Phillip Was a Sleeping Drunk
“Right this way, pharmacist.”
“What is this?”
“It’s where we store the wine that’s made in the village.”
I had been led to a stone building that was situated near the south rim of the village.
There, unlike the rest of the houses, which were made of wood, was a stone storage house for wine.
…Now that I thought about it…I had once heard that storing wine in stone buildings helped with the scent, and gave it depth and raised the alcohol content… Well, sothing like that.
So perhaps this stone building was part of the reason that the wine I drank last night was so good.
“…Hmm… After you.”
“Very well. …Uh, Phillip?”
The villager opened the heavy door and told to go inside, and so I did.
The sll of good wine filled the air. And it was so strong that I could feel the alcohol.
…So people might even get drunk just by being here.
And that’s when I saw him. Phllip was holding what looked like a glass sphere as he lay on the ground.
“…Is he asleep?”
“It looks like it.”
“Now that I am finally well again, I was looking forward to getting back to work…and then I found him here like this… But I didn’t know what to do…and so I called for the chief.”
“I see. I should be apologizing to you then. This place must be very important…”
“No, not at all. It was a wonderful feast. And it is not as if he has done anything terrible.”
It seed like Phillip was just sleeping on the ground, and I could hear his regular breathing.
The villager had co here, hoping to get back to work, but found him like this. And not knowing what to do, had gone to call Mr. Hannes.
Well, he was from the duke’s house, so perhaps that was why he hesitated.
Still, Phillip… I’m surprised he didn’t catch a cold, sleeping out here…
As it was a place to store wine, it was much chillier than it was outside.
And he was sleeping on the ground, which would be especially cool.
In any case, this was an important place for the village, and so as forgiving as Mr. Hannes and the others might be, it was not good that he entered without permission.
“…Phillip, wake up! You cannot sleep here!”
“…Mmm…aahh…”
As he slept comfortably with reddened cheeks, I approached him and slapped his cheeks.
Phillip quickly opened his eyes and let out a lazy murmur as he slowly sat up.
“…Mr. Takumi…? Where am I…?”
“This is where they store the wine. They won’t be able to work if you sleep here. Now, get up.”
“…Store…ahh…so that’s why it is so cold…cough! Cough!”
He finally understood what had happened, and then tried to get up to his feet. That’s when he erupted into a fit of coughing.
…So he really had caught a cold then?
“Phillip?”
“Ahhh… My head hurts… And I feel so heavy…”
“…Are you…feeling ill?”
I peered into Phillip’s face, which was quite red, as he stood up shakily.
He seed a little more stable than he was last night, but he was sluggish and swayed.
Could it be that his face was red due to being sick, and not because of the alcohol…?
“This is not good. We should take him to the house at once!”
“Very well.”
“I will help you!”
Mr. Hannes had been watching, but he now stood next to Phillip and supported him. He also suggested that we carry him to the house.
The villager helped us, and like that, we carried Phillip away.
As Phillip seed like his legs were weak, he could not stand well, and so we had to support him until we reached the house.
“By the looks of it, this is the sa illness that overtook the village…”
“I see…”
“Cough! Cough!”
We took him to the room I had slept in, and laid him down on the bed.
Mr. Hannes placed a hand on Phillip’s forehead and after so inspection, said that he believed it was the sa illness.
Indeed, he seed to have a fever, and his face was red. He was also coughing, just like the children at the orphanage and Rai’s parents.
…It was because he had to sleep in such a place…
“Hah… It cannot be helped. Can I ask you to prepare so water?”
“Of course. But, what are you going to do?”
I sighed and asked Mr. Hannes for so water.
Mr. Hannes looked very puzzled, as he had no idea what I needed it for.
“Well, if it’s the sa illness, then Ramogi should heal him. So he needs to drink it.”
“…Yes, but we used up all of the Ramogi yesterday. There is none left…”
“I had a little more prepared while you were busy. Just in case it wasn’t enough.”
“But…how did you do that…?”
“It’s not important. We need to treat Phillip first. If we do not act quickly, then soone else might get sick next.”
“…Very well. I will bring it right away.”
“Thank you. …Now…”
If it was anything like the cold that I knew, you would build up antibodies after getting sick once, and so you would be less likely to catch it… But I wasn’t really sure if things worked like that here, so it was better to treat him as soon as possible.
After Mr. Hannes left the room, I looked through my things and took out the Ramogi that I had prepared.
As it was just the plant, I placed it on my hand and activated the Gift.
It was then dried and turned to powder.
“…It gets easier every ti… Hmm?”
Just as I was musing over my Gift, Phillip began to move on the bed. And then the glass ball in his hand fell to the floor.
He had been holding that ever since we found him sleeping in the wine storage house…
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