Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 750
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
Chapter 750
A brief moment of rest.
I brought out the food I’d prepared in advance.
Not that it was anything grand to eat. Just something to ease the fatigue during work.
And something difficult to obtain in this place.
Ice cream, that is!
‘That’s right. As a child, this alone would have me wrapped around its finger.’
I doubted these people would be any different.
‘Especially in hot regions, this is a cheat code.’
Surprisingly, people everywhere live the same way.
“Come now, everyone, please rest while enjoying this!”
I brought out a large container brimming with ice cream, gathered the people around, and distributed it in bowls for them to share.
The people lined up to receive the ice cream, but they seemed to have no idea what it was.
“What is this?”
“It’s cool… or rather. Cold?”
The people murmured among themselves. Then they began to take their first bites.
“There’s… a taste like this!?”
“It’s soft and sweet! Wow… it’s incredibly cold!”
“Wow, just rolling it on your tongue tastes like honey.”
Would those living in the desert ever see ice?
On Earth, ice comes out the moment you open a refrigerator, but in those times, people living near the equator would never see ice in their entire lives.
At best, only Shamans who wielded cold could produce it, and only high-ranking nobles or royalty who commanded such Shamans had the privilege of drinking cold water with a single piece of ice floating in it!
A world where ice was currency and power itself.
But.
Here and now.
‘Ice cream’ had descended upon them for the very first time.
In the desert region, ice cream was nothing short of pure bliss.
It seemed as though a pristine snowy field spread behind everyone’s eyes, and the fantasy of rolling about and eating snow upon it passed through their minds.
Even if I had full authority to force them to work, that wouldn’t mean everything ends once this task is complete.
I was already calculating what came after.
First, I needed to establish an independent sales route.
If I developed the processing techniques used here further, I could create decent eyeglasses.
And I’d import and sell those as well.
Kang Ho-ins may have their vision become as sharp as an eagle’s by channeling inner energy into their eyes, but don’t ordinary officials develop presbyopia as they age?
I originally came to import natron soda from the natron mines, but if I develop another product, that would be all the better!
So naturally, their goodwill was important.
I topped the ice cream made from buffalo milk with honey and nuts.
“Oh, give me some more!”
“Give me more first!”
“You people, form a line. What are you, children!?”
I chuckled and handed each of the Sorcerer Masters an ice cream cone.
‘To truly befriend someone, you need to put something in their mouth.’
That was a lesson I learned back in Korea.
Whether human or beast, no one becomes close with an empty mouth.
All friendships require a certain level of sincerity and effort.
“Ahhhh, that’s refreshing.”
The Sorcerer Masters pressed their foreheads, their expressions blissful as if they’d reached paradise itself.
I took a bite as well.
‘Hmm, the taste of regular milk and buffalo milk is definitely different.’
I’d say it’s richer.
It’s so thick it’s closer to cheese than milk. Some people might even detect a slightly gamey smell.
But when I process it my way, the gaminess fades and the sweetness increases, making it taste similar to powdered milk. That’s the delicacy.
‘There were people back on Earth who loved powdered milk so much they’d eat it straight.’
These people were no different.
The rich buffalo milk ice cream was incredibly popular with the Sorcerer Masters.
I only changed the toppings on top each time, yet they waited for it with such anticipation.
‘After hard work, you must always give them something delicious to eat.’
There’s no more immediate reward than food.
That was how I raised the chicks back on Earth.
After snack time ended like that.
“Well then, shall we get back to it?”
The Shamans and Sorcerer Masters brushed off their hands and stood up.
Suddenly, one of the Shamans asked.
“Can we offer this ice cream to the spirits?”
“Ice cream? Well, sure. Go ahead.”
Was it similar to ancestral offerings back on Earth?
I didn’t think much of it. From that day on, the Sorcerer Masters offered a bowl of ice cream to the spirits.
From that point onward, for some reason, the work began to go remarkably well.
* * *
Ten large magnifying glasses were completed.
“It turned out better than expected. I never thought we’d manage to complete magnifying glasses this smooth and transparent.”
“And they’re huge too.”
“Indeed. Very large.”
These weren’t mere magnifying glasses that could only burn a piece of paper.
As noon approached, I installed the large magnifying glasses and placed a massive cauldron filled with water beneath them.
A massive cauldron that had been made for ritual purposes.
A cauldron so enormous that three cows could fit inside it whole.
Sunlight began pouring down through such a cauldron.
The desert sun is scorching.
Not merely hot, but fundamentally, relentlessly hot.
The solar heat was concentrated across a fairly large area by the massive magnifying glass.
I knew all too well that if I adjusted the angle to focus the sunlight at a single point, the power generated wouldn’t merely heat the cauldron—it would melt it entirely.
Sunlight gathered at the proper angle, across the proper area.
The result.
Before long, the water began to react.
‘Ah, bubbles are rising as expected.’
Glub glub glub.
The Sorcerer Masters gasped at the sight.
“Water boiling… My glass has reached the level of boiling water!”
“I’m terrified. I’m terrified of my own talent!”
“Spirit! Gasp, have I become a Sorcerer who commands the sun?”
Indeed. The Sorcerer Masters, with their combined nature as both craftsmen and shamans, possessed sensibilities quite different from ordinary people.
They now marveled at their own talent for commanding the sun and took a moment to praise themselves.
Soon they spoke.
“Well, to think you’d recognize our talent. Your eye for quality is remarkable, Soggakju.”
“Not at all. I didn’t even create this with full confidence, but thanks to your masterful craftsmanship, we’ve reaped such rewards. I never expected it to go so smoothly.”
You see, Aristotle.
I couldn’t set the ship ablaze, but at least I’ve managed to boil water quite well.
My idea of the massive magnifying glass wasn’t particularly original.
After all, there are documentaries on YouTube about using solar concentration technology to melt metal in furnaces!
I’d even seen it applied to appropriate technology research, like seawater distillation devices.
So I attempted it.
Thinking it could work in this world.
With this, I could boil water to my heart’s content. If I research it well, I might even be able to power a steam engine with this, I thought.
‘With this much firepower, I should be able to prevent cholera.’
It’s the dry season now.
A time when rain is rare, when the oasis spring feeds everyone.
There’s no worry about cloudy weather.
* * *
Ten massive cauldrons sit beneath equally massive magnifying glasses.
Boiling water from these enormous cauldrons is distributed to the people.
Though people had to stand in long lines to receive their water ration, they gazed upon the miraculous apparatus with wonder and amazement.
“Is the Saint a Sorcerer who made a contract with the Spirit of the Sun?”
People standing in line chatter among themselves in small groups.
“They say the Shamans share their power to steal the sun’s light?”
In a region with a 90% illiteracy rate, accurate information doesn’t spread easily.
Wanong is still a wealthy kingdom, but Damjin isn’t quite at that level.
A nation with developed glass-working techniques and soda mines and lakes as trump cards—full of potential—yet the royal family monopolizes everything, and religiously, various fraudulent sects run rampant.
The towns aren’t governed by administrators dispatched by the king but by the king’s relatives, acting like local tyrants, and they’re left alone unless rebellion is imminent.
“They say drinking that water boiled by the sun’s power prevents illness.”
“Indeed, it must be the power of the Sun God. They say bathing and washing with that water daily keeps them from falling ill.”
The water was simply sterilized and hygienic, yet it was being perceived as sacred water blessed by the Sun God himself!
“Isn’t it true that it can’t be used during the rainy season?”
“Where else can you use boiling water so easily?”
The Sorcerer Masters listening directly to the people’s conversation stiffened their necks with pride.
Their achievement was clearly something to be proud of.
“They say martial arts are difficult alone and must be practiced together?”
“Then shouldn’t we make one more while the Saint is here?”
The people gathered excitedly to welcome the new marvel.
And then.
It was inevitable that reverence for the Blind White Saint would begin to grow.
It was because rumors of Jin Cheon-hee pretending to be blind had become mixed into the narrative.
Why had the epithet “white” been attached?
Because the clothes Jin Cheon-hee wore while pretending to be blind were white.
As rumors about Jin Cheon-hee swirled and they began distributing boiling water, several days had passed.
Changes began to occur.
The number of people dying from dysentery gradually decreased.
Now that clean drinking water had been created, the next priority was food.
They crushed a sweet potato-like fruit eaten in this region into a porridge-like consistency and supplied it to patients with dysentery.
Once the water problem was solved in a place where firewood was the primary resource, everything else followed swiftly.
“Oh, blessed Saint! Blind White Saint!”
Several people bowed respectfully to Jin Cheon-hee in front of the crossroads.
Jin Cheon-hee forcibly helped them to their feet.
Every corner of the village began filling with praises for the Saint, yet for some reason, the Saint’s face remained unsmiling.
* * *
Whoooooosh.
Purified water cascaded into the oasis.
Finding it too plain to simply construct, the masters had carved the head of what might have been a lizard or a dragon, and water was pouring from that head.
It was a magnificent sight. Water cascaded down like a waterfall.
On the rooftop of a building with a sluice gate control mechanism, built near the drainage facilities of the purification plant.
Standing there, I gazed intently at the drainage system I had created over the past month by driving tens of thousands of people to labor.
“Yes, unlimited manpower consumption really is the best….”
I muttered something ominous while nodding my head.
Turning my gaze toward the streets, I could see several people spouting, ‘Give thanks to the White Saint!’
‘Honestly, I wish they’d stop.’
Being worshipped in a place where human sacrifice is religiously acceptable brings no joy.
Even if they’re grateful now, who knows if later they’ll think, ‘I hope our Saint goes up on that firewood pile and burns brightly. That would make the blessing even more effective.’
Humans are inherently changeable beings after all.
Even if they harbor goodwill today, who can say what tomorrow will bring in the human heart.
“Now I understand why the Emperor of Hwa Empire is so cautious about faith.”
As I pondered these various thoughts, Prince Radan’s voice reached my ears.
Turning my head, I saw the prince—whose eyes had once again transformed into black bruises—climbing onto the rooftop and walking toward me.
I caught a glimpse of the bruises shaped precisely like my fist, then looked away.
“What do you mean?”
“The Emperor of Hwa Empire has been sending personal letters inquiring about your well-being multiple times.”
“Don’t they usually do this for envoys?”
“Absolutely not. If an envoy dies on the journey, they debate whether to use it as a pretext for war or to extort something.”
How very Gold and Silver of them.
This was simply their nature, nothing surprising anymore.
“Since you’ve been postponing your duties as magistrate, they must be scheming to exploit you further.”
“I understand. You truly… work exceptionally well.”
The prince had tasted the flavor of administration.
The taste of creative bureaucracy—whipping his own back with integrity while laboring away.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————