Raynor slammed the room door open and dashed towards me, looking a bit startled.

"Goodness, you're up! Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

Ray always seems overworried about me. He's like a brother who would use the whole med kit on his little brother after he gets a small scratch on his elbow. I laughed, waving my hand as if it would somehow help dispel my anxiety.

"Yeah, except for my grunting money pouch, I'm all okay."

Raynor suddenly got close to me, and our faces almost touched. He glanced around furtively as if preparing to do something illegal, and whispered in my ear.

"This hospital was built on the military fund, so it's mostly part of the military service. I will find some way, you know,... to make an exception regarding your expenses."

"So you're that influential, huh?"

"Shhh! Dude, they're gonna hear you! I am not allowed to do this you know."

He tapped my left shoulder and it almost crumbled under the strength of a buffed young man.

"Hey, Takehito..."

"What's wrong?"

Raynor's expression suddenly turned serious, the smile on his lips fading away. The cheerful atmosphere slowly ebbed, turning dense. He looked straight at me, saying nothing for a few seconds. His deep black eyes and thick eyebrows against his glossy dark skin made my heart race with anxiety.

"Takehito. All of these things... Please stay out of this. It's dangerous."

"Out of...what, you mean?"

"Those things...like the giant spider yesterday."

He must have heard the discussion between me and Yang earlier. No way he actually believes the story Yang made up though. It's too surreal.

"That teenager...", Ray continued, "I don't trust him. He stinks the smell of those...things. Don't be fooled by his appearance. I don't know exactly what happened yesterday, and my crew is still investigating the incident, but something feels sinister."

"So you also think that all of this is real?"

Raynor fell into silence.

"Well, at least now I know that I'm not imagining stuff", I chuckled, the heavy thought that I had gone crazy living like a hikikomori slowly dissipating.

The room door opened again, the third time within today. This time, a nurse in her white uniform stepped in, holding a tray full of food. The nice scent immediately got to my lungs.

"Oh, Mr. Smith! My greetings to you. Thank you for your service!"

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"Hi, Bella."

Raynor stood up and left the room after giving me a "Don't be nosey and keep yourself out of this" kind of look. I didn't know what to do rather than give him an awkward smile.

"Hello, Mr. Kurogane. It's time for lunch."

The nurse put the food tray down on the table and started changing my empty IV bag with a new one.

"My name is Sakura Tanaka, but you can call me Bella. I will be your nurse for the next couple of days. Hope I can help you with anything you need!"

She smiled radiantly. Her smooth white skin and long black hair make her look weirdly attractive, even though this combination can be found everywhere. Her large, round hazel eyes, resembling doe's, made my heart skip a beat. The sweet fragrance shuffled my mind when she bent down to examine my wound.

"Hi...Bella," I spoke quietly, trying to keep my voice sound as natural as I could, "My name is Takehito Kurogane."

Bella smiled gently. Oh my god, why the hell did I say that? She's my nurse, of course she knows her patient's name! I have no idea if the incident affected my cognition, or if it was because of Bella's innocent but overwhelming beauty.

"So, Mr. Kurogane, there is grilled salmon, mixed vegetables and miso soup for today's lunch. Is it okay for you?"

"Yeah...yeah, it's totally fine! I would really love to have this delicious meal!"

Just for the record, I hate salmon. But there's no need to spit facts now.

As the smell of food begins to waft into my nostrils, a surge of hunger washes over me.

While I was devouring the food at an incredible speed, Bella was sitting next to me, smiling (probably because she was glad I was making a recovery). I could feel a weird excitement running in my veins, one I had never felt before.

"I'm glad you like the food! When you were transferred here, we noticed that you had a mild malnutrition condition. So we tried to make the food easier to digest, hoping to help you improve your health."

"Oh, I see. Thank you so much for your hard work!"

She smiled again, her soft voice soothed my throbbing head.

"I want to say the same too! I heard from Mr. Smith that you helped evacuate people and saved two children when the incident happened. It was so brave of you."

"I-It was nothing...you know? I just did what felt right. Thank you for taking care of me too,...B-Bella."

Damn it, being complemented by such a beautiful girl made my mind flutter.

"I owe my life to Mr. Smith. You are a close friend of him, so I am more than ready to take care of you as well."

She looked away, her cheeks blushed.

"Mr. Smith might sound a bit imposing at times, but I believe he is a good person. He's been so supportive towards my professional as a military nurse too."

We chatted for a while, and when I finished my food, Bella left with the empty tray, leaving me on my own again. Today was marked by the number of people I have talked to, which is more than three times the amount of the past month.

As the sun began to set, the orange sunrays flooded the hospital room. It had been a long time since I had watched a sunset, so I decided to take a walk around the hospital grounds to stretch my cramped muscles. The outside air was refreshing, slightly chilly as the weather started to transition. A few hospital staff members smiled and greeted me along the way.

When I returned to the room after about an hour of strolling, a small piece of paper on the table caught my eye. It wrote:

"Yang Chen

Phone number xxxxxxxxxx

Or come to Sensoji Temple on Sunday"

At the bottom of the note, a small line was written:

"I believe Kyou Kurogane's death is related to the Entity."