Chapter 1 …
To the Underground City
Warm sunlight slipped in through the narrow bars of the window. The sunlight stabbed into my eyes as I leaned against the wall trying to sleep, forcing me to wake from my brief nap.
Seeing that the sky outside the window had turned orange, it looked like the day would soon come to an end.
“Teacher Ober.”
At that moment, the small boy in front of me tightly grabbed the hem of my clothes. Even though he wore worn-out, tattered clothes, it did nothing to diminish how cute he was.
His hair was dirty and greasy, but his platinum-blond locks still shone beautifully. His bright, sparkling eyes were a clear turquoise color.
“Teacher Ober.”
That was my name.
Astrid Ober.
It had been a week since I had entered this damned body, but no matter how many times I heard it, the name still felt unfamiliar.
“What’s wrong, Rodent?”
I asked the boy gently.
Rodent.
Naming a child “Rodent”—how cruel. Apparently, it was a name someone had given him because he wandered the streets like a sewer rat.
And the boy standing before me with that ridiculous name was none other than the male protagonist of the novel I had entered: Liberator of the Underground City.
“…Nothing.”
Rodent moved his lips as if hesitating to say something, then shut his mouth tightly.
I closed my eyes again. The scene in front of me made it impossible to keep them open.
The place where Rodent and I were imprisoned together was a notoriously cruel prison of the Regnumia Empire. It was so cramped that neither a young boy nor a small adult woman could lie down comfortably and stretch their legs.
As I closed my eyes, the last memories of my previous life flooded in like a rising tide.
“Patient! Patient! Can you hear me?”
“Trauma patient. Female, 27. BP keeps dropping.”
“Ma’am, do you know where you are?”
“Doctor, it’s V-fib!”
That was my last memory.
On my way to work, I was hit by a truck and taken to the hospital. My final moments were like a scene straight out of a medical drama I’d watched since my school days.
Even though I had watched countless medical dramas for fifteen years, I never realized that moment would come to me too.
And that I would die.
V-fib—ventricular fibrillation.
And probably… expire.
I don’t remember it, but the doctor must have solemnly declared my death.
My life—short though it was—ended after 27 years.
And when I opened my eyes again, I was in this damned prison.
I had been imprisoned here while retaining the memories of Astrid, the person whose body I had possessed. Her memories were somewhat hazy, like looking through fog.
Astrid Ober was known as the “Angel of Aube Street.”
To compare it with my old world, she was something like Mother Teresa.
“An angel…”
Just hearing that title made my entire body cringe like a squid wriggling on a hot grill.
But whether I liked it or not, that was who I was now.
Astrid Ober was twenty-seven years old—same as me. But the meaning of being twenty-seven in this world was completely different from my old one.
Women in this world became adults at eighteen and were usually married off to a match arranged by their families.
If a woman passed twenty without marrying, people would call her an old maid.
So a woman who was still unmarried at twenty-seven…
“And on top of that, she takes in poor street children and even treats them. She really is a saint.”
Yes.
The ten-year-old boy before me, Rodent, was also one of the children Astrid had saved.
No—he was the last child she saved.
Because she had been arrested and thrown into this prison together with him.
“…Rodent, what’s wrong?”
I couldn’t concentrate on my thoughts. Rodent was fidgeting restlessly, looking extremely anxious.
“Teacher Ober…”
Tears gathered in Rodent’s mint-colored eyes.
Seeing tears in a young boy’s eyes was heartbreaking…
But unbearably cute.
I mostly obsessed over medical dramas, but it wasn’t like I never consumed other genres. Among them, Liberator of the Underground City was one of my favorite works—I had reread it several times.
And now the 10-year-old version of my favorite character was right in front of me!
And he was looking up at me, crying!
But Astrid—the Angel of Aube Street—shouldn’t be having such irreverent thoughts in front of a crying child.
Ahem.
I cleared my throat and asked gently.
“Why are you crying, Rodent? Are you hurt somewhere?”
He shook his head.
Then he grabbed my sleeve tightly.
So… cute…
“Teacher… the prison guards said… you’re going to be executed by hanging tomorrow. Is that true?”
For a moment, I was speechless.
Those guards told a ten-year-old child something like that?!
Unforgivable.
Of course, what they said wasn’t wrong.
Tomorrow morning, when the sun rose, I was scheduled to be dragged to the gallows and hanged.
My crime:
Practicing medicine without a license.
In the Regnumia Empire, women were not allowed to hold professional occupations.
Astrid had inherited her father’s clinic, but she could never obtain a medical license.
And performing medical treatment under those circumstances was why I was imprisoned.
Well, that was the excuse.
In truth, they probably just didn’t like the fact that Astrid was praised as an angel for helping the oppressed.
But if the original story followed its course, I wouldn’t die.
Because tonight—
Someone would come to rescue me.
“Don’t worry, Rodent. That won’t happen. It’s okay. Everything will be fine.”
I hugged the restless boy tightly and comforted him.
My shoulder grew damp—his tears were falling.
His small shoulders trembled.
Astrid had taken in Rodent when he had nowhere to go and treated him kindly.
The idea that she would die tomorrow must be a huge shock for a ten-year-old.
Those guards really deserved to die.
“Hmph. Well… they’ll all be dead in a few hours anyway.”
Because soon—
The Liberators would arrive.
The current emperor of the Regnumia Empire, Solter III, was infamous for his brutal tyranny.
Laughter had disappeared from the streets.
The Imperial Army had become something people feared.
If you angered them, you would either lose your life or be expelled outside the city walls where monsters roamed.
In such a situation, it was only natural that people began to rise against the empire.
The Liberators were a rebel army formed by those people.
And a very, very large one.
According to the original story, tonight the Liberators would kill every guard in this prison and rescue Astrid and Rodent.
I glared fiercely at the guard outside the bars while anticipating the satisfying moment.
The guard flinched, giving me a look that said, What kind of crazy woman is this?
While I was comforting Rodent, darkness had already fallen outside.
The time for the Liberators to arrive was very close.
I made a slicing gesture across my neck toward the guard.
You’re all finished soon. Got it?
But even so, my heart wasn’t at ease.
Yes, I would avoid execution—
but Astrid’s future wasn’t exactly bright.
The reason the Liberators attacked the prison to rescue Astrid was because they needed her to save their dying leader.
The King of the Underground City—Jin.
He would be my future patient.
Just thinking about Jin made me sigh.
Astrid, an unlicensed doctor, had treated street children simply by feeding them well and letting them rest in a clean environment.
And me?
In my previous life I had been nothing more than an ordinary office worker.
A low-ranking employee in the new product development team at a confectionery company.
And someone like me was supposed to become the personal doctor of a rebel leader?
In the original story, Jin dies three months from now.
After his death, the Liberators scatter.
And Astrid is murdered as well.
Yes.
My fate would also end in three months.
“…If I want to survive, I must not go down to the Underground City—the Liberators’ base.”
That was the conclusion I had reached during the week after possessing this body.
I had already died once in hellish pain.
I couldn’t go through that again.
Just then—
A commotion began outside the prison.
“They’re here.”
I tightly grabbed Rodent’s hand as he jumped at the sound of gunshots and screams.
“Stop them! It’s the Liberators!”
The guards shouted.
Pointless.
They were going to die anyway.
Before long, a man with flowing ash-gray hair appeared before the prison cell.
“Astrid Ober?”
His deep, reliable voice asked.
The strong man looking down at me had eyes like a lion.
Just as described in the novel.
Long pale gray hair, light sky-blue eyes, and ruggedly handsome features.
And those broad shoulders…
Wow. He’s built like a tank.
“…Let me ask again. Are you Miss Ober?”
Since I just stared at him up and down instead of answering, he asked again awkwardly.
Relax, man.
“Yes. I’m Astrid Ober. And you are?”
Of course, I already knew who he was, but I asked out of courtesy.
This man was Richard, the Liberators’ second-in-command.
Jin’s loyal right hand—and closest friend.
“There’s no time to explain. Please come out first.”
Richard took out a bunch of keys and began searching for the one that fit the cell.
Then a guard shouted from afar.
“Over here! The Gray Lion is here!”
Gray Lion—that was Richard’s nickname.
Thinking about it, the third most wanted criminal in the empire was standing right in front of me.
“Please wait a moment.”
Richard said quietly.
Then he began shooting the guards rushing toward him.
Each bullet dropped a man.
Incredible.
The novel emphasized he was a master marksman—but seeing it in person was something else.
The technology of this era wasn’t advanced; most weapons were crude matchlock guns.
But the revolver he used had been specially developed by the Liberators’ engineers.
Soon the guards swarming like ants all collapsed.
Richard hurried.
He had to escape the prison with Astrid before the Imperial Army arrived.
“Come out, Miss Ober.”
He opened the cell door.
Finally—escape from this cramped prison.
I was already tired of staring at the small patch of sky through the tiny window.
I happily stepped outside.
After running desperately for a while, we reached a deserted back alley.
Everything was silent.
Fortunately, no pursuers seemed to be following us.
“Mister! Are you the Gray Lion?”
Rodent asked Richard with sparkling eyes.
Richard glanced at him, then politely introduced himself to us.
“My introduction is late. My name is Richard.”
Rodent gasped in admiration.
“Wow!”
“Can I become a Liberator too?”
His eyes sparkled even more.
At this rate, laser beams might shoot out of them.
A faint smile appeared on Richard’s stoic face.
“Of course. Come with us.”
The Liberators took in homeless street children.
It seemed Rodent would join them just like in the original story.
“Forgive me for explaining late, Miss Ober. We need your help. You are our only hope. Please come with us.”
Richard spoke in a serious voice.
Hey now—
Saying you’re our only hope in such a deep voice the first time we meet?!
How could a woman’s heart not skip a beat hearing that?
“I’ve heard the rumors… but I’m not a skilled doctor. I don’t even have a medical license. I cannot go with you.”
Rumors that the King of the Underground City, Jin, was dying had already spread across the empire.
Of course, the original Astrid would have walked into hell itself if a patient needed her.
But I wasn’t her.
I wanted to live.
Jin’s death was sad, but what could I even do?
If I went with Richard to the Underground City, I would die in three months.
Richard looked startled by my answer.
What? Surprised the “Angel of Aube Street” isn’t actually an angel?
“I never thought you would refuse.”
Richard said.
Please don’t say something like I refuse your refusal.
Come on, big guy. Just let me go.
I stared at him desperately.
Richard sighed reluctantly and opened his mouth.
“…Excuse me, Miss Ober.”
He said very politely.
Excuse you? For what?
I looked at him in confusion.
And then—
Click.
Richard cocked his revolver and pointed it at my head.
“Let me ask you again, Miss Ober. Will you come with me?”
Note: The protagonist of this work is not a medical professional. The medical knowledge mentioned in the story may differ from real-life medicine.
