I Became a Food Developer in Another World

Chapter 43: Scurvy (1)

Dwarves are the best engineers in the world.

Even human smiths and alchemists are outclassed by dwarves.

The dwarves have lived for hundreds of years, so they have built in alchemy as well as blacksmithing.

That’s why I asked Dorian to work in the cannery.

I thought that one Dorian could do the work of several alchemists.

But

“What, you mean I can drink unlimited beer?!”

“Let me work too!”

“I’m sure I can do a better job than Dorian!”

The news of beer as a paycheck brought the dwarves in droves.

Over fifty of them, more than enough to fill the factory I had expected.

I had unexpectedly gotten all the workers I wanted, but I had to change my plans.

‘We’ll have to add a beer factory.’

It seemed like we could produce a lot more beer than cola.

I was happy that all those technicians volunteered to help, but.

*

I was looking for a site to build a can factory when I heard about the scurvy epidemic.

“I greet His Excellency the Colonel!”

“Colonel is an honorary title, so you don’t need to be too polite.”

“I see!”

Looking at the officer who wasn’t having any of it, I gave up on trying to mend his demeanor.

It wasn’t the first time I’d seen him like that on my journey here.

“You’re quite the man, as it turns out.”

“Yeah, I know. I didn’t realize it was this bad either.”

Like Dorian, I didn’t expect to be treated this way by the soldiers, so it was a bit refreshing.

As I noticed since I’ve been collecting sugar cane before, the soldiers tended to be unusually cooperative with me.

I thought it was because I was making canned food for them, but now I realize that wasn’t the only reason.

They don’t honor me this much just for improving their food.

“As always, Colonel.”

“…….”

According to Aria, the title of ‘Colonel’ must be the reason.

‘Colonel must be a higher rank than I thought.’

Colonel was certainly a high rank in my previous life, but it seemed to be even higher in this world.

After all, the title ‘Your Excellency’ was only reserved for certain high-ranking officials.

I had taken it for granted that it was an honorary title, but here I was being treated like a general.

Even the local commander came out and saluted me just because I made an unannounced visit to the military garrison.

‘Next time, I should tell them before I come.’

Aria and I were at a military base on the coast where the military has a canning factory.

It was an off-limits area whose sole purpose was to produce canned goods.

The Marquis of Hughes had offered me a deal to build a factory in the neighborhood, and he would guard it.

It was not uncommon in this world for military contractors to have nearby military units guard their facilities.

Of course, this was tantamount to a ‘free ride on the perimeter,’ but I was not that unconscionable.

“Take this.”

“…What is this?”

“It’s a certificate with my signature on it. Take it to the Trion Trading Company and they’ll deliver Coke to the military every month.”

“No, I can’t accept this!”

The commander threw up his hands in disbelief at the idea of monthly Coke deliveries, but I forced him to take the certificate.

“It’s a small token of appreciation for your vigilance, so don’t feel pressured.”

“But-”

“Kiyaho!”

“Koladaaa!”

“Hail, Colonel!”

The soldiers on guard erupted in cheers at my offer of a Coke.

I waved in return, then looked back at the commander and continued.

“I’ve already spoken with the Marquis of Hughes, so you need not decline.”

“Thank you.”

The commander accepted the certificate, satisfied that I had spoken to the commander-in-chief.

Meanwhile, I promised extra pay for soldiers on guard duty, not just coke.

Paying for what you do was so natural to me in my previous life of economics but apparently it was very unusual in this world.

The commander’s eyes grew wide, almost bulging.

“You’re a great man.”

Even Aria, with her open-mindedness, had said that.

“So you don’t like it?”

“No, I like it.”

Which, of course, was a relief.

“There are a lot of nobles who treat their soldiers like chattel, and it’s ugly every time I see it.”

There were many nobles in the Empire who treated their soldiers as if they were unpaid labor.

Because it was so natural, neither the nobles who were served nor the soldiers who served them recognized it as a problem.

To them, I must have looked like an eccentric.

“Let’s see the lot.”

“Oh, yes.”

The commander, who was staring at me in amazement, quickly led the way.

And so it was that I was given a tour of the cannery and the site where the cannery would be built.

My attention was suddenly drawn to the pungent aroma of garlic that assaulted my nose.

The aroma was coming from a giant marquee on the waterfront.

“What is that?”

I scratched my head as I recognized the unique shape of the tents.

The teepee was lined with pouches of mint and garlic, and a high fence sagged to prevent access.

Inside, people dressed in eerie, demonic garb moved in and out of the tents.

They wore ankle-length black coats and bird-beak masks.

As I puzzled over their attire, which reminded me of the plague doctors I had heard of in my previous life, I heard an unexpected answer.

“It’s a place where patients with scurvy are quarantined.”

“…Scurvy?”

“Yes, they call it that because of the blood leaking out of their bodies.”

Sounding like a disease I’d heard of before, I asked curiously.

“Can you tell me more about it?”

“Oh, yes.”

The commander looked puzzled, but told me more about scurvy.

He told me about the symptoms: bleeding from the skin, blood leaking into the urine, and even bloody stools.

They call it “scurvy” because they can’t find a cause.

“Did any of the sailors who went out on the voyage catch it?”

“…How do you know that?”

I said, walking past the surprised commander.

“Let’s see.”

“Yes?”

“I think I know the cause.”

“?!”

*

“Colonel!”

“Enough greetings, I’d like to hear more about their symptoms.”

Having stopped the medic’s greeting, I looked at the patients on the ground and asked.

The answer was the same one I’d heard from the commander earlier.

“We’ve been cleaning the area around……and purifying the air with garlic and mint, but for some reason they’re not getting better.”

“Isn’t the Navy issued canned goods?”

“They are being issued, but not to all, I heard it’s being issued on a trial basis to some units at the front.”

“And scurvy was caught in units that weren’t issued canned food.”

“That’s right.”

I nodded to myself as I looked back at the medic who looked at me in surprise.

‘It’s scurvy.’

Scurvy was a disease that emerged as Europeans began long voyages to the “open seas.”

In my previous world, scurvy wasn’t a big deal because they knew it was caused by a ‘lack of vitamin C’, but until then, it had been a dreaded disease that had killed countless sailors.

People living on land could eat a variety of fruits and vegetables and not get scurvy without knowing about the vitamin, but sailors on long voyages did not.

For sailors, who lived on a preserved diet of hard biscuits, salted meat, and other vitamin-depleted foods, scurvy was a terrible disease.

Without knowing the vitamins, there was no clear way to treat it.

It took humanity more than 400 years to overcome the disease, and it’s impossible to estimate how many people died of scurvy during that time.

It is said that the scurvy epidemic wiped out sailors, giving rise to the “ghost ship” myth.

But despite its notoriety, the cure for scurvy was deceptively simple.

“Do you have a lime or a lemon?”

“You mean limes or lemons? I have them……”

“Feed that to those with scurvy every day.”

“……?”

“That will cure them.”

“”!””

The military doctors in the barracks didn’t seem to believe me.

It was natural for them to be skeptical of a non-professional telling them that feeding them fruit would cure them.

But I had no intention of convincing them.

There was no point in going back if I knew how to do it.

“Just do what you’re told. People’s lives are at stake.”

“…… Okay.”

“Mmm, let’s give it a shot.”

The medics grimaced, but they fetched limes and squeezed them into the mouths of their helpless patients.

At this point, no one believed me.

They were just doing what the colonel told them to do.

A week went by.

“Ho, it’s better!”

“Victor’s awake!”

People who had been lying on their backs began to get up.

*

The news that lemons and limes could cure “scurvy” spread quickly through the mouths of military doctors.

It became mandatory for sailors on long voyages to carry limes on board, which were cheaper than lemons, and scurvy cases gradually became less common.

But not everyone benefited.

Even with the knowledge of limes, some sailors still had to deal with scurvy.

“Limes? Who has time to eat them?”

“Does God buy limes?”

Buying limes meant stopping ashore to procure the fruit, which cost time and money.

When merchants realized that limes were selling like hotcakes, they raised the price of limes, further alienating ship owners.

One day, as the sailors were being exposed to scurvy, the owner said something to them.

“Eat it if you don’t want to get sick!”

“Les, lemons……!”

“Oh, and here’s a plum!”

The sailors’ eyes widened when they saw what the captain had thrown.

It was a candy with various fruits on it.

“Captain, what is this?”

“Sunkist! It’s supposed to act like a lime!”

Sunkist was America’s favorite international fruit and vegetable combination.

Their candy was the name of the lifeline given to sailors.