The patient's eyes were shaking violently.
It was only natural.
Whether it was the shadowy assassin or the outright murderer...
Of course, the two of them were doctors with their own convictions, so hearing this would make them feel unjustly accused.
"Patient, trust me."
I wasn't sure if I should even be involved in this.
To this person, I probably looked like some mysterious Eastern... what should I call it?
A shaman?
I'm not sure how I appeared to them, but it was unlikely they saw me as a good person.
"I, I..."
But it seemed to work, as the patient slowly inched toward me.
Well, given the situation, it made sense.
Just look at those tools.
Those lunatics.
Even murderers wouldn't make tools like that.
And why were they trying to gag him?
They were going to anesthetize him.
"I think I'll go with this side..."
The patient approached me.
The assassin—no, Dr. Cain—looked flustered.
"Not Liston, but him? Hey! He's a rookie!"
"W-well, I feel more comfortable with this side..."
"What the... what's going on here?"
What's going on?
Look at your face.
You...
You look like a murderer, no matter how you slice it.
I probably seem a bit suspicious.
But if you set aside any prejudice against Easterners, I'd say I have a pretty decent face, right?
"This way."
"Ah, yes."
"Professor, let's go!"
"Uh... alright."
Liston, having achieved his goal, headed to his operating room with me.
From the patient's perspective, it probably felt like they were just moving from one torture chamber to another.
Honestly, this place wasn't much different.
And though it was called a room, it was somewhat open.
Stone removal surgery was excruciatingly painful and somewhat embarrassing, so it was usually done in private. But in this era, amputation surgeries were more public, often performed in open squares.
"This place..."
The patient looked around in horror at the operating room, which opened into a space resembling a lecture hall.
'Crazy...'
That's probably what they were thinking.
The only saving grace was that, aside from the so-called "Liston faction," there weren't many people inside.
The problem was that the Liston faction alone numbered over ten.
Dr. Liston was the go-to person for amputations, so he was incredibly popular. Recently, with the introduction of anesthetics, he had become even more sought after.
As a result, a few students, including Colin, were present.
"Do I... have to stay like this here... too?"
The patient looked at me with an extremely uneasy expression.
Given the position they had to assume earlier, it was understandable.
They had to strip down to their underwear and pull their legs up toward their head.
The device that looked like a torture tool was actually used to bind the patient's legs.
It *was* a torture tool, to be honest.
Even with anesthesia... if the surgery took too long, their back and legs would be in excruciating pain.
"Ah, no. You can just lie down."
Of course, I had no intention of making them assume that position.
The expected location of the stone was near the bladder or its entrance, so there was no need for such an awkward posture.
However, I would need to make an incision in the abdomen...
*Clunk.*
As I was thinking this, the door opened, and Cain's group entered.
"Uh-oh."
As the patient began to panic, Cain waved his hands dismissively.
"We're not here to interfere, so don't worry. We just want to see how this quack performs the surgery. If it looks like he's going to mess up, we'll step in. That's fine, right?"
"Ah... yes."
Cain spoke in a tone that genuinely seemed concerned for the patient.
Surprisingly, it might have been true.
Doctors of this era were brutal, but they did have genuine intentions.
Of course, I had no intention of making a mistake, and even if I did, it would be far more humane than what these guys would do, so I didn't respond.
"Hey, are you really going to do it like that?"
I wasn't planning to.
But if you keep asking...
"Yes."
But I couldn't ignore a direct question.
"Do you even know where the stone is? If you do it like that, where exactly are you going to cut?"
Wherever I cut, I'm not planning to cut the genitals, sir.
The fact that the person performing the most brutal surgery—no, torture—in the world was saying this was mind-boggling.
It was infuriating, but I couldn't ignore the question.
If I woke up and saw that torture chamber ceiling again, I'd be terrified.
"It's the abdomen. Specifically, here."
I pointed vertically along the abdomen.
I planned to make an incision from the navel to just above the groin, where the hair starts.
Cain scoffed, almost lamenting.
"Are you insane? Cutting the abdomen? The abdomen is... you can't cut there!"
There was conviction in his voice.
I turned on the gas, worried our patient might panic.
*Hiss.*
With a loud sound, the patient, who was about to say something, fell asleep.
"Ah, ugh."
It worked well.
Having performed multiple amputations, I had been fine-tuning the dosage, so it was inevitable.
Even Dr. Liston had questioned what I was doing, but I was the only one who knew that the dosage needed to be adjusted based on weight and that records had to be kept.
"Good."
"You madman! You just put him to sleep?"
Do you know how it feels to be called a madman by a madman?
It was infuriating.
And at the same time, terrifying.
"Now we need to sterilize... so please be quiet. Who talks loudly during someone else's surgery?"
But I had Liston by my side.
And Joseph and Alfred.
Besides, shouldn't we teach them some operating room etiquette?
What if they make a mistake because they're being noisy?
"What... what are you talking about? They do it in the square."
Of course, Cain looked confused.
Thinking about it, it made sense.
Quiet? Yeah, right...
These days, they even sell fries in the square during surgeries.
Fries in the operating room? Seriously...
"Anyway, be quiet. Joseph, bring the chloride of lime."
I told them to calm down and called for Joseph.
Joseph, as we had practiced before—on corpses—brought the chloride of lime and poured it over the abdomen.
*Splash.*
*Splash.*
I soaked a gauze in the chloride of lime and scrubbed the area.
Since I was wearing gloves, my hands were fine.
"Hey, is this okay?"
The patient's abdomen, however, was turning red.
The skin on the abdomen is more delicate than the palms, so it was bound to happen.
But there was no further damage.
I've done this before.
"It's fine. Sterilization is more important."
"But this isn't a corpse or anything..."
"Can you just keep scrubbing?"
"Huh? Uh, yeah."
Joseph grumbled but continued scrubbing as I instructed.
If he scrubbed any harder, the skin might have peeled off.
Anyway, after scrubbing, it was our turn.
The surgical team consisted of me, Joseph, and Alfred.
Liston had declared that this gruesome surgery wasn't a real surgery, so he just stood by.
Moreover, after I mentioned cutting the abdomen, he had distanced himself a bit.
Since he was on my side, he didn't say anything, but abdominal surgery was taboo in this era.
*Scrub scrub.*
Amidst all the prejudice, we scrubbed the area with chloride of lime while wearing gloves.
'Even so... it's nowhere near the standards of the 21st century...'
Thinking about it, back then, we were almost obsessive about sterilization.
Thanks to that, surgical infections were almost nonexistent.
If one occurred, it was considered a medical error.
Back then, everything from gloves to most drapes was disposable, and even the caps, masks, and clothes were single-use and sterilized. To outsiders, it might have seemed excessive.
Compared to now...
"Why are you being so fussy?"
"Exactly."
Even at this pitiful level, the students were full of complaints.
I scrubbed with beta dine!
With bare hands!
And I was going to wear gloves over that anyway!
"Quiet. I've got a scalpel now."
"Uh, yeah."
"Uh, right. But I'm your senior."
"Didn't I tell you? Whether it's dissection or surgery, the person with the scalpel is in charge."
"Uh... right."
"Yeah, that's correct. Got it."
To these two, I was practically a mentor, so I could brush off most of their complaints.
*Sssk.*
Thanks to that, I had Joseph pull the abdomen taut while I made an incision down the middle.
If we had something like epinephrine, I could have injected it into the skin before cutting, but we didn't have that luxury here.
"Blood."
Without a vasoconstrictor, even the skin bled quite a bit when cut, something I learned after coming here.
I had never cut like this before.
"Uh."
Anyway, Alfred wiped the blood with gauze.
It had been boiled, but I wondered how clean it really was.
In any case, instead of using a Bovie (electrocautery) to start the incision, I used a scalpel.
It wasn't easy.
Because of the bleeding.
Normally, it would sizzle and just go in, but...
"Good, it's open. Hold this."
"Uh."
"Okay."
Even so, I was a veteran—no, a master—at opening abdomens.
Thanks to that, I was able to cut all the way to the peritoneum without damaging any internal organs.
"Oh..."
"Wow."
Looking back, Liston, Cain, and others had gathered around.
Without masks...
'You lunatics.'
How many germs were in their breath?
"But why isn't this guy wearing a mask?"
"I think the smell affects the surgery."
"Such a delicate guy."
"Yeah, right."
Despite their own lack of hygiene, they called me delicate.
At least they didn't tell me to take mine off.
"Okay. This is the bladder."
Anyway, I identified the bladder amidst the jumble of organs.
The patient hadn't been able to urinate properly but had been drinking water, so the bladder was full.
That was a good thing.
Finding it would have been a hassle otherwise.
"Pull this."
"Uh... okay. Is this alright?"
I hooked the bladder slightly and handed it to Joseph.
It must have looked gruesome because he made a face.
He was fine assisting with amputations, but this...
'Normally, I'd use sutures... but all we have here is silk thread. We need to minimize exposure.'
The thread itself might be dirty or cause an inflammatory reaction.
We'd have to suture the incision anyway, so I made the cut as short as possible.
Honestly, it was hard to see.
In that sense, the full bladder was a stroke of luck.
I had expected it, and I was confident I could find it even if it wasn't visible.
"Wow."
Anyway, after pulling the bladder as much as possible, I made an incision.
Since it was full of urine, I had another container ready.
Sure enough, something came out.
"What? Wow."
"Wow... this is insane."
It was a stone.
A stone the size of an egg was lodged in the bladder.
It was practically embedded.
No wonder it hurt.
"I'll remove it."
"Uh, yeah."
I removed the stone with a straight face.
Inside, I was already thinking about how much I'd brag after this surgery was over.