Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 778

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 778
I had arrived at the Imperial Capital.
Jasi’s mouth fell open at the magnificent sight of the sprawling Imperial Capital, his eyes darting across the landscape.
Hundreds of people streamed past us, accompanied by just as many horses, thousands of shops, soldiers, and martial artists.
“Extraordinary. No wonder the envoys complain every time they visit that the royal palace is so small.”
‘…Well, I suppose that’s because the envoys have poor character.’
It seemed there was no character evaluation in the bureaucratic assessment criteria. Or perhaps the envoys from the New Dynasty simply didn’t bother with courtesy.
But then again, wasn’t that true of everyone?
Especially the people of the Middle Kingdom, who believed themselves to be the center of the world.
“However, where there are so many people, stagnant and corrupted energies also gather.”
“Is that so?”
I couldn’t perceive it at all.
“Indeed. There is vitality overflowing, yet equally there is darkness, filth, and wickedness in abundance. It is a beautiful place, but a dangerous one.”
I supposed it was simply the nature of things—where there are many people, there are bound to be bad ones among them, and unless a city were meticulously planned, it would inevitably produce sewage and waste.
I decided to think of it that way.
“You possess such formidable aptitude, yet why are you so poor at ‘seeing’?”
“What can I do if I cannot see what I cannot see?”
I shrugged my shoulders.
As we walked down the grand avenue of the Imperial Capital, a group of people approached from the distance.
Tap, tap, tap.
Upon spotting me, they changed direction and approached with measured precision.
Soon they spoke.
“I am Gyochung, who serves as the Infantry Colonel among the Five Colonels.”
Gyochung offered his salute with a somewhat tense demeanor.
“I pay my respects to Governor Jin Cheon-hee!”
Snap!
His fist salute possessed a sharpness like that of a blade.
‘The Five Colonels are positions under the direct command of the Imperial Guard, overseeing the defense forces of the Imperial Capital, if I recall correctly.’
I thought quickly.
The salary ranged between one thousand and two thousand measures of grain, and it was a fourth-rank position.
‘The same fourth rank as my position as governor. So there’s no reason for him to be so deferential?’
Look at how stiffly his neck was tensed.
Jasi whispered from beside me.
“You’re quite the important official. Why didn’t you mention it?”
I transmitted my voice to Jasi.
[We’re actually the same rank, but he’s trembling for some reason. Besides, I have much to say about this promotion myself.]
I simply wished the Emperor would lose interest in me.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Colonel Gyochung. Have you come to find me?”
“Of course. The Emperor learned of your arrival at the Imperial Capital and ordered me to escort you.”
‘As expected of the Emperor. He already knows I’ve arrived.’
Indeed, from the moment I entered the Hwa Empire, eyes and ears were planted everywhere—there’s no way they wouldn’t know.
‘That’s right. He put me to work like that, so I should receive proper compensation. After all that hardship.’
Even when heroes slay a Demon King, don’t they have a time for settling accounts and dividing the spoils among themselves?
Who gets the Demon King’s helmet, who gets his sword and shield—those kinds of discussions.
Later, there would probably be discussions about the Demon King’s castle real estate as well.
I might even need to worry about property acquisition taxes and urban redevelopment issues in this region.
In a way, this settlement time is more important than actually catching the Demon King.
The same goes for me.
What’s the point of catching a Demon King named Ureok if there’s no settlement afterward?
‘Wait for it, you twin treasure goblins.’
I’ve worked like a dog, so it’s time to receive like a minister.
* * *
Hwang-gu, Noeji, and Jasi were guided to a separate residence within the imperial palace.
It wasn’t large, but the garden was exceptionally beautiful.
Every single branch bore the mark of a first-rate gardener’s hand, and the flowering trees bloomed fresh as if they had forgotten the seasons.
“Is this a Hwa Empire-style garden? It’s certainly different from where I was. I can feel the soil is fertile.”
Jasi strolled through this garden for a long time and seemed to enjoy it greatly.
Indeed, he appeared to prefer seeing plants and trees over seeing people.
While Jasi enjoyed the imperial palace, I was immediately bathed, scrubbed, dried, dressed properly, and dragged before the Emperor.
When I arrived, the Emperor himself was waiting for me.
Of course, not at the front entrance. It was a secret separate residence at the back.
“You’ve come?”
He greeted me in casual, informal attire.
Though he called it informal, whenever the light reflected off it, I could see a golden dragon—it was clearly no ordinary garment.
‘Hmm, so Pung Ha-geum is staying personally today.’
It seems Eun Wang-ya has gone out on an excursion.
In the meantime, Geum Wang-ya is handling state affairs.
Sure enough, behind him were stacks of various memorials and documents piled like mountains, as if forming a halo.
“I’ve received reports. You completed the trade properly, I hear. But I don’t yet know the detailed contents. Give me a report.”
Geum Wang-ya has less playfulness than Eun Wang-ya, so his impression is somewhat colder.
There was something Eun Wang-ya had said in passing before.
-That Geum fellow is clumsy at meeting people. It can’t be helped, can it? Reading others’ memories means reading their true hearts as well. That’s why he gets betrayed so often.
Unlike Eun Wang-ya, who manipulates others’ actions through words, Geum Wang-ya reads or manipulates others’ memories.
Usually he stops at reading and doesn’t manipulate, or so they say.
‘There’s truly no one to trust in this world.’
Even now that the power structure is completely solidified, it must have been even more so when the three of them—Ju Wang-ya, Eun Wang-ya, and Geum Wang-ya—walked the bloody path together to seize the imperial throne.
‘It’s not something one should experience in childhood.’
Since he grew up that way, perhaps being somewhat cold is actually a sign he turned out reasonably well?
“Well… so… I’m not sure where to start.”
I explained what had happened in a reasonably organized manner.
However, I omitted the Prince’s attempt at human sacrifice and the matters involving Baekcheon-gun and Rakshasa.
In any case, I despised war.
And becoming the pretext for war was something I wished to avoid even more.
“Hmm….”
Emperor Geum-wang rested his chin on his hand and stared at me for a long while.
“You’re not lying, but you haven’t told me everything either, have you?”
“Hehe. That’s just how it is.”
“Tsk. For some reason, your memories are particularly difficult for me to read.”
Did abilities vary in effectiveness from person to person?
Or was it because we shared the same imperial bloodline?
Either way, I couldn’t know for certain, but it was fortunate regardless.
As he spoke, Emperor Geum-wang drew lines through someone’s name with ink, and the Eunuch General accepted the register with a chuckling laugh, saying “I shall handle it at once!” and departed.
No matter how I looked at it, it didn’t seem like he was striking out names to grant rewards—it appeared a bloodier wind was about to blow soon.
‘Oh my, this is truly chilling.’
For him, saving lives and taking them were both merely matters of state governance.
I would have preferred he not do such things in my presence, but the Emperor was the Emperor for a reason.
He did as he pleased, which is precisely why he was the Emperor.
Emperor Geum-wang spoke.
“Well then, can you manufacture toothpaste?”
“Yes. Now that the natron trade has concluded, I believe we can lower the unit cost further.”
Through trial and error, things might change later, but for now I was considering a solid form toothpaste.
“The Governor of Natron rarely opens his mines. Even with a royal decree, I expected him to drag his feet and demand higher prices. It seems you’ve properly hooked his nose. How exactly did you manage it?”
‘Roughly through blood and death?’
I couldn’t possibly say such a thing aloud.
Remembering that ordeal, tears clouded my vision.
“I resolved it through love and peace.”
“That’s the greatest nonsense I’ve ever heard.”
Woof woof woof!
The sound of Hwang-gu barking echoed in my mind.
“Sit here.”
Only then did Emperor Geum-wang permit me to sit across from his desk.
An ordinary meritorious official would have wept and cherished the memory of sitting at the same table as the Emperor for the rest of their life, but I felt nothing of the sort.
‘No, let’s not pretend to be close. Please.’
I feared that if we built unnecessary rapport, he might bestow another official position upon me.
* * *
At Emperor Geum-wang’s signal, the Eunuch General swiftly cleared away various memorials and ledgers, then filled the desk with refreshments.
“What an honor that Your Majesty takes such leisure! This humble servant is deeply impressed!”
“Impressed by what.”
“But surely it is a welcome change, is it not?”
“How could it be? I simply have a craving for something sweet.”
The Eunuch General made a fuss.
“His Majesty was so worried that he sent three letters of inquiry in a single day.”
“Enough!”
“Hehehehe!”
I realized something watching this exchange.
‘Ah, so the Eunuch General is family to the Wang-yas.’
Wasn’t it just like a grandmother and grandchild?
It wasn’t an inaccurate comparison.
In the past, the Eunuch General had personally raised the two of them when they had no backing.
For two people born with extraordinary abilities, it was no small feat for an ordinary person to approach them without fear.
Even if one were the living War God known as Ju Wang-ya, it would have been difficult for a mere eunuch to serve with genuine devotion.
That person was the Eunuch General, and he was also their caretaker.
He had risked his life for the Wang-yas, and in turn, they had opened their hearts to him.
He was undoubtedly the Emperor’s most trusted confidant and family.
This very Eunuch General playfully piled sweets high before me.
“I heard you endured much hardship beyond the borders. It’s fortunate you’ve returned safely.”
How much does he know?
I wondered if this old man might even know the information I had omitted.
And what never failed to appear were fried potatoes and potato chips.
‘It’s remarkable that he doesn’t develop abdominal obesity eating like this.’
Today too, he’s consuming cholesterol, yet he doesn’t develop adult diseases—truly impressive.
Thinking thus, I too placed some junk food—no, organic potato chips fried by the imperial palace’s finest housekeeper—into my mouth.
Crunch.
‘Oh, the taste of refined junk.’
Adding sweet honey cakes to the mix, it was heaven.
‘This is the sweet-salty-sweet combination.’
And to finish, a slightly bitter tea.
‘Ahhh.’
I continued picking at various treats.
Emperor Geum-wang watched me with his chin resting on his hand.
“You eat well.”
“The refreshments are all exquisite and delicious.”
“Of course. The empire’s finest housekeeper, after all. If you wish, I can have you eat here whenever you like—the imperial palace has plenty of rooms.”
“Cough, cough, cough!”
I immediately spat out the tea I was drinking.
“Filthy.”
“I… well… I am merely a doctor, and the position of provincial governor is already more than I can handle. Please, I beg you to withdraw the offer.”
“Even when offered, you refuse.”
He’s truly different from Eun Wang-ya. This man.
‘At least Eun Wang-ya would be more tactful!’
The same face, the same voice—he thrust the question forward without any attempt to dodge it.
He clicked his tongue and spoke.
“What was the Damjin Kingdom like?”
“All places where people live are the same. I returned in good health.”
“That cannot be. Surely it’s a place where primitive sorcery and human sacrifice run rampant, where the logic of Confucianism gives way to the rule of blood?”
The arrogant and willful words of an imperial emperor. And yet.
“You know it well.”
In novels, emperors who speak like this never fall—their impregnable capitals remain unconquered until they’re struck down by savages with spears. But reality belongs to those who prepare.
It would be a waste of all those memorials and ledgers to fall to a savage’s spear.
His arrogance was born from overwork, after all.
Emperor Geum-wang nodded and took a small sip of tea.
“They are potential enemies, so you must understand them well. Remember this—in relations between nations, war can break out at any moment.”
‘Ah, I was right not to mention the prince. I just prevented a war. Well done, me.’
I had felt this before, but what mattered to these emperors was their own nation, not others’.
Compared to my predecessor, he avoided war only because the damage to his own people outweighed the gains.
If the profit were great enough to reverse that calculation, he would strike without hesitation.
That is what an emperor is, what is called a previous emperor.
‘One could say it defines the very nature of an emperor of this age.’

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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