The Genius Doctor Who Lives Twice - Chapter 12

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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 12
Danford City Hall.
Attached to the edge of the city square, this building was something of a symbol for Danford itself.
A three-story stone structure that, for a building erected fifty years prior, cut an impressively dignified figure.
The front facade boasted a row of arched windows, and above the entrance hung a stone plaque carved with the city’s coat of arms.
The first floor was where citizens came and went—not spacious, but always bustling.
The second floor belonged to the clerks.
Desks lined a narrow, elongated room, and filing cabinets ran floor to ceiling along every wall, packed solid with documents.
The light from the windows was all the illumination the space possessed.
On that second floor, the clerks and notaries sat at their desks today as always, locked in combat with mountains of paperwork.
When the clerk Tomkins slid open a filing drawer blanketed in dust, he grimaced.
“When exactly did we last organize this?”
He pulled out a heavy bundle of documents and dropped it on his desk with a thud, and dust billowed up in response.
The clerk Parrot at the adjacent desk coughed and turned away.
“Try being more careful.”
“Then come do it yourself.”
Tomkins grumbled as he loosened the bundle.
Contracts, permits, and land registration documents were tangled together.
He began sorting through them one by one, then paused mid-motion.
“Hm, this one.”
“What is it?”
“Edward Clinic. Apprenticeship Contract.”
Parrot leaned over slightly.
“When was it registered?”
“Two months back. Send it over to the apprenticeship contract stack.”
Tomkins pushed the contract aside with a snort.
“I don’t know why I keep hearing about that clinic these days. My wife was saying something about it yesterday too.”
“I’ve heard it too. From the rumors alone, you’d think we’re talking about some legendary physician—something about checking a pulse and determining whether someone would live or die on the spot, or something like that.”
Edward’s diagnosis of a dust mite allergy had long since accumulated embellishments and spread throughout the city.
The most popular version was that he’d sat in an armchair, listened to nothing but words, and instantly divined the cause.
“Does that make sense? The man opened his clinic over a year ago. Does someone like that suddenly become famous?”
“No, it’s really true. He said just one thing from his seat: ‘The treatment is cleanliness.’ And when they cleaned up, the child’s skin condition vanished completely.”
“How long had those people been living without washing, exactly?”
“…That was about my cousin, actually.”
“…I’m starting to think Edward might genuinely be a master physician.”
They continued their idle chatter, killing time.
“Still, he must be making good money these days—he’s reporting his taxes properly, isn’t he?”
“He’s only been getting word-of-mouth for about a month. How long it lasts is anyone’s guess.”
Then a shadow fell across them from behind.
Parrot and Tomkins instinctively recognized that disaster was approaching.
‘We’re done for.’
The two turned slowly, as if by prior agreement.
A gaunt, sharp-featured middle-aged man stood there.
The resident specter of City Hall, the master of the clerks and the true power behind Danford City Administration.
Every single document passed through this man’s hands.
It was McKintosh, the Chief Clerk.
“You two.”
He opened his mouth with a chilling tone.
“We—we apologize!”
“We were only discussing the documents themselves! Absolutely not idle gossip!”
Like thieves afraid of their own footsteps, Parrot and Tomkins scrambled to make excuses in unison.
The Chief Clerk was known for issuing sharp reprimands whenever he caught anyone shirking work during office hours.
But the words that actually came out were entirely different.
“This Edward fellow—he’s really as remarkable as people say?”
The two clerks stared at McKintosh blankly.
Then they quickly found their voices.
“Yes—yes, sir!”
“He’s a rising force to be reckoned with these days, sir!”
McKintosh regarded them through his sunken eyes.
The clerks swallowed hard.
“Precisely so.”
He opened his mouth slowly.
“What is he known for? Tell me in detail.”
They knew that the Chief Secretary was not the sort to join in casual gossip, yet they couldn’t pretend ignorance either.
Who could say whether an interesting story might earn them lenience for their distraction?
They told their tale with maximum earnestness, embellishing every detail.
“…I see.”
McKintosh, having heard it all, nodded slowly.
“Very well. Resume your work.”
He turned to leave.
His hands were clasped behind his back, and with each step he seemed to wince—something plainly troubled him.
Parrot and Tomkins, watching his receding figure, exhaled in relief.
“Well, that was unexpected.”
“I thought he might issue another order. He’s been in such a foul mood lately.”
They had been worried about the Chief Secretary’s pallid complexion and his recent ill humor.
But to join in gossip, of all things.
Had he finally found his social grace? The thought lasted only a moment.
“For every hour you’ve slacked off today, you’ll work overtime. I’ll inspect your work before you leave.”
His voice echoed from the distance.
Parrot and Tomkins’ faces twisted in despair.
* * *
Edward Clinic.
Evening, after the day’s consultations had ended.
The two of them sat in the consultation room, settling the day’s accounts.
Allen was carefully organizing the prescriptions, while Edward tallied the consultation fees and ledger entries against the receipts.
But somewhere along the way, Edward had drifted off course and picked up a furniture catalog.
He had decided to order a new chair for the waiting area.
“The day I’m ordering a waiting room chair. I never thought it would come.”
He murmured as though lost in a dream.
With patient numbers growing, the existing chairs had become insufficient, so he’d finally resolved to buy another.
“Edward, have you finished reconciling the receipts?”
Edward startled and set the catalog down.
“Ah, working on it now.”
“If my calculations are correct, this should be our first month of profit, yes?”
Edward let out a low whistle.
This physician knew everything.
“You’re right. After rent and living expenses, there’s still money left over. I never thought… honestly, this is the first time.”
Just three months ago, he’d been consumed by worry over when the clinic might collapse.
But now, at least, those fears had lifted.
Private practice could be this rewarding.
“Without you, I’d have declared bankruptcy and fled in the dead of night. I’d be some wandering barber scraping by on the streets.”
Edward spoke with bitter self-mockery.
Joy aside, he understood with absolute clarity that this success wasn’t his alone.
Allen set down his pen and rotated his wrist, then looked at Edward.
“I may have imparted the knowledge, but the patients came because of you, didn’t they?”
“…So I was merely a puppet on strings?”
Edward replied with a mixture of sincerity and jest.
Allen shook his head.
“Look back carefully at what we’ve accomplished. I have no magical art to cure patients at a stroke. The crucial element is the process of getting patients to reform their habits themselves, to trust their physician, and to faithfully follow prescriptions.”
In this era, stripped of Dreamland’s medicines and instruments, treatment relied fundamentally on lifestyle reform and herbal remedies.
Immediate results were difficult to achieve.
A patient’s “Compliance”—their willingness to endure the treatment process and follow through—was essential.
“That our patients obey even our carping without complaint is entirely your doing, Edward. Perhaps a renowned physician truly does possess a certain presence that calms people.”
“Ha! You’re making me blush. What kind of talk is that!”
At Allen’s praise, Edward’s shoulders shot up with delight.
He rose as quickly as he fell—his emotions had a swift momentum of their own.
“In fact, my superior officers in the military used to say I had ‘the appearance of a renowned physician,’ even if they doubted my actual skill!”
Of course, that had been mockery then, but it mattered little now.
He picked up the receipt for consultation fees.
“At this rate, I’ll have paid off the debt within three or four months. Even after the rent, I’ll manage it.”
“Why not simply purchase the building? It would free you from worry and give you full control, wouldn’t it?”
Edward stared blankly for a moment, then burst into hearty laughter.
“Ha ha! Now that’s an excellent notion! When the time comes, I’ll move you to a larger, finer room, Allen!”
Allen smiled at him with a soft chuckle.
He’d been prepared to empty his own pockets if the clinic’s operations had faltered, but watching how things were developing now, it seemed such sacrifice wouldn’t be necessary.
Tap. Tap-tap.
A knock sounded at the door.
Edward tilted his head and rose to his feet.
“But we have the door marked as closed?”
“It could be an emergency patient, couldn’t it?”
Allen got up as well.
When they went out and opened the door, a neatly dressed man stood on the threshold.
The moment he saw them, he bowed deeply in greeting.
“Good evening, Doctor Edward. I’ve come from the McKintosh Residence.”
Edward’s mind raced.
There was no one in Danford who didn’t know that name.
‘McKintosh—Chief Administrator of City Hall, the true architect of governance!’
The elected mayor was merely a transient figurehead, and the council members all had their private business to attend to.
But Chief Administrator McKintosh was simultaneously a council member and a fixture of the Danford City Hall Administration, having served there for decades.
Virtually all administrative decisions in Danford passed through his hands.
“The master is suffering from quite severe wrist pain, and I’ve ventured to call upon you despite the hour. Would you be able to make a house call?”
Edward swallowed hard.
This was the first time such a prominent figure had summoned him.
While he stood frozen by the unexpected request, Allen emerged from behind him.
“We’ll attend upon him shortly. Please wait a moment while we gather our travel bag and medical case.”
“Take your time with the preparations. I’ve left a carriage waiting outside.”
The servant bowed respectfully.
When Edward stepped back inside, his expression was a confused tangle of excitement and anxiety.
“Good heavens, such an important personage! If anything were to go wrong, all the reputation we’ve built would crumble to dust in an instant.”
“On the other hand, if we succeed, it could be the opportunity for us to take a significant leap forward.”
Allen donned his coat with unflappable composure.
Edward found himself freshly amazed at his equanimity.
Having been an internist, he’d likely dealt with many prominent figures before—or so Edward reasoned vaguely to himself.
The servant led them across the street to the carriage waiting there.
Two well-groomed horses were hitched to the modest vehicle.
After boarding, they wound through the bustling thoroughfares of the city and made their way toward Greenhills, the prosperous district on the hills that crowned Danford.
The Chief Administrator’s residence was an elegant red-brick building of two stories perched near the summit of the hill.
Passing through the neatly maintained front gate, they curved along the gravel drive until they reached the entrance.
The door opened, and when Edward and Allen looked up, they found themselves already walking down the residence’s corridor.
Elegant landscape paintings adorned the walls, while a costly carpet—seemingly imported from the Orient—ran the length of the floor.
“This way, please.”
Led into the parlor, they took their seats as directed.
Edward sat rigidly, swallowing nervously, until Allen tapped his shoulder.
“Relax your expression, Doctor.”
“This is my normal face.”
“Solemnity and tension are not the same thing.”
At that moment, footsteps announced the arrival of the Chief Administrator himself, McKintosh.
He was a gaunt figure wrapped in a silk dressing gown.

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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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