第１０７６堀：医者として見た村のありよう (Part1)
### Chapter 1076: The State of the Village Through a Doctor's Eyes
**Side: Rurua**
"Phew... Ah, I'm exhausted."
"...Mikos, you're being sloppy."
Mikos and Kagura said this as they collapsed deeply into the sofa in the room. The two of them had been assisting me with the medical treatments until just a moment ago. Even though they have some basic knowledge, an emergency response like this must have been incredibly draining for them.
"Don't push yourselves too hard, Kagura. This kind of work is surprisingly taxing," Enora said, offering them words of comfort. As a priestess serving at the church just like me, she had moved with precision throughout the treatment process.
"Kaya, you were a huge help as well."
"...Don't worry about it."
Even to my words of gratitude, Kaya replied as if to say it was nothing at all. Well, my relationship with Kaya has been quite long. We have supported our husband together for a long time; I know exactly what she excels at and what she struggles with.
"...If anything, we should have brought more people."
"That is certainly true. It was more than I imagined."
Indeed, the number of people we treated was unexpectedly high. Roughly half of the village had come seeking consultation and treatment. This is a number that should be impossible—half the village showing up. While only about half of those actually required medical intervention, the ratio of sick and injured people is still quite high considering the village's total population.
"Still, it would have been problematic to bring too many people from our side."
"...We only came here to secure water and investigate the cause of the shortage."
That is correct. We brought people for the investigation, but we brought almost no one for medical purposes. Or rather, we couldn't exactly bring medical staff when that wasn't the primary objective. Thus, Enora and I came as the bare minimum, but...
"Besides, after treating them, I realized that perhaps I let my own desires get the better of me."
"I agree. I think that's true. I, too, want to save anyone I can, no matter what."
Enora agreed with the words that had slipped out of my mouth. That is the truth. Medical care is not the purpose of this mission. This village is merely a base for us to resolve the water shortage. However, if there are people before our eyes begging for help, it is our duty as doctors and as servants of the divine to assist them. I understand that as someone who governs a nation, I shouldn't be spouting such idealistic nonsense. The judgment I should have made at that time was not to have Enora and the others help, but to wrap things up appropriately.
...But, I simply cannot bring myself to abandon them. As I was thinking this and reflecting on my actions...
"It’s not like it hindered our work, so there’s no problem. Besides, it’s good to confirm the disease situation here as well."
"Husband."
"Yuki."
I looked up at that gentle voice, and there stood my husband. He even went so far as to offer consideration, telling us that what we did was not a problem.
"Sorry to ask while you're tired, but Rurua, Enora, Kaya, Kagura, Mikos—what did you think of the patients? Did you notice any trends?"
"Trends? Let's see..."
"Ugh, wait a second. I haven't finished compiling the medical charts yet."
"...Right. I'm tallying them now. So, it's better to hear the situation regarding the injured from Kagura and Mikos first."
That is true. As Kaya said, it would be better to hear the report on the injured first. Kaya and I have kept proper charts, so we can just check those later.
"Um, the injured... what kind of people were there? Hey, Mikos, do you remember?"
"Of course. Unlike Kagura, I was taking my own notes. Let's see..."
It seems Mikos had been taking proper notes. That said, it’s not that Kagura is at fault; few people would think to record things properly on the spot in that kind of situation. That is truly a testament to Mikos's talent as a reporter.
"Overall, there were a lot of bruises and scrapes, mostly from the mines. The serious cases were fractures. The worst one was a person who had a rock fall on their chest and was coughing up blood."
"That means their ribs were broken and piercing inward. It’s a miracle they survived."
"Yeah, I knew it was bad, so Kagura rushed them to Rurua-san immediately, and we managed to pull through."
"I was truly shocked. A bone was protruding from their chest. It reminded me of that basement..."
Kagura said this with a pale face, covering her mouth. Ah, indeed, that situation was reminiscent of that underground chamber. However, the fact that they made such precise judgments and handled it even in such a situation is worthy of praise. Both Mikos and Kagura have certainly grown.
"From what I hear, it’s all external trauma. While you call them 'injuries,' were there any skin diseases or necrosis-like conditions?"
"Ah, it didn't go that far, but there were quite a few people with dry, cracked hands."
"Yes. There were many such people. But I assumed that was just due to their profession and the nature of the land."
"I see. Well, that’s common enough. So, Rurua, what did you think after hearing these two?"
"Well... a symptom common to those Kaya, Enora, and I examined was general dehydration. Especially among the nursing infants who needed water, there were some in critical condition. If we had been even a few days later, several would have died."
"...The babies had lost the strength to even cry. Their mothers had no milk. The nutritional state was dire."
"Yes, as Kaya said. And unfortunately, there were babies who had already passed away."
...When a mother held her deceased baby and asked me to examine them, my heart felt like it was screaming. I now have children with my husband—Sumire and many others. That is precisely why I understood the mother's feelings—the desire to have them examined even if she knew they were already gone—painfully well. But I could not spend time on a baby who had already passed. There were other lives I could save while doing so.
"I see. So, we really can't live in this land without doing something about the water."
"Yes. If the water shortage continues like this, this village will certainly cease to exist. People cannot live without water. However, fortunately, we have not confirmed any diseases unique to this region, so we can be at ease regarding that."
It would never do for us, who came to help, to fall ill ourselves. And above all...
"By the way, I heard that you have already finished installing the water-generating devices. How is the progress?"
That is the issue. As I said earlier, unless we solve the 'water problem,' life here will not improve. We merely provided emergency treatment; the life of this village rests in the hands of my husband and his team.
"Ah, that. Agil, how is it?"
"Are you asking me? Well, I suppose it would be me. For now, it's going smoothly."
As Agil said this, an image appeared on the monitor. It showed the device Kagura and the others had installed, and water was continuing to pour out from the pipe without stopping.