Chapter 275: The Shadow of the Plague

“Here, three mackerel come to two and a half kilograms, uh…… twenty-five and a half Fenni…… cough cough……”

At a stall in the market, a local fisherman coughed as he handed the customer the fresh fish wrapped in paper.

“Huh? Didn't you overcharge me?” The customer frowned.

“Ah, no, no, one kilogram is nine Fenni, two and a half kilograms……” The stall owner blinked and recalculated, but his mind seemed unable to turn properly.

“Twenty-two and a half Fenni. You, have you been drinking?” The customer shook his head at the man's flushed face, paid the change, picked up the fish, and left.

“Ugh.” The stall owner uncomfortably rubbed his eyes, which had begun to ache and water.

He had already had a cold for two days, and the coughing and sneezing had never stopped. This season was always like this. He had taken some medicine, but it had not done much. He had woken up that morning dizzy and groggy, but yesterday's catch had been plentiful, so he still had to hurry and sell it. Thus, he had persisted in opening his stall.

“Maybe I should lie down for a few minutes before continuing to sell. It's rare that I managed to get such a good spot today……” the stall owner thought to himself. He leaned forward and reached for the change when suddenly the world spun around him, and the scene before his eyes instantly distorted, becoming bizarre and fantastical.

With a clatter, he collapsed onto the counter where the fresh fish were displayed, then slid to the ground along with the fish.

The people at the surrounding stalls laughed when they saw his comical movements, and acquaintances running nearby stalls even teased him a few times.

But when people realized that he still had not gotten back up after quite some time, the atmosphere began to feel somewhat strange.

“Old friend, don't tell me you're going to sleep right here!” An acquaintance went over and pushed him, only to suddenly discover that his body was burning hot. His expression immediately changed, “He's burning up badly, he's passed out!”

People began gathering around. Some tended to him, while others found a stretcher, lifted him onto it, and carried him toward the clinic.

Leon and Adele also noticed the commotion. When they saw the man being carried away, Leon stopped one of the stall owners who had followed them out: “What happened?”

“Ah, My Lord.” Seeing that the person speaking to him was the local Lord, the middle-aged man stiffly lowered his head and gave an improper salute, “Old Hank, the fisherman from the village, just fainted. He's got a terrible fever. Quite a lot of people have been getting sick recently……”

“Quite a lot of people have been getting sick? Is it just colds and coughing, or are they getting fevers severe enough to pass out like this?” Leon blinked.

“Yes. This morning, Aunt Margaret from next door also fainted and was carried away. There are people in the neighboring village too……” the man respectfully answered.

Leon frowned after hearing this. Sanitary conditions in this era could hardly be called good, and once a town's population increased, epidemics could easily appear during seasonal changes. During the years he had lived in Hamel Town, it had not been unusual for the number of people coughing to increase sharply when the seasons changed, but illnesses that caused people to collapse unconscious so readily were not common.

“The clinic sent someone to the residence the day before yesterday, saying that the number of patients had increased a lot recently and hoping we could hire more physicians. Yesterday, I sent people to temporarily hire a group of physicians from Helenburg to come over and help. There shouldn't be any problem.” Adele explained to Leon.

But after hearing this, Leon felt a cold sensation slowly spreading across his back. A word Dorothy had mentioned before surfaced in his mind: plague!

“Go prepare a carriage for the patient.” Leon instructed the attendant following not far away, then turned toward Adele, “Let's go to the clinic and take a look!”

“Alright……” Seeing Leon's expression suddenly darken, Adele was somewhat puzzled.

The attendant brought horses for them. They mounted and reached the vicinity of the clinic at the entrance to the fishing village ahead of the others, where a long line had already formed.

“This…… how did it become like this?” Adele widened her eyes.

Before hiring the physicians yesterday, she had actually inspected the situation. The clinic had indeed been overwhelmingly busy, but the line had still been shorter than this.

Now she had hired three additional physicians to help and even allowed them to use the village office as a temporary clinic. Logically speaking, the situation should have eased, yet there were even more people waiting for treatment today.

“Bring the doctor in charge here and ask about the situation.” Leon said with a frown.

“Then I'll go ask……” Adele said as she started walking over. She had only met the person in charge here not long ago.

“Don't go over there yet.” Leon cautiously grabbed Adele, summoned an attendant, and first had him prepare protective clothing and masks before sending him to invite the doctor out.

“You put one on too.” Leon handed a mask to Adele.

This kind of Bird-Beak Mask was used for protection against poison and epidemics, with sponges, gauze, and medicinal herbs stuffed inside.

Because Witches were skilled at using poison, this sort of protective mask had become standard equipment for Inquisitors, while physicians treating epidemics would also dress this way. Its filtration effectiveness was honestly difficult to praise, but because it could effectively block droplets, it could at least significantly reduce the infection rate.

Although completely confused, Adele still took it and put it on.

Before long, a doctor wearing a Bird-Beak Mask and a protective cloak hurried out of the clinic and jogged toward Leon.

Although he was overwhelmingly busy, upon hearing that the Lord wished to see him, he had still handed his work over to his colleagues without hesitation and hurried out, especially since he had already been intending to request further assistance from the Lord.

“Alright, stop there.” When there were still about ten paces between them, Leon gestured for the doctor to remain where he was.

“Um, are you Lord Viscount?” The doctor looked at Leon, who was wearing a mask just like his own, and was somewhat uncertain.

“Explain the situation.” Leon gestured for him to speak.

“Well, as you can see, My Lord, the number of patients suffering from the epidemic on the island began increasing sharply during this week. Although the Viscountess listened to my request and hired additional personnel yesterday, as well as purchasing medicine, the number of patients doubled again today. Some severe patients with fevers have also appeared. We still can't keep up. I sincerely ask you to increase our manpower again. We're even running short on some medicines. I was just preparing to send someone to report it again, but we've been too busy……” the doctor answered.

“Have you noticed what symptoms this epidemic has?” Leon interrupted him to ask about the key point.

“Uh, at first it's basically coughing and sneezing, and their eyes become red and watery. It seems to last around five to ten days. Since it's this season, I initially thought it was a cold too, but the medicine I prescribed didn't work very well. Then starting around three days ago, patients with fevers began appearing one after another. The fever rises very quickly, their bodies become extremely hot, and the patients collapse soon afterward. A small number of patients also experience hallucinations, saying that they can see eyes staring at them……” the doctor described.

“Have there been any deaths?” Leon continued asking.

“An elderly man in poor health passed away around midnight yesterday after he couldn't endure it anymore. There was a little bleeding from his eyes when he died. We didn't even have time to examine it carefully. There are simply too many patients.” The doctor spoke helplessly.

“……” Leon looked at the number of people waiting in line. There were at least forty or fifty. Although some were family members accompanying the patients, the number of infected people should still be astonishing. One had to understand that the island's current permanent population had not even reached two thousand!

Leaving aside whether this illness had anything to do with the possibility that had flashed through his mind, even if it was merely an ordinary infectious disease, an outbreak of this scale was dangerous enough! Some unpleasant memories from his previous life surfaced in his mind.

“Um, Lord Viscount, you've seen it yourself. If some new plague is starting to spread, we'll be in serious trouble.” The doctor continued pleading.

“Make a list. I'll allocate whatever supplies you need.” Leon gestured to the doctor, “Record the number of people showing suspected symptoms, the number of severe fever patients, and the number of deaths. Register everything. Record every symptom properly. I'll send someone to collect a report every day.”

“Thank you, My Lord.” The doctor nodded and turned back to make the list.

“Wait!” Leon called him back again, “Also, I'm going to have the empty houses around here requisitioned immediately. All patients must be isolated for treatment. Starting now, all treatment costs will be funded by the Lord. Don't let people seeking treatment crowd together here. Keep at least five meters between each person!”

“Yes……” The doctor responded with some confusion, then went to carry out the orders.

“I'll send people to hire physicians and purchase medicine.” Adele said from the side, indicating that she would properly arrange those matters.

“Lock down the entire island.” Leon suddenly said.

“What?” Adele blinked in confusion.

“Next, we have to lock down the entire island and impose entry and exit restrictions. Find a group of people who are confirmed to have no symptoms of infection and have them purchase enough supplies for the island. All work and production on the island will stop. Vacate houses for accommodation and order everyone indoors for isolation! We'll guarantee the supplies. Don't worry, I'll send people to carry out those measures afterward. For now, organize a list of the supplies that need to be purchased during the island's lockdown.” Leon stared at Adele and explained seriously.

“Stop all work and production? Isolation? Do you mean you want to imprison everyone on the island?” Adele widened her eyes.

Even in the regions of the Empire most severely affected by plague, such a strict epidemic-prevention strategy would not be implemented. Stopping all work and production while also allocating funds to enforce this kind of isolation policy would undoubtedly cause problems for the island's economy!

“This sounds like it may be some kind of new disease. If it's lethal, then we have to take it seriously. Even an ordinary plague could bring devastating disaster. And if it isn't ordinary…… the severity of the consequences may be unimaginable.” Leon shook his head.

“What do you mean by it not being an ordinary plague?” Adele was somewhat confused.

“In any case, do as I say. From now on, the island has to enter a state of emergency!” Leon gestured for Adele to return first and handle the emergency work.

“I understand.” Sensing Leon's seriousness, Adele temporarily swallowed her questions and chose to obey.

“I need to go back.” Leon said as he mounted his horse again.

The people on the island might not fully obey these orders of his, especially the lockdown of the entire island and compulsory isolation, which would inevitably provoke serious resistance. Only by deploying the troops he had personally trained could he ensure that these measures were carried out!

Although he still could not be completely certain, at this moment, he had already begun to have a very bad premonition.