Good, I cast a spell.
No, I threatened…
No, I succeeded in persuading him.
Judging by his expression, it seems he absolutely won't dare to mess around.
Of course, human beings don't always act rationally, so I had no choice but to cast a wider-area spell.
"That… isn't that T.P. Young…?"
"P. Young? Oh, yeah. What's he doing here?"
I don't particularly like myself like this either.
But what can I do?
For the sake of His Majesty the King, and furthermore for the British Empire, and even beyond for the peace of humanity, I would do anything.
"All doctors of London, all quacks, listen."
"All doctors of London! All quacks, listen!"
When I spoke, Liston shouted it out.
Did he swallow a megaphone or something…?
I can't begin to understand how a human voice can be this loud.
Well…
I guess you could understand it if you think he's projecting his inner energy and unleashing a lion's roar.
No matter how you look at it…
Even though this place is saturated with lead, arsenic, alcohol, tobacco, and various other toxic substances I'm not even aware of yet, the fact that civilization still remains suggests this isn't Earth, but maybe Earth-009 or something.
"From this moment on, except for personnel I have authorized."
"From this moment on! Except for personnel I have authorized!"
"If anyone loiters around the palace."
"If anyone! Loiters around! The palace!"
"I will throw their soul into hell."
"Soul…?"
At the last words, Liston didn't dare repeat them and turned to look at me.
Even though I clearly said I'd use the image of a sorcerer, he's acting like this.
'No… this is a bit much?'
Could it be that this guy also believes I can actually pull out a soul and throw it?
Common sense says if I could do that, why would I be living like this?
Bowing to others…
'Hmm.'
Come to think of it, I haven't really bowed to anyone lately.
I did vaguely get a circumcision…
But after getting it, it seems kinda better.
Maybe because it looks the same as in my past life? Looking at it, it feels like it's curing some of my nostalgia.
More than anything, no matter how hard I try to wash, due to the limitations of the era, I can't wash every day, right?
It wasn't for a rational reason, just something that happened by chance… but it seems somewhat improved.
'Yeah… I'm living recklessly.'
I just threatened His Majesty the King, and by now, even Liston might genuinely believe it.
More than anything, Liston himself is a martial arts master hiding his skills, so it's not unreasonable for him to believe I'm a sorcerer.
'Brother. Just go for it. Are you going to let these bastards kill His Majesty?'
'That can't happen.'
'Exactly. That man is our patron now. If he disappears, we'll be inconvenienced in ways big and small.'
'I was worried about the future of the country.'
'It's all the same.'
'Alright… let's do it.'
Liston groaned, nodded, and then opened his mouth.
"I will throw your soul into hell!"
It was a bit over the top, but honestly, how many people in London would dare daydream while Liston and I are talking?
Even His Majesty the King listens when I speak.
And with a bit of fear, at that.
Ordinary citizens? Don't even mention them.
"Eeek!"
"You, why are you like that?"
"His, his eyes… ugh."
"Oh my god. Don't die!"
It's so excessive it's a problem.
Look at that.
No, it's happening here too.
Just glancing around, about four people have already collapsed.
Well, three of them look like they were bound to collapse anyway.
Most people drink alcohol instead of water and eat garbage instead of proper food, so it's not necessarily because of me, but many would collapse regardless, right?
Compared to that…
"Brother."
"Yeah, are you demonstrating?"
"No, that's not it."
"Then did you just want to kill him?"
"No, it's not that."
The person collapsed in front is in big trouble.
No, why would your heart stop over something like this?
Well, I'd need to get closer to know the details, but the way he collapsed looks very familiar.
"Take his clothes off first!"
Riiip.
"Is that the best way?"
"Since when do you just start undressing people?"
"That's true too."
Be that as it may, Liston was becoming somewhat familiar with the CPR procedure.
We haven't made an Annie—a proper CPR dummy—yet, so he can't practice properly, but…
Strangely, lately, more and more people have been collapsing in front of us, so his skills have been improving somewhat.
I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing.
Anyway, Liston is clearly a smart person, right?
To become a martial arts master, you need to be smart.
You need enlightenment or something to break through realms.
Thanks to that, even while talking to me, he tore off the clothes and exposed the chest.
Me?
I checked the pulse first.
'Nothing…'
The guidelines changed so that non-medical personnel don't have to check, but at this point, it's no exaggeration to say I am the best doctor.
But there's nothing.
"Tch."
"Press?"
"Let's do that first."
"Alright."
So I started pressing down hard.
Following the principle of compressing the heart, I pressed firmly.
As a result, a crunching sound started.
Even though I'm not a particularly robust person…
This method was designed so that anyone can do it; even someone with weak strength can press firmly if they get the posture right.
"Ugh…"
"To think he'd demonstrate…"
"I had a feeling he'd do that."
"Huh?"
"That friend who collapsed… isn't he the one running a clinic by himself?"
"Ah… Ah, that's right! Wait, did you know that already?"
How would I know?
No matter how much proper posture makes it easier, I'm not Liston, so I didn't have the energy to respond.
I had to grit my teeth and press, so what could I do?
In that case, Liston, who was resting, should have intervened, but this guy…
"Tell me in detail."
He's getting intrigued and doing this.
No, we've been together for years now, and he still gets swayed by words like that?
"Actually, this friend… well… does a lot of strange things. He's quite remarkable."
"Remarkable? What does he do?"
"Well… circumcision is basic, but he's especially a master at treating headaches."
"What does he do?"
"He draws blood well. Bloodletting."
"Ah… from where?"
"From the head."
"Then he's a proper doctor?"
No…
What do you mean, a proper doctor…
I need to catch him sometime and explain that the hemorrhaging I stopped wasn't something like bloodletting.
How long is this humoral theory nonsense going to last?
I found out that even Hippocrates didn't create it; he just organized what existed before him…
Which means they're still using terms that only made sense thousands of years ago.
"Phew."
"I'll take over."
"Yes."
Anyway, I finished the chest compressions and handed over the turn.
Liston's turns are quite long, so I decided to rest properly.
Only after catching my breath a bit did I speak up.
Despite that, Liston shows no sign of fatigue.
"What kind of guy was this friend?"
"Ah… well."
"I won't make it like this, so tell me."
"Yes, yes!"
In the meantime, I tried to converse and found out that not only this friend but quite a few quacks are attempting a new form of bloodletting that I supposedly pioneered…
That is, trying to draw blood directly from the affected area.
'Can I… explain this in a lecture?'
Until recently, I was confident.
My team was following along pretty well, after all.
But…
Facing the fact that even Liston is still at that level is disheartening.
The important thing is that even if you're disheartened, you keep going, but that only applies to things that concern only me.
This is something where if the effect isn't immediate, people die.
I'm reminded of what the police officers said.
- So, has the number of people dying decreased?
I came here and, well, right?
There has been a tremendous improvement in the medical aspect, hasn't there?
So I asked if it had decreased, and the police officer said exactly that.
While grinning.
Then, perhaps thinking it wasn't right to act like that in front of me, or for whatever reason, he immediately started stammering and corrected himself, but anyway, he said instead of decreasing, more people are dying.
The population keeps growing, so that might be part of it, but…
It's also because of guys like this.
"Uh, should I stop?"
When I shot him a disapproving look, Liston took his hands off.
"No, no. Ah, you can stop now."
I was startled, but when I checked, the heart had started beating again.
The people watching instinctively flinched and stepped back.
Well…
Actually, I looked into CPR practices at this point in time, or rather, in the more distant past, and it seems chest compressions were truly taboo—they simply weren't done.
It's not that they did nothing for dead people; they just did mouth-to-mouth resuscitation incessantly.
Amidst that, seeing someone revive a dead person like this must be scary.
'I'm tired of just panicking in these situations like before…'
Yeah, if it were the first time, I'd be flailing my hands, my face turning red, but…
Not anymore.
I've grown.
Have I become the embodiment of the saying, 'If you can't avoid it, enjoy it'?
"Listen carefully."
"Yes, yes."
"That is my treatment method, which I created."
"Y-yes. I'm not even a doctor…"
"His Majesty is speaking. Do you think I don't know?"
"Ah, ah, aah."
The other person—the quack, not a doctor—who had just collapsed and regained consciousness, was glancing sideways.
It's a situation where anyone could see he was a quack and did something like that.
So, the guy was genuinely trembling.
"From now on, if anyone steals this treatment method, I will not stand for it. Whether I use magic or my brother here goes."
"Yes, yes! I will definitely spread the word!"
"If you understand, go. What, is this a show? Everyone, leave."
"Yes, yes!"
"Ugh…"
It wasn't just that person; everyone around was trembling.
"Pyoeng… are you not hiding it anymore?"
Liston was also trembling slightly.
Blundell?
He's been bowing his head deeply since earlier.
His disciples are similar, with one exception: Joseph.
Probably because he remembers my childhood, my relatively ordinary days.
'They say a prophet is not welcome in his hometown… Was this how Jesus felt?'
No, no.
I got too carried away.
He thought I was a real sorcerer.
Anyway, judging by how things are going, I think we can stop worrying about our King.
If he still tries something after all this, then you just have to acknowledge it.
If he dies even after all this, then I really have nothing to say. That's what I mean.
"Well, then… let's prepare to go to America."
"Can't we just go like this?"
"Hey… do you think your parents would think the same? Kimchi? They'd probably make some for you, right?"
"Ah… Yes, kimchi."
It's not red kimchi.
It's not that it has no chili peppers at all, but…
Just enough for a hint of flavor?
When I asked for more, my father looked at me like I was crazy, and my mother said chili peppers were hard to get.
Come to think of it, what foods in England use chili peppers?
'Chili peppers…?'
Huh?
Aren't they originally from Mexico?
'Maybe this is a chance for kimchi…?'
Try eating kimchi wrapped in spam.
It's good for your health.
It even prevents SARS.
'If I say it, people will probably believe it, right?'