The Genius Doctor Who Lives Twice - Chapter 7

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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 7
“So please, do calm yourself… Edward. If I may, I’d like to explain what’s happening while you fetch the medicine. Would that be acceptable?”
Edward was not a man entirely lacking in perception.
He seized upon the opportunity to extract himself from his predicament at once.
“Of course, of course! Patient, hear him out a moment. I mean what I said about saving your arm—truly I do. Let me go fetch that medicine!”
And with that, Edward hurried toward the Medicine Cabinet.
Once there, he pretended to rummage through it while pricking up his ears to listen.
“First, the notion that heat must be treated with heat is simply untrue. Yes, if you bathe in hot water or apply hot iron, the pain will vanish. But your arm will never truly heal.”
“What do you know? The physician I met said his own treatment method was documented in medical literature!”
“Yes, there is literature that says so—the work of Paré and Wiseman. But that theory has become largely obsolete by now.”
At the mention of such unfamiliar names, the patient flinched slightly.
“What? Paré? Wiseman?”
“Men from long ago. A hundred years past, at least. Medical treatment has evolved considerably since then. But let me examine your wound, if I may.”
Allen’s manner was steady and assured.
The patient swallowed hard, let his agitation settle, and slowly extended his arm.
Allen examined it closely.
The knowledge from Dreamland guided his eyes at once to what mattered.
‘Superficial Partial-Thickness Burn. Early-stage infection. Blisters have ruptured multiple times… Left untreated, this could turn dangerous.’
As he looked, Allen felt a peculiar surprise.
His thoughts were flowing down a path he had never considered before.
While he stood regarding the wound in prolonged silence, the patient suddenly drew his arm back and spoke curtly.
“How long are you going to stare? Does looking at it cure anything?”
And as he spoke, he shot Edward a resentful glance.
Edward, still facing away, continued his charade of searching. “Now where did I put that medicine…”
“I’ll be direct with you. The cure is honey.”
“What? Honey?”
The patient’s mouth fell open in disbelief. Predictably, Edward, who had his back turned, heard this too.
‘Honey? Honey?’
It was a treatment method he had never heard of in his life.
But Edward trusted the “physician.”
If he hadn’t heard of it, he reasoned, it must be his own ignorance at fault.
“Oh, my stars! Where’s my head? I’ve put the honey in a different cupboard! Goodness, I haven’t used it in so long I’d forgotten!”
And with that, he dashed into the Kitchen.
Which made perfect sense.
Honey belonged in the kitchen, after all.
Allen continued his consultation with the patient, whose eyes now conveyed utter skepticism.
“Have you ever seen honey spoil?”
“…No.”
“That is the key. When you apply honey, it will protect the wound from Corruption Energy.”
Strictly speaking, he was exploiting honey’s Osmotic Pressure and Antimicrobial Effect.
But Allen explained it in the language of this age.
“Insects will swarm all over my arm, won’t they? Are you playing games? Do you think my arm is a pastry?”
“Of course not. We’ll apply the honey and then wrap it with Bandage, performing an Occlusive Dressing. And it will need to be changed regularly.”
Just then, Edward came rushing back in.
“Apprentice! Here’s the honey! Let’s treat him at once!”
He held up the jar of honey as he spoke.
To anyone’s eye, it was clearly not a medicine bottle.
……
The patient regarded it with deep suspicion.
Edward forced his expression into place and began to act.
“Come now, your arm. I need to apply the medicine.”
A sweet fragrance wafted from the jar.
The patient’s brow furrowed in utter disbelief, but at last he slowly extended his arm.
“If this doesn’t work…”
“Now, now. Say nothing. You’ll make your arm twitch.”
Edward spoke with great solemnity.
And he looked toward Allen.
It was a pitiful signal of distress—’What do I do now?’
“Master, when applying the salve, you said one should cover the entire affected area thoroughly, didn’t you? I’m afraid my memory is a bit hazy on the details.”
“Ah, yes… that’s the way to do it!”
“And then you place the Hemp Gauze over it, and finally wrap the affected area with a Bandage to complete the Dressing, yes?”
“Exactly! Just do it like any other Dressing!”
Edward applied honey to the burn with a Wooden Stick, spreading it methodically like ointment.
Then he covered it with Hemp Gauze, wrapped it carefully with a Bandage, and completed the Dressing.
“…Is this right?”
The Patient still wore an expression of doubt, though he’d already been swept up in the moment.
In truth, what had truly enraged him wasn’t so much that the wound had worsened, but that he’d paid good money for incorrect treatment.
That was why he’d stormed in ready to turn everything upside down.
But with Edward’s clear explanation, an alternative provided, and immediate treatment underway, he’d lost his opportunity for further anger.
“I won’t charge for this treatment. Come back regularly for Dressing changes.”
Edward declared this with solemn conviction.
The Patient alternated his gaze between his bandaged arm and the honey, then exhaled deeply.
“I’ll be watching. If it worsens, understand the consequences.”
“Don’t worry. This treatment will work. Rest now—rest is part of healing too.”
Edward sent the Patient off with reassuring words.
Once the Patient had disappeared from view through the window, Edward turned to Allen with a long sigh.
…….
His eyes were etched with a brutal self-contempt.
“…Maybe I should quit being a doctor.”
“What are you saying?”
“Just what I said. I’m an idiot, a cripple, a fool. As you can see, I have no patients coming through that door, and the few I do treat show up cursing my name. I’m a fool who has no business being a physician.”
He bowed his head deeply.
“Look for work elsewhere. I’m no one worth learning from. How can a man who can’t even take care of himself teach anyone? Don’t waste your time under this pathetic wretch—go find your bright future, brilliant physician.”
Allen regarded Edward for a moment, who was drowning in despair.
He couldn’t say he didn’t understand his feelings.
No—he understood them perfectly.
“I’m hardly in a position to boast either.”
At Allen’s words, Edward slowly lifted his head.
“Hmm?”
“I was cast out of the Capital just the same. A failure. No one would take me in, my future unclear, and I drifted here by chance.”
“But you’re an Internal Medicine physician….”
“What difference does that make? We’re the same.”
Edward’s mouth fell open at Allen’s words.
“Let’s not salt each other’s wounds. What matters is what we do from here on.”
“…You really mean to train under me?”
“Yes. We’ve already signed the Apprenticeship Contract. What more is there?”
“But I have nothing to offer except technique….”
“You have technique. That’s enough. Far better than half-talented men bloated with pride.”
Edward couldn’t tell if this was praise or reproach.
He chose to interpret it as praise.
“Then may I ask one thing?”
“Of course.”
“Where in the world did this honey treatment come from? I’d like to read the source text myself.”
Allen smiled.
Edward still had a hunger for knowledge.
“There is no such thing.”
“……?”
“It’s not in any book. It’s simply my method.”
Edward’s mouth fell open.
Which only made him look more foolish.
“Working with me, you’ll find this happens often. Forget all those dusty old books and papers. They’re useless. My treatments appear in no text. But I guarantee the results.”
“…Teacher, I may not know the world of Internal Medicine well, but I think I understand why you were cast out.”
“So what? Let the fools of the Capital conduct their dignified stupidities among themselves. We’ll simply practice our Medical Practice.”
Edward studied Allen.
How was he meant to make sense of this peculiar, incomparable physician?
There was no need to understand him.
He simply chose to accept him.
After all, someone with formal credentials ought to be at least somewhat dependable.
“…You truly guarantee results? Really?”
“Absolutely. Of course. Far better than the treatment those fools out there practice.”
“Then, if you would, teach me. I wish to learn as well.”
“I have no intention of simply transferring technique.”
Edward’s shoulders sagged noticeably.
“I will impart knowledge first. Technique flows naturally from that foundation. You must study Medical Science before Medical Practice.”
“Then, very well—I shall study Medical Science.”
Allen’s lips curved upward.
“You must abandon your preconceptions. Accept what I tell you as it is presented.”
“Of course. Truth be told, I harbor few prejudices to begin with.”
“All the better. Shall we begin at once, then?”
“The sooner the better.”
“Then I shall unpack my things. Where, if I may ask, is my room?”
“Ah, your room is… wait?”
Edward’s eyes widened in surprise.
“You mean to stay here?”
“Naturally. Am I not an apprentice? I was taught that an apprentice learns their craft while dwelling under the master’s roof and taking meals there—it is customary.”
“Well, that is…”
Edward, about to retort that Allen was hardly an ordinary apprentice, suddenly recalled Article 3 of the Apprenticeship Contract: “Master’s Obligations.”
The clause stipulating that the master must provide room and board during the apprentice’s instruction.
‘Blast it. I should have amended Article 3.’
The result of signing without a second thought.
“So then, where shall I lodge?”
Allen smiled brightly.
Edward pressed a palm to his forehead and exhaled deeply.
“There’s a room on the second floor. Large enough for one person without much trouble. Though I’ll confess, I’d meant to let it out for lodging—help with the rent a bit.”
Edward studied Allen’s expression with undisguised longing.
Clearly hoping his apprentice might offer some contribution to the household expenses.
Yet Allen merely replied without sparing him a glance.
“Our contract clearly stipulates the provision of room and board, does it not?”
“Yes, well… that may be true. But still.”
Edward’s lips twitched, and he finally sighed and turned away.
He could not bring himself to confess the sordid truth—that he was deep in debt and would likely be evicted before long.
“I shall unpack and be down shortly.”
Allen slung his bundle across his back and glanced obliquely toward the Medical Clinic door.
“Today we shall call it finished. No more patients appear to be coming.”
“…Do not add to my misery.”
“All the more time to study, then. I shall need two chairs placed before that desk. Chalk, if you have it, would be ideal.”
Allen gestured toward the desk with a tilt of his head, then disappeared into the doorway.
The sound of the stairs creaking as he ascended drifted down.
Left alone, Edward stood in the middle of the room, heaving a long, heavy sigh.
He felt as though possessed by a ghost.
‘He’s not a swindler… surely? No, he couldn’t be, I’d wager.’
Everything had unfolded so swiftly that he remained in a daze.

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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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