Firearms in a Fantasy World

Chapter 154: Medical School 2

Translator: Cinder Translations

...

Paul nodded towards the classroom and asked, "How are 'they' performing?"

Eileen asked strangely, "Who?"

"I mean those women rescued from the pirates."

"Oh, you mean them."

At this point, the female advisor couldn't contain her anger.

"Those scum are despicable beyond belief, Earl. Do you know? Some of them were abducted to the island before they even reached adulthood, forced into doing disgusting things. You should hang all those pirates; not a single one among them is innocent."

She took a breath and shifted to a deeply concerned tone, "As for their performance, honestly, it's not good. Due to prolonged captivity, they lack basic life skills. Those who were kidnapped at a young age even struggle with everyday communication."

Paul felt a bit overwhelmed, "Is it that serious? Geez, if that's the case, when can they start working? Before that, won't I just be supporting them for nothing?"

Eileen exploded, "Paul Grayman, have you lost all sense of humanity? They've already fallen into this state, and you're thinking about how to exploit them."

Then she suddenly remembered she was speaking to her employer, which wasn't appropriate, but the words were out, and she had no intention of taking them back, glaring at Paul indignantly.

Paul was speechless, thinking she was just an ignorant noble lady. Despite her angry demeanor, she was quite cute.

He knew that wealthy aristocrats in affluent areas were fond of charitable activities to feel morally superior, especially those idle ladies who enjoyed spending their days in such a way. They didn't realize that their wealth came from exploiting the poor, believing they had the right to squander money as they pleased.

Originally intending to retort with something like "I have no extra money for charity" or "those who do not work shall not eat," Paul decided against it after some thought. It wasn't worth arguing with her.

Paul shrugged, "Maybe my way of saying things just now was ambiguous. But this doesn't change reality. Miss D'Arshi, perhaps for your family background, spending a bit of 'petty cash' on a few idlers is no big deal. But for Alden now, every expense is carefully calculated."

This time, Eileen didn't argue back, as she had never seen Paul, who was so "impoverished" in personal life.

Although in the past six months, both official and private sectors had launched many "factories," greatly increasing the territory's fiscal revenue, working around Paul for such a long time, Eileen more or less understood that Paul's military was a gold-devouring monster, requiring substantial funds to maintain, whether on land or sea. This strange lord was really willing to spend money on his soldiers.

Recently, the Minister of Agriculture from the Council was heading south to the capital, gathering refugees along the way. These people needed food and drink, and the lords along the way wouldn't help, relying only on the Council to send people southward to deliver money. After the refugees arrived, settling them was also a huge expense.

"But you can't just kick them out like this! Without any skills, they can only..."

Eileen couldn't bring herself to say the rest.

Paul suddenly had a good idea, "How about this? Most of my soldiers are single. What if we marry them off to my soldiers? They could even enjoy military family benefits."

Just as he was pleased with his idea, he didn't realize how deeply it hurt Eileen. After all, she had run away because she opposed her father's forced marriage arrangements.

Ah! This world is just too unfair to women.

"Earl Grayman!"

The advisor's face quickly turned cold.

"Even though you are a lord, this is going too far. Don't forget what you said before, that you wouldn't treat those rescued from pirates as slaves."

Then, with great solemnity, she raised a hand and said, "I, Betty D'Arshi, swear to the heavens' father that I will ensure they remember all the knowledge in the 'manual' and can recognize the words in it, becoming what you call 'medical personnel.'"

Paul found it strange. Seriously, why was she taking this idea so seriously?

But suddenly, her enthusiasm was also a good thing.

"Then I'll trouble you with this, Miss D'Arshi."

But the female advisor continued, "Apart from what we just discussed, there's another issue that needs to be addressed."

"Oh? What issue?"

"Discrimination! Widespread discrimination! Given their previous experiences, many people gossip behind their backs, exaggerating and describing them as fallen women."

Paul shrugged, "This issue seems like it can only be slowly resolved over time."

Seeing his lack of concern, Eileen was quite dissatisfied. "No, there's a more effective way. As a lord, you can issue decrees to prohibit this gossip and punish those who like to spread rumors."

"Oh... Betty, you're so naive."

Before Eileen could finish, Paul shook his head repeatedly with his hand on his forehead.

"That would only backfire. Deliberately eliminating barriers will only create bigger ones. Once such a decree is issued, their situation will become even more difficult. If they can't behave like normal people, if they can't demonstrate their inherent value, people will always view them with colored glasses, and prejudice and suspicion will only worsen."

Eileen was speechless. The Earl's words seemed to make sense. She could only ask, "So are you just going to stand by and do nothing?"

Paul pondered for a moment and said, "The army needs its own independent health system. Once they are trained, I will arrange for them to be stationed in the military camp, establishing a separate unit where management is closed off to reduce contact with ordinary residents. The rest will have to depend on time."

Eileen suddenly became alert, "You're not thinking of continuing with that 'good idea' you came up with earlier, are you? Moreover, a bunch of men in the military camp—aren't you afraid of something happening? Or do you actually welcome it?"

Paul said impatiently, "My soldiers are not as bad as you imagine. They are different from what you knew before. The military is particularly strict about such matters; they wouldn't dare risk their lives recklessly."

In Alden's army, rape was a serious crime, punishable by death. Of course, every country's army officially prohibits such crimes; it's just a matter of how strictly it's enforced. Alden's army undoubtedly had the strictest enforcement in the world.

Of course, the physiological needs of single soldiers also needed to be addressed, and Paul couldn't enforce Puritan-like rules on them. Therefore, soldiers were not prohibited from visiting brothels during their leave.

Eileen snorted, "I hope so."

Then she turned and returned to the classroom.

Paul, looking at Cecil standing silently beside him, sighed and said, "Women are really hard to deal with."

The intelligence supervisor sighed in response, "They always have privileges, especially such beautiful women as Miss D'Arshi."

"You're right. Let's go find Morrison."

(End of the Chapter)

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