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Chapter 21 – The Blue Mold Recipe

Then, two weeks later in the morning, Kouryuu-san showed up again.

And once again, his lower face was covered in stubble.
And there were dark circles under his eyes.

The moment our eyes met, this time Kouryuu-san understood immediately and, without saying anything to me, summoned a maid.

It feels like I’m training a dog.

(Kouryuu-san is a villain, but he has that gag-character trait, doesn’t he.)

Maybe I can’t quite hate him because I’m also on the villain side.

And then, around snack time that day, just like last time, I was facing Kouryuu-san again.
On the table, unlike before, there were snacks for both me and Kouryuu-san from the start.

I don’t get it.

“Hey, can I start talking now?”

“Hm? Hold on a bit. This is good.”

He’s devouring the shortcake even more eagerly than I am.
That’s his third piece. 

At this pace, with his build and appetite, he could probably finish off a whole cake.

Driven by instinctive urgency, I also reach for the next piece of cake.
Getting scolded at dinner is already a given, but losing a sweets battle would be disgraceful for a maiden.

And a few minutes later, we both begin to talk, elegantly sipping from our teacups.

“Alright? This is something being researched by Dr. Alexander Fleming from Britain.”

“Overseas, huh. I know the name, but I don’t know him personally. Bring it on.”

“…I see. But you know, if you actually try to make it, it’s a medicine you can prepare at home.”

At my words, a face with drooping eyebrows peeks out from behind the teacup.

“What, another one of Grandma’s life hacks? That makes this the third installment.”

“Here are the ingredients and instructions. Want me to explain for once?”

“Sure. I’ll listen for once.”

“Why are you acting so high and mighty? Well, whatever. What you need is: blue mold, potato broth, rice water, rapeseed oil, charcoal, vinegar, baking soda, agar. And a poor little staphylococcus to use as a test subject.”

“…Aside from the charcoal and the last one, those all sound like ingredients for some kind of recipe. But finally, the blue mold appears. What do you do with it?”

He asks, sounding a little suspicious.
Honestly, just looking at the ingredients, I’d feel the same.\

But it can’t be helped—that’s how it was drawn in the sacred text (manga) I saw.
After that, I do vaguely remember checking some real reference material to see if it was true, so this should be fine too.

“You take these ingredients, extract them exactly the way it’s written on this paper, and mix it with the staphylococcus. If the staphylococcus doesn’t multiply, it’s a success. Probably—or rather definitely—you’ll have to do a ridiculous number of tedious, repetitive steps.”

“A ridiculous number, huh…So it’s a special kind of blue mold. That has an effect that prevents the staphylococcus from multiplying…wait, hold on a second!!”

He was staring wide-eyed, expressing his shock with his whole body.
His reaction was so over-the-top, that even Americans would be surprised.

“As expected of Uncle Kouryuu. You already figured it out.”

“Of course I did! I’ve studied bacteriology, after all. But how should I describe this?”

“In the dream I saw, they called it ‘antibiotics.’ It’s effective against things like pneumonia, syphilis, and all sorts of diseases. In some cases, even complications or illnesses involving other bacteria. But taken orally, it gets broken down in the stomach and becomes ineffective, so that’s a big no. And apparently, the side effects are strong, so it’s not something you can use casually.”

“‘Apparently,’ huh. If it could be mass-produced, it would without a doubt become a medicine that saves humanity.”

“Exactly. That’s why I said the world would be turned upside down.”

“True enough. But isn’t Dr. Fleming still in the process of developing it?”

“He’s going to discover it by chance four years from now. But isolating it and turning it into medicine takes another ten years after that. And it’s someone else who does it.”

“But this paper includes everything up to turning it into a medicine, doesn’t it?”

“That’s right. And since it originates from bacteria, if you search, I’m sure you’ll find plenty of other bacteria with various effects too. Not that I know the details or anything.”

“‘Not much,’ huh. Well, fine. This comes first then. So, this medicine is what they were calling blue mold?”

“That’s right. Named after the scientific name of the blue mold—penicillin.”

“Then once it’s completed, I’ll use that name.”

“You’re getting ahead of yourself. You don’t even know how long it’ll take just to find that special blue mold.”

“I guess.”

“Yeah yeah, if you’re a genius, you’ll find it right away, right? Well, I’ll be waiting patiently.”

“Say what you want. I’ll find it in no time! Farewell, then! Until we meet again!”

Saying that, he left as usual.

“Oh, right—I forgot to ask about the results of the vitamin B1. But since he didn’t mention anything, maybe it worked out, or maybe the results just aren’t in yet.”

I didn’t think too much about it and returned to my daily life.
Right now, all I can do is make vague predictions or wait for them to come true.

At the same time, I hoped good results would come quickly.
After all, it’s basically the third time I’ve sold my soul to the devil.

If even one more person can be saved by a future medicine, it’ll at least help me break even.
Because if not, stealing someone else’s future achievement through future knowledge cheats is just a straight ticket to hell.

And if the medicine is developed, my clan—or rather, the people I now consider family—might not have to die young.

So I quietly prayed to God or all things similar.

(I hope Kouryuu-san’s medicine development goes well)

After that, Kouryuu-san didn’t appear before me for a while.

It’s obvious, but it seems even he couldn’t make a discovery within just two weeks.
Instead, perhaps as a result, information and rumors that Great-Grandfather had gathered began to spread. 

By late autumn, the oral rehydration solution used at the Ootori Hospital was starting to gain attention, beginning in Tokyo and gradually spreading throughout the Kanto region.
And Kouryuu-san himself had submitted more detailed papers and research findings to academic societies and the like. 

If he wrote them in between his research on penicillin, then he really is something else.

However, since Kouryuu-san has a strong dislike for the University of Tokyo’s medical faculty and its affiliated academic circles, the spread of his work was mostly centered around private hospitals and didn’t exactly gain widespread praise.

On the other hand, regarding the beriberi research, he submitted a paper describing the experiment results and methods to RIKEN(Japan’s National Scientific Institute).

What’s more, he handed that paper and the like over to Suzuki-san without asking for anything in return.

After completing the basic work himself, he apparently dumped all the bothersome tasks like refining accuracy onto them, and even refused to have his name listed as one of the researchers.

“It just happened to be a coincidence, so I informed them”—that was apparently Kouryuu-san’s explanation at the time.

Maybe it was a way of currying favor or making a name for himself at RIKEN, but perhaps his pride simply wouldn’t allow it.

“Well, when it comes to penicillin, it doesn’t seem like pride really matters though.”

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RIKEN
Rikagaku Kenkyuujo (Institute of Physical and Chemical Research).
RIKEN was established in 1917 as Asia’s first comprehensive basic science research institute.

Before World War II, under Masatoshi Okochi’s leadership, it expanded its operations by leveraging its research successes and became the RIKEN Konzern (a zaibatsu-like conglomerate).

Penicillin
The world’s first antibiotic, discovered in 1928 by Alexander Fleming of Scotland, UK.
Fleming received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for this achievement.

It is said to have been discovered almost by accident.

Antibiotic
Strictly speaking, any drugs that inhibit bacterial growth (bacteriostatic action) or directly kill bacteria (bactericidal action) are called “antibacterials.” 

A well-known example is sulfa drugs.

Among these, those derived from living organisms like bacteria or fungi are called “antibiotics.”
Typical examples include penicillin and streptomycin.