'Joseph... Paul Joseph Goebbels.'
Surely this bastard isn't somehow related to that demagogue.
The eras are different, so probably not...
But it seems entirely possible that there's a bloodline connection.
First of all, just his appearance – pale and sinister – it's somehow... similar.
"Are you scared?"
Anyway, as I was associating the name Joseph and the anti-Semitic remarks with the Nazis, Joseph spoke up in a truly arrogant manner.
Naturally, it was Liston who reacted to that statement – it's a bit funny that it's considered natural.
"Don't be ridiculous. Do you think the Kim Tae-pyeong of London would be scared by the likes of you?"
"Kim Type Young of London?"
"You can't even pronounce it correctly, you bastard."
"Hah."
Liston started twirling his fist.
Actually, I didn't really feel like stopping him either.
Because it seems like that bastard deserves to be hit?
"Whoa, whoa."
But it seemed the Director thought differently.
Considering he recognized him earlier...
'Is he famous in his own way?'
That's not the main problem; the issue is that he's a known figure. That makes it a bit tricky to just kill him and dispose of the body however.
Of course, since we've made connections by bringing over the pig pancreases... if we use that gang...
It seems like it could be handled, but...
'The brother is also a problem.'
He's the type to act up like that even after losing his nose; it's unlikely he'd stay quiet.
Though it seems like hitting him a few times would probably quiet him down.
Usually, quiet guys become talkative, and talkative guys become quiet.
Hit him more and they all get quiet?
'Still, he's Colin's brother...'
If he were a stranger, we could just lock the door here and deal with him...
But he's someone we know, right?
We can't do that.
'You should be patient too.'
Whether he read my mind or not, Liston slowly shook his head, mouthing the words.
Meanwhile, the Director stepped forward.
He tapped my shoulder on his way and said something.
'Are you confident?'
'Of course.'
At my words, the Director nodded and chuckled.
Then he spoke to Joseph.
"Listen here, Joseph. I believe you are well aware of this hospital's reputation."
"Well... It seems the British got lucky and gained some reputation."
Hearing that, the Director briefly looked back.
'Can we kill him without a trace?'
That's what he was asking with his mouth. Unfortunately, Liston shook his head.
It seemed he was saying something like, 'We can kill him, but there would probably be traces left.'
I wasn't sure yet, so I remained still.
If we utilize all our known connections, it seems like it could work out somehow...
"Damn it."
"What did you say?"
"No, nothing. Anyway, a contest. Hmm... Okay, let's do it."
"Aren't you afraid of being utterly humiliated?"
"Then does that mean we can't do it? It sounds like you're saying we can handle the brother's surgery."
"No, that won't do. I have some debts on this side."
No, how on earth did he end up owing a favor to a guy like Joseph?
I was very curious, but that was something to think about after crushing him first.
The brother...
The more I looked at the nose, the more it seemed like it wouldn't be an easy surgery.
Nevertheless, one thing I can assert is that in this era, there's no way I can lose.
It might seem like prejudice, but there's no way I'd lose to a guy who looks like that.
This is real.
"Alright, good. Then let's do it big."
"Big...?"
"First, we need to recruit patients, don't you think? Let's recruit them and have the surgery performed in the square!"
No...
How could I even lose?
Regardless of my bewilderment, the conversation continued.
It didn't continue in a good direction.
German people...
I actually like them, you know?
I only used German surgical instruments, and for laparoscopic endoscopes, I refused to use anything but German-made.
Except for when I was a military doctor with limited resources, I really did.
"Coming here, I see inferior species are visible too. Those Jewish bastards... If we just cut off their hooked noses and make new ones, wouldn't that work?"
But hearing him say such things right in front of me repeatedly is confusing.
They make good products, but were they really guys like this?
Did the Nazis just appear out of nowhere?
'Won't those Hunnic bastards go anywhere? Ah, I'm not insulting you.'
As I was shaking my head, Liston whispered to me like this.
I wondered what he meant.
I'll ask later.
"Such acts are not tolerated under the laws of the British Empire."
"Seems it was just luck that brought you this far. If it were the great Germanic people..."
"Uh, Dr. Joseph. Let's just accept the contest for now. In London, it's better to do as they say."
"Ah, yes. But is this contest absolutely necessary? I should be the best anyway."
"That is..."
Looking closely, it seemed Colin's brother had also become confused while listening to the conversation.
Well, if he were a person in his right mind, he'd have no choice.
He's spouting hate speech and nonsense as naturally as breathing, so what can you do?
"If you win here, wouldn't it be good for establishing your position?"
"Well, I suppose that's true too. Well... Don't worry too much about what I say. After all, I'm the one who created the surgery to correct those inferior Jewish bastards."
"I... understand. Anyway, Director?"
At the words of Colin's brother, the Director nodded.
"The contest, when would be a good time to hold it? Life isn't easy in this state. I'm receiving unwarranted misunderstandings as well."
"Well... How difficult could it be to find people with cut noses in the London scene? I think if you give me about 3 days, it should be enough."
"Three days. Understood. Then I'll come again at that time."
"Alright, let's do that. Anyway, we'll be cooperating with the police, so you'll find out the details whether you want to or not."
"Yes, let's do that. Anyway, my apologies for the trouble."
Colin's brother left with that Joseph bastard.
Thud.
Simultaneously, Colin fell to his knees.
He alternated looking at me, Liston, and the Director.
The gazes of Joseph and Alfred, who had entered at some point, weren't very favorable either.
"I'm sorry! I had no idea my brother would bring such a person and pull this kind of stunt..."
"Get up. It's not your fault. But..."
Although the Director told him to get up, he was still looking down at Colin.
The atmosphere was such that if you got up just because you were told to, you'd get scolded.
No, I guarantee this isn't just about the atmosphere.
He would have been beaten to death.
Fortunately, Colin is quite perceptive, so instead of getting up, he just stayed in place.
"Uh, Director?"
"That guy Joseph is definitely not ordinary. Why is your brother acting like this?"
"Uh... he got injured this time, didn't he?"
"That's right. Ah, don't tell me..."
"Yes. He can't go out and about anymore. He's not a bad brother, but... It seems he was too desperate."
"Intentionally doing such a thing..."
"He's naively good-hearted. But he still needs to get hit once."
"Ugh."
The Director smacked the back of Colin's head once, hard, then looked around at me, Liston, and the other students.
'Wow... was he this scary looking?'
His expression might be like that because of it.
It seemed like he could easily drown a person or two, even if not as much as Liston.
"You all. You can win, right?"
"Ah... yes."
I found myself nodding fervently.
It seemed that wasn't the correct answer.
His expression didn't improve.
"Do you know who Joseph is and still say that?"
"No, I actually don't know."
"Do you think it makes sense to say such things without even knowing who the opponent is?"
"I... apologize."
Although he said he was sorry, inwardly I felt wronged.
Because there was no way I could lose to 19th-century doctors.
Of course, I'm not so clueless as to say that out loud, so I just waited.
"Joseph... that man, as mentioned briefly earlier, is a guy who mainly does nose jobs. His clients are mostly Jews. One of the characteristics of Jews is their hooked nose, right? He's correcting that. So that they won't be suspected of being Jewish just by their appearance."
"Uh... hooked nose?"
I was a bit surprised.
Rhinoplasty for a hooked nose is considered one of the easier types of plastic surgery.
It seems he's a guy who cleverly selects his cases... but shouldn't there be some concern for the Jews first?
"So I heard he's very skilled in reconstructive surgery too."
"Really? Doing surgery for hooked noses?"
"What does that have to do with reconstructive surgery?"
"You are confident, right?"
"That part is correct..."
"I don't quite understand."
The Director sighed "Hmm" at my words and then continued.
"Performing nose surgery often leads to cases where the nose rots."
"Ah..."
"They don't disinfect, right? Anyway, so I heard he's also good at reconstructive surgery."
"Problem? Well... since the surgeries are performed on Jews... could there be a problem? There's a possibility that Joseph's side kills them or covers it up."
"Ah, yes..."
I see.
He's a terrifying bastard.
No wonder he was so arrogant, staring right at Liston.
"Anyway, so can you win?"
"Well... I think I can win."
"Good... Dr. Pyeong. If it's your word, I can believe it. But if it goes wrong, the responsibility is yours. You know that, right?"
"Of course."
"If you lose, I won't have you cut off anything or the like. Instead, you'll just focus entirely on diabetes treatment. When the upper class calls, you'll just go and work hard."
"Understood."
Nodding my head, I thought about Joseph.
'Why would the nose rot?'
It probably isn't just because of disinfection.
Of course, disinfection would have a huge impact, but in reality, even in the 21st century, complete disinfection isn't fully achieved in nose surgery.
How are you supposed to disinfect the entire inside of the nose?
You just disinfect the incision surface and that's it.
More than that, I think the surgical method itself is probably a mess.
'Is he good at reconstruction?'
That's impossible.
A conviction comes over me...
There's no way a guy with that mindset could be good at surgery.
Above all, reconstructive surgery developed like crazy after the 20th century.
Before that, I heard it was a complete mess.
No, actually, all surgery was a mess before anesthesia was developed.
Ah?
"You're really confident, right?"
"Of course."
"How can you be so sure? If the opponent has decades of experience... even for you."
"It's impossible."
"Why?"
"Would you perform nose surgery without anesthesia? Even if Jews are discriminated against, to operate for a reason that isn't even a matter of life and death... without anesthesia? It doesn't make sense. Our anesthesia method couldn't have reached Germany more than a few months ago, so that gentleman's track record would only be a few months old."
"Ah-ha. You... you truly are a genius."