[Quest accomplished!]
[Bonus level up!]
[You gained 10 bonus skill points!]
Listening to the messages, Raymond spoke with relief.
"The treatment is over. Thank you for your hard work."
"A-are you really done?"
Kansir rolled his eyes in disbelief. He had struggled for years with this terrible anal disease, and now he was getting it cured so easily?
Raymond wiped the sweat from his forehead and smiled.
"You may have pain for the next three days. Take a sit-down bath for the time being. Oh, what a sit-down bath is..."
He carefully told him what to be careful about after the surgery.
Kansir, who came to fight like that and had his chronic disease treated, looked blank.
"T-Thank you. I don't know how to repay this grace..."
"It was a simple treatment. What do you mean by grace?"
'I don't need grace, I just need pay.'
Raymond smiled inwardly.
If he knew this would happen, he should have at least seen wine.
To have with his meat soup.
'How much should I charge? 20 pence? I think he has some money, so 30 pence?'
At that time, Kansir told an unexpected story.
"How dare he set up such a trap against such a great person."
"Pardon?"
"I will repay you many times over for your kindness today. There won't be any flies hanging around when you give medical treatment from now on."
"Pardon?"
It was an unknown story.
"Excuse me, customer? I don't need grace. I just simply need money for medical expenses...."
"I will not be able to repay this favor with just small medical expenses. I'll give you an example that is beyond comparison to the cost of medical treatment."
Kansir was like a brown bear that rushed in.
Once he made a decision, he never hesitated.
He took the wallet from his pocket, set it down to Raymond, and rose from his seat.
"Don't worry! I'll clean up all the people who bothered you!"
"Customer?"
Raymond was confused and called, but he was late. Kansir quickly disappeared, and Raymond only snooped his head.
'What the hell is he talking about?'
Anyway, he got the money, so it was fine.
There were as many as 300 pennies in his pocket!
'Hyuk 300 pennies! Today is beef! Let's eat sirloin!'
***
Anyway, Kansir did a big job.
"The malignant boils are guys like you, Lance."
"Keuk! M-Mr. Kansir?! There's a misunderstanding...!"
"Shut up! I've been watching you carefully ever since you chided us poor people. I held it in and let it slide, and you're framing such a great person?"
The healers who had tried to attack Raymond had not been seen in the Bay Area since that day.
An angry Kansir had beaten them up and chased them out of the Bay Area.
In particular, Lance, who had led the charge, had been beaten and kicked out on a rainy, dusty day.
He was never seen in the capital of the kingdom again.
The healers who did such a ridiculous thing collapsed helplessly, and Raymond continued his treatment.
***
After that, Raymond's treatment center cruised along without any major problems.
Every day, rumors spread, and more and more patients visited the treatment center, and those who were treated praised Raymond's name.
"Thanks to the prince, all these wounds have improved. In the past, I couldn't even pay a visit to a healer."
"Thank you so much."
Until now, even when they were sick and in pain, they could not receive any kind of treatment.
To those people, Raymond was like an angel who had come down from heaven.
He was a kind and highly competent angel.
"I can't believe such a person is in this world."
Everyone spoke in a voice full of gratitude.
Raymond was also happy.
[You have gained experience!]
[You will level up!]
His level had already risen a lot.
'Now level 28! Let's work hard to level 40.'
Raymond opened the status window.
[Player Status]
Name: Raymond
Class: Surgeon (SSS)
Job Grade: Beginner Resident
Level: 28
Experience: 15/200
Reputation: 33
Skill Points: 235
Title: Dirty Bastard
Auxiliary Occupations: Not Activated
[Stats]
Physical Strength: 12
Sense: 18
Intellect: 19
??: 1
Recently, he invested a lot in his physical strength stat. He also upped his intellect a little bit.
'I don't think raising my senses is the answer. It needs to be in harmony.'
Sensory stats were what was called delicate dexterity. But even dexterity could only shine if it was accompanied by overall physical ability.
'And because of the crowds of patients, my body is very tired.'
So he improved his physical strength, and he definitely felt healthier than before. He was less tired.
'My muscle strength has improved and my endurance has improved. But what happens if I keep improving my stamina?'
Raymond foolishly wondered if he would have a body as strong as a knight's at this point.
'After I increase my physical strength to a certain extent, I have to increase my intellect.'
Intellect.
This was the ability to use your brain.
It was essential for accurate diagnosis and judgment.
'Because I can't be an ignorant doctor only with dexterity.'
Intellect also affected magic, which was an auxiliary means of healing.
In other words, to be a good doctor, physical strength, senses, and intellect were all important.
He had to stack his stats.
'I need to level up more! Effort!'
"Welcome, patient!"
"Where are you feeling inconvenienced?!"
As such, he was treating patients today with a will to win.
Suddenly, a terrible calamity struck.
"There's a big problem, healer!"
It was Kansir!
"What's going on?"
Raymond gave him a funny look.
How could an underworld tycoon like Kansir come running in with such an impatient look on his face?
"You have to leave this area and run away!"
"What?"
"There's an infectious disease patient!"
Raymond's eyes got bigger.
"It's the "Reaper of Death!" If you stay here, you will die from the contagion too! You must flee quickly!"
Reaper of Death
It was a Leifentina-style expression of smallpox, one of the worst contagious diseases.
Raymond's body stiffened at the sudden crisis.
***
Around that time, the royal castle of the Houston Kingdom.
Chancellor Galman and King Odin were talking about the Bay Area.
"What about the Bay Area?"
"There's no special need."
"I guess that means nothing good will come of it."
Chancellor Galman smiled bitterly.
"Don't you know? It's impossible to stabilize the Bay Area. It's already turned into a malignant boil."
Chancellor Galman, who spoke conclusively, thought inside.
'Maybe it's better to burn it down completely, like His Majesty Remerton's opinion.'
However, the reason why it could not be done was that all those living in it were the people of the Houston Kingdom.
'Now that I think about it, Raymond set up a treatment center in the Bay Area.'
Chancellor Galman recalled the news he had recently heard.
He thought he would run away without holding out for a long time, but there was no news.
'Is he okay? I hope he didn't have an accident.'
At that moment, Chancellor Galman had a chilly worry.
There was no way Raymond was going to fit in anywhere else in the Bay Area.
And yet he hadn't heard from him.
He may have been harmed in some way.
'What should I do? Should I send someone else to find out?'
At that time, Odin said.
"It's time to go on a secret journey."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Every few months, Odin, a great ruler, would periodically hide his identity and go on a secret mission to listen to the thoughts of his people.
"This secret journey will take us to the Bay Area, so be prepared."
"...!"
When Chancellor Galman looked surprised, Odin frowned.
"What's wrong? Is there a problem?"
"N-no."
Chancellor Galman posed the following question.
'He doesn't happen to know that Raymond set up a treatment center in the Bay Area, does he?'
But soon he shook his head.
That indifferent king couldn't have known that.
"Why are you going to the Bay Area for a secret trip?"
"The Bay Area is the greatest source of unrest in the kingdom today. We're in a situation where there might be a war with the Kingdom of Drotton in the near future, so it's my natural duty as a monarch to take care of the internal unrest before that happens."
Chancellor Galman nodded.
The Kingdom of Drotton!
It was the sworn enemy of the Kingdom of Houston that had lasted for hundreds of years.
Although it was not widely known yet, the war clouds were slowly thickening between the two kingdoms.
"We have to stabilize the Bay Area to the greatest extent possible because we don't know what kind of unrest the Bay Area will experience if war breaks out and public sentiment is upset."
"Alright. I'll get prepared."
Chancellor Galman bowed and retired from his seat.
The king, left alone, looked out the window for a while.
Was it a coincidence?
Just where his eyes were looking was the northwest Bay Area of the royal castle.
Among other things, it was the eastern district, where Raymond's treatment center was located.
"..."
King Odin looked at the direction of the eastern district of the Bay Area in silence for a while, and then averted his gaze.
As if the gaze was a lie, only the sound of handing over documents resonated silently in the office.
***
'Reaper of Death, smallpox?'
Raymond's face turned pale.
What kind of disease was smallpox?
Smallpox was one of the worst infectious diseases, along with the plague, which had a fatality rate of over 30%.
'According to the knowledge of "general medicine," it was a disease that has produced billions of victims on Earth.'
On Earth, it was said to have been eradicated with the establishment of vaccinations, but here in Leifentina, it had been a periodic epidemic, causing many victims.
'There's nothing I can do if it's really smallpox.'
If he did his best, a few of the patients would be saved.
But it meant nothing in a situation where hundreds, thousands, maybe even tens of thousands of people were dying.
'...Rather, there may be a situation in which it is transmitted to me and I'm sacrificed.'
Raymond was horrified.
His fears were not unfounded.
How likely was it that he would be infected if he was around the patient?
Almost one hundred percent.
So there was such an informal rule in the tower of healing.
-If the Reaper of Death (smallpox) and the Cursed Fog (plague) are raging, flee immediately.
This was not merely a condemnation of the morality of the healer.
Because you couldn't ask someone to lay down their life for a sick person.