episode_0036

Episode 36. Heart-pounding (2)

****

Princess Mint.

But this time, instead of in my chair, I was just sitting on the sofa at the front of the lab dozing off.

I walked cautiously past the mint, feeling like a capybara passing an alligator-

Mint opened her eyes after a while.

“Oh, hello.”

“Teacher. What are you doing today?”

“I’m a little busy.”

but.

It’s not that the princess doesn’t have ears, so there’s no way she wouldn’t notice me passing by. Mint’s eyes, as if looking down, looked at me.

“Aren’t there any days when you’re not busy?”

“I don’t think so.”

Well, I guess there isn’t much.

“Make it a day.”

“Oh, did I hear that wrong?”

He’s not the type of person to speak like that. Did he hit his head or something? I briefly checked the princess’s expression, but she didn’t show any signs of anything unusual.

“Please give me about a day.”

“Oh, okay. Okay. I understand.”

I don’t know what her intentions are this time, but Mint looks a bit gloomy today. It’s more like her sickly appearance from before.

“Does your highness have no friends?”

“Huh?”

“I understand that the princess is a bit bored. Instead of coming to me every time, why don’t you hang out with your classmates at the academy?”

Come to think of it, maybe I really don’t have any friends. I reconsidered my choice of words, and Mint’s expression became complicated, then she answered after a while.

“What are you talking about? I am the face of the royal family and the moon of the empire, and the entire academy is my close friends.”

You really don’t have any friends.

That makes sense. After all, meeting people is also something that requires effort and time.

Whether it was because of Mint’s childhood illness or his family background, he probably didn’t have many opportunities to meet people similar to him.

People don’t suddenly change just because they come to the academy. There are things in this world that can’t be bought with money or power.

“Hey. Are you annoyed by me?”

“Uh… … . If you take off your rank insignia and ask, I’ll answer you honestly.”

“Mr. Asterix. With those words, you could have made a fortune as a courtesan.”

“What is that?”

A prostitute? That’s a bit too much.

I thought about the answer for a while.

“Let’s say the princess raises a puppy. She has to feed it every day, and sometimes it can be annoying. It’s not because she hates the puppy or because she hates feeding it. It’s just something that can happen.”

“What does that mean?”

Oh, now that I think about it, the analogy seems a bit, a bit wrong. Mint’s expression slightly frowned after hearing my answer.

You just compared the princess to a dog. You won’t be sent to jail for insulting the royal family or anything, right?

“Even you, teacher, think it’s ridiculous?”

“That’s a slip of the tongue.”

This time, they might really try to kill me.

Mint’s eyes grew cold.

“Die, you piece of trash. I know what you think of me.”

Princess Mint let out a hollow laugh. But it seems like Mint’s mood has lifted a little?

After all, the princess is still a child.

This fact will not change for the time being.

“What I was trying to say was this. Isn’t the princess a student and a child? I think there are some areas where it’s acceptable to be annoying.”

The princess seemed to like this answer. Mint is not usually very expressive, but this time she had a faint smile on her face.

“Okay, then that’s good.”

The princess thought for a moment and then looked at me.

“Hey. Wake me up.”

“Can you get up by yourself-”

Okay. There’s no need to say unnecessary things. I stood up from my seat and grabbed the hand the princess offered me and helped me up.

Mint’s hands. They were white hands that had never been touched by dishwater or sunlight, and had no calluses at all.

“Thank you.”

“It’s just something that needs to be done, my lord.”

“… … .”

The princess hurriedly left my laboratory.

Now that I think about it, we haven’t set a time to meet.

****

Today is another day of outpatient treatment.

It’s time to see patients who come to the hospital. In my previous life, I saw dozens of outpatients a day. But now, it’s not like that.

Maybe it’s because transportation isn’t developed in this world, or maybe it’s for some other reason, but only a few people come a day. Should I consider that a blessing?

It’s fortunate that there is little work.

“Oh, Mr. Kyle. You had your spleen removed last time. Are you feeling okay?”

“Yes, that’s okay.”

That’s surprising. You’re still healthy even after having your spleen removed in the field. I thought you’d feel nauseous, have a fever, or something like that.

“Most of the spleen’s functions can be replaced by other organs, but after spleen removal, your immunity may be weakened. If you catch a cold, you should come to the hospital right away, that is, to me.”

Kailash nodded.

“It’s creepy to think about now.”

“What is it?”

“Before the surgery. I was so tired and wanted to sleep, I almost forgot about the pain.”

That’s what it feels like to die from excessive bleeding. When the blood doesn’t reach your brain, you start to feel drowsy, the pain gets worse, and you lose consciousness.

I have to wake him up somehow.

“Then it won’t work.”

“But then, when I was baptized in water, I suddenly came to my senses. The pain that had been dulling started stabbing my body sharply again, and I woke up with a start-”

It’s a natural reaction. Some people pour water on him to wake him up as quickly as possible.

“It hurt so much I thought I was going to die. I know you were going to use anesthesia, but. The feeling of the knife touching my body, the feeling of a hand entering my body, everything.”

I felt it. He answered somehow and said he was very conscious. It seems that the patient’s adrenaline overcame the anesthetics we used.

“I didn’t know it would hurt that much.”

“Did you scream at that time?”

I think that may have been the case.

“Anyway, get some rest and eat some good food. The thread will be removed in about a week.”

“Okay.”

I’m glad it ended better than expected.

I was sure that there would be another hemorrhage, or that it would be so painful that I couldn’t move, or that I would get a deep infection, but surprisingly, nothing serious happened.

“When can I expect full function to return? Will strenuous exercise be difficult in the future?”

I thought about it for a while. If you don’t have a spleen, there’s no reason you can’t exercise, right? I don’t know.

As long as it doesn’t explode, it’ll be okay.

“If the wound is completely healed and you are not experiencing any discomfort, you can return to your daily life. Including strenuous exercise.”

Kailash thought for a moment and then opened his mouth.

“The surgery was painful, but I don’t know how to repay this favor. Can I thank you with money? How much do you need?”

well.

“I already paid the hospital bill. I’m not sure if I can receive any other money.”

“That’s because I feel sorry.”

“It seems like it would be difficult to get the money.”

I don’t know how the laws of this world work, but I think it would be difficult to accept a bribe, both institutionally and morally.

“Hmm.”

“If that’s the case, please donate to the Academy in my name. That would be fine.”

“Okay, Professor Asterix.”

The consultation was over. Kailash greeted me and then stood up from his seat.

****

The next patient is Ayres.

As expected, this is a patient who got injured while practicing swordsmanship. He came to me with a ruptured Achilles tendon. There is one problem with this patient’s case.

In the case of Achilles tendon rupture, it is difficult to expect full functional recovery.

How do you explain this?

“Hello.”

“Are your legs okay, patient?”

“Well, you can walk.”

This patient had a cast wrapped around his foot. He was using crutches under his arms. Fortunately, he was still able to walk.

“What happens now? When can I take the bandage off?”

“The ligament will heal on its own if left alone. I plan to take the cast off in about a month. I will probably be able to run.”

“Are there any side effects?”

I struggled with this question. How can I express this in a way that is euphemistic?

“Even after the ligament is attached, it is unlikely that full functional recovery will be possible.”

Ayres sighed.

“Is it difficult to fully recover function?”

“Yes.”

Silence. A thick silence, as if cut by a knife, filled the examination room. The patient was troubled.

“I wish there was better news.”

“What. How can you call yourself a knight without a single medal of honor? It can’t be helped.”

“You have to see it to know.”

He’s much more manly than I expected.

“If you use healing magic and other methods well from now on, your injuries may be healed better and faster than I expect.”

“That’s right.”

Ayres scratched his head.

“I heard that student Benjamin got surgery after breaking his arm and recovered well. Can’t I just have surgery too?”

does not exist.

“It is unlikely that you will be able to expect better results than if you did not have surgery. And if the surgical wound becomes infected, there is no solution at all.”

I don’t know if I can do the surgery successfully with my own hands. How do you sew a ligament? Isn’t it more difficult than putting nails into a bone?

The knight looked at me.

“I’ve heard a lot of rumors. Professor Asterix is the best healer in the empire. I guess I shouldn’t ask anyone else, right?”

“Is that so?”

Is that the rumor already? Still, I’m glad that the patients I saw that day looked healthy.