To Hell with Being a Saint, I’m a Doctor

Chapter 73: Eclair’s Eyes

Ray was momentarily lost in thought.

How could he explain this?

Noticing his struggle, Eclair shifted the topic.

So, are you suggesting that these bacteria cant be entirely eliminated with Poison Cure?

Yes, thats correct.

Hmm but isnt amputating the infected area somewhat barbaric?

In a world where they had Heal, a sort of cheat key, he didnt appreciate the term barbaric.

Typically, one would administer medicine, monitor the progress, and attempt to salvage as much as possible.

They would only resort to amputation when all other options were exhausted.

However, in this alternate world, without medicine and with dubious availability of ingredients, such a method was likely to necessitate further amputations.

In the absence of medicine, it was correct to amputate the infected area before the bacteria could spread further, and then treat it.

Ray responded to her comment.

Even if its considered barbaric, if thats the best I can do, Ill do it.

As long as he could heal the patient, whether the method was barbaric or scientific didnt concern him.

Eclair seemed satisfied with his reply and smiled.

If it results in a cure, then the method is immaterial.

Thats not what I was implying

I like your style! How about we move to my study instead of this crowded library?

Huh?

Eclair gestured around.

The library was indeed crowded with people, enough to be distracting while reading.

Seeing this, he was tempted by her proposition.

Moreover, it was evident that Eclair had some medical knowledge.

If he needed assistance with the medicine of this alternate world, Eclair would be an invaluable resource.

She must have a vast collection of books there as well

Deciding, Ray closed the book he had been reading.

Lets go.

---

As Ray entered Eclairs mansion, which was no less impressive than his own, he commented,

Wow, this mansion is enormous.

Ive told you repeatedly that I dont need such a large house when I live alone.

Alone?

Glancing around, he noticed servants bustling about.

Seeing that, Eclair shook her head.

I mean, I didnt live with family.

By that logic, I was also living alone.

Eclair chuckled at his comment.

What an odd saint you were.

Saying that, she opened the door to her study with a key.

The scent of old books wafted through the air.

The books were in excellent condition, indicating they had been well taken care of.

Furthermore, the structure was arranged in a way that made it easy to find books.

These were all indicators of how much she loved books.

Youre welcome to use this place from now on.

She threw the key she had used to open the door to Ray.

Catching it, Ray looked at her with a stunned expression, and Eclair winked.

My name is Eclair. I was in charge of commanding the inflexible priests.

Then, wasnt she the Grand Priestess?

Furthermore, he had heard the name Eclair before.

Iriel had explained about the major figures of the Holy Kingdom a few times, and she had definitely said that Eclair was the Grand Priestess.

If she was the Grand Priestess, wasnt she supposed to manage the Grand Priests, not command the priests?

Iriel had repeatedly said it would be best to avoid getting entangled with such a peculiar person.

But what could he do now that he was already entangled with her?

I dont understand why a saint would want to learn such inefficient medicine, but feel free to ask if you have any questions.

Yes.

Inefficient, huh? That was quite a rude thing to say to someone who had devoted their life to it.

Well, in a world where magic could heal anything in an instant, medicine might indeed seem inefficient.

But the person who had called it inefficient was sitting across from him, reading a medical book.

Ray asked her.

Miss Eclair, why were you reading a medical book?

Me?

She stopped reading and grinned mischievously.

She lifted her short hair to reveal her eye, which had a slight yellow tint to the white color.

It was a stark contrast to her other red eye.

I thought it might help me fix this thing. Was it grotesque?

She said this to see his flustered expression, but he remained calm.

Was it congenital?

Hmm? Yes, I had been like this since I was born.

Was there any pain? And could you not see at all?

There was no pain and I could hardly see.

Ray quickly completed the examination, as if it was second nature.

He politely asked.

Excuse me, but could I take a closer look at your eye?

Eclair seemed to find this situation amusing.

The corners of her mouth turned up.

Interesting. Sure, take a look.

Thank you.

Ray leaned in close and held her eye open with his finger, examining it closely.

Her cloudy pupil was hazy and unclear.

There was no pain, and she wasnt completely blind.

Given these symptoms, there was only one thing that came to mind.

Cataract?

Cataract? Whats that?

She leaned in closer as he explained.

It wasnt certain but did you see a little better at night?

It seemed like I could see a bit better at night, yes

Ray nodded.

It must be cataracts.

Cataracts typically caused less vision impairment in dark places, where the pupil dilated.

Considering her symptoms, it was very likely cataracts.

But even if it was cataracts, treatment here was nearly impossible.

Firstly, her cataracts were at an advanced stage.

As cataracts progressed, the lens hardened and adhered more strongly.

Therefore, it was very important to have surgery at the right time.

But who was he? In the modern world, he was a doctor regarded as having the hands of a god, and here, wasnt he a saint?

Even if he could handle the hardness and adhesion of the cataracts with his skills, there was still one problem.

There is no artificial lens We cannot proceed with the surgery.

Even if the cataract was removed, there was no artificial lens to adjust the focus, so surgery was impossible.

This was not something that could be replaced with ones own skills.

Watching him struggle alone, Eclair felt frustrated.

What the heck is a cataract!

It wasnt even a palbochae, yet he kept asking for explanations.

Ray, who struggled with how to explain, fortunately found something similar to the blackboard he had seen in the auditorium in the study, and began to draw on it.

So.

He started to explain the structure of the eye after roughly drawing the eyeball and its connected nerves.

This is called the eyeball, this is the pupil, and this is the lens.

Hmm.

The place I just called the lens is here. This area forms an image on the retina, allowing us to see objects clearly. But, Mr. Eclair, your lens is currently cloudy. Thats what a cataract is.

As Ray spoke, he colored the lens in a circle.

But Eclair touched her forehead and said, possibly finding it difficult to understand all at once.

Wait So, youre saying somethings stuck in this lens place?

Simply put, yes.

But Eclair shook her head.

I dont understand. Why cant it be healed with Hilo?

Ray answered her question.

Perhaps, in Mr. Eclairs case, the cataract is congenital.

What does that have to do with divine magic not working?

Divine magic literally heals the abnormalities in the body. That means if the body doesnt feel anything abnormal, it cant be healed.

But, anyone can see that this eye is abnormal?

Thats what people feel. But since the body has been like that since birth, it doesnt feel it as abnormal.

Despite his explanation, she tilted her head and frowned as if she still didnt understand.

Feeling no need to explain further to make her understand, Ray omitted his words and said.

Anyway, we need to remove the cataract in this lens.

Even if its removed How?

We need to cut it out.

Eclair frowned at his words.

Was the saint taking butcher lessons these days? What was all this talk about cutting?

Cutting out the wound and the eyeball, when would the treatment happen!

Anyway, even if it was cut out, there was no way to treat it.

There was no artificial lens, so how on earth could surgery be done?

Was it because she could tell from his expression that there was no hope?

Eclair looked at Ray, chuckled, then sat down and continued reading her book.

Its fine. Even if it cant be cured, a way to fix it will surface after a few years, wont it?

Ray flinched at her words.

Not being able to fix it? Who? Himself?

That seemed absurd.

There might be cases where he himself could not fix it, but there should not be cases where others assertively said that it could not be fixed.

Ray also quietly sat down and began to continue reading his book.

It was not that he had given up on fixing it.

Since there was no way at the moment, he had to somehow come up with a solution.

I cant fix just a cataract? Me? Thats absurd.

---

For over a month, Rays daily routine started with commuting to Eclairs mansion.

Perhaps because they had become close during that time, they often ate together, and there were times when he slept over at her mansion.

If Iriel had heard about this, she would have fainted.

It was not as if he was just playing, eating, and reading books all the time.

He was searching for ways to make an artificial lens or to find a substitute for it.

So far, the methods he had found were maximizing the self-recovery of the lens or removing the cataract and healing the lens.

But it was best to leave those methods as the last resort.

Even if the cataract was removed from the lens and healed, if it went back to the time when the body didnt feel anything abnormal, the removed cataract could recover with Hilo.

Maximizing self-recovery also required the power of mana, so it was not a suitable method for her, who used divine power.

Thats why he was leaving those methods aside and looking for other ways.

As usual, Ray, who was reading a book in the study, stretched out and muttered.

Ugh. Do I have to make an artificial lens after all?

Anyway, there was plenty of time.

Iriel said she had stayed in the holy kingdom for up to a year without going outside.

But even if there had been time, was there a place where an artificial lens, a lens, could have been made?

Materials had to have been made, so frankly, that method was close to impossible.