor wearing glasses.

The doctor’s name is Werther Chocolat.

With a friendly smile, he began the lecture.

"Today, I will explain about embalming."

Everyone looked puzzled at the unfamiliar term.

An uncle sitting in front of me asked a question.

"Instructor, what is embalming?"

"It’s a technique for preserving and restoring corpses, which has been passed down from another world."

The doctor spoke with a smile, while the uncles froze. My mouth hung open in shock.

Ignoring the atmosphere, Chocolat continued his explanation.

"Relatives are happier when the body looks clean! I’ll teach you the latest techniques!"

Our job is to help save lives, yet we’re learning how to handle corpses.

Well, maybe this is also an important job.

Chocolat opened the reference book with a delighted expression.

"First, if any organs are protruding, neatly put them back and sew them up. Oh, it’s okay to sew a corpse because they’re already dead."

Not all medics can suture wounds.

There are three ranks of medics.

First-class medics can suture wounds.

Second-class medics are allowed to use painkillers.

Third-class medics can only stop bleeding, disinfect, and apply medicine.

I’m a third-class medic. I’d like to study and advance in rank if I have the time.

It would increase the survival rate of the knights and my salary.

Chocolat continued explaining how to handle corpses, ignoring the medics’ reactions.

"First, to delay decomposition, we need to drain the blood—though that’s impractical in the field, so we use this magic potion."

A purple, beautiful liquid was distributed to delay decomposition.

It’s injected into several parts of the body.

"If the face is contorted in pain, massage it to relax."

The entire body is wiped with disinfectant, and torn clothes are mended.

If the body is emaciated or has a poor complexion, inject a solution to make it look better.

The uncles were still in shock, but I began to think it was an incredible technique.

I’ve heard that about a hundred knights die each year fighting monsters. As a medic, I might witness the moment of death.

There’s not much we can do as non-doctors.

Families will likely be in a state of shock. But if the deceased returns looking as they did in life, it might bring some comfort.

That’s what I thought.

Still, I don’t want to do embalming.

We spent four hours listening to a detailed explanation about handling corpses.

The uncles left the lecture room with pale faces, apparently more sensitive than I thought.

As I was about to leave, someone called out to me.

"Are you Fure Elf?"

"Ah, yes, that’s me."

"I see."

He stared at me, frowning.

"Is something wrong?"

"I’m interested in the biology of other races."

"I decline."

"But I haven’t said anything yet."

I had a bad feeling.

But I decided to hear him out.

"If you don’t mind, could I dissect you if you die on a mission?"

"Sorry, I have a prior commitment for dissection."

"Wh-what!?"

I bowed and fled the room.

My bad feeling was right. Of course, I had no prior commitment for dissection.

I thought the training session was for the benefit of the troops, but it was just a meeting to discuss Chocolat’s hobby.

I sincerely hoped I wouldn’t have to deal with him again.

After that, I decided to have an early meal.

It wasn’t yet lunchtime, and the cafeteria was full of uncles who had attended the training session.

Their expressions were even worse than before.

I soon found out why.

Today’s menu: ◇Stewed Offal Set Meal, Unlimited Bread◇

...Yeah, no way.

I’m not that sensitive, but I had just seen detailed illustrations of organs protruding from knights’ bodies.

Even I couldn’t eat stewed offal, so I turned around and went back to the second unit’s knight quarters.

There were some baked goods from Zara, so I decided to munch on those.

◇◇◇

In the end, I didn’t have any appetite and didn’t eat anything.

I was supposed to go pot shopping with Deputy Captain Berry in the afternoon, but he left for an urgent meeting.

We decided to go after the meeting.

While waiting for Deputy Captain Berry, I mended the coats of the troops.

On expeditions, coats get torn by branches or in battles, so they quickly become tattered.

The worst condition was the captain’s coat.

Being large, it was heavy.

The hem was frayed, several buttons were missing, and the inner pocket was torn and unusable.

I worked hard to mend it, attaching a snow bear appliqué to the torn inner pocket, which Zara and I had made jokingly a few days ago.

I was so engrossed in sewing that it was almost an hour before the end of the day when Deputy Captain Berry returned.

"Medic Lislis, I’m sorry."

"It’s okay, really."

But it was a bit late to go to town.

Deputy Captain Berry then made a suggestion.

"Let’s go buy the pot and then go straight home."

He offered to treat me to dinner as an apology for being late.

Remembering I hadn’t eaten lunch, my stomach growled.

"Is that okay?"

"Yes. I wanted to show my appreciation for your hard work."

"I’m... I mean, thank you."

So, we decided to go pot shopping right away.

I left the captain’s coat on a chair.

The town was bathed in the colors of the sunset.

People were hurrying home.

Our destination was a hardware store in the shopping district, which was about to close, so we rushed there.

Fortunately, we arrived before closing time.

I asked the shopkeeper, who was standing outside, to show us some pots.

"What kind of pot are you looking for?"

"Um, do you have a Woots steel pot?"

"Unfortunately, we don’t... and I don’t think any store in the capital carries it."

"Ah, I see..."

Woots steel pots apparently only exist in old fairy tales and don’t actually exist.

"You know a lot about Woots steel pots."

"Yes. I heard about them from a merchant who visited our village—now I think it was just a story."

"I think so," he said clearly. I felt embarrassed.

"Maybe you could get a dwarf to make one if you paid a lot of money."

"A dwarf?"

Dwarves are a race of small people skilled in intricate work, like Fure Elves, who live deep in the forest. They are often difficult to deal with, and it’s not uncommon for adventurers to be turned away when they visit dwarf villages to have weapons or armor made.

Moreover, dwarves only do the crafting; you have to provide the materials yourself.

I had no idea where to find Woots steel, so I gave up.

"Then, please give me a pot for six people, lightweight and large."

"Understood."

Deputy Captain Berry and I discussed and chose a pot.

"Medic Lislis, it should be lightweight and easy for you to carry."

"Even if it’s a bit heavy, a pot that can double as a shield might be better."

When I suggested this, Deputy Captain Berry looked at me and said,

"Medic Lislis, we will protect you. You don’t need to worry about that."

"Ah, yes. Thank you."

Being told directly that I would be protected made me a bit flustered.

I thought Deputy Captain Berry was handsome. Even though I’m a woman.

We chose a copper pot with high heat conductivity, which the shopkeeper recommended because it doesn’t burn easily and reduces cooking time.

Holding the new pot, I was delighted.

I’m glad we took our time and didn’t compromise. I’m grateful to the shopkeeper who continued to serve us even after closing time.

Feeling satisfied with the purchase, my heart was content.

Afterward, Deputy Captain Berry and I went to eat.

It was a specialty shop for grilled bird skewers, and the place was full of uncles, which surprised me.

"The offal skewers here are delicious."

"Offal..."

Today was all about offal.

I was fine with it, so I decided to try the parts Deputy Captain Berry recommended.

"How is it?"

The offal, marinated in a sweet and spicy secret sauce, had a good texture.

In addition to grilled offal, offal stewed with vegetables was also popular and very delicious.

I don’t usually drink, but I ended up ordering some.

The lively and noisy atmosphere of the restaurant made me feel happy.

"By the way, Deputy Captain Berry, is Zara not good with places like this?"

"No, he said he likes noisy places."

"Is that so?"

"Is something wrong?"

"No, the other day when I invited everyone out, he had a strange reaction."

"Oh, well, that’s..."

He cut off his words and patted my back, telling me not to worry.

If Deputy Captain Berry said it was fine, I decided it was okay and ordered another drink.

I enjoyed the night thoroughly.