The Genius Doctor Who Lives Twice - Chapter 22

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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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Episode 22
On the weekend, the Clinic was closed.
Edward had gone to attend Sunday Mass at the Church.
He’d said he would stop there, take a brief stroll through the Square, look over the Market, and then return.
In the meantime, Allen packed a simple Medical Bag and set out.
William followed close at his heels.
“Wouldn’t you prefer to rest? You look utterly exhausted.”
“Ha. How could I sit idle when you’re off to do good works? Of course I must come along.”
Beneath William’s eyes lay deep dark circles.
He had the unmistakable look of a man worn to collapse.
Reviewing Allen’s lectures each evening was tiring work, but the nightly dissections and struggles with the animals had taken an even greater toll.
“I do admire your scholarly zeal, my friend.”
“Of course. A medical student who neglects his studies will simply fall behind.”
“True enough. But I trust you’ll refrain from actions that harm our Clinic. You understand what I mean, yes?”
In that instant, William felt his heart plummet.
“…I beg your pardon?”
“Never lay hands on another’s property—that’s what I’m saying. And let me add, coffins and burial shrouds are unmistakably someone’s property.”
……
He’d been discovered.
William’s complexion drained to ash in a heartbeat.
This man had already grasped exactly what he’d been doing each night.
Yet Allen continued in an even tone.
“While you remain under this Clinic’s roof, do nothing that will invite scandal. If you cause trouble, Edward will bear the blame alone—and that wouldn’t be fair to him.”
“…I’ll keep it in mind, sir.”
“Good. And as a parting note—the Dock in the lower village harbors plenty of large stray dogs. The fishermen throw their offal there, so the dogs prowl about hunting for scraps.”
William could only nod stiffly in acknowledgment.
Allen’s destination was the Orphanage under the Church’s jurisdiction.
Even in a town of scarcely two thousand souls like Dun Ford, orphans were everywhere.
Under the Church’s care, the Orphanage took in these children and looked after them.
Cramped alleyways lined with worn brick buildings clustered beside the Church.
The Orphanage ranked among the larger structures on that narrow street.
Michael, a young assistant priest who also served as Orphanage director, recognized Allen and greeted him with a luminous smile.
“Welcome, sir.”
He ushered Allen inward with quiet courtesy.
As they walked, William stole glances at the interior of the Orphanage.
Children crowded against the windowpanes, regarding the visitors with keen curiosity in their eyes.
Contrary to common prejudice, they did not appear starved or ill-treated.
“You are truly faithful to us. Week after week, you visit this humble place without fail.”
“It is merely a small joy for me. You see, I myself spent my childhood in difficult circumstances, so I remember well.”
“To have risen from such hardship to become an Apprentice to so accomplished a Surgeon—your example will be a great inspiration and strength to these children.”
Most of the boys raised in the Orphanage eventually entered apprenticeships under craftsmen as they came of age.
Yet a great many were exploited for labor alone, stripped of any true skill and cast into the streets; indeed, finding placement under a competent master was rarer than plucking stars from the sky.
In such a climate, the title of Apprentice to a Surgeon was, from the children’s perspective, the most lofty ambition and coveted position imaginable.
“Sir!”
“The teacher has come!”
A few children standing at the corridor’s end rushed forward and seized Allen’s coat tails.
Allen gently stroked each child’s head in turn.
“Have you all been well this past week? No troubles?”
“Yes! We’ve been counting the days till today.”
Michael watched the scene unfold with a contented smile.
“The Head Priest has expressed to me time and again how deeply grateful he is for your kindness.”
At the mention of the Head Priest, Allen’s expression froze for just an instant.
“…Is that so.”
“Yes. Each time I see the priest, I keep him informed of the good works you have done so steadily.”
“There is no need to trouble yourself so. I do what I do simply because my heart moves me to.”
Allen then stepped into the makeshift examination room.
As he unpacked his Medical Bag, he turned to William, who stood beside him.
“Will you assist? Today we’re doing dental examinations. And we’ll see to some of the children who have minor ailments.”
“…If you do this every week, when exactly do you find time to rest?”
The Allen whom William observed from beside him was a man consumed by his work.
Not only did he conduct regular clinic hours, but every night he threw himself into ledger management, Human Anatomy lectures, and surgical technique practice without a moment’s rest.
Yet the fact that he squandered his weekends on such work left William utterly baffled.
“I find that work puts me at ease. I’d assumed you were cut from the same cloth as I am.”
“…Well, I suppose in a manner of speaking.”
William too had thrown himself into dissection whenever a spare hour opened up during his apprenticeship.
But for him, that pursuit had never been “work.”
It was merely a hobby, a pastime to satisfy his scholarly hunger.
“For me, this practice is both hobby and play. There’s an intellectual pleasure in examining a body and diagnosing its ailments.”
Allen removed his coat and hung it on the wall peg before settling into the examination chair.
“The only pity is that I can do so little for them.”
“…Is that why you’re taking up surgical technique? Despite being an internist?”
“Precisely. With knowledge alone, I’m limited—but with these hands, I can mend far more than words allow.”
William nodded.
Over the past few days of observation, he’d already confirmed that Allen’s dedication to surgery was genuine.
Yet the question of why he lingered in this provincial town remained unanswered.
Soon the children filed into the hallway in a long queue, and one by one they entered the clinic room for examination.
William hung a thin curtain at one corner of the clinic and worked in tandem with Allen from behind it.
And there he reaffirmed, once again, that he despised children.
“Come on. Open your mouth wider.”
“Ahhhhhhh.”
“That rotten tooth of yours has to come out immediately.”
“No! I don’t want it out!”
“You dare talk back? When a surgeon tells you a tooth comes out, it comes out without complaint.”
“…You’re so scary! Allen is so kind!”
“So what.”
……
After examining dozens of children, one after another, two hours had slipped away without notice.
William slumped exhausted into the clinic chair, completely drained.
“…I’ve lost all my energy.”
“Didn’t I suggest you take a break instead?”
“Not at all. I genuinely enjoy caring for children.”
William spun his lie without a shred of conscience.
The truth was, his real purpose in trailing Allen since Sunday morning lay elsewhere.
‘I need to observe and probe this Allen Light character more closely.’
A former internist—a mysterious figure who alone had erected a colossal edifice of a hypothesis no one else had ever dared conceive.
No text William had read offered explanations of human anatomy remotely comparable to Allen’s.
He was curious what eccentricities or behavioral patterns such a colossus might possess.
Yet in the end, he’d learned nothing.
Only exhausted himself completely.
“Well, the examinations are finished now.”
Allen gathered his medical bag as he spoke.
William’s eyes brightened.
“Shall we rest now? Is there perhaps a decent tavern in Dun Ford?”
“No. The examinations are done, but I haven’t finished all I came here to do.”
Allen turned toward another room.
Inside were four children, each around twelve years old, gathered together.
“Teacher!”
The children inside cheered and rushed to greet Allen.
Allen smiled and set his bag down.
“It’s been a while. Where did we leave off last time?”
“You explained how the lungs and heart help each other!”
“Ah yes, your memory is excellent. Today let’s delve deeper into that relationship.”
Allen withdrew several sheets of paper from his medical bag and distributed them to the children.
They were lecture materials.
William stared at Allen with a dumbfounded expression at this absurd sight.
“What is this?”
“After each clinic session, I give the children lessons on human anatomy.”
“Why?”
“Because understanding one’s own body is far better than remaining ignorant of it.”
William studied the children for a moment.
One girl and three boys.
All of them had their eyes shining with rapt attention.
“This content must be far too simple for you. You’re welcome to leave early if you wish.”
“No, that’s all right. I’ll stay for the lecture.”
“Suit yourself, then.”
Yet the lecture had barely begun when William fell asleep within thirty minutes.
As he dozed against the wall, drool sliding from his lip, several of the children regarded him with expressions of disdain.
“Master, who is that dimwitted-looking fellow?”
One of the boys pointed directly at William and asked.
“A newly arrived apprentice.”
“Then he’s your junior, isn’t he?”
“Let’s say as much.”
The lecture continued on.
After some time spent warming to the topic, Allen suddenly shifted into a playful tone.
“Well then, shall we have a quick examination?”
At once, the children let out a collective groan.
A test on a holiday—there was no crueler blow than this.
“Surely we ought to check how well you’ve grasped last week’s material, shouldn’t we?”
Allen waved away their protests lightly and distributed the exam papers.
Watching the children furrow their brows, struggling desperately to recall the names of each organ, he fell into a moment of deep reflection.
‘Two of them stand out.’
They were a boy named Riemann who sat in the front row, and a girl named Sarah.
Riemann was heavily freckled with an outgoing temperament and insatiable curiosity.
Sarah, by contrast, was a girl with black hair bound tightly back—quite composed and sharp-witted.
The other two were managing to keep pace to some degree, though their struggle was becoming increasingly apparent.
They might well fall away before long.
When he had first begun these lectures, no fewer than fifteen children had applied.
They had harbored vague hopes that by catching the eye of the Surgeon Apprentice, they might be promoted as successor apprentices and achieve social advancement.
Of course, now that they had felt the full severity of Allen’s teaching methods, only these four remained, clinging to their places.
William regained consciousness and woke only after more than three hours had passed.
The lecture was just ending, and the room was being tidied up.
“I apologize, Master.”
William scratched his disheveled hair sheepishly and apologized.
Allen shook his head.
“It’s fine. You attend separate sessions every weekday evening anyway.”
“Ha, yes, that’s true, but…”
Just then, Sarah approached Allen hesitantly.
Allen looked up from packing his bag to face her.
“Sarah, is there something you wished to ask?”
“Master, when you examined Grace today, was there nothing unusual?”
Allen paused, searching his memory.
An image came to mind of the thin, brown-haired girl he had seen during the examination.
Beyond appearing somewhat fatigued and being slight of build for her age, there was nothing particularly remarkable about her.
It was an impression so common among the orphanage children that he had let it slip past without much notice.
“Aside from a few dental cavities, I found nothing remarkable to report.”
“Did she happen to mention anything about her condition recently?”
“What condition are you referring to?”
Allen questioned her back.
Sarah appeared deeply troubled.
Her lips trembled as she worried whether she might be betraying her dear friend’s secret by speaking out.
Yet after a moment of resolve, she opened her mouth quietly.
“Grace has been urinating far too frequently of late.”
“How frequently?”
“Nearly every day she’s practically living in the privy. And I’ve noticed…marks of wetness on her breeches before, and strangely, the spot was swarming with ants.”
In an instant, Allen’s expression hardened completely.
Sarah flinched.
“…Master?”
“Sarah, go fetch Grace at once and bring her here.”
Moments later, Grace entered the room hesitantly, working her fingers.
Sarah, following behind her, appeared anxious, worried that she had made matters worse for her friend by speaking out of turn.
“Grace. From now on, you must answer my questions with complete honesty.”
“…Yes.”
“If there have been any changes to your body recently, I want to hear about all of them—leave nothing out. Even the smallest detail matters.”
Grace hesitated for a moment.
During the group health screening just minutes before, she’d been the one laughing brightly, insisting, “I’m perfectly fine!”
But as if she’d suddenly grasped that there was no longer any way to evade the truth, her expression shifted to one of fear, and she opened her mouth.
“I… it started about two weeks ago.”

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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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