Chapter 198 – Chapter 5: Rose Sabel – 3
Pharmacy street.
This is truly an unfamiliar word.
In the area where we live, there is no need to put anything in front of the word ‘distance’.
Just pharmacies gathered together to form one street.
That was only possible because of Deseo.
But somehow it felt familiar.
I walked this street without even knowing where I was, without asking anyone.
I know.
This place… When Tia first sets foot on Deseo. This is the first street I visited to get Dieen Booth.
In the end, what we got was not Dienbus, but the cold reality of Deseo.
‘Deseo’s Pharmacy’, as seen through Tia’s eyes, was a store that welcomed rich people who liked to spend a lot of money and indulge in luxury.
Noblemen wearing elegant dresses came and went, and the streets were always full of good scents.
Tia felt sad in her heart as she saw the pharmacy not being visited by the sick.
That was Deseo.
The sight I would soon see would not be much different. I thought so…
Marie, who was following, said.
“There are a lot of people.”
… Why?
The pharmacy street was crowded with people.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t the rich people.
They are just ordinary city dwellers who seem no different from us.
A coughing sound, a person without a right arm, a newborn baby crying in its mother’s arms.
Countless sick people are standing in line in front of the pharmacy.
It’s a very different landscape from what I remember.
“This must be ‘pharmacy street.'”
“… Yes.”
What changed?
I walked down the street with slow, confused steps.
The line was very long. It was so winding like a snake’s tail that the stone floor could not be seen.
Out of about 20 stores, there are about five or six places where people gather.
The rest were operating normally, but there was no one there.
When passing by the store.
I could hear people waiting talking.
“Looks like I’ll have to wait quite a while.”
“But this is really fast. Who would have imagined it? Selling ‘cold medicine’ on the street of a pharmacy! And at such a low price.”
“Of course, a year ago, there were quite a few people who died because they couldn’t get medicine, let alone treatment, even if they were sick…”
They sighed.
It was like a sigh of relief, thankful that I was alive and well until now.
“This is the first time that someone takes care of the common people as soon as he takes office.”
“That’s right. To be honest, I was worried whether she would be able to properly lead the country because she was the ‘queen’ and was the same age as her daughter. “It was really a useless worry.”
Squeak-.
The door of the pharmacy was opened.
A man came out, holding his medicine bag dearly to his chest, and shouted with great emotion.
“Long live Her Majesty the Queen!”
“Hurray!”
The people waiting cheered as if they had made a promise.
For the common people of Deseo, whose lives were difficult, ‘medicine’ was truly precious.
In this city where money is absolute, is there really a doctor who will take care of the poor?
None.
There are only a few doctors who help with a strong sense of duty.
Here, ‘medical care’ was a privilege that only the wealthy could enjoy.
In such a situation, how difficult is it to manufacture a ‘medicine’ that is difficult to manufacture, costs a lot of materials, and requires skilled technology?
There were many people suffering on the streets because they could not even get simple cold medicine.
The queen… It seems he still hasn’t forgotten the terrible scenes he encountered on the streets of the slums.
After her coronation ceremony, she immediately introduced several policies, among which were measures against pharmacy streets.
The idea was to make it easier for anyone to buy medicine.
As a result, starting today, pharmacies have started putting over-the-counter medicines on display.
Sick people who desperately needed medicine were flocking to the streets.
Marie smiled slightly after hearing the explanation.
“It’s like Tia.”
“…”
“My sister said that. “If there are people around her who are having a hard time, she must help them.”
“That’s right.”
“Looking at everyone’s happiness, I can feel that the queen is really Tia.”
Okay. It’s a good thing.
It is definitely a good thing that poor and sick people are receiving help.
But… I couldn’t join the voice praising her queen.
I don’t know why.
I just couldn’t do that.
I swallowed my saliva at the bitter taste lingering around my mouth.
“… Let’s go.”
I left the crowded streets and arrived in front of pharmacies with few people.
Tenth house.
This was the place the royal doctor spoke of.
Surprisingly, even this store was familiar.
I remember Tia visiting here once.
Seven months have passed, and I have arrived at the same place as Tia.
I looked at the store shelves. Lots of high-end perfumes and beauty products.
I was wondering why people don’t even come here. This was a pharmacy that did not sell over-the-counter medications.
Kkeikik-.
When I opened the door and entered, a slightly dark and large interior appeared.
“Are you there?”
When we went inside, the owner of this store was sitting with an annoyed look on his face.
He looked at us curiously as he trimmed his nails.
“What are you? “We don’t sell cold medicine or anything like that here.”
As soon as they saw our clothes, they seemed to have decided that we were not guests.
“I didn’t come here to buy medicine. “We came through the introduction of a royal doctor.”
“Royal doctor?”
“Yes. I can meet the rebels through you…”
“Quiet!!”
Suddenly the pharmacy owner shouted.
Marie, startled, gets scared and hides behind me.
“It’s crazy? What if someone hears it?”
The owner got up and hurriedly put a lock on the store door. And he quickly hung a sign saying [Closed] On the window.
“Follow me.”
Slam!
The warehouse door opened.
It was a cramped space filled with all kinds of medicinal herbs.
He checked several times to make sure there were no suspicious people outside, and then asked us in a low voice.
“When you say the royal doctor, do you mean the doctor? Chief of the medical center?”
“Yes. He is currently being held at an inn near the dock. I secretly asked for help, and he introduced me to this place.”
“Khaha! This is great news! He finally changed his mind! Yes, are you coming? Well done. The organization isn’t in a very relaxed situation right now, so it’s not a position to be selective about people. Above all, if it is an introduction from the chief royal doctor, there is no room for doubt.”
The pharmacy owner pointed to his empty store.
“You guys saw it when you came too, right? Is it full of beggars? I still can’t believe that this always classy pharmacy street turned into what it was overnight! “This country is truly in ruin!”
He explained with a sincere expression that said, ‘It’s wrong.’
“Shit! It’s all because of those disgusting noble bastards. Just a month ago, people came to our store and asked which perfume they liked, begging us to get it first. You took power, but now what? Let’s sell medicine with the ‘common people’ in mind? Under! “The airway is not full!”
“…”
“Yesterday, the Queen ordered all the perfumes from the shelves to be removed and trash like cold medicine to be sold, right? That’s ridiculous! So will it make money? If those smelly lowlifes come into the store and make noise, who will pay the rent for my store? It’s obvious that it’s going to fail!”
‘Deseo Pharmacist Certification Award’ was seen over his shoulder as he spoke passionately.
Ah.
In this city, people like this are called pharmacists.
The emotions Tia must have felt… I feel like I understand a little bit.
“How can I meet the rebels?”
“Oops. I was talking about that. Haha, yes.”
The store owner bent down and removed the heavy bag of medicine from the floor.
Then, cool air flows out from a large hole in the floor.
Although it was a small mountain village, I knew it because I was a pharmacist. This is a basement where medicines that need to be kept cool are stored.
“You can follow me.”
“I understand.”
“But not that girl.”
The store owner pointed to Marie.
“She’s my younger sister. “Can’t it?”
“No. What kind of place does our organization look after children? I’m adding it because you’re the teacher’s introduction. She wouldn’t have accepted it if it had been the same.”
At that time, I was thinking of trying to persuade him somehow.
Her Marie took a step back.
“… It’s okay, brother. Don’t worry and go. “I will be waiting at home.”
“Marie.”
The guy gently shook her hand as if he was really okay.
“Okay. “I’ll go and come back.”
So, leaving Marie behind, I went down to the basement.
* * *
The basement was directly connected to Deseo’s underground waterway.
It was much more complicated than I thought. If you don’t follow the pharmacy owner holding the lantern, you will definitely get lost in the pitch black.
It took a while to pass through the smelly, humid, narrow passage.
Climb up the ladder hanging at the end of the passage…
Someone’s house appeared.
But I don’t know if I should call this ‘home’. First, there seem to be plenty of tables and chairs, but there are no furniture in sight. It was dark because there wasn’t even a window.
Strange. Since I can’t see outside, I don’t know if I escaped to the ground or how much time has passed.
As I walked down the hallway for a bit, I saw people.
They were talking with serious expressions. Even if we passed by, he wasn’t interested.
“Wait here for a moment.”
The pharmacy owner disappeared somewhere, leaving me alone.
I slowly looked around.
The people I had been having a serious conversation with a while ago got worried, so I went there.
“Off-.”
“It hurts…”
A groaning sound was heard from somewhere.
I followed the place where I heard the sound and took a peek to see what was going on.
“… Ugh.”
My breath stopped at the terrible sight that unfolded before my eyes.
There were about twenty men lying there wounded.
Someone had hurriedly stopped the bleeding, but in my opinion, it was not proper treatment.
There were blood stains everywhere, as if there had been a battle some time ago. He is holding on with his eyes open, but his face is dark.
The injured soldier stuttered.
“Who, is there anyone? Water… “Some water.”
First, I looked for things around me that might be helpful. But no matter how much I searched, there was nothing useful here. Even drawers and cupboards. There wasn’t a single herb in sight.
At most, all I could do was change the blood-soaked bandages and give him water.
When I was so frantically taking care of patients.
“You are here.”
A calm voice was heard from behind.
When he turned his head, a young man was standing with his back to him.
A coat that is not flashy but luxurious but fits perfectly to the body, and a large hat worn on neatly trimmed hair. And the monocle on his nose made him look like a scholar.
However, looking at the fact that there was a ‘money bag’ attached to the belt, not a book or sword… I could roughly guess that he was a merchant.
“I heard the story. “You said you came through the introduction of the chief royal doctor, right?”
“Yes.”
The young man introduced himself with a smile.
“Nice to meet you. “My name is ‘Ralph Klaus,’ and I am in charge of the operational staff.”
“Nice to meet you. “My name is Ritz.”
After formally shaking hands, he looked down at the injured and said.
“First, I’m sorry to show you a bad image. The timing was bad.”
“What happened?”
“Should we call it a surprise attack by the enemy?”
Klaus had a grave face, but his voice was not pleasant at all.
“Recently, I was bringing supplies from a foreign merchant, but a few days ago, the enemy attacked through that route. The colleagues who escaped this far were lucky. A significant number of people did not return.”
I can’t believe there was that much damage.
Moreover, wouldn’t this ‘rebel’, which appears to have few troops, be close to annihilation?
… Then it’s difficult.
I didn’t come all the way here to take care of the injured.
“Hey, Mr. Klaus.”
“Tell me.”
“I heard from the royal doctor that this place might know a way to enter the palace. If…”
“The royal doctor said that?”
The chief of staff was silent for a moment, but suddenly burst into laughter as if he remembered something.
“Haha! Indeed! I understood what it meant.”
“… Yes?”
“You gave us good inspiration when we were in a difficult situation.”
He said with a smile.
“Perhaps… “You might be our savior.”
