Chapter 3 — A Nobleman Shocked by Modern Civilization (2)

The words before his eyes connected into a single meaning.

This place was a temple of learning — a Universität.

The field being studied was Veterinary Medicine.

And the man wearing that jacket… appeared to be a student studying veterinary medicine.

For Stein, who had devoted his entire life to veterinary science, meeting others who studied the same discipline was something to welcome.

But another question soon followed.

Then… what about this body?

His chest tightened slightly.

The library.

Books and notebooks spread across the desk.

The comment about collapsing from overwork.

The worried glances from those around him.

Every clue pointed to one conclusion.

This body… was also a veterinary student?

He had finally reached his first hypothesis.

For a moment, Stein’s thinking stopped.

I… have entered the body of a student?

He was glad that fate had connected him again with veterinary medicine.

But the reality was hard to accept.

He had been the greatest veterinarian in Prussia, the heir of the Heinrich von Stein family.

And now he was… a student.

It felt as if both his pride as a noble and the honor he had built as a scholar had been denied all at once.

It was not easy to accept.

Even so, he could not simply stop.

Stein gathered the calmness ingrained in him and followed the man ahead.

As he walked, things he hadn’t noticed when leaving the library began to catch his attention.

The street was crowded with people.

Yet it wasn’t chaotic.

Everyone moved in an orderly flow.

Then, beyond the crowd, a massive structure towering toward the sky appeared.

“…A building of such height exists?”

Even the shock of becoming a student hadn’t stopped Stein in his tracks.

But the overwhelming presence of the building did.

How could something stand so tall without carefully stacked stone or heavy support beams?

Stein instinctively raised his head to look for its top.

But he could not see it.

Even the spires of the royal palace would appear small beside this.

The architectural techniques here… go far beyond anything I knew.

Then he noticed something else.

The entire surface of the building was shining smoothly.

“…Glass?”

Stein narrowed his eyes and looked again.

The shining surface reflected the surrounding scenery clearly.

As the wind shifted, the reflections rippled like the surface of water.

The entire building… is covered in glass?

His fingers curled unconsciously.

Even for nobles, filling a single window with glass was expensive.

A small hand mirror itself was considered a luxury.

Yet here…

Glass was used like stone or brick.

Stein inhaled slowly.

…Is glass such a common material here?

Standing before the giant glass wall sparkling under the sunlight, Stein realized with certainty that this world was completely different from the one he knew.

He stopped walking and observed the street.

First, the clothing of the people passing by.

Some wore thin coats.

Others wore tight-fitting clothes.

Some clothes were colorful, others plain.

Despite their differences, there was one thing they shared.

One cannot determine a person’s social status from their clothing.

In Stein’s world, clothing represented rank.

But here, people walked confidently in whatever clothes they pleased.

None of the passersby looked timid or submissive.

Could it be… a society without social classes?

His mind was full of questions.

But the scene before him already answered them.

Free clothing.

Confident expressions.

This society… maintains order in an entirely different way.

As he breathed in, even the air felt strange.

There is no foul odor.

Unlike the streets of his world, where horse manure and sewage mixed in the air, the air here was surprisingly clean.

Even though the place was crowded.

They must possess technology to control the environment.

Stein’s heartbeat quickened.

Vehicles that moved silently.

Buildings that pierced the sky.

Abundant materials.

Clean streets.

If this place possessed such civilization…

At that moment, he remembered Elise’s eyes.

The eyes that had trusted him completely.

And the helplessness he had felt when he could do nothing to save her.

In a civilization like this, veterinary medicine must have advanced far beyond what I imagined.

Stein slowly clenched his fist.

For a moment, he even forgot the dignity of a count.

His thirst for knowledge and the guilt of failing to save Elise overlapped deep within his heart.

In this place, treatments that were once impossible might now be possible.

No — they had to be possible.

I must confirm it.

Stein’s gaze hardened.

The reality of having a student’s body was no longer humiliating.

Instead, it was an opportunity.

With renewed determination, Stein stepped forward.

***

The Apartment

While Stein was making this resolution, the man walking ahead stopped in front of a building.

Stein looked up and down at it before speaking quietly.

“It is rather modest.”

His gaze moved to the man.

Perhaps he is still young and lacks financial means.

To live in such a shabby place.

When they entered the building, the impression only became clearer.

The walls were rough.

The window frames were old.

Even compared to servant quarters, it was quite simple.

Then suddenly—

A strange mechanical sound broke the silence.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Ding.

Stein’s eyebrows twitched.

Another surprise appeared.

“…A door that opens without a key?”

The man, clearly exhausted by Stein’s strange reactions since the library, lightly pushed him forward.

“Seriously… I think you really hit your head yesterday. Just go inside.”

But Stein hesitated.

Entering such a narrow and shabby place felt instinctively unpleasant.

At the same time, something about it felt strangely familiar.

Could this… be this body’s residence?

The thought made him step forward.

But the moment he saw inside, his expression froze.

Strange wrappers were scattered across the floor.

Clothes were lying around carelessly.

Stein stopped at the doorway.

“You expect me… to enter such a place?”

The man burst out laughing.

“Hey, you’re the one who made the mess. Just go lie down.”

Stein didn’t move.

He simply stared inside with a mixture of shock and confusion.

The man casually removed his shoes and stepped inside.

Thud.

Stein’s gaze moved downward.

The man’s shoes were placed at the entrance.

…A culture where people remove their shoes.

The idea itself felt unfamiliar.

“What are you doing? Come in.”

After hesitating, Stein bent down and removed his shoes.

The sensation of the floor beneath his socks felt strange, but not unpleasant.

“Hm.”

His brows tightened slightly, but he stepped inside.

And immediately his expression stiffened.

…Is this truly a place where people live?

It was extremely cramped.

Rooms should be divided according to purpose.

A bedroom for sleeping.

A study for scholarship.

A drawing room for social gatherings.

But here, everything was mixed together.

A bed stood against one wall.

Right next to it was a desk and chair.

Across from them sat a large white box whose purpose he could not guess.

There were even used dishes on the desk.

“Is this… a bedroom? A study? Or a dining room?”

Stein looked around the room, bewildered.

Then his hand brushed against the desk.

Something caught his attention.

His eyes naturally moved toward it.

On the cover of a book was a name.

“…Go Hyeon-myeong?”

Stein’s eyes widened slightly.

Is there another resident here? In such a small space?

Just then the man picked up the book.

“You finished this, right? I need it too, so I’m taking it.”

He casually put the book into his bag.

Ah.

Now Stein understood.

The book had been borrowed by Kim Seok-un from Go Hyeon-myeong.

So that man’s name is Go Hyeon-myeong. A friend of this body.

Relieved that he did not have to share this cramped room with another person, Stein felt genuine relief.

But only for a moment.

His attention soon moved to the other books scattered around the room.

Stein picked up a book from the desk.

[Color Atlas of Veterinary Histopathology]

A veterinary histopathology atlas.

Stein’s eyes sharpened instantly.

Perhaps within this book lay clues to answers he had searched for his entire life.

But Go Hyeon-myeong, unaware of Stein’s thoughts, yawned and stood by the door.

“Hey, tomorrow you’ve got… actually, forget it. Just rest. I’m going.”

The door closed softly.

The room became quiet.

***

The Books

Now alone, Stein looked down at the book again.

The moment he opened it, vivid color images of pathological slides filled his vision.

But something else surprised him even more.

Notes had been written throughout the pages.

• This lesion always appears on exams
• Distinguish hemorrhage from inflammation
• If you miss this, you fail immediately

Stein’s eyes narrowed.

This is not merely an academic text.

It is a record organized for practical use.

Until now, Stein had diagnosed disease through instinct and accumulated experience.

But this book presented clear standards and evidence.

Veterinary medicine here… approaches disease differently.

The systematic organization of pathology filled Stein with excitement.

His hands began turning the pages faster.

Like dry land absorbing water, he engraved the words and images into his mind.

A bright light began to appear in his usually calm blue eyes.

He wanted to know more.

There were other books on the desk.

[Veterinary Histology]

The moment he opened it, Stein inhaled sharply.

“So this… is the smallest unit of life — the cell?”

Muscle, heart, liver…

All were organisms made of countless cells.

Intellectual joy surged through his body.

He wanted to dig deeper.

He immediately opened another book.

[Veterinary Physiology]

“So blood does not simply flow?”

The intricate mechanisms where nerves and hormones interact to maintain balance in the body.

Even the reason the heart beats was governed by precise mechanisms.

Veterinary biochemistry.

Veterinary infectious diseases.

Veterinary microbiology.

Diseases that had once been attributed to divine punishment or mysterious curses were explained here through causes and mechanisms.

Stein closed the book.

He tried to calm his excitement, but the thrill running through his body would not fade.

If this truly is a temple of learning, the lights will not go out day or night.

He wanted to see and hear this extraordinary science firsthand.

Without hesitation, Stein left the room.

His thirst for knowledge drove his steps.

Remembering a path he had already walked was easy for him.

Soon he entered the College of Veterinary Medicine building.

Students were gathered inside a classroom.

Entering suddenly among strangers was against etiquette.

But now his thirst for knowledge outweighed etiquette.

Stein opened the door and walked in.

“Huh? Why is he here?”

“Isn’t that Kim Seok-un from the second year?”

Students whispered.

Stein ignored them.

Soon the professor stepped onto the podium.

“Today’s lecture is ‘Small Animal Fracture Reduction Techniques Through Video.’”

Video?

The word was unfamiliar.

But Stein memorized it.

If it related to veterinary medicine, he needed to know it.

That was the duty of a scholar.

Suddenly the classroom darkened.

A screen lit up.

And the scene displayed there surpassed everything Stein had ever imagined.

It felt like looking into a world of fantasy.

Fragments of broken bone were moving.

The shattered pieces slowly shifted back into their proper positions.

Interesting. With technology like that…

Thump.

Stein’s heart began to race.