Parallel World Pharmacy

In a room on the second floor of the de Mdicis.

Hmm I look good no matter what I do. A handsome bald man. Its almost a crime to be this beautiful, hahaha!

Palle posed in front of a mirror while wearing the blonde wig made from Blanches shiny and flawless hair. He was pleased with how he looked and decided to keep this new hairstyle.

Big older brother, its the same as Blanches-

Blanche pulled on her recently shortened hair with both hands to emphasize the similarity in color.

Hahaha, of course its the same! Its your hair! Thats right, hahaha!

Palle mimicked Blanche and pulled on his hair, causing his wig to fly off his head.

Oh, stop it! Dont laugh at me, brother

Palle looked at the hair that didnt belong to him with a quiet expression. Falma was about to burst into laughter. Palle was also feeling cheerful today.

Previously, Palle was a handsome man with silver hair who gave off a cool impression. After switching into the blonde wig, he left a much sweeter impression.

Even after enduring the painful leukemia treatment, and after shaving his head bald in order to prepare for the hair loss, Palle was never pessimistic but instead always had a positive outlook. Falma thinks that here, he was saved by his brother.

Brother, youre always like this. Youre too brash

I dont want to be like him, Falma thinks.

Why are you so humble? People like you arent popular

To Falmas annoyance, Palle was trying to convince him that women like men who are assertive.

Umm- I know. Mom said that small old brother is popular

This is the first time Im hearing about it. Tell me more

Palle wanted to hear more about Falma in detail.

Wh- No!

Falma pretended to chase Blanche who, while giggling, ran out of the room.

Speaking of which, Palle suddenly said with a serious expression while wearing his wig. He asked Falma a question.

Even though its called complete remission, there are still leukemia cells, right?

Exactly. Brother is currently in complete hematological remission. In other words, there are almost no observable cells when using a microscope. However, theres still around 1 billion leukemia cells in your body

Falma draws a graph to explain to Palle.

Ngh- theres so many!

Palle couldnt feel relieved at all. Instead, he felt a sense of panic grow within him when he thought about remission. Blanche, having overheard that there are 1 billion leukemia cells, stood there with her mouth agape.

If you cant stop thinking about it, just remember that its already decreased from 1 trillion

Oh.. its still not good enough. I cant waste more time, what should I do next?

Palles expression became obedient. He wanted to speed up the treatment.

After no more leukemia cells can be seen using a microscope, lets aim for 100 million leukemia cells. This is known as complete molecular remission

Well, are you going to use the same medicine?

Palle nervously swallowed.

Ah, Ill use three more courses of the same medicine. Keep taking ATRA and anti-cancer drugs. If there are no recurrences in 3 years, its probably fine. If there are no recurrences in 5 years, it can be considered cured

That way, even if the number of leukemia cells dont go to zero, its said to be cured.

It seems so far off. So, will we move onto the next treatment soon?

If I overcome the trials and tribulations in this test from the Medicine God, surely, Ill get something good out of it, thought Palle optimistically.

Take a break, until the normal cells in your bone marrow have recovered

If this were a hospital, then under the current circumstances the patient would be sent home for a while.

However, this is Palles home, so its only a break.

Yay

Even under these normal circumstances, Palle was much more cheerful and so his expression was even brighter.

Yay, brother! Higher!

Palle lifted Blanche up and down in the room.

When can I go back outside?

You can go outside. Ill come with you

Palle kicked off his pajamas. Feeling like he didnt have any time to waste, he started changing his clothes. Falma was worried about the risk of infection, so he went with Palle. Blanche had free time so she came along as well.

And thats why my brother and sister were walking around in the imperial capital.

Palle took in the citys air for the first time in a long while. He had been under treatment for around a month now, so it was almost February.

Ahhh the city air is so good

Where do you want to go?

Oh yeah, over there

When Blanche asked Palle where he wanted to go, Palle pointed towards the cathedral.

Ehh, again? Lets go eat some yummy food

When Palle entered the cathedral, he knelt before the statue of the Medicine God and began to pray. Blanche lazily walked to the statue of the Water God.

Thanks to you, I was able to overcome this challenge

Palle earnestly informed his guardian deity. Falma wanted to pretend to be the Medicine God and say, well done, but decided not to trick his brother this time. Also, the head priest was clearly peeking out from the shadows behind a pillar.

Thank you very much for lending your aid through my brothers hand

It was then that that happened.

(My brothers head is in danger!)

Because Palle had prostrated himself, his wig was starting to slip off. Falma resisted the urge to fix the wigs position.

I had the unique experience of being a patient for a serious illness. This was a trial imposed by the Medicine God for the sake of my growth, wasnt it.

Palle lifted his head, and the wig immediately slipped off. He looked around and checked that no one saw, then put the it back on.

Falma also didnt see anything.

Big older brother, little older brother, Im finished my prayers

Finished already? Blanche, your prayers are too sloppy! Did Falma pray to the Medicine God yet?

Mmm? Ahh, uhh

Palle didnt notice that the cathedral floor around Falma was glowing.