“I...haven’t talked to Miranda about it yet, but if we could directly handle the colonies in the lungs, recovery should be much quicker. I think that it’s worth trying. I don’t think we can afford to just sit around waiting for who knows how long for more herbs to arrive. If we find a better way to use it before it arrives, we can put it to use right away.”
Nel couldn’t help but smile at the intense look in Misha’s eyes. It had only been a few days ago that she was on the floor sobbing, overwhelmed by feelings of despair and helplessness. But now she was on her feet, facing forward and aiming upward. The dark circles that had started to form under her eyes were proof of the hours she had spent reading instead of sleeping over those few days.
Draining the last of his tea, Nel slowly rose to his feet. “If you’re that confident, you must have an idea of what you’re doing. Okay, let’s go.”
“Okay!”
Misha hurried off after Nel as he walked out of the room.
The two went to see Miranda, and Misha explained her thoughts and desire to experiment with new ways of preparing the medicine. Although she was hesitant to use what little they had left for research, Nel was staunchly on Misha’s side.
It had been long enough that they expected the next batch of herbs to arrive any day now, so now was the best time to develop a new way of using it, and they stood to gain a tremendous advantage if they were successful.
In the end, Nel’s support was enough to convince Miranda to give Misha a small amount of their remaining herbs. That said, she had really given the girl the smallest amount possible. Misha couldn’t afford to waste any of it. As little as she had received, it was enough to extend a person’s life by another day, so Misha accepted the herbs with a bow of thanks, taking them in her hands like they were precious jewels. As she held them, she felt the weight of people’s lives in her hands. It was enough to make her legs start to tremble.
So much so that she started to have second thoughts, thinking they should probably leave the experimenting to someone more experienced in making medicine than herself. But when she told Nel that, he shook his head.
“Leaving the experiments to the person who came up with the original idea gets better results. Don’t worry, I’ll be there if you need advice,” he said in a laid-back manner despite the gravity of the situation. As one more bit of encouragement, he gave her a gentle push from behind.
And so, despite being not quite sure of herself, Misha accepted that responsibility.
Using the herbs Miranda had given her, Misha began trying to develop a new kind of medicine. How could she get the medicinal components of the herbs into the air? What could she combine them with to increase the potency of those effects and improve the efficiency with which they were absorbed? For the first time, Misha learned how difficult it was to create something entirely new. She became frustratingly aware of how much she had relied on what her mother had taught her when creating medicine for people before.
Even so, now that she had begun, there was no giving up. The herbs they had already used were a precious resource that could have been used to save people’s lives. If she gave up, they’d all have been wasted for nothing.
I can be frustrated at being stupid and useless later. Right now, I have a problem to solve.
Having a clear objective helped tremendously. The problem squeezed everything else out of her head. She didn’t have the time or energy to worry about anything else. When she didn’t understand something, she’d pore over textbooks. When that failed, she’d find Ryne or Nel to ask for help. The whole situation taught her that she was horribly lacking in not just experience but fundamental knowledge as well.
Nel watched with great interest as an obviously exhausted but still doggedly determined Misha came to him with yet more questions. She knew the goal she sought, but she was still struggling to find a path that led to it. And yet, stumbling though she was, she was slowly drawing closer to that path almost entirely by intuition. He had to admit he was always excited to hear what she’d come up with next, so he avoided giving her any definitive answers, only observing as she worked.
If Miranda and the others saw this, they’d accuse me of being mean-spirited again, wouldn’t they?
He had to admit, acting like this while people’s lives hung in the balance was in poor taste. But realistically speaking, with how little of the herbs they had left, even if Misha succeeded today, they still wouldn’t be able to treat everyone.
Surely we can play around a little while we wait for more herbs to arrive.
The game had a strict time limit.
As Nel watched over her, there was a cold light hiding behind the joy in his eyes. Nel was one of those responsible for watching over the People of the Forest, judging what was best for them. If Misha proved she was of no advantage to them, he’d abandon her without a second thought. The People of the Forest prized their bonds as a tribe above all else. In that sense, Misha having grown up outside their village meant she wasn’t yet one of their people.
The fact that an elder of the People of the Forest had shown up here now of all times wasn’t just about curiosity toward a growing plague.