Chapter 37
Translator: SFBaka
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“My name’s Hiro, our ship’s captain . These are my crew, Elma and Mimi . We’ll be in your care, Dr . Shouko . ”
“Oh, it’s fine, it’s fine . No need to be all polite with me folks . Let’s all take it easy, shall we?”
“That so? I’ll take you up on that then . ”
I nodded while thinking the doctor’s heart was as broad as her chest .
“You’ll be getting a comprehensive physical examination today, right?”
Dr . Shouko asked to confirm as she took out a tablet terminal from who-knows-where . Just where’d it come from? That tablet . She had both hands inside her coat’s pocket earlier, didn’t she?
“Uh, I’m currently in a situation where I’m not sure if I’ve received all available vaccines for infectious diseases or not . And Mimi here only got the most common ones back on Termaine Prime . Since we’re gonna be flying around all over the galaxy during mercenary work, it’d be great if we could get all of that covered as well . How about you, Elma?”
“I’ve gotten most of the important ones . And the immune system of an elf-like me is way better than that of you humans, so I don’t really need shots all that much . But it would still be better to be safe than sorry, so I got the more important ones out of the way at least . ”
“I see . Do you girls have any other concerns?”
“Um, how about the thing with your memory, Hiro-sama–”
“Sorry, Mimi . That was a lie . ”
I interrupted Mimi, who was about to bring up my purported memory loss and denied her words . The moment she heard me, Mimi’s eyes widened as she stared straight at me . It seems she’s really shocked .
“The amnesia part’s not true, but I do have some complicated circumstances… To put it simply, my memories are a bit of a mess . I was suddenly thrown out onto Termaine Prime as a result of an accident during Hyperdrive you see . I have no idea what exactly happened though . I also couldn’t find any data regarding Termaine Prime on my ship’s databanks . It’s as if I just suddenly appeared in this world for God-knows-what reason . ”
“……Hee? That sounds pretty mysterious . ”
“It sure is . As a result of my memories getting screwed up due to that Hyperdrive accident, there are parts about this world I’m quite unfamiliar with . I’m taking this opportunity to have a check-up in order to find out if that accident had any other effects on my body apart from my memories getting messed up . ”
“I see . There’s a possibility of your body getting negatively influenced when you lost consciousness during that Hyperdrive accident . I agree that you should have that checked out . ”
Dr . Shouko nodded her head in agreement as she operated her tablet terminal . Was she preparing our clinical records?
“Do you have any special medical history I need to take note of?”
“I’m good . As far as my memory goes, anyway . ”
“I’m also fine . ”
‘I’m the same . ”
I, Elma and Mimi all shook our heads . I don’t have any particular allergies, and I think I’m the very picture of health .
“Well, let’s start with the check-ups then . We’ll do a full scan on the medical pod first . We have the latest models installed in this facility . ”
“They’re Inagawa Technology products?”
“Yep . Our shares in the galactic market notwithstanding, I guarantee our pod’s performance and specs . The fact that it’s a bit bigger than most models and costs a bit more are flies in the ointment so to speak . But we developed it with high performance in mind after all . ”
We followed after Dr . Shouko, who was busy promoting their company’s products with a proud tone . Dr . Shouko explained about the technical aspects of Inagawa Technology’s medical pods, but it all sounded Greek to me . There were a lot of technical terms mixed in, so I couldn’t follow her explanations .
“There you have it . ”
“I only understood about twenty percent . ”
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“I understand that it’s an impressive product!”
“Yeah, it sounds pretty impressive, doesn’t it?”
“Un, anyway, it’s amazing . It’s fine if you get that much . ”
It looks like she wasn’t all that affected by our lukewarm reactions . Dr . Shouko remained in high spirits . I think she’s actually used to people reacting just like we have to her spiel . Anyway, this person feels like she would be more at home doing medical research instead of actively treating patients .
“Well, you guys are basically my saviors . I’ll make sure to prepare the latest equipment for you all, so rest assured . ”
“Saviors……? Were you one of the passengers of the ship we rescued?”
Dr . Shouko turned around and strongly nodded .
“Yep . I was thinking ‘Man, I’m so gonna die here . ’ at that time y’know . See, even though I’m a woman, I’m just too plain-looking . If the pirates succeeded in boarding the ship, I’ll probably end up with the ones to be disposed of y’know . ”
She shrugged her shoulders as she said so . Really? I’m not too sure about that . Once you get a better look at her, Dr . Shouko’s actually quite the beauty, and her assets were huge, so the pirates may have been tempted to abduct her for themselves . I can’t say whether or not that would be better than being disposed of though .
“Well, that’s how it goes . I was basically forced to be in charge of conducting check-ups for nobles and wealthy folk y’see . I was originally a researcher…… . Oh, but don’t worry folks . I have a proper physician’s license, okay . And I’m confident that my skills as a physician are above those of common doctors . ”
“I see . ”
I could only nod in understanding . It’s not like I could suddenly demand a change in the doctor in charge, and doubting her skills would be rude as well .
I turned toward Mimi and Elma and found a trace of anxiety in their expressions . Well, it’s normal, I guess . Of course, they’d react this way . But the person herself claimed it would be okay, so we had no choice but to believe in her abilities .
And we can just go for a second opinion at another medical facility if we had misgivings about the result . It would be best here if we obediently got Dr . Shouko’s comprehensive check-up .
“Well, this is the place . Please go ahead and enter, everyone . ”
“Alright… . Whoah . ”
“Waa . ”
“Hee . ”
The room Dr . Shouko led us to was lined up with med pods which looked far better than the one on Krishna’s med bay . And they really did look bigger . The standard med pod on Krishna was only as large as a small sized bed, but the med pods here looked like they could take up Krishna’s entire med bay . Their heights were about 2 meters, their length was similarly 2 meters, and their width was 3 meters .
“They certainly are large . ”
“They sure are . But these babies are installed with the latest positron computers for an ultrdetailed data analysis . We’re quite proud of what they can do . Now then, please take off your clothes and enter a med pod each . ”
“Uh, how much should we take off?”
“E〜verything . ”
“Everything huh . ”
“Yep, everything . Oh, and I’m more or less used to seeing the naked bodies of patients . You don’t have to mind me one bit . ”
“Uh, okay……”
‘Ain’t it the other way around? Maybe Dr . Shouko didn’t mind it, but we did……’ was what I thought . But I didn’t voice it out in the end . I started taking off my training wear and took a quick glance at Mimi and Elma–
“Oh no, you don’t . ”
Elma threw her jacket and hit my head cleanly . The jacket blocked my line of sight .
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“Hurry up, get undressed, and enter the pod, Mimi . And you mister . You stay there until we’ve both entered . Okay?”
“Aye, aye, Ma’am!”
I gave a crisp salute and obediently stood attention . But I’m already butt naked except for the jacket on my head girls . Isn’t this unfair? You don’t care? Alright then .
“They’ve both entered the med pods . ”
Dr . Shouko called out to inform me . I took off the jacket covering my head and threw it along with the rest of my clothes inside the clothing basket nearby .
“Thanks . Sorry about showing you something unsightly . ”
“No, no . I’m fine with it . ”
I ended up bowing my head in apology . Since it would do no good to keep staring at the good doctor, I went ahead and entered one of the med pods myself . Un . It feels unexpectedly cramped . It resembles the time I once got an MRI .
It feels like that, you know . It was a peculiar feeling of the meds you took before an examination taking effect and warming up your body’s core . It felt a bit weird to experience something like a ‘My body’s getting hot all over!’ event for myself though . It sure was a peculiar experience .
『Can you hear me? I’m going to start the scan, so try to relax in there, m’kay . 』
“Kay . ”
『Please straighten out your body . Spread out your hands and feet more . 』
“Gotcha . ”
I did as the good doctor instructed and waited for the scan to finish . The inside of the med pod was bathed in rainbow-colored light, and my entire body was scanned . But I’m not a person from this dimension . I sure hope nothing weird turns up .
『Kay, all done! I’ll open up the pod, so come out and wear your clothes again . 』
The med pod’s cover opened up with a *pushuu sound of air leaking out . It didn’t take long for the scan to finish . As expected of an SF dimension . The MRI takes a lot more time in comparison…… And your body would feel hot all over as well . It’s not something I want to experience often .
I quickly wore my clothes and handed the jacket back to Elma .
“I’m not worried about Mimi and my scan results, but I’m a bit scared about yours . ”
“It would be good if nothing bad gets detected . ”
“Don’t say that, girls . You’re making me nervous here . ”
“Ahaha, you don’t have to worry that much– Nn?”
Dr . Shouko’s gaze suddenly focused on the results indicated in her tablet terminal . Her brows creased .
“No, hm? Eh……?”
“Now I’m really getting worried . ”
“Uh, hm…… Can I ask you something, Hiro-kun?”
“Go ahead . ”
“I actually have a lot of things I want to ask, but first things first… It seems you haven’t gotten a multilingual translation implant, haven’t you?”
“Is that so?”
I don’t remember getting one so I probably haven’t, I guess . But, judging from her reaction, it seems not having it was unusual . Mimi and Elma also had『Eh? Are you serious?』expressions on their faces .
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“Uh, I guess it’s weird that I don’t have one, right?”
“It’s weird . ”
“It definitely is . ”
“It’s strange, Hiro-sama . ”
The three of them all nodded in agreement . It seems that this multilingual translation implant has spread far and wide across the galaxy, and most babies had one implanted in them soon after birth . Since most, if not all folks, had one implanted in them as soon as they were born, someone like me, who hasn’t gotten the implant at my age was a true oddity .
“But Hiro-sama properly understands the words we’re saying, right?”
“He sure does . And that’s something I haven’t encountered until now . But he doesn’t have a lot of common sense though . ”
“Is that so? Can we do some tests on you for a bit?”
“Please . ”
Dr . Shouko proceeded to operate her tablet .
“I’m now going to start playing languages from different planets on this tablet . Can you repeat the words exactly as you hear them for me? This is a test program for the multilingual translation implant, actually . ”
“Okay . ”
“Here we go then . ”
Sound clips of people making daily conversations played from Dr . Shouko’s tablet . I tried to recite them word for word . Although everything I’m hearing is in Japanese .
I managed to finish reciting everything on the test program without problems .
“It seems there’s no problem . Just what method did they use on you, I wonder?”
“I have absolutely no idea . ”
The heck? Is this something like that? A multilingual translation cheat for people transported to another world? But this is an SF dimension though? I’d have preferred to get an implant like everyone else actually… Rather, I really don’t get my situation here . How am I supposed to interpret this?
“Uh, since it seems there are no problems anyway, let’s just ignore the fact that I have no implant, shall we?”
“Eh…? I’m quite curious about it though . ”
“No, I have no intention of becoming your test subject, Dr . Shouko . Please go ahead with the next test . ”
“How unfortunate…… Um, here’s another thing I’m concerned about . Where exactly do you come from?”
“In my memory, I came from the Solar system’s third planet, Earth . Maybe it’s better to call it the Sol system . ”
But I haven’t even heard of the Solar system or its third planet mentioned since finding myself in this dimension though . I’d just say I heard it from a game whenever I asked other people about them .
“Sol system…… I haven’t heard of it at all . ”
Dr . Shouko looked toward Mimi and Elma . Both of them quickly shook their heads .
“What about my place of birth? Is that really important or something?”
“Un, it’s about your genetic data, you see . I’ve managed to get lots of values I haven’t seen until now . ”
“Hm……?”
“Well, after checking, your body seems similar in function to that of a normal humanoid race, so I guess it’s fine . But it’s quite interesting though . Since your genetic data is different from all others, we might find some new factors we haven’t managed to discover until now within it . ”
“Please make the explanation easier to understand, Doc . ”
“Your genetic data is like an unexplored new frontier . Do you get it better if I describe it like that?”
“Huh……”
I turned towards Elma and Mimi once more and saw them displaying expressions which seemed unsure about how to react after hearing such info . I kinda get why though .
“And what merits can that provide?”
“A lot, actually . Your genetic data is practically priceless . An unknown genetic make-up is akin to this universe’s unexplored frontiers you know!”
Dr . Shouko closed in on me while sporting an excited expression . Close . Way too close . The gaze coming from behind her glasses was really intense . I put my hands on both her shoulders and gently pushed her away .
“And the demerits are?”
“I don’t think there are any . We’re proud of our information security protocols here, so there’s next to no chance of this leaking out . However, I don’t recommend getting another check-up at a different institution . There’s a risk of you turning into some lab’s guinea pig after all . We’re a proper institution here . I guarantee the safety of your personal data, and we won’t attempt to follow you around or restrain you in any way . ”
“Okay . ”
Looks like I managed to dodge a bullet huh . I had an inkling something like this would happen, but I had no idea it would turn out to be such a big deal . What to do……? Should I follow Doc’s suggestion and have Inagawa Technology handle all our medical needs from now on?
“I understand . Please give me some time to consider the thing about offering my genetic data for research . Considering the situation, I think it’s best we had Inagawa Technology handle our medical needs from now on . And I’d also like to hear more details about the price of my genetic data and what it’ll be used for, exactly . But let’s just finish the comprehensive check-up and vaccination for today……”
“It would be best if you got vaccinated after we’ve analyzed your genetic data . It’s because there’s a chance of an unexpected change occurring in your genetic make-up once you got them . We’d like your genetic code to be as pure and natural as possible after all . ”
What’s the thing with vaccines making changes to my genetic code, Doc…? It sounds scary, man .
“So I guess I have to come here again huh……”
“Well, we can finish everything today if you handed over your genetic data right now, you know . ”
“Like there’s anyone who’d hand over the goods before a proper contract’s been drafted!”
“You can hand it over if you really trust us, right, Hiro-kun?”
Dr . Shouko tilted her head cutely as she gave me a warm, sweet-looking smile . This lady doctor’s unexpectedly sly huh .
“We haven’t built a relationship based on trust yet, so that’s impossible . ”
“That’s truly regrettable . ”
“You have the data from the scan, right?”
They have data that would at least allow them to recognize that my genetic make-up was pretty unique from the med scan earlier .
“But it’s different from having the real thing . We’d prefer a sample of your blood or semen actually . ”
“Please hold off on that until we reach a satisfactory agreement . ”
Dr . Shouko sighed in disappointment . This woman really is a researcher . I’m positive she’s not suited for being a medical doctor out on the field .
“Oh well . Let’s just finish up everything that can be done today, shall we? I really want to get a hold of Hiro-kun’s genetic data after all . ”
Dr . Shouko flashed me one of her sweet smiles again . Fine, fine . Just do whatever, Doc .