Sorry, but...
"Are you okay?"
"Do I look okay? Do I think I look okay?"
The only thing I can do for you is this song...
No, I can't even sing for you.
I'm tone-deaf.
"You don't look okay."
"Then untie me!"
"Sorry, but I can't do that. If I untie you, you'll just go out and meet women again."
"Is that not allowed?"
"Of course not, you have syphilis."
"Love isn't a crime."
"Bullshit..."
After talking for a while, I realized that even if I could sing as well as 2am, I probably wouldn't have sung for him.
This bastard... isn't he a little crazy?
"Ahhhhh!"
"Ughhh!"
"Save meeeee!"
Anyway, I was talking so calmly, but I was actually surrounded by screams.
Naturally, the conversation between the two of us was also almost at the level of shouting.
"Just stay put for now."
"What? No, take me! You have to take me!"
"Stay put. I have to check on other patients too."
"No, that... that damn bastard."
I left Killian, who had started cursing, and went to check on the others.
If it were Killian from yesterday, even if his hands and feet were tied, I wouldn't have dared to treat him like this because I'd be too scared.
But the current Killian felt like a soaked puppy.
Even though he's cursing, he's not scary at all, more like a Chihuahua.
I realized that when someone's spirit is broken, they look weak regardless of their appearance.
Anyway, I went around to each person in pain and gave them boiled water.
'The dosage... let's start with about one cup.'
Do you know what willow bark extract becomes?
It becomes aspirin.
Aspirin.
A legendary medicine that's still used in the 21st century.
In fact, in the U.S., even if you don't have any specific pain, taking low-dose aspirin is recommended to prevent strokes or heart attacks.
Of course, in our country, bleeding is more common than strokes, and taking aspirin might actually increase the risk of bleeding, so it's not really recommended...
"Take this!"
Anyway, thinking of it as a legendary medicine, I offered it, but the person who had been screaming in pain just slapped my hand.
Ugh, that startled me.
I almost dropped the pot.
Then I'd have to go back to the outskirts to peel more willow bark.
And the carriage isn't even mine, it's Alfred's.
"If you take this, the pain will go away, okay?"
"I've never heard such nonsense in my life!"
"Yeah, yeah. Sure."
But I didn't fight back or anything.
It wasn't because I was scared.
Honestly, his eyes were bloodshot, which was a bit unsettling...
But this man's arm was cut off, and he's clearly dying...
But I gave up on persuading him.
Why?
Because if he can still talk, it means he can still endure, and that means he won't drink this suspicious-looking medicine I'm offering.
"Need any help?"
"No... no..."
Of course, if Liston's assistants helped, I could probably make them drink not just the willow bark extract but the bark itself.
These guys are experts at restraining people and forcing them to do things.
Almost like monsters, right?
But I still had no intention of using them.
This isn't an antibiotic, so not taking it won't kill you; it's just for pain relief, right?
Besides, forcing someone to take it without knowing the proper dosage feels a bit unethical.
"Save me... untie me... I won't meet women anymore..."
Looking at Killian, it already feels ridiculous for me to talk about ethics.
But that's a different story. That bastard is 100% lying right now.
I mean, how can he still glance at the nurse in this situation?
Maybe Liston was right; we should just cut it off.
"Me, me! Give it to me!"
While I was lost in thought, one patient who was in so much pain he couldn't even scream properly suddenly raised his hand.
He seemed a bit out of his mind.
So, not in his right mind.
This was the perfect situation to give him the medicine.
"Here you go."
"Ugh."
"Here. Uh, slowly. Careful, don't choke."
"Ughhh. Is this some Eastern secret technique?"
"No, it's not that."
"Is this a witch's potion? Ugh."
He kept babbling weird stuff, so I tapped the back of his neck.
I hit him in a half-doubtful situation, but it worked.
Wow...
I guess the time I've spent following Liston around isn't for nothing.
Knocking someone out in one hit...
"Why did you hit me?"
Oh, he didn't pass out; he was just startled.
Well, that makes sense.
Anyway, I returned to my calm doctor's face and said,
"I didn't hit you; I just helped with digestion."
"Huh...?"
"Just wait a bit. The pain will lessen."
"Ugh... it still hurts so much..."
"You'll have to wait."
After seeing that, a few more people who were in pain and out of their minds asked for my medicine and drank it.
Of course, the vast majority still refused.
But even those who refused were glancing at the ones who had taken the medicine.
Like they'd ask for it immediately if it really worked?
'Even with aspirin... it takes about 10 minutes for the effect to kick in.'
Honestly, I had already given up on that thought.
The medicines circulating in the 21st century have precise dosages and formulations optimized for absorption, right?
How could my hastily brewed concoction compare?
It didn't make sense.
Forget the dosage; even in terms of efficacy and time, it would fall short.
So, I decided to use the remaining time to check on the patients I had operated on.
The fact that there hasn't been any news so far might mean no news is good news, as the saying goes...
'But these guys just send people to the grave or dissect them if they die...?'
Surprisingly, the value of human life in the 19th century was really low.
Even if someone died during a scheduled surgery at the hospital, it was the same.
If it were a high-status person, the story would be completely different, even more so than in the 21st century, but for ordinary people, it was almost inhumane.
That meant there was a possibility that my patient might have died without me knowing.
In fact, this isn't even the worst-case scenario; these guys sometimes buried people who weren't even dead.
"Oh, Doctor."
"You're here?"
Fortunately, the patient was still there, alive and well.
It's a bit sad that I have to consider it fortunate that the patient is still alive when the doctor visits, but at least he was there.
And he looked quite well.
"How are you feeling?"
I asked while examining the patient.
'The blood... isn't overflowing. The gauze is all red, but... still, this is manageable...?'
There was almost no blood flowing down the back of the neck.
Well, there was some, but not enough to cause any serious issues.
Of course, the gauze was very red, but I decided to overlook that since it was like that from the beginning.
The more important issue was infection.
Given that we started growing mold on bread just yesterday, how long will it take to develop antibiotics?
After all sorts of experiments, months, or even years, will fly by, so it's not relevant to the patients here right now.
"No fever... does this side hurt or anything?"
I tapped both cheeks and the forehead.
I hadn't studied this deeply, but I remembered hearing about it somewhere.
If sinusitis or cellulitis worsens around here, it hurts, right?
"No."
"My nose... hurts a bit?"
Nose?
I felt a moment of panic, but then it passed.
Thinking about it, I didn't give any painkillers after the surgery.
It's almost a miracle that he's sitting here looking fine.
Anyway, it's only natural that it hurts after I carved up his nose with a knife.
'Phew.'
I sighed in relief internally while maintaining a calm expression externally.
"It might hurt. It doesn't hurt too much, does it?"
I found myself saying this as I looked around the amputation ward.
Even though it's quite a distance, the screams echoed through the hallway.
Maybe because of the awkward distance, it felt even more terrifying?
The patient had been listening to those screams all along, so he nodded vigorously.
Compared to those people, he must have thought his pain was nothing.
"Ah, yes. I'm fine."
"Good. Good. Then we'll keep monitoring... and remove the gauze tomorrow afternoon."
"Ah."
When I mentioned tomorrow afternoon, despair finally appeared on the faces of the two patients.
Well, it's understandable.
You can breathe through one nostril, but...
I completely blocked the operated side.
This would make breathing through the other side difficult too.
'I'd like to leave it in longer... but this is a foreign object, so we have to remove it tomorrow....'
Still, the reason we can't remove it yet is purely because of the bleeding.
If you bleed too much, you die...
Blood transfusion...
I could do it, but only if the donor agrees.
If someone like Blundell, who's already famous, asked for blood, it might be different, but for a rookie like me, and an Asian at that, wouldn't it feel a bit eerie?
If it comes to that, I won't hesitate, but I'd rather postpone a blood transfusion if possible.
"Well, then."
Anyway, I finished my greetings and headed back to the amputation ward.
As I walked down the hallway, the screams grew louder, like a gradient, making it feel like a path to hell.
I marveled at how Liston and his team walk this path every day.
And the fact that I'm now part of that team is even more astonishing.
"How is it?"
Killian begged and pleaded as soon as he saw me, but his eyes were still on the nurse, so I ignored him.
Instead, I asked the person I had given the medicine to earlier, and he looked like he was in a trance.
"What is this?"
"What?"
"The pain... the pain is gone. What... how..."
"I gave you medicine. I told you it was medicine."
"I actually took it to die. I thought dying would be better."
What does this guy think of people...?
Thinking that, I looked inside the pot and realized it did look a bit dangerous.
It's black...
No, it's not just black...
"How are you, patient?"
"I... still hurt, but I can bear it."
"I see."
Others were also showing improvement.
It seemed I was lucky.
I just gave one cup, but the dosage seemed right?
Of course, since it's a medicine that can cause gastrointestinal issues, I'll have to monitor them more...
But for now, if this medicine can alleviate the pain of having limbs amputated, it's almost like a miracle.
"Hey, hey!"
"Me too!"
"Me too!"
As I thought that, the screams in the ward started to unify into "Me too!"