episode_0155

Episode 155. Headless Corpse (5)

****

Mysteries are more fascinating than the truth. Even puzzles that seem complicated don’t seem difficult when you finally put the last piece together.

It was the same this time too, right?

This case was also shrouded in mystery, but the solution was simpler than you might think. If you just knew what to look for.

It was somewhat ironic that a suicide victim’s body was tormenting his family so much. They say the dead don’t speak, but it seems that’s not true.

The work ended up being easier than expected.

It was a very strange case, but I succeeded in curing the patient and clearing the patient’s family’s name. I also received a lot of money.

Strictly speaking, I have never received anything like a bribe. The bribe was given to that police officer. I just received a lot of royal concubines.

This is the restaurant of the shrine.

Amy was munching on bread in front of me. It was a croissant. It was more expensive than I thought, but I got paid a lot for coming.

It didn’t matter much.

I took a sip of coffee.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Yeah.”

“Patients, can we be discharged now?”

Amy tilted her head. Maybe she’ll be discharged soon? I nodded.

“Except for Mr. Oh. He inhaled so many spores that he got a yeast infection. He’ll have to stay in the hospital for a few more days.”

“It’s being treated, right?”

“I won’t die.”

It’s not a disease that can be guaranteed to be cured.

Fungal pneumonia is a disease that usually occurs in patients with immunodeficiency. It is not a disease that can be contracted without a specific underlying disease, but this patient was exposed to fungal spores for a long period of time.

It was an unusual case I had never seen in my past life.

Since the patient appeared healthy other than that, we expected that the antifungal medication alone would help, but it wasn’t certain.

“But. I think it’s more important to clear my name than to cure my illness. Those patients could have easily become vicious criminals who kill people and cut off their heads. It’s scary to think about it.”

I nodded. Compared to going to prison or being executed for murder, pneumonia might have been a relatively minor problem.

“I thought it was going to be a boring case.”

“That’s our opinion. Where are the boring cases? For some, it’s a matter of life and death.”

Amy hesitated for a moment, then scratched her head.

“That’s right.”

“It’s not a big deal since it’s been resolved.”

Because in the end, the result is what matters. Amy finished the rest of her bread.

“When are you going back to the Academy?”

“Um, this afternoon?”

I plan to just finish it and go back.

Let’s think a little more about treatment. Yeast infections are usually treated with antifungal medications.

If you have medicine, isn’t it over?

It’s a bit complicated.

Humans are eukaryotes, fungi are eukaryotes, and bacteria are prokaryotes. Fungi are much more similar to humans than bacteria, and antifungal drugs are much less effective than antibiotics.

Antifungal drugs generally have more serious side effects and are less effective than antibiotics. Furthermore, once the fungus begins to form fungal colonies inside the body, drugs cannot treat it.

That requires surgery. In this patient’s case, it doesn’t seem to have progressed to the fungal stage. That’s a problem that needs to be addressed with medication.

Amphotericin will be used as an antifungal agent.

For other families, since the main symptoms are related to allergies, steroids or antihistamines can be used for symptomatic treatment.

If the symptoms are severe, then yes.

I think it would be fine after a few days in a mold-free environment, depending on how well these people cleaned their house.

“But. I don’t know if the smell of rotting corpses will go away in the house. I don’t know what to do.”

“Oh, I heard it yesterday.”

“What is it?”

“When I went to the ward earlier, Mr. Baron said that. He said he was moving this time. He was going to take out all the stuff in the house and burn it.”

That seems like the surest way.

****

There’s still a lot left to finish.

Scipio, an officer of the police and security forces, bowed to me as if he had met my savior. I awkwardly offered to shake his hand.

“Thank you very much, Professor.”

“It’s something that should be done.”

“Thank you so much… … . I hate to think what would have happened if it weren’t for you, Professor.”

“Yes. Aren’t we people who deal with life, police officers or me? If the results are good, we can think about everything else again.”

Scipio nodded.

“By the way. What did the will say? I don’t think it was left somewhere that couldn’t be found.”

“Oh, that’s it.”

The police thought about it some more.

“I’m telling you this because you’re a professor. I don’t know the exact reason, but I heard that you’ve been depressed for a long time.”

“Yes.”

“Then he sent a large sum of money to his hometown and told the Baron couple that he was returning home. It is thought that he committed suicide in a corner of the mansion.”

“You were one of the servants of the mansion, right?”

“A male servant who worked at the mansion. Everyone thought he was in his hometown. They were shocked to hear that he was dead.”

It must have been a horrible experience. Being investigated for murder, being sick, having someone commit suicide in your home. It wouldn’t be unreasonable to want to burn everything in your house.

The policeman looked at me again.

“Professor Asterix. If you don’t mind, may I ask you one thing?”

“Please do it.”

“How on earth did you know, Professor? What happens when a hung corpse rots away? What happens when a person smells a corpse for a long time?”

“I’ve seen it before.”

“I’ve never seen that before… … . How strange. Professor Asterix seems young, but he seems to have a lot of experience. I guess the best genius in the empire is different.”

I just nodded absentmindedly. I didn’t really have anything to say in response.

Well, it’s time to go to the academy now.

The ride back to the Academy was smooth. It was much faster than I expected. Amy looked grumpy, as if she was getting motion sickness.

“Are you going to throw up?”

“No- Ugh.”

Amy frowned deeply.

“If you’re going to vomit, vomit outside.”

“Then the roads will get dirty, right?”

It’s better than having a dirty carriage. When I was with Mint, we used to have multiple carriages, but this time, we don’t have the resources to do that.

“Should I give you some motion sickness medicine?”

“Oh, no-”

Amy opened the carriage door and retched repeatedly on the floor. Poor thing… … . I quietly threw a handkerchief in front of Amy.

“Are you okay?”

“Oh, it’s okay.”

“You just threw up?”

“I don’t normally get motion sickness.”

“Paste this behind your ear.”

“Yes.”

Amy wiped her mouth with a handkerchief and sat down in the carriage with a miserable expression.

It was fine when I came, but why do I feel motion sickness when I leave? Is there something that changed?

****

The carriage stopped in front of the Academy. The sun was almost setting in the sky. Oh, something bright at the edge of my vision… … .

Oh, it’s mint.

Mint came running to me as soon as she saw me.

I got out of the carriage. The princess held my hand as I got out of the carriage. As often as I did with Mint.

“Why are you here now?”

“Oh, sorry. I have some work to do.”

I don’t know how Mint knew the carriage time. It’s not like the carriage is a subway.

“What happened?”

“Well, it’s nothing special. The Baron Alard family asked me to come to Wangjin.”

Mint looked up at my face.

“That’s complicated. Go tell me… … !”

The princess linked arms with mine. For some reason, she looked extremely happy. Mint smiled brightly and dragged me along. I followed Mint.

Mint leaned against me with her arms crossed, leaning against me as if she was hugging me. I wrapped my arms around Mint’s waist and supported her.

“Oh my, Miss Mint. Did you have a drink during the day?”

“Hehe.”

I carried Mint up to the lab and sat her down on the sofa. Mint laughed playfully. Of course, Mint wasn’t really drinking during the day. She was just joking.

“Come here.”

I sat down next to Mint. Mint hugged me tightly and bit my ear with her lips. What a surprise… … . This time, I flinched.

“Why are you like that?”

“Huh? What?”

“I think you’re sticking together more than usual.”

“Just?”

The princess smiled softly in my ear. I stroked Mint’s head. Mint stopped biting my ear and placed her lips on my cheek.

Note. Mint let me go. She was still clinging to me, but she had stopped biting. The princess’s blue eyes stared at me.

I grabbed both sides of Mint’s cheek.

“Eu.”

Mint’s balls stretched out like rice cakes.

It was so cute.

“Next time… …. If what the teacher is doing isn’t dangerous, I should follow him. It’s so boring at the academy without the teacher.”

“Oh my gosh. Are you serious?”

The princess just laughed this time too.

Are you kidding?

There’s no reason why it shouldn’t work, but… … . It seems like there’s a reason why it shouldn’t work. But I don’t know exactly why it shouldn’t work. I scratched my head.

“Anyway. Let’s go eat dinner.”

“Yes.”

Mint held my hand tightly again. This time, I got up first. The scent of lavender filled the air.