Chapter 51 - Episode 50: Noein Runs a Fever ①
"Hah."
Waking up on the bed in his own room, Noein tried to understand his situation with a foggy head.
"Ah, that's right..."
From his parched throat, his burning body, and clothes sticky with sweat, he immediately remembered that he had come down with a fever and was bedridden.
"Matildaaa—"
Since there was no one in the room, he called out the name of his beloved slave for the time being. He was surprised himself by the childish, spoiled tone of his voice.
Matilda should be somewhere near this room, and as a beast-person, her hearing is far better than that of an ordinary human, so she should be able to hear Noein's voice even now.
As expected, the sound of footsteps running down the hallway approached immediately. The bedroom door opened, and Matilda entered.
"Noein-sama, did you call for me?"
"I want some water, and I'd like to change my clothes too. Could I ask you to do that?"
Noein answered Matilda, who looked as though she had rushed over.
Matilda poured water from the pitcher placed on the bedroom table into a glass and brought it to Noein's lips. Noein remained in his seated position on the bed and let her give him the water to drink.
"I apologize for leaving the bedroom. Did you feel lonely when you woke up?"
"It's okay, you have work to do too, Matilda. Thank you."
Once Noein finished drinking the water, Matilda left the room once and returned with a bucket filled with hot water and a change of clothes.
Noein had his body wiped down with a cloth dampened with hot water and was helped into new clothes by Matilda. Because the malaise was severe and his entire body felt sluggish, he left everything to Matilda.
.....
The origin of it all was five days ago. The moment he woke up in the morning, Noein noticed an abnormality in his physical condition, and Matilda, who woke up beside him, also immediately noticed the change in her master.
Noein remembered well how Matilda had been unusually flustered upon seeing her master, who looked as though even sitting up was painful due to the high fever and chills.
Afterward, the Chief Retainer Yuri, having received the report from Matilda, made an immediate decision, sent Bart racing to Retovik, and had a doctor brought back in great haste.
As for Noein himself, he thought it was an exaggeration just for a fever, but if Noein were to die, the Arqvist Knight-Barony, which had no one to inherit the title, would likely be dissolved.
In other words, Noein's life or death directly determined the fate of the Arqvist territory. It seemed the retainers had been extremely anxious.
Eventually, within that same day, a doctor was summoned from Retovik. According to the diagnosis of this elderly doctor, who was said to be experienced and skilled, Noein's illness was "Eld Fever."
"Haa, I never thought I'd catch Eld Fever at this age..."
Having finished hydrating and changing, Noein muttered as he lay back down on the bed.
Eld Fever is one of the very common diseases in the southern part of the continent, causing symptoms similar to a somewhat severe cold, where high fever and malaise continue for about a week.
Because it consumes a great deal of physical strength, it is a disease that cannot be underestimated for young children, but once one reaches a certain age, there is almost no worry of losing one's life. Even more so if one is seen by a doctor and can be prescribed medicine.
And, another characteristic of Eld Fever is... that it is primarily contracted by minors.
It is not that there are no people who suffer from it after reaching adulthood, but basically, it is recognized as a "disease children get."
Therefore, for Noein, who reached adulthood last year and is sixteen this year, catching Eld Fever was a bit embarrassing.
"This makes me seem just like a little kid."
"However, I am relieved that Noein-sama did not have a serious illness. I am glad it was just Eld Fever."
"That's... true, but..."
When Matilda, who was nursing him devotedly, said that with a serious face, he couldn't argue.
Since Noein had been bedridden with Eld Fever, Matilda had been nursing him almost constantly. In her thoroughness, she even performed her own administrative duties in this room as much as possible because she did not want to leave Noein's side.
Given her age, there was almost no chance she would be infected, and above all, Noein also wanted Matilda to be by his side if possible, so it was a relief.
.....
"Noein-sama, I've brought your meal!"
"Thank you, Mary. Good work."
Since Noein had woken up just after noon, lunch was brought to the bedroom.
The one who brought it was a girl named Mary, who worked as a maid in this mansion. Incidentally, there are currently three maids in this mansion, and the other two are named Kimberly and Rosetta.
"Today's menu is mashed potatoes, and also chicken and cabbage soup!"
Mary, who had a bright and brisk personality, explained energetically and then placed a small table on Noein's bed and arranged the meal.
Soft mashed potatoes and warm soup. Both were menus that were easy for the sick Noein to eat.
As he slowly ate them and was about to finish, Matilda brewed some tea. The tea set was something Mary had brought along with the meal.
"It was delicious, Mary. Thank you."
"No, no, I'm happy you praised it!"
Saying so brightly while removing the dishes and the table, Mary left the room.
Receiving the cup from Matilda, Noein took a breath while drinking the tea.
"...Is the management of the territory running smoothly?"
"Please be at ease. Almost all operations are proceeding without delay."
"I see. When you say 'almost,' does that mean there are some problematic parts?"
"Regarding the logging of the forests, work has been significantly scaled back because there are no golems, but the reclamation plan had plenty of leeway to begin with. Looking at the pace at which immigrants are increasing, there is still sufficient area remaining for a long time to be turned into farmland."
The work of cutting down forest trees to expand the flat land is something that still relies heavily on Noein's power to handle the sturdy golems. In order to expand the area of the capital and accommodate the ever-increasing immigrants, forest logging is an important operation.
However, thanks to the enthusiastic logging carried out until now, there is still plenty of leeway in that work.
"That's good then. I have to return as soon as possible and work hard at the logging."
"Please do not overdo it. Noein-sama's person is the top priority."
"I know, thank you."
.....
By the fifth day of Eld Fever, the symptoms had settled down considerably. Therefore, Noein decided to receive reports from the retainers regarding the time he had been resting.
Although he remained seated on the bed in the bedroom, he threw a shirt over his sleepwear for his upper body and lightly tidied his hair.
Once he had finished preparing, the first person to enter was Chief Retainer Yuri, who had been serving as the acting lord while Noein was bedridden.
"Your complexion has improved quite a bit, young master."
"Be quiet. I'm just a little kid who caught Eld Fever at a ripe old age, anyway—"
To Yuri, who threw a teasing remark as soon as they met, Noein replied while pretending to be sulky.
In this way, they exchanged casual greetings, and then he received specific reports.
The contents covered a wide range, from the public order within the territory to the state of agriculture, the status of mining operations in the Lestio Mountains, and the state of the neighboring Retovik territory. This was because Yuri was summarizing the reports from the other retainers and conveying them to Noein.
"I understand well, thank you. Good work."
"Yeah... well anyway, that's it. Rest slowly. You've been devoted to reclamation ever since you came here, so there's no harm in relaxing for a little bit."
Yuri spoke somewhat bashfully. While cracking jokes, it seemed he was concerned for Noein as a subordinate.
"I'll do that. Though I intend to return as soon as possible."
To the subordinate's words of consideration, Noein responded with a small, bitter smile.