“Well, it’s about time I get out of bed.” I knew I wasn’t wrong about Carol. After the others left, the two of us spoke here in the infirmary, and she finally opened up a little. It was so cute! Basically, the reason why she fights is because she loves the others a lot and wants to return the favor. And now I’m a part of that too! She wants to repay me for helping her remember what’s important to her. I can’t wait to see what that looks like!

I know I’m looking at this through rose-tinted glasses, but that’s fine. I’ll be grateful no matter what form her appreciation takes. Just knowing that what I did earned me a place in her heart is good enough for me. Even if it doesn’t turn into a mushy and steamy romance…

“Huh? You’re getting up? Is that alright? Didn’t the others tell you to rest?” I sat up straight, and Carol leaned forward to catch me in case my strength failed me.

“I know what they said, but I feel perfectly fine.” I pushed the blanket aside and turned to the side, touching the floor with my feet.

Wow… Somebody changed my clothes into a patient’s gown made while I was asleep. I’ll start getting embarrassed if I think about it too much, so let’s put that to the side…

“How can you be fine? You looked seriously hurt, you know?” She couldn’t understand how such a quick recovery was possible, and it annoyed her.

“I think it has something to do with the VISS Driver. Remember how I told you about stats and all that? HP recovers fairly quickly. As long as my HP doesn’t reach 0, I should survive. I’m almost back to max now, so it’s only natural that I feel fine.”

“What the hell? That’s unfair… What if your head gets chopped off? Would you survive without your head just because your HP is higher than 0?”

“Maybe? Ahahaha…” Why am I being hypothetically decapitated now? “Might be some kind of fringe scenario, though. I don’t think anyone can survive without a head…” Maybe it’s a kind of instakill? If the head is chopped, you die regardless of HP. I think that’s what happens to monsters when I target their vitals, at least. “But let’s not talk about that. I don’t really care about finding out what happens if my head is sliced off.”

“Really? I think you could pull it off.” Carol grinned while getting up from the stool. “Are you sure about getting up? Hecate’s gonna nag you to get back to bed.”

“I’ll try to convince her, but if that doesn’t work, I say let her nag.” As long as it’s just nagging and nothing scarier. “Once they see me walking around, they’ll get it. Come on, let’s head out.”

Carol nodded, and she walked ahead of me. She kept a close eye on me until we left the infirmary, worried about my condition. All it took was a few steps, and she eased up. I quickly swung by the dojo’s changing room, then we headed for the dorm together.

…

“Is this one large enough?”

“Our feast will have plenty of food, so that won’t do. Is there another table that’s just as big? Two of those together might fit everything.” As soon as Carol opened the dorm’s door, I was met with the scene of Katja dragging a table around and Hecate cooking behind a counter.

“Huh?!” Our entrance turned both girls’ heads, wondering why they just heard the door opening. “Iroha?! What are you doing here!?”

“Why aren’t you resting?” Katja let go of the table and rushed to the entrance. Dropping the table caused a loud impact, and now it’s in the middle hallway, blocking it.

“I told you I was fine earlier. I’m not hurt anymore, so why would I stay in bed? I don’t wanna spend all day resting.”

“I get not wanting to stay in bed, but…” Katja was understanding, but she couldn’t accept that someone who had a hole in her chest yesterday could already walk around without any issues.

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

“Carol… Why didn’t you stop her?” Hecate said from back in the kitchen. Her voice sounded a bit angry. “I knew I should have been the one monitoring her…”

“You’re blaming me? You told me to keep her company, not prevent her from leaving!”

“Uhmm… Hecate, Katja, I’m fine. Seriously… Think about it. If I was actually hurt, I wouldn’t be able to walk all the way here.” I rotated the arm on the side of the stab. “See? I can move my arm no problem. That means it’s fine.”

Katja immediately panicked and stopped me from moving my arm. “Okay, you’re fine. Sorry, but don’t move your arm anymore. What if it suddenly rips off?” She’s seriously exaggerating, but at least she’s accepted it. Negotiations were a success. I winked to Carol, who responded with a sigh.

Katja took a few steps back, and we stepped into the dorm properly. “If you’re up, then this table is just in the way now. We can probably just eat here instead of taking the food to the infirmary. Guess I’ll have to put it back.”

“Do you want some help? I can give you a hand.” I offered some help, but…

“YOU’RE NOT GOING TO HELP ANYONE WITH ANYTHING!” Hecate suddenly started freaking out and scared me. “Just sit down and relax until it’s time for dinner! We don’t want you getting worse.” Maybe I went a little too far… I don’t think I can push it any further.

“Okay okay, I got, I’ll stay put.” Scared the shit out of me… Katja lifted the table and carried it down the hallway. Carol and I sat down on the couch next to each other.

“Geez, Iroha. The fuck were you thinking?” Carol whispered. “You almost made her snap. See now? This is what happens when you refuse to let Hecate take care of you. I hope you’ve learned your lesson.”

“It’s fine, isn’t it?” I keep my voice low as well. “She may scream a little, but she’s not actually mad, is she? She’s just worried. If I just stay put now, she won’t complain anymore.”

“You think I don’t know? This isn’t my first rodeo… Be careful, though. You’ve pissed her off once, so now she’s gonna keep a close watch on you.” Hecate keeping a close watch on me? Sounds familiar. “If you push it even a little bit, she’s gonna get mad again. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Carol glanced at Hecate, which caused me to do the same. We were whispering, so she shouldn’t have been able to hear us.

“Is something wrong? Do you need something.” Focused on the pot, without even turning our way, Hecate sensed us. Sniper’s sense? Woah, that’s spooky…

“N- no! Not really!” Carol stopped staring at Hecate and sat straight on the couch. Yeah… We should probably talk about something else.

“Uhmm… I have a question for you, Carol. Can you tell me more about the doctor from earlier? She really freaked me out…”

“Reia?” Carol switched gears, and the tension left. “I don’t know the details, but she’s some kind of child prodigy. She apparently studied some recent medical papers when she was younger, so now any new technique that appears comes naturally to her. As you can imagine, in Three Records City, where innovation and being on the cutting edge are so valued, she’s practically a living treasure.”

“Oh, wow…” Everyone living here has heard stories of young geniuses and prodigies being offered incredible lives and privileges for their brains and work. I never thought I’d meet someone like that… “How did you get someone like that to come here just to treat me?”

“Connections, how else? Katja befriended her when she and the others worked at the PSF. The general public doesn’t know it, but anything that’s cutting-edge in the world right now is tied to monsters and portals in one way or another. Medicine is no different, so the PSF has done everything they could to maintain a working relationship with Reia. She’s one of the best, if not the best, at healing any wounds or supernatural ailments caused by monsters.”

That’s some juicy information right there… And to think I was part of the clueless general public not that long ago. A lot has changed, hasn’t it? Carol continued. “Why did she freak you out, though? Did you do something to her?”

“What could I have done? I just saw her do something weird when I woke up. Well, maybe I was seeing things, it doesn’t quite match with what you’ve told me about her… I think I saw her playing with a revolver…”

“A revolver? Why would she have a revolver? I heard she can kinda do whatever she wants since she’s so important, but that makes no sense… You were probably seeing things.” Was I? It didn’t seem like a dream to me…

“I can explain.” Katja suddenly popped out from behind the corner and sat down with us. “It’s a pretty simple and funny story. She wanted to learn something new, so she randomly decided she was gonna learn how to shoot a gun. I ended up giving her a couple lessons since she’s a friend.”

“Seriously? That’s it? Why would she randomly want to learn how to shoot? And why did she have to be playing with a revolver right when I wake up? Was she trying to give me a heart attack? It’s probably against the doctor’s code too.”

“Ahahahah…” Katja shrugged her shoulders awkwardly. “That I do not know. She’s not the type to explain her reasoning, so even I don’t fully understand her. But enough gossiping about others, I just had an idea you might be interested in, Iroha.” Katja energetically shifted her upper body to face me directly.

“Huh?” That’s kinda sudden… “What are you thinking?”

“Wanna learn how to shoot a gun? I can teach you too.”

“What?!” Can I? I mean, I am interested… Guns are cool in games. But the idea of shooting one in real life hasn’t quite sunk in yet. It’s not the first time she brought this up, but I never thought it’d come so soon.

“I think you’re ready. You’ve gotten used to wielding a sword and fighting monsters, so now’s a good time. I’ve also noticed that you have been swinging your sword with just one hand, which isn’t what I taught you…” Katja stared with a slightly accusatory tone.

“So- sorry…”

“It’s fine. I would have taught you like that if I had known. It’s not gonna get you in trouble, so it’s good you found your own style. But now you have a hand that’s not doing anything. That doesn’t seem right, does it? Don’t you wanna change that?” Katja winked to convince me. As if getting to shoot a gun isn’t cool enough by itself.

“Of course I wanna change that! When do we start? Now?”

“You’re hurt, Iroha!” Hecate said from the kitchen. Wow… Carol’s right… She doesn’t miss.

“Like Hecate said, today’s not a good idea. I’ll get something ready for you if you’re interested. We have a simple shooting range in the woods. I’ll take you there when you’re feeling good, okay?”

“That’s fine! I’ll look forward to it.” I said, and Katja smiled in response.

“Katja! Is a desk fine too?” A voice echoed from deeper in the hallway. Narumi kept approaching us until she arrived at the lounge area.

“Well, Iroha’s here now…” Katja gestured in my direction. Was Narumi helping Katja set up a table in the infirmary?

“Iroha? Are you well enough to be here?” Narumi asked lazily, and I waved back. She stared at me for a second with a blank stare. I can almost make out the gears clicking inside her head, close to arriving at a realization. “So, is a desk fine? There’s a desk in one of the empty rooms, but it’s dusty and has a lot of crap on top of it. Do you want it? Do we carry it to the infirmary?”

Hello? Narumi? Don’t you get it?!