A Gacha Addict's Life in Fusionpunk - Chapter 13

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Haruto

◈ A Gacha Addict's Life in Fusionpunk ◈

Chapter 13: I'm an Experienced Hire (2)

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Doctors were an ultra-rare commodity in Necropolis.

Think about it. Was this orphan city, alone and unrivaled under heaven and earth, really built to produce highly educated professionals?

The bigger problem was that the entrenched, corrupt, villainous megacorp Overnus Pharmaceuticals scooped up even the few doctors around and hired them as researchers.

If you had enough money, you could hire one as your personal physician. For most citizens, though, that luxury was impossible.

Supply fell far short of demand.

Folk remedies, painkillers, and unlicensed doctors filled the gap.

Unlicensed doctors.

The name alone didn't exactly inspire confidence, but I had no choice.

Official service centers were always more expensive than independent shops.

I didn't have time to save up when Arbel would be half-dead and sprawled across the house just a week later.

"Sis, independent places have decent service these days. I got my car bumper replaced at an independent shop too."

I carried the bundle-wrapped Arbel on my back and entered C Sector.

The moment I stepped in, I caught the scents of oil, spices, and sweet opium.

C Sector had an especially pronounced Chinese-inspired atmosphere, even within this city.

Overnus Pharmaceuticals had a great deal of influence here, and the three families that controlled Overnus had a strong Eastern flavor.

Their emblems alone said it all: a red dragon, a black turtle, and a golden carp.

Red lanterns hung everywhere. Opium was the most commonly consumed drug, and the sound of mahjong tiles being shuffled came from all around.

"Riichi! The real match starts now!"

"Ahahaha! Let's see... Riichi, pinfu, dora... That's a mangan! Ah, ahaha!"

"Argh! Fuck, I had a feeling I'd get dealt in if I discarded that one!"

Ah, I wanted to play mahjong too.

The feel of slapping down a tile was seriously addictive.

"Hey, buddy, if you're doing her, let me join too. I'll pay you, so... Urk!"

"Where do you think you're looking?"

I kept moving, breaking the noses of every bastard who tried to hit on Arbel.

My destination was Aquarium Street in C-19 District, an area where unlicensed doctors had gathered their practices.

Aquarium Street was noticeably cleaner than the rest of C Sector. Thick iron doors lined both sides of the street.

"What are these doors, bomb shelters?"

Dim lights flickered above the plain iron doors.

Tangping Bone-Setting Clinic, Artificial Circuit Specialty Hospital, Incense Burner Acupuncture Clinic, First Herbal Medicine Shop. Signs for unlicensed doctors in every field.

The whole place had the sinister air of somewhere that would say, "We removed your corneas and kidneys as a complimentary service!" when you woke up after an appendectomy.

I couldn't casually show Arbel's body to people like this.

Especially not a male doctor.

"Unlicensed doctors? There's a place called Isis Clinic. I recommend it."

"It's several times more expensive than anywhere else, but when my wrist got cut off, they fixed it right up, sir."

"More importantly, the doctor's a woman, and she's gorgeous... Hehehe."

Akitt had recommended a practice somewhere around here.

"Isis, Isis, Isis..."

Found it. Isis Clinic.

Thud thud thud.

"Customer! Customer!"

After I knocked on the iron door several times, I heard movement within. Then a voice came from the other side.

"We're closed for the day."

"It's an emergency. She's on the brink of death."

After a brief silence.

Click.

A peephole opened between the thick iron doors.

Green eyes framed by heavy double eyelids peered through the bars.

"Show me the patient."

"Yes, ma'am."

"My clinic's expensive."

"I brought plenty."

"Show me."

"Here."

I removed Arbel's hood and showed her condition, then jingled the pouch of gold coins.

"Take one step back from the door."

Click.

Clank. Click, click.

The door opened to the sound of countless locks being released.

"Come in."

After a quick check, I entered. The interior looked more like an antique store piled high with miscellaneous junk than a clinic.

The faint scent of disinfectant under the dim lights was the only thing that made it feel remotely medical.

Still, this was top one percent by Necropolis standards.

The furnishings that looked like junk were all new, and the dim lighting made the place feel strangely cozy.

The unlicensed doctor locked the door as soon as I entered.

When she turned around.

"Hello..."

I briefly stumbled over my greeting.

Dark green, half-curly hair. Sleepy eyes half-lidded as though everything in the world was a bother.

A turtleneck sweater beneath a wrinkled white coat.

She had an intelligent yet decadent air that was strangely alluring.

But it wasn't the symbol of motherhood swaying beneath her sweater that made me study her closely.

When Akitt recommended this unlicensed doctor, he had said:

"Oh, and a word of warning, big bro. Never mess with unlicensed doctors in Necropolis."

"They have their own Unlicensed Doctors' Guild. If you touch one, an extermination order comes down immediately."

"Contract killers will keep coming until you're dead."

Still, even without a guild, this woman probably wouldn't suffer much trouble.

That atmosphere, that presence pressing down on me.

This unlicensed doctor was probably a mage.

A nightmare from my last run suddenly came back to me.

I'd been backstabbed by the mage Ceres then too.

Why were there so many mages when they were supposed to be rare?

"Pay the consultation fee first. Twenty thousand Bios. Treatment and medicine are billed separately."

I was suddenly getting nervous.

The woman who introduced herself as Isis laid Arbel on the examination table.

The examination room didn't match any image I had of a hospital or clinic.

Several fish tanks were stacked like blocks around the table Arbel lay on. Colorful goldfish and tropical fish floated in each one, opening and closing their mouths.

Isis kneaded Arbel's body as she spoke.

"She's a mage. First Tier, too. Her mana circuits are completely wrecked. How did this happen?"

Objectively speaking, the chance of Isis becoming a dangerous variable was low.

How many times could coincidences like that happen?

But maybe because a mage had ratted me out in my last run, I felt deeply uneasy about showing Arbel to one.

Should I find another skilled female doctor even now?

When I hesitated to answer, Isis urged me on with faint irritation in her voice.

"Talk. I have a Commandment not to divulge patient information anyway."

"A Commandment...?"

"You brought a mage in as a patient and don't know about Commandments?"

"Ah."

I remembered.

A Commandment was one type of deal that a mage of First Tier or above could make with the world.

The mage bound themselves with a taboo, rule, or oath.

And the world granted power in proportion to its value and weight... or something like that.

"If you don't trust me, get out."

Isis looked thoroughly fed up.

"Then, just a moment."

This was exactly what I had this for.

I wasn't the type to have spare potions left after a boss battle.

I slipped my hand inside my coat and pulled the Coin Toss of Truth from my inventory.

"The unlicensed doctor Isis has a Commandment not to divulge patient information."

After asking that, I flicked the coin with my thumb.

TRUE was on the front, FALSE on the back.

Ting!

I caught it in my palm and checked.

TRUE.

This was how I used it, right?

['Isis Yozora's' statement is true]

[「Coin Toss of Truth」 Uses Remaining (2/3)]

The effect was reliable!

This thing was pretty useful.

"The truth is, I'm the eldest son of Count Montraven's House, and this is my older sister. We were suddenly attacked, and I think she was injured during it. Also..."

I gave Isis a rough outline of what had happened.

This was a good opportunity.

If it was guaranteed that she wouldn't divulge anything, I could explain the situation and dig for more information.

I still didn't know who had attacked the estate or why they were after me.

"Do you have any idea who might have attacked our house, or why?"

"Count Montraven's House? Never heard of it."

Our house really was fucking insignificant.

"Then... do you know a crazy woman who wears wooden clogs, carries a katana, dresses in Eastern-style martial clothes, and wears a flashy hat like the kind courtesans use? Circumstantially, it seems like she attacked our estate."

Isis stopped examining Arbel.

Then, with an utterly unreadable expression, she stared straight at me.

Why was she looking at me like that?

Had I asked something I shouldn't have?

"I won't answer questions like that."

"I'll compensate you."

"Not even if you pay me. I might break my Commandment."

"What do you mean?"

"The person you're asking about could be a former patient of mine. Even if I don't realize it."

Ah, so that was how it worked?

The scope of a Commandment's restrictions seemed quite strict.

"Then... what happens if a Commandment is broken?"

"......"

Isis raised a thumb.

"Why are you suddenly giving me a thumbs-up...?"

Then she pointed it toward the door behind her.

She was telling me to get out.

A little while later.

"You can come in now."

Whatever she had done, Arbel's complexion looked much better than before.

Though she still hadn't regained consciousness.

"I put out the immediate fire. I gave her a transfusion too. If you'd left her as she was, she'd have died within three days."

She's practically psychic.

In my last run, Arbel had died before she reached the third day.

She definitely seemed skilled.

"Pay me now."

With a cigarette between her lips, she handed me a bill she'd scribbled out with a pen.

After blood packs and a list of drugs with names too difficult to pronounce, there was an amount I didn't want to believe.

"Ugh, two hundred thousand Bios? Isn't this a rip-off?"

"I told you it was expensive. That includes a week's worth of medicine."

I needed to know the market price, at least roughly.

This was a worse lemon market than used cars or computer parts.

My hand trembled as I handed over the gold.

Two hundred thousand Bios, plus the twenty-thousand-Bios consultation fee.

All the money I'd made by shitting blood for a week vanished in one blow, leaving only ten thousand Bios.

I was going to play some mahjong if I had money left!

No, it was fine.

This was what I'd earned it for in the first place.

I just had to charge every last coin, plus interest, to the recovered Arbel.

"So, is that it?"

"I said I only put out the immediate fire. The root cause is still there."

That was an ominous answer.

"There's a gap in her mana circuits. Put simply, they shorted out. To cure her completely, they'll need rebuilding. A mage's circuits are as important as blood vessels."

Isis continued explaining one thing after another.

I didn't understand even half of it, but one thing was certain.

Arbel's current condition was...

Like getting bitten by a rattlesnake in America without health insurance.

I! Was! Fucked!

"Could you be honest with me? You're overcharging me, right?"

"Try somewhere else. There aren't many people around here who can properly fix ruined circuits, though. They'll probably all tell you the same thing. To completely heal an injury this severe, you need a Universal Coin."

"It's not like Universal Coins are something every alley dog carries around in its mouth..."

Arbel, this burden of a woman.

She'd even survived in that awkward half-dead state, which made it feel worse to dump her somewhere.

Hoo. Did I have no choice but to use my final card?

"How about this instead of the treatment fee?"

I undid my shirt buttons with a serious expression.

"Human experimentation? I'd love to."

"I've changed my mind."

I buttoned my shirt back up.

Isis tilted her head, then belatedly frowned.

"Don't tell me you were trying to seduce me with your face painted up like that?"

"I'm handsome once I wipe it off."

"......"

Contempt filled Isis's eyes.

That didn't work at all.

"How much would a complete cure cost?"

"Let's see... Bring me one Universal Coin. I'll do the surgery for five hundred thousand. If you can't bring one, I'll prepare it myself. Twelve million five hundred thousand Bios."

"What? A Universal Coin is ten million Bios."

"Maybe in Aden. Try getting one in this city for that price. You probably can't."

This was driving me insane.

This wasn't the kimchi premium, so why was there a Necropolis premium?

Twenty percent, too?

"And to maintain her condition, you'll need to have her circuits tuned once a week. If you're late, she'll die."

"What?"

"Next time, I'll do it for two hundred thousand without the consultation fee."

"......"

"Give her the medicine every morning. Take her and go now. I need to sleep."

I was pushed out before I could even beg at her feet.

Bang.