Chapter…04

Ah, seriously. To catch my expression again in just that short moment. I shouldn’t think. I really shouldn’t think.

“…Please bring clean new bandages. Ah, and also, Rishar—wash your hands first.”

From now on, everyone who comes near Jin must undergo strict sterilization. I couldn’t just let him die when he was already on the verge of it.

Perhaps displeased by my demand, Rishar’s expression darkened slightly. I understood him. People in this era had no concept of germs or viruses. Still—please wash your hands.

How could I make them understand? That if they didn’t wash their hands, it might put Jin’s life—someone Rishar deeply cared about—in danger.

Would talking about immunity work? Did they even know the word “immunity”?

“Do as she says, Rishar. She must have her reasons.”

Jin spoke.

Right. As expected, Jin really was different.

While Rishar went to wash his hands, I carefully continued disinfecting the wound.

After a while, Rishar returned with clean hands and fresh bandages. Looking at Jin’s injury, I thought of the ointment Astrid had made. It felt like a waste to just wrap it up like this.

The ointment—made by mixing rose oil, turpentine oil, and egg yolk, along with medicinal herbs that helped wound recovery… It would have been great to bring it. Unfortunately, it had all been confiscated by the Imperial Army.

After bandaging Jin’s wound, it looked much cleaner and better than before. Fortunately, I was quite experienced with bandaging in real life. I had a younger brother who always came home injured when he was little. Whether I should call that fortunate or not.

“From now on, everyone entering this room must wash their hands thoroughly. And I’d prefer if they wore masks as well.”

I said.

For a critical patient like this, he should really be in an ICU under sterile conditions with full protective gear. But since that wasn’t possible here, we had to do what we could.

“…Everyone, without exception?”

Rishar asked, surprised.

“Yes. Without exception.”

As I said firmly, Rodent tugged on my sleeve.

“Doctor, me too?”

His bright eyes looked up at me. Rodent really was too cute. I had been so distracted by Jin’s face that I’d almost forgotten our adorable Rodent.

“Yes, Rodent. You too.”

Jin would sometimes observe newly joined children in the rebellion, evaluate their potential, and personally teach those he deemed promising.

Our male lead, Rodent, was naturally smart—and would soon receive Jin’s special tutoring.

Honestly, I wanted to stop him given his fragile body… but stress was poison to Jin. Thinking about how stressed he would get if I stopped this workaholic from working, it was probably better to just let him teach Rodent.

“Oh, and also… you need to drink a lot of water. About 2 liters a day. Preferably lukewarm water.”

Since he was a patient who sometimes coughed up blood, hydration was essential. If possible, I even wanted to inject saline directly into his veins… but there were too many things impossible in this era.

“The new doctor is very demanding. Interesting.”

Jin smiled brightly as he looked at me.

A patient who had been expressionless or frowning the entire time suddenly smiling like that… it was devastating. Ugh, it was bad for my heart.

“You’re getting distracted by my face again.”

Ah, seriously. Even if I thought he was handsome for a second, he immediately noticed it. Should I start wearing a mask…?

At that moment, Rishar asked,

“Is there anything else you need, Doctor Ober?”

Hmm… there was a lot more to take care of. Jin’s room hygiene, diet, and even making more ointment.

“Who manages the patient’s meals? I’d like to meet them. Also the person who cleans the room. And I’d like to meet the alchemist who made the cleaning agents—”

As I listed things, Rishar looked increasingly flustered.

“…You don’t seem like someone who refused to come with us at first. Why are you working so hard now?”

Ah. That felt like a direct hit. Ouch, brother. Go easy on me.

Of course, at first I had tried to run away to save my own skin—but now that I was here, wasn’t it better to work hard?

It wasn’t, absolutely wasn’t because Jin’s beauty was too precious to let die in three months. I was just trying to survive. If Jin died, I would die too.

“Rishar, why don’t you show the doctor where she will stay? And introduce her to the others.”

Jin spoke.

Rishar, still suspicious of me, followed Jin’s instruction without argument.

When I left Jin’s room with Rishar, the breathtaking underground city came into view again. The city glowing in golden light was truly beautiful.

“Finn.”

At Rishar’s call, a teenage boy rushed over.

Finn… why does that sound familiar?

He didn’t seem like an important character in the original novel…

“Ah? Doctor Ober!”

The boy with messy brown hair and freckles shouted in surprise when he saw me. It seemed he already knew Astrid.

Finn… ah! He was the boy Astrid had once saved from the streets in the early days of inheriting the hospital.

“Finn, long time no see. How have you been?”

Seeing the once-skinny, near-dead child now grown so much made me oddly proud. If Astrid were here, she would’ve been so happy.

“So you know him. We can catch up later. For now—he’s new. Rodent, follow Finn. He’ll show you where you’ll stay.”

But Rodent was still clutching my sleeve and refusing to let go. He clearly didn’t want to be separated from me. So cute.

“Rodent, go on. You’ll have lots of friends your age there.”

I gently patted his back. Only then did he reluctantly follow Finn.

“Do you know Finn? He is in charge of managing incoming children.”

At Rishar’s words, I tried to recall Astrid’s memories and searched through them.

“I took care of him briefly six years ago. He was twelve then, so he should be eighteen now. He’s grown a lot.”

I managed to recall the timing and Finn’s age correctly. Good job, me!

But Rishar’s expression turned strange after hearing that.

“…You’re quite different from the rumors. I wondered if I had the wrong person. I apologize.”

What’s with that expression? I wish I could use Jin’s mind-reading ability right now.

“…Rumors are usually exaggerated, aren’t they? Hahaha.”

I smiled awkwardly, covering my mouth in fake elegance. Rishar just sighed faintly and led the way.

“This is the room where you will stay, Doctor Ober.”

It was a small room right next to Jin’s. Smaller than his, but it had a large bed, a decent desk, and a bookshelf full of medical texts.

‘I’m going to throw all those medical books away.’

They were probably full of things like bloodletting or burning wounds with hot oil. Useless—pure trash. Good only for firewood.

The best part of the room was the modern-style bathroom.

The toilet, sink, bathtub… I turned the faucet on and off in delight, exploring everything.

This was what I had missed most after coming to this world. Hot water showers… I was genuinely happy. I hadn’t been able to wash properly in prison.

“But how does this plumbing system work?”

I couldn’t resist asking. Rishar stayed silent for a moment.

“…I’ll introduce you to our technician later. You should ask him.”

I had to suppress my laughter.

Right. He didn’t know either, did he?