Chapter 27: Expedition Sickness

It was Rudolf who had come to summon Isamu from the laboratory. Dinner was ready, and Isamu headed to the dining area with Rudolf. It was a family dinner, which included Isamu, Nicolette, Annemarie, and Julius, with the exception of Selfers, who was still not feeling well.

Isamu offered his apologies, saying, 

“Sorry for being late.” 

In response to Isamu’s apology, Nicolette said. 

“Don’t worry. I just called you a moment ago, so it’s only natural.” 

In response to Nicolette, Isamu took his seat. This exchange had become quite formal.

Soon after, soup and appetizers were served. It was a simple soup that combined salted meat and vegetables with soup stock, but it was a favorite dish in the Kraufeldt family.

The inventor of this soup stock was none other than Isamu himself. 

On the third day in Klaufendamm, Isamu, while having soup for dinner, casually asked.

“What kind of stock is used for this soup?” 

He knew that adding salted meat or fish made soup taste better, but he was unfamiliar with the concept of extracting stock from bones.

So, Isamu asked if they could save the bones from chickens when they cooked them, and he used those chicken bones to make stock.

Naturally, Isamu lacked knowledge and skills for making proper chicken bone stock, but he had seen scenes of it being done in ramen restaurants numerous times on TV and videos. For a rough prototype, this was sufficient.

While it might not have been impressive to a professional, the chicken bone soup Isamu made by mimicking what he’d seen was shockingly delicious to the people of this world. The head chef and everyone in the mansion declared that they had been drinking “water” until now, so it was clearly remarkable. Isamu himself was so stunned by the taste when he first tried it that he couldn’t move.

The bones Isamu used to make the stock were from the Spike Goose, Orihime’s favorite, and they yielded exceptionally good stock. Impressed by this, the head chef began extracting stock from various animal and monster bones, resulting in the creation of several types of soup stock.

“Oh… This soup is really delicious. Regardless of abilities or skills, I’m grateful that Isamu was able to come to us and give us this.”

Isamu soup stock had captivated the Klaufeldt family, with Nicolette particularly enchanted by its charm. She ate the soup with great pleasure.

“Oh, I’m thankful if you enjoyed it. But, what I made wasn’t as good as this. It’s thanks to the head chef and the other cooks. They’re true professionals.”

“That might be true, but… the impact it had the first time I tried it was just astounding.”

“Yes, as Nicolette-sama said, when I took a sip, I was shocked too, and I was equally amazed that you shared the recipe for free.”

The head chef who had come to explain the dish and serve was in agreement with Nicolette. 

Isamu scratched his nose a bit shyly as everyone praised him.

“Moreover, my husband can enjoy his food now thanks to this. It’s really a lifesaver.”

“Is Selfers-sama’s condition still not improving?”

“Yes. Recently, it seems blood is accumulating in his joints…”

Selfers had been experiencing a prolonged bout of “expedition sickness,” an ailment he contracted during the annual expedition to hunt monsters, and it didn’t seem to be getting better.

Isamu had heard about Selfers’s condition recently and decided to ask a question.

“Um… Could it be that Selfers-sama dislikes vegetables, especially raw vegetables?”

“Yes, you’ve noticed. He has disliked vegetables since long ago and rarely eats salads.”

“I see… Also, what kind of preserved food does he take on expeditions?”

“Well… dried meat, hardtack, cheese, and a few dried vegetables.”

Upon hearing this, Isamu crossed his arms and pondered.

“I might have found the cause of Selfers-sama’s illness…”

“Eh? What do you mean?”

“In my previous world, there was an illness with similar symptoms that spread once. It was almost eradicated by the time I was alive.”

“R-really?”

“Yes. In my world, it was called scurvy, and it was a disease that affected sailors who spent long periods aboard ships, much like expedition sickness. The conditions and symptoms were nearly identical.”

“So, does that mean you know how to treat it?”

“If it isn’t too late, and if the cause is the same, then I think it can be treated. Let’s see… Chef, could you please bring all the fruits and raw vegetables you have in the kitchen?”

“Fr-fruits and vegetables? Immediately!”

The head chef, who had been asked by Isamu, rushed back to the kitchen.

“If everything goes well, we should be able to see improvements using the ingredients we have at home.”

Before long, the head chef returned with a bowl filled with various fruits and vegetables.

“Here you go!”

While gasping for air, he handed the bowl to Isamu.

“Thank you, let me take a look,” 

As he examined the contents of the bowl one by one.

“Is it okay if I try nibbling on these?”

“Yes, of course. However, some of them may have dirt on them…”

“Ah, I see. Well, I’ll try them.”

With the bowl in hand, Isamu left his seat and moved to an empty area of the spacious dining table to place the bowl on it.

“Water, gather in my hand, Water Ball!”

Isamu chanted a spell, and a water ball slightly smaller than the diameter of the bowl appeared. Carefully controlling it, he guided it into the bowl.

“Turn.”

The water ball slowly rotated, washing away the dirt from the fruits and vegetables.

“That should do it.”

Satisfied with the washed vegetables, Isamu remarked. Everyone watched, stunned.

Without paying attention to his surroundings, Isamu examined the vegetables.

“Hmm, I’m not sure if these are the same as Earth’s vegetables… I guess I’ll have to try the ones that look and taste similar.”

He mumbled to himself as he tasted them one by one, using a petty knife borrowed from the head chef.

“This one is… Yeah, it’s tomato. And this one is cabbage, I think. It has a taste somewhat like spinach mixed in. This one is eggplant… no, the taste is more like cucumber, perhaps? And this one is… hmm, it’s like a potato. These two are fruits. The green one… is citrus, right? It’s not very sweet, but it feels like it mellows out something like kabosu?”

As Isamu continued to taste each item one by one, the others stared, still in shock. Annemarie was the first to come back to her senses.

Perhaps because she had spent the most time with Isamu, she was quick to recover.

“Uh, Isamu-san, what are you doing?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. In my world, it was known that a deficiency in specific nutrients could lead to scurvy. While I roughly know what’s good to eat in my world, unfortunately, it seems that the foods here are not quite the same. So, I’m looking for things that are visually and taste-wise similar.”

“Specific nutrients…?”

Isamu’s question left Annemarie perplexed.

“Yes. Does this world have a concept that eating meat builds muscle, for example?”

“I haven’t really looked at food that way… We have some general ideas like eating meat makes your body grow, or not eating vegetables with it might make you catch a cold.”

“I see. In my world, it was known that foods contain various nutrients. Each of these nutrients has various characteristics and functions, and it has been proven that a deficiency or excess of them can cause illnesses.”

“Nutrients in food…”

Annemarie found herself at a loss for words at this entirely unfamiliar concept, which was quite understandable. Even on Earth, the focus on nutrition only began towards the end of the 18th century. The systematic field of nutrition science began to take shape in the 19th century, and in Japan, it wasn’t until the 20th century.

“Getting into the details would be endless, so I’ll tell you more gradually. For now, could you serve this food to Selfers-sama every day?”

Isamu arranged vegetables resembling tomatoes and potatoes, along with fruits similar to citrus and apple-like fruits.

“Starting with this red fruit and the potatoes. They were called ‘patate’ in my world. Please serve them in a soup. Make sure he drinks the soup as well, not just the ingredients.”

“Sure, so it’s ‘lemura’ fruit and ‘patate’ potato soup, right? Is it alright to add other ingredients?”

“Yes, that’s fine. But please make sure to add more ‘lemura’ and ‘patate.’ Also, with this pome fruit and the green one, could you make juice from them? While eating them fresh is best, I think it might be easier to drink the juice since they’re a bit difficult to eat.”

“I understand.”

“Other than that, I think his regular diet should be okay. Please have him eat the items I mentioned at least twice a day. If it’s scurvy and if the ingredients here also contain what prevents it, then we should see an improvement. But if it’s not scurvy, I don’t think it will improve. I’m sorry…”

Isamu had progressed rapidly up to this point, but he was no doctor, so he couldn’t be sure. He spoke more quietly toward the end.

Hearing this, Nicolette finally came to her senses.

“No, no, Isamu-san, you’re not a doctor or a healing mage. It’s only natural that you’re not certain. In fact, I’m just grateful that you’ve shown a potential way to treat the previously unknown expedition sickness. We had no specific treatment methods before, so all we could do was watch. Guido, we’ll rely on the menu that Isamu-san has just described starting tonight.”

“Yes! I’ll get started right away!”

Following Nicolette’s formal instructions, head chef Guido, who had brought the vegetables, rushed back to the kitchen.

“I hope this will lead to some improvement…”

“It’s fine! Just as my mother said earlier, even if it doesn’t improve, things will stay as they are. And I’m sure it will have an effect!”

Despite Isamu’s lingering anxiety, Annemarie firmly assured him with kindness and cheer.

And so, from that day onward, Selfers switched to a diet with what was believed to be a high content of vitamin C. His condition gradually started to improve.

*Note: Providing more vitamin C to scurvy patients can lead to symptom improvement within a few days, with almost complete recovery in 1-2 weeks.*

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