"We can just cut away the bad parts and let it grow new growth."
"But won't that make it bad again?"
Fran asked, her complexion dark.
It had been the same with other healers so far. First they'd get better, then they'd get worse again.
But Raymond had a simple solution.
"You just need to change your posture."
"What's ...?"
"If you change the position you're lying in between, you can keep the wound from getting worse."
Fran was stunned for a moment.
"Uh, is that true?"
"Yes. Pressure ulcers are caused by patients with limited mobility lying in one position all the time, putting pressure on the wound, so you can prevent them by simply changing your position."
"...!"
Raymond thought bitterly as he looked at Fran in amazement.
"That's common sense in medicine, but not here.
In medicine, pressure ulcers are called pressure sores.
It's a wound caused by pressure from a patient who is unable to reposition themselves, and the solution is as simple as the name.
Change the position.
"This simple knowledge is how bedsores became incurable?" Fran asked in disbelief.
Fran asked in disbelief.
"Uh, how do you know that...."
"It's ancient knowledge."
With that lame excuse out of the way, Raymond placed his wangjin bag, which contained simple surgical tools, on his desk.
It was time to treat the patient.
"I'll start the surgery right away, then."
"You mean alcohol?"
Fran stuttered at the unfamiliar word.
"Yes, surgery. We're going to take out the dead tissue, cut away the inflammation, and let clean, new flesh sprout."
Fran looked surprised, but quickly gathered her emotions and spoke in a pleading voice.
"I understand, and I will trust you to heal my father!"
And so the impromptu operation began.
The servants turned the patient on his side.
Then, the patient, Fran's father, spoke in a faint voice.
"Now, take care of me, healer."
It was a voice of long suffering.
Munchles.
Raymond's chest shook.
He looked at the wound and felt sick to his stomach.
How hard must it have been for the patient?
With that in mind, Raymond gently took the man's hand in his own.
"Don't worry, it's going to heal. It won't hurt much, because we're just going to hit the dead tissue."
Warmth radiated through their clasped hands, and Raymond's compassion comforted the patient.
"Thank you."
Raymond began the operation. After applying an anesthetic herb to the wound, he picked up a surgical knife.
Fortunately, it wasn't as difficult as the previous surgeries.
What's more, Raymond's skill level had risen considerably.
"Status.
Raymond checked his stats.
[Player Status].
Name: Raymond
Class: Surgeon (SSS)
Profession Grade: Beginning Resident
Level: 20
Experience : 15/50
Skill Points: 35
Title: Filthy Bastard
Secondary Profession: Not Active
[Stats]
体力 : 6
Senses: 18
知识 : 17
??: 1
Extra Stat Points : 0
By now, my senses were up to 18.
I don't know exactly what level this is, but I can guess one thing.
For a 'novice resident', this is pretty darn good!
'Use. Dexterity!
[Sense: 18 → 28]
After using the skill, Raymond's dexterity was unrecognizable as that of a novice resident.
Still, Raymond wasn't about to rest on his laurels.
As best he could, he delicately removed the dead tissue.
"Pressure ulcers are really about how much you care about the patient.
Raymond recalled his surgical knowledge.
'It's true of all diseases, but it's especially true of pressure ulcers.
How much extra care you give them, whether you clean them, nurse them, or operate on them, can make a huge difference in their outcome.
Knowing this, Raymond did his best to remove the bad tissue.
He cut away the blackened flesh, skimmed away the yellow ooze. He removed the crushed tissue and made room for healthy flesh to grow.
And then she disinfected it thoroughly with herbs containing natural antibiotics.
"Are you done?"
Fran asked in a strained voice as Raymond removed his gloves.
"Yes, the primary treatment went well."
"...!"
Fran bowed her head, overjoyed.
"Thank you, therapist, thank you so much!"
Raymond waved a hand at her overly grateful expression.
"We're not done yet, we need to treat some more of the bad inflammation."
It would be some time before the wound was completely cleaned and new skin sprouted.
"From the looks of it, that's going to take a while. We'll have to keep tending to it until then.
Then Fran asked hesitantly.
"So, do you think you could send me an email until then...."
Sensing Fran's concern, Raymond nodded reassuringly.
"Don't worry about it. I'll take care of you until you're completely well."
Fran's face lit up.
"Thank you!"
* * *
After that, Raymond treated him as best he could.
At least twice a day. He personally examined the wound, disinfected it, and treated any problems immediately.
Thanks to Raymond's efforts, the patient's condition improved dramatically. The progress was faster than expected.
"I took good care of him.
Even on modern Earth, pressure ulcers are intractable. The treatment was simple, but it wasn't easy.
One reason. They were difficult to manage. They require constant repositioning, which is not easy. On the other hand, with good care, they heal faster than you might think.
Fortunately, Fran, along with the servants, took great care of her father, and this, combined with Raymond's best efforts, made a difference.
"Thank you so much."
Fran said with reddened eyes.
Raymond had cured him of something no other healer could. Without Raymond, she couldn't have imagined feeling so much better.
'You would have died of a festering wound.'
Thinking about it, Fran couldn't help but feel grateful.
"Thank you so much...."
And it wasn't just the fact that Raymond treated his father's wound that made Fran even more grateful.
It was the way he treated him.
That touched Fran's heart.
"I can't believe there's a healer like that in the world.
The reaction of all the healers who had come to treat his father so far was the same. They frowned and shook their heads as if they had seen something disgusting.
Of course, I understand their reaction.
The wound is disgusting to look at, and it stinks.
Even Fran, who is a blood relative, finds it painful to look at her father's scars, so why shouldn't they?
But Raymond has none of that, and he even comforts his father during his illness.
How the rich man was comforted by Raymond's compassionate care.
The young man didn't just cure the illness, he cured a broken heart.
"Thank you again from the bottom of my heart for your kindness to my father."
Raymond made an awkward face at the repeated thanks.
"Well, I didn't do anything extraordinary, but they're so grateful.
As far as he was concerned, he hadn't done anything particularly spectacular.
He'd just been treating him for his illness, not showing him any dislike, and offering the occasional comforting word when he was in pain.
No matter how much of a money-grubbing snob he is, isn't that the least a healer should do?
"It was nothing, I'm glad you're feeling better."
This offhand remark only made Fran more impressed.
"So good, and so humble. I wonder who disparaged him as an ugly bastard.
He bowed even more gratefully.
"Thank you so much!"
And with that, his bedsores were completely healed, and soon the day came to check the results of his promotion exam.
* * *
"...What?"
Earl Garrison asked, his usual stoic demeanor uncharacteristically dazed.
He couldn't help it.
"You've cured the bedsores, what nonsense..., did you check them properly?"
The examiner hung his head in disbelief.
"I can't believe it either, I've checked it several times, it's completely healed with clean new growth."
"Ha! How is that possible? It's a pressure ulcer. A pressure ulcer! Hard for even a B+ healer to heal. And this guy, who's not even an F, healed it?"
The examiner didn't know what to say.
You can't call something cured when it's not.
"I'm sorry, sir. But it was a very clean cure."
Earl Garrison frowned in disbelief.
"No way. What happened?
It was embarrassing anyway.
If he really had cured the bedsores, there was nothing stopping him from becoming a healer.
"I'll check it out myself."
"What?"
"I'll see it with my own eyes!"
Earl Garrison traveled to Fran's house, and when he saw the clean, fresh wound, his jaw dropped.
"How?
He couldn't believe it, but it didn't change the reality.
'Shit. So, Raymond, does that mean we should give him a healer's license?
The Earl of Garrinson frowned.
There was no reason to disqualify him for healing bedsores.
'Damn it.'
She didn't know what to say to her cousin, the Fourth Princess.
But there was something Earl Garrison hadn't considered.
Raymond's acceptance was not the issue at hand.
Something far more troubling than a mere passing grade awaited him.
Determining his rank.
He had to determine Raymond's rank for solving a pressure ulcer that even a B+ healer couldn't heal.
* * *
"I don't know what to make of this."
"I know."
The examiners of the Healing Tower all looked puzzled.
It was inevitable.
"Hill isn't even an F, and a B+ healer can heal a pressure sore that even a B+ healer can't, so what the hell are we supposed to grade based on in a case like this?"
They were faced with a situation that had never happened before in history!
The examiners were stumped and stammered.
"Still, since he cured a disease that falls into the B+ category, shouldn't we give him a B+? Or an A?"
"Nonsense. How can you give a B+ to a healer with heels that are no better than an F?"
"Doesn't that mean you can't give her an F?"
Everyone was at a loss for words.
Then, a low voice cut through the room.
"A grade of D is about right."
"Count Garrison?"
"While he has cured some difficult conditions with his ancient arcane skills, I don't believe he has the ability to match an A. So, with a little extra credit, I think a D is about right."
The examiners looked at the shuffling Earl Garrison.
A grade of D was too low, even for him.
"Does anyone disagree?"
"...."
But the examiners were speechless.
Dissenting here would bring Count Garrison's attention to them, and their time at the Healing Tower would be over.
"Oh, no."
"I think a grade of D is appropriate!"
"The Count is correct in his judgment!"
The examiners glanced at each other and nodded in agreement.
Count Garrison frowned.
Of course, he knew that giving Raymond a D was ridiculous.
But he had no choice.
"It's the least I can do to save face with the Fourth Princess.
He couldn't fail him, but at least he'd slashed his grade, and the Fourth Queen would be pleased.
'There's no point in protesting.
It was the Tower of Healing's sole authority to grade healers.
Even if Raymond protested, Count Garrison would never change his rating.
* * *
But Count Garrinson's plot hit a major rock.
The next day, he received an unexpected visit.
There were two of them.
Count August and Princess Sophia!
They came to see him back to back.
They had heard about Raymond's rating.