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Chapter 03
“What’s with that expression? You look surprised to see me.”
Jin spoke. His voice was weak and hoarse, yet even that sounded strangely attractive.
What is this elegant yet fatal aura? My heart started pounding. Calm down, heart.
“Do you feel sorry for me? No… it’s a bit different from that. What should I call it… pity? Do you think my only flaw—one that ruins my otherwise flawless appearance—is how thin I am?”
Huh? W-what…? Is he reading my mind right now? A psychic? I had been captivated by Jin’s beauty, but his attitude—like he was accurately reading my thoughts—left me flustered.
“No need to be so startled. I’m just a bit more perceptive than others. It’s not some suspicious magic. I’ve simply grown used to reading people.”
Again—again! He read my feelings perfectly. Sure, anyone could guess I was flustered, but how could he know everything so precisely?
“If you look at someone’s expression, you can roughly tell what they’re feeling. Then you just fill in the gaps with deduction. It’s not difficult.”
As if he had read my question again, Jin answered.
They said the reason someone as frail as Jin—who looked like he couldn’t even protect himself—could lead a massive rebel army was because he was incredibly intelligent.
But no matter how smart someone is, does it make sense to read minds just by looking at faces? Even now, behind those sharp, shining blue eyes, his brain must be working at full capacity.
Seriously… do you know how many calories thinking uses? Your body is already struggling with illness—what happens if you use all your energy just thinking? That’s why you’re so skinny.
“So now you think my intellect is harming my health. Well… you might not be entirely wrong… cough.”
Jin began coughing again before he could finish his sentence.
As I worried, He’s going to cough himself to death at this rate, I also felt a strange fear—despite not having spoken a single word, we were communicating perfectly.
“…Phew. I apologize to the new doctor, but… I think you’ve already taken enough blood. And unfortunately, if I lose any more, I might actually die. Do you think this frail body of mine can endure it?”
After coughing for a while, Jin steadied his breathing and weakly lifted his left arm. A bloodstained bandage was wrapped around his wrist.
At that moment, Astrid’s memories suddenly surfaced.
Doctors of this era believed illness was caused by an imbalance of bodily fluids. To restore balance, they would cut the patient and draw blood.
Cutting into a dying patient and draining bowl after bowl of blood—that was the medical practice known as bloodletting.
‘Are they insane? He’s already this thin and coughing up blood every day, and they’re still drawing more? What if he dies from excessive bleeding?’
And if that wound got infected… he wouldn’t last three months—he might not even survive a few days. What about tetanus? Sepsis? Ugh!
Then another of Astrid’s memories came to mind. Her father, also a doctor, treating wounded patients—branding wounds with heated metal or pouring boiling oil over them before wrapping them in bandages.
If my predecessor—the doctor who supposedly ran away after a few days—did something like that to Jin…
No—no way!
Trembling, I shouted:
“Bring alcohol right now! The strongest one you have! Hurry!”
Disinfection—disinfection! Without thinking, I rushed to Jin’s side. It wouldn’t be perfect, but it was better than nothing. First, I needed to remove the bandage and check the wound.
“Alcohol… you say?”
Richard asked blankly.
Yes, alcohol! The original story said he was strong in combat but not very bright—guess that’s true.
“Yes, alcohol. The strongest you have.”
I gently held Jin’s arm, afraid that if I pulled too hard it might break. Ah—right. I needed to wash my hands first. I had just escaped from an unsanitary prison, after all. My hands were crawling with germs.
If I touched his wound like this… I might be the one who kills this fragile, almost fish-like man.
But could soap in this era disinfect properly? Should I sanitize my hands with alcohol too?
“…Excuse me, could I wash my hands first?”
I carefully set Jin’s arm back down. Even Jin, supposedly brilliant, looked slightly confused—as if he didn’t understand what was happening.
“Please follow me. I’ll have the alcohol brought shortly.”
Richard led me to a small door in the corner. I followed him inside.
And inside…
It looked almost exactly like a modern bathroom.
“If you turn this, cold water will come out. Turn the other way, and you’ll get warm water. You can adjust the temperature as you like.”
Excuse me? Warm water… from the tap?
I stared at Richard, wondering if I heard him correctly.
Something was off. Very off. No matter how I searched Astrid’s memories, this world didn’t have such advanced plumbing.
To get clean water, you had to walk a long way to a well or spring. The streets reeked of waste.
“The dwarves who built this underground city have far more advanced technology than you’d expect. It’s not demonic magic, so feel free to use it. And over there—that cleansing agent was specially developed by our alchemist.”
Richard must have misunderstood my shock as fear.
Where he pointed, there was a small glass bottle with a pump—just like modern hand soap.
After leaving me alone, Richard exited the bathroom.
I pressed the pump.
A soft, rose-scented foam landed in my hand.
What is this…? Isn’t this basically modern?
I looked into the mirror. I was clearly Astrid.
So I really am inside “The Liberator of the Underground City”…
Soap did exist in this era, but it was a luxury item. Yet what I held now was indistinguishable from modern soap.
I shook my head, snapping out of it.
This wasn’t the time to dwell on that.
I needed to check Jin’s wound. If it had been burned or treated with heated metal… he wouldn’t survive long.
Panicking, I scrubbed my hands thoroughly.
Then, worried about contamination, I opened the bathroom door with my shoulder. Outside, Richard was already holding a bottle of alcohol.
The label read: vodka.
Good. That’s strong enough.
“May I take a look at your wound?”
I asked carefully.
Jin looked at me with interest… then gave a slight nod.
Permission granted.
I carefully removed the bandage.
Please… please don’t let it be a burn.
Fortunately, it seemed the previous doctor hadn’t used boiling oil or heated metal. It was just a clean cut.
“It might sting a bit. Bear with it.”
I poured vodka over the dried, sticky wound. Jin winced slightly as the liquid touched it.
…Even when he grimaces, he’s handsome.
Wasn’t there a story about a famous beauty whose frown was so lovely that people imitated it?
No—focus.
“Hey, doctor. Focus on the treatment, not my face. I know I’m handsome.”
…Like that.
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