What kind of mentality is it to ask someone how they're feeling after stripping them naked and placing them on an operating table?
If I were the only one going through this…
No, let's make an exception, because if I were the only one going through this, that day would probably be the day I die again.
Anyway, being surrounded by so many people, I wasn't in a very good mood.
"Haha. I'll say a prayer for you."
But how could I possibly frown when His Majesty the King himself is talking about praying?
So, I smiled.
"He looks good, doesn't he?"
The Prime Minister, who had been looking down at me, let out a hearty laugh.
The King and the Prime Minister were together in one place, laughing.
Not just them, but there was also a Duke and an Earl present.
"Thanks to you, I'm alive, and now I get to see this sight too."
Since he was someone who almost died from typhoid fever, he specifically came to express his gratitude.
I wonder what expression he would make if he found out that the chef responsible was alive and well, working in the anatomy lab of this very building.
"Ah, no… It's nothing."
Thinking it probably wouldn't be good, I hurriedly replied.
Not just them, but almost everyone present came up to me and offered a word of praise or well-wishing.
Perhaps because they were all people of high status, proper etiquette seemed ingrained in them.
Although, if they were truly polite people, they probably wouldn't have come here in the first place…
"Professor."
"Yipes!"
While I was thinking that, someone revealed themselves near my head.
It was Alfred.
It's a face I see every day, but for some reason today, it's scary.
"I'll make sure to handle the gas canister properly, so don't worry about the pain."
He was smiling brightly while turning the gas valve, which was precisely why it was frightening.
"I'll also do my best to assist."
This time, a head popped up from down below.
When I looked down, it was Colin.
For some reason, this guy was smiling too.
'Is this… karma?'
Yeah, to these two, I've…
I've really made them do some unthinkable things multiple times.
But in return, I saved their lives, fixed their older brothers, and generously shared knowledge… I thought we were even.
'No, this is sheer ingratitude.'
Maybe it's true that you shouldn't take in beasts with black hair.
Wait, these bastards have blonde hair, so why are they acting like this?
"Hey."
Then, a low, thick voice was heard.
Even without straining to turn my head, I could see who it belonged to.
Liston.
Really…..
The number one person I least wanted to see while on the operating table… and now I was seeing him here.
"Don't worry too much."
"How can I not worry?"
"Haha. Haven't you seen? I'm incredibly skilled."
I heard that others usually use scissors for circumcision.
No, if I were to join this madness, I'd probably use scissors too.
'His Majesty asked me to, didn't he?'
Since the primary physician, so to speak, dismissed everyone except me and my team, if surgery were to happen, I'd be the one doing it.
Yeah, if I were to circumcise His Majesty the King, I should indeed use scissors.
For neatly cutting off a not-too-large area of not-too-tough tissue, scissors are indeed the best.
'But Liston…'
There's a reason he's called the Sword Saint.
Liston uses a blade.
Although, compared to the swords he used to carry around….
"No, hyung-nim. Why that knife?"
"Ah, this is for self-defense."
"Who would dare bother you... I'm shocked."
"I'll use this for the procedure."
"But doesn't that look a bit big too…?"
"Don't worry. I'll cut it with ghost-like precision."
Yeah, compared to Liston's usual swords, it's a small knife.
Whether it's absolutely small or not is debatable, but it's definitely not large.
Anyway, as Liston drew that well-maintained, smooth knife, a creaking sound began to be heard.
"I'll disinfect it properly too."
Joseph's voice also started to be heard.
I couldn't see his face, but I had a feeling this guy was smiling too.
Well,
even if I weren't the patient, he's the type who smiles whenever it's time for disinfection, so it's not strange to see it that way.
"Ugh."
My head hurts.
It's a splitting headache…
The kind of headache you'd typically experience the day after heavy drinking.
"Ah."
For an ordinary person, they probably wouldn't be able to regain their senses due to this pain and the residual anesthetic still in their system.
But,
I'm different.
"Oof…"
I immediately lowered my head to check my precious part.
But all that met my eyes was a cup.
Since we lack the technology to make paper cups, it was a metal cup.
The only consolation was that the technology for vulcanizing rubber was improving daily, so it was fixed quite securely…
- Ah… See. You really show your true value when you're put through the wringer, don't you?
Did they use cups originally?
No.
These madmen just wrapped it in wet gauze and left it at that.
Lately, there were too many screams heard on the streets of London, and when I wondered what was going on, it turned out to be people who had undergone surgery, bumping their thighs or other parts while walking.
Since this was a problem that could be solved with a simple idea, I mentioned it right away. With the help of blacksmiths and our chemist uncle's factory, which is now operational, everyone who gets surgery at our hospital can receive this aftercare service.
- You see? This makes me want to put you through the wringer.
I feel like I might have given the Director and Liston the wrong idea…
But it's also true that a method I couldn't remember at all when it wasn't my business suddenly came to mind as soon as it became my problem, so I don't really have much to say.
Maybe their method is the right one.
"Huh?"
The moment I let out a sigh…
I wonder if it's because the anesthetic gas in my lungs, along with carbon dioxide, was expelled.
The pain...
The pain surges.
"Fuck...."
""
It really hurts.
Judging by the unfiltered curse that just flew out of the mouth of a 21st-century intellectual like me, if calculated on the NRS scale, this pain is a 10 out of 10.
"What's with that kind of language over something like this?"
I turned my head and saw Liston.
He was smiling, despite having just cut human skin.
And while drinking alcohol, no less.
"It hurts!"
"Tsk tsk…
You go around amputating limbs every day, and you're saying it hurts over this little thing?"
"Med… Medicine... Give me the medicine."
"Medicine? Ah… Don't tell me. Again, on this occasion?"
"No, not that one!"
Not opium, and not morphine either.
Well…
...
As a painkiller, it's an incredibly strong one, but it's true that this level of pain isn't worth using it for.
"Then what?"
"That… boiled bark stuff."
"Ah… that. Well… I can give it to you, but you know it's not particularly effective, right?"
"The patients seemed to like it?"
"They say it's better than nothing, but still, well.
Anyway, you're a distinguished guest, so we should give it to you. Hey!"
Upon Liston's command, my skilled disciples scurried out and brought back water steeped with willow bark.
I didn't need to ask if it was clean.
Just seeing Joseph's smile was enough to know.
Instead, I was worried that because it was scrubbed, boiled, and steeped so thoroughly, its effectiveness might be reduced.
'I need to identify the active component and manufacture it quickly…'
I don't understand why our mad chemist guys can extract cocaine from coca leaves just fine, but can't make aspirin from willow bark.
"Ugh."
I don't understand it, but I need to escape this excruciating pain right now, don't I?
So I downed it as best I could.
As I drank it, it occurred to me that since this is completely natural, it might contain impurities and the dosage is unknown, so it could be dangerous…
"Ugh."
"No way, you're drinking it all in one go?"
Right now, it hurts too much, I have no choice.
Really…
It hurts so much.
"It hurts so much."
"Well.
I guess it would hurt. It would hurt even with a slight touch, let alone being cut."
"But were you planning not to give me any medicine?"
"Blundell just endured it."
"Ah."
"Is that all? Most people just endure it."
"Huh."
Just endure it?
I wondered if I was too weak.
Well, it's probably unreasonable to compare myself to 19th-century folks.
I came from the 21st century, saturated with painkillers, didn't I?
Moreover, among them, doctors are the type who don't just endure pain but take medication regularly if they're in pain.
Because they know all too well that there's no need to endure it unnecessarily.
People who don't know better talk about developing tolerance to painkillers and such, but that's not true.
There's even a theory that if you don't control the pain properly when it occurs, it can hurt even more later.
"Sigh."
"Feeling a bit better?"
"I think I might be a little better. But it still stings and throbs."
"Well..
What can we do? You're quite the exaggerator."
"No, but… Do people really not feel pain from this?"
"Yeah. Not particularly?"
"That's strange."
I drank a whole bowl, a whole bowl.
But it still hurts.
Of course.
It's an inflicted wound.
And on one of the most sensitive parts of our body.
How could drinking some kind of steeped water make it better?
"Sigh."
"Should I give you the real medicine?"
"Ah, no."
It's not to the point where I need narcotics.
However, one thing I'm curious about is the fact that other people just endure this.
Moreover, this cup system only started operating normally from today, right?
It's something I thought of and had made as soon as I heard I was having surgery…
Which means that until yesterday, people endured it without even a cup.
No matter how tough 19th-century people are, there must be a limit.
...?
It's not like their nerves have been dull since birth, so how…
While I was pondering that, a moaning sound started coming from somewhere.
"Huh?"
"Ah, is it the emergency room?"
"At this hour of the night?"
Ah, one might think it's natural for the emergency room to be busy at night…
But the streets of London at night are not safe.
Not because of traffic accidents, but because of the risk of violence.
No, violence exists to some extent during the day when there's light, but at night it's pitch black.
Especially around times like now when smog is starting to run rampant, you can't see an inch in front of you.
The fact that someone made it through that means they must be in tremendous pain. But since this is an era where if you're in tremendous pain, you usually die, my curiosity about who the owner of this moan might be began to well up.
"Seems they're in pain. By the way, what's with you? Others don't even get hospitalized and just go home. Why are you getting up?"
"Since I'm in too much pain to sleep right now anyway. I might as well go take a look."
"In that state…?"
"Ah."
I almost went out wearing just the cup instead of pants.
The problem was that there weren't any suitable pants to wear over it.
"Wearing a skirt, are you?"
"What else can I do? Hyung, are you coming?"
"You're not into that sort of thing, are you?"
"Even if I were, my libido has subsided in this state, so don't worry."
"Ah, right. That's true. Okay, let's go."
And so, we ambled our way towards the emergency room.
When we arrived, there was a man with a flushed red face, as if he had drunk a lot, clutching his crotch.
"It hurts, it hurts so much!"
Just from a glance, it looked like a real mess.