Parallel World Pharmacy Chapter 1 Episode 13

<<Previous <Project Page> Next>>

---

Depuis 1145: Establishment of Different World Pharmacy Flagship Store in the Imperial Capital

---

 “You don’t need to bother yourself with the Apothecary Guild. Those guys, even though they can’t prescribe, they’re still so proud that they’re full-fledged apothecaries. Their harassment seems to be crossing the line.They’re getting too disrespectful and will be punished. I’ll beat them up with my Divine Art and leave them floating in the river, or even something more dangerous. A noble can easily overwhelm a commoner using Divine Art, there’s no need to be timid.” That was what Ellen had said as encouragement.
 Falma was aware that Ellen was trying to cheer him up and told her he didn’t mind them.

 “Other than that, we didn’t think of our merchandise. Although I didn’t think of what to sell, since this is a pharmacy, I made space anyway.”
 He didn’t really mind the apothecary guild.
 His mind was now full of the face masks, bandages, medicinal wafers, band-aids, and energy drinks that he planned to sell.

 “That reminds me, Master Falma, where will you be getting your supply of medicinal herbs?”
 Ellen placed her hands on her waist with a serious look. Her slender fingers were digging into her waist as she held on tightly.
 “Since Lord Bruno is a scholar, he doesn’t have enough raw materials to sell. Do you intend to just borrow raw materials forever? You have no other choice but to grow your own materials. Besides, you have to take into account the material supply, cost accounting, production cost, and wages you have to pay the producers.”
 “Ah, I see.”
 “Is that so? Aren’t you being too careless?”
 (I have the substance creation skill, so I don’t particularly need to depend on medicinal herbs, however…)
 Falma changed his train of thought; it would certainly be suspicious if it wasn’t apparent where he bought or got his supplies of medicinal herbs from. He hadn’t told anyone about his substance creation skill, not even to his father or Ellen.

 “I think you can borrow some medicinal herbs grown from the territory that was granted to Lord Bruno without much problem. Lord Bruno told me that Her Majesty ordered that you could use it.”
 Ellen suggested this to Falma.
 “Now that you mentioned it, father’s fiefdom did increase.”
 “The territory of Marseille is already a major producer of rare medicinal herbs, so it’ll be relatively easy to obtain new medicinal herbs. Since it also has a port, imported raw materials from the Ismalic and Indain areas are easily obtained as well.”
 Ellen knew her geography really well.
 (Eh? Islamic and Indian areas?)
 Falma felt a sense of deja vu from these names that sounded similar to the ones back at Earth.
 Speaking of which, he still hadn’t seen a map of this world yet.

 “That’s right. We have to go and greet the people of the Marseille territory soon.”
 Falma remembered that the name of the place was the same as France’s Marseille (a harbor city).
 Falma was looking forward to seeing the territory and what kind of people the citizens that produced the medicinal herbs were.

---

 With the cooperation of his father and Ellen, Falma was able to acquire all kinds of tools and equipments necessary to operate the pharmacy.Balance scale, vials, measuring spoons, medicine wrappers, flask, beakers, medicine cabinet, all kinds glassware necessary for research, chemicals, medicinal herbs, cauldron, small pots, writing utensils, etc…
 After that, he created the medicines for expected diseases using his substance creation skill and stuffed them in medicine vials.
 Masks, bandages, medical supporter, etc… were ordered from the craftsmen to be manufactured. From cough drops to salt candies, as well as multi-vitamin wafers were ordered from the confectionery.

 “For the time being, manufacturing these goods are not enough.”
 “It’s because our main business should be compounding medicines. You should be putting up medicines for sale that are made after hearing the requests from the patients.”
 Falma nodded in agreement; he shouldn’t get his priorities backwards.
 “I think this is fine too. I don’t think we have time to sell all of them. So, It’s alright if we take our time selling them slowly.”

 Lotte had been watching the situation while helping Falma pack, she seemed to feel a sense of loneliness.
 “Master Falma is so busy these days, right? Are you going to work on the pharmacy during the day, and come back home at night?”
 “I will be back home during the evening.”
 Falma didn’t stop his hands from packing stuff.
 “Is that so…?”
 They hardly ever met these days… And Lotte understood now, that the time she got to spend with Falma would significantly decrease when the pharmacy opened., She was dejected and disappointed at this thought.
 “If I’m not home during the day, Lotte, you can take a break or take it slowly because your workload is decreased.”
 Falma was really worried about her.

 However Lotte had said that she didn’t like being separated from Falma, even though it would make her busier.
 “Because I want to devote myself to compounding medicines and diagnosing illness, I want to employ someone to handle the general and financial affairs of the pharmacy.”
 When Falma was discussing this with Ellen, Lotte had raised her hand instantly.
 “Me!”
 “Lotte?”
 “I recommend myself! I’m good at calculation. My handwriting is beautiful too. I can clean properly and thoroughly. So I want Master Falma to employ me!”
 “You? But you’re only 9 years old!?”
 “And you’re only 10 years old, Master Falma.”
 Lotte puffed up her small chest with pride. Even though she was just a servant, she was good at calculation and writing. Despite this, doing the ledger alone was still impossible, so she tried to appease Falma,

 “I don’t mind trivial chores, I want to be helpful to Master Falma! Iー! I, Charlotte, by all means canー!”
 She was speaking with such sparkling eyes, Falma had no chance to refuse her, even though he thought what she would be doing was basically child labor. He asked permission from his father to employ Lotte and he was told he could do anything he liked.
 “Well then, I wonder if I can ask you to run errands here and there.”
 “You may use me without holding anything back! Please leave it to me!”
 Thus, Falma decided to employ both Ellen and Lotte as employees of the pharmacy.

 The following morning,
 “Oh, Mr. Cedric.”
 He was an employee who had a familiar face, he just got his retirement bonus, and with his luggage all packed up, he was ready to leave. All of the servants had gathered and handed him a bouquet of flowers to see him off. The man that handled all the financial affairs for the de Médicis family, his name was Cedric Luneau, and he was a Baron. Falma met him as he was just about to leave the mansion.

 “Master Falma. I, Cedric, am retiring today and I’ve been honored to have served your family.”
 Bruno said he had let Cedric go because he was having trouble in both of his knees from overworking for a long time. Although being fired was a bit harsh, Bruno let him go under the purpose of letting him recuperate in the countryside. In addition, it was said that Cedric also received a small territory from Bruno.

 Cedric already said his farewell to Bruno some time ago and was about to finally leave.
 “Master Falma and Lord Bruno too, I am grateful to the both of you.”
 Nonetheless, Cedric, who was bowing and holding a walking cane, was too young to retire as he was only in his early 40’s. Falma had started to say his last goodbyes and Cedric was moved to tears.
 “Mr. Cedric, what would you do from now on?”
 “I will live quietly in the countryside, since I have the retirement bonus and the territory I was granted from Lord Bruno. Although I still desire to work in the mansion despite my knees saying otherwise.”
 Cedric miserably said as he patted his knees.
 “You still want to work?”
 “Very much so.”
 “Well, would you like to work together with me?”
 “As you can see, my knees are bad, so I won’t be able to walk properly, I will be useless if I can’t move easily.”
 Cedric was rubbing his knees. When Falma used his Diagnosis Eye, there was inflammation on the so-called knee joints and liquid was accumulating.

 “You should be able to work in the store sitting down, and do clerical work. It’s your specialty, right? Mr. Cedric, you are able to do financial work and know a lot about the empire’s law. You also know how to make official documents too. Therefore I want to hire you for your expertise. Also, since I think that your knees will improve to some extent with medicine, I will prescribe a medicine for it regularly.”
 “For you to be able to do that much… Even Lord Bruno didn’t have a medicine to cure the pain for this knee. Sufficient rest was the only medicine.”
 It wasn’t wrong to rest quietly in the bed as a conservative treatment. That’s why Bruno didn’t give Cedric any medicine.
 “I agree that rest is certainly a medicine, but I think I can make you more comfortable. I can make a compress for you too, but it all depends upon your wish.”
 “If you really want to employ me, then by all means!”
 Cedric accepted it willingly as he cried.

 “I’m counting on you, Mr. Cedric.”
 Thus, Cedric was once again hired to help Falma, and continued to work.
 Even so, the timing on which his father dismissed Cedric was just too perfect that Falma suddenly suspected it.

---

 Several days after the inauguration of the pharmacy, Bruno had returned from his business trip and called Falma to his study room. He was busily reading a thick book and was writing something.
 “Did the preparations progress well? I heard from Eléonore that everything was going well.”
 “Yes, I deem it is generally progressing well.”
 “You may use the family herb garden as long as you don’t completely take it all. Did you hear about it?”
 “Yes, I heard it from Ms. Eléonore.”

 Father clapped his hands to call Simon the butler.
 “Bring that thing.”
 “Yes, my Lord.”
 Simon the butler and three servants brought a big box by the order of his father, Falma braced himself as for what was inside the box. Simon, with a smile, gave the key to Falma.

 “Please open it.”
 While being confused, Falma placed his hand on top of the box and unlocked it.
 What appeared inside the box were imperial gold coins that were dazzling to the eyes, the box was filled to the brim.
 From his wealthy father, Falma understood that this was quite a fortune.

 “With this, please do your best in managing the business. I know that you’re already receiving financial help from the empire. However, in order to present great work, lots of money is needed.
 His father’s expression was so bright, Falma stared at him in shock.”
 “Money will not be an issue anymore.”
 However, it was certain that Falma was embarrassed.
 “Since you hired Cedric, entrust the money to him, he will manage the assets well. It would be dangerous if you entrust it to a bank.”
 “This is too much to receive.”
 “This is really an important time for you, my dear son. Let me be a father once in awhile.”
 “Dear father… this money is the revenue of the family estate.”
 Falma didn’t know a lot about the situation of currency in this world, but he wasn’t mistaken.”
 “What? This was supposed to be for your tuition and school expenses to enter Nova Root Medical University. But you don’t need to go to that university anymore, since you have the divine oracle of the Medicine God and the badge you got from Her Majesty too, this already makes you a full-fledged apothecary.”
 As Falma was about to say something, his father cut him off.

 “I would like to look good in times such as this, this is what being a parent is all about.”
 Bruno was touching his beard as he was saying so.

 “I thank you very much, dear father. I will use this carefully.”
 Falma decided to accept the gift. It was later known that the value of the gift was 1/5 of Bruno’s assets when Cedric checked on it. It seemed like Bruno splurged.

---

 And thus the Different World Pharmacy was fully completed.
 The store was a 4 storey tall pharmacy that also served as a laboratory which included a break room. As for the layout of the store:

 The 1st floor was the main store.
 It included a counseling room for the customer that also served as the waiting room and compounding room, It was a functional space.
 The interior decor included bright lighting, but because the medicines were sensitive to light, they were stored in opaque bottles and stored in the medicine cabinet. There was however, a space to sell goods such as cosmetics, pharmaceutical products and customized compounded medicines.

 The 2nd floor included a lounge and the clinic.
 It was the place where all the seriously ill patients, and patients that needed to be isolated were examined, and where medicine was administered. It was also a place to take a rest. This floor was also the place to check on a patient’s condition to see if medical follow-ups were necessary. This floor had one examination room and one isolation room, both had 4 beds. There was also a bathroom.

 The 3rd floor was the break room for the staff.
 It had a bed, sofa, living room and dining room. This place was where the staff took breaks when the pharmacy closed during lunchtime. It also included a kitchen.

 And the 4th floor contained the medicine development laboratory. It was a room with a lock where Falma could devote himself to his research. This was the place where he developed medicine. The laboratory wasn’t really big, but it had enough space for one person working. He securely locked it at night.

 “Eehh? The pharmacy has a waiting area.”
 Ellen saw in amazement, a long sofa, that was very comfortable to sit in, near the entrance of the shop.
 “There would be probably many sick people who needed medicine. That’s why it is important that they sit down while waiting. It would be easy for them to come and go.”
 Of course this concept was not original to this world, it came from Japan.
 A water dispenser was placed beside the counter. It would be a free service for the customers.
 “The customers can drink clean water for free? But clean water is not free, you know?”
 Ellen opened her eyes wide.
 “I didn’t spend money on it.”
 “Don’t tell me, it was made from Divine Art?”
 Falma nodded in agreement as he drank the water. The water was nice and cold, it was refreshing to the throat. Lotte got another serving as it was tasty. Falma sighed through his nose as he had to add more water later, because Lotte was drinking too much.
 “Because I can freely generate water, I can offer it to people that are in need of rehydration. Clean drinking water is not easily obtainable in this world, so I think I can use this to attract customers.”
 “It’s so simple. Since water made from Divine Art is precious, the commoners don’t usually have a chance to drink it, so there would definitely be a line of commoners who would want this water. How about putting the generated water into the bottle and setting a high price for it?”
 “Basically, anyone who use the services or buys medicine in the pharmacy will get to drink the water. Afterall, a sick person definitely needs clean water to drink.”
 Ellen’s impression were that some customers would only come to the shop just for water.
 The rate of returning customers would certainly rise.

 “That’s very logical, no shop had done it until now.”
 Not good, it’s definitely not good! That was the impression Ellen had,

 “Young master, the clothes and shoes you requested are done.”
 The shopkeeper from the tailor shop across the street had entered the shop.
 “Oh, it’s done?”
 As the shopkeeper was welcomed to the pharmacy and was offered some water, Falma checked the clothes.
 “How are the lengths. I made two sets of clothes.”
 Falma put his arms through the sleeves on the brand new work clothes. When Lotte saw him, she clapped her hand in amazement.
 “This is just right, thank you!”
 Falma paid the bill. He procured a lot of items necessary for establishing the pharmacy from the shops nearby. This was done instead of doing a simple greeting to them. They were able to remember his face thanks to this. There was one shopkeeper who came to the pharmacy once everyday acting as an order taker.

 “Master Falma’s clothes looks unusual. But it’s not flashy, even though it’s white and lovely to look at.”
 Lotte was charmed while repeatedly shouting he was fashionable.
 Falma received from the tailor a custom tailored white coat uniform that had long sleeve and straight up collar referred to as Casey type. It was a long white coat for doing experiments. The crest of the shop was on the shoulder, and the badge with a golden crown patter, that symbolized the Royal Court Apothecary, was on the collar. The physicians and apothecaries of this world seemed to wear black coats everyday. Still, Falma’s white coats would soon become familiar. When doing experiments in the laboratory on the 4th floor, he would wear a longer white lab coat. When showing up in the shop, he would take off the longer white lab coat that had been stained with chemicals.
 Since he had no shadow, his snow white coat that was dazzling to the eyes would serve as camouflage… Somewhat.

 “Wearing a white coat does calm me after allー”

 Falma was originally a researcher so it was like a work uniform to him. Since, he said this seriously, Lotte and Ellen looked each other and thought why would he say this if this was the first time he wore it.
 “What are we going to wear?”
 It was not necessary for them to wear a white coat, any light colored clothing would do just as well. Since they made stains more noticeable, Falma ordered sets of clothes for two people.

 However, several days later, Ellen was also wearing a similar white coat with a standing collar, that was tailored just for her. It perfectly enhanced her body figure to the fullest. He didn’t know if the tailor made a mistake in the measurement or intentionally made it a size smaller.
 “Ellen had requested a white coat too?”
 Ellen explained the reason with a touch of making excuses before Falma could say something more.
 “If everyone’s attire is different, the shop won’t have a sense of unity. So I deemed that this uniform must be absolutely tailored. So, How do I look?”
 “And that’s not all, Lady Eléonore even said that Master Falma’s white coat looked really cool.”
 Lotte revealed to Falma.
 “Grrr, Lottelita! I didn’t say it like that.”
 Lotte had a functional bright white dress that was tailored for her which included a frilly apron. Cedric too had a white tunic with an apron. It seemed the Ellen used her own money for the uniform.

 “Oh, that’s nice. It suits everyone.”
 “Hehehe. I really love this feeling of tightness!”
 Thus with all the preparations ready, the opening day was fast approaching.
 Falma gave instructions in front of the three staff members on how to start the operation of the pharmacy.

 “There are a few things I want you to remember before we open the pharmacy to the public.”
 The three people became tense at what was said.
 Falma was saying it very seriously.

 “First of all, all staff members must take care of their health at all times.”

 He reflected back on his past life on how he died from overworking because of too much zeal, this time he would correct his past mistakes by setting a goal. It would be a policy that business hours would only be carried out between 9 AM to 5PM, and their would be two days off per week. There would be winter and summer vacations, and paid leave of absence as well. Of course, Falma personally pledged too that he wouldn’t stay up all night researching and developing new medicines.

 “That’s right… We shouldn’t overwork ourselves.”
 Ellen smiled as if she was a bit worried. Falma nodded.

 “There is a saying in a far off country, ‘The art of medicine is a benevolent act. With this, thou shalt ease the hearts of the people, and assume the role of protector and savior’”.
 “I really like poetry. What country was this poem said from?”
 Ellen asked for the source. It was a verse in the book called Yojokun that didn’t exist in this world. The motto came from the world of his previous life.

 “A sick person who comes here will be saved no matter who they are. Assuming we can’t cure them, we must at least ease their hearts and suffering. I want to work with that in mind.”

 “I see. It is an ideal that must be etched into one’s mind. Are there any specific objectives for the time being?”
 Cedric asked in jest. Then Falma clenched both of his hands tightly.

 “I want to raise the average lifespan of the citizens in the Imperial Capital by 10 years, immediately.”
 Falma stared at each of their faces.
 Ellen and Cedric’s faces were in disarray and their jaw dropped. Lotte was just staring blankly as she didn’t know what average life span meant.

 “Wha-, What did you say? Increasing the average lifespan? But there is no way to increase it.”
 “We should be able to do it.”
 Falma declared. In all seriousness… And Ellen became speechless. Right now, the average lifespan of the people of this continent was about 50 years old. It was a number that the nobles had put out.
 “What you thought up is really amazing… Your ideas are different from us humans.”
 Ellen was frankly impressed as she believed that Falma was the reincarnation go the Medicine God who descended upon all people to save them, and thought the plan of this god had begun.

 “Just like that. Let’s all get along, everyone.”
 Falma held out his hands,
 “Yes! Let’s do our best and have fun!”
 Lotte answered cheerfully and place her hand on top of Falma’s.
 “In order to repay this large debt of gratitude, this old man Cedric will do his best and be prepared with selfless devotion.”
 Cedric rolled up his sleeves and extended his hands while sitting down.
 “Yup, however don’t overwork yourself. We want you to work while keeping your mind and body in check.”
 “Ahaha, I made a mistake. You are right!”
 “There’s nothing you can do about it now.”
 Ellen finally placed her hand to move with the flow.

 The next day was clear and sunny.
 The opening ceremony of the Different World Pharmacy was conducted.
 An imperial envoy who was dressed beautifully, read aloud the imperial letter in front of the shop. At that time, citizens and shopkeepers watched as they were huddling in the distance.
 A brand new silver latticed gate was opened on the wide main street, and two apothecaries wearing a white coat and two assistants, for a total of 4 people, were standing in line.

 “…Therefore, I would like to say that we believe that we can support a very healthy lifestyle for all the common people in the Imperial Capital.
 No matter how anyone looked at it, the shopkeeper was an apothecary who was no older than a ten year old child, a Court Apothecary even, introducing himself to all the citizen present, greeting them without looking at any cue card.
 “He seems to be the second son of Archduke de Médicis.”
 “What is a grand noble doing in a place like this? Did he got the Imperial Charter and build the pharmacy using the influence of his parents?”
 “He’s using polite speech… I wasn’t aware a noble could have that kind of attitude towards a commoner.”
 “Nobles don’t usually speaks with commoners aside from their servants. Anyway this is such a long speech. Even if the speech was written by his father, it must have been hard to memorize it.”
 “I don’t feel that this was memorized.”
 The citizens were interested in Falma’s speech, because the boy shopkeeper was emphasizing on the fact that he would focus on the desires of the patient and provide medical care for patients to live better. What they heard was very new to them. The speech was over in about 15 minutes. The citizens were all listening until the end.

 “Then starting from today, I have the privilege to start my business.”

 Their voices melded together.
 The pharmacy staff formed a single line and, they deeply bowed together in front of the citizens.

 And said their first greetings.

 “Welcome!!!”

 The commoners witnessed a radical scene in which a noble bowed down to the commoners. It became a hot topic in the city for a while.

 And thus, in a corner of the Imperial Capital, an out-of-this-world pharmacy was built.
 Royal Court Apothecary, Falma de Médicis (10 years old)
 First Class Apothecary, Eléonore Bonnefoi (16 years old)
 Financial Affairs/Legal Affairs, Cedric Luneau (42 years old)
 Secretary/General Affairs, Charlotte Soller (9 years old)

 “The pharmacy for the masses” was one of the many praises said about the up and coming pharmacy with an Imperial Charter, Different World Pharmacy (DIVERSIS MUNDI PHARMACY).
 Depuis (established) 1145 was subsequently the year that this flagship pharmacy in the imperial capital was founded.

---

<<Previous <Project Page> Next>>