Edogawa Nishiguchi Ayakashi Clinic - Chapter 29
“Ayakashi are able to relax when they revert to their original forms, you see.”
Apparently, the two of them were being careful when they saw me upset.
Got it. I’m also an employee of the clinic, so I have to get used to seeing ayakashi, right?
“I… I’m fine. Probably! Please don’t mind me!”
“Alright.”
“Thank you so much. I’m so glad!”
“Then, I’ll have a nama. What about you, Nanakida?” [1]
“Raw!?”
“We’ll have 2 draft beers, chief.”
Oh, right. In izakayas, “nama” means draft beer.
I’m so over-reactive that it’s embarrassing sometimes.
“Thank you!”
“Thank you, Nanakida. You did well.”
“Uh, s-sure.”
When the tankards containing the beer were brought to us, we started off with a toast.
Do all ayakashi only make light toasts?
But the food brought to us together with the alcohol was so good.
It’s not to the level of gourmet food presentations, but this restaurant does a pretty good job.
The assorted sashimi served was fresh and beautifully arranged.
Is this simmered white fish?
What’s up with these shrimp cream croquettes? It’s so good.
Was the shrimp rolled up, coated in cream, and fried?
Oh my gosh, this keema salad is also heavenly.
Oh, right. I have to thank Mr. Miyoshi.
“Thank you for helping me move my things earlier.”
“S’nuthin’!”
I didn’t understand what he just said, but I did notice that the speed of serving the alcohol was quite fast.
If this is the equivalent amount for the move — if I were to pay, how much would I need?
“Don’t mind it.”
“But…”
“Takeru is paying for all of this today.”
“Eh, why?”
“As congratulations for moving in.”
“But didn’t you guys already offer the room for cheap?”
20,000 yen is almost the same as my monthly food expenses. [2]
Even if I ate outside, there’d still be some leeway on my budget.
“It’s great if you could eat some more.”
“I didn’t mean that.”
“We’ve rented the whole place today, so take it easy and order anything you want.”
“That’s not what I’m trying to say…”
As the conversation went on, the next dish served was something ordered by Mr. Miyoshi.
It bothered me to see his chest muscles slightly twitch, so I looked away.
“By the way Mr. Tengo, Ms. Nanakida is the new clinic staff, right?”
“Were you not yet introduced?”
“I’m so sorry, it’s not exactly the first time we’re meeting right now, but nice to meet you, I’m Nanakida! Looking forward to seeing you in Dr. Tengo’s clinic next week!”
I looked at the muscular gladiator Mr. Miyoshi.
Before he could even respond, I already anticipated what he was going to ask next.
“You’re neither a half or a quarter, are you?”
“Yes, well… I get asked that a lot, but unfortunately…”
“It must be nice not needing to drink any medicine regularly.”
“Now that you mention it, all the ayakashi go to the Ayakashi Clinic to have their prescriptions filled.”
“It’s hard for us during childhood after all.”
So does this mean he doesn’t need it now?
Even though I work as a medical clerk, I don’t know which medicine the ayakashi take at all.
“Dr. Tengo, you haven’t completely explained it to me yet, have you?”
“About what?”
“About why the ayakashi can’t go to normal hospitals.”
“…Is that so?”
“Even if you look at me like that…”
Please stop it.
You’re just looking shy and not saying anything.
“Would a brief explanation be okay?”
“No. I’m also an employee of the Ayakashi Clinic, so please explain it to me in detail.”
“When half or quarter ayakashi are born, blank codons which should not appear in the DNA interfere and drug sensitivity to opioid receptors may differ from that of humans.”
“Wait, wait! I want the shortened version after all!”
He looked at me as if to say “I told you so”.
I’m sorry, I was overconfident.
“Gahahaha. Mr. Tengo is so serious.”
“She did say that she wanted it in detail.”
“Would it be ok if I explained instead?”
“Yes, please. It seems my explanation was too…”
Don’t look so dejected.
It wasn’t like your explanation was bad.
Well, it was difficult to understand though.
Ah, he looked away again.
You keep reading people’s minds that’s why you get hurt like that.
“You see, normal human medicine doesn’t work on us at all.”
“Is that so? But if Mr. Miyoshi is a quarter, then doesn’t that mean that the remaining ¾ is the same as humans?”
“Well, our genes should be the same as humans. Right, Mr. Tengo?”
“In terms of range of gene expression, then it’s very similar.”
If it’s very similar, then why doesn’t normal medicine work?
What are halves and quarters?
“If either your father or mother are ayakashi, then you’re a half; if your grandfather or grandmother are ayakashi, then you’re a quarter.”
“Are they no different from foreigners who are halves and quarters?”
“I wanted to say that too.”
“Eh? Is that so?”
Ah, he looked away.
Doctor, your mug’s already empty.
Translator’s Notes
[1] Nama
The word nama (生), can mean a lot of things. In this case, Dr. Tengo was referring to draft beer (生ビール/nama biiru) which is also called ‘nama’ for short, but the word also means “raw” so Azuki reacted like…that. 😏 If you’re curious, you can see the other meanings here
[2] Rental price
Nanakida mentioned that her rent was 20,000 yen which is roughly 139 usd. Regular rental prices in Tokyo for private apartments can start at around 100,000 yen (approx. 690 usd), but the average as of 2020 was 230,000 yen (approx. 1590 usd), not including the deposits and other hidden costs. Talk about cheap!
