Chapter 156
***
Taste-testing is fundamental in cooking.
Whether you're making soup or a seasoned side dish.
Even a star chef can't guarantee the taste of a dish they haven't tasted.
This was something I always emphasized whenever I cooked,
and Erika, who always ate whatever she could while claiming to taste-test beside me, knew it well too.
"So, you mean that tasting the tofu to see whether it turned out well turned into a meal?"
"That's just like you, Teacher. Your summary is spot-on."
And that was also why the tofu meant to celebrate my release had disappeared.
"Well, at first I only taste-tested the scraps left over after shaping it, you know? But it was harder than I thought to make exact cubes out of tofu. So I kept eating the scraps......."
"So this is all that's left."
"Exactly."
I looked down at the plate Erika held out proudly.
Strictly speaking, she hadn't eaten all the tofu.
She had merely left so little that it would be no exaggeration to call it scraps.
On the plate sat a single piece of tofu about the size of a bite-sized jelly, sitting there with absurd dignity.
The shape was pretty.
I admitted that.
A small, neat cube with sharp corners.
It must have been the result of cutting down the original, a rectangular prism whose length she had failed to control, again and again.
I put the cube in my mouth.
“…….”
“How is it?”
“It's all right.”
“Heehee. It's a skill I learned by watching over Teacher's shoulder.”
Erika said proudly.
“I've been practicing cooking, too, in preparation for when our Sisters graduate and go camping in the demon realm.”
“Then Big Sis can be in charge of cooking when we go camping.”
Freyja looked as if she had no doubt this tofu would be delicious.
I silently looked at them.
‘……If Erika's in charge of cooking, I feel like the kids will fight.’
I had called it all right out of consideration for Erika's effort,
but to be honest, what had just entered my mouth was not tofu.
It was merely some unidentified substance in the shape of tofu.
‘She seems to have mistaken tofu for cheese.’
Judging by the taste, she had definitely ground soybeans, at least.
The problem was how she had solidified it.
To solidify soy milk, one needed brine.
But Erika had used milk.
As though she were making cheese.
Thus was born this ‘cube-shaped compound of soybeans and milk.’
To describe the taste……
Ricotta cheese with a beany smell? Or tofu that tasted like milk?
It wasn't exactly bad, but it wasn't good either.
That was why I had rated it ‘all right’…….
Freyja seemed to have taken that to mean something else.
‘Well, if it tastes bad, they'll switch cooking duties among themselves.’
Surely there was at least one person among the Sisters who knew how to cook.
In the end, for Erika's honor, I didn't correct Freyja's misunderstanding.
“Teacher, I can cook dinner tonight.”
“No. Let me treat you.”
Still, one thing was certain.
From now on, I should enter the kitchen whenever possible.
***
The next morning, after a pleasant family dinner.
As usual, I checked the clock as soon as I opened my eyes.
6:05 a.m.
Five minutes later than the time I used to get up before going to prison.
‘Have I gotten too used to life in prison?’
I seemed to need to reacclimate to the schedule.
I got out of bed at once and hurried a little more than usual.
I had taken a week's leave, so the backlog of patients must be a mountain.
‘There must be many people waiting for surgery, too.’
While organizing my morning schedule in my head, my body moved on its own without consulting my thoughts.
Although I had spent a week in prison, habits ingrained over several years were not easily erased.
Just as I finished thinking that.
When I came to my senses, my hand was holding a mask.
A crow mask.
Shun Isa's symbol, and the object that had been my face for nearly ten years.
‘……Does this even have any meaning anymore?’
Until now, I had benefited greatly from the perception-obscuring spell my master had placed on this mask.
But now, perception-obscuring was meaningless.
Apparently, the rumor had spread throughout the entire neighborhood.
What use could a mask like this possibly have?
Soon, I finished thinking and nodded.
‘I'll just take it with me.’
For anyone who might still be uncertain, it probably wouldn't hurt to carry it around for the time being.
I took the mask and left the house.
*
The road to the Mayer Clinic was heavily congested.
Gregor, seated in the passenger seat, said,
“Do you see? All of these are brothers and sisters who have come a long way to see the holy countenance of the Saint.”
Pericia chimed in as well.
“Thanks to this, there isn't a time when the roads in Academy territory aren't congested. The headmaster contacted us about it.”
“Then schedule my afternoon accordingly.”
“Understood, Sir Yulian.”
Escorted by Pericia and Gregor, the car slowly made its way to the clinic.
The Seoul rush-hour atmosphere I had forgotten after coming to this world was an added bonus.
Thus, the car arrived at the clinic on time.
Fortunately, leaving early allowed me to avoid being late.
The workplace I returned to after a week was no different from usual.
The smell of disinfectant, busy priests, and the long line in front of the reception desk.
And…….
“Healer Bain is late…….”
“Rounds are all prepared, Saintess?”
“Yes, Senior.”
The apprentice healers and Ayla were waiting for Healer Bain to make rounds.
It seemed that while I was on leave, Healer Bain had taken them around in my place.
But now that I was back, gathering them for rounds was my job.
As usual, I approached them with Gregor accompanying me as my guard.
“I'm back, everyone.”
“……”
“We need to make rounds.”
“……What? Who……ah.”
There was one difference from usual, however.
Namely, their responses, which normally would have come within seconds, were delayed.
Not only the tightly disciplined apprentice healers, but even my favorite student Ayla was slow to react.
“P-Professor? No, Saint? What about the mask……?”
“Judging by that reaction, I don't think I need to wear it anymore.”
An apprentice healer was confused about what title to call me.
Another apprentice healer spoke cautiously.
“Professor, weren't you supposed to return earlier……?”
“Why did you think that?”
“Because I thought you might be busy…….”
“Even if I'm busy, that's no reason to skip seeing patients.”
Well, I wouldn't deny that I had a busy schedule ahead.
For one thing, I had to show my face at the shareholders' meeting,
and there would be a press conference.
Considering my lectures as Professor Yulian, as well as the people who would be asking to meet with me from now on,
‘I'll probably have to cut back on sleep for a while.’
But none of that was a reason not to come to work.
In my previous life, whenever I had an interview scheduled, I'd see all my patients and then go to it.
In other words, even if I got busy, my clinic hours would remain unchanged.
“So hurry up and prepare for rounds…….”
I was soothing the apprentice healers and Ayla and preparing for rounds when it happened.
Suddenly, a familiar sense of urgency came from the emergency ward.
“S-So, please calm down, sir! When did the symptoms……”
“I told you, my father's diarrhea won't stop! Since yesterday, more than ten times a day……!”
“Son. I keep telling you I'm fine.”
“Stay still, Father! You're about to collapse again!”
I stopped walking at those voices.
I turned my head toward where the voices were coming from.
I saw a group embroiled in an argument in front of the emergency ward reception desk.
An old man barely standing with support, surrounded by deathly pale family members.
Opposite them stood Healer Bain, fidgeting helplessly.
And the old man at the center of the commotion was a familiar face.
‘Ah, it's that gentleman.’
It was that old man.
The Crohn's disease patient—the demon-disease patient I had treated in exchange for a ticket to the detention center.
It wasn't only me who recognized the old man.
“W-Wait. That patient…….”
“The one from back then—the black magic…….”
“D-Diarrhea? No way……not again?”
The healers around reception recognized the old man one by one.
Their complexions turned ashen.
Whispers filled the emergency ward in an instant.
The old man's children grew even more anxious and badgered the healers.
It was understandable.
A patient with demon disease who had been treated with black magic was suffering from severe diarrhea.
It was only natural for the family to take this situation seriously.
“Has it relapsed?”
“W-What do we do? Shouldn't we report this to the higher-ups?”
“Which healer is supposed to see him? He's a demon-disease patient…….”
None of the healers approached the old man.
That was how frightening demon disease was to healers.
“As I thought……the magic from back then must have gone wrong…….”
“Honey, don't say that……!”
“The curse……that man's curse is only just beginning…….”
“Honey!”
Those words slipped from the mouth of the middle-aged man who appeared to be the old man's son.
Along with them, the air in the emergency ward froze even more.
“Hmm……”
From behind me came Gregor's low groan.
“He is a brother lacking in faith.”
There was no need to interpret what Gregor meant.
Because the paladins waiting with their arms folded suddenly began to unfold them.
Before those paladins could approach the family member, I went to him first.
“Excuse me.”
“Who are you……?”
“I'm this sort of person.”
I briefly showed him the crow mask I had taken from my pocket.
The family member's complexion turned deathly pale.
“The Saint……!?”
I ignored that and focused on the Crohn's disease patient.
“Sir. Does your stomach hurt, or have your stools turned red?”
“No, Saint. Ever since you treated me, it hasn't hurt— not even oooonce.”
The old man spoke to me respectfully.
“Every person who comes by is desperate to slander the Saint. People from the Church, reporters, and then that, what was it? An inspec-tor?”
“Do you mean the inspectors?”
“That's right. Inspectors. No matter how much I tell them I'm fine, they keep hounding me, saying we'll only know after time has passed.”
The old man spoke as though venting everything he had kept bottled up.
“Ever since the Saint cast whatever magic it was on me, I haven't been in pain and I've felt so much better. But everyone around me says that whenever I so much as do anything, it's because of the curse or that I've relapsed, tsk tsk.”
“Then what did your son mean by saying you had diarrhea just now?”
“It was just that my stool came out a little loose, but my son is making a mountain out of a molehill. I'm sorry for causing a commotion.”
“Father! Even the inspectors told us, didn't they? This is how dark mages scam people…… No, I mean, I'm not saying the Saint did that…….”
The son stopped speaking and frantically waved his hands.
At his reaction, I unconsciously turned my head toward the people behind me, where his gaze had gone.
The paladins pressed flat against the wall seemed to have moved a little closer for some reason.
I turned my head back toward the son.
“You must have been very worried. But you don't need to worry too much. This is unrelated to magic; it's a natural symptom that appears when the intestines become shorter after surgery.”
Also known as short bowel syndrome.
These are symptoms that occur when part of the intestines is removed, shortening them.
Diarrhea is common, while constipation is rare.
Stools may turn black, become greasy, or cause indigestion.
It varies from person to person, but if the symptoms aren't severe, you can simply live with them as they are.
“Since there doesn't seem to be much blood in your stool or severe abdominal bloating, it doesn't look serious.”
As I explained, I briefly checked the old man's conjunctivae and lips.
The old man wasn't severely emaciated, but his lips were a little cracked.
A common symptom of dehydration in the elderly.
Still, given the diarrhea……
“You should get some IV fluids today, have your intestinal condition checked, and then you can go.”
“Th-Then is my father completely cured?”
“Unfortunately, no. The demon disease your father has is not a disease that can be completely cured.”
“What?”
The son looked flustered.
But he wasn't the only one caught off guard.
“Yes, Teacher? Then……?”
Ayla spoke urgently as well.
“Then can it relapse?”
—That can't happen……the taboo……
Gregor added in a tiny voice from behind.
I didn't really know why they were worried about the taboo.
But judging by the nuance, I thought I knew what exactly they were worried about.
“The term ‘relapse’ isn't appropriate, Ayla. After I developed insulin and colchicine, have I ever once said that I cured diabetes and gout?”
“Ah……no?”
“This patient is no different.”
Crohn's disease cannot be cured completely with steroids or black magic.
Even modern medicine in the twenty-first century had no drug that could cure it completely, so how could I possibly treat it?
But complete recovery had never been my goal in the first place.
“Don't worry too much. Like diabetes, this is something he can manage.”
Although mass production of steroids was still a long way off,
managing it shouldn't be difficult.
‘The effects of the black magic are lasting longer than I expected.’
Black magic, curse type—Wither.
The curse still seemed to be active in the old man.
The traces of my magic that I sensed on the old man supported this.
Of course, just as no curse lasts forever, this one would eventually wear off too.
It was only a hunch, but at this rate, wouldn't it wear off in a week?
But it didn't matter.
I could just administer steroids and cast it on him again then.
“You shouldn't have any problems if you come to me for an injection about once every two weeks.”
Of course, it would be a nuisance.
Getting steroid injections every two weeks would be tiring enough.
But compared to having inflammation block your intestines, having them tear, or dying of sepsis, wouldn't getting an occasional injection be thousands of times better?
Compared with the treatment available in my previous life, it was actually much better.
Crohn's patients in the twenty-first century had to take steroids almost every day.
So for the old man, this could already be called a life of considerable luxury.
“However, since this is still an unfinished treatment, it will proceed in the form of……a clinical trial. The merchant guild will bear most of the treatment costs, so you needn't worry about the expense, sir.”
I felt a little guilty about conducting this as a clinical trial.
But without letting it show, I explained one last thing.
“Do you understand?”
“……Yes. I understand.”
The son bowed his head.
“We're truly sorry for causing a commotion, Saint.”
“Not at all. I believe it's your natural right as his caregiver.”
A complaint like this was nothing, really.
“Thank you……thank you, Saint…….”
The old man and his family bowed repeatedly.
I finished writing up the prescription and stood up.
Only then did I notice my surroundings.
The healers, apprentices, and nurse nuns in the emergency ward were all whispering.
“That way of speaking, that diagnostic method……. That's really him, isn't it?”
“So it was true?”
“I thought it was just a rumor.”
Awe, confusion, certainty.
I looked around at gazes filled with all sorts of emotions.
After savoring those looks for a moment, I raised the mask and said,
“Just because I took some time off, you're all treating me like someone you've never seen before. That hurts. Shall we have a consultation, for old times' sake?”
“I'm sorry, Saint!”
Only then did the healers start addressing me the way they normally did.
*
“……”
And that afternoon.
“Pericia.”
“Yes, please speak.”
“What is that airship?”
“Judging by its size, at least a duke-level dignitary seems to have visited Academy territory.”
“Has the academy scheduled an event recently?”
“There is no event, but there is an incident.”
“What kind of incident?”
Pericia looked at me and said,
“It was confirmed this morning that Professor Yulian Schnabel can reliably treat demon disease.”
“The ducal house gets news quickly.”
“Because it's a ducal house.”
I don't know whether that's because this is a story of misunderstandings, or because there are more demon-disease patients than I thought.
It seemed that things had grown bigger than expected.