The Maldina School's Great Migration
I won't forgive anyone who touches my people.
The great migration of the Maldina School had begun.
"Karl!!! Bring the carriages right now!!!!"
Ten thousand doctors, along with their families and all the research assistants, meant fifty thousand people had to move.
Their belongings, research materials, and entire laboratories required far more transport than anyone had imagined.
Every carriage from the merchant guild was mobilized, and even the wyverns guarding the trade routes were called in to haul cargo.
"I'll help with my brother's work too."
The Sultan added his support as well.
Hundreds of well-trained camels arrived to carry loads, and with everyone's assistance the doctors' migration began in earnest.
"All right! Let's move!"
The massive relocation, supported by wyverns, camels, and carriages, proceeded smoothly.
Fifty thousand people rode in thousands of carriages while their belongings traveled east on camels and wyverns.
"You'll find the southern climate warmer than Elrond and Portu Commercial City! Make sure the heating is thorough!"
I supplied the doctors with thick fur coats and placed warming stones inside every carriage.
Thanks to those precautions, no one caught a cold during the three-week journey, and they arrived safely in Portu Commercial City and Elrond.
Wyverns crossed the Crescent Triangle more than ten times, thousands of carriages made nearly three round trips, and hundreds of camels trudged back and forth along the trade routes.
The enormous project consumed vast sums of money, manpower, and time, yet it finished without a single accident.
"This is your new home. What do you think? Do you like it?"
The doctors stared in awe at the spacious multi-family houses built in classic Ailam style, with brick, wooden pillars, and mud insulation.
After living crammed together in tiny rooms, they suddenly had far more living space.
But that was not the only surprise.
"Running water and sewage are fully installed, and each home has a magic-stone stove. Turn it on when it's cold and off when it's warm. When the stones run out, recharge them at the nearest station."
"Th-thank you."
"You're welcome. Ah, the hospital and research institute are already under construction. We finalized the blueprints with Dean Samir and the other doctors, and building is underway. It won't be long before you can start seeing patients."
Several hectic months passed.
Dean Samir, the Maldina physicians, and I met daily to discuss countless details.
Where to place the hospitals, how many doctors to assign to each region, how much to charge for treatment, and what share the merchant guild would cover versus the patients.
The days were frantic, yet they felt deeply rewarding and joyful.
"One large hospital as the central hub and several smaller clinics scattered throughout the city should work."
"Understood."
"Treatment fees will vary according to the illness's severity and duration. The merchant guild will pay eighty percent; patients and their families will pay the remaining twenty."
"Agreed."
"Doctors will receive sixty gold per month. Nurses and researchers will receive twenty gold. Housing will be provided free of charge."
"...Thank you."
Five months flew by like an arrow.
We worked without rest, spent enormous sums, and pushed countless people to their limits.
Yet I pressed forward, and at last the hospitals in Portu Commercial City and Elrond officially opened their doors.
The medical services they offered sparked an overwhelming response.
"Th-thank you! Thank you so much!"
"Haha! Tell him not to get sick again."
As expected, those born with special talents like sorcery, magic, or divine power were rare.
Peasants who fell ill had either to empty their households to pay priests or simply endure their pain until death.
In that regard, the Karamba Empire clearly placed far greater emphasis on public healthcare than Ailam.
"People of the territory, the hospital has opened. If you are ill or suffer from chronic conditions, please visit. Treatment is available at low cost. Lord Landor's merchant guild covers eighty percent of the fees; you only pay twenty percent."
I dispatched Iron Blood Coalition soldiers, now serving as city guards, to crowded areas such as markets, theaters, and restaurants to spread the word.
Hearing the announcement, people began visiting the hospital with cautious hope.
What they encountered was nothing short of revolutionary.
"Aigoo! Cough! …I'm not going! It'll be expensive for sure, and we can't afford it! …Cough!"
"Father, you've been coughing for a month! Let's go once. Lord Landor said the guild will cover eighty percent. We only pay a tiny amount."
"...Really?"
Those who had long avoided treatment because of high costs began trickling into the hospital.
Inside, they discovered an entirely new world.
"Welcome. Are you here for treatment?"
The clean, white building welcomed patients with polite receptionists who spoke the local language.
After a brief assessment, they issued waiting numbers.
"When your number is called, a staff member will guide you to the appropriate doctor."
"Ah, understood."
The spacious waiting room stayed comfortably warm thanks to magic-stone stoves, and the sofas were remarkably plush.
Once seated, patients waited until a staff member escorted them to a physician.
"Hmm … hmm."
With a translator at his side, the doctor carefully examined each patient using a stethoscope and specially developed instruments before offering a precise prescription.
"It appears to be a simple case of the flu. Your immune system seems weakened with age, so take the medicine we prepare. The pharmacy is downstairs. Here is the prescription."
"Oh … thank you."
Patients took the prescription to the pharmacy, received their medicine, returned to the desk, and paid.
"Let's see … consultation and medicine together come to five silver. Since the merchant guild covers eighty percent, you only pay one silver."
In Portu and Elrond, where good jobs were plentiful, even commoners could easily afford that sum.
Compared with the fifty gold minimum demanded by the Healing Sect, the price felt shockingly low.
"Th-thank you."
Those who returned home and took the medicine recovered cleanly.
Amazed by the service, patients spread the story to others.
"The receptionists and staff were kind, and the doctor was incredibly skilled! After taking the medicine, my month-long illness vanished!"
"Really?"
"Absolutely! And the fee was only one silver! One silver! Can you believe it? Haha! I cured my illness with the price of two meals!"
People who heard these tales in taverns, workplaces, and theaters brought their own ailments and chronic conditions to the hospital.
The doctors treated them successfully.
Travelers passing through Portu carried the story across the empire.
Low cost, well-organized hospitals, and excellent medical quality.
"Let's go to Portu Commercial City!"
"Let's head to Elrond!"
The news produced two effects.
It drew impoverished patients from across the empire to my territory.
And it captured the attention of Adran and Selene.
"Landor."
"Princess Karia. What brings you here?"
"Um … don't be surprised. Adran and Selene both contacted me. They want to meet you."
Karl Hansen, who had been working furiously beside me, burst into laughter.
"Wahaha! Prince Adran himself?"
"It's not just a casual meeting. Adran formally invited you and Dean Samir to the Golden Palace conference. Selene invited you and the dean to the Magic Tower's academic symposium. She also asked me and Karl Hansen to attend."
"M-me too?"
Karl Hansen looked bewildered, but I already knew the reason.
"Of course we must go!"
Thus, Karl Hansen, Karia, Dean Samir, his translator, and I mounted wyverns and flew once more toward the capital.
"Ooooorgh!"
Dean Samir, riding a wyvern for the first time, vomited spectacularly upon arrival.
Afterward, I went straight to Adran.
"Baron Landor. Welcome."
Adran greeted me in a gentle tone I would never have heard in the original novel.
He quickly escorted me to his palace, the Golden Palace conference hall.
With the aging emperor largely retired, Adran effectively ran the empire's administration, so decisions made here shaped imperial policy.
"Welcome, Baron Landor."
When I entered the Golden Palace, the very officials who once despised me rose and offered respectful greetings.
"It's been a long time. I'm glad everyone looks well."
"Thanks to you, Baron Landor."
After all, the treasury had grown fat because of me, allowing them to implement the commoner education policies they had long desired.
"I can guess why you summoned me. It's because of the hospitals in my territory, isn't it?"
Adran smiled at my directness.
"Exactly. As you know, Landor, I care deeply about public healthcare. Thanks to you, the treasury is full enough to reorganize the capital's medical system. However … that effort remains limited to the capital."
The capital hosted headquarters of multiple sects besides the Healing Sect, allowing competition that kept prices low for citizens.
Outside the capital, however, those headquarters were absent, leaving no alternatives.
"We needed to address rural healthcare, but the Healing Sect's exorbitant fees left us with no options. Then you provided a brilliant solution."
"What would you like to do, Your Highness?"
"The Healing Sect's high fees have been devastating common households. Until now we had no choice but to endure, but that changes today. I want to establish an academy funded by taxes to train doctors."
"An excellent decision. Of course that is the right path."
"I wish the empire itself to fund and carry out the project rather than relying on you alone. We cannot let you shoulder everything. For that reason, I would like to appoint some of the doctors you brought as faculty for the medical university. Would that be possible, Dean Samir?"
After the translator conveyed the request, Dean Samir beamed.
"Of course! We have experienced doctors who can no longer practice due to age or health but would make perfect professors."
"I have no objections either, Prince Adran. More doctors will only benefit us."
Adran's face lit up.
"I knew you wouldn't refuse. Thank you, Land—"
"Of course, this isn't free, Your Highness. I have one request."
Adran's expression grew cautious at the word "request."
After a brief hesitation, he asked carefully.
"What is it? Tell me."
They say a gentleman's revenge can wait ten years.
Karl Hansen and I both remembered vividly the sight of the obese Ronald II mocking us only months earlier.
"Do you know why I flew all the way to the Karamba Empire to recruit doctors?"
"I don't. What was the reason?"
"Originally I planned to hire priests from the Healing Sect. But they demanded thirty percent of the trade-route revenue in exchange for building a church. That was about five months ago."
"...Is that true?"
"Yes. They acted as though they didn't care whether my business succeeded or failed. Their greed seemed excessive. If they treated me that way, I wondered how they treated ordinary citizens. They appeared … quite corrupt."
The faces of Adran and every official present darkened.
They too had long held grievances against the Healing Sect.
I shrugged.
"Now that commoners have an alternative for medical treatment, this is the perfect moment to address the problem. If we leave it alone any longer, it will fester."
Adran nodded silently.
"I was already planning to deal with them eventually. The issue is … any such action requires the emperor's approval."
"I've brought plenty of gifts His Majesty will enjoy. You needn't worry about permission."
"Then there shouldn't be a problem. Even if we strike a little roughly."
Adran and I exchanged meaningful smiles.
I do not forgive anyone who touches me or my people.