Chapter 81
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: Hospital (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I asked cautiously.
"......By any chance, is confidentiality maintained?"
If word got out that I had Danjeon Cancer, my market value would plummet. That's why Libra Medical Center was a gamble for me too.
I needed to become the core of Libra, but if secrets leaked from within Libra itself, that would be a disaster.
Professor Yuhains's face turned into that of a merchant refusing to haggle.
"You're asking the obvious. Even if a direct descendant of Libra, the current family head—no, even the Chairperson herself—came here, we wouldn't disclose patient information."
"......Hmm."
Knowing the man from my future memories, he seemed trustworthy enough. In fact, the moment I heard the pig with Danjeon Cancer had achieved complete remission, I'd dug up every scrap of info on this professor.
"Then—"
"For now, there are two treatments for Danjeon Cancer. First is chemotherapy drugs to slow its progression—drug therapy. Second is surgery to excise the danjeon entirely."
"I heard excising the danjeon means you won't even live five years."
"But the expected lifespan for Danjeon Cancer is six months at best. Living five years would be a miracle...... Have you tried cultivating Mana Body by any chance?"
The professor asked about Mana Body.
"No. I haven't learned One Belt Four Lines."
"You haven't even pierced the belt?"
"Yeah. Can't you see that?"
"I don't have eyes that can see mana. Lucky break for you."
The biggest problem with Danjeon Cancer was, of course, the 'belt' from One Belt Four Lines.
Danjeon Cancer was a disease extremely distant from ordinary people to begin with. It only afflicted those who handled mana to some degree, when they overstimulated their danjeon or it was damaged by external factors—and even then, only if they were extraordinarily unlucky.
"If someone who's completed One Belt Four Lines gets Danjeon Cancer, whether human or monster, their life expectancy is brutally short. Even the world's sturdiest-looking knight turns into a mass of tumors and dies within three months of diagnosis."
In other words, I was the luckiest among the unluckiest bastards.
Oh, joy.
"There's no complicated treatment for Danjeon Cancer. If you want drug therapy, we'll inject 'Mapurneia.' If you want surgery, we'll excise the danjeon."
This much I already knew, but the man had cured a pig with Danjeon Cancer. Pig, human—it didn't matter; he had to know some special method.
"Is there, by any chance, no other way? Something...... better?"
Danjeon excision was obviously off the table.
Drug therapy's problem was the side effects. Taking the meds would make the College Board a nightmare.
"......"
Professor Yuhains stared at me for a long moment, then pushed up his glasses. His eyes gleamed behind the lenses. He answered as if he'd been waiting for this.
"There's something called the Mana Quark Treatment Machine."
"Mana Quark?"
"It accelerates only the 'quark' component of mana to 60% the speed of light, destroying the cancer tissue in the patient's body. It's cured even terminal patients with a 3% survival rate."
Mana Quark.
I didn't know the principle, but it rang a bell from my memories. It matched the pig's treatment exactly.
"How much is that? I want it right now—"
"You can't have it."
"Pardon? Why not?"
"Because there's none in Edshila. The machine exists only in the Salron Kingdom, and even there, they don't allow treatment for foreigners."
"Aw, man. So it's completely unavailable? This Mana Quark thing?"
Professor Yuhains shook his head. His short, bob-like hair swayed side to side.
"We're making one now. More precisely, I am."
"......!"
That's right.
Exactly.
This was why I'd come to you.
This man would eventually succeed.
I didn't know what exactly he'd make, but he'd do it and grant complete remission to the pig with Danjeon Cancer.
And all on his own, without investment or help from anyone.
"Will it take about ten years?"
"It's already complete."
"What? Where—"
"In my hospital."
"......Isn't this your hospital?"
"I'm an adjunct professor. I run a private clinic separately."
That tracked. He'd always been a famous doctor, past and present.
Doctor.
No—Professor.
"If I underwent treatment with Professor Yuhains's machine, what are the odds of complete remission, realistically?"
"Less than 1%."
Professor Yuhains was blunt.
"Danjeon Cancer patients can't live forever like normal people. As long as you use mana, the cancer keeps proliferating."
I could accept that.
Better than pointless false hope. 1%, hell, even 0% was fine. I didn't plan to live long anyway.
"But it could dramatically slow the cancer's progression, right?"
Danjeon Cancer had stages, naturally. Like early, mid, and late stages in other cancers.
My final three years had been stage 4. Vigorous activity left me dizzy; a day of mana-intensive work put me bedridden.
"Yes. It can slow the progression. And the side effects would be dramatically reduced."
If I could avoid those symptoms and live until Libra fell.
If I could topple them with my own hands.
"Great. Skip the drug therapy—I want the quark treatment. How much?"
"Impossible."
"What now."
"It hasn't received council approval yet."
Professor Yuhains met my eyes. His gaze held meaning beyond his words. I caught it, of course.
"I've factored that in. Ever seen a cancer patient waiting around for approvals?"
Drug therapy interfered with the College Board from the first dose.
So, better not waste money on drugs—
"200,000 Ren per session."
"......"
I was stunned for a moment.
"Today's consult was 2,000 Ren."
It felt like a blunt weapon to the back of the head, but then I remembered his nickname.
Almost forgot.
"......Fine. Whatever."
The 'Hand of Ren.'
Most famed doctors got called the Hand of God, but this one charged exactly what he was worth—Ren, Edshila's currency—so the Hand of Ren.
Made sense.
He was the top authority in demonic disease studies, after all.
"One thing I'm curious about, though."
But there was one nagging point.
"What?"
"Why've you been talking down to me since earlier? Even for a doctor, when'd you ever meet me?"
A bench in the park near Endex. Back from the hospital, I was staring at the receipt in my palm.
"......Didn't even knock off a single Ren."
I clicked my tongue under my breath.
Total paid today: 22,000 Ren.
Consult fee 2,000 Ren; 20,000 was the deposit for Mana Quark treatment next month.
"Still."
I could see a glimmer of hope.
Not a cure, but skipping chemo side effects?
If it delayed my death, slowed the cancer even a little......
Sakrak-sakrak—
Suddenly, a ticklish vibration rose from my chest pocket.
"What the."
I rummaged in my inner pocket and pulled out the culprit: the shared notebook. Flipping it open revealed a new line.
[What are you doing there?]
"Ahem."
The moment I read it, a fake cough echoed from somewhere.
I turned that way. Crowds filled the park path, but my eyes locked on one person.
Soliet.
Her red hair fluttering, she approached and sat on the bench opposite me. Then she added another line to the notebook.
[What a coincidence.]
I replied.
[Yeah, small world.]
I hurriedly stuffed the receipt into my pocket.
"......"
"......"
We just sat there in silence.
Soliet looked lost in thought too. Probably because of the bullshit Sierric spouted at college today.
Suddenly, something clicked. I picked up the notebook and wrote.
[Soliet, you know the Three Sword Forms, right?]
Swordsmanship Studies was tomorrow, and I didn't even know what was in the Three Sword Forms.
I'd skipped class and hadn't touched the textbook.
[Of course.]
[Can you teach me?]
I looked up. Amid the park crowds, I gazed at Soliet on the bench. Her eyes were fixed on the notebook.
"......Hmm."
She pursed her lips in thought, wrote one line, and stood.
I checked the notebook without much hope.
[Come to the lakeside at 10 PM tonight.]
An unexpected reply.
10 PM.
Soliet grabbed two wooden swords and headed into the forest behind Endex's mountain.
This path was familiar now. Far more comfortable and cozy than her empty apartment or the bustling Endex dorms—this lakeside forest was beautiful.
As if someone had groomed it, the branches enveloped the lake like clouds. At night, the sky reflected in the water. Moon and stars floated on the surface like round cookies and chocolate chips—no need to crane your neck to see the heavens.
"You're here."
The man waiting for her sat watching. Soliet tossed him a wooden sword.
"Get up. I'll teach you right now."
"Already?"
"Swordsmanship Studies is tomorrow."
"True enough."
He nodded and stood. Soliet swung her sword through the air to loosen up.
"The first of the Three Sword Forms is 'Lunar Eclipse.' You must know it."
"Know what? No clue. Sounds impressive, though."
"......You don't know Lunar Eclipse? It's the world's most famous sword form."
Soliet looked like she'd met someone who didn't know what a carrot or cucumber was.
"Nah. Never took formal swordsmanship training."
Sion tapped the back of his neck with the wooden sword and chuckled. Soliet's brow furrowed.
"Don't bullshit me. What was that swordplay on the first day of Swordsmanship Studies?"
"Oh, that? Family style. My grandpa and dad didn't get much education either. Neither graduated high school. Education sucked back then."
"......"
Soliet had no frame of reference. It was practically nonexistent in her world. Born a noble among nobles, the golden child of the elite.
"Tell me. What's Lunar Eclipse?"
"......Lunar Eclipse is a sword form based on the Triangular Slash."
Triangular Slash: three strikes while stepping. Lunar Eclipse expands it to 9-15 strikes across steps, mimicking the moon's phases from new to crescent—hence the name.
"Think of it as an extreme expansion of Triangular Slash."
"Got it. Show me."
Soliet raised her wooden sword. First step: six strokes. Second: five. Third: four.
"That's it. Move the sword while stepping, but prioritize your center of gravity. Too many strikes overloads you and breaks form; too few fails to complete it."
"......Hmm."
He looked a bit puzzled.
"They say it resembles the moon rising and setting—though fuck if I know what that means. Try it."
"Like you: six, five, four?"
"Start with three each: 3-3-3. Tough for beginners."
Lunar Eclipse was the most famous basic form, but 3-3-3 was hard at first. Steps and sword tangled easily.
"Go as slow as possible. No need for speed."
Soliet instructed like an academy instructor drilling cadets.
"Yeah. Here goes."
Sion Askal gripped the wooden sword.
And......