With their relationship as each other's Teacher and Student established, Emile and Denise got straight to work swapping knowledge. It was decided that they would start small, and work on things slowly, as each wanted to ensure they understood everything as well as possible. Amanda was more than happy to have her friend around the house, and she even allowed her to stay at the manor in one of the guest rooms. She figured this would make things easier, as Denise's home was a few hours away via horseback. Unexpectedly, the two knights who'd been tasked with protecting Emile, Christina and Falen, were also interested in learning a bit, and since they were already required to be here, they figured it was better than doing nothing.

With their help, they swiftly converted an unused supply room into an ad hoc classroom, complete with a blackboard and a few tables. Once they were finished, and everything was ready, both Robert and Millela demanded to be included, something that Emile easily approved of. He'd been an adjunct professor at Paris-Saclay Medical School where he taught several courses, so he was well-versed in teaching and was always happy to see young people eager to learn.

"Alright, before we begin, let me give a few disclaimers." Emile said as stood on a small bench that Cher had gotten for him. She was going to act as his assistant and helper during his teaching, something he was grateful for, as he was still too small and weak to do many things on his own.

{I really hate that I need to stand on a stool, but I suppose that's not the biggest problem...} (Emile)

"First, I haven't taught or practiced medicine in over twenty years. Not to mention that being as old as I am, my memory isn't going to be complete, and some things might be fuzzy. I do remember most things about my profession and work, but please forgive me if I'm a bit slow or if I need some time to properly recall information." Emile gave an embarrassed cough, since he knew that it might take some time to get his mind working at full speed again. "Luckily it seems being reborn in a younger body has fixed a majority of my issues, including mental so I suspect things will be fine."

{Not to mention, its nice not having a body that's basically useless. People really don't understand just how awful living to a hundred years old can be.} (Emile)

Cher gave a small giggle. "Yeah, you were almost out of it by the end. I think most days you couldn't even remember where you were, not to mention you slept most of the day." It was a sad thing to joke about, but looking back, she found it kinda funny.

{Though his tendency to go into old man mode and ramble is something that seems have stayed with him... I suppose that's just part of who Emile is.} (Cher)

"Getting old sucks, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone." His comment caused the other adults in the room to chuckle a bit.

{I've seen great warriors felled by age, so I get it.} Christina found Emile's humor funny, and thought he reminded her of her own grandfather, which wasn't a strange comparison since he was an old man.

"Also, and this goes double for Robert and Millela, what I'm going to explain will be quite alien to you. Earth's medical technology has advanced far beyond yours, so if anything is confusing please ask for clarification. I'll try to make things as easy to understand as possible, but I might get overly technical as I've only ever taught doctoral students or other medical professionals." Emile knew this was an important transfer of information and not just some class they were taking for college credit, so he wanted to make sure that everyone here understood what he was talking about, since it was more than just a test score on the line.

"I think we can handle it." Millela smiled. "Our other tutors have worked out fine, so I don't think we'll have a problem." She and Robert had been taught from a young age by other tutors, which was still ongoing now. Amanda had mentioned something about that to Emile, but it was quickly apparent that he knew everything that could be taught that way.

{It's still kind of strange to teach such young children about medicine, but I guess it's not that out of the ordinary if you look at history. Not to mention, Robert and Millela are a bit more mature than most kids that young, so I suppose its fine.} Emile recalled stories about ancient philosophers and mathematicians teaching children even younger than these two, and he knew Noble children tended to be a bit more developed than normal.

"Ok, but still, if you don't understand something, please tell me. It's nothing to be embarrassed about if you don't understand what I'm talking about. I'd rather slow down and explain it again until you get it than have you walk away confused." Emile nodded. "Also, Christina and Falen, I know it might be strange to have someone that looks like me teach you, and I'm also aware that you're Knights with a duty, so please don't feel obligated to be here." He was worried they would see this as a chore, or as some kind of obligation.

{They're adults being taught by a 'child', I can't imagine that's very fun.} (Emile)

"I don't mind it." Falen shrugged. "We have to protect you, and Albert told us to learn what we could about you and your world. I figure that it can't hurt to sit in and listen to you for a bit. It's not like we have anything better to do, and it won't interfere with our training." His family was a mixture of Knights and Scholars, so it was not as if he was entirely martial focused.

{Besides, after seeing that bit of his memory, I'm curious to see more of what's inside this kid's head.} (Falen)

"Indeed. My grandfather was actually a healer, so I'm curious to see how your world performed such arts without magic." Christina nodded.

"I don't think there are many people in this world who wouldn't want to at least hear a bit from you, Emile." Denise commented. "You've got a wealth of knowledge, and you're willing to share without asking anything in return. That's not something you see to often, so we'd be foolish not to take advantage of that." Everyone nodded in agreement with her comment. Even Millela and Robert knew how valuable this opportunity was, and as Nobles, Christina and Falen were acutely aware of how powerful knowledge was.

"Fine, then let's begin." Emile took a small stick that Cher had brought him, and with her help, he began drawing out a few basic diagrams a bacteria cell on the blackboard behind him. "So first, let's check on some things." Emile turned to Denise. "What is this world's understanding of illness and where it comes from?" He figured that was the most important starting area, since it underpinned everything else he was going to discuss.

After thinking for a moment, the Elf answered. "I was always taught that it was caused either by magic, curses, or some unknown element." Denise shrugged. "We honestly don't really know much about it, other than things such as waste, dirty water, and similar things can get people sick." There were some other theories as to why, but it was generally understood that keeping things 'clean' was best practice.

{The why has been something many apothecaries have searched for as long as they've been treating medicine. Even my mentor couldn't give me a definitive answer, and its something that I've always wanted to know since I was a young apprentice.} (Denise)

"Ok, that makes sense." Emile looked to Falen and Christina to get their thoughts. "I assume that in the military they teach you not to drink stagnant water and to fully cook raw meat?"

"Yea, that's basic stuff we learn even before the military. But the Imperial Army goes over stuff for foraging, and basic survival. We know that wounds can get infected and that we should keep them from getting dirty, but that's about it." Falen gave a basic rundown of what they were taught in the Imperial Army, and it mostly revolved around not getting sick from those things that were known to cause issues.

"I've seen plenty of men die from infected arrow wounds, so I know a bit about that." Christina agreed with Falen, saying much of the same, but adding that her grandfather believed that disease was largely based on an imbalance of humors, which was a theory that Emile knew of from history class.

"That was an medical theory that we used on Earth until the 17th Century when Antoni van Leeuwenhoek proved the existence of bacteria in 1676." Emile went through his memory with Cher's help to ensure his accuracy. “After that, we gradually came to understand the root cause of the numerous diseases which had plagued humanity since the beginning.”

"Bacteria?" Denise didn't recognize that word. “You used it before, but what does that mean?”

"So, we'll get into specifics later." Emile pointed to the crude drawing of a bacteria cell that Cher had made. "So basically, there are very very tiny creatures that are so small that our eyes can't see them. These tiny creatures get into your body and cause illness either by directly attacking your body or by provoking it to try and defend itself." Some symptoms, such as a fever, were nothing more than your body trying to remove the foreign invader, and were only problematic since it was basically the body betting the bacteria would die before you did.

"Wait, what?!?" Denise exclaimed. "Y-You're telling me that all this time, it's been tiny creatures that have caused so much death?!?" This revelation went against everything she ever knew as an apothecary, and while she didn't doubt Emile, it was still shocking. Even Christina and Falen's eyes went wide at such a claim.

"Yes, and there are many different kinds of them." Emile nodded.

{Though the word MANY is probably underselling the number...} (Emile)

"So how do these creatures getting into our bodies cause illness?" Denise asked for clarification.

Emile thought for a moment before answering. "Before I can answer that, I need to know what you know about our bodies?" He figured they didn't know about cells and that he'd need to start from there.

"We're made of organs, and different kinds of other structures, I know that." Denise answered. "I've dissected a few cadavers before, and I bet Christina and Falen have seen some of what lies within us." She figured that the battlefield had shown them the inside of a man's body first hand.

"Yeah..." Falen shook his head. "I've seen what's inside us, and I'd prefer it stays in there."

{Too many guts have been spilled before my eyes for my liking. It's not a pretty sight to see a man's insides fall out.} (Falen)

"Ok, good. But what are those organs made of?" Emile smirked, as he knew Denise couldn't answer his question.

{Emile always likes doing things like this...} Cher knew that he had a bad habit of teasing students when he knew they couldn't answer, and sent him a telepathic message to knock it off.

"I... don't know..." Denise thought for a moment before shaking her head. "I guess just smaller pieces?" She honestly had no clue.

{I never really thought about that...} (Denise)

"They are made of this!" Emile pointed to the bacteria cell. "Except, well not exactly." He laughed as he looked at their confused faces. "You see, all life, be it plant, animal, or fungi is made of tiny little 'creatures' we called cells. They have all sorts of different parts, and they basically function like a tiny version of you. They take in food, produce waste and even reproduce."He pointed to the different parts on the cell diagram. "A Human body and I'm sure this goes for Elves too, is made of trillions of cells all working in concert to perform the functions needed to make your body function. So basically, we're nothing more than a giant hive of tiny critters that band together to make something more complex." That wasn't exactly right since cells weren't really alive in the scientific sense as they can't live outside of the whole, but it was good enough for now.

{We're made of WHAT?!?} Denise's eyes went wide at this revelation. She looked down at her own hand and imagined all the tiny parts looking back at her.

"Ok, so I can see you're a bit freaked out." Emile sighed. "But please don't start panicking. I explained it like that to make it understandable. However, cells are not alive in their own right." He figured this revelation would be a bit much for even Denise, as the others were visibly disturbed. "They don't think, feel, or anything. They're little more than puzzle pieces that make up your body. They are you, so there's no need to get creeped out by them."

{Though your explanation did nothing to help them, Emile...} Cher sighed internally.

{Yeah, I know...} (Emile)

"So it's like how magical creatures like Fey are made of magic." Christina commented. "They always say that the magic they're made of is alive. So it's probably the same thing." Such creatures were usually described as living magic, so it was an understandable comparison.

"That's might similar, yeah. Though I know nothing magic or creatures made of it, so I can't say for 100% that its the same." Emile nodded. "So, getting back to how the tiny creatures cause disease, it's simple. They attack your body's cells and either destroy them, or they cause them to go haywire and do all kinds of bad things." He figured getting into the nitty gritty right away was a bad idea, and decided to be very general.

"Like how a normal animal can become corrupted into a magical beast?" Robert asked. This was the first time he'd spoken this whole time, as he was busy taking notes. "Father said that's how most of the ones we fight come into existence."

"Yeah, that would be a good comparison." Emile recalled someone explaining that to him last year. "It takes a good cell and makes it bad. However, that's not the only way they can cause problems, since sometimes the bacteria just attack the body outright, or start causing other more complex problems. But I think this is a good general explanation." He wasn't going to differentiate between Viruses and Bacteria for now since that would only add to their confusion.

Once the basics were done, and his group had a basic understanding of illness, he dove into it full throttle as he began to explain how these 'tiny creatures' worked and how medicine helped treat illnesses. It would be a long time before they were brought up to date on medical knowledge, but Emile could tell that they were all interested and attentive, especially Denise, who was fired up and ready to go.

{This is going to turn everything on its head. If I can learn everything from Emile, then maybe we can stop all this needless death!} (Denise)

Panthers426

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Next Chapter: Chapter 27 - The Coming Storm.