Refugees 2

Translator: Cinder Translations

...

"Take off your clothes and stand properly!"

Doctor Ward commanded Sam as he entered the tent.

"W-what?"

"I said, take off your clothes."

Upon confirmation from the doctor, Sam's eyes widened. His dirty face turned red with embarrassment.

The man in front of him looked quite gentle and friendly. Why did his words sound so inappropriate? Is he... is he trying something indecent with me? We're both grown men!

Seeing Sam's expression, Doctor Ward explained kindly, "Don't worry, I'm a doctor. I just need to examine you."

"Really? Then, please, Doctor."

Though still embarrassed, Sam obediently began to undress. Inside the tent, a blazing brazier provided warmth, so he wasn't concerned about catching cold.

"Why do I need an examination?" he asked with concern. "If you find something wrong, will I be kicked out?"

"Don't worry! If it's minor, we won't intervene. Only if we detect a contagious disease will we take isolation measures."

"Isolation?" Sam was a bit scared at the mention of that word. "You mean locking us up?"

Ward, wearing a mask, circled around Sam, carefully inspecting every part of his body as he answered, "It's sort of like that, but not like treating prisoners. We'll also provide medication and treatment until you recover, then arrange your future work and life. Just don't overthink it."

"Oh, okay. Thank you, Doctor!"

Sam's relieved heart finally settled down, and he thanked Ward gratefully.

Ward estimated that these refugees probably didn't have major issues; after all, anyone with serious problems wouldn't have made it this far from the South to the Northwest Gulf.

"Alright!"

After finishing the examination, Ward patted Sam's shoulder. "Young man, you're in good health. I wish you a good life in the Northwest Gulf."

"Thank you, Doctor! Thank you, Doctor!"

Finally having some stability, Sam felt his turbulent life of wandering was coming to an end.

"After you leave, go to the tent where they're cooking porridge and get your portion to eat!"

Food? At the mention of this word, Sam perked up immediately. He had been smelling that aroma for a while, his stomach growling impatiently.

He quickly picked up his clothes from the ground, intending to hurry up and put them on to get food. However, another person in the tent picked up the clothes before him. Like the doctor, this person was completely covered from head to toe.

"Sir... my clothes?"

"Oh? I forgot about that."

The gloved person immediately pulled a bundle out of a nearby large bag and tossed it to Sam.

"Here, wear this first."

Opening the bundle, Sam found a set of cotton clothes inside, both top and bottom. The stitching wasn't particularly fine, but it was sturdy.

Ah, so the gentleman didn't want me to go outside looking too shabby and affecting the surroundings. Indeed, my current outfit couldn't even be called clothes—it was more like rags, fitting for the situation.

"Hehe, the gentlemen are really thoughtful, even giving me a set of clothes."

He chuckled awkwardly, swiftly putting on the new clothes.

Honestly, they weren't very well-fitted, but they were warmer and more comfortable than his own.

All these refugees had come from the South and were unfamiliar with the climate of the North. Now, at the transition from autumn to winter, they were freezing along the way.

Sam reached out to the gloved person, intending to retrieve his original clothes. After all, he had worn them all the way here, and they were one of his few possessions.

But the person showed no intention of returning them, saying to Sam, "We need to wash your clothes and sterilize them with boiling water before returning them to you."

Sam was puzzled, "Sterilize with boiling water? Why?"

"Because there are ... never mind, I can't explain it clearly to you! Anyway, you will get it back in the end. What's your name?"

"Sam, sir, my name is Sam."

"Alright, I've noted it down. Hurry up and go get your food, don't delay the others."

"Yes, yes, I'm going out right away."

Sam felt puzzled, reluctantly glanced at his old clothes. The masters wouldn't just throw them away, would they? He would feel very heartbroken if they did.

Oh well, out with the old, in with the new. Didn't he just get a new set?

"Soup! Bread! Here I come!"

With a mind full of longing for food, he dashed out of the tent.

"Tsk tsk! Doctor Ward, take a look at this."

The sanitation worker complained to the doctor while picking through Sam's old clothes:

"I really want to just burn this pile of rags. There's all sorts of things on them, lice, fleas, everything. Look at these white dots, each one is an egg."

Doctor Ward shrugged helplessly, "Don't mock the outsiders. The hygiene conditions here aren't much better for our locals."

The sanitation worker's eyes showed a longing gaze. "I eagerly await Lord Grayman's 'New Life Movement' to begin soon. Ever since I studied microbiology at Weiss Academy and became a sanitation worker, I've been in a constant state of anxiety."

"Be at ease, be at ease." The doctor comforted him. "Haven't we been through this for thousands of years? And changing someone's hygiene beliefs and habits is not something that happens overnight. Take it slow."

...

Not everyone was as open-minded as Sam just now, for instance in Susan's tent...

"You won't take away my clothes! This is all I have!"

A refugee woman tightly held onto her old clothes, not allowing anyone to touch them.

Susan comforted her, "Your clothes... we will return them to you, we just need to wash them. Please trust us."

"No! I don't want to be separated from these clothes for even a moment. They're the only things my parents left me... sniffle, sniffle!"

The refugee woman collapsed on the ground, crying uncontrollably, perhaps recalling something painful.

Susan was at a loss, unsure of what to do.

"Militia!" The sanitation worker next to her immediately shouted outside the tent.

Two men rushed in, the sanitation worker briefly explained the situation, and the militia forcefully took the refugee woman's old clothes from her and dragged her out as she cried and screamed.

Susan asked the female sanitation worker in astonishment, "Is... is this really okay?"

The female sanitation worker looked indifferent as she replied, "There's nothing wrong with it, Doctor Susan. Lord Grayman sheltering these refugees is already a great kindness to them. If they still won't follow the arrangements, they simply don't know what's good for them."

Susan couldn't find words to refute her. She always felt infinite sympathy for the unfortunate, whether it was refugees or the girl before her.

During her training at Weiss Academy, she learned about a special group composed of women, who had been imprisoned by pirates for many years and had lived through years of unbearable hardship. Some had even been captured by pirates from a young age, their entire childhood filled with misfortune.

It was Alden's navy that rescued them, and Lord Grayman arranged for them to study nursing knowledge at Weiss Academy, hoping to train them as "sanitation workers" or "nurses". According to Miss D'Arshi's explanation, both of these new professions proposed by Earl Grayman were related to saving lives and helping the injured.

This was akin to giving them a second chance at life, and it was precisely because of this that they harbored a blind, superstitious reverence for Lord Grayman.

And the girl before her was one of them.

Susan sighed inwardly, "Alas, they are all a group of pitiful people."

(End of the Chapter)