Book 1: Chapter 9-2: Village Doctor
Book 1: Chapter 9-2: Village Doctor
Okay whos next?
Please heal my son. Last week he got a stomachache and its gotten worse to the point he cant even walk. Not even our familys secret medicine could cure him.
Mom it hurts
The next people to visit was a nearby neighbor of mine. She was a voluptuous middle-aged woman who had brought her son who was slightly younger than me.
The young boy was breathing roughly as cold sweat flowed off his forehead.
Elves age slowly after the first half of their teens so this mother looked as if she was still a beauty in her twenties. That raised my spirits a bit.
Do you remember him eating anything bad?
The boy was in too much pain to talk properly so I asked his mother instead.
I dont.
Did he have vomiting, fever, loss of appetite, or diarrhea?
Everything except diarrhea.
Kid put your hand on where it hurts.
The young boy pressed his hand down on the right side of his abdomen.
Based on the symptoms he most likely had appendicitis.
Usually stomach pain and diarrhea come together. If theres no diarrhea and the pain continues for a long time its usually appendicitis. Furthermore the pain was focused on the right abdomen. It was the exact location for it.
Just in case I scanned his body with magic and saw the issue.
UmmCyril-san can you heal him?
The mother helplessly asked.
I can. However, I will have to open up his abdomen to remove the source of his pain. As long as you are willing to allow me to do thatI can fix it.
Youll cut his stomach?
Thats right. Otherwise it cant be fixed. Your son has contracted an illness that is like a demon settling down in his guts. Unless I cut it out nothing we do will help.
The mother hesitated and didnt answer for a while.
According to my knowledge as Cyril, surgery wasnt really a thing in this world.
It was understandable that she was resistant to the idea.
If you dont want the treatment then please head back. My other patients are waiting. Let me just tell you, if you leave your sons condition as is, itll become something really bad. The demon in his guts will go into necrosiswhen that happens the pus and intestinal fluids will leak into his body inflaming his internal organs. When that happens he will endure unbelievable pain and may die.
At my words her face paled.
Im not trying to frighten you with my words. Im simply warning you of the consequences. Either way, if you dont trust me then staying here is useless.
Although I may seem coarse, Im the only doctor in town and I didnt have time to convince each and every person. There were people out there waiting for my help.
Mom, Iwant to get better. If theres no other optionI want to bet on Big Bro Cyril.
The boy said with grim resolution. He seemed to be trying to say leave it to Cyril.
Then pleasesave my son.
Alright. Leave it to me.
I lifted the boy onto onto a wooden cot that Id prepared inside the tent.
I wanted to perform the surgery in a sterilized room, but there was no such thing in this world.
Also I wasnt going to do it inside our home because I didnt want our home stained with blood.
Furthermore there would be sick people visiting. I didnt want Lucy to catch an illness. Thats how I ended up seeing people in this tent.
I would cut open his stomach and utilize a magic membrane to keep everything except his abdomen from moving. We didnt have any anesthetic so I would have to do it while he was awake. If he moved around too much I could possibly kill him.
Itll look scary so close your eyes. You should bite this as well.
I put the cloth in his mouth so he wouldnt bite his tongue and got to work.
This was my third time treating someone. Its just a shame they were all guys.
Preparations should be set with this.
I pulled a knife out of my pocket and the alcohol I had used when treating Rick.
I poured alcohol on the cloth and wiped it on the knife to disinfect it.
Then I wiped his stomach with the alcohol.
Maam Ill be cutting the boys stomach. If youre afraid you may close your eyes or look away. Please dont interrupt me. If you cause me to mess up it could cost him his life.
Alright, I understand. I wont look away and I wont bother you.
Quite the stouthearted woman. It might be women become stronger for their children.
I removed his shirt properly and took the knife. I made an incision 10 cm long.
He didnt have any anesthetic and he was conscious so the pain made his body want to jump and writhehowever the magical membrane I deployed didnt let him.
I used my magic to restrict his bloodflow keeping the blood from obscuring my vision. I stuck my hand inside to search.
Thanks to the scan I knew where his appendix was.
I found it quickly and grasped the root of his appendix. Then I removed my hand after securing the appendix with magic before taking my knife to the appendicitis growth.
Since I had secured the root of the appendix blood wouldnt spout out.
I quickly utilized Healing and limited it to his appendix. I healed the wound that came from removing the appendicitis.
Then I removed my hand as well as what I had cut out. I stuck his skin together and once again used Healing to close up the cut.
His stomach wound closed without leaving a scar and he looked just like he did before the treatment.
Its over. Does your stomach still hurt?
Uhhh? Itit doesnt hurt! It doesnt hurt Mom!
The boy lifted his body as he cried out joyfully.
It had been a while since I performed surgery so I let out a sigh of relief.
Thank you so much for saving my son.
Dont worry about it. Im happy to save one of my fellow villagers.
How can I
I told Roleau before, but I wont accept anything now.
But, I have to give you my thanks
No. If I accept from one person Ill have to accept from everyone. If you have something to give me, instead let the boy eat a nutritious meal. He should be quite weak after being unable to eat. His illness is treated but he needs nutrition.
I will never forget this favor.
The woman said tearfully as she bowed her head with her son and left.
I could tell that the people outside were getting excited.
Two patients that they didnt think could be cured had gone inside the tent and were healed. Their expectations had been raised.
Okay, whos next?
And so I treated 8 people before noon came around.
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The time I had set aside for treating people was over, but the number of patients hadnt decreased.
Even now someone I told to come back tomorrow was pressing me.
Cant you please treat me today? My back is killing me.
Sorry. I only open the clinic in the morning.
Cant you do something!?
Even after treating so many in the morning, the patients had only increased.
Up til now I had used every trick I knew to heal old wounds, bodily injuries, and everything else I could fix.
Many people had come to request things of me.
Ill be treating people again tomorrow morning. Im sorry, but I have other work to do. I only have 5 days to make a weapon that can pierce through armor or Ill be tied up and handed over to the Empire. Sorry but I cant treat people all day.
I put a look of honest apology on my face as I said that.
Thats rightyou did have to do that Cyril. Sorry to take up your time like this.
Alright we wont be unreasonable.
Everyone calmed themselves after seeing my modest attitude.
I cant do it in the afternoon, but Ill be back tomorrow. You can come then.
Is that okay Cyril?
Yeah, I was the one to propose treating people. Its a change of pace. I want to do everything I can for the people in this village. Healing illness and injury is part of this, but making weapons to fight against the Empire is to protect all of our lives. I cant ignore either of them.
Did I go a little too far with my cheesy lines?
I thought as I peeked at their facesbut they seemed to have accepted my words.
Good luck Cyril. I believe you can do it.
Yeah, everyones cheering you on. Youre an amazing guy so you can make weapons no problem.
The elves were basically all good people so they easily became my allies.
The real test was after I had made the weapons, but at this rate I believed we would be able to work together.
Thank you all. Illwork hard.
I hid my inner thoughts and tried to make a smile that would improve their opinions of me.
I guess you could say my first step was a success.
I had laid some groundwork for the big job that lay ahead. These efforts will come to fruition in the future.