* * *
The morning of the second day after arriving in the Underground City.
I woke up feeling refreshed. After spending a week cramped in a narrow prison with Rodent, nothing could have felt more welcoming than the soft bed.
Moreover, after thoroughly scrubbing my body—which I hadn't been able to wash for over a week in the foul-smelling prison—with warm water, I slept incredibly well.
Waking up refreshed, I sat at the desk and began outlining my plans. First off, even though I didn't know exactly what Jin's illness was, my guess that it was a respiratory condition seemed correct.
There were cases of coughing or vomiting blood unrelated to the respiratory tract, but blood from the esophagus or digestive system came with vomiting and was dark red rather than bright crimson—I recalled that much.
Jin's blood was clear in color and accompanied by coughing, so it had to originate from the respiratory tract.
‘A respiratory disease...’
If it was a respiratory issue, then this dry air—which posed no problem for me—would be fatal. We'd need a humidifier, wouldn't we? If there was no humidifier, at least hang a wet towel in Jin's room.
Fortunately, this place had pretty good ventilation. Of course, the faint hum of the massive ventilators was a bit noisy, but not irritating enough to bother me.
Better a little noisy than poor ventilation. If it were stuffy in here, it would have been terrible for Jin's health.
As I jotted down the immediately needed items one by one, there was a knock at the door. Who could it be this early in the morning? I cracked the door open to peek out. It was Rodent.
“Ober Teacher!”
I was startled by Rodent's bright smile. He had been cute even drenched in sweat, but now freshly washed and dressed in clean clothes, he was dazzlingly adorable.
That classy platinum blond! As expected, the male protagonist had a different aura. His grown-up future looked promising.
“Rodent, did you sleep well?”
I smiled back at the beaming Rodent.
“Yes! Can I come in, Teacher?”
Rodent asked.
Having spent a week in tight quarters together, I'd grown quite fond of him anyway. I led Rodent into the room.
“What's up this early, Rodent?”
I asked kindly. Rodent hesitated before speaking.
“Actually, I thought you must have been really shocked yesterday... I was worried.”
At Rodent's words, I couldn't help but reply with a “Huh?” Of course I'd been shocked, but it hadn't occurred to me that young Rodent would worry about me.
“Rishar uncle—ah, no... Rishar pointed a gun at you, Teacher.”
Ah, right. That had happened. How many people go through life getting threatened at gunpoint, yet here I was forgetting it already.
Of course, knowing from the original novel that Rishar was a good person—and how much he cherished Jin—I held no grudges.
But in truth, Rodent must have been more shocked than me.
“I'm fine. Not as shocked as you might think. Rodent, are you okay?”
What if that made him lose respect for the Liberators and derailed the story? The thought sent chills down my spine. A true butterfly effect.
“I'm okay. The world is like that, right? To achieve your goals, people do even worse things.”
Rodent said with an innocent smile.
I felt dazed, as if struck on the back of the head. What was this child saying?
Staring blankly at Rodent for a moment, I recalled something I'd overlooked: that he'd grown up in the harsh back alleys.
“I'm used to things like that, but you didn't seem to be, Teacher, so I was worried. Glad you weren't too shocked.”
Rodent grinned. I wondered if it was okay to discuss such things with a smile. Rodent's bright smile felt so out of place with the topic that I was at a loss for words.
“Actually, I'm grateful to Rishar. He saved you before the hanging.”
As he said this, Rodent's eyes reddened slightly. Realizing how much he truly cared for me—no, Astrid—my heart ached.
I reached out and stroked his head, and Rodent smiled happily in response.
It was shocking that a mere ten-year-old could think like this. To view the world that way, yet still like Astrid so much—it made me deeply grateful.
“Met any friends your age?”
To lighten the heavy mood, I asked. Rodent nodded vigorously and began chattering about the friends he'd made.
His roommate was a boy named Benton, a fairly important character in the original story. In a way, their relationship might end up like Jin and Rishar's now—smart Rodent and strong fighter Benton.
Besides him, there was the tanned, agile Jeno, who would later manage commerce, and the kind, prudent Erin, who would handle the Underground City's internal affairs.
Rodent chattered on for a while before being more or less dragged out by Finn, who had come looking for him. Apparently, it was breakfast time.
Feeling strangely complicated, I gave a bittersweet smile and waved goodbye to the departing Rodent.
* * *
The few days after arriving in the Underground City passed in a whirlwind. There was so much to do as Jin's attending physician.
I didn't even have time to marvel at the artificial sun that rose in the morning and set at night.
First, I began meticulously recording Jin's every action. I'd wanted to do this so badly. Patient charts. It really felt like I was a doctor—my heart was racing.
For severe coughing fits, I noted the time and duration. For hemoptysis, the approximate amount. Not sure if it'd help, but still.
Daily water intake, meal amounts, sleep duration. I felt like Jin's stalker.
I also examined the medical books in my room. As expected, most were trash, but a few were salvageable.
The most helpful was the Great Dictionary of Herbal Medicine. Astrid's memories contained some herbal knowledge, but far more unknowns—this book filled many gaps.
Next was Types of Alchemical Materials and Their Uses. Quite a few monster byproducts had medicinal properties beyond just herbs.
The last was an unexpected find: Precautions for Bloodletting. Never thought it'd be useful, but it illustrated the major blood vessels in the body.
It also detailed vital organs to avoid during bloodletting, along with enough anatomy to distinguish the airway from the esophagus. Incredibly helpful.
‘No book could be more useful for a quack like me.’
But above all, the key was fattening Jin up for his health. Absolutely not because he'd look even handsomer with a little weight—not that at all. For his health.
Betty and I put our heads together to plot increasing Jin's food intake. First, we needed to figure out why he avoided meals.
So, I decided on a patient history. Asking about the illness's onset, progression, etc.—proper history taking.
History taking—the term was so thrilling. I really felt like a doctor!
“Jin, why don't you eat properly?”
Chart in left hand, pen in right, I asked in a serious posture. Jin, still lacking the energy to sit up, leaned laboriously against the pillow and grimaced slightly before speaking.
“Lying around all day makes digestion poor. Frequent hemoptysis leaves a lingering fishy blood taste in my mouth—no appetite.”
A clear, intelligent patient's response. Satisfied, I swiftly noted it down in elegant script on the chart. My original handwriting couldn't manage that—Astrid's was as beautiful as her appearance.
First, I consulted Rick on eliminating the lingering bloody taste. We made a mint-flavored gargle. Not sure if the ingredients matched modern mouthwash, but it just needed to mask the blood flavor.
Rick was definitely a genius. He understood my muddled requests perfectly and produced exactly what I wanted.
“...This is good. Rick made it?”
After trying the gargle himself, Jin stared wide-eyed at the bottle in his hand.
Kuh, so proud.
“Appetite back now? I'll bring lunch.”
Heart pounding, I gazed at Jin with sparkling eyes. He hesitated a long while, still reluctant about eating. But you flatfish, you have to eat to live. Eat so your immune system can fight the disease.
I narrowed my eyes at the unresponsive Jin and clapped sharply. The door opened, and Betty entered with the meal.
A dish we'd poured our hearts into. A secret weapon soup packed with all the ‘easy-to-digest vegetables’ I'd researched at the company, plus Betty's cooking skills—perfect flavor.
I waited eagerly for Jin to take even one spoonful. Read my mind? Just try saying it's bad. Won't let you off—glared fiercely at him.
“Delicious.”
Thankfully, Jin praised our dish. Betty and I exchanged relieved sighs.
For now, my quack diagnosis was that prolonged illness had weakened his stomach function. We'd use easy-to-digest ingredients to boost vitality until his stomach recovered, then start fattening him up properly.
The problem was Jin stopping after just a few spoonfuls, even of delicious food. You picky eater.
“Why stop?”
No, how much effort did Betty and I put into this? Stop after a few spoons, you bad guy.
“Full.”
Jin mumbled.
What? What kind of stomach is that? How can a few spoons of thin veggie soup fill you up? I sighed deeply and told Jin.
“Won't let you do anything until you finish. You know Rodent's waiting for his lesson with you? No afternoon lesson with Rodent or meeting with Rishar if you don't finish this.”
This was no different from coaxing a child to eat—it was exhausting. Jin pouted. I want to cry too, Jin kid.
Soon, Jin sighed deeply and took a few more spoonfuls. I proudly watched him eat. Good boy.
But this guy took a few more spoons and stopped his hand again.
“What's wrong?”
Every mealtime was a battle. Was I nursing a patient or raising a child?
“Arm hurts.”
