The next day, the brutal, foolish, and incompetent king of the Drum Kingdom issued a new proclamation.
The former kingdom warrior, Dalton, had attempted to rebel against his king and had now been imprisoned. Starting today, all taxes would be raised to nine parts out of ten. Anyone who dared resist would be charged with treason.
As for Dr. Kureha, she was ordered to come out and surrender immediately, hand over her secret formula for preserving youth, or get out of the country herself. Otherwise, the full power of the nation would be mobilized to hunt her down—and when that happened, dead or alive would no longer matter.
The moment this notice came out, it was as if the sky had fallen over the Drum Kingdom.
The civilians looked as though they had lost all spirit. One by one, they moved like walking corpses.
Even Dalton, the one who had always spoken for them, had been thrown into prison. It seemed their last bit of hope was truly gone.
An old woman wearing sunglasses, with graying hair and a tall, thin frame, glanced at the notice, shook her head, and walked away, muttering to herself as she went.
"That idiot Dalton… What a fool. How could one man possibly beat a whole group? Did he think he was one of those monsters?"
After saying that, the old woman climbed onto her sleigh. A reindeer had already been waiting there quietly for quite a while—though for some reason, it had a hat on its head.
The townspeople silently watched the deer sleigh disappear into the distance.
No one said a word.
They all knew exactly who she was.
That old woman had a terrible temper and charged outrageous fees, but her medical skill was exceptional. There was almost no illness she couldn't cure.
Compared to the doctors kept at the side of that cruel and heartless king, she was a hundred times better.
So when people saw her, they pretended not to.
Even some of the soldiers tasked with hunting her down would deliberately act as if they hadn't seen anything.
That was why Dr. Kureha had always been able to move openly throughout the country.
And that was also why Wapol was so furious.
Once they were far from the village, Dr. Kureha spoke.
"Chopper, go straight home for now. Lie low for a while. There's probably going to be a major search soon."
The reindeer looked around cautiously. Only after confirming no one was nearby did he speak.
"Doctorine, is it because of that notice?"
Dr. Kureha nodded.
"That brat Wapol is about to get serious. We need to keep a lower profile for a while, or trouble's going to find us."
As he pulled the sleigh through the snow, Chopper nodded.
"Then we should stay quiet for a while, Doctorine. Humans are sly by nature. We should be careful."
Dr. Kureha smiled faintly as she looked at the fool of a son in front of her.
Ever since that man had been driven into suicide by Wapol's scheme, this silly child had been living with her, depending on her for everything.
Though this foolish son of hers could be a bit troublesome, his talent in medicine was truly excellent. She had taught Chopper everything she knew, holding nothing back.
But that Rumble Ball he had come up with recently had genuinely frightened her.
Dr. Kureha still remembered that day clearly.
After Chopper ate that pill, he had transformed directly into a monster—a complete and utter monster.
A creature with no rational thought, one that only knew destruction and slaughter.
Fortunately, it had happened in the mountains rather than in a village. Otherwise, Dr. Kureha didn't even know how many people might have died.
Although she had forbidden any further research into that Rumble Ball afterward, Dr. Kureha knew Chopper was still secretly continuing his work.
She didn't expose him.
Kids being a little reckless wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
Especially after learning certain things, she had begun putting serious effort into raising Chopper, determined to make him the finest doctor possible.
That way, the chances of him being able to follow that man would be much higher.
With outstanding medical skill, plus that foolishly adorable appearance, who could possibly refuse him?
At that thought, a smile tugged at Dr. Kureha's lips.
Half a day later, the old woman and the reindeer returned to their home—a tree hollow, the house Hiriluk had left behind, where the two of them had been living ever since.
But the smile vanished from Dr. Kureha's face the moment she saw a man sitting at her doorstep, smiling at her, a Lapahn rabbit cub in his arms.
She recognized him immediately.
That man.
The strongest creature—Dragon Emperor White Ghost.
Chopper dug in his hooves and stopped the sleigh in a hurry. He had seen the man too, and his eyes instantly filled with caution.
Just as Chopper was about to turn and run, two people descended from the sky to either side of them, both with wings on their backs, cutting off their retreat.
Kuro landed and spoke politely with a smile.
"Our captain has a few things he'd like to discuss with you two."
He was very courteous.
Anyone who had managed to live more than a hundred years through medicine they had developed themselves deserved his respect.
Akin said nothing. He simply stood there, wary, staring at the old woman and the reindeer. If they dared run, he was ready to move at once.
Chopper panicked. With a swish, he shrank down and hurried behind Dr. Kureha to hide—though only half his head was actually concealed, while the rest of his body remained completely exposed.
Dr. Kureha took one look and understood that escape was impossible.
That man's strength was no joke.
With no other choice, she picked Chopper up and walked toward White Ghost.
Kuro and Akin followed behind.
When Dr. Kureha finally stopped in front of White Ghost and saw the smile on his face, she instinctively felt that something bad was about to happen.
Curled up in her arms, Chopper tried hard to pretend he was nothing more than an ordinary pet, putting on the most innocent and clueless expression he could manage.
Dr. Kureha couldn't stand that smiling face any longer and finally spoke.
"So then, the famous Dragon Emperor White Ghost. What business do you have with an old woman like me?"
White Ghost's gaze shifted toward Chopper.
The little reindeer's body stiffened at once, and a frightened look instantly appeared on his cute, innocent face.
Dr. Kureha tightened her hold on Chopper.
Could this man be here for Chopper?
But this was just a silly little reindeer. There was nothing particularly special about him—was there?
White Ghost smiled.
"I've come all the way to your door, and you're not even going to invite us in for a seat? We've been waiting outside in this snow for quite a while. It's pretty cold."
Dr. Kureha shot him a glance and cursed inwardly.
Cold my ass.
He was standing out in the snow wearing only a shirt. If he were really cold, he would've lit a fire himself already.
Still, grumbling in her heart was one thing. Out loud, she said:
"Then come in, Mr. White Ghost. And the two brats with you too."
She had no choice anyway.
They couldn't escape, and if they angered this man, the outcome probably wouldn't be pleasant.
So for now, it was better to behave and see what exactly he wanted.
Dr. Kureha didn't believe for a second that a man who never moved without profit would come all this way just for one silly reindeer.
White Ghost and the other two followed Dr. Kureha into the tree house.
The moment they stepped inside, warmth wrapped around them.
It was cozy and comfortable, and the room was neat and clean.
There were also two small rooms off to the side, their bookshelves piled high with books, along with various test tubes and medicines—probably the place where Chopper usually experimented and researched drugs.
Once White Ghost and the others had taken their seats, Chopper prepared tea. Trembling the whole time, he carefully carried the tray over step by step, his face still full of fear.
White Ghost really couldn't take how stupidly adorable the little guy was.
The moment Chopper set down the tea cups, White Ghost reached out and grabbed him.
Chopper had just been about to run, but before he could, a large hand scooped him up.
His face instantly turned panicked, and he cried out loudly:
"Doctorine, save me!"
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