"Extra, extra!"
It was a morning like any other.
The gloomy weather and the foul air greeted me as usual.
"They've succeeded in anesthesia at London College!"
Morning?
Ah, British food. It's British food.
Even in the 21st century, British food isn't great, so imagine how it must have been back then.
I really wished I could have some kimchi right about now.
It's not about national pride—I genuinely don't understand how people eat this stuff.
"Now, surgeries won't have to be painful!"
If there was one thing I liked, it was the carriage.
Thanks to the old man's consideration, we were able to ride in a luxurious carriage right after leaving the mansion.
Sure, it was still bumpy and the ride wasn't exactly comfortable, but not having to walk through these filthy streets on foot was a privilege, especially when most people had to walk everywhere.
"A new world has opened up!"
As we rode in the carriage, I noticed kids—literally just kids—running around with newspapers.
It was surprising that kids that young were working, and even more surprising that newspapers were already a thing.
Anyway, we ended up buying a newspaper along the way.
Well, not "we," but Alfred did.
"Ah, if I don't make it as a doctor, I'll have to take over the family business," he said, making excuses as usual.
Probably because the other medical students were like, "Why are you so interested in other things when you should be studying?"
'Doctors need to know what's going on in the world. And medicine is a branch of science that's heavily influenced by other fields, so…'
They were all just clueless kids.
I've been through that phase too—thinking I knew everything.
Of course, that phase didn't last long.
21st-century medicine, or modern medicine, has advanced so rapidly that even a little bit of studying makes you realize how small you are.
'There's no ripe knowledge here.'
But what about the 19th century?
Even Dr. Robert himself lacks knowledge, so what can you expect from the students?
"Hey! There's a story about you! Your name's in it!"
"Huh? Me? Oh, those reporters from yesterday?"
While I was lost in thought, Alfred showed me the newspaper.
It was just a single sheet of paper, but that was enough for the time.
It wasn't like modern society where countless things happen every day, so one sheet was sufficient.
Sometimes, even one sheet felt like too much, and once something made it into the paper, people would talk about it for days.
But to think I was in it…
"Wow, it's really me…"
"They wrote a lot of good things about you. Dr. Liston is already known as London's best surgeon, but they're calling you a promising genius medical student under his wing. They even say you're about to become a doctor. Looks like you're really going to be a doctor."
It was something to be happy about.
But at the same time, it felt a bit overwhelming.
If this were Korea, or if I were white, it might have been easier.
But neither of those is the case, right?
'I might get attacked…'
Dr. Robert Liston would probably shield me, but still.
"Wow! This is amazing!"
"My junior is already becoming a doctor. Well, I did save your life, so it's only natural."
I couldn't just be as carefree and happy as Joseph or Alfred.
Of course, the carriage was incredibly luxurious, and there weren't many people bold enough to peek inside, so I was able to reach the school without much trouble.
"Wow! A genius!"
"So you're the famous Pyeong!"
"An Oriental guy is this impressive? Are you white on the inside?"
No one outright attacked me.
There were some racially insensitive comments here and there, but considering the era and the fact that this was England, it was something I could let slide.
"That bastard… I picked him, and now he's stealing the spotlight…"
Well, there was one attack.
Colin.
The guy I beat up and got expelled was glaring at me.
Not that it mattered much.
"Hahaha! Pyeong!"
Dr. Robert Liston's massive frame appeared between Colin and me.
"Ugh."
He lifted me up with one hand.
In his other hand, he held a newspaper, so he was practically holding me with one hand.
Not that it was surprising.
If he couldn't lift someone who weighed less than 60 kg, that would have been more shocking.
"You've seen the article, right? I'm glad I went to see them. Look, it says here that Pyeong is well-versed in anatomy. Hahaha. I fixed that weird part they wrote."
"Th-thank you."
It wasn't just Dr. Liston who came running.
There was someone I hadn't seen before, but thanks to Alfred, I knew who it was.
"Whoa, the dean!"
"Haha. No need for such formal greetings. Oh, so you're Pyeong!"
"Ah, yes. Hello."
"Congratulations, congratulations! You and Professor Robert have done something truly remarkable!"
"Th-thank you."
"Thank you? Look at this!"
The dean chuckled and showed me a piece of paper.
Dr. Liston's face didn't look too happy, but the dean ignored him completely.
The paper was filled with neat handwriting.
Upon closer inspection, they were names.
Some had dates written next to them, and the closest date was tomorrow.
"What's this…?"
"These are the people hoping for surgery! Now that anesthesia is possible, everyone's coming here!"
"Oh…"
All these people are hoping for surgery…?
There must be at least a few hundred.
The problem was that more than ten surgeries were scheduled per day.
No, that wasn't the only problem.
'This isn't a surgery list… it's more like a suicide wish list…'
Surgery was bound to advance.
As history has shown, with the discovery of anesthesia, surgery would develop at an incredible pace.
But this wasn't it.
What kind of surgeries could they even perform right now? Amputations were pretty much the only option.
In other words, London was about to have hundreds of people with missing limbs.
The problem was that even this was an optimistic view.
There was no telling whether the number of people or corpses would increase.
Fortunately, Dr. Robert seemed to be thinking along the same lines.
"Isn't this a bit rushed?"
He spoke to the dean with a serious expression.
Normally, anyone would have backed down when Dr. Liston spoke like that, but the dean wasn't normal.
"Rushed? When there are patients, a doctor's duty is to rush to them."
"No, but…"
His eyes weren't right.
I don't know how much the surgeries cost, but…
…they probably weren't cheap.
And being the first surgeon to successfully use anesthesia, his fees would surely be high.
'What, is he trying to make a fortune off surgeries? This isn't some coin-sucking scheme…'
His eyes were completely glazed over.
What are we supposed to do about this?
"Anyway, get ready. You'll be assisting too."
If it were just Dr. Liston, that would be one thing, but now I was being dragged into this wholesale.
As I was making a troubled face, Dr. Liston stepped in.
"Let's discuss this later. What kind of spectacle is this in front of the students?"
"Spectacle? We're discussing the advancement of medicine!"
"To advance medicine, we need to teach. Let's step aside for now."
Their voices were getting louder.
The moment their voices reached a certain threshold, the dean seemed to snap back to reality.
Finally, he noticed Dr. Liston's intimidating face, thick neck, and arms that could probably deliver death in one blow instead of anesthesia.
"Ah, right. Let's talk later. Anyway, this is a good thing, right? Now we can amputate arms and legs without pain!"
"Understood. Now, please leave."
"Alright."
The dean left as if he'd been chased out, and Dr. Liston let out a deep sigh as he watched him go.
"What a mess."
He looked genuinely displeased.
It was a good thing.
If that guy had stayed and caused more trouble, I would have been stuck amputating limbs left and right.
And with Dr. Liston's rapidly accumulating experience, the later patients would likely lose not just their limbs but their lives as well.
"..."
That thought made me sigh unconsciously.
Unlike Dr. Liston, my sigh was one of relief, but Dr. Liston, as everyone knows, isn't exactly a delicate person.
He just saw me as a fellow traveler.
"...It's not entirely unreasonable for the dean to act like that, but…"
"This is just…"
Dr. Liston looked at me and then at the rest of the group.
"This isn't the time. Let's head to the dissection lab."
"Ah, yes."
He had used the lecture as an excuse to chase the dean away, so now we had to actually have the lecture.
But it didn't seem like he was in the mood to stand in front of the blackboard, so he herded everyone to the dissection lab.
It was a wise decision.
We needed to examine the cadavers that had come in yesterday before they started to rot.
Besides, we had only looked at the arm yesterday.
We needed to examine the rest.
"Pyeong, sit in front of me."
"Yes."
Of course, I sat with Dr. Liston.
As soon as he picked up the scalpel, Dr. Liston started talking instead of dissecting.
He seemed more worried than usual.
Well, it was understandable.
Even though he's a tough guy, his opponent was the dean.
Wait, no—this man isn't a thug, he's a doctor.
"At this rate, we're going to end up amputating hundreds of limbs."
"Professor, are you looking for a better surgical method right now?"
"I knew you'd understand! It's not like I enjoy amputating limbs so recklessly! It was the best option at the time. If it's going to hurt, better to keep it short, right?"
"But now we have anesthesia. So…"
"Exactly! We can carefully remove only the affected areas now! But even for a genius like me, figuring out how to do that will take time."
Oh.
He's really playing up the genius angle.
Well, if someone who can amputate a leg in 30 seconds isn't a genius, then who is?
So I nodded in agreement.
Honestly, I nodded so vigorously partly out of fear.
"I thought you'd understand when I said this… but the dean's gone mad. He lost his mind the moment he saw the money."
"Hmm…"
Just how much are we talking about…?
"To exaggerate a bit, the surgeries we've booked could fund the construction of another hospital like this one."
"Ah."
Oh.
Even I'm a bit tempted now.
It would take at most a month, maybe two, to complete all those surgeries, and that would be enough to build a hospital?
'No, no… I'm a doctor…'
I shook my head to clear the greedy thoughts and spoke up.
"Is there really no other way?"
"There is."
At my question, Dr. Liston looked at his arm and then at mine.
This didn't bode well.
"What… kind of way?"
I asked anyway.
"Break it. They won't ask you to operate on a broken arm, will they?"
That was the answer I got.