Chapter 156: Now We Have to Disinfect More... [2]
“Toy...?”
I thought I must have misheard, so I asked Liston again.
“A microscope. Microscope.”
“Yeah, I mean that toy.”
“Hm.”
We were clearly not on the same page. Our understanding of microscopes was fundamentally different.
Does this make any sense...? A doctor calling a microscope a toy? But maybe it does, for him.
There were professors like that, so confident their own specialty was the pinnacle of medicine that they dismissed everything else. Maybe Liston was one of them. Surgery was king, and everything else was trivial. So what did he even think when he saw a microscope?
In modern medicine, the pathology department played a critical role. But in the nineteenth century, absurdity was the norm. I chalked it up to just one more case.
“There are people who use microscopes, right?”
“Oh yes, plenty. You’ve seen them too, haven’t you?”
“Really? Who?”
I asked casually, but received a surprisingly positive answer. Now that I thought about it, there were indeed a few people at the hospital who dabbled with microscopes. They had a strong spirit of experimentation, or maybe “adventure” was more accurate.
Blundell... Jémel, Thomas, even Kane. All of them are insane in their own way.
All the professors I knew by name were eccentric. This era, this hospital—it was something else.
Liston paused, then answered, “Yes, there’s Lord Damien.”
“Huh?”
That caught me off guard. Was he in medicine too? Then again, I vaguely remembered someone saying medicine was just a hobby for him. I had ignored stories not directly related to clinical work, but maybe I should have paid more attention.
“Lord Damien. Microscopes aren’t usually cheap.”
“Ah... They’re expensive, huh.”
Well, of course they were. Cutting precise glass and magnifying things properly would not come cheap. I had been shocked by the cost of surgical instruments the other day. Even with the Industrial Revolution underway, automation was still far off, and custom work was expensive.
“Exactly. So only the nobility own them. Like I said, it’s a very expensive toy.”
“Ah...”
So when they called it a toy, they meant it literally.
These people...
Are they using what could have been life-saving technology as party entertainment?
Unbelievable. These people... Do they just have everything?
As it turned out, many drugs already existed in the nineteenth century. They were simply misused. I needed to attend one of these parties and investigate. There might be a treasure trove of hidden knowledge.
“But why do you ask all of a sudden?”
“Oh, no reason. I just had a thought.”
“A revelation from the Lord, perhaps?”
Liston perked up at the word “thought,” especially when paired with “revelation.” Normally, I would tell someone off for nonsense like that. But this was Liston, and this was the nineteenth century, a strange mix of science and superstition. My reaction softened.
“It seems that way. I was worried after the surgery earlier, so I prayed... for quite a while.”
Lies beget lies. That had never felt more true. If I added up all the time I had spent praying in my life, it might come to ten minutes total. But now I was saying I had prayed for hours.
“As expected. A faithful heart. We must always pray for our patients.”
“Yes, yes... of course.”
“If this is a revelation, then we mustn’t ignore it.”
Liston grew serious. I put on my coat. Ideally, I would not need him to come with me, but going alone might not be the best idea. Even if Lord Damien owed me a favor, the streets of London were not exactly safe.
Besides, I’m small and precious...
Well, maybe not small, exactly, but there were plenty of thugs around, and their faces alone were enough to make me flinch.
“Let’s go together. I’m almost finished reconstructing the surgery from earlier.”
“Ah, yes. I’d be glad to have your company.”
So I nodded and headed to Lord Damien’s residence with Liston. The route was safe. We took a carriage, and even if we had run into trouble, the moment Liston showed his face, people backed down immediately.
“Hey, sorry!”
“S-Sword Master!”
“Dr. Liston! I’m sorry!”
Just like that.
“Ah... Dr. Liston and Dr. Pyeong? I’ll announce you immediately. Please wait.”
Once we arrived, no problems arose. There could not be. I was the one who had saved Lord Damien, after all. And now, Liston had cemented his status not only as the best surgeon in London, but also as the most feared swordsman.
“Please come in. The duke is in a very good mood today.”
A guard, or perhaps a staff member; I was not sure, led us inside.
Naturally, Lord Damien’s house was a mansion. We walked through an elegant garden before entering. I had seen him before, but now I could truly sense his nobility. Well, he was an actual titled aristocrat, so it was only to be expected.
Still... I can’t stop thinking about that incredibly embarrassing pose I saw during surgery...
I bowed, doing my best not to recall that memory.
“Hello, Lord Damien.”
“Ah, nice to see you. How are you? I’ve been very well, thanks to you.”
One look at his face, and I could tell. He looked refreshed, like someone who had quite literally been relieved.
I’m glad the surgery worked...
But honestly, I was skeptical. Did it really work? I was not even a urologist. Still, since the outcome was good, I might as well get something out of it. I was not asking for a gift. I only wanted to borrow something. If the microscope turned out to be poor quality, I would return it right away.
“Yes, I’m doing well thanks to the duke’s excellent care.”
“What care? I just introduced you to the director and dined with you a few times.”
“That alone was incredibly helpful.”
Just dinner? No way. I bet he had pulled strings behind the scenes. He probably told someone to look after me. I was not a noble myself, but I had seen how these things worked.
“What brings you here today? I thought the treatment was complete. I assume you’ve come to ask for something?”
Lord Damien was not shy. He had already guessed my motive.
“Ask away. I’d even consider killing someone for you, depending on their status. Haha.”
His humor was... unsettling.
But I decided to just go for it.
“Do you happen to own a microscope?”
At my question, Lord Damien’s face shifted into the same confused expression Liston had made earlier. It was a mix of disbelief and curiosity.
“That toy? Why do you want that?”
“I just want to try it out.”
“Haha, it might take a while to find. It’s probably in a warehouse somewhere.”
“That’s fine.”
“Let’s have some tea while we wait.”
“Of course.”
“Liston, join us.”
“Yes.”
He seemed amused by the request. Servants were dispatched, and we sat on the sofa. Despite the age of the mansion, it was well maintained and surprisingly free of dust. The hygiene made me wish they cleaned their bodies with the same care. Odds were high Lord Damien had not bathed since the day of the surgery. Queen Elizabeth, they said, bathed once a month. Maybe he followed the same routine.
“This tea is excellent,” said Liston, whose face belonged more to whiskey than tea.
I nodded along.
“What do you think?”
Me?
Ah...
I wanted an iced Americano. A tall one, with finely crushed ice. Something to freeze my brain and burn my throat at the same time.
“It’s wonderful. The black tea is very fragrant.”
“Haha. I thought so. It’s high-quality stuff. From Yunnan. Know it? Qing Dynasty.”
“Ah, yes. That explains the richness.”
Of course, I was lying through my teeth. I blamed nineteenth-century society for turning me, once a model of integrity, into this.
“Duke.”
“Yes, yes. Ah, I should have had them clean it first. Why bring it back dusty?”
“Sorry, sir! I’ll take care of it!”
The microscope arrived covered in dust. The duke scolded the staff, and soon a gleaming, polished microscope was placed in front of me.
This looks nothing like the optical microscopes I used...
I had no idea how to use it. I did not even know where to start.
“Give it here,” said Lord Damien. “This must be your first time using one, right?”
Instead of trying to look through it, I had only been staring at the microscope itself. Lord Damien noticed and stepped in. With practiced ease, he adjusted it and plucked a nearby black tea leaf.
“There’s a reason this thing is expensive. It’s amazing. Take a look.”
“Yes.”
I looked.
The magnification was not extreme, maybe fifty times, according to Lord Damien’s guess, but it was surprisingly clear. I could probably push it up to one hundred times with some work.
“Wow...”
At this level, I could probably see bacteria. I was sure of it. I could see the internal structure of the tea leaf. I felt certain that if I pushed this further, I could make a breakthrough.
“Aren’t you curious? Haha. Be careful. I nearly lost myself to it for a few months.”
“I’m worried you’re getting into toys now.”
“You’ll guide him well. He’s a genius, but still a child.”
“Haha. I’m immature, yes. But don’t worry. I’ll keep him on track, even if it means smacking him around.”
While the two of them chatted, I was already imagining the future of medicine.
Alright... It’s time. Let me introduce the concept of real disinfection.
I would not get angry.
I would get ambitious.
I was confident that if I could show results, Liston would believe me. He might look closed-minded, but in truth, he was more open than anyone I knew. As long as he was on my side, there was almost nothing I could not do.