I grabbed the captain's biceps on both sides and stretched them out.
"Aiyooo!"
As I lowered his head and pulled his back down, a scream erupted that didn't match his bulky frame.
"See? You skipped stretching after exercise and now your whole body is stiff. Let me stretch you all the way."
"Argh! My arms are going to fall off!"
The strength enhancement potion had quite an effect.
The captain, built to tear apart goblins and even ogres, couldn't budge an inch in my grasp.
Standing behind him, I grabbed his arms, pulled them over his head, and yanked them forcefully.
I think this was a wrestling move.
Cobra Twist, maybe?
"Don't forget to stretch your latissimus dorsi too!"
"Aaaagh! Wait, Teacher!"
The captain slapped my knee repeatedly, his whole body trembling.
He tried desperately to free himself, but my muscles, having caught their prey, refused to let go.
'Impressive effect. How much did it increase?'
―――――――――――
Strength: 41 (+30)
Vitality: 12
Magic Power: 1
Mana: 18
Divine Power: 22
Faith: 100
―――――――――――
Even for a temporary effect, a 30-point increase was remarkable.
It surpassed about ten years' worth of training.
'It's been almost a minute.'
I released the captain, who lost his balance and tumbled ungracefully on the ground, raising a cloud of dust.
After regaining his senses, he looked at me with a terrified expression and said:
"W-what? How can such a thin body possess that kind of strength...?"
I popped a candy into my mouth before answering.
"Never seen someone from the North before? This is normal where I come from. Right, Captain Tanya?"
"Young Master is actually quite frail, that's the problem."
"F-frail, you say... Do you even need bodyguards, Teacher?"
"Could you last three seconds sparring with Captain Tanya? I can't even land a single hit on her."
When I pointed at Tanya, the captain and his sentries gaped at her with their mouths hanging open.
"I-if that's the case... it's no wonder all our knights lost."
"C-captain, what should we do?"
The captain immediately smacked the heads of his flustered sentries.
"You fools! If you've been disrespectful to the royal physician, you should apologize immediately!"
Reading the atmosphere, the sentries quickly bowed to me in apology.
"We're sorry!"
"We apologize!"
The captain also scratched the back of his head and bowed to me.
"I'll properly discipline these men. The knights haven't been feeling well lately, which probably led to their mistake. Please be generous and keep today's incident..."
I suppose the Imperial Knights would lose face if word got out that they lost to a royal physician and a bodyguard.
Knights' simple-mindedness was the same whether in the North or the Imperial Palace.
Finding their attitude rather amusing, I decided to end it here.
"Fine, be more careful from now on. Do the stretches I showed you regularly and report back, alright?"
"Yes, sir!"
I left the barracks with Tanya.
***
"So they weren't genuinely challenging me to a duel, but picking an unfair fight?"
Only later, after hearing my explanation, did Tanya grit her teeth.
"I might forgive them for disrespecting me, but I cannot forgive them for insulting you, Teacher. Let's go back and teach them a lesson."
"I've already dealt with them, so it's fine. Besides, I gained a lot of information."
"Information?"
It had been quite a helpful incident.
First, I was able to test the effects of the strength enhancement potion.
I'd worried I might turn into a green monster with bulging muscles and torn clothes, but that concern was unnecessary.
And another thing:
"Asella's faction is still quite weak in the Imperial Palace."
The atmosphere suggested they were essentially treated as subordinates of the Second Prince.
When mere sentries dare to challenge a royal physician, that says it all.
"Where do Asella's knights stay?"
"They, Bruno, and I stay at the Wolgwang Palace. We don't have separate training facilities, so we train in the palace courtyard."
"That's pretty poor. The southern barracks looked well-equipped."
"Yes. It's nothing compared to our Marquisate. It certainly felt like the Imperial Palace."
"I'm envious."
"Of the barracks?"
"That, and having a strong faction."
Someday Asella would become the strongest faction among the succession candidates.
After all, she would become the Empress.
But with me here, history would change bit by bit.
In fact, just recently, Asella's faction effectively separated from the Empress's faction while trying to eliminate bad endings.
In the original history, this event would have occurred later.
More precisely, the Empress's faction would have disappeared entirely.
"I don't have the patience to just wait for her to become stronger."
"Are you planning to participate in imperial politics?"
"No. Why would I jump directly into a fire pit?"
I'd just get a blade to my neck for standing out too much.
If I get too deeply involved, I might get assassinated when trying to leave the Imperial Palace later.
"Then what?"
"It's easier to utilize existing people. Like the southern barracks we just saw."
Knights are simple.
The Imperial Knights aren't officially affiliated with any faction, but unofficially, one succession candidate tends to have influence over them.
So I just need to make them favor Asella.
"Their skills weren't bad, actually. The imperial swordsmanship is quite efficient."
"But they all lost to you, Captain."
"Well, I am strong, of course."
"Maybe you should learn some humility."
"Subordinates learn from their master's demeanor."
Now she's blaming me.
"But overall, I felt the knights weren't performing to their full potential. They all seemed somewhat weak."
"Weak?"
Come to think of it, the captain also mentioned something about the knights not being in good condition.
When I touched the captain's body, it felt unusually warm.
I had dismissed it as individual variation in body temperature.
"It is the changing of seasons."
There might be an epidemic going around.
I immediately used Diagnosis on Tanya.
[Diagnosis activated]
[Injury status: None]
"Why are you staring at me like that?"
"Nothing. I just remembered the saying that fools don't catch colds."
I wonder if there's a cold going around the barracks.
Colds are annoying illnesses. They come without warning and make people miserable and stupid.
The reason they're incurable is that they constantly mutate, breaking through the body's immune system even after it develops defenses.
"Aspirin works best for most colds."
It's a well-known fever reducer.
I should make some aspirin then.
"I've already made willow bark pain reliever. Aspirin is a subcategory of this medicine."
With [Extract], I can extract salicylic acid from willow bark and use [Property Change] to convert it to acetylsalicylic acid, creating aspirin.
"This could be mass-produced."
This will be interesting.
I couldn't help but smile.
Just then, my legs gave out and I lost my balance.
"Teacher."
Fortunately, Tanya supported me before my face hit the ground.
Text appeared in my status window.
[Side effect: Muscles paralyzed for 10 minutes.]
"Ah, so that's it."
A side effect of the strength enhancement potion.
"I thought you were overdoing it earlier. You used some strange medical technique, didn't you?"
"That's right. Carry me to Wolgwang Palace."
"This reduces my debt to you."
Tanya lifted me up firmly onto her back.
***
Sure enough, after two days, a cold epidemic began spreading throughout the Imperial Palace.
"Cough, cough."
The number of healers coughing while walking around the royal infirmary increased.
Of course, there are no masks. Without concepts of pathogens and infection, they lack even basic knowledge like washing hands.
Healers use healing magic on those in serious condition, but it's not efficient.
For diseases like colds where pathogens infect the entire body, healing specific areas doesn't cure the illness, so no matter how many spells are cast, patients don't recover.
Even if they do recover, they quickly get infected by new variants due to the many patients around them.
This particular cold was quite severe and the virus mutated rapidly.
"The entire Imperial Palace is in chaos with this epidemic."
"It's not fatal, but everyone is weakened. At this rate, I'm not sure if the martial arts tournament can proceed properly."
"They'll manage somehow. His Majesty the Emperor considers it an important event."
Walking around the royal infirmary, I overheard conversations among the healers.
Everyone showed great interest in the martial arts tournament, now barely ten days away.
It was a natural topic since most healers from the royal infirmary would participate.
"The martial arts tournament is important indeed."
I looked at the mountain of aspirin pills piled on my office desk.
I had asked Neria for willow bark to make pain relievers, but now I put it to better use.
Compared to pain relievers, aspirin was easier to make, so I produced it quickly.
"Teacher, it's time for work."
In the evening, I headed to Wolgwang Palace with Tanya.
Entering the palace, I saw Asella watching the knights training in the courtyard after finishing her daily lessons.
I approached her, paid my respects, and said:
"Princess, I'd like to check your blood pressure before you retire."
"Later."
Asella's voice was sharp.
By now, I could somewhat distinguish expressions on her usually expressionless face. Right now, she seemed slightly anxious.
"Cough, cough!"
The knights exchanging sword blows were coughing.
Some knights waiting their turn seemed dizzy, swaying on their feet.
"The knights look weak."
"I can see that. There's an epidemic going around. There aren't enough healers at the royal infirmary, and Wolgwang Palace is low priority so they don't even come here. What have you been—"
Asella turned to look at me and jerked her head back slightly in surprise.
"Oh, this?"
I was wearing a mask.
I hadn't made a plague doctor's crow mask despite the era, but instead created a modern-style mask by layering cloth.
"What is that? I thought your voice sounded muffled..."
"It's protective gear that reduces the chance of catching the epidemic by more than half."
"And you're the only one wearing it?"
"I just finished making it."
"You made it yourself? Hmm."
Asella, seemingly interested, carefully observed my mask.
Why is she staring so intently?
She probably wants one.
"Of course I have one for you too, Princess. Your health is more important than anyone else's."
I took out a prepared mask from my pocket.
I pulled the ear loops and reached toward Asella's face, but she jerked her head back.
"Wait, what are you doing?"
"Always wear this when interacting with others. You don't need it while sleeping."
"I'll put it on myself."
"Let me help you the first time. If worn incorrectly, it won't be as effective."
Asella pressed her lips together tightly.
Then she slowly straightened her posture.
I unfolded the mask, gently placed it over her nose, and hooked it around her ears.
The same for the other side.
During this, my fingers briefly touched her earlobe.
"Eep!"
Asella squinted one eye, hunched her shoulders, and made a strange sound.
...Are her ears sensitive?