*three days later*
{HIKARI'S POV}
The worst case internal scenario has come true. With so many people packed together on a relatively small plot of land, sanitation is not optimal.

We've tried to section out areas and dig holes, and we've even managed to repurpose some waste as fertilizer, but disease has spread rampant amongst the citizens. It started as only a few, mostly those with weakened immune systems and the elderly.

However, numbers continue to increase. We don't even know how the disease spreads, so we have no adequate method of quarantining it.

If it spread through direct contact with an infected individual, it would be much easier to stop the chain of infection. We'd simply need to prevent the ill from interacting or sharing items with the healthy.

The herbs needed to treat the afflicted will differ depending on the type of illness too.

Wuviry can help with breathing and has antiseptic properties, but it only works if the disease is airborne. A specific mold that grows on bread has been found to treat many diseases when cultivated and strained properly, however consuming it has no effect on afflictions such as foot fungus or skin rot.

With this particular disease, people have come to the pharmacy tent with symptoms of abdominal pain, fever, and liquid bloody stools.

Lady Satoko calls it dysentery.

At least a hundred have died from dehydration already. They are loosing fluids from their bodies that they can't replace sufficiently, due to severe nausea and vomiting. The disease has even spread to the troops. Many soldiers have walked into the tent complaining of stomach cramps over the past hour.

This is not good. The soldiers along the wall are the only line of defense between the enemy army and us. If they're all sick, who's left to stop the next siege?

Neither side is attacking currently. I fear this momentary peace means that something big is in motion. Our enemies are planning something.

Despite my sense of impending doom, the temporary peace has bought us much needed time to find a treatment for the dysentery epidemic.

Alongside keeping the patients well hydrated and nourished, ginger root and peppermint leaves have been found to decrease nausea so they don't vomit. Yuclio flower petals seeped in a tea turn out to be excellent at killing the cause of dysentery.

Treatment is not the issue. The issue is finding the cause. See, we can cure dysentery over and over. But if the root cause is never identified and removed, the illness will never go away.

That's why Lady Satoko is the one leading this emergency war council. She brought Jun with her, although I don't know why just yet. He has a pleased look that tells me he's created something.

General Isamu is rather pale. Lord Kirigawa winces and clutches his stomach every so often. Both of them are sipping yuclio petal tea.

"It's in the food or the water." Lady Satoko says bluntly. She stands across the table from me with her arms crossed. She also looks pleased with herself. Like mother, like son, I suppose.

"What makes you say that?" I ask curiously.

"Simple." Lady Satoko smiles at me. "If it spread through direct contact with an ill person or through the air, I would be sick. As would all of the other pharmacists who've been treating patients all day and night. Yet only half of us have gotten sick. If it isn't spread from person to person or through the air, reason dictates that all of the victims have been exposed to the same source. Considering the high volume of exposure and the rate at which it's spreading, this must be something that everyone comes into contact with. Plus, dysentery affects the digestive system. Thus, food or water."

"How would it get into the food and water? How do we stop it?" I lean forward, desperate to hear some good news for once.

"If it was in the water, I'd say our water sources have been contaminated. This is caused by poor sanitation in populated areas, when the feces of an infected individual comes into contact with the water."

I retch. "Feces?!"

General Isamu and Lord Kirigawa both spew out their tea, which was brewed using that very water.

"Relax." She snorts. "Berti has been boiling all of our water from the beginning. Since we don't know if our wells contain safe drinking water in the first place, the kitchen staff have been boiling our water and collecting the steam. Since only water turns to steam, this ensures that any silt or contaminants are left behind. The collected water is pure and potable. Also, heat destroys diseases. Hence why we boil our metal equipment to sterilize it."

"I invented a test for it, just to be sure." Jun says with a huge grin. He proudly displays a small but ornate circular container filled with fine blue powder. It looks like an old rouge container, repurposed after the makeup inside ran out.

I shake my head, smiling wrily. I knew that Jun was up to something; he had that glint in his eyes.

"As you know, hydrangea flowers can be pink or blue depending on the acidity of the soil. More acid means more blue. Our stomachs also have acid in them. A person with dysentery has less acid because they vomit out the acid in their stomachs, and because being sick throws your body out of equilibrium. Using this principle, I made a reagent from hydrangea dye that turns pink when it comes in contact with the parasite that causes dysentery."

As a demonstration, he has his dad and me spit onto two handkerchiefs. The reagent remains blue when he sprinkles the powder in my saliva. It turns pink immediately when he sprinkles it in his dad's saliva.

Lord Kirigawa wrinkles his nose in disgust. They he looks queasy and drinks more tea.

"We've tested the water, both before and after boiling." Jun continues. "It's all clean, of dysentery at least. So it must be getting spread via our food. The next problem lies in figuring out which foods carry the parasite that can cause dysentery."

"That's where we wanted Hikari-sama's input." Lady Satoko gestures to me.

I blink and point at myself in shock. "Me? Why? I'm no expert on food-borne illness."

"But you aren't sick." Lady Satoko insists. "You have a weak immune system. If you consumed the food that had the parasite, you would be ill. And yet, you aren't. Hikari-sama, what foods have you not eaten?"

I try to think, but fail to come up with anything. "I've eaten the same thing as everybody else!"

Lady Satoko sighs. "I apologize for putting you on the spot, Princess. However, please tell me if something jogs your memory."

"I will." I nod. I want to get to the bottom of this!

As if on cue, my stomach growls. I blush. Jun practically busts a lung laughing. I stand up, fighting to maintain my last sliver of composure. It wouldn't be very leader-like to pinch Jun's nose.

"We spent so long talking about food that we almost missed dinner!" General Isamu says with a hearty laugh. "How's about we end the war council here?"

I agree wholeheartedly, thus ending the meeting. I'm starving and today is meat day!

Jun and I practically run, while the adults follow us at a slightly more sedated pace. I'm only slightly winded by the time we get to the mess hall. I'm surprised by my own endurance. I thought Jun would have to drag me, but I managed to keep up on my own. My lungs really are growing stronger!

We get in line. The people on either side of us greet me with smiles and claps on the back. I'm able to recognize and greet each of them by name.

Slowly, we move down until it's our turn to grab a wooden plate and get served.

The girl serving the precious weekly meat is Clara. She plops a piece of chicken onto Jun's plate. My stomach turns. I subtly bite my inner cheek to keep myself from wincing. I don't want Clara to feel bad.

I follow Jun, prepared to refuse, but it turns out that I don't have to. Clara suddenly turns and grabs a separate plate with pulled pork. They always keep a second type of meat, typically only for people with allergies to the meat of the week.

"Why's she getting something different?" Jun leans over and jokingly complains.

I open my mouth to respond, but Clara pipes up. "Hikari-sama doesn't like the stringy texture and taste of chicken, so I've been setting other options aside for her every time chicken is served!"

I'm touched by her thoughtfulness. Then I crinkle my brow in thought. Then my eyes widen.

I look at Jun. He looks at me at the same time. His eyes are also round as saucers. We point at each other and simultaneously yell, "Ah!"

"Do you still have that color-changing reagent on you?" I ask excitedly.

Jun is already digging around in his pockets. He pulls out the little ornate container and opens it. Thankfully, he has plenty of blue powder left. We crouch, right there in the middle of the dinner line. Jun sets his plate on the ground between us.

Clara abandons her post, crawling under the table so she can get a clear view of all the action too. Other people also gather around curiously.

I hold my breath as Jun sprinkles the reagent onto his chicken breast. It turns pink instantly.