Syphilis.
What was the name of the bacterium again?
Ah, right. *Treponema pallidum*.
"Hmm."
Unfortunately, that was about all I could recall at the moment.
Syphilis... these days, it's a terrifying disease, but in the 21st century, it was practically nothing.
Especially after, what was it again?
After penicillin was discovered, it became... completely insignificant, right?
"But still... I studied it. I learned about syphilis."
However, syphilis and malaria were still significant diseases.
In developing countries, the prevalence was extremely high.
Of course, it wasn't as deadly as malaria, which claims tens of thousands of lives every year, but it still killed quite a few people.
In Korea, the situation was quite different, but it still appeared in exam questions.
"We can't let him die. Let's at least try to treat him."
"Right. Should we call a specialist?"
"A specialist? Most specialists for this disease are charlatans."
"Or murderers. Haha."
While I was having these productive thoughts, the others in the carriage were laughing and making pointless remarks.
They were sitting around Killian, calling him a charlatan and a murderer, so his expression wasn't exactly pleasant.
Especially since he had just beaten his comrades to a pulp, and now they were calling him a murderer. It was only natural.
He hung his head low, looking like he was about to die.
Honestly...
He deserved to die.
"But... how was it treated back then? In this era... treatments were hardly treatments."
If it were a disease that could be fixed with surgery, it would have been better.
I could handle that, right?
Of course, even then, anesthesia techniques were lacking, tools were insufficient, and sterilization was poor...
But at least there was something to try.
However, syphilis was an infectious disease.
Unless you could cut out the bacteria, infectious diseases fell under internal medicine.
And internal medicine in this era was, no matter how you spun it, nothing more than quackery.
Not that surgery was much better, though...
"My condolences, 19th-century patients..."
I took a moment to pay my respects.
"There's nothing we can do. We'll have to call Semmel."
"Semmel... Oh, right. That guy has some experience with syphilis, doesn't he?"
Meanwhile, the two doctors—Liston and Blundell—had reached some sort of agreement.
Semmel.
The infamous 19th-century London physician who would bleed a patient with a stomachache and consider decapitating someone with a headache... a devil, or rather, a renowned internal medicine doctor of the time.
They summoned him.
"Yes. He's the best among us. He studies hard and does research."
"Right, Semmel might be a bit extreme with headaches, but he's better than most with other diseases."
Contrary to my expectations, the doctors of this era had an overwhelmingly positive opinion of Semmel.
It was almost unbelievable how highly they thought of him.
"Alright, we're here."
Soon enough, the carriage arrived at the hospital.
Considering how much London had grown and how winding the streets were, it was a miracle we got there so quickly.
It was a relief, really.
The space was so cramped.
It was tight on the way here with the bulky Joseph and the massive Liston, and now we had Killian, a prisoner, with us.
No wonder the horse pulling the carriage looked so distressed.
Really? You expect me to pull this?
"Thank you."
Anyway, we headed into the hospital.
To prevent Killian from escaping, Joseph and Liston flanked him, linking arms.
Front and back, Blundell, Alfred, and I surrounded him, though we weren't much help.
Given that Liston looked more like a policeman or a thug, Killian had effectively become a real prisoner.
"Are we going to get your leg amputated?"
"Is that what's happening?"
The executioner was Liston.
"Eek!"
Killian started having a fit at the mention of amputation.
Hearing about having his leg cut off must have reminded him of Liston's menacing knife earlier.
Of course, Liston found this unfair and smacked the back of Killian's head with all his might.
Honestly, I thought he was going to kill him.
"Ugh..."
"Hey, walk."
Fortunately—or perhaps not—Killian only passed out briefly before coming to.
He really was a tough sailor.
If it had been any of us, we'd have been knocked out cold.
- Knock knock.
Anyway, we reached Semmel's examination room.
"Is he in?"
"Yes. He's with a patient, but come in."
This was an era where privacy was non-existent, so we walked right in despite the ongoing consultation.
Surprisingly, the patient inside was completely naked.
It was a good thing he was a man, because... he was way too exposed.
Of course, the patient wasn't fazed.
People in this era had already resigned themselves to such things when visiting a hospital.
"Ah... syphilis..."
The others had similar reactions, but I was the only one feeling awkward.
But only for a moment.
The patient had syphilis.
And it was already in the third stage... practically terminal.
At this point, even modern medicine would struggle to prevent complications, and death was a real possibility.
In South Korea, we might have been able to save him, but...
Even then, complications would have been unavoidable.
"This is severe."
"What disease is it?"
Even though it was obviously syphilis, Blundell asked a dumb question.
If this were a university hospital... Blundell would have been torn apart.
You idiot! How can you not recognize syphilis? Is that thing on your shoulders just for decoration?
Our infectious disease professor at the hospital was terrifying.
But Semmel just chuckled instead of getting angry.
"It's syphilis. We need to treat it."
"Treat it?"
"How?"
He then launched into an explanation.
No one seemed to care that the patient was still naked.
"Mercury."
"Mercury...?"
"Isn't that poison...?"
At the mention of mercury, I couldn't help but speak up.
Semmel had recognized my talent due to my phantom pain, but for the same reason, he wasn't too fond of me, so he gave me a cold look.
"Who doesn't know that? But there's no other treatment."
"Wait... hold on."
Don't you know about heavy metals? Mercury poisoning? The Minamata disease in Japan in 1956?
As soon as I heard the word "mercury," memories came flooding back.
Then I remembered that this wasn't 2022 but 1830.
And that for over 500 years, mercury had been used to treat syphilis.
- It was a horrifying era. For example... you know Alphonse Daudet, right? The author of *The Last Lesson*. He also contracted syphilis and eventually died of mercury poisoning. The pain was so severe that he had to take morphine regularly in his final years.
Even renowned literary figures couldn't escape the treatment of mercury.
'But why am I thinking of arsenic?'
You know how sometimes, when you search on Naver, you get these weird related search terms?
That's how arsenic popped into my mind.
Of course, it wasn't entirely unrelated.
"Here, this is mercury."
I focused intently, tuning out the surrounding noise.
'Arsenic... 606... Salvarsan...'
As a result, something came to mind, and it seemed like the right answer.
Otherwise, I wouldn't have remembered such an obscure term.
If you count my past life, it's been almost 25 years since I was a student.
Fortunately, in this life—when I was much younger—I had organized my memories...
"Will you administer this?"
"Yes. But this patient is one of the worst cases I've seen. We'll need to increase the dosage."
"Increase it? What will happen?"
"More of the syphilis bacteria will die."
"And the patient?"
"That's up to God."
"Well... syphilis is God's punishment, after all."
"Ah, you're devout. I have a different perspective, but... well, I can't argue with that."
While I was lost in these meaningful memories, the doctors around me continued their grim discussion.
In other words, they were telling the patient, "You brought this on yourself, and now you're being punished."
No matter how clear the cause of the disease, that's no way to treat a patient.
Regardless of the illness, a doctor should approach their patients with compassion, not a sense of justice.
Unless, of course, the patient is someone like Killian... who deliberately spreads incurable diseases...
"Now then..."
"Wait!"
Since the patient wasn't Killian, I intervened.
"Why?"
In the past, Semmel would have ignored me.
Or rather, the other doctors would have, but fortunately, I was now in a position where that wasn't possible.
I was known as the genius from the East, or the genius doctor from Joseon.
"Arsenic... I think arsenic would be better."
"Huh? Are you trying to kill him?"
Semmel listened to me for that reason but then shook his head in disbelief.
And for good reason.
Arsenic...
That's poison too.
A highly toxic one at that.
"606..."
"What are you talking about?"
"Never mind, forget it."
As I spoke, memories started flooding back more intensely.
Arsenic compound 606, also known as Salvarsan.
Developed by Ehrlich, it was a groundbreaking drug.
Of course, since it was derived from arsenic, it had severe side effects like heart failure...
But it was far better than mercury.
It even won the Nobel Prize in Medicine.
'Is that possible in this era?'
It was developed in the early 20th century... which is about 100 years from now.
Of course, the science of this era wasn't entirely primitive, so it might be possible with some guidance...
The problem was that I wasn't a chemist.
"What's this? How dull. Now then..."
Instead of mercury, you'd give arsenic?
Arsenic oxide is a deadly poison!
Not knowing what compound 606 was, I had nothing else to say.
Meanwhile, Semmel chuckled and went ahead with administering mercury to the patient.
Even to my untrained eye, it was an enormous amount of mercury.
Would he survive...?
"Ugh... my head... it hurts..."
Unsurprisingly, the patient complained of side effects.
What was surprising was Semmel's calm response.
"Everyone experiences that. Don't worry."
If everyone experiences it, shouldn't you stop the treatment...?
You lunatic...?
"So, what brings you here?"
Anyway, the lunatic—no, Dr. Semmel—turned to us, and Liston and Blundell looked at Killian.
"Syphilis."
"Ah... bring the mercury. In the meantime, get him undressed."
"No, please...!"