WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: LilGuyBlastoise
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◈ Plague Doctor in a Peaceful World ◈
Chapter 31: Dog Angel
──────
I was done.
I took my hand off the wall.
Only then did I realize I had not made the sign of the cross. I slowly did so, then clasped my hands together.
Let’s see. Since I was in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province, should I clean up at a nearby motel, change into fresh clothes, and head home? Or should I just get a good night’s sleep and leave in the morning?
After about a minute of idle thoughts, I opened my eyes.
[Contagious Disease Patient]
“...?!”
[This is a Contagious Disease Patient. Would you like to treat them?]
[(Expected MP Cost: 20)]
That caught me off guard.
The yellow [Contagious Disease Patient] label had definitely vanished, but in less than a minute, it had reappeared in green.
[This is a Contagious Disease Patient. Would you like to treat them?]
[(Expected MP Cost: 21)]
The number was even rising quickly.
“Treatment, yes.”
[System]
- Used ‘Plague Treatment’.
- ‘Plague Treatment’ Proficiency +0.2
- Experience +0.29%
[MP 0/140]
[This is a Contagious Disease Patient. Would you like to treat them?]
[(Expected MP Cost: 17)]
“...”
[This is a Contagious Disease Patient. Would you like to treat them?]
[(Expected MP Cost: 18)]
There was one most likely explanation.
Reinfection.
My Plague Treatment skill only healed them. It did not create antibodies.
Even if antibodies had formed, that would not necessarily prevent reinfection. Still, considering how quickly the symptoms had appeared again...
“Kongkong’s detailed blood test results came in. They said antibodies had formed.”
I had briefly gotten my hopes up when Lee Mun-yeong told me that on the way here.
It only meant that antibodies could form depending on the disease and the individual. They were not created by Plague Treatment.
For just a moment, I had imagined how nice it would be if my skill created antibodies to dangerous infectious diseases, leading to vaccines or treatments.
Of course, antibodies forming would not instantly create either one...
“...?”
When I stood there longer than usual, Lee Mun-yeong tilted her head in confusion.
Looking at her, I slowly shook my head.
The treatment prayer had failed.
“...”
Lee Mun-yeong looked slightly surprised, then nodded as though to say it was all right.
We quietly moved away from the pigsty.
* * *
After going through procedures even more complicated and demanding than when we entered, we left the quarantine area.
We returned to where I had met Lee Mun-yeong.
“Please don’t be too discouraged, Mr. Plague Doctor. Maybe this is heaven’s way of telling us we need to work harder ourselves.”
As I stood there with my shoulders slumped, Lee Mun-yeong tried to comfort me.
I put my pen to my sketchbook.
“...”
But I lowered it without writing anything.
Unless there was a problem with the system, the [Contagious Disease Patient] pig had fully recovered, then become infected again almost immediately.
Had something changed in the pig’s body during that process?
To find out, I would have to tell them to examine that pig.
But first, I would need to reveal my ability.
The fact that I could tell whether a subject was infected.
“Mr. Plague Doctor?”
Scratch scratch.
[I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can cooperate with an investigation.]
“Is this because of today’s failure? Please don’t worry about it too much. The fact that heaven answered us every time until now was a miracle in itself.”
[I need more time for spiritual practice.]
That did not mean it was time to give up completely.
After all, I could not rule out the possibility that this half-finished system was hiding something else.
Just like how the Divine Punishment skill had suddenly appeared when I reached Level 7.
If I leveled up further, perhaps I could gain more skills, or my existing abilities could expand.
I thought about it carefully.
If I actively cooperated with experiments and investigations, I might end up revealing every last one of my abilities without realizing it.
Then I really might get dragged off to some pharmaceutical company’s secret research lab.
Get a grip, Kang Bongsik.
I felt a little sorry for Lee Mun-yeong, but I could not trust her too much.
I could determine lies by asking whether someone swore it before God, but I wanted to avoid using that method whenever possible.
The moment someone heard that question, they would think I suspected them.
“...All right.”
After being lost in thought for a moment, Lee Mun-yeong nodded.
“It’s unfortunate, but I’ll respect your wishes, Mr. Plague Doctor. You’ll still accept treatment prayer requests, right?”
I nodded.
“And would it be all right for us to examine the people and animals Mr. Plague Doctor has already treated?”
She did not really need my permission for that.
Like Kongkong, they had probably already conducted most of the tests.
When I gave her an OK sign, Lee Mun-yeong smiled.
“Thank you. In any case, I’ll pay you as promised for today as well.”
I waved both hands to say it was unnecessary. But Lee Mun-yeong pressed an envelope into my hand, saying that even confirming a case where heaven did not answer was an achievement.
She even exchanged all the yen I had brought into won.
“Then I’ll see you again. Get home safely.”
Scratch scratch.
[Thank you for today. Goodbye.]
Lee Mun-yeong’s car drove away.
I slowly walked toward where I had parked mine.
“I should’ve parked closer.”
Either way, it was my first failure since becoming the Plague Doctor.
With a sigh, I took off my hat and bird-beak mask.
There were mountains, pigsties, and fields all around.
The few houses were scattered far away, and without any streetlights, the area was completely dark.
What if a passing car saw some guy dressed all in black wandering around in a weird bird-beak mask? What if the driver got startled, swerved, and caused an accident?
Thankfully, despite my concern, nobody passed by before I reached my car.
After safely locking the doors, I checked the payment Lee Mun-yeong had given me for this request.
One million won.
Not exactly a small amount, but not exactly a large one either.
Surely it was not her personal money?
It would be a problem if it was, and a problem if it was not.
Even if she was the company president’s secretary, if she had used company money, she would need a clear justification.
I sent her a DM.
I was worried she might have told the president of Kang-geon Pharmaceuticals about me.
Her reply arrived when I reached the motel.
[Sorry for the late reply, I was driving. Don’t worry! It’s my own money, and the president still doesn’t know! ^^]
Good grief.
She had burned through a million won out of curiosity.
No, perhaps it was not just curiosity.
Maybe it was an investment based on the hope that my treatment prayer would succeed.
Either way, I should make sure to give her a commission fee next time we met.
* * *
Lim Hyanggi, my sister’s friend, recommended a new animal shelter to me.
[That makes sense. Rumors got around that some actor and idol volunteer there, so they got more volunteers and donations. As for another shelter I could recommend...]
I was not far from Level 11.
My leveling speed would slow once I returned to school, so I needed to raise it quickly while I could.
“So this is the place.”
The shelter Lim Hyanggi recommended was built in a quiet rural area near Seoul.
The walls were covered in traces of red spray paint that had been scrubbed away. They appeared to have been obscenities.
But something else caught my attention more.
Green, yellow, and red.
[Contagious Disease Patient] labels of every kind were mixed together.
“Phew...”
A sigh escaped me.
I was not enough of a terrible person to be delighted and say, “Wow, what a gold mine!” like I had at the broadcasting station.
People could rest when they were sick, or go to a hospital themselves. Dogs at shelters with poor conditions had a harder time doing that.
I called the number Lim Hyanggi had given me beforehand.
[You’re here? Just a moment!]
Soon, the barking grew louder, and someone in protective clothing and boots came out to open the locked gate.
“Welcome. Thank you for coming. I’ll open the gate wide, so park your car inside.”
“Thank you.”
The person who opened the gate was a volunteer who came here often. There was a shelter director, but they were currently hospitalized.
“There’s a bad-tempered old man nearby. Whenever volunteers or cars loaded with donated supplies come by, he comes over and yells at them and curses them out. Since it keeps happening, we’ve lost volunteers.”
“Then the spray paint on the walls...”
“Yes. That old man did it. Anyway, maybe because it’s cold lately, he hasn’t come around.”
Woof! Woof!
Bark! Bark!
There were around seventy dogs at this shelter.
The kennels stood packed tightly together on bare dirt. Unfortunately, there were no cats.
“I heard you volunteered at another shelter for a long time. I look forward to working with you.”
“I look forward to working with you too.”
After learning the cleaning order and precautions, I changed into the proper clothes.
“Then I’ll start cleaning here.”
“Okay. Oh, Deokgu over there is sick. It’s very on edge, so be careful.”
“Okay.”
I approached the bright-red [Contagious Disease Patient].
[Predator Relationship activated]
Scuttle.
A bright-red [Rat] darted from behind the kennel and gradually moved farther away.
[Predator Relationship activated]
The other [Rats] did the same.
There seemed to be quite a lot of rats because of the surrounding environment.
“Eek, rats!”
Of all things, two of them sped past another volunteer.
I muttered under my breath.
“Sorry.”
My voice never left my mask.
“Excuse me, Deokgu. I’m going to clean up a little. Oh dear, you’ve had diarrhea. You threw up too.”
Grrr...
Deokgu, curled up deep inside the kennel, bared its teeth viciously.
“Hey, did you eat a rat? Why is there a rat head in the corner? You get sick eating stuff like that, dummy.”
[This is a Contagious Disease Patient. Would you like to treat them?]
[(Expected MP Cost: 240)]
I glanced at the volunteer cleaning some distance away, then boldly spoke the skill command.
“Treatment, yes.”
[System]
- Used ‘Plague Treatment’.
- ‘Plague Treatment’ Proficiency +2
- Experience +6.46%
[MP 0/140]
[This is a Contagious Disease Patient. Would you like to treat them?]
[(Expected MP Cost: 115)]
...
Deokgu’s eyes, which had been narrowed as it bared its teeth, slowly widened.
I crouched down and asked it,
“Feeling a little better? I’ll come again tomorrow and cure you completely, so hang in there for one more day.”
Deokgu quietly closed its mouth and slowly wagged its tail.
As I had promised Deokgu, I returned the next day and treated it again.
Then Deokgu came out of its kennel, wagging its tail and pressing its nose against me as though we were friends.
The volunteer who saw it looked extremely surprised.
“It’s the first time I’ve seen Deokgu wag its tail at someone other than the shelter director...!”
“Animals tend to like me.”
The next day, and the day after that.
[System]
- Used ‘Plague Treatment’.
- ‘Plague Treatment’ Proficiency +2
- Experience +5.37%
- You have leveled up!
[MP 145/145]
While drinking warm herbal tea, I treated the [Contagious Disease Patient] dogs and reached Level 11.
Since my MP was full, I treated three more dogs.
Then a system window suddenly appeared in the middle of my vision.
[You have achieved the ‘Dog Angel’ achievement!]
“...?”
[System]
- You have treated 100 dogs.
- You have achieved the ‘Dog Angel’ achievement.
- ‘Dog Angel’ achievement effect: Animal Affinity +1
“...”
I ignored the system window and went back to scooping dog poop.
A few more days passed.
On a day when the weather had grown much warmer, I looked around the shelter with a satisfied expression.
“Finished.”
All [Contagious Disease Patients] cleared.
I clenched my fists and pumped them overhead.
“Yes!”
The dogs gathered around me thought I wanted to play and began hopping around.
Woof woof!
That was when it happened.
“Huh?”
High in the sky, a [Contagious Disease Patient] drifted leisurely past.
“A bird...?”
Bang!
“That startled me.”
Woof! Woof!
Bark! Bark!
A loud crash suddenly came from the gate.
The volunteer filling the water containers came out in surprise as well.
“You bastards!”
Someone shouted from outside.
“Open the gate! You think I don’t know these dogs are killing our chickens?! Maybe I ought to burn the whole lot of you!”
The volunteer let out a deep sigh.
“That old man is starting again. How could dogs locked in here get all the way to the chicken farm?”
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