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The clinic’s remaining staff were exhausted, but compared to them, we who had just arrived were far more energetic.

“Now that manpower has been replenished, we’ll take turns resting.”

Back at the barracks, I got the list of medical staff from Nora and assigned duties.

“There are no treatments right now, so we’ll start with internal organization. You’re Nora, right?”

Nora, her clerical robe soaked with sweat and filth, answered a beat late as if stunned.

“You’re the person in charge, so you’ll have to endure this with me. No one knows the clinic like you do. Can you handle that?”

“You shouldn’t be doing pointless things…”

“There’s been no progress. Shouldn’t we try a different approach?”

“…But.”

“I’m not asking you to take responsibility—just trust me and follow my lead. The sooner we act, the sooner you can catch your breath.”

I wrote the tasks on paper and assigned them to the new arrivals.

“What exactly are the symptoms of this plague, and how does it spread?”

“At first it usually begins with coughing and a high fever, though some cases skip those symptoms. Then nosebleeds and hives spread across the body. After an incubation period, many patients die within four to seven days. From what we’ve seen so far, the fatality rate exceeds eighty percent. As for the infection route… we haven’t determined it yet.”

“Eighty percent…” That’s enormous. Almost everyone dies.

“What about the remaining twenty percent? Couldn’t we study them to trace the infection route and find a treatment?”

Nora made a deflating sound.

“If it were that easy, we wouldn’t be in this mess. Senior clerics and physicians are working in the lab around the clock to find a cure. Right now we suspect recoveries are mostly late teens to men in their twenties — probably due to innate immunity.”

Immunity. Young people tend to have stronger immune systems.

After listening, I quickly wrote a list of directives to be implemented immediately.

First: isolation.

Honestly, I don’t have much medical knowledge. If I’d been a doctor in my previous life, I’d have treated Rio first.

After inspecting the clinic in the east, this was my conclusion.

Hygiene. It was so poor that even idle bystanders could fall ill. The place was humid and hot, corpses and the living mingled in filth. Patients and medical staff were so smeared with grime you couldn’t tell them apart without uniforms.

They must have known instinctively, but with too few hands and no grasp of hygiene’s importance, it deteriorated into this — the treatment area itself had become a breeding ground for the plague.

“Separate patients into critical, severe, and minor.”

“What? Do you know how many patients there are right now? How are we supposed to move them all! Say something that makes sense, Chancellor!” Nora protested fiercely, and the expressions of the medical staff and support team behind her mirrored her outrage.

“Then will you leave them as they are? They’ll all die. Staying together could accelerate the disease.”

“But…!”

“Allow families to visit only at set times, and have staff and patients wrap clean cloths over their noses and mouths. It seems to spread most easily via respiratory droplets and contact.”

I handed over the paper at once.

“Implement this immediately, exactly as written.”

“Th-this…!”

The instructions I gave Nora were, in short, as follows:

1. Separate and isolate by patient condition. (minor, severe, critical)
2. Regularly clean the clinic and manage medicines.
3. Create a simple rest area for medical staff.
4. Write prescriptions and condition reports for the next shift.
5. Mandatory handwashing whenever patients change.
6. Have staff and patients cover nose and mouth with clean cloth.
7. Sterilize instruments like needles or knives over fire after use.
8. Chancellor approval required for outings; external items only after approval (to prevent additional infections).

“We can’t. We’re at our limit even now. It’s difficult to comply with such absurd demands. How on earth does this have anything to do with an infectious disease?!” Nora snapped.

Explaining hygiene properly would mean teaching them medical science from my previous life, and I didn’t have time to lecture.

“Cleanliness prevents most infections. There’s no time; just do it for now. If people refuse, invoke the names of the Chancellor and His Highness the Prince.”

“…Yes?”

“Of course, if you sell our names to the wrong people, you’ll answer for it.”

I used my rank to cow the scowling Nora and sent her out. I didn’t like doing it, but there was no time to persuade everyone individually.

Aidan, who’d been watching, asked, “Does that really work? I’ve never heard of it either.”

“At the very least it should slow the spread, giving the medical staff some time to rest.”

“Coco, your eyes seem to be shining.”

“That’s because I want to finish quickly and leave. This isn’t a situation where we can dilly-dally.”

I didn’t hesitate to order Prince Raven either.

“By the way, what are you doing? Are you just going to laze about? Don’t you dare forget why I brought Your Highness out to this rough place.”

“Ah, understood. So please don’t stare at me like you’re going to devour me with your eyes.”

What did I do with my eyes? How was I looking?

As I opened my mouth, Nicola cut in and hauled the prince away.

If I’d issued physical directives, now it was time to give magical ones in lieu of chemical methods.

“Aidan, I told you in advance that I would make you work hard.”

“Yeah. But I’m here to protect Coco.”

The Magic Tower Master’s people could cover the work of dozens; leaving them idle would be ridiculous.

“Aidan.”

“What is it, Coco?”

“Do you know what our most dangerous enemy is right now?”

“What? You do? Just say it—I’ll fetch them immediately!”

“It’s the plague.”

He shrugged cheerfully, then deflated. “Ah…”

“Admit it, right?”

“Tch.”

I assigned the following tasks to the clerics and Aidan:

1. Use running stream water — daily purification mandatory.
2. Don’t indiscriminately pour in holy power; record conditions at intervals.
3. Cast sleep magic on patients before bedtime.

The tasks were few but far from easy. Fortunately Aidan trusted me more than Nora; he just didn’t seem comfortable leaving me by myself.

I put on the brooch Aidan had given me. Its sensing method was odd, but if anything happened it would signal — better than nothing.

Only then did Aidan trudge out listlessly.

I heard murmurs — the orders were spreading.

“Let’s try them, one by one.”

I’d never been more grateful to be in my twenties than at that moment.

Everyone moved in a coordinated fashion. Reinforcements had arrived, but they were still short of hands. I checked every detail; people’s lives depended on it. Nothing could be done carelessly.

But cleanliness and hygiene require labor, and their effects don’t appear instantly like a cast of holy power.

“Chancellor, how long are we supposed to follow these useless orders? Just caring for patients is overwhelming enough!” Nora, exhausted and in charge, came to the barracks and complained through clenched teeth.

I understood her. She’d been working without proper rest, so of course she’d be irritated. I tried to soothe her as gently as possible.

“Do you think I don’t know how hard everyone’s working? I’m trying to reduce that burden, so trust me and follow through. It’s necessary. I’ll do what I can to help.”

Nora’s face hardened, as if she thought I wouldn’t back down.

“Hah, you seem to think being the youngest Chancellor makes you important. This is the realm of treatment. This isn’t a place for an impulsive Chancellor to experiment. Whatever you’ve read in books, keep quiet. That’s what helps us.”

That crossed a line.

Perhaps she didn’t realize I was overlooking her rudeness because of how much she’d suffered.

Honestly, even if I were older or Chancellor Marcus himself, would she have spoken so freely?

Sorry, but I’ve been through so much that I’m no longer afraid.

“Can’t you hear me asking you to wait a little longer?”

Nora stepped closer. Taller than me, she looked down at me.

“Then if there’s no change, can the Chancellor take responsibility for everything?”

This woman. I closed my eyes slowly and smiled broadly.

“I’ll take responsibility.”

I stepped toward her. Nora, taken aback by my composure, flinched.

“Then what will you be responsible for?”

If I was going to stake my position, she’d have to do something in return.

“Will you become my slave?”

“Ha! You’re full of bluff.”

Nora sighed, exasperated, then sneered.

“Fine. If there’s even a little progress against the plague, I’ll do whatever you want, like a slave.”