Chapter 6: Shall We Demolish?
After parting ways with Jeff and Ollie, I headed back to my hospital with Cache from the general store.
By the time we reached the front of the hospital, Cache had thrown her head back, blinking only with her eyes wide open.
"My god... This really isn't a magic tower, is it?"
Everyone who saw my hospital said the same thing. At this point, I was starting to get curious about what a magic tower even was. But with the gruesome rumors about them chopping off limbs, I had no desire to visit one without guaranteed safety. Nothing was more precious than my own life.
"It's not a magic tower—it's a hospital. As I mentioned before, we don't do any amputations here, so rest assured."
"It's... really... beautiful."
Cache stumbled awkwardly into the first-floor café, her eyes round as saucers, unable to hide her amazement as she looked around.
"This is where you'll sell the beauty products I gifted you."
"My god... All by yourself in a place this huge, Miner?"
On the way back with Cache, I'd mentioned wanting to try selling beauty care products here. But judging by her double-eyelid-enhanced big eyes blinking in surprise, she hadn't expected my hospital to be this large and luxurious.
"Shall we head upstairs now? The operating rooms are on the upper floors."
"Ah, yes! Sounds good!"
A picture's worth a thousand words. To gain the upper hand in negotiations, I'd offered to treat the freckles covering her face—for free, no less. But Cache was no ordinary pushover. Just as I'd sized her up, she probably had a good idea why I was being so generous.
"Res, you wait here."
"Okay! See ya!"
We left the furry troublemaker Res alone on the first floor—just in case he shed—and took the elevator up to the 11th floor, which served as both my clinic and director's office.
A world without freckle treatments... Jackpot.
Cache, experiencing an elevator for the first time, trembled a bit with anxiety on the way up. But when the doors opened to reveal the even more opulent high-end lobby on the 11th floor, her eyes sparkled like her name.
"Whoa! Totally! This place is so cool too! We really went up 11 floors, right?"
Cache couldn't believe they were really on the 11th floor. But she couldn't fool my eyes. Despite her fresh-off-the-farm innocent act, I could sense how shrewd she was and the calculating thoughts behind those eyes.
"For first-time patients, you need to fill out a questionnaire first, so let's head to the director's office."
"Sure thing."
As I led the wide-eyed, greedy Cache—who was scanning the place like a hawk—into the office, I kept up natural small talk to ease the mood.
"Freckles like yours can be cleared up in one session with the ruby laser—"
"Kyaaah!!!"
"...?"
The moment I slid open the door to the director's office, a scream like a startled deer's pierced the air. Turning around, I saw the horrific sound ripping from Cache's throat.
Thinking some beast like Res had broken in unauthorized, I whipped my head back—only to see Cache trembling with her head buried between her legs.
"Cache? What's wrong?"
"Th-that's..."
Her terrified gaze was fixed on the towering sculptural pillar stacked high.
"S-sorry... It's just... all these animal bones..."
"Animal bones? Oh, haha! No need to worry—it's not that."
Unlike her typical country-girl looks, Cache seemed scared of animals. That's weird. She seemed to like Res well enough for someone who hates them.
Anyway, once I reassured her over the needless misunderstanding, Cache blushed, embarrassed by her scream.
"...R-right? No way animal bones would be here, haha."
Unhygienic beast bones in a sacred hospital? Ridiculous. I nearly frowned in disbelief, but putting the patient at ease was part of a doctor's duty.
Got to clear up the misunderstanding properly.
I replied with a pure, innocent smile.
"Of course. Those are human bones."
"...Pardon?"
"Haha, bones I've resected from patients' faces so far."
Cache froze in her tracks again. Probably a gesture asking for more details, given her total lack of knowledge here. Suppressing my annoyance, I approached her with the gentlest smile imaginable.
"It might be hard to understand. Mostly from facial contouring or square jaw reductions, with some cheekbones mixed in—but mainly jawbones. They mean a lot to me. It took quite some time to get this far."
The pillar she'd mistaken for animal bones was my symbol of success, erected when I moved the hospital. Unfortunately, even with patient consent, the 50cm-wide, 170cm-tall glass tube stacked with bones violated medical waste disposal regs, so I'd planned to dismantle it.
Now Cache finally got it, her eyes bulging and mouth agape as she listened intently. She seemed captivated by the pillar's grandeur.
"Haha, come closer and take a look. About 2,000 pieces from 1,000 patients I've resected so far, each fragment engraved with the patient's name..."
"Kyaaak! Kyaaah!!"
"Cache? Cache! Snap out of it!"
* * *
Two days had passed since Cache visited my hospital. It was already day four in this isekai world.
Hmm... No matter how I think about it, I don't get it. Was the bone pillar that shocking?
Back in Korea, I couldn't display it publicly either, but that pillar held my blood, sweat, and tears—and my patients'. That's why I'd delayed disposal until the new hospital's grand opening. Never imagined Cache fainting over it.
Well, now it's in the staff lounge, so whatever. Not Korea anyway—I'll keep it preserved, Minister.
I silently thanked the Environment Minister in my head. Then I turned my gaze to Cache, who was fervently selling aesthetic products off a café table I'd moved outside like a street stall.
"Oh my! Sis! Your skin's already so nice. But this'll make you even prettier. Come try a free sample before you go."
My hospital was at a pass only used by people entering or leaving the Dungeon Zone. But Cache never let a single customer slip by.
"A sample?"
"Yes, free trial! Come on over, sis."
Her bubbly, soft smile was standard fare.
"When'd a magic tower pop up here? Gimme two low-grade stamina potions."
"Oh, adventurer sir! Not a magic tower—a hospital. We don't handle potions."
"What? Hospital ain't a magic tower? And no potions? Weird."
"No potions, but we do healing magic! Non-amputation surgery for infected wounds too. Ask away if you're curious."
She promoted the hospital alongside the products.
"Whoa, a hatchling? How much?"
"Hatchling's not for sale. Anything else? Check this out..."
Seeing Cache dive into sales with real ownership made me smile involuntarily.
Her name hooked me from the start, and rightly so.
Two days ago, after barely convincing Cache—who'd mistaken me for a black mage—that I was safe, I removed the freckles blanketing her face. In this world, freckles were incurable. Even priests and mages couldn't touch them. Once done, Cache became my loyal slave—er, employee.
Her general store deeper in the Dungeon Zone had a prime location.
'Prime location' being the only good thing.
Her shop's goods were a mess, the place tiny and shabby. Whether because of that or because she smelled money on me, Cache jumped at the chance without hesitation.
Performance pay only—great for me.
My first rule of getting rich: People. Placing competent talent in the right spots was the shortcut to wealth. And Cache fit perfectly.
Yesterday, she cleared out her rented old shop. Today, she started real business. Despite the hospital's spot at the Dungeon Zone entrance—far from the center—customer reactions weren't bad.
Like she said, better to street-vend outside till we build a rep. Looks tacky, though.
It felt like a kimchi rice-roll stand at a trailhead or a Myeongdong cosmetics stall—miles from my high-end lifestyle dreams. But with zero cash on hand...
Dropped in unknown lands, money's all you can trust.
That's when it hit.
"From the Territory Office. Who's the owner of this magic tower?"
Unlike the iron- or leather-armored locals, this guy wore a neat uniform with pointless buttons—like a college festival cheer captain. He scanned blankly for me.
"I'm the director... I mean, owner here. What brings you?"
"Thomas from the Frederik Territory Office. Here on a report of illegal business."
"Pardon? Illegal business?"
First day in isekai, I'd asked Jeff and Ollie if the land had an owner. They said the hospital was at a forest trailhead in the Dungeon Zone entrance—fine for business. They even built barracks five minutes away and lived there weeks without issue.
But now a territory office guy—not even a village one—shows up? Illegal business?
"I heard this roadside spot doesn't block the main path, so trading's okay. Friends of mine built barracks nearby and live there."
"Sigh..."
"?"
Thomas didn't hide his annoyance at my question, silently shuffling his paperwork stack. Then he shoved a sheet at me.
"Temporary structures like barracks that can be instantly demolished are permitted under the Dungeon Zone Special Law. Such structures must also be demolished immediately upon Territory Office request."
"...?"
"However, structures like yours that damage the surroundings and can't be instantly demolished are deemed illegal builds and fined."
"But..."
"Don't like it? Demolish it. Shall we demolish?"
First day of business. Lightning struck.