Chapter 21

"What, what...! Are you out of your mind? We're Raul's clinic, the best clinic in the capital!"

The employee jumped up and down as if he'd heard something ridiculous.

"I know."

"Then what made you say no?"

"Because I'm going to open my own clinic."

"That's ...?"

Turning to the wide-eyed staffer at Raoul's clinic, Raymond spoke clearly again.

"I'm going to start my own clinic."

"...!"

The staffer scoffed.

"You're going to start your own clinic, that's too easy, it's not going to be easy, wouldn't you rather come to our Raoul clinic, get some experience, and then start your own?"

"Of course I would, but I've already made up my mind."

The employee stood up, dusting off his clothes.

"Foolish of me to give you such a great opportunity. tsk. Don't regret it later."

Raymond looked at the disappearing scout and shook his head.

"Don't get me wrong, it's not easy being a first-time healer.

It was far wiser to join a prestigious clinic, gain experience, and then strike out on your own.

'In general, yes, but not in my case.'

Raymond thought soberly.

"I need to see as many patients as I can, and I can't do that at Raoul's.

Raymond knew his level.

"First-year resident.

Like the job title, it was inadequate.

To advance, he needed to see as many patients as possible, and he couldn't go to Raoul's.

"I'm sure you'll get passed over by other more senior healers and see fewer patients, especially since it's such a marginalized profession, so you need to get out on your own so you can see patients without being judged.

At this point, Hanson, who was next to me, asked with concern.

"Independence. Are you sure about that?"

"Yeah. I have something in mind."

"But aren't there any places around here where you could set up a clinic...."

"No, there is one."

Raymond replied briefly.

"The Bay Area. I'm thinking of setting up a clinic there."

Hanson's eyes widened to tears.

He couldn't help it.

The Bay Area was a slum!

"Are you kidding me, man?"

"Yes. I'm going to open a clinic in the slums."

The slums.

A place no healer would want to go.

"So you'll be able to see tons of patients.

Of course, it's going to be a lot of work. I wouldn't make much money.

But it didn't matter.

I'm going to be the best therapist I can be, and then the fame and fortune will follow.

Raymond felt it.

In a world where heels are everything, it takes more than ordinary effort to be recognized for your medical skills.

He had no intention of being just another healer.

He would be the best healer he could be.

It won't be easy.

It's going to be very difficult and painful.

But I'm going to do it.

I'm going to be the best therapist, and I'm going to have all the fame and fortune.

And so Raymond vowed to himself.

* * *

Magnificent castle.

It wasn't just Prince Cairn who had his eye on Raymond.

The third prince, Remerton!

Along with the Second Prince, he was considered a powerful heir to the throne.

"Raymond rejected the offer of the Raoul healer and decided to start a new healer?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Third Prince Remerton's eyes lit up with intelligence.

The Third Prince was an intelligent man, with a cool head and a brilliant mind.

"I'm surprised, sire. I thought you would accept the offer of the Raoul healer."

"Of course not. At the very least, Your Highness has been attentive."

Suha said, sounding offended.

The truth was, Raoul had offered to scout for Raymond for a reason.

Third Prince Remerton had insisted.

"I'm grateful for Count August's work, and I was hoping to give you a chance, but I can't help it.

Limerton shook his head.

'He's been so considerate, and now he's getting the shit kicked out of him.

It was a pity.

"I was hoping to keep him around as a healer in the future, if he's good enough under Raoul's tutelage, but that won't happen.

Remerton's assessment of Raymond's 'medicine' wasn't too bad.

'With training at Raoul's, where the best healers are, he could be a useful healer.

But what a waste of an opportunity.

Remerton thought Raymond was foolish.

"So, where are you going to open your practice?"

"In the capital."

"I see. Where is the capital?"

Limerton asked, his interest gone.

His perception of Raymond was rapidly clouding in his mind.

The life of a healer who opened a small clinic was there and then.

Seeing unimportant patients, living an unimportant life.

Remerton, cold as a ruler, had no energy to waste on such an unimportant healer.

But.

"Bay Area."

"...!"

Limerton's eyes widened as he realized where Suha's mouth was coming from.

"...what?"

"I thought I heard it wrong, too, but that's right. They're opening a treatment center in the Bay Area."

Limerton was silent for a moment.

He couldn't help it.

"No way. The Bay Area?

The Bay Area!

It was a slum on the northwestern outskirts of the capital.

The problem was, it wasn't your average slum.

'It's so lawless that even the nobility wouldn't set foot in it?

About a hundred years ago, the Kingdom of Houston lost a war with its arch-enemy, the Kingdom of Droton, and lost much of its southern territory.

Large numbers of displaced refugees poured into the outskirts of the capital, forming a massive slum. This was the Bay District.

The kingdom was unable to properly care for them, as the country was in the throes of war, and by the end of the century, it had become like a malignant boil that no one could touch.

"I don't know what you're thinking, setting up a healing center in a place where all sorts of horrible things happen... ignorance or pandering."

Suha smiled wryly.

"Raymond must mean something, too, so don't be so sneering."

"I'm sorry. But I just think it's a bit much."

In truth, Limerton was thinking the same thing as Suha.

"A treatment center in the Bay Area, no way.

Because the Bay Area wasn't just a slum.

It was an important place, perhaps even a further tipping point in the struggle for the throne.

In the past, King Auden had said something like this.

"If anyone can stabilize the people of the Bay Area, I will reward them with anything.

The Bay Area was an unsolved problem for Auden, who had spent his entire life building up the Kingdom of Houston.

When the princes heard this, they realized something.

If they could stabilize the Bay Area, they could win the king's favor.

If they could do what no one else could, they'd be instantly recognized by the king, and they'd be that much closer to becoming the next king!

So they set out to capture the Bay Area.

'But they all failed, the eldest, the youngest, and me.'

Limerton thought bitterly.

Not Kairn, the charismatic second prince, not Limerton, the cool, intelligent third prince, not Seitil, the fourth prince whose strength was his swordplay.

None of them could stabilize the Bay Area.

Even Limerton had been assassinated by an unknown assailant.

"It's a memory I can't forget.

Limerton recalls with a chill.

After that day, he gave up on the idea of stabilizing the Bay Area altogether.

"It's not a place that can be stabilized. It should be wiped clean.

That was Limerton's conclusion, and he even advised King Auden of it.

But his advice was met with an unexpected reaction.

"They are subjects of the Kingdom of Houston.

Remerton could never forget the way the king looked at him that day.

King Auden looked at Remerton with a pitying look as he asked him to get rid of the Bay Area.

He clicked his tongue, as if to say that Remerton was ignorant of something important.

In any case, King Auden had a special obsession with the poor of the Bay Area.

'If I can stabilize the Bay Area, I'll be well on my way to the next throne, which is... impossible.'

The three princes had given up long ago.

After all, the worst slums were in the Bay Area.

To open a healing center there.

'You're foolish. Or do you just not know how the world works?

Limerton shook his head.

In any case, there was no reason to pay any more attention to Raymond.

He could tell a fever by looking at one.

He didn't think Raymond was going to make much of a career out of this foolish decision.

He wouldn't last long in the slums.

* * *

He wasn't the only one who thought so.

Everyone who knew Raymond thought the same thing.

"The Bay Area? Why that place?"

"Does he think he's something?"

Some even scoffed.

"Well, he does look good."

"Yeah. You're a dirty bastard, there's no place you'd rather be than in the slums. I'm sure you'll fit right in."

But there were also a few people who cared about Raymond.

They were his patients.

"Oh my God, therapist. You're going to the slums? You can't. It's dangerous!"

"You don't know what they'll do to you!"

Over the course of his work at the shelter, Raymond saw many patients.

The kindness of his treatment was so different from other therapists that they all became his biggest fans.

'So many other therapists are so unkind, and the patients love you for doing the basics.'

Raymond thought to himself.

He had an iron rule.

No matter how snobbish you are, as a therapist, you have to do the basics.

With so many bad therapists out there, that was enough to impress patients.

"Wouldn't you make a fortune if you opened a practice around here?

For a moment, greed flared in Raymond's heart.

But then he shook his head.

"There's no way it's going to be a hit. It's going to be a bust.

He had a fatal flaw.

He had a fatal flaw: He used unfamiliar medicine.

To the people of this world, "medicine" was a bizarre treatment, a cult.

That's how they reacted now, but when he opened his practice, who would want to come to him?

'Besides, I'm not good enough yet, I'm only a 'new resident', I need to build my skills first.'

You have to build your reputation and build your skills.

If you don't have the skills and reputation to outperform heeled therapists, patients won't be willing to try something that's "foreign" to them.

"I don't want to be just another therapist.

Raymond had big dreams.

To be the best healer he could be, to have the most fame and fortune.