*Ding*

Vetsmon, Feiden, Umara, and Tana all heard a sound from their Aerials.

Umara’s eyes widened.

“It’s John!”

“What did he say?”

“It says, I have risen.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh, he told us to bring some food too.”

“Let’s go see him!”

Umara was the first to jump up, running over as the others followed.

……

I heard four people barge into the hospital.

“John!”

“Watch the stomach.”

I spoke as Umara dove over, wrapping me in a hug.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at how much she worried.

“Are you okay? How are you feeling?”

“You probably know better than me. I haven’t gotten an update yet. But I feel fine.”

“That’s good.”

She continued to hug me for a while longer. As she did, I looked around at the others.

I reached out with a free hand toward Vetsmon who walked over smiling.

“Glad to see you well, John.”

“Likewise. How long have I been out?”

“About a day. We leave tomorrow morning.”

“Good. I’m eager to get the hell out of this place. Oh, is that food?”

I looked over to see Feiden approaching with a tray of food.

He smiled and placed it on my lap.

“I just grabbed what they had available.”

“Thank you. This is definitely something I’m not going to miss though.”

I spoke as Umara separated, allowing me to eat.

I engorged myself for about a minute, finally giving my empty stomach some fuel.

At some point though, Umara perked up and reached for something.

“Oh, I grabbed your items.”

“Ah, shank you.”

I mumbled with a half full mouth, taking the cigar case, the pill bottle, and my coat.

They all went into my spatial sack, except for the cigar case.

I opened that and took out a fresh stogie, cutting the end and lighting it.

The smoke I inhaled felt like a wave of rejuvenation that spread through my whole body.

“Hahh, so nice. If only we got paid for our kills. I bet that gorilla was worth a lot.”

“The Kingdom only does that for stronger beasts.”

“A shame.”

I sighed at Umara’s comment. I was used to getting paid by the job. Now, I wasn’t getting paid at all.

At that moment, I saw a nurse walking over.

“John Cooper?”

“Yes?”

“Since you’re awake, I needed to talk to you.”

“Oh, go ahead.”

The others took a step back, letting the nurse over as she read off a clipboard.

“Well, your injuries have been mostly healed except for the worst ones. You’ve thankfully lost no organs or limbs thanks to the timely intervention of Instructor Vizen, but in total, there were 54 different injuries. Six of your ribs were cracked. Your femur had a surface fracture. We found 31 lacerations across your hands, face, chest, stomach, and legs. And on top of the major bleeding caused by 12 stab wounds, there were some infections caused by the poison of the monkey claws. You also lost three fingers that we were able to reattach with no issue. You’ve recovered from everything very nicely. The only thing you need to worry about will be the scarring.”

“Oh… Well, I’ve got enough scars anyway. Who cares about a few more.”

“Healthy optimism.”

The nurse chuckled a bit before writing a few things on her clipboard.

She then set it down and reached over.

“I’d like to take off your bandages. The injuries on your face should have sealed by now.”

“Okay.”

I nodded as she started undoing the white wrapping that covered half my head.

It quickly fell off, so I took out my Aerial and turned on the camera, looking at myself.

Before, the only scars on my head had been on my left temple beside my eyebrow.

But now, there were a few others.

There was another on the left side, going from my cheekbone to my ear, drawing across it almost like it was cut in half.

That wasn’t even the most obvious one though. By far the most noticeable were the two deep scars running down the right side of my face.

They ran in parallel, going from my forehead and down my eyebrow, slicing across my eye and cheek before ending at my chin beside the corner of my mouth.

What shocked me the most was the fact that I even still had my right eye. Even the nurse spoke about it.

“You’re lucky, Mr. Cooper. Even your eyelid was split open, but those claws still missed your eye by a hair’s breadth. Otherwise you’d be half blind right now. I think a few prayers are in order for that miracle.”

“...I think you’re right.”

I let out a long breath, thinking how devastating it would be if I lost my good eye.

Inwardly, I gave a quick thanks to my guardian angel before smiling.

“Well, that’s a few more for the collection. How do I look?”

I faced Umara while pulling her onto the bed with me. Other than those two across my eye and the one across my ear, there were a few shallow scars that would fade with time. All of it was enough to call my face disfigured, but I didn’t mind that much.

It didn’t seem like Umara did either as she gave me a shy smile back, her face a bit red from my bold move in front of everyone.

“It looks good… You’re still just as handsome.”

“Hehe, you’re cute when you’re embarrassed.”

“...”

She went silent, placing both her hands over her face. I could almost swear some steam came off her burning ears.

But she still leaned into my chest. It was hilarious how contradictory this girl could be.

“Ahem, anyway.”

The nurse interrupted with a weird smile.

“The other wounds on your body still need some time to fully heal. You shouldn't have any problems functioning normally, but if you do, tell someone. You may also feel soreness when moving. That’s normal and will fade as you heal. And if it wasn’t obvious, please refrain from strenuous activity for at least the next few days. You should be completely fine within a week if you take a recovery pill once a day. Other than that, you’re free to go. Your other bandages can come off whenever you want them to.”

“Got it. Thank you.”

“Of course.”

The nurse left with that.

Afterward, I dressed and left the hospital with the others. But I split up while walking to go back to my room and clean up.

I first took a shower. There, I took off the bandages around my torso and leg.

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Both of them revealed some nasty scars far worse than the ones on my face.

It looked like there was a small crater in my stomach right beside my abs, like someone had carved out a chunk of my body.

There were also some deep lacerations across my chest. Of course, these were only additions to several other scars, but they were definitely the worst.

The ones on my leg were also nasty. The nurse was right about the soreness too. Just walking felt like I was hobbling on a broken leg.

The monkey that left that wound had basically torn out some of my muscle. It had grabbed my thigh with those claws and pulled, meaning it both stabbed and sliced. The wounds pictured that scene rather clearly.

There weren’t any stitches to worry about since the wounds had sealed, thankfully. So with that, I finished showering.

After grooming myself a bit, I dressed in some fresh clothes and took a look at my coat.

It was still stained with blood, so I got to cleaning it, which was easy enough.

Technically it was self cleaning, but sometimes it needed a bit of help. I just had to wipe off all the crap that refused to leave, which in this case was all the dried blood.

Soon, it looked brand new. So I slipped it on and went back out.

I spent the rest of the day with my squad, all of us hanging out. I could tell that everyone still felt bad about what happened, but I did my best to reassure them.

And I suppose Tana felt the worst, seeing how the Puppet Master basically pinned my near death on her. But that would take a proper talk to reconcile.

For now, we just appreciated each other’s company for our last day on base.

After that, night came. And with that, our day of return arrived.

……

…

The fourth year class stood before Commander Bosnen.

“It was good working with you all this past month. It’s fortunate that we’re all leaving here in one piece. Despite all of us being shocked by a sudden siege after just the first day, you all stepped up and provided valuable manpower. Because of you guys, we’ve only lost a single soldier this entire month. For that, we thank you. Now go ahead and head home. You’ve earned a break.”

“Thank you, Commander.”

The instructors shook hands with the man before we all boarded the Rail.

We were free.

“I can’t wait to eat some real food.”

“I’m pretty sure they served actual slop last week.”

“I need to bring some blankets next time too. I completely forgot.”

I heard chattering while boarding. Before long, all of our cargo was loaded and we took off.

The Rail jolted a few times while accelerating. As that happened, all the Elites moved to one of the cars and lounged.

Nobody felt like partying right now. We were all tired since it was barely dawn, so everyone got some shut eye.

Umara and I found our own corner couch, and before long, both of us were out cold.

That lasted a few hours before people started to wake up around an hour or so before noon. And with chatter, those who didn’t wake naturally did so anyway, everyone starting to socialize.

I stayed with Umara even after everyone had gotten up, enjoying her company.

“So we can finally go on a proper date now.”

“Anything better than a patrol will do it for me.”

“I’m glad the standards are low now. Makes my job easy.”

“Pfft.”

She laughed before poking me in the side.

“Hey, if you really want, we can go to Joffrun and find a restaurant there. I know a nice one, and we wouldn’t have to worry about paying.”

“So you think me cheap?”

“N-No. I just wanted to go to a nice place for our first date, but I didn’t know if spending so much was okay with you. I don’t want to worry about money.”

“Oh. I suddenly like you even more.”

“...”

She went silent, covering her face with both her hands.

It made me laugh. Seriously, how cute could this girl be?

I pinched her side, causing her to flinch.

“Don’t worry about the money. I’ll bring you to the nicest place I know and we’ll have a wonderful night. Sound good?”

“Y-Yea. When?”

“Give me a day or two to settle back in. As soon as I tie up some loose ends I’ll let you know.”

“What loose ends?”

“That’s a secret.”

“Hmph.”

She pouted, suddenly blowing some air into my ear and tickling me.

Calling it loose ends wasn’t entirely accurate, but I did in fact have some business to settle.

I didn’t forget that I still had a bounty, one that wasn’t going away anytime soon. Hunters would be after my head and I needed to make sure that my arrival wouldn’t attract attention.

And if it did, I needed to deal with it. While I would like an entire week to get a feel for the situation, I didn’t want to delay my date. A few days should be enough to get rid of the eager ones.

Or maybe I would get lucky and nobody would bother me.

*Ding*

At that moment, I heard a notification from my Aerial.

It was a message from Rayla, asking about my arrival today.

My face fell just a bit.

Right, that was something else I needed to take care of.

I was on the trip, so nothing but my life on base had been on my mind.

I had forgotten about the one thing that might be affected by my new relationship with Umara.

But part of me was beginning not to care anymore. So I decided I would face it when it came, texting back with that in mind.

As noon passed, some of the Elites started to poke around at the bar. And when one drink was pulled out, several more came with it and soon, a small party was started.

Tana jumped at the opportunity to drink again, downing cup after cup of any fruity drink she could get her hands on.

So it was no surprise when she stumbled over toward me drunk off her ass.

“J-John!”

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry!”

She came crying, her face entirely flushed and her blonde hair a little messy.

“You almost died because of me! I’m sorry I couldn’t do my job!”

“It’s okay, Tana.”

“No, it’s not!”

“Watch the snot.”

I raised my arms as she came crawling over on the couch. Umaara was quick to dodge out of the way, so I was stuck with Tana all over me, a crying mess.

“I’m so sorry!”

“It’s fine! Get off!”

“I just want a hug! Am I still your friend?”

“Yes, now- AH! Watch the knee!”

I jumped as her knee accidentally snuck into my precious place. I almost threw her off, but couldn’t because of her weight.

“Alright, time to go! You’re too heavy!”

“What?! I’m not! You take that back!”

“Ack!”

As I tried to stand, I was yanked back onto the couch, being put into some kind of arm lock.

I reached out to Umara who watched, but all I received was a faint smile as she just stood there.

Damn, she’s going to get it later.

And so I struggled, only being freed several minutes later when Vetsmon wrestled Tana for me.

I laughed as they went to the floor, Tana seeming to completely forget about her apology to me.

Well, I guess that was our proper talk. Whatever to ease her mind.

I wasn’t able to find Umara after straightening myself out, so I went to the bar where Feiden sat, looking like he was brooding.

I pat his shoulder and sat next to him.

“So I have you to thank for saving my sorry ass.”

“There should never have been any saving.”

“But there was. And thanks to you, I get to go home.”

“...”

He was silent, obviously not wanting to accept it.

And I understood. It was a given to save your dying teammate, but the situation should never have devolved to that point in the first place. So saving me was, in a weird way, actually something to be ashamed of.

We were both silent while I ordered a drink. After taking a sip, I spoke again.

“Look, I’ve taken full responsibility for everything that went wrong.”

“But you didn’t do anything wrong.

“Au contraire, my brother. I quite literally walked myself in that situation. I misjudged several things and took it upon myself to take unnecessary risks when there was no need to. I should’ve been more careful, and then even Tana wouldn’t have had anything to do.”

“But you were supporting us.”

“Irrelevant to the point. If I had simply made better decisions, then there would have been no problems. Plain and simple. Trust me, I got an earful from the Puppet Master too. Since I’ve been kind of acting as the leader of our squad, it was my actions that led to this outcome. So even though it was me, I’m responsible for what could be considered the near-death of a squadmate. That’s also why I’m going to take a step back."

I explained, taking a sip of my drink as Feiden thought about my words.

Then, he looked at me weirdly.

“What do you mean, take a step back?”

“I mean I’m going to drop the whole leader thing. I’m pretty sure it’s supposed to be Vetsmon anyway. He’s got more experience and a better grasp on how things work, so for all our sakes I’m going to make sure he’s the one giving orders from now on.”

“...I see the logic, but I’m not sure if I like it.”

“It’ll be fine. It's not like anything major is going to change. Regardless, I just want to make sure you aren't worrying about anything. There's no need to, because we're doing just fine. So relax.”

“Mm.”

He smirked a bit. I could tell there was still a bit on his mind, but it seemed I had reassured him somewhat.

After that I turned around, looking around to see all the Elites having fun around me.

With curiosity, I suddenly tapped Feiden’s elbow.

“Hey, who’s Rank 1?”

“Oh, he doesn’t do anything with the Magisterium. He’s basically a student in name only.”

“Too good for us, huh?”

“Kind of, yea. He’s a Duke’s direct son, so his royal blood is as thick as his biceps. He’s the strongest person that I’ve seen in our generation. Last I heard, he’s pushing into Authority 6.”

“Shit. Alright. Now, which girl do you have a crush on?”

“...I’m suddenly remembering my youth school days.”

Feiden muttered while turning his gaze away, making me smirk and motion toward all the people in the car.

“Come on now. Which one has your fancy? Just about all of them are pretty. Don’t tell me you haven’t talked to any of them."

“...I haven’t.”

“Oh goodness. My friend, you are wasting the tools you’ve been given.”

“Tools?”

“The looks, the charm, your status as what may as well be the highest ranked Elite. You’ve got everything you need to make any girl in this room fall for you.”

“I-I don’t know about that.”

He scratched his head shyly, causing my face to go placid.

If Vetsmon was a man who radiated pure testosterone, then Feiden could be considered a bit of a pretty boy. He had blonde hair and blue eyes, and he was built lean. But lean by knight standards meant that instead of body builder muscles, he had slim muscles that rippled with fibers.

And not only was he was the most powerful person here, but he was the son of a Marquess while still being humble and reserved. This man was damn near perfect. What girl wouldn’t jump at the opportunity to date him?

Of course, the only way anything would happen was if he had some confidence and actually talked to a female. So it seemed I would need to help this poor man out of his shell.

“Alright, time to get you buzzed since I’m not even sure if you can get drunk. Once you’re a bit looser we can bring some females over for you to talk to.”

“I don’t really think there’s a need for that? A relationship would only get in the way of our training, right?”

“My god. It’s even worse than I thought. Here, drink this entire bottle.”

“B-But my parents will be waiting upon arrival. I can’t be drunk for that, can I?”

“Feiden, my good friend.”

I looked the man in the eyes.

“Let it be known now that I’m not a good influence. However! Life is not all about training and doing what’s right. It’s also about having fun, which can often involve being a little naughty from time to time. So long as you don’t knock a girl up, you’ll be just fine. I mean, what’s the worst that can happen? Daddy grounds you for having fun with your friends? I think the trade is worth it.”

*Cling*

I put a bottle in his hands and clicked my glass against it, taking a swig.

He stared at the bottle for a few seconds, and seeing his hesitation, I yelled.

“Drink it nerd!”

“Fine!”