Chapter 12 · 10 min

Chapter 12

Is a Needle Also a Weapon

Lee Mun-yeong belonged to the Kanggeon Pharmaceutical secretary office and was in charge of various tasks. Supporting donation or social contribution events etc. was one of them.

“I mainly go out to support CSR team event work. Actually the first time I heard the ‘Plague Doctor’-nim’s story was also when I went to sponsor a free meal service that homeless people often come to.”

I nodded at Lee Mun-yeong’s explanation.

In front of a child welfare facility. Inside Lee Mun-yeong’s car.

She said she wanted to tell in detail the story she couldn’t fully explain in DM, before meeting the patient.

“Anyway, Ju-hye is a child I came to know while coming here for such work. The first time I saw her was 3 years ago, and even then she sang really well. Played the piano well too.”

Lee Mun-yeong showed a video with her phone.

A young student singing while playing the piano.

Today’s treatment prayer requester.

She sings well.

“As I said in DM the day after tomorrow, Ju-hye is going on a broadcasting station music audition program. It’s the preliminary recording, but she just happened to catch a severe cold···.”

It was a pitiful story often depicted in dramas too.

A child who worked hard saying she would succeed as a singer even in a difficult environment. But at the moment hope is barely visible an obstacle appears snickering.

For Ju-hye that was the cold.

[I cannot guarantee if heaven will answer my prayer.]

“Yes. Please look and judge, ‘Plague Doctor’-nim. Then shall I tell her to come out now?”

Nod.

Since it’s a welfare facility where several people stay I couldn’t enter carelessly. Moreover if I enter in this appearance and get caught by others it will quickly become noisy, so we decided to call Ju-hye outside.

Because it’s not ill to the point of inconvenient movement.

“But how about the prayer?”

I tapped the passenger seat, then pointed at myself and pointed to the back seat.

“Ah. Put Ju-hye in the passenger seat, and the ‘Plague Doctor’-nim in the back seat? Shall I prepare music too? That Handel’s ‘Messiah’ from then?”

I crossed both arms and drew an X.

“Yes, understood.”

While Lee Mun-yeong called Ju-hye, I moved to the back seat.

Soon a small cough sound came, then the female student seen in the video carefully opened the gate and came out.

[Contagious Disease Patient]

Lee Mun-yeong conversed outside.

“How is the body, Ju-hye?”

“The chills got a bit better···. But Secretary Lee. What is··· treatment prayer?”

“It’s praying to get better quickly. Just get in here for a bit. It’ll end soon.”

“Yes···. Cough.”

Ju-hye had a considerably bewildered expression.

Like the [Contagious Disease Patient] with athlete’s foot last time, it seemed she came out taking the chance of being deceived since it was Lee Mun-yeong’s suggestion.

“Since the face is covered, don’t be too surprised when you see.”

“Yes···. Ah, startled! Cough, cough!”

“······.”

Ju-hye who was getting in the car was startled the moment she saw me and coughed.

I told you not to be surprised.

“Aigo.”

Lee Mun-yeong hurriedly handed a tumbler to Ju-hye.

Ju-hye only after slowly drinking water, tried to suppress the cough and looked at me again.

I waved my hand and greeted.

Hello.

“Ah, hello···.”

Yeah.

The throat is all hoarse.

The nose is sniffling too.

[Please close your eyes comfortably.]

“Yes···.”

Originally is treatment prayer done with the car door wide open, in this state? Is he really a pastor? Wearing a weird bird-beak mask and instructing with a sketchbook from behind?

Isn’t this pure cult?

Is Secretary Lee okay?

Such thoughts are clearly visible, young [Contagious Disease Patient].

I entered YouTube and played a meditation video carefully chosen at home.

[Today’s advertisement~!]

“······?”

Ju-hye’s head flinched.

Lee Mun-yeong also looked at me with flustered eyes.

[This is an advertisement, this is an advertisement, ad···.]

Click.

“······.”

Long.

Why doesn’t the skip ad come out like this.

Having no choice I entered the music app and played some classical music.

Anyway I’m a cultist.

As long as I can hide the skill command I don’t care about style.

Tarararan.

Taran, tarararan.

Matching the lively piano melody, I raised my hand.

[This is a Contagious Disease Patient. Do you wish to treat?]

[(Estimated MP cost 110)]

I made the sign of the cross then clasped both hands.

Whispered very small.

“Treat, reul yes, the Lord permits.”

Tarararan.

Treatment ended.

A short while later.

At Lee Mun-yeong’s and my request to absolutely keep the secret, Ju-hye repeatedly nodded while looking at me with shining eyes.

“Really thank you, teacher.”

Bowing in a cleared voice.

Scratch scratch.

[Audition fighting!]

“Yes, I’ll fighting!”

“Shh. Everyone will wake up.”

“Yes. Shh.”

Ju-hye waved her hand smiling until the moment she closed the gate and entered.

Only after Ju-hye’s figure was no longer visible did Lee Mun-yeong hold out an envelope to me.

“Thank you today too, ‘Plague Doctor’-nim. This is the promised prayer fee.”

As expected.

It was a bit puzzling.

It didn’t seem like Ju-hye who is only a middle school student would have prepared 100,000 won for a suspicious treatment prayer.

It was a request Lee Mun-yeong made with the heart of wanting to cheer for Ju-hye.

“······.”

I hesitated.

After hearing all the pitiful circumstances if I receive all this, it would look very lacking, right?

“I know.”

Lee Mun-yeong gently smiled.

“Compared to the ‘Plague Doctor’-nim’s amazing treatment prayer it’s a really shameless amount. So I’m more grateful. You came regardless of the amount because of Ju-hye’s pitiful story, right?”

No.

I really came to earn 100,000 won.

“So I put in an additional 100,000 won. Please be sure to receive it.”

If she says that much.

Aiyoo, thank you.

I took the envelope and put it in my pocket.

Lee Mun-yeong who was looking at me with a smiling face said.

“By the way Nara keeps pestering to tell her the ‘Plague Doctor’-nim’s SNS address. What should I do?”

I shook my head and gradually backed away.

I’m grateful for the silver cross necklace gift, but contacting separately is burdensome.

Somehow it seems she’ll send DMs endlessly.

“Yes, I understand. Please go carefully.”

Bow.

Heh.

Earned 200,000 won.

With this I have to buy Arong new winter clothes.

***

The ‘Plague Doctor’ getting farther and disappearing beyond the building corner.

Lee Mun-yeong burst into small laughter.

‘No matter how I look he seems a bit young. Not up to minor··· early twenties? But what on earth is the identity? Alien? Magician? Esper?’

Buzz.

The ‘Plague Doctor’ sent a DM.

-[What is the name of the broadcast program Ju-hye is going on?]

Trying to cheer when the broadcast comes out?

Lee Mun-yeong sent a reply.

[It’s SBC ‘Unknown Singer’.]

-[Yes, thank you.]

Lee Mun-yeong thought.

The ‘Plague Doctor’ has the mysterious power to cure colds or flu, these kinds of diseases in one go, yet had no greed.

Just looking at declining the large sum of ten million won saying to use it for the right things, a very good person.

Is that why.

‘Like readily accepting after hearing Ju-hye’s story today, I want to help so that from now on he can use that mysterious power for rewarding things. And also make a lot of money.’

But the ‘Plague Doctor’ does not want his identity to be known. So Lee Mun-yeong did not report about him to the Kanggeon Pharmaceutical representative.

‘The more people who know the secret is no longer a secret. So let’s be careful from now on too. Our ‘Plague Doctor’-nim I will protect.’

Lee Mun-yeong got goosebumps.

‘Kuh. Doing this I feel like a supporting character in a novel I enjoyed in the past. A broker connected to a special ability user in the darkness!’

She got in the car while stroking her arms.

“Ah, chicken skin. Getting old and being silly.”

***

“Arong, do you like the new padded jacket?”

Bark!

“Yeah. Later when walking wear this clothes···.”

Bark!

Before the words even finished Arong brought the walking leash in his mouth.

“Yeah, shall we go out now?”

“There’s no separate rich unemployed person.”

Sister who had just finished preparing to go to the academy and came out said.

“Sleeping sprawled all day, playing games, watching TV, walking with the dog, eating in between. Envious.”

“Why omit going to the gym to exercise every day. If that envious then Sister also unemployed···. No, Sister is already unemployed. I’m a leave of absence student.”

“Not unemployed but job seeker! Want to die?”

“If you don’t work it’s all unemployed what.”

“Die!”

“Ack!”

Bark! Bark!

“I’ll watch with both eyes wide open how good a workplace you get a job at right away later.”

Heh. Unfortunately I already have the occupation called ‘Plague Doctor’.

“Sigh, annoying.”

Sister left the house, and I also prepared to go for a walk.

My gaze went to the cross necklace hanging with the clothes.

“Arong. Shall we go for a walk a bit far today?”

Arong tilted his head.

I put Arong in the car.

The place arrived was a medical supplies store.

They said dogs can enter if held, so holding Arong in my arms I looked around the store.

“Here it is.”

All kinds of canes were leisurely stuck in a large barrel.

I checked the surroundings and grabbed them one by one.

When saying ‘Plague Doctor’ the bird-beak mask comes to mind first. Next is the pitch-black clothes covering the whole body hanging loosely.

But looking at ‘Plague Doctor’ depictions there is one more that is not missing.

Cane.

The cross necklace has an equip effect, but the cane doesn’t?

No way.

If I were the developer of this system, I would have paid more attention to the cane than the necklace.

For the ‘Plague Doctor’ the cane was an auxiliary tool that can examine while keeping distance from the patient, and also a whipping tool that gives punishment on behalf of God.

But like not a regular cross necklace but a cross necklace made of ‘silver’ being recognized as equipment, doesn’t the cane also need some different condition?

“All have no reaction···.”

From ones with flashy handles to plain ones.

I grabbed canes of various materials, but the system window was quiet.

Just in case.

Since it’s a system close to a game, and there are many parts set differently from actual history···.

Does it recognize something like the wand that appears in Harry○ter?

But where can I buy that?

If I buy on the internet and there’s no reaction it’s just wasting money. If opened they won’t accept returns either.

“Student, choosing a gift? Grandma’s? Or grandpa’s?”

As I continued fiddling with the canes, the owner approached and asked.

“No. I’m choosing mine.”

“Is the leg uncomfortable? It looks fine.”

“Thinking of buying 50 years in advance.”

The owner laughed with a dumbfounded face.

“I’ve seen people saying they’ll buy a cane 1, 2 years in advance, but first time seeing someone saying they’ll buy 50 years in advance.”

After coming out of the medical supplies store, I went to a hiking clothes specialty store and fiddled with hiking sticks.

“This isn’t it either···.”

Surely does silver need to go into the cane too?

“Hmm···.”

Bark!

“Yeah. Let’s walk.”

Only after coming out of the store did I put Arong down.

Sniff sniff. Arong carefully walked smelling the unfamiliar road. Then when obsessing over one tree for a long time, I stretched and looked at a certain place.

Home appliance store.

From the large TV on display a program preview broadcast was flowing.

“SBC ‘Unknown Singer’.”

It was a music audition program where unknown nameless singers and aspiring singers appear.

The one Ju-hye said she was going on···. Wait.

Come to think of it Happy Quokka also said she was going on TV. Is it that program by any chance?

Rip.

“······?”

At a strange sound I turned my head.

The new padded jacket Arong wore today got caught on a bush branch planted next to the tree and tore.

“Hey. How on earth did you move to get caught here.”

Arong smiled brightly and wagged his tail.

I sighed and held Arong in my arms.

“Let’s just go. Cotton is falling.”

After returning home.

I brought the sewing box from the main room.

Sitting down in the living room I chose thread of the same color as Arong’s padded jacket, and picked up a needle.

[System]

-Equipped a needle.

-Can use skill ‘Bloodletting’.

“···No, fuck. Is a needle also a weapon.”