Chapter 312: Chopper
Through the narrow window beside the cabin door, a reindeer was secretly watching the unexpected visitors outside.
Or at least, he seemed to think he was being secretive.
Most of his body was sticking out from behind the open door.
His head, meanwhile, was carefully hidden on the other side.
The strange posture made it look almost as though he were deliberately trying to be discovered, even though the caution in his expression clearly said otherwise.
Vivi stared at him.
"What is that raccoon dog doing?"
"I'm not a raccoon dog!"
The creature immediately shouted back.
"I'm a reindeer! Look, I have antlers!"
He pointed upward.
Then froze.
"Ah! I gave myself away!"
Vivi stared blankly at him.
This strange creature was supposed to be a reindeer?
For one absurd moment, another possibility crossed her mind.
This couldn't possibly be Dr. Kureha, could it?
Axel, however, showed no surprise.
He recognized the reindeer immediately.
Tony Tony Chopper.
"Who are you?"
Chopper ducked back behind the doorway.
Unfortunately, he somehow managed to hide even worse than before. Most of his body remained exposed outside while only part of his head disappeared behind the wall.
He spoke cautiously.
Vivi glanced toward Axel.
Since he was the one who had brought them here, she left the introductions to him.
Axel had already shown himself capable of handling nearly everything, whether through strength, intelligence, or sheer shamelessness.
Perhaps he would know how to deal with this strange reindeer too.
"My name is Axel."
He pointed toward Vivi.
"This is my friend, Vivi."
Then he pointed at Karoo.
"And this is our emergency food supply, Karoo."
"QUACK! QUACK! QUACK!"
Karoo immediately erupted in protest.
He puffed out his chest, spread his wings, and tried to look as dignified as possible.
Chopper listened carefully.
Then he pointed accusingly at Axel.
"Liar!"
Axel raised an eyebrow.
"Karoo says he's Princess Vivi's bodyguard!"
Chopper declared.
"He says he's definitely not emergency food!"
Axel looked at Karoo.
A moment later, the warmth surrounding the duck disappeared.
Cold immediately rushed back over his body.
Karoo's proud posture collapsed.
"Q-Quack... quack..."
His entire body began trembling again.
Unlike Chopper, whose thick reindeer fur was naturally suited to Drum Island's climate, Karoo was completely miserable in this weather.
Chopper listened.
"So cold..."
He translated solemnly.
"But I have principles. I'm Princess Vivi's bodyguard, and also..."
Chopper paused.
His eyes widened.
"Emergency food?!"
He looked at Karoo in disbelief.
"You really agreed to be emergency food!"
Karoo shivered miserably.
A moment later, warmth returned to his body.
"Quack!"
His feathers immediately relaxed.
Apparently, aside from matters concerning Vivi, Karoo's principles were negotiable.
Axel looked back at Chopper.
"We've introduced ourselves."
"Now it's your turn."
Chopper immediately tensed.
"No!"
He shook his head.
"I'm not telling strangers my name!"
Axel considered that.
"But I already told you mine."
Chopper blinked.
"So now you know me."
Axel continued.
"If you know me, we're not strangers anymore."
Chopper froze.
He thought about it seriously.
The logic seemed strangely convincing.
But...
Could humans really be trusted that easily?
"I still won't tell you!"
Chopper finally declared.
Then his curiosity overcame him.
"But why did you come all the way here?"
"For medical treatment."
Chopper's expression changed immediately.
"Medical treatment?"
He leaned farther out from behind the door.
"Who's sick?"
Because of the snow and pale light surrounding them, Axel's abnormal complexion had not been especially obvious at first glance.
Chopper had been too busy watching them suspiciously to notice.
Despite everything that had happened to him, despite being rejected by humans and feared as a monster, there was one thing Chopper could not ignore.
A patient.
Dr. Hiriluk and Dr. Kureha had taught him medicine.
Whatever he thought of humans, someone who needed treatment was different.
"Me," Axel answered.
Chopper studied him more carefully.
Now that he was paying attention, he noticed it.
Axel's skin was far too pale.
The snow around them was pure white, yet even against that background, the youth's complexion looked unnaturally bloodless.
"You really do look pale..."
Chopper murmured.
Then he quickly remembered he was supposed to be cautious and retreated slightly behind the door again.
Axel asked,
"Is Dr. Kureha here?"
Chopper jerked backward.
His entire body disappeared into the cabin.
Several seconds passed.
Then he cautiously reappeared.
"Who exactly are you?"
His tone was much more suspicious now.
There was a reason.
Not long ago, other people had also come searching for Dr. Kureha.
Those people had worn matching uniforms and carried frightening weapons.
Chopper remembered uniforms like those very clearly.
Men wearing them had once injured him.
Axel did not react to the suspicion.
"I already told you."
"I came here because I need treatment."
"I heard Dr. Kureha is the best doctor on Drum Island."
"My condition is serious, and the other doctors I found couldn't solve it."
He gestured toward himself.
"So I came looking for her."
Chopper's expression softened slightly.
Hearing someone praise Dr. Kureha made him secretly happy.
After Dr. Hiriluk, she had been the one person who never treated him like a monster.
She had taken him in.
Fed him.
Taught him medicine.
To Chopper, her skill as a doctor was something worth being proud of.
Still, that did not prove Axel was telling the truth.
What if these people were actually here to harm her?
If Chopper revealed anything, he might be helping them.
He hesitated.
"Is your condition urgent?"
"Not especially."
Chopper looked confused.
Axel continued.
"It's been troubling me for several years already."
Chopper's eyes widened.
"Several years?!"
His medical instincts immediately overpowered his caution.
"You can't just leave an illness untreated for that long!"
The moment he finished shouting, Chopper seemed to realize he had become too involved.
His head retreated farther into the house.
His body somehow moved farther outside.
Vivi stared at his increasingly ridiculous hiding posture.
Axel answered calmly.
"I didn't leave it untreated."
"I've seen doctors."
"They simply couldn't fix it."
Chopper fell silent.
That was different.
He hesitated for a long moment.
Then, to his own surprise, he said,
"I'll examine you first."
The words had already left his mouth before he fully processed them.
Why had he offered?
Chopper himself did not know.
Humans had rejected him.
Feared him.
Called him a monster.
Even his own herd had abandoned him after his transformation.
And technically, he had not completely finished his medical training yet.
Dr. Kureha said he had learned most of what she could teach him, but Chopper had almost no experience treating humans.
So far, his patients had mostly been injured animals living in the snowy mountains.
Yet now he had voluntarily offered to examine a human stranger.
Perhaps it was Axel's eyes.
Those crimson eyes showed no disgust.
No fear.
No revulsion.
When Axel looked at him, Chopper did not feel as though he were being stared at like some strange monster.
There was even a faint friendliness in his expression.
At least, that was how Chopper interpreted it.
Axel nodded.
"Sure."
He led Vivi and Karoo inside.
The cabin was not large.
Shelves filled with books lined the walls, while medical supplies, bottles, instruments, and experimental materials occupied much of the remaining space.
Axel looked around.
No Dr. Kureha.
Apparently, she was away.
Chopper helped Karoo settle near the warmer part of the room.
Then he glanced awkwardly toward Vivi.
Axel understood immediately.
"You stay here with Karoo."
Vivi looked at him.
"You're going with him?"
"Yes."
She hesitated, then nodded.
Chopper visibly relaxed.
Without another word, he led Axel toward a table in another part of the cabin.
Then his entire demeanor changed.
He put on a white coat.
Gathered his medical instruments.
And immediately began behaving like a proper doctor.
"Sit down."
Axel complied.
Chopper climbed into position.
"Open your mouth."
Axel opened it.
"Stick out your tongue."
He did.
"Say 'ah.'"
"Ah."
Chopper continued through the examination one step at a time.
Pulse.
Breathing.
Eyes.
Mouth.
Reflexes.
Temperature.
Several basic checks that Axel already knew were unlikely to reveal anything meaningful about his actual condition.
Yet he cooperated without complaint.
After all, Axel rarely did anything he considered completely pointless.
There was a reason he had allowed Chopper to examine him.
Eventually, the examination came to an end.
Chopper stared at the results.
His expression changed.
Then his eyes widened in horror.
"AAAAAHHHH!"
....
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