Chapter 153: If We're Doing It, Might as Well Get the Others Too [4] Rather unexpectedly, the first to spot Kanghyeok was the one-eyed man.
He only had one eye, but it seemed he possessed a kind of sixth sense that more than made up for it.
"Oh? That physician is over there."
At the one-eyed man's words, the warriors gathered around Moritaka all turned their heads.
"Urk."
Kanghyeok faltered and stopped short.
It was true that he belonged to the rare breed of people with strong nerves.
But when this many fierce-looking men all stared at him at once, even he felt a little intimidated.
As a result, Yeoni, who was walking right behind him, bumped her nose into his back.
"Ah."
"Sorry. All those big brutes were staring, so I got a little nervous."
"Big brutes?"
"In front."
Kanghyeok stepped aside for Yeoni, who for some reason had flushed red in the face.
"Look. I don't know why they're all acting like that…"
"Seriously. Since early morning too."
As the two of them said, the sight in the garden was not exactly beautiful.
Of course, the neatly arranged garden itself was pleasant to look at.
It was almost too refined for a place owned by crude pirate bastards.
But the men filling that garden were pirates through and through.
Why are they taking their clothes off… Ah, are they training? That's not the important part.
Forcing a smile, Kanghyeok walked over to Moritaka.
He was planning to sell medicine from here on out, so he needed to make a good impression.
"Lord Moritaka. Good morning."
"Ah, Physician Baek. You have come."
His attitude was subtly different from yesterday.
The change in the warriors surrounding him was even more pronounced.
After all, Kanghyeok was exceptionally quick when it came to reading situations.
He immediately understood what this strange atmosphere meant.
Moritaka handled the advertising on his own.
Kanghyeok nodded, looking pleased.
Dolseok and Makbong took care of things in the Red-Light District on their own… and here it's Moritaka.
No matter how he looked around, the circumstantial evidence was clear.
The half-broken boulder lying on the ground had most likely been something Moritaka had lifted and wrestled with.
Moritaka had stripped off his shirt, and he was drenched in sweat.
Some of the men around him looked much the same.
They were all people who had received Kanghyeok's steroid decoction yesterday.
"How are you feeling?"
Kanghyeok asked as if the answer were already decided.
Sure enough, Moritaka beamed brightly and picked up the stone lying on the ground.
"I feel excellent. I don't know how it happened, but it doesn't hurt at all."
Still smiling, Moritaka lifted the stone onto his head.
Even to Kanghyeok's eyes, it looked fairly heavy, but Moritaka showed no sign of strain whatsoever.
If anything, his grin only seemed to deepen.
The medicine is working absurdly well.
Kanghyeok smiled even more deeply than before.
Thinking about it, it was only natural.
He had prescribed an excessive amount of steroids and anti-inflammatory painkillers together for someone who had never taken anything remotely like them in his life.
Most inflammatory responses have probably all settled down. And on top of that… his blood sugar is probably up too. If he exercises, the effect's even better.
As proof, Moritaka's body looked completely pumped up.
There was no way he had trained in any systematic fashion, so this had to be entirely the steroids at work.
"It seems the medicine is working well."
"It is, it is. Can I stop taking it now? Or…"
"Ah, it would be better to keep taking it. It is not a difficult medicine to prepare anyway, so I shall teach you the method today as well."
"The method… to prepare it? Is that really all right?"
Even now, but especially in ancient societies, the secrecy surrounding techniques was beyond description.
Moritaka himself, for instance, had been disappointed that his father Yoshitaka had not taught him certain sword techniques.
That being the case, how could he not be astonished that Kanghyeok, a complete outsider, was willing to teach him?
The warriors gathered around them began murmuring as well.
"No… what a broad-minded man."
"And with that face too, he really is likable."
The warriors kept babbling, completely ignorant of Kanghyeok's true intentions.
Watching their reaction, Kanghyeok could hardly contain his emotion.
Dongpa. The preparation method you made is shaking Japan right now.
He even found himself thinking that he should have brought him along to see it.
No, that wouldn't do. That bastard has to go make money.
A slave who would diligently accumulate wealth while Kanghyeok loafed around here.
No, a disciple.
"You said you would teach us the preparation method right now?"
"That's right. It isn't difficult. In any case, it is medicine made to save people. There is no reason to hide it."
"Hah…"
Moritaka looked genuinely moved.
The same was true of Sayaga, who had followed him in, and the Japanese soldiers standing guard.
Only Yeoni and Yeoju looked utterly dumbfounded.
They had no idea what in the world their young master was thinking.
Normally, just hearing the word steroid made him recoil in disgust, yet since yesterday he had almost turned into a preacher for it.
"Ah, and…"
Kanghyeok looked around at the warriors, who still had not recovered from their surprise.
"Is there anyone else who wants treatment?"
It was the question they had all been waiting and waiting to hear.
The warriors who had regretted not stepping forward yesterday, especially the one-eyed man, rushed out first.
"M-me, treat me too."
"Hey, not just you… me too!"
"Treat me too, please!"
"Me too!"
Kanghyeok burst out laughing as the warriors rushed forward one after another.
There's no reason for me to deal with bastards like these personally.
It was only someone like Kuki Yoshitaka who was worth personally ruining.
There was no reason for Kanghyeok to trouble himself over nameless foot soldiers.
That was why he had trained useful people for moments like this.
"All right, all right, line up. Yeoni, Yeoju."
"Yes, Young Master."
Though still flustered, the two answered briskly enough.
"You two prepare the medicine. For each person, six cheop of licorice root and three cheop of gobon."
"Six cheop… of licorice root?"
Yeoni repeated the words with a look of disbelief.
The amount Kanghyeok had named was far too much.
Even more than Dongpa in his prime would have used.
"Ah, is that the amount for ten days?"
Yeoju asked, as if that at least would make sense.
Even so, it was still a lot, but if they forced them, they could make them take it.
But Kanghyeok shook his head.
"No. Ten days?"
"Then…?"
"They're going to come every day. They'll take it every day."
"Every day? Then…"
Yeoju could not bring herself to finish the sentence.
The words they'll die were something even Sayaga would certainly understand, and he would undoubtedly pass it on to them.
Looking at her face, which had nearly crumpled into tears, Kanghyeok merely smiled.
"It's fine. Prescribe it."
"Prescribe it… there is some reason for this, isn't there?"
"Of course. Have you ever seen me be wrong when it comes to medicine?"
At those words, both of them shook their heads.
When it came to medicine, Kanghyeok truly had no equal.
They had spent no short amount of time with him, and yet had never once seen him make a mistake.
So this time would be no different.
"Understood, Young Master."
"Good. Prepare it just as I told you."
After repeating the dosage one more time, Kanghyeok turned back toward Moritaka.
In his mind, he was already estimating the effect of the medicine he had just prescribed.
He could not calculate it precisely, but he could predict the approximate dosage.
Six cheop of licorice root and three cheop of gobon means…
He could not know the exact steroid content in the licorice root, nor the exact amount that would accumulate due to gobon inhibiting its breakdown.
But he could still make a rough estimate.
Because when it came to medicine, Kanghyeok was a genius.
God had taken away his decency and poured all that talent solely into medicine.
Roughly fifty to eighty milligrams of steroids, perhaps.
The margin of error was wide, but it did not matter much.
They could die from taking it.
For instance, from infection, heart failure, kidney failure, and so on.
But such side effects would not appear right away.
At minimum, it would take several months to several years.
So while they were here, they would surely see only the good side of it.
Every bastard here will be wrecked by the time the war starts.
Having reached that conclusion, Kanghyeok grinned.
Seeing that smile, Moritaka bowed politely as he handed something over.
"I was wondering how I should repay this favor, but this is the only precious thing I have with me right now."
"Oh."
Kanghyeok's eyes lit up as he looked at what Moritaka handed him.
It looked somewhat like a matchlock, but it was different.
The barrel was very short.
"It is probably something you have never seen before."
Moritaka stroked the barrel as he continued speaking.
"It came all the way from a place called the Netherlands… and it was very difficult for me to acquire. In a life-or-death situation, it should save you at least once."
He then roughly explained how to use it.
Even as he did so, he seemed to think Kanghyeok would not recognize the true value of the thing.
But Kanghyeok could tell.
This really was something precious.
Did something like this exist…? It seems far better than what King Seonjo received.
That one, no matter how he looked at it, had just been an ordinary matchlock.
The barrel had been long, and it had looked plain and crude.
But this one was crafted differently, and above all, it was easy to carry.
For Kanghyeok, who was poor at swordsmanship, there could hardly be a better weapon for self-defense.
"Thank you. I shall use it well."
But Kanghyeok showed none of that on his face and tucked it into his robes.
If he let too much show and Moritaka asked for it back, that would be a disaster.
"My father is… doing very well."
"Mm. I will see him for myself first."
Kanghyeok nodded and entered the room.
Yoshitaka was lying there being tended to by gisaeng.
His complexion was so good that no one would have believed he was a man who had suffered a cerebral hemorrhage.
Looking closely, it even seemed like the area around his groin was bulging.
There's nothing to worry about, then.
In truth, there was a very simple way to check a man's physical condition.
You just looked for signs of the morning greeting.
And by that standard, Yoshitaka was the picture of health.
Already certain, Kanghyeok gave the wound only a cursory inspection.
He had at least done his absolute best with the suturing, so there was nothing wrong at all.
"It looks excellent."
"Thank you. I ought to give you something in return…"
At a signal from Yoshitaka's chin, one of the women came hurrying over carrying something.
It was a small box, but it felt fairly heavy when he received it.
"What is this?"
"Open it."
"Yes. Oh."
This time too, it was a short-barreled gun.
Seeing Kanghyeok's startled face, Yoshitaka nodded.
"It must seem unfamiliar. That is called a matchlock. If you pull the handle there, a lump of metal flies out. It takes some time to reload, but at the very least, it can get you through one dangerous situation."
"Ah, thank you."
Once again, Kanghyeok hid his excitement and accepted the gun.
That makes at least two, then. Hmm. They're unexpectedly decent fellows.
Receiving such a precious gift made him feel a little guilty.
But what could he do?
He was already in the middle of ruining them.
After that, Kanghyeok kept prescribing steroids, and the warriors sank deeper and deeper into dependence.
There was nothing they could do about it, with their pain disappearing day by day and their muscles growing larger and larger.
Only after nearly five days had passed did Sayaga come to see him separately.
"Physician Baek."
"Ah, what brings you here?"
"The domain lord, who had gone out sightseeing around Tsushima, has returned."
"Then…"
"Yes. He should have free time for a while now. Please treat him."
"All right. I'll go soon."
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