The Quack Lady - Chapter 2

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 2

I hesitated for a moment.

Should I go? Or not?

But immediately after hearing the labored breathing that followed, I threw down the basket I was holding.

“Damn it!!”

Cursing inwardly with every profanity I knew, I ran toward the direction of the sound.

‘I’ll just do this one thing. If it’s such a pained scream, there’s a possibility they’re seriously injured somewhere!’

Money is good and love is good, but what’s most important is being alive.

In other words, the most important thing for all living beings is life.

I engraved this importance of life in my heart once more and ran without hesitation.

Not far ahead, I saw a man kneeling while clutching one arm.

The pain must have been excruciating as he was curled up and trembling violently.

I immediately approached him and spoke.

“Are you alright? Let’s get you inside first…?”

“Ar…temia?”

“Mr. Pairon?”

At the voice that followed, I had to cover my mouth.

The one who had been screaming was none other than Pairon Aphenus.

He was the herbalist who supplied herbs to this apothecary and my benefactor who helped me work at the pharmacy.

* * *

“Girl, it’ll be difficult at first, so I’ll teach you.”

The day I first met him, he smiled warmly and said those words to me.

Life at the infirmary after losing my mother was not easy.

I was bullied countless times by the other maids, and each time I had to endure the pain.

Well, that was all I could do.

Then one day, I happened to see the maids working in the Apothecary Room, and with the vague thought that working there would mean I wouldn’t have to suffer, I headed to the pharmacy.

Mr. Pairon, who happened to be at the pharmacy to donate herbs, looked favorably upon me.

‘After that, whenever he came to the pharmacy, he would call me over and teach me about herbs.’

Even when I later learned that he was kind to me because I reminded him of his daughter who died young, it didn’t matter.

I simply hoped vaguely that he would do well, that he would live well without pain.

But to see him like this.

“What on earth happened! Where does it hurt! Tell me your symptoms first…!”

“I-I’m fine. Get a doctor first… Ugh!”

Before he could finish speaking, he collapsed again. His bear-like large frame fell helplessly toward the ground.

“Let me check your condition first. Your arm hurts, right?”

Above the arm he was clutching, bandages were crudely and haphazardly tied.

I unhesitatingly unwrapped the bandages and began tearing away the clothes covering his arm.

This was to examine any possible external injuries.

“What are you doing right now…!”

“Stay still!”

Perhaps because of my serious expression, he endured the pain and obediently let me do as I wished.

I immediately concentrated all my attention and carefully examined his arm.

‘There are no particular external wounds. Is it a nerve problem? Or muscle rupture?’

Various diagnoses flashed through my mind when I slightly bent his arm and saw a bone protruding into view.

‘It’s an anterior dislocation!’

A dislocation where the upper arm bone protrudes from the shoulder joint, one of the common types of dislocation.

Dislocation.

Literally a condition where bones are not in their proper place but protrude out, stimulating nearby muscles and nerves to cause tremendous pain.

Enough to immobilize this bear-like man.

Just as I was rolling up my sleeves for immediate reduction.

The act of returning fractured or dislocated bones to their original position.

My body froze.

‘Wait, is this something I… should be doing?’

I had the knowledge. I knew the treatment method. I had done it countless times in my previous life.

But whether I could actually do it was a completely different matter.

Moreover, seeing him in such pain for the first time made me suddenly afraid.

‘What if I make a mistake? Can I take responsibility? What if he resents me for life?’

These were questions my previous life self had asked countless times.

Whether I had confidence to do well in face of life’s heavy responsibility.

Whether I could protect life to the very end.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

Then I recalled the contents of the oath.

[I will prioritize the patient’s health and life above all else, no matter what situation arises.]

I recalled once more what I had engraved in my heart.

Something only I could do.

It was scary and frightening, but I had to do it, I had to succeed.

Just as my previous life self had done every moment.

“Mr. Pairon! I know how to treat this!”

Although my specialty wasn’t surgery, fortunately dislocation was one of the regular conditions in the emergency room.

‘I can do this.’

Since it involved Mr. Pairon of all people, my heart grew anxious.

However, with a different kind of urgency than mine, Mr. Pairon also tried to dissuade me with a desperate face.

“How can a mere maid from the apothecary perform treatment? Before things get worse, hurry and call a doctor…”

“No. They cannot treat this.”

At my firm voice, he looked at me with a momentarily dazed expression.

His face seemed to wonder if I’d gone completely mad, but now wasn’t the time to worry about such things!

I immediately led the patient complaining of pain to a secluded alley between buildings.

Then, pressing him against the wall, I quickly explained.

“Your bone is dislocated right now. If we leave it like this, it could result in malunion, which is dangerous.”

A condition where bones harden without being properly aligned.

“The bone is what now…? And mal… what?”

“The bone hardening while improperly aligned. If that happens, you won’t be able to climb mountains to gather herbs anymore. And this kind of pain will come repeatedly, very frequently.”

Dislocation was a condition where the risk of re-dislocation increased if the bones weren’t quickly realigned.

To summarize once more.

“We need to treat it quickly!”

At my urgent cry, he reluctantly extended his arm to me.

This was a matter that could change the rest of his life.

“I’ll treat you right away, so you must keep your shoulder pressed firmly against the wall. Understood? It’ll be over quickly.”

I was trying my best to calm the patient while examining the affected area.

“Ah, I don’t think this is right after all. You’re still young and also…”

“Age has nothing to do with treatment.”

When I grabbed the arm he was trying to slyly withdraw, his brow furrowed deeply.

“No… ugh, can you really do… I mean, have you ever done…”

“Trust me. I can do it and I’ve done it hundreds of times.”

During my internship, when working in the emergency room, I was skilled enough with my hands to even receive a scout offer from surgery.

I might be less experienced than the resident doctors, but this level of dislocation was a piece of cake.

“Then, I’ll begin the treatment.”

“Wait, hold on…!”

I grabbed his shoulder without hesitation.

Recalling the dream’s contents, I grasped his shoulder with the feeling of becoming my previous life self as much as possible.

Normally, this treatment requires one person to stabilize the shoulder while another pushes the shoulder blade back into place.

‘I’ll try doing it alone for now. I know the method.’

I let out a small breath and opened my eyes wide.

Then I gradually applied force and began returning the dislocated bone to its original position.

“It might be a bit rough, but this is the best I can do.”

“What?”

Along with the man’s bewildered gaze, a crisp sound echoed through the air.

Crack—.

Huh? What?

Contrary to my expectations, the bone was sliding smoothly back into place.

Is this the strength of a child on the verge of adolescence?

It was different from my previous life worn down by night shifts. This twelve-year-old body was vigorous—far too vigorous.

Vigorous enough to make realigning bones by myself possible.

Crack, crack—.

“Aaaahhh!”

As the bone snapped into place with crisp sounds, a cry of relief burst from the man’s mouth.

To think it went in on the first try. A smile unconsciously spread across my lips.

“Mister! Thank goodness! The treatment finished faster than expected! Now we just need to quickly secure it with bandages to prevent re-dislocation… Huh?”

However, my words couldn’t continue to the end.

Because the man’s body plummeted to the floor as if it had been waiting for this moment.

…The man had fainted.

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