Chapter 172 General Seaweed [1]
Chapter 172 General Seaweed [1]
Was Baek Kanghyeok not a surgeon with an exceptionally impressive career?
Naturally, he had performed countless emergency surgeries.
Quite a few of those patients had even been children smaller than Tsurumatsu.
At times like this, the number one thing guardians wanted to hear was…
Naturally, that the surgery had gone very well.
He had not just guessed based on a feeling.
As absurd as it sounded, Chungmu Hospital had once even run surveys as part of a customer satisfaction evaluation.
I wonder how that will work in medieval Japan.
Having thrown the line out first, Kanghyeok looked at Hideyoshi and O-no-dono.
“Mm, mm.”
To begin with, O-no-dono had been crying since earlier, so it was not easy to observe any change in her.
Still, judging from how laughter burst out from her now and then, it was possible to roughly guess what she was feeling.
“So it went well, very well, is that what you mean?”
Hideyoshi kept repeating only that.
His expression itself was not very different from O-no-dono’s.
He simply was not shedding tears.
Only the rims of his eyes had reddened.
So he can at least keep up appearances.
Kanghyeok nodded as he looked at the many generals standing behind Hideyoshi.
Even just becoming a professor made it hard to openly show emotion in front of one’s students, did it not?
For Hideyoshi, who styled himself Kanpaku, that difficulty would have been even greater.
“You said Lord Tsurumatsu’s surgery went well, right? Then can he live now without worry?”
By contrast, Katō Kiyomasa was more open with his emotions.
That bastard’s crying.
The giant of a man threw his arms wide and laughed heartily while tears streamed down his face.
He was not even the boy’s father, yet he was rejoicing like that.
Seeing such loyalty made Kanghyeok’s chest suddenly turn cold.
If he had been an ally, that would be one thing, but this was a man who had a one-hundred-percent chance of becoming an enemy.
I can only hope the steroids do their job and ruin at least one of his kidneys.
Kanghyeok wore a broad smile while entertaining rather chilling thoughts inside.
But his seasoned control over his expression was remarkable enough that no one noticed.
Even Yeoju, who had been going around with him all along, did not.
“Th-then… can I see him now?”
Because of that, Hideyoshi was so overwhelmed that he even grabbed Kanghyeok’s hand with both of his.
At this point, one might have expected Kanghyeok to feel at least a little guilty, but in fact it was the opposite.
Looking at him up close, his face is even worse.
He especially disliked the sharply slitted eyes and the unnaturally thin lips.
Kanghyeok did not know physiognomy, but he had still seen countless patients in his life.
Usually, people with faces like that either had unusual professions or nasty tempers.
“Mm. Just a moment.”
But Kanghyeok completely hid what he was thinking and turned around.
As always, quick-witted Dolseok had already stuck a hand out through the doorway and was giving him a signal.
Okay.
They had probably already wiped away the disinfectant they had painted all over the child’s belly and neatly placed gauze over the sutured incision.
The hole they had made in his neck still bothered him a little, but he decided to take them in anyway.
No matter what, the child looked far more comfortable than before the surgery.
“Please follow me.”
“May I… come too?”
O-no-dono, who had been crying the whole time, raised her hand as she asked.
What doctor in the world would block a mother after operating on her child?
And it was not even during the operation.
“Of course.”
“May I come too?”
This time, Katō Kiyomasa stepped forward as well.
He was a little more ambiguous.
He might care for the child more dearly than family did, but he was not actually family.
Ah, whatever. The wound’s already fully closed anyway.
It was safe to say the risk of infection was almost nonexistent.
So Kanghyeok nodded readily.
“Let’s do that.”
At that, the other retainers who had only been reading the room until then also began rushing over one after another.
It felt awkward to stop some while allowing others, so Kanghyeok decided to take them all.
With one small restriction.
“But anyone other than family may not step over the threshold.”
“Understood, understood.”
“Then…”
Kanghyeok opened the firmly shut door.
The sight inside differed slightly from what he had expected.
Not that there was any problem.
But it was not exactly beautiful either.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
“N-no… I gave him milk earlier, and now he only wants me…”
Makbong answered with a thoroughly troubled look on his face.
Tsurumatsu was cradled in the arms of a man who, to anyone’s eyes, looked like a rough brute and, depending on perspective, even like a bandit.
“Hee.”
He was even smiling, which he normally hardly ever did.
Is it because the medicine hasn’t fully worn off yet…?
Was it not usually like that after receiving a sedative?
Sometimes it made people laugh for no reason.
It was not by accident that most sedatives were classified as psychoactive drugs.
On top of that, most of Tsurumatsu’s usual symptoms had now been relieved.
“Heehee.”
Everyone was transfixed by the sight of Tsurumatsu wearing the happiest smile in the world.
Well, I suppose that’s only natural.
Only Kanghyeok was bothering to investigate why.
First of all, because of the airway they had opened in his neck, the shortness of breath was gone.
The ascites had also been completely removed, so the sense of something pressing on him had disappeared as well.
Even the rotten, festering bile had been removed, so the slight fever he constantly carried was gone too.
“Hee.”
So there was no way Tsurumatsu would not feel extremely good.
Good enough to laugh even while being held by a fierce-looking man like Makbong.
“Oh…”
“Th-that… really…”
Whatever the case, it was the first time in a long while that Hideyoshi and O-no-dono had seen Tsurumatsu look this happy.
Forgetting all about appearances, both of them hurried straight toward Makbong.
“Um… hand him over here.”
Surprisingly, it was Hideyoshi who spoke first.
And whose command could possibly be disobeyed?
Makbong had no choice but to hand Tsurumatsu over.
“Oh my. Just look at this little fellow. He keeps smiling.”
Hideyoshi showed the smiling Tsurumatsu off to his retainers as well.
At that, Katō Kiyomasa, who stood at the very front, burst into tears of joy.
“M-my lord. Congratulations!”
“Ha, ha, ha. I truly feel wonderful today.”
“Congratulations!”
Led by Kiyomasa, all the gathered retainers bowed their heads and began congratulating Tsurumatsu on his recovery.
O-no-dono, meanwhile, smiled in delight.
Seriously… they haven’t even removed the stitches yet, and they’re already making this kind of fuss.
Hideyoshi even danced about while holding Tsurumatsu in his arms.
He seemed to have completely forgotten that the Joseon people, including Kanghyeok, were standing right there beside him.
That was proof of just how happy he was, but unfortunately, Kanghyeok had to pour cold water over it.
Because he was not the guardian. He was the doctor.
Even if what he had done was only a half-measure treatment.
Still, the boy at least had to live as long as Kanghyeok expected him to.
“All right, all right, please hand him back now.”
Kanghyeok beckoned to Makbong, then stepped directly in front of Hideyoshi.
For an instant, displeasure flashed across Hideyoshi’s face, but only briefly.
He knew as well that the treatment was not yet fully over.
“Mm.”
“As you can see… the surgical wound still hasn’t fully healed. For now, we will continue caring for him.”
Hideyoshi obediently handed Tsurumatsu over.
Looking at Tsurumatsu, now clinging to Makbong again like a leech, he asked, “Can I not at least watch?”
“That’s fine, but… it will be tiring for you.”
“That doesn’t matter. He’s my son. Of course I should watch.”
“As you wish, then.”
That was how Hideyoshi began remaining constantly in the room where Tsurumatsu was being examined.
Kanghyeok’s group, being the medical staff, rotated at night so the burden of treatment would not pile up, but Hideyoshi did no such thing.
He really did stay inside the room the entire time.
But Hideyoshi was not some mere ruffian.
He was, after all, the highest-ranking man in Japan at present.
“Someone’s come again.”
“Tell them I’ll see them in here.”
“Yes… all right.”
Yeoni nodded and opened the door.
The visitor was someone who could be called one of Kyoto’s old powerholders.
He was even said to be a relative of the Emperor.
“Kanpaku, how is the child?”
Perhaps because he was related to the Emperor, he even addressed Hideyoshi informally without hesitation.
Hideyoshi, however, was in such an excellent mood lately that he paid it no mind.
“He’s doing well. Very well.”
“May I have a look as well?”
The visitor asked while peering about from outside the threshold.
Instead of answering immediately, Hideyoshi looked toward Kanghyeok.
Kanpaku or not, in the treatment room Kanghyeok’s word carried greater authority.
Well… he had milk earlier and burped, so it should be fine.
Kanghyeok looked at Tsurumatsu, still in Makbong’s arms.
The tube that had been inserted into his neck had already been removed long ago.
Only the stitches in his belly remained.
To be honest, it’s probably already all closed up.
They were only leaving the stitches in as a precaution, so there was no issue at all with outside contact.
And judging by appearances, the visitor did not seem to have a cold.
“Let him see.”
“Very well. Thank you.”
Hideyoshi immediately seized the opportunity and snatched Tsurumatsu from Makbong’s arms.
At moments like this, he looked like a man who could not even hold a kitchen knife, let alone wage war.
Even though in reality he was cruel beyond measure.
Well, they do say even a hedgehog finds its own child adorable…
Hideyoshi beamed and showed Tsurumatsu to the visitor.
The man had been in power for quite a long time, so he had also seen Tsurumatsu when he was ill.
So there was no way he would fail to notice the difference at once.
“Oh. So the rumors were true. He really has improved.”
“Exactly. And now… look at this.”
“He’s even smiling… Just who on earth cured him? Even those Portuguese doctors shook their heads.”
“Ah. Well, that would be…”
With a broad smile, Hideyoshi pointed at Kanghyeok.
This was far from the first or second time something like this had happened.
Kanghyeok responded with the ease of a man already very used to it.
“Yes, I am Baek Kanghyeok. I cured him.”
“Oh… the name…”
“Yes, I came from Joseon. I plan to return in about four months.”
“I-is that so? If you are not too busy… might you take a look at me as well?”
Kanghyeok smiled faintly as he looked at the Japanese power broker bowing before him.
Then he pulled out the booklet tucked inside his robe.
It was packed full of names, and even at a glance there had to be at least several hundred.
“Please write your name here.”
“What is this?”
“It’s the reservation list.”
“Reservation…?”
“Yes. Lord Tsurumatsu’s treatment will be ending soon, and after that I’ll be free for a while.”
“Ohhh. I see.”
The visitor hurriedly wrote down his name.
Watching him, Kanghyeok’s smile deepened even further.
They’re coming to me of their own accord…
There were already hundreds of patients on the reservation list alone.
With things like this, it was only natural that Kanghyeok’s temporary clinic, which he opened after Tsurumatsu’s treatment, ended up bursting at the seams.
“Another one’s here.”
“Mm. Tell him to come in.”
“Back in Hanyang, you only saw three or four people a day, didn’t you?”
“Hey, time is pressing. Hurry and tell him to come in. I still need to see about twenty more today.”
“Uh… yes.”
Dolseok scratched the back of his head and stepped outside.
His back was soaked from the examinations that had continued since morning.
Did he suddenly become obsessed with money after coming here…?
His head tilted on its own.
But what could he do?
If he was told to do it, he had to do it.
“Uh… well, he says you can come in.”
“That’s a relief.”
At Dolseok’s words, a warrior stepped inside, cracking his neck from side to side.
At a glance, he looked no ordinary man.
Though that was true of most people coming to Kanghyeok’s clinic these days.
“You made a reservation, right? Your name?”
“Wakizaka Yasuharu.”