Chapter 90: Antibiotics…? (1).

"You're telling me… to give this… to a person?"

Killian looked at me with an expression that screamed, "This is going too far."

Me?

Of course, I felt wronged.

'I've spent the last few hours confirming that this kills bacteria.'

It was already past midnight. I had gone home late after checking on my senior, collecting bread, and dealing with the grown bacteria. Normally, I shouldn't be out at this hour, but thanks to Dr. Liston's special privileges with the police—stemming from the fact that he amputated my mother's leg—I was fine.

Anyway…

I had done my best.

But there was a problem.

'If I pour mercury in there, it'll kill the bacteria too, right?'

If you think seaweed agar and the human body are the same, you're no longer a scientist, are you?

Even common sense would tell you that's not the case.

But in the 19th century, that's exactly what they did.

'I might… be doing the same thing.'

Sigh.

I took a deep breath and looked up at the sky.

What I actually saw wasn't the sky but a dingy, stained ceiling.

Thankfully, the light was dim, or I would've been even more depressed.

'This is still better than being submerged in mercury.'

I sighed again and pushed the cup forward.

Inside was the blue mold I had scraped off with great effort.

It felt a bit crude to just give it like this, but adding water was tricky too.

What if the osmotic pressure ruined it and the efficacy dropped?

Then he'd just be drinking weird blue water.

"You're giving this… to a person? Are you even human?"

So, in my mind, I was making an enormous effort to help, but Killian didn't appreciate it and was glaring at me with wide eyes.

In the past, I would've been scared.

But not now.

How could I be scared?

I just saw him crying and messing himself earlier.

If anything, what bothered me was the faint smell of feces still lingering around him.

And the patients snoring loudly nearby didn't help either.

They were far from anything resembling cleanliness or hygiene.

"Just eat it."

Anyway, I channeled Liston's aggressive demeanor and forced Killian's mouth open with my gloved hand, shoving the cup of blue mold inside.

Even as I did it, I wasn't sure if I was doing the right thing.

I'm just pouring it in without knowing the dosage, right?

Of course, the chance of an overdose was practically nonexistent.

The modern pills we take are the essence of modern science—purified extracts with only the necessary components concentrated.

To get the same effect from natural sources, you'd have to eat nothing but that stuff at every meal.

"Ugh… ugh!"

Despite my thoughts, I shoved the blue mold into the patient's mouth and covered it.

If he didn't want to die, he had to swallow.

If he resisted, he'd suffocate.

"Ugh… ugh!"

I kept his mouth covered and watched his Adam's apple bob up and down before finally releasing him.

"How… how could you…!"

Killian looked at me like I was some kind of monster.

Seriously.

This isn't pediatric care; I'm trying to save a life here, and I'm getting this kind of misunderstanding?

I wasn't so much angry as I was dumbfounded.

But as I thought about the limitations of the era, even that feeling faded.

'Ah, the smell of feces.'

No, more than that, it was the stench coming from Killian that was overwhelming.

Clack, clack.

Thinking about it on the way back in the carriage, I realized how pitiful he really was.

Treated for syphilis with mercuric chloride, defecating, drowning in mercury, vomiting…

And now eating some mysterious mold…

'Wait, but this guy did something wrong, right?'

Then I remembered why he ended up like this—he had messed with innocent women.

How many had he hurt?

At first, I thought he just didn't know better, but that didn't seem to be the case.

I looked it up and found a saying: "Spend a night with Venus, and you'll spend a lifetime with mercury."

'Hmm. Is this divine retribution?'

If heaven won't punish, then humans will do it instead…

I quietly recalled the image of Zemel I had seen earlier.

That gentle face, slowly submerging people…

'That's terrifying…'

Before I knew it, I was home.

I stopped by Alfred's place before bed.

My senior was still doing fine.

'Sleep well.'

The surgery must have gone really well.

He didn't even seem to feel much pain.

Am I… a genius?

Appendectomies sound simple, but they're not easy to perform.

Yet I managed to pull it off in such a primitive setting.

Hehehe.

"Hey, what dream did you have that made you laugh all night?"

"You don't need to know."

Alfred was fine when I checked on him in the morning.

"Take care. By the way, I'm hungry. Can I eat yet?"

"When you start passing gas, you can have some soup."

"Oh… okay. What about meat?"

"Hold off on meat for about ten days."

"Ah…"

He was even well enough to greet me today.

At this point, it seemed unlikely anything would go wrong.

If there were an infection, it would've spread by now.

The sutured area looked a bit red, but…

It might leave a noticeable scar, but it shouldn't cause any major issues.

"Ugh…"

When I got to the hospital and saw Killian, I immediately heard groaning.

Killian had a seizure the moment he saw me.

He only calmed down after realizing I wasn't holding anything.

'Anyway… syphilis treatment is just a single shot of penicillin G.'

Syphilis had been a terrifying disease since it spread to Europe in the 16th century.

It was a source of fear, with some calling it divine punishment.

Much like how people called AIDS a divine punishment in the 20th century.

Maybe it's because it's a sexually transmitted disease that such rumors spread.

But with the advent of penicillin, syphilis was no longer a source of terror.

From an infectious disease perspective, it's really nothing now.

"I'm not giving you anything. Let me see your hand."

"Oh… okay."

Of course, I planned to observe him for at least three more days.

If this mold didn't work, he'd have to go back to the mercury bath…

'Divine retribution…'

Thinking about the wrongs he had committed, just like the way he had been crying and messing himself earlier…

It didn't seem like such a terrible punishment.

But then again, this treatment would have to be given to others too.

Damn it.

"Let me see your hand."

"My… hand?"

The fading of the rash on his hand.

And the disappearance of the rashes on his body would indicate whether the syphilis treatment was working.

That said, it didn't mean the infectivity was gone immediately…

But at least it would give some indication.

"Let me see."

"Okay, okay."

So I examined Killian's hands, feet, and the rest of his body.

I wore gloves because the smell was still unbearable.

'Honestly, I'm not sure. Maybe he'll have to go back in…'

If I were in the 21st century, maybe I'd know better, but…

I'm a surgeon, not an infectious disease specialist.

Plus, syphilis cases rarely made it to university hospitals back then.

As I said, one shot and it's cured—why would they come?

Of course, late-stage syphilis, especially when it affects the central nervous system, is a different story…

But those cases were really rare.

'Next time he goes into the mercury bath, I'm not following.'

What's the point? I can't do anything, and I'll just see things I don't want to see.

Besides, he's a bad guy.

It's not very doctor-like of me to think that, but…

I guess I've become a 19th-century doctor after all.

Sorry, I guess I'm just a product of my time.

Thinking like this made me feel a bit better.

The incident happened exactly two days later.

"Oh, ohhh."

That day, Alfred let out a questionable fart at an awkward time, making me late for the hospital.

Even if I had been on time, I probably wouldn't have made it due to a lecture…

Anyway, as soon as I entered the amputation ward, I heard Zemel's exclamation.

'Why is he like this…?'

This is the surgical ward…

The only thing worth exclaiming over here is Killian.

No way.

A sense of dread crept up on me.

With that thought, I went further inside.

"Look at this! I changed up the routine a bit this time!"

Zemel stood there with a triumphant expression.

He was holding the hand of a bewildered—no, frankly, terrified—Killian.

His hand stood out, and it definitely looked different from yesterday.

'It's clean… Did these guys really…?'

Zemel pointed at the hand and continued shouting.

"Mercuric chloride and mercury! Other doctors told me using these two together was wrong! Especially the ones who mainly treat syphilis! Those guys who've been doing the same treatment for 300 years!"

He looked almost like he was performing in a play.

More like a Greek tragedy than a modern play.

It was way too exaggerated.

"But I've proven it! Look at this! All of London needs to know! Syphilis is no longer a fearsome disease! Mercuric chloride and mercury! These two are the key! Use them together!"

And the dialogue was so wrong.

Those two…

You shouldn't use them on anyone, not even animals…

Have you heard of Minamata disease?

Probably not.

It happened in Japan in 1956.

Anyway, the important point is that you shouldn't use heavy metals like mercury on people.

"Oh… ohhh."

Of course, these people had no such common sense.

Blundell, who usually avoided the amputation ward because of the noise, happened to show up.

And he wasn't just there—his eyes were shining brightly.

"Is it true? Does the combined mercuric chloride and mercury treatment really work?"

"Yes. I've decided to call it the Caramel Mercury Treatment!"

Then he and Zemel high-fived and started getting overly excited.

'No…'

Since coming to this era, most of what I've done has been in a positive direction, right?

But my blue mold led to the creation of this horrific hybrid called the Caramel Mercury Treatment?

This can't happen.

This can't be.

"Until now, it had failed. But today, it succeeded. I'll review all the records from that day. Then we'll find the variable!"

And until now, it had always failed.

No, you guys…

"Good. Share anything you find immediately! There are more than a few patients because of that damn disease!"

"I know. I'll do my best."

Don't do your best.

Don't try.

Just stop…