Chapter 178: |
Chapter 178
‘We, the Cat People, will never betray his kindness. From now on, we will become true friends and help that human.’
“Thank you, High One of Man! I will never forget your kindness!”
Raymond looked dumbfounded at the reaction of the Cat People.
It was a win-win deal, but he was so grateful.
At that moment, an unexpected message came to mind.
[Your sincerity has moved the hearts of the Suin tribe!]
[Achievement: Achieved ‘True Alliance with the Suin Tribe’!]
[You get 50 skill points!]
But one additional message came to mind.
[As the ‘Healer Lord’, you have made a pact for the people and the patients!]
[Acquire bonus skills as a special perk!]
[You gain the skill, ‘Negotiation Skill’!]
[Negotiation Skills]
Category: Healer Lord Skills
Grade: Rare
Skill level: D
– Demonstrates excellent negotiating skills when negotiating at the ‘territorial level’ for patients and citizens!
-As your proficiency level increases, you become more adept at negotiating larger units!
‘Oh. That’s good?’
Raymond immediately recognized the true value of this skill.
‘It’s a skill that prevents .e from becoming a fool.’
When you become a lord, you will have many opportunities to negotiate and trade.
He was no pushover, but he lacked experience as a lord. It was a skill that would prevent him from making mistakes due to his immaturity.
Anyway, that’s for another day.
There are more important things to do now.
“Is that the end? Are there any other requests?”
“There is.”
Raymond brought out the most important condition.
“The culprit who caused trouble in the Magic Stone mine. Please share information about him with us.”
“…!”
Raymond said with heavy eyes.
“He is also our enemy, so we will definitely catch him.”
Yes, eradicating the disease was not the end.
The culprit who caused this terrible situation… He had to find that culprit.
* * *
Raymond, who arrived at the Cat Tribe village, sighed.
As expected, it was a disaster.
‘Nearly half of the Cat People have died.’
The original number of the Cat people living in the Kennel Mountains was about 200.
Of these, 100 had already died.
The village was located near the magic stone mine, believed to be the source, and appeared to have been hit directly.
‘The survivors are also in serious condition.’
Of the 100 or so survivors, only about 70 were in good health. 30 were on the verge of death due to poisoning by a contaminant.
Raymond and his companions went straight into treatment.
It was fortunate that he brought thyroid medication in advance just in case.
“Elmud, give me some thyroid medication!”
“Yes, my lord!”
“May, Mary! You guys hold the vein and take the vitals!”
“Understood, Master!”
May and Mary!
They were twin sisters in their early twenties who were brought in as disciples in place of Hanson, Christine, and Lindon.
‘They’ve been here for quite some time now. I guess I can leave the basics to them.’
If Hanson, Christine, and Lindon were the first generation disciples, then May and Mary were the second generation disciples.
They’re his disciples who entered just before the war with the Kingdom of Droughton broke out.
Although they were originally quiet and had no special qualities and lived without any presence, the two sisters had one good point.
It is that they are honest and straightforward sincerity of a bear.
They studied hard as Raymond told them to. And before anyone knew it, they had achieved remarkable growth.
Although they are still lacking compared to Hanson, Christine, and Lindon, their skills are clearly superior to those of other new healers.
To a certain extent, he can trust and leave it to them!
Elmud also helped treat patients based on the basic structural techniques he learned from over his shoulders. And thanks to their efforts, a significant number of the Cat Tribe were able to recover.
“Oh, thank you.”
Sonia, a noblewoman of the Cat tribe, bowed her head with a heavy face.
They had tried to kill Raymond, but instead they had received a favor they could not repay, and there was no way to express their gratitude.
‘We, the Cat People, do not forget kindness. From now on, Raymond, we will serve you as the benefactor of our clan.’
While everything was going so smoothly, there was one problem.
It was the descendants of the chieftain, the most important figure of the Cat people, who were not able to recover.
Although medication was administered, the condition continued to worsen.
‘If this continues, they will die.’
Raymond thought with a heavy face.
A small, androgynous boy, perhaps about ten years old, was unconscious and breathing shallowly.
This boy was a descendant of the chieftain of the Car tribe.
“Benefactor of the clan, is there no way to save this person?”
Sonia asked with an earnest face.
Raymond answered heavily.
“I will try my best.”
Although he answered like that, Raymond had a feeling from his past experiences.
‘If things continue like this, this child will not survive.’
Of course, he hasn’t saved every patient so far.
He had lost numerous patients due to various limitations.
Even in this incident, there were countless patients lost. Even if treatment was administered, not all patients recovered.
Just like the saying in the Eastern Continent that “life is a sacrifice to heaven,” there were times when even the best treatment was not enough, and he learned from those experiences.
Now, this child was dying.
“Alas! What can I do? The great son of my clan has to die like this!”
“Oh, heavens!”
The Cat people wept.
Sonia begged earnestly.
“Please, my benefactor. This boy, Mien, is the only remaining descendant of the previous chieftain after his death. I will offer any price, please spare Mien.”
Raymond nodded heavily.
‘If this child dies, I’ll be in trouble too. I’ll lose all clues about the culprit.’
This child was the one who witnessed the culprit who had emerald eyes.
If this child dies, any clues to the culprit will be lost forever as he was the only one who accidentally witnessed it in the dead of night.
‘Aside from that, he’s only about 10 years old. We have to save him.’
Raymond looked at the child.
A small, weak child was dying.
He had to live regardless of all other reasons.
‘But how? If the cure doesn’t work, then there’s no other way.’
The remedies he used were iodine and herbal extracts that suppressed thyroid function.
In this child’s case, thyroid function was not suppressed despite medication.
In this case, there was no more medical way.
‘No. Is there really no way? Think about it. There might be another way.’
Raymond thought about it deeply, but nothing came to mind.
‘There is no way to suppress hormones without removing the thyroid gland… ‘
That was the moment he thought about it.
Raymond stopped short.
‘Wait a minute. Take out the thyroid?’
An idea flashed into his mind.
‘If the thyroid function is not suppressed, then we can just cut out the thyroid gland and get rid of it!’
Then, the thyroid storm or whatever, could be completely resolved.
But he soon shook his head with a disappointed expression.
‘No. It’s impossible. He will die during the surgery.’
There was a reason to think so.
‘The thyroid gland is a sensitive tissue, so if it is damaged by surgery, the hormones contained within will explode and leak out. His condition will worsen and he will die.’
Thyroid hormone levels suddenly skyrocket, just like when you get a heal spurt.
There was a high chance that he would not be able to endure it and would die.
‘But if he stays still like this, he will die.’
Raymond clenched his fist.
‘I have to choose. Do I take the risk and try surgery, or do I just sit here and do nothing?’
It was a question with no answer.
Raymond spoke to Sonia, his guardian.
“Are you saying that if things continue like this, Mien will die?”
“Yes, there is a way to try, but it is also risky. There is a high chance that he will die during the treatment.”
Raymond explained the current situation as simply as possible.
Sonia tilted her head, as if she found it difficult to understand, and then asked back:
“You are saying that if he gets surgery, there might be a chance his condition will get worse instantly and he won’t be able to endure it.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
But she gave an unexpected answer.
“Then try it, my benefactor. Perhaps Mien will be able to endure it.”
“…!”
When Sonia saw the child with surprised eyes, she looked at him with stern eyes.
“Mien-nim, you are the descendant of the great Amyo, and you have the thickest blood. As such, you have much stronger stamina than the benefactor is worried about, so you will be able to endure the brief deterioration.”
“…”
Raymond couldn’t nod easily.
Even if he was born with thick blood, would he be able to endure in that condition?
‘But if things continue like this, there’s no other way. I have to take the risk.’
After thinking like that, he opened my mouth.
“Okay, I’ll do my best.”
He said it again, as if making a promise.
“I will definitely save you.”
Sonia bowed her head deeply as if in gratitude.
“Please, I beg you! If you spare Mien, I will serve you as a benefactor of our clan forever!”
And so the surgery began.
* * *
Sisters May and Mary will serve as assistants.
May will be the first assist on the field, while Mary will assist off the surgical field.
‘You’ll do well, right?’
Raymond glanced at them both.
This wasn’t the first time they had worked together.
While he mostly received help with difficult surgeries from Christine and Hanson, he often received assistance from other students for simpler surgeries, and this twin sisters also assisted him on several occasions.
‘The problem is that they don’t have much experience assisting with such difficult surgery.’
The good news, though, was that the twins didn’t seem to be too frozen.
They were preparing to assist Raymond silently and honestly like a bear.
‘… Now that I think about it, my nickname for them among my disciples was ‘Bear.’
Of course, it wasn’t that they looked like a bear.
It was a nickname given to them because, unlike their small stature, they were quiet, honest, and sincere.
Raymond’s heart also calmed down somewhat when he saw the twins’ sturdy appearance.
“Open.”
Sizzle.
A scalpel was used to slice the skin over the neck where the thyroid gland is located.
‘We must proceed with the utmost delicacy and caution.’
Raymond decided that the success or failure of this surgery depended on ‘delicacy’.
‘Never give the thyroid tissue a big blow or else the hormones will burst out and his condition will rapidly worsen.’
Thyroid surgery is a surgery that requires delicate care.
This is because there were many areas that could be injured, including the recurrent laryngeal nerve and parathyroid glands.
In addition, if hemostasis is not properly achieved, a hematoma may form after surgery, compressing the lower airway, resulting in an emergency situation.
But now, they have to be mindful of all of that and have the surgery done in a way that causes the least amount of damage to the thyroid gland.