Chapter 18
“I can heal him if I just bring the arm back.”
Leaving Lloyd behind, I jumped onto the stone floor.
“Don’t!”
Lloyd’s voice came from behind me. Jumping into a destructive beam that could kill me was a crazy idea.
But as I watched the beams moving in fixed patterns, a game I used to enjoy before possessing this body came to mind. The kind you played at the arcade, clearing the final stage with just one coin—Metal Slug, or something like that.
Whenever I played, all the neighborhood kids would gather behind me to watch my flashy controls.
Using those old skills, I ducked under the beams moving up and down and quickly picked up the severed arm lying on the ground. Then I jumped to avoid the beams again and moved closer to the rock. I had a feeling that if I pressed the button Lloyd had pressed before, the beams would disappear.
Up, down, right, left. Carefully dodging the beams, I pressed the red button.
Ziiiiing—!
The patterns on the rock turned white, stopped moving, and returned to their original state.
“It worked!”
After checking that the rock had stopped, I hurried over to Lloyd, who was sitting blankly on the flat ground. Blood was pouring from his severed arm. At this rate, he could die from blood loss.
“Have you really lost your mind? What were you going to do if you died doing something like that?!”
Lloyd shouted at me in anger, and even more blood gushed from his arm.
“Please calm down. You’ll die from blood loss if you don’t……”
I quickly pressed the arm I had picked up against Lloyd’s shoulder and chanted a healing spell along with a pain-suppression spell.
“Heal.”
The severed arm began to reattach rapidly with the magic. Lloyd’s tightly furrowed expression relaxed.
“The pain is completely gone.”
“If I don’t use a pain spell, it hurts terribly. Minimizing pain is my rule when healing.”
At my answer, Lloyd looked awkward.
“I… see.”
After watching my treatment blankly, Lloyd spoke again.
“I’ve never seen a mid-level healer who can cast dual spells.”
Was that his way of praising me?
“It’s finished.”
As soon as the healing ended, he started swinging his arm around.
“No problems.”
Of course. I’m very thorough when it comes to healing magic.
“Was it Kae?”
After swinging his arm for a while, he stopped and looked at me.
“Ah… y-yes!”
At my reply, he lightly bowed his head.
“Thank you.”
I felt awkward at the sudden thanks.
“Ah… no, it’s nothing. This is my job. Shall we go?”
When we left the holy site, the sky—clear in the morning when we entered—had turned red with the setting sun.
“Uh…?”
“It’s because of the time difference caused by the magic barrier.”
Lloyd kindly explained when he saw my confused face.
“Then let’s head back.”
Ah? It would be night soon. Walk another four hours again? Just thinking about it made my feet hurt.
Reading my expression, Lloyd suddenly stepped closer and lifted me into his arms.
“Eek—w-wait a moment!”
Th-this is…! The princess carry you only see in novels?!
The fresh scent from him and his solid chest made my heart pound wildly. C-calm down, heart.
“Hold on tight.”
With me in his arms, he suddenly leaped into the air. It was magic.
You jerk! If you were going to use magic, you could’ve done that from the start so my feet wouldn’t hurt!
As strong wind slapped against my face, I screamed inside.
“Ugh… my head.”
Didn’t I say this just a few days ago too?
With a strange sense of déjà vu and a splitting headache, I slowly opened my eyes. Broad shoulders and a solid chest filled my vision.
Hmm, am I still dreaming?
Haha. What a desire-filled dream. Waking up on top of a naked man. I closed my eyes again. I could feel smooth skin against my face, moving up and down, just like lying on someone’s stomach.
Ah… did I get drunk again and fall asleep hugging Bri?
Since I often hugged Bri when sleeping, I clumsily patted his body and apologized.
“Mm… Bri, sorry. Was I too heavy?”
But something was strange. Bri wasn’t this big or solid.
Feeling something off, I slowly opened my eyes.
“……!”
Holy—! Oh God!
What lay before my eyes was a naked man’s body. Sleep vanished instantly, and my mind snapped awake.
I’ve lost it. Kae!
I fell into despair. I finally messed up!
I hurriedly lifted my gaze to check the man’s face.
Crazy… Kae, why did you do this… I really am insane.
The man I slept on was Lloyd.
Did we… sleep together? I quickly looked down to check my own body.
I was only wearing a slip, but thankfully, everything important was barely covered. I checked myself carefully, but there was no trace of anything that had happened during the night.
Thank goodness. We only slept. Just slept. Nothing happened.
I sighed in relief.
But then—
“What… is this?”
On the fourth finger of my left hand was a ring engraved with an elaborate pattern. And when I looked more closely, near my heart on my left chest was a small white magic circle.
Because my skin was very pale, it hadn’t stood out at first, but it was clearly there.
“What is this… what is this, seriously?!”
The ring wouldn’t come off, as if bound by magic, and the magic circle wouldn’t disappear no matter how hard I rubbed it, even using saliva. What on earth happened last night?
Clutching my throbbing head, I tried to recall my memories.
So… was it after returning to Dorkan Castle in Lloyd’s arms?
When Lloyd and I descended from the sky together, people stopped what they were doing and rushed over in shock. A woman called the exclusive healer returning in the arms of the young duke, his uniform torn to shreds—it was bound to draw attention.
Some women looked at me with envy, while most glared at me so intensely my face stung.
Mika saw that I was unharmed and burst into tears, hugging me.
“You came back alive. You really came back alive!”
I patted the trembling back of the girl, who was much shorter than me, as she sobbed. Behind her, a scruffy senior healer glared at me like he had seen something obscene. Mika soon pulled away and blew her nose loudly.
As I frowned at the sticky snot, a knight in Helderios uniform came running from afar, holding a robe.
He draped the robe over Lloyd and asked, his eyes fixed on Lloyd’s torn right arm.
“What happened?”
“There was an abnormality at the holy site. My arm was severed because of it.”
The knight flinched and asked again.
“A-are you all right?”
“I returned unharmed thanks to my exclusive healer.”
At Lloyd’s words, the knight’s gaze toward me turned into one of respect.
“Let me say it again. Thank you, Kae. I will repay this properly later.”
Lloyd gave me a formal bow, then left while talking with the knight.
Watching him, Mika shouted with sparkling eyes.
“Just as expected of you, Senior Kae!”
Calming the jumping, admiring Mika, I headed back to the tent.
Yes, up to here was fine. Nothing had happened until then.
After returning to Dorkan Castle, I no longer felt Lloyd’s frightening gaze aimed at the back of my head. Only the jealous looks of those who suspected something between us now and then.
Lloyd was extremely busy with the holy site incident and the monsters from the Dark Forest, so we rarely crossed paths. Even when we did, we simply exchanged brief bows. I was also busy treating patients, so my days passed uneventfully.
That was, until the day before Lloyd was scheduled to return to the capital.
After the holy site stabilized and all the monsters from the Dark Forest were dealt with, Lloyd and the Helderios knights prepared to return to the capital. The lord of Dorkan Castle decided to hold a thank-you banquet for Lloyd and everyone dispatched there, and the whole place was in a festive mood.
The main character was no longer trying to kill me, and my achievement of healing the young duke’s arm was recognized, earning me praise among the healers. I was finally able to enjoy the atmosphere.
Even among people drinking the lord’s alcohol and tearing into meat, I loudly declared my abstinence—given my history—and enjoyed the lively mood. Then, out of nowhere, a Helderios knight appeared.
“The young duke is calling for you.”
At the sudden summons, I followed the knight to the tent and saw Lloyd for the first time in a while. Neatly dressed in his uniform, Lloyd still had a blunt expression and an enormous build, but he no longer felt frightening.
Lloyd was sitting at an organized desk, talking with a knight who seemed to be his adjutant. When I bowed, Lloyd gestured for me to sit. After I took a seat, he spoke.
“Have you been well?”
“Yes, thanks to you. Have you been well, Young Duke?”
“Thanks to a meticulous exclusive healer, my arm moves normally and I’ve been well. Thank you. That’s actually why I called you.”
At Lloyd’s signal, the adjutant placed a rather heavy-looking pouch in front of me.
“What is this?”
“It’s part of the gift I’m giving you.”
A gift? I’m the type who never refuses gifts.
I quickly opened the pouch.
