Chapter 29 Daimon Michiko
The already-glowing charcoal bore a grid made of woven steel wire, and bright red meat slices were placed atop it. In no time, they sizzled under the charcoal's heat. The fats released by the cooking dripped onto the charcoal, igniting little sparks, and the rising white smoke swirled around the meat, emitting an aroma that made it impossible to resist swallowing saliva and stirred one's appetite.
"Ah! This is so delicious! Wagyu beef really is the best! You can't find BBQ this tasty overseas!" A pair of chopsticks couldn't even wait for the meat to be fully cooked before eagerly grabbing a whitened piece, dipping it in the sauce, and stuffing it into a mouth, chewing enthusiastically while cheering fervently.
Watching her friend act like a child in front of her boyfriend, Jounouchi Hiromi couldn't help but feel embarrassed and tugged at her overjoyed friend, telling her, "Daimon-san, no need to rush! No one's fighting you for it!"
"I'm just really hungry!" Hiromi's friend, the woman she called "Daimon-san," acted like a spoiled child. Having swallowed the meat in her mouth, she still bit on her chopsticks, looking at another piece of meat Chen Yu was flipping on the grill with an expectant gaze, as if she was plotting how to snatch it.
"Hehe, no worries, Hiromi. I'm the host today, so how could I not let my guest enjoy herself?" Chen Yu didn't mind her manners and raised his hand to call the waiter, "Excuse me, waiter, could we have another plate of special A5 and one of the premium pork belly?"
After ordering, Chen Yu also looked at her and asked, "Is this enough? If not, Daimon-san, you can order more."
"Really? Then I want a plate of beef tongue and diaphragm as well!" The woman seemed to know no restraint, calling out loudly and adding more meat to their order. Then, with her chopsticks, she snatched another piece of meat Hiromi was flipping on the grill and popped it into her mouth without any sauce.
"Daimon Michiko!" Jounouchi Hiromi watched her friend take her meat and couldn't help but call out her name in displeasure. Although they had been good friends for many years and were familiar with each other's personalities, Hiromi still felt embarrassed by her friend's rude behavior in front of her boyfriend.
"What does it matter! This handsome guy here said he's treating us, so we can order more, right? And the reason you invited me to BBQ today is to perform the surgery for that patient you mentioned last time, isn't it?
As long as I do a good job on the surgery, that's all that matters!" Daimon Michiko replied nonchalantly, picking up another raw piece of meat from a plate and placing it on the grill, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Haha, well said! As long as Daimon-san can cure Naoki's illness, eat as much BBQ as you like. No matter how much you want, it won't be a problem." Hearing Daimon Michiko's words, Chen Yu laughed, nodded in agreement, and then asked her, "Speaking of Naoki's surgery, Daimon-san, what are your thoughts on the surgical plan? What kind of surgical technique are you planning to use for the treatment?"
When the topic shifted to Inomata Naoki's illness, Daimon Michiko grew somewhat serious, but even so, she still focused on the meat on the grill, flipping it and explaining to Chen Yu, "Based on the medical record, the diagnosis is esophageal cancer stage IVA, with a seven-centimeter tumor near the middle chest esophagus, possibly encroaching upon the descending aorta.
For treatment, the surgical technique would likely involve esophageal subtotal resection followed by retrosternal reconstruction."
"That is indeed the best treatment. Thoracotomy and tumor resection would take about two and a half hours, plus another hour and a half for esophageal reconstruction, making the entire operation around four hours.
How confident are you in the surgery, Daimon-san?" Since Chen Yu was also a surgeon, he naturally understood that what Daimon Michiko was suggesting was indeed the best treatment plan; however, the risk and difficulty of the operation were very high, so he needed to know how confident she was.
"If it's just the surgery, I'm 100% confident because I will not fail." When Daimon Michiko spoke of her confidence in the surgery, her whole being exuded a strong sense of assurance, as if stating a fact.
As Daimon Michiko declared "I will not fail," Chen Yu felt a peculiar fluctuation emanating from her, somewhat similar to the magic power fluctuations when he was casting spells, yet fundamentally different.
This sudden fluctuation made Chen Yu narrow his eyes, scrutinizing Daimon Michiko more closely. It was then that he realized that she was enveloped in an extremely dense Power of Faith. When she uttered "I will not fail," it was this power that had resonated, causing the vibration that intrigued him.
The Power of Faith swirling around Daimon Michiko was even denser than what Chen Yu had encountered at the Shrine in Kawakami Cemetery. But this was not surprising; as a surgeon who had saved patients and received their heartfelt thanks and trust, it was also an embodiment of the Power of Faith.
If a doctor's medical skills were exceptional and they saved thousands of lives, the Power of Faith that gathered around them would naturally be much more than for lesser-known deities, who had few worshippers and even fewer who remembered their names.
In fact, not only Daimon Michiko, but upon closer inspection, Chen Yu also saw the Power of Faith surrounding Jounouchi Hiromi, although it was a thin layer compared to the astonishing density of Daimon Michiko's. Even Chen Yu himself possessed such power, though it was less significant than that of his girlfriend.
While Chen Yu was observing Daimon Michiko, she continued to talk about the surgery, "Though I can perform the surgery, the condition of the patient you mentioned is such that he cannot undergo it. His vitality is less than half that of a normal person, and he wouldn't withstand the stress of the operation; he needs at least 70% of a normal person's vitality before I can operate."
"Don't worry about that; I'll deal with this issue before the surgery," Chen Yu assured her, understanding the reason restricting the operation, and explained to Daimon Michiko, "Naoki's vitality dropped because of the anticancer drug I developed. I've found a way to solve this problem, so once his vitality is restored, we can perform surgery to remove the tumor and cure him."
"In that case, I look forward to you restoring his insufficient vitality first," Daimon Michiko responded nonchalantly, nodding her head. For her, the surgery and the meat were her main concerns. Having said that, she quickly snatched up a piece of cooked meat from the grill with her chopsticks.