'?'
Liston stared at me, his eyes wide.
And for good reason. I had told him something as if it were a matter of course.
- Your Highness. If we don't hurry, there will be no opportunity left later.
Realistically, you need to have some hair on the back of your head to be able to do anything.
Once you become a completely bald cue ball, it becomes difficult.
It's also difficult if the area that needs to be covered is too large.
Essentially, this is also a 'transplant', isn't it?
Compared to an organ transplant, it's considerably...
It's a much easier transplant, which is why people forget, but it's still a transplant, so it shares most of the characteristics.
'Are you insane? The person in question... is not someone you can experiment on!
Naturally, Liston wasn't the only one shocked by my claim that I could do it.
"Uhahahahaha!"
"Your, Your Highness! Congratulations!"
He must have thought of all sorts of things on his long journey from Hanover.
After all this hardship, what if it was all for nothing...?
He probably felt it every time he looked in the mirror.
The feeling that asking for help with this now would be a rather shameless act.
If you have a conscience, wouldn't you feel that way?
'Wait... but he's a Brit, and a royal at that, so maybe he doesn't have a conscience...?'
He's part of the core axis of imperialist powers.
They're the ones who ran colonies all over the world, monopolistically buying goods there for a pittance and then selling the products made from them at high prices, again monopolistically.
They're slightly better to fellow white people, but does that mean they're completely fair?
No, not at all.
"Aren't you staring a bit too obviously?"
Anyway, while our Duke was so overjoyed that he momentarily lost his mind, Liston grabbed me.
He was making a fearsome face, one I hadn't seen in a long time.
Actually, he always looks scary, but how should I put this?
Yes, should I call it 'Serious Mode'...?
Regardless, I found myself trembling uncontrollably before barely managing to continue speaking.
"Is it wrong for a doctor to look at a patient?"
I ended up spouting something quite brazen for such a situation...
But this very point is also why Liston respects me, so he just let out a sigh and said, "Haa."
As someone who is weak against power, he probably can't understand someone like me.
But...
'Even a President becomes humble before a doctor.'
If it's a doctor who saves lives like a game of roulette, then of course it's right to tremble in fear.
But a doctor who can cure people with a fairly high probability is right to be confident anywhere.
Frankly, just because I couldn't fix some royal's younger brother's hair, what could he really do to me?
Of course, those who want to slander me would run wild, but with Sir Jamie around, I could pretty much consider those kinds of people non-existent.
In comparison...
- This can't be.
Make it abundant.
I'll probably be invited to Hanover, right?
And as a distinguished guest, no less.
Is that all?
Money and power would pour in.
Then I could save more people.
If you think that last part feels a bit too forced, that's because you're not pure-hearted.
I truly have no interest in money at all, only in the lives that can be saved through it!
That's my only interest.
"That's not entirely wrong either... but what are you going to do about this! You have criteria for choosing patients, don't you!"
"I do."
"And unfortunately, our Duke... doesn't meet them at all!"
Do people with hair loss become friends quickly?
Liston was already talking about 'our Duke' as if he'd known him for ages.
Anyway, what he said wasn't wrong.
The Duke's area of hair loss was too wide, while the remaining areas were too narrow.
Even if we perform a procedure to make an incision in the back, extract follicles, and transplant them...
Frankly, it would be like a drop in the bucket.
'But... that doesn't mean there's absolutely no way.'
Hair isn't the only type of body hair, right?
I'm certainly not the first to have this thought.
Even in 21st-century modern medicine, hair loss remained a notoriously difficult condition to treat, and it's also a condition that has a pretty fatal impact on one's appearance, isn't it?
Above all, because it's a disease that's hard to prevent, a great deal of research had been done on follow-up treatments.
- If hair from other parts of the body is transplanted, it maintains its original characteristics, so it should be avoided as much as possible.
I heard that this was the prevailing view until just the early 2000s.
So, the mainstream medical opinion was that if you transplanted hair from, say, the armpits or groin, even over time it would remain curly like the hair from that area, leading to considerable aesthetic difficulties.
However, even if that were the case, there was a patient who wanted to experience washing his hair, even just once.
That brave patient requested a transplant using hair from anywhere, and the doctor, also being a man of great courage, went ahead with it.
At first... it was definitely curly.
But as time passed, it began to change, becoming more like scalp hair.
- Even if hair from other body parts is transplanted, like muscles, it will adopt the characteristics of the transplanted site.
After that, a new theory was established.
Thanks to some great man who dared to challenge and risk failure, people who had been in despair thinking they could never have a hair transplant began to harbor hope.
Of course, this theory was more favorable for Westerners than for Asians.
They simply have more body hair, don't they?
And from what I could see...
His Grace the Duke's physiognomy was perfect for body hair.
For starters, his beard is incredibly thick; usually, if it's like that, it means there's bushy hair from the chest, armpits, groin, and even from the instep to the top of the toes.
"You want to pluck and transplant pubic hair? Are you insane?"
"No. Surprisingly, I am completely sane."
"The person in question is a Duke, a Duke! Pubic hair, for heaven's sake... If we do that..."
"But it's the only method."
"Do you think he would agree to that?"
"He will. If it means getting hair. Wouldn't you do it, Your Highness?"
"Umm..."
Liston pondered and then nodded.
He certainly thought it would be worth the risk if it meant getting hair. And, as a fellow hair loss sufferer, he seemed convinced that His Grace the Duke would probably feel the same.
"He would. But... I suspect you had a reason for not mentioning this from the start."
And he asked a very sharp question.
Being a patient himself, it seemed he had a lot of thoughts.
I made an expression that said 'Indeed, it's Liston' and explained.
"Well, for one... the survival rate will be a bit different."
"Survival rate...?"
"Yes. You didn't expect all the transplanted hair to grow just as it was, did you?"
"Is that not the case?"
"If it were, I would practice on corpses."
"Ah... Well, yes. I suppose..."
"Huh?"
I was in the middle of a medical explanation, so I waited a moment, wondering why his expression had soured. The possibility of an absurd answer was certainly highest, but wasn't my interlocutor Liston? Moreover, in this case, he was also a patient.
A genius doctor who is also a patient?
Naturally, I expected a high-quality inference.
"If you plant something in wasteland... it's unlikely to grow well."
"Ah."
Not that I expected such a high-quality answer...
Anyway, Liston continued his reasoning like a runaway train.
"Moreover, pubic hair, armpit hair... they aren't crops originally grown in that soil, are they? The climate is different, the weather is different, so it probably wouldn't grow as well."
"That... is perfect."
I thought even the head of a top hair transplant clinic in Gangnam probably couldn't give an explanation like this. The word 'perfect' wasn't coming out because I was afraid of Liston, but because I was genuinely impressed.
"Furthermore, in the case of armpits, the incision would be difficult, wouldn't it? Am I right?"
"You are. More or less."
Just this much was amazing, but this... it's even more impressive.
He's probably not just talking about disinfection, right?
"The shape, or the skin's form... Hmm. Then ultimately, the most suitable place would really be the groin... Is wound infection manageable there?"
"We have to be extremely careful. Fortunately, His Grace can be hospitalized, so he won't have to meet anyone he doesn't want to. And even if he does, they'd all be subordinates, wouldn't they?"
"What do you mean?"
"It means he'll have to be naked."
"Ah."
Darkness clouded Liston's face.
The idea of having the Duke stripped...
Of course, he wouldn't like it.
I don't either.
But there's no other way.
And seeing Liston's reaction, I became certain of one thing.
'The Duke will definitely say yes, no question.'
Even if it becomes a somewhat uncomfortable affair...
"Hmm."
With that thought, I explained the general plan to His Grace.
The Duke let out a short sigh.
When I said it was difficult but treatable, he probably thought of various methods himself.
But he likely didn't think of this one right away.
If he had, he'd be a doctor.
A very excellent one, at that.
"Hmm."
It might sound like the second time, but he was actually on about his tenth or so sigh.
I was getting bored, but Liston was still looking at him with an expression of deep understanding.
I might be no match for him in physical strength, but I felt that my character shouldn't be lacking in comparison, so I was doing my best to mimic Liston's demeanor.
"Hmm... So, that's how it is, is it..."
The Duke of the British Empire, the King of Hanover, the biological younger brother of the King of the British Empire, after letting out about twenty sighs, finally began to nod.
His gaze was still fixed on his lower body, but, well...
For my part, I was convinced he would agree from the moment I first brought it up, so I didn't feel particularly moved.
"Your, Your Grace... Doctor Pyeong. Is this truly the only way?"
Sir Damian made a fuss, but it was okay.
I could read in the Duke's wavering pupils the worry, 'What if I say something like this and end up not getting treated?'
"Yes, it's the only way. And even this is only possible after assessing the condition. If the body hair is insufficient..."
"It's plentiful. I often wished this hair was on my head."
"Your, Your Grace. Your dignity..."
"Dignity, what dignity! The person in question is a doctor, is he not? You're the one who said Pyeong is a great doctor, so there's no need to be ashamed. Surely you're not telling me now that I should be worried?"
"N-No, of course not. Pyeong is a trustworthy man."
"Good. Then, shall I undress here?"
Our Duke was already ready to strip down in an instant.
The only saving grace was that, being a Duke, he had quite a few layers of clothing to remove.
"That... would be a bit inappropriate here. Let's go further inside."
"Ah, very well."
Well, in the end, I did get to see everything.
"It's plentiful. With this much, over time, it should be able to cover the area quite naturally."
"Oh."
"The problem is..."
"Oh..."
I watched as the Duke's expression fluctuated with my every word.
Anyway, even with such a Duke, how could I recklessly proceed with the surgery right away?
This was precisely a situation that required some practice.
"If it's about that, don't worry."
"Pardon?"
"I've brought some people from Hanover. Their situation is similar to mine."
So, when I mentioned that, he sent a full five people for me to practice on sufficiently.