Doctor Player

Chapter 49

‘If it wasn’t for Baron Penin, I would have had to keep going through a lot.’

‘Thank goodness for Baron Penin.’

‘Long live Baroness Penin!’

Raymond’s name went up even further.

***

That’s how the epidemic ended.

It was Raymond’s credit from start to finish.

From minimizing the number of victims to uncovering the identity of the disease and to rooting it out all at once. There was nothing Raymond hadn’t done.

Of course, a reward would be given to him as well.

“…Come forward.”

Raymond frowned as he climbed to the podium.

‘I told you to hide my balls, Lao, you damn thing! I don’t want to be entangled in this conspiracy!’

Raymond was convinced that the epidemic was a conspiracy.

So, in order to get himself out, he asked Lao to hide what he had done and contributed to the case. But then he didn’t?

He even told the whole story.

‘Everyone in the world should know a great man like him.’

He even said this.

Lao then proceed in saying with such competitive and determined eyes.

‘From now on, I will become the younger brother who does not lose to my older brother in the spirit of patriotism and Noblesse Oblige. I’ll make sure to surpass my older brother one day!’

‘I’m not interested in that, you punk!’

What kind of patriotism to death is noblesse oblige?

Raymond sighed heavily.

Lao, the more we stayed together, the more he seemed to be like a weird guy.

‘Of course, I like my reputation going up, but not this time.’

But it was late.

He has already come to receive the prize before the king.

“Is there anything you want to receive as a prize?”

At that, Raymond came to his senses.

‘Now that it’s like this, I was going to get the maximum compensation.’

He knelt down on one knee and asked sincerely.

“I wish you would lower the reward and only give me a bounty, Your Highness.”

“A bounty?”

“Yes, I don’t need any other compensation. I only want the bounty.“

A bounty.

Raymond accented the word so much that he deliberately added that no other reward was needed.

“Hmm. Compared to the credit you made, it seems like a small reward.”

“No, it is already enough. I don’t need any other compensation.”

Raymond continued to add. “I am a healer. I just did what I had to do as one, so what kind of reward would I still need to expect? The bounty alone is full and overflowing.”

Those humble words brought admiration from all over Daejeon.

Galman looked at Raymond with admiration as well.

‘It’s not a small achievement, but he is so humble. Of course, considering the dedication he has shown so far, it’s natural to have such a deep heart.’

Galman wasn’t the only one who admired Raymond.

Some of the nobles were also impressed with Raymond as they thought to themselves.

‘It is great for a lowly illegitimate child. It’s modesty that even us aristocrats can’t show.’

‘It’s the same with his successive achievements. Is the king’s bloodline really strong?’

Of course, it’s only part of it.

Most aristocrats still treated Raymond like a worm.

Still, it was quite meaningful that some of the perceptions began to change.

“I see. If you say so, I’ll give you a bounty”

“Thank you, Your Highness!”

‘Yes! It’s money!’

Raymond swallowed tears of joy.

‘Once I get the bounty, I shall buy some champagne first. I’ll also buy the highest quality of clothes… No! I’ll have to pay off my debt first. Dang it.’

‘After wiping out the Dark Blade Guild the other day, I received the support fund, so I was a little relieved, but it was still not enough. It’s because I see a lot of poor patients.’

It was Raymond who became an even bigger debtor as the interest slowly increases the total amount of his debt.

‘Of course, there is a fixed amount of reward depending on merit, so I won’t be able to pay all of my debts this time. Still, it’ll give me a bit of a breather.’

But there were people who were still puzzled by his decisions.

People were looking too much in admiration. Chancellor Galman murmured in surprise.

“You really only care about your patients without greed. If it’s the bounty you want, then it is the bounty you will get. You can’t accomplish all of these things and not get any prizes.”

Raymond understood why the nobles admired them so much.

For a rich aristocrat, a bounty is probably the least expensive award.

‘Anyway… How do rich people even think?’

Raymond shook his head.

“Your Highness, I don’t think it’s right to just give a simple reward to Baroness Penin. Why don’t you bring down the medal Wand of Light?

Raymond looked surprised.

The wand of light!

It was a healing wand used by Ex-class healer Alex, a saint of the Kingdom of Houston, hundreds of years ago.

He is said to have treated numerous patients with the wand of light.

It was a very honorable medal as it was named after the staff used by such a saint.

“I think it’s enough that we award him the medal of the wand of light since he had managed to stop the epidemic from spreading in the capital.” 

King Oden remained still for a moment and nodded.

It was decided to give Raymond the medal!

‘I, who lived in failure for 10,000 years, was awarded the medal of the Wand of Light.’

Raymond’s eyes were twitching in excitement.

It had a different meaning than other medals.

This is because it is a medal given only to healers.

It was a medal that a healer could be proud of for a lifetime and leave as a family heirloom.

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

Raymond bowed his head with genuine delight.

A bounty and a healer’s medal.

It was the best day ever.

***

“10,000 pence!”

Raymond cheered.

It was the money Raymond was supposed to get as a reward.

It was a great deal of money.

‘Of course, this money is still not enough to pay off my debt.’

Raymond sighed inwardly.

‘But I’ll be able to breathe a little. Of these, 500 pence should not be used to pay off debts but should be siphoned off as slush funds. I have to buy some beef.’ Raymond thought.

‘By the way, when am I getting the quest reward? I’m about to reach level 40 soon.’

The reward for solving this pandemic was to level up twice.

‘I’m currently at level 38, so I’ll be at level 40 once I get a reward.’

‘When I get to level 40, I’ll finally get promoted! I can get off the novice’s resident ticket.’

‘I was looking forward to getting promoted like that, but I didn’t hear anything about leveling up.’

‘I don’t know whether I will level up soon if I continue to wait. Anyway, I should go and buy some beef.’

It was a moment when Raymond was trying to trudge his steps when an unexpected voice called for him.

It came from a royal servant.

“Wait a moment, Baron Penin. Your Highness requires of you.”

Raymond opened his eyes wide.

***

Raymond followed the servant with a curious mind.

‘Why is he calling me? Aren’t we done with this business yet?’

‘By any chance…’

Raymond’s heart beat faster than normal.

‘Is he planning to give me more money?’

Of course, it wasn’t that kind of business.

“Do you have any idea of the cause of this epidemic?”

“……!”

Raymond was startled.

King Oden spoke in a heavy voice.

“The epidemic prevalent in the Principality of Michelan in the distance spreads in the Bay Area. Something’s wrong. Do you have any guesses?”

‘The King had a similar idea.’

Raymond thought it was good.

‘It’s not a problem that can be solved in my line of work anyway, so let’s leave it all behind and leave me alone.”

If this epidemic was indeed a conspiracy, Raymond, a mediocre healer, would not be able to do anything to help them.

“I feel the same way. It is not clear that this is a naturally occurring epidemic.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s possible that someone deliberately spread the plague.”

“……!”

Chancellor Galman, who was next to him, asked in a heavy voice. “Is there a possibility that such a coincidence will happen? What if there was a mouse riding in the carriage secretly.”

“If so, it should have spread to the commercial area first, not the Bay Area, which is the slums. I think it’s someone’s conspiracy.”

Raymond gave emphasis to the word ‘conspiracy’.

To make them more alert.

‘High-ranking people should solve conspiracies on their own. I’m just going to treat patients and make money off it.’

At that time, King Oden asked an unexpected question.

“Baron Penin, do you have any guesses  who is behind it?”

“……!”

Raymond kept his mound shut.

‘No, why are you asking me that? I’m just a healer.’

But what are King Oden and Galman thinking?

They waited patiently for Raymond’s answer.

In particular, Galman had an incomprehensible anticipation in his eyes.

‘No…’

Inevitably, Raymond opened his mouth.

“I think we need to think about who benefits from this.”

In fact, he did think about the background of the pandemic while solving this problem.

If this is a conspiracy, why did he do this? Who? What benefits?

“Tell me more.”

“This almost threw the kingdom’s capital into a big mess. If you can guess who wants such a situation, you can guess the culprit.”

The atmosphere between King Oden and Chancellor Galman became heavy.

“Also, the culprit must be a very capable or a very powerful man.”

Speaking of which, Raymond decided to confide in all the speculations he had made.

“Because it will take a lot of strength to airlift the far-off Principality of Michelan without being noticed by others.”

“….”Right

King Oden nodded.

“I have heard you well. I’m going to deal with it.”

It was time for Raymond to step down after giving his respects.

“The Baron Penin.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

King Oden looked straight into Raymond’s eyes.

The eyes of the two rich men met.

“You did a great job on this one. As the King of the Houston Kingdom, I thank you for your contributions.”

“……!”

It was an unconventional remark to express gratitude.

It is extremely rare for a king to tell such a statement, and in a sense, it was more glorious than a medal.

“…Thank you.”

***

Raymond, who finished the audience, bit his lips tightly.

‘I thank you for your service.’

‘My heart is pounding.’

‘My heart leaped.’

‘It was my first time hearing that from my father.’

But Raymond soon shook his head strongly.

‘What are you thinking about, Raymond?! He’s not my father, he’s just someone I share a bloodline with. It’s just a story of a king. It doesn’t make sense to be this happy about it!’

Raymond was so annoyed that he could not stand such a reaction to only one sentence.

‘Let’s just buy beef and go back to the Bay Area. I’ll eat a lot.’

And that was the moment when a message came to his mind.

[‘Unknown plague incident’ was solved!]

[Quest accomplished!]

[Bonus level up!]

[Bonus level up!]

[20 bonus skill points will be given!]

It was the reward for the quest.

“Finally?”

‘My heart is pounding.’

‘My heart trembled in a completely different sense than before.’

Raymond opened the status window.

[Level: 38 → 40]

I finally achieved level 40. It was a much-anticipated promotion!

[Your level has reached 40.]

[You’ve met the standard for promotion!]