The Hand Sign of Ninjutsu is the Character for Patience
The Hand Sign of Ninjutsu is the Character for Patience
Compared to Max and Bibol, Usagi's wounds were light.
She spent a day in the hospital room provided by the Association receiving treatment. She was discharged after prosthetic arm nerve examination and repairing the damaged parts.
Now all that remained was to recuperate until her expended magic power recovered.
This could be done at home, and since the mental aspect was also important, Usagi was discharged as quickly as possible and returned home.
She wanted to sleep in a place where her mind was at ease.
"Umm..."
Usagi, who had been sleeping rolled up in a blanket in a kimbap-shaped position in her single-room, opened her eyes.
Checking her phone plugged into the charger, the time was 6 AM. Her usual waking time.
But waking up wasn't easy today. Fatigue from the request remained, making her body heavy.
"Hheuggeugeugeu...!"
Even though she had rabbit ears, she stretched in a cat pose from her bedding.
Checking the condition of her repaired prosthetic arm, she headed to the bathroom.
Sswaaaaa!!!
She woke herself up with the cold water pouring down. Her mind, which had been sinking from the chill penetrating her skin, slowly rose.
She thoroughly checked in the mirror to ensure no wounds were exposed.
'That weapon bonus the mage mentioned... I hope it comes in soon...'
Mercenary name: Usagi.
A 4th-rank ninja belonging to the Bohemian Mercenary Association.
Real name: Hoshikawa Yukina.
Successor of Mansang-ryu Ninjutsu. Her family was simple.
She had a younger brother, Hoshikawa Ryuji, with a significant age gap.
Hoshikawa Ryuji was undergoing treatment at Emmaus Medical Center in District 14.
Yukina planned to go to the hospital where her brother was today.
"Phew!"
Finishing her cold shower, she hurried her preparations.
Drying her hair, she opened the refrigerator located below her hip.
'Breakfast is...'
There was no need to even think about the menu. All that greeted her inside the refrigerator were a few bottles of water and energy gels nearing their expiration date.
This was enough.
Of course, it wasn't that she didn't want to eat anything.
But the obsession with saving money heavily suppressed all desires.
'I need to save more. Or else raise my rank.'
Fixed expenses came back breathlessly, but high-paying requests weren't frequent.
'Since I'm going out, I should replenish supplies too.'
Yukina threw on clothes she didn't even remember buying and grabbed a cap hanging on the wall.
When heading to the hospital, she covered her rabbit ears and wore a mask.
Rabbit beastmen weren't that rare, but since she lived as a mercenary, it wouldn't be strange to have grudges.
"..."
Even if she herself was attacked, it didn't matter, but her brother was different.
Even this was probably a soft and complacent thought for someone living as a mercenary, but she wanted her brother to remain ignorant of this world.
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As soon as Yukina entered Emmaus Medical Center in District 14, she headed to the cashier's office.
There was something she needed to do before going to see her brother.
"I've come to pay for Hoshikawa Ryuji."
Long-term inpatients at Emmaus Medical Center were required to pay every month.
If even one payment was delayed, treatment was immediately cut off, and afterward, even if they paid again, they'd be marked as a person of interest who had to pay once a week.
"You remember the seizures at dawn on the 3rd and 17th, right? You came in person then too."
"...I remember."
"Genepin32 was administered as a magic suppressant, and the narcotic antitussive Desmetophan M and the phenolic intravenous anesthetic Untropental were used. Do you remember being informed before administration?"
"Yes."
As Yukina nodded with a stiff face, the cashier staff member tapped the calculator without hesitation and continued explaining.
"The daily hospitalization fee for the private nursing room is 950,000 credits. The cost of the high-concentration neutralizer and nerve stabilizer administered every morning..."
The numbers on the calculator grew exponentially.
Yukina stared blankly at the calculator, holding her card.
Confirming that the amount was similar to usual, she held out her card.
"I'll continue to rely on you from now on."
After paying, Yukina headed to the elevator.
While waiting, she checked the remaining balance in her account.
'After restocking supplies and setting aside the amount to add to next month's hospital fees, I'll have a little left over.'
She was truly grateful for this request.
If the Association hadn't provided free treatment and prosthetic arm repair, it would have been suffocating.
Repairing a broken prosthetic arm easily costs ten million credits.
Ding!
She boarded the arriving elevator and went up.
Her brother was hospitalized in a private room monitored by AI 24 hours a day. It was an unavoidable choice because if seizures weren't caught quickly, it would be dangerous.
"Ryuji."
"Nuna!"
Ryuji, who had been lying on the bed, raised his upper body.
His expression when looking at her showed no signs of pain, only happiness. The corners of Yukina's mouth also rose.
"How's your body?"
"I'm fine! Especially good today!"
"Did you eat a lot? You didn't leave food because you were being picky, did you?"
Yukina sat on a chair and exchanged small talk with her brother.
This moment was indeed happy. An incredibly precious time.
But the negative emotions deep inside Yukina wouldn't easily calm down.
'I wish Ryuji could finish this hospital life soon and live normally...'
Emmaus Medical Center was said to be the pinnacle in the field of cardiology among the 10th-series districts.
It was also an ideal hospital where Yukina could entrust her brother Ryuji's treatment.
But even that reputation was useless in the face of her brother's illness. They said that even if they bought a fresh heart with money or replaced it with a commercially available artificial organ, it would 100% recur.
What was needed was a high-end artificial heart that would completely block even the problematic constitution.
Since only Haze's megacorps Genesis Bio Solution or Cheonmyeong Pharmaceutical possessed such an excellent artificial heart, she was given a verdict that a complete cure was impossible unless they moved.
All Emmaus Medical Center could do was life-sustaining treatment to keep symptoms from worsening.
A condition that would make an ordinary person give up treatment upon hearing it.
But Yukina did not give up.
In the end, there were two options.
First: to rise to a position where she could confidently contact the megacorps.
Second: to wait indefinitely for the day when the technology they monopolized reached Emmaus Medical Center.
Yukina was aiming for the former.
"Ah! And nuna..."
"Hm?"
Ryuji hesitated, fidgeting his lips, then got off the bed.
Yukina froze with tension, wondering if something had happened to her brother.
"Nuna told me not to accept things from people I don't know..."
Ryuji showed a soccer ball he had kept under the bed.
For Yukina, who had been holding her breath wondering if he might be in pain somewhere, this was fortunately not a serious matter.
"Who gave you that present?"
"A wizard hyung who was passing by... He even played with me!"
"Wizard? Can you tell nuna the details?"
Yukina listened to the brief situation and clenched her teeth.
The fact that she was so preoccupied with hospital bills that she hadn't even bought a new soccer ball for Ryuji to play with stung her heart.
"Can nuna take a look for a moment?"
"Yeah!"
Yukina thoroughly inspected the ball.
Fortunately, no problems were visible. It was an ordinary soccer ball.
"Still, you mustn't overdo exercise. You know that, right?"
Ryuji's remaining single ear drooped.
Yukina didn't want to say this to her brother either. But it couldn't be helped.
"Ryuji. If there's anything you want or need, feel free to tell nuna."
"But..."
No matter how young Ryuji was, he could guess the level of this hospital.
The air itself was different from the district where they lived before his treatment began.
"Ryuji doesn't need to worry about trivial things. Let's focus on your treatment, okay?"
"..."
"Nuna really makes a lot of money! The downside is that I'm too busy to see Ryuji often."
Yukina spoke exaggeratedly and drew a picture in her mind.
'He lifted the ball into the air without using his hands?'
Based on Ryuji's explanation alone, the wizard who played with him was likely a telekinetic type.
Her thoughts deepened.
The very existence of a wizard was a subject of caution in Haze, so it couldn't be laughed off.
'There's also the possibility that he truly gave the soccer ball to Ryuji without any ulterior motive.'
But people with such hearts were rare in Haze.
'Ah, right.'
Speaking of telekinetics, the mercenary named Max who had accompanied her on this request was also a telekinetic-type wizard.
'He was skilled.'
As if proving the saying that wizards all have some eccentric side.
He seemed normal yet somehow unusual.
He seemed very curious about the organs inside the container.
Of course, she and Bibol were also shocked when they saw inside the container, but they shook it off as soon as the request was over.
But that wizard named Max remained lost in thought.
Even until the moment he was receiving treatment, his head seemed noisy. He was just persistent.
'Isn't there some kind of community where wizards of the same type contact each other?'
If she asked a telekinetic, could she figure out the identity of the telekinetic Ryuji had met?
Yukina fell into deep thought.
"Achoo!"
Max, who had been sleeping on the hospital bed, sneezed and opened his eyes.
What a ridiculous way to wake up.
"Ooh..."
His whole body ached from just one sneeze.
Checking his body just in case, no wounds had opened.
'Is Father badmouthing me?'
Strangely, his ears were also itching.
"Hoo."
Unable to sleep now, Max left the hospital room with his IV drip.
Meredith, an Association employee, was working on her laptop on a chair in the hallway.
"Max-nim. Are you feeling alright?"
"...Yes. Thanks to the Association's support. But what brings you here?"
"I'd like to have a brief word regarding a matter related to the request."
"I'm hungry, is it okay to do it while I eat?"
"Of course. I'll guide you."
Max dragged the IV stand along as he followed Meredith.