Chapter 006
“How is that child? The one called Rodent.”
Jin shifted the topic to lighten the heavy atmosphere.
He offered a faint smile, as if acknowledging Richard’s desperate effort to cheer him up.
“He’s a very bright boy. I’m thinking of teaching him personally. It’s like looking at a version of myself when I was young.”
Richard couldn’t help but snort again at Jin’s words.
“What child could possibly be as brilliant as you were?”
When Richard countered, Jin replied playfully.
“True, you’re right. He might be slightly lacking compared to my younger self, but he is undeniably smart. If taught well, he might even be able to succeed me.”
Looking at Jin, Richard felt a wave of anxiety again. Jin’s expression had darkened.
“If only I have enough time to teach him……”
Jin’s lonely voice scattered into the air.
* * *
“This is Louis, our engineer,” Rick introduced.
A woman with vibrant, orange-red hair reached out her hand to me. Her active short cut was quite striking—most women in this era, including myself, had long hair.
As I took Louis’s hand, she shook it vigorously up and down with high energy.
“Hello, Teacher Aubert! I’ve heard so much about you from Rick.”
With a face full of freckles and olive eyes, she gave off a very cheerful impression. She looked to be around the same age as Rick, and it was hard to believe this young woman had developed Richard’s revolver.
It seemed the Liberators were full of geniuses. There was Jin, of course, and then Rick and Louis.
“Hello, Louis. I’m Astrid Aubert. I look forward to working with you.”
I smiled back at her brightly.
“By the way, how exactly does the bathroom plumbing work?”
I knew there was a high chance I wouldn’t understand Louis’s explanation any more than I had Rick’s, but I was curious. It was a question I had never even thought to ask back in the modern world.
“You can speak comfortably with me, Teacher. I’m a year older than Rick, but I’m still younger than you.”
Louis spoke affably. After dealing with nothing but dark, brooding men, I was so happy to talk to a woman close to my age.
“Sh-should I? All right then.”
As I switched to a more casual tone, Louis grinned and led me into the bathroom. She then pulled open a section of the wall to show me.
Amazingly, inside the wall, there were carvings that looked like glowing electronic circuits, alongside brilliantly shining red and blue gems.
“Do you see these?”
Louis pointed to the gems. I gave a small nod.
“This is a water-attribute mana stone. It creates clean water. And this one is a fire-attribute mana stone. It heats that water to the desired temperature.”
I could only nod blankly as I listened to her. It seemed to be a product of mana engineering, quite different from conventional science.
“So you can use these permanently? That’s incredible.”
Mana stones. It was something I hadn’t even considered.
“Well, no. Once the stored mana is depleted, they have to be replaced,” Louis answered.
It seemed they functioned similarly to batteries. But weren’t mana stones incredibly expensive?
“Aren’t mana stones pricey? Is it okay to use them in every room like this?”
Rebel and anti-government groups usually carry an image of poverty. But after coming down to this Underground City, I realized that was just my prejudice.
To be honest, life here seemed much better than Astrid’s previous life.
“It’s fine. Mana stones are scattered all over the place here. There’s even a mana stone mine right next to us. And our Leader has incredible foresight; he’s invested in various businesses and is making a lot of money.”
I couldn’t help but look stunned again at Louis’s words. Jin, aren’t you a bit too overpowered as a character? You’re good at making money too?
Of course, the original novel mentioned that they funded the rebellion through business. After Rodent rebuilt the Liberators, he managed a merchant group to gather funds. But to think they were already gathering wealth like that back when Jin was in charge.
I suddenly understood why such a massive rebel group had no choice but to collapse after losing just one leader. Honestly, this was a deformed organization that only moved by grinding down a single person named Jin.
“Ah, and Louis. I have another question. How on earth did you make the gun Richard uses?”
No matter how much I thought about it, the weapon Richard used was far more advanced than the firearms of this world. I couldn’t help but be curious.
Louis scratched her cheek awkwardly at my question.
“Ah, that… I made it by recreating a weapon used by the dwarves. The Leader translated some of the records they left behind. Since the script is completely extinct, even the Leader doesn’t know it perfectly, but…”
It was at that moment, as I was nodding along to Louis’s answer.
“Teacher Aubert! Teacher Aubert!”
Startled by the commotion outside the bathroom, I rushed out.
“Jin is…! Let’s go, quickly.”
Richard immediately grabbed me and pulled me along.
What is going on? Did something happen to Jin? I hurriedly followed Richard.
Richard was walking so fast that by the time we reached Jin’s room, I was gasping for air. It showed just how desperate he was. I entered the room with a tense face.
Cough, hack. Along with the sound of violent coughing, the sight before me left me speechless. Jin was lying on the bed, coughing as if his breath were about to cut out. And… bright red blood was staining the bedsheets and the corners of his mouth.
‘Agh! Are you keeping a patient who’s spitting blood lying flat on his back? What if his airway gets blocked?’
I rushed over and turned Jin onto his side. Then, I panicked, not knowing what to do next.
Should I rub his back? With trembling hands, I gently rubbed Jin’s back. He was so thin that I felt every single vertebra of his spine.
After coughing and spitting up blood for a while, Jin’s breathing finally eased a bit. The bleeding seemed to have stopped as well. Richard, who had been standing anxiously by his side, let out a sigh of relief.
“From now on, never leave him lying flat when he’s coughing severely or spitting up blood. The blood could block his windpipe and it could be… dangerous.”
I was about to use the word ‘death,’ but seeing the flicker of fear in Richard’s eyes, I quickly changed my wording. It wasn’t a lie; I could literally see Richard’s heart sinking.
“……What’s all the fuss about. I told you there’s no need to call the doctor.”
A dying, metallic sound came from Jin’s throat.
Fuss? My dear man, you could have actually died just now.
‘Ah, his throat must be sore since his bronchi are swollen.’
It occurred to me that in dramas, there were often scenes where characters suffered from sore throats after such severe coughing and hemoptysis. Wouldn’t it be good to drink some warm water?
Now that I thought about it, something was strange. Shouldn’t someone of Jin’s status have a few attendants by his side? Besides, isn’t Jin a patient—a critical one who has trouble moving on his own?
Yet, I hadn’t seen a single person helping in the room until now. I had no choice but to ask Richard for some water.
“Richard, please bring a glass of warm water. And why aren’t there any attendants? From now on, make sure someone is assigned to wait on him. It’s dangerous for him to be alone.”
Richard glanced at me, then gave a quiet nod and disappeared from the room. Jin was staring at me fixedly.
“I don’t keep attendants. All humans are equal; what makes me so special that I should order others around?”
Jin spoke with great effort in a cracked voice.
I couldn’t help but look surprised. I suppose I felt a bit moved.
In this era, even among the same humans, treatment varied wildly depending on status. There were slaves who weren’t even treated as human, and people like Soltaire III who wielded power from a position above all.
And what about the era I came from? On the surface, everyone was equal, but it was taken for granted that those with money and power would boss others around.
Yet this man, known as the ‘King of the Underground City,’ was saying he didn’t want to order people around.
What kind of guy is he? His tone is blunt, but his words are so beautiful. I struggled to maintain my composure. Ahem. The person in front of me is a patient. Not a man, but a patient. A patient…
“You are a patient. This is a necessary part of nursing. If you dislike ordering people around so much, then get well quickly. So you can do everything yourself.”
Richard, who had returned with the water, handed the glass to Jin and nodded in agreement with my words.
“The doctor is right, Jin. I’ve told you many times that it’s dangerous for you to be alone. I’ll assign a few of the younger ones who haven’t been given missions yet.”
Jin made a dissatisfied face as he drank the water Richard handed him. He seemed lost in thought for a long moment, then spoke after a while.
“……Fine. I’ll do as the doctor says.”
Fortunately, his voice sounded a bit more human now. I let out a sigh. An emergency like this right after arriving—I was deeply worried about the future for both Jin and me.
