Chapter 007
* * *
The morning of my second day in the Underground City.
I woke up feeling refreshed. After spending a week cramped in a narrow prison cell with Rodent, I couldn’t have been more grateful for the fluffy, soft bed.
Moreover, after being unable to wash for over a week in that foul-smelling dungeon, scrubbing myself clean with warm water made falling asleep incredibly easy.
Having woken up revitalized, I sat at the desk and began to map out my future plans. First, even if I didn’t know the exact name of Jin’s illness, it seemed my guess about it being a respiratory disease wasn’t far off.
While there are cases where coughing or vomiting blood stems from other issues, I recalled that blood from the esophagus or digestive tract is usually accompanied by nausea and tends to be dark red or brownish, rather than bright red.
Since Jin’s blood was a clear, bright color and accompanied by coughing, it likely originated from the respiratory system.
‘A respiratory disease…….’
If it’s a respiratory issue, even this dry air—which was no problem for me—could be lethal for him. Wouldn’t I need a humidifier? If one wasn’t available, I’d have to hang wet towels around Jin’s room at the very least.
One thing that was truly fortunate was that this place was quite well-ventilated. Of course, the faint, low hum of the massive ventilation fans was audible, but it wasn’t annoying enough to be a distraction.
Better to have it a bit noisy than to be in a stagnant space, which would have been terrible for Jin’s health.
As I was jotting down the items I needed immediately, I heard a knock on the door. Who could it be this early? I opened the door slightly and looked out. It was Rodent.
“Teacher Aubert!”
I was momentarily stunned by Rodent’s bright smile. He was cute even when he was covered in grime, but now that he was washed and dressed in clean clothes, he was dazzlingly adorable.
That noble-looking platinum blonde hair! As expected, a male protagonist really does have a different aura. He was a looker whose grown-up future was something to anticipate.
“Rodent, did you sleep well?”
I smiled back at the beaming boy.
“Yes! May I come in, Teacher?” Rodent asked.
Having spent a week together in such a small space, I had grown quite fond of him. I ushered Rodent into the room.
“What brings you here so early, Rodent?” I asked kindly. Rodent hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“Actually, I was worried that you might have been very startled yesterday……”
I couldn’t help but blink in surprise. Of course, I had been startled, but I hadn’t expected young Rodent to be worrying about me.
“Mr. Richard—no, Lord Richard…… he pointed a gun at you, Teacher.”
Ah, right. That did happen. Not many people go through life being threatened with a gun pointed at them, but I had already forgotten about it despite it happening so recently.
I knew from the original work that Richard was a good person and how much he cared for Jin, so I held no grudge.
But come to think of it, wouldn’t the shock of that event have hit Rodent harder than me?
“I’m fine. I wasn’t as startled as you might think. Rodent, are you okay?”
Please tell me this event didn’t make Rodent lose respect for the Liberators and mess up the plot. The thought gave me goosebumps. It would be a literal butterfly effect.
“I’m fine. The world is just like that, isn’t it? It’s a place where people do even worse things to achieve what they want,” Rodent said with a bright smile.
For a moment, I felt like I’d been hit in the back of the head. What on earth was this young child saying?
As I stared at Rodent blankly, I remembered a fact I had overlooked: this child had grown up in the harsh back alleys.
“I’m used to this sort of thing, but I was worried because you didn’t seem to be, Teacher. I’m glad you weren’t too startled.”
Rodent giggled. I wondered if it was okay for him to be smiling while saying such things. I was lost for words at Rodent’s bright smile that didn’t match the situation.
“Actually, I’m grateful to Lord Richard. Because he saved you before you could be hanged, Teacher.”
As he spoke, Rodent’s eyes were turning a bit red. I realized that Rodent truly cared for me—well, for Astrid—and my heart felt heavy with emotion.
When I reached out and stroked his hair, Rodent smiled happily.
It was shocking that a mere ten-year-old thought this way—believing the world was “just like that.” At the same time, I was so grateful that he liked Astrid so much.
“Did you meet many friends your age?” I asked, trying to shift the heavy mood. Rodent nodded vigorously and began to talk about the friends he had met.
His roommate was a boy named Benton, who was quite an important figure in the original work. In a way, their relationship might mirror that of Jin and Richard—the brilliant Rodent and the physically powerful Benton.
Then there was Zeno, the dark-skinned and agile boy who would later lead the merchant group, and Erin, whose kind and cautious nature would lead her to manage the internal affairs of the Underground City.
Rodent chatted away for a long time until he was practically dragged out by Finn, who had come looking for him. It seemed he had come all this way to find Rodent, who had disappeared during breakfast time.
Feeling a complex mix of emotions, I waved with a bittersweet smile at the departing Rodent.
* * *
The first few days after arriving in the Underground City passed in a whirlwind. As Jin’s doctor, there was a mountain of things to do.
I didn’t even have time to be amazed by the artificial sun that rose and set in the Underground City.
First, I began to record every detail of Jin’s physical condition. I had always wanted to do this—writing a patient’s medical chart. My heart thudded with the feeling of being a real doctor.
When his coughing was severe, I recorded exactly when and for how many minutes the paroxysm lasted; when he coughed up blood, I recorded the approximate amount. I wasn’t sure if it would help, but still.
I also tracked how much water he drank, how much he ate, and how much he slept. I felt a bit like a Jin-stalker.
Then, I looked through the medical books in my room. As expected, most were garbage, but there were a few worth keeping.
The most helpful was the ‘Encyclopedia of Herbs.’ Astrid’s memory had some information on herbs, but there was more I didn’t know. This book was a godsend.
Next was ‘Types and Uses of Alchemical Materials.’ Apparently, many remains of monsters had medicinal properties.
The last one was a completely unexpected find: ‘Points of Caution for Bloodletting.’ I never thought this would be useful, but the book contained diagrams of the human body’s major blood vessels.
Furthermore, it detailed the locations of organs that shouldn’t be touched during bloodletting and provided enough anatomical knowledge to distinguish the trachea from the esophagus, which was a huge help.
‘For a quack like me, there’s no better book than this.’
But more important than anything else was getting some weight on Jin for his health. I swear, it’s not because I think he’d look even more handsome with a bit of meat on his bones—it’s purely out of medical concern.
Betty and I put our heads together to scheme ways to increase Jin’s food intake. The first step was finding out why he avoided eating.
So, I decided to conduct a medical interview (Anamnesis). The act of a doctor asking a patient about their history, the onset of illness, and its progression. That interview.
Anamnesis…… the terminology alone is so exciting. I really feel like a doctor!
“Jin, why don’t you eat well?”
I asked Jin with a serious expression, chart in my left hand and pen in my right. As usual, lacking the strength to even sit up, he leaned laboriously against his pillows, frowned slightly, and spoke.
“I spend all day lying down, so my digestion is poor. Perhaps because I vomit blood so often, the fishy smell of blood lingers in my mouth, and I have no appetite.”
It was a clear, intelligent answer worthy of a brilliant patient. Satisfied, I scribbled his answer onto the chart in elegant cursive. I never could have written like this in my past life, but Astrid’s handwriting was as beautiful as her face.
First, I consulted with Rick to find a way to remove that fishy taste. We created a mint-flavored gargle. I couldn’t be sure if the ingredients matched modern mouthwash, but its purpose was simply to clear the taste of blood.
Rick was undoubtedly a genius. Even when I explained things poorly, he understood perfectly and created the medicine I wanted.
“……This is good. Rick made this?”
Jin, having tried the gargle himself, looked at the small medicine bottle with wide eyes.
Hah, how rewarding.
“Do you feel like you have an appetite now? I’ll bring lunch.”
My heart racing, I looked at Jin with sparkling eyes. Jin hesitated for a long time, still not feeling up for a meal. Listen, you sunfish, you have to eat to live. You have to eat so your immune system has the strength to fight the disease.
I narrowed my eyes and clapped my hands twice at the silent Jin. At that signal, the door opened and Betty brought in the meal.
It was a meal Betty and I had prepared with the utmost care. A secret weapon soup filled with ‘easy-to-digest vegetables’ I had researched back during my corporate days. With Betty’s cooking skills added, it tasted fantastic.
I waited for Jin to take a single spoonful. You read my thoughts, right? Just try saying it tastes bad. I won’t let you off easy, I thought, glaring at him intensely.
“It’s delicious.”
Fortunately, Jin said the dish Betty and I made was good. Betty and I looked at each other and let out a sigh of relief.
For now, this quack doctor’s diagnosis was that his stomach function had declined due to a long period of illness. I planned to boost his energy with easy-to-digest ingredients that aided the stomach, and then once his stomach recovered, I would start bulking him up in earnest.
The problem, however, was that no matter how delicious the food was, Jin would stop after just a few spoonfuls. What a picky eater.
“Why are you stopping?”
Seriously, do you know how hard Betty and I researched this? You’re just going to stop after a few bites, you jerk?
“I’m full,” Jin muttered.
What? What kind of stomach does he have? How can a few spoonfuls of thin vegetable soup make anyone full? I let out a deep sigh and said to Jin:
“I won’t let you do anything until you finish this. You know Rodent is waiting for his lesson with you, right? If you don’t finish this, there will be no lesson with Rodent and no meeting with Richard this afternoon.”
It was exhausting—it felt like I was coaxing and prodding a toddler to eat. Jin looked miserable. Well, I feel like crying too, toddler Jin.
Jin sighed deeply and took a few more spoonfuls. I watched him eat with a sense of pride. Good boy, eat up.
But after a few more bites, he stopped again.
“What is it now?”
Every mealtime was a battle. Was I nursing a patient or raising a child?
“My arm hurts.”
