Chapter 78: Good Healer (6) |
*
I took Ayla to the Diabetes Examination Room.
“Director. What kind of illness do you treat in this consultation room?”
“It’s a disease that’s a bit too early for you to learn about, Miss Ayla, so I won’t introduce it today.”
On the way to the Diabetes Examination Room.
We passed a consultation room that a suspicious number of male patients frequented, but I moved on naturally.
The Diabetes Examination Room was situated in a small space at the end of the hallway.
When I opened the door, two healers were standing before a long table inside.
One healer with round glasses was arranging glass cups.
“Ah, Director. Welcome.”
The healer with the round glasses gave a slight nod upon seeing me.
His name was Gomikawa Kou.
He was a diabetes-specialized Healer whom I had personally trained.
He was in his late thirties.
A former low-rank Priest, his skill with Heal was mediocre.
Instead, he had a high understanding of alchemy.
He originally dreamed of being an Alchemist.
But for the practical reason that Alchemists had fewer job opportunities than Healers, he had ultimately chosen the path of a Healer.
Then, after I created the insulin boom, he abandoned Divine Magic and began walking the path of alchemy once more.
“Teacher. I’ve brought my student today.”
“Ooh! Is the Director finally taking on a disciple!”
Beyond the round glasses, the eyes of Kou, the healer-cum-alchemist, became as wide as the moon.
“It’s been the talk of the town among the Merkur Clinic healers lately. That the Director has finally brought in a disciple.”
Common Healers bring their disciples to the infirmaries where they work and teach them.
Hoping that they will one day take over their work.
In fact, the healer silently assisting with the examination next to Kou was his disciple.
If I remembered correctly, she was a student who had matriculated into the Department of Healing last year.
“Introduce yourself, Yutsuki.”
“Hello, Senior. I am Ayla.”
“Nice to meet you, Miss Ayla. I’m Yutsuki.”
The healer who had been writing something down greeted Ayla.
I pushed Ayla forward so Kou could see her better and spoke.
“Mr. Kou. Ayla has yet to matriculate into the Department of Healing. I’d just like to ask for a brief explanation of the diabetes examination today. Do you have time?”
Kou nodded readily.
“I just finished the morning batch. I was about to prepare the afternoon batch, so you can watch together.”
It was good timing.
I gestured for Ayla to come further inside.
On the table, twelve glass cups were lined up in a row.
Each cup contained a yellow liquid, and each had a name tag attached.
Healer Kou explained to Ayla.
“This is all urine from patients suspected of having diabetes.”
“What?”
Ayla’s expression was colored with horror.
“Why would you do that?”
“Because urine is a mirror that shows the state of the inside of the body.”
Kou replied, dropping a blue liquid into each beaker containing urine.
The name of the blue liquid was Benedict’s reagent.
A reagent for detecting sugar.
Next, Kou heated the liquid mixture of urine and reagent.
Most of the cups just foamed and remained yellow.
But some cups turned from yellow to red.
Kou’s disciple recorded each change.
[Crane Hoyer, M, 62, Positive.]
[James Miller, M, 55, Positive.]
Once the disciple finished her records, I took the sheet and showed it to Ayla.
“Now, Student Ayla. Can you explain what you know about diabetes?”
“It’s a disease where you’re constantly thirsty, and even though you drink a lot of water, it all comes out as urine.”
“That’s right. You’ve studied well, Student Ayla.”
Polydipsia, excessive thirst, and polyuria.
The three major symptoms of diabetes.
“Diabetes is a disease where excessive sugar flows through the blood, making it sticky. The sticky blood frequently clogs blood vessels, and that causes all sorts of other illnesses, making it a frightening disease.”
I skipped the principles of diabetes, like the function of the pancreas or how sugar accumulates in blood cells.
That was something to be learned in the Undergraduate Division.
“And while it normally shouldn’t happen, because the sugar in the blood is so excessive, sugar starts to come out in the urine.”
“Did you discover that, Director?”
“No. The one who discovered that fact was another Healer. I made the medicine based on that fact.”
The diagnostic criteria for diabetes were already known before I created insulin.
It was thanks to a healer from long, long ago who found out that sugar came out of a diabetes patient’s urine.
“The diagnostic criteria for diabetes were discovered over 40 years ago.”
“Aha.”
Of course, even at the time of its discovery, they couldn’t find a treatment method.
Being able to find diabetes patients sooner made dietary control possible,
but it didn’t lead to a treatment for patients who already had diabetes.
Not until I introduced the technique of extracting insulin from a pig’s pancreas.
“Miss Ayla, how much do you know about insulin?”
“I heard it’s an essential miracle medicine for diabetes patients.”
“That’s right. But to be called a miracle medicine, it still has many shortcomings.”
First, there was the issue of purity.
Although I succeeded in increasing the purity by introducing the zinc purification method, it was still a far cry from the standards of the era I lived in.
“That’s why we need to conduct improvement research using the information gathered at this clinic.”
This was the reason I said the clinics’ roles were important.
The medicines I introduced to this world were all nothing but prototypes.
Insulin, Quinine, Colchicine, the Vaccine.
They were all medicines that needed improvement.
But I didn’t know how to improve them.
Because it was all knowledge I had freeloaded from another world, in the first place.
Besides, from that point on, it was the realm of biochemistry, not medicine.
So, after developing the medicine, I entrusted all improvement research to the Alchemists.
Perhaps it was because the Alchemists of this world were the types to create all sorts of derivative potions whenever a new potion appeared.
Once I explained a bit of the principle, threw some budget at them, and provided the clinic data,
they got excited and started churning out all kinds of derivative medicines.
— “1,000 patients? This is a scale you can’t even touch unless you’re affiliated with a Lord or the Imperial Court!”
— “The budget is... what? This much? And the time? Huh? Unlimited? By any chance, is a lifetime contract possible right now?”
If there is no progress in research, one must reconsider whether the budget and time are insufficient.
The trading company’s Alchemists were proving that truth with their own bodies.
“Mr. Kou here also recently succeeded in improving the duration of effect for insulin. This is why the clinic is necessary.”
I pointed at Kou and his disciple, who were diligently recording the results.
I didn’t know much about alchemy.
Nor was I very well-versed in biochemistry.
My knowledge was nothing more than acting as if I had solved problems while looking at an answer sheet.
It wasn't real skill.
But the Alchemists were different.
They were people who started from nothing and built up their knowledge and skills themselves.
Maybe that’s why.
If I just tossed them a few clues, they would establish the direction for improvement on their own.
'Is this some kind of misunderstanding-genre-style automated process?'
Thanks to it, I was fully enjoying the privileges of a misunderstanding genre protagonist.
“Haha, Director. If you say it like that, won't the student misunderstand? You taught us all the principles, we just put a spoon on the table. And didn't we conclude that the new medicine I made was clinically meaningless?”
“But there’s significance in the fact that you made an improvement.”
I turned my body toward Ayla and said.
“If you have any questions about insulin or diabetes, ask Mr. Kou. In this field, he has now surpassed me.”
“Director! It’s not that great!”
I ignored Healer Kou’s protest.
Because it was true that in the field of diabetes and insulin, the Alchemists had now surpassed me.
I wasn’t particularly chagrined.
There was no reason to be.
Anyway, besides diabetes, I had more than a few other fields I needed to attend to.
There was no need to obsess over the title of Top Authority on Diabetes.
Besides, in the end, it was I who nurtured and supported these Alchemists.
The higher their fame grew, the more my fame was structured to rise naturally as well.
That’s why I was acknowledging Mr. Kou as the best.
“Student Ayla. Any questions?”
Ayla, who had been listening to my words in silence.
She quietly looked at the record sheet, then carefully opened her mouth.
“By any chance, what are these numbers?”
[Crane Hoyer, M, 62, Positive. — 5/12 : 200]
Ayla’s finger pointed to a line on the record sheet.
It was a date and a number written next to it.
Kou pushed up his glasses and peered at the record sheet.
“Ah, that’s the blood sugar level. We can’t verify a medicine’s effectiveness just by the presence of sugar in the urine, so we quantify the concentration of sugar in the blood.”
Ayla tilted her head.
“How do you figure that out?”
“Good question.”
Kou took out another record sheet from the table drawer.
On it, numbers were written densely by date. There were numbers listed for each patient spanning several months.
“Our trading company commissions Mages.”
Kou explained.
“Among Mages, there are rare individuals with the talent to sensually detect the concentration of components dissolved in blood. They analyze the patient's collected blood and quantify the sugar concentration for us.”
It wasn’t a difficult task for a Mage.
Detecting humidity or depression through their skin, or sensing the activation level of bone marrow.
That’s the kind of species Mages were, possessing such nonsensical talents.
So whenever I discovered a Mage with a useful talent besides Erika, I would hire them at the company level and use them as diagnostic instruments like this.
Unfortunately, I had yet to find a Mage among them with a talent as unique as Erika's.
Anyway, with the help of such Mages, it was possible to quantify the sugar levels in urine or blood.
But Ayla seemed unable to believe it easily.
“There are people with such a mage talent? I’ve never heard of such a talent.”
Perhaps because she aspired to be a Healer.
It seemed she had some knowledge about the talents of Mages.
After all, the principles of Healing Magic were similar to general magic.
Except for the fact that it substitutes the talent for sensing one's surroundings with faith, and magical power with divine power, they were no different from Mages.
So she seemed to think Kou’s words were a joke.
“Does such a talent really exist?”
At Ayla’s reaction, Healer Kou let out a chuckle.
And his expression slowly changed.
His smile vanished, replaced by a gloomy face that even seemed to hold a hint of remorse.
Kou put down the record sheet and slowly raised his head.
“Student Ayla.”
“Yes?”
“Do you know why diabetes is called ‘dang-nyo’?”
“Because sugar comes out in the urine...”
“It’s because the urine tastes sweet.”
“...”
Ah.
Ayla let out a gasp.
“Don’t tell me...”
Ayla couldn’t finish her sentence.
There are plenty of mages who perceive the state of their surroundings with their tongues, not just their eyes or noses.
It seemed she had recalled that fact.
“Don’t worry, Student Ayla. It’s a diagnostic method that you and Yutsuki don’t need to know.”
Kou, who said so, was still looking at the ceiling.
His eyes, beyond the round glasses, were gazing at a distant place.
“Come to think of it, this reminds me of my time as an apprentice. You said the diagnostic method for diabetes was discovered 40 years ago, right?”
“...”
“Benedict’s reagent wasn’t created that long ago. It’s a reagent that Director Schun created along with insulin.”
I quietly nodded.
To make a medicine, one must also make a diagnostic method.
So I made it.
Because I really didn't want to taste-test the patients' urine.
Well, when I developed this reagent, the healers cheered for a different reason.
Kou called out to me in a low voice.
“Director Schun.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you make it just three years sooner?”
For reference, Kou obtained his healer’s certificate 10 years ago.
Meaning, three years before I made the reagent.
“I’m sorry. I was in the middle of making Quinine at the time.”
“...No. It was a slip of the tongue. Thank you so much for making it.”
The expression of the low-rank healer who said that looked somehow very sad.
***
A few months after taking Ayla as a disciple.
Ayla’s education was proceeding smoothly.
'I think it's about time to move on to the next step.'
The speed at which Ayla absorbed knowledge was unusual.
As if to prove that her title of top of the class at the Seminary was not just for show.
She had already grown to a level where she would be fine even if she matriculated into the Department of Healing.
At this rate, it seemed it would be fine to do a little pre-studying before matriculation.
However, I decided to postpone that for a while.
'The snow is coming down unusually hard this year, too.'
Because it was about that time.
This year, too, the world was preparing to be dyed white without fail.
It was a time when every household was preparing to get through the harshest season.
Ayla was also busy, so I postponed her classes.
And during my free time, I took care of something I did every year without fail.
'They should be arriving soon.'
Before the heavy snow begins.
I would send my scholarship students a winter promissory note.
Heating cost, book cost, food cost, and so on.
I send those things every year.
And around this time, thank-you letters from the scholarship students would arrive.
Knock, knock.
Just then, the Head Butler knocked on my door.
“Young Master, you have letters.”
“Come in.”
Head Butler Wilhelm entered the room holding a silver tray.
I checked the envelopes placed on the tray.
“Thank you.”
I took the letters and checked their contents.
The contents were nothing special.
A letter from Kal of the Department of Swordsmanship saying his injuries were all healed now.
A letter from Eli of the Department of Alchemy saying she would return to school and study again once the snow stopped.
A letter from Valeria saying that if she did well on this graduation exam, it would be easier for her to advance to the Hero Department of the Undergraduate Division.
'Come to think of it, Valeria will be 20 when the snow stops.'
It felt like just yesterday that I promised to support her application to the Hero Department.
I thought about how fast time flies.
As I kept flipping through the letters, eventually one letter was left.
A familiar envelope sealed with string instead of sealing wax.
[Sender — Ayla.]
I carefully untied the string of the envelope.
This time, too, a pressed flower fell out with it.
A small purple petal, a violet.
'She’s growing flowers in winter now.'
Violets are flowers that bloom in spring.
To make such a flower bloom in winter.
It was now beyond surprising and at a level of wonder.
How on earth does she grow them?
I placed the violet between the pages of a book as a bookmark, then unfolded the letter.
=======================
To Director Schun,
Hello, Director. It’s Ayla.
Thanks to what you sent this year, I’m spending the winter warmly. My mother also asked me to pass on her thanks.
The enclosed flower is a violet.
Thanks to the magic stone lamp you sent, I can now make other flowers bloom besides the sunflower.
Thank you so much.
Director. I’ve been studying a lot lately.
I am reviewing the clinics you guided me through.
I am also not neglecting the theology studies you requested.
You said that a healer needs faith and patience.
My mother said so too.
She said that in the end, the time one can pray is proportional to one’s faith and patience.
Even though it's only 10 minutes now, someday I'll be able to concentrate for 4 hours like my mother, right?
The road is long, but I must work hard.
Oh, and my friends at the seminary are envious of me.
They say that usually, the Department of Healing only teaches theory classes.
So students without a healer teacher or family can only gain combat experience after graduating and getting a job.
But because I am touring the clinics before matriculation, my friends are very envious of me.
So, I was wondering.
If it’s not too much to ask,
would it be okay to visit the clinics with my friends from the seminary who also aspire to be healers?
I’m so sorry if it’s an unreasonable request.
There’s more I want to say, but I’m running out of paper, so I’ll stop here.
I really want to see you when the snow stops.
I want to show you the new things I’ve learned at the clinic.
Until then, please stay healthy, Director!
Sincerely, Ayla
==========================
'Cute.'
She wants to bring her friends.
There was no reason to refuse.
If this helps Ayla become closer to her friends, it’s an even better thing.
I immediately picked up my fountain pen and began to write a reply.
The content was that I would positively review her friends’ visit.
To this, I added the promise that ‘When the snow stops, I will show you something more difficult this year.’
I folded the letter, melted sealing wax over a candle, and sealed it.
*
And winter passed, and the snow stopped.
At dawn that day.
I went to work at the D-1 Clinic for the first time in a while.
And before Ayla and her friends arrived, I prepared for the morning’s work.
Just as I was preparing for the various emergency patients that would arise right after the heavy snow, writing down today's schedule in my notebook with a fountain pen.
Thump, thump, thump, thump!
The sound of someone urgently knocking on the clinic entrance rang out.
“Teacher! Are you in, Teacher!”
It was Wangcho.
'At this hour?'
I closed my notebook and headed to the entrance.
When I opened the door, Wangcho was standing there.
Ice fragments clung to the shoulder of his khaki long coat, and his sideburns were slick with cold sweat.
“We’re in big trouble, Teacher.”
Wangcho said, gasping for breath.
“B Sector is in an uproar.”
“B Sector?”
“Right now is the Cooperative Subjugation Season, right after the heavy snow stops, isn’t it.”
Right.
Right after the heavy snow is the cooperative demonic beast subjugation season.
It takes advantage of the period when the demonic beasts are sluggish from being half-awake from hibernation.
During this period, Mercenaries, Knight Orders, and nobles cooperate to cull their numbers.
It was a joint event of the Empire, to manage the density of demonic beasts in the Demonic Realm outside the Brass Wall.
But what could have happened there to cause such a reaction?
“A variant appeared. A variant bird popped out of a nest the subjugation team was trying to wake, and that bastard woke up all the hibernating beasts.”
“The damage?”
“The Mercenaries, not to mention the knights and nobles who went in with them, are said to be seriously injured. It’s no exaggeration to say they suffered a devastating blow.”
Wangcho wrung his hands.
“The Mercenary Guilds and Clans are in B Sector, aren’t they? All the injured have gathered there. So the leader over there has put in a request for support to our side.”
The leader of B Sector was friends with Wangcho.
Since many adventurers made the long trip to D-Sector for medical treatment in the first place.
As I frequently treated them, I ended up establishing friendly relations with D-Sector.
“That guy is crying for me to please bring you over, Teacher.”
“I understand.”
I grabbed my coat.
“I will contact the healers affiliated with the clinic. Let’s head out first.”
Just then, I saw a car carrying Ayla approaching the clinic in the distance.
I thought for a moment, then added to Wangcho.
“I’ll be taking Student Ayla with me, so please take good care of her, Wangcho.”
“Yes, sir! It goes without saying.”
