The Treatment Isn't Over Yet
Cecilia had not moved for a long time.
Her right hand, hidden beneath the cloak, remained still.
I simply waited.
After a moment, she spoke.
“No problem.”
It was the answer I had expected.
“Then show me.”
“Evan.”
Liana called from beside me.
“Why?”
“It’s too sudden.”
“What is?”
“You’re telling a complete stranger to show their hand.”
Ah.
Now that I thought about it, she was right.
I lowered the hand I had extended.
“I’m sorry.”
Cecilia glanced at my hand once.
“You said you’re an alchemist, right?”
“Yes.”
“Can you tell just by looking at the hand?”
“I don’t rely on the hand alone.”
“Then what?”
I paused for a moment.
It was faster to show rather than explain.
I pointed at the sword at Cecilia’s waist.
“Would you mind drawing it?”
Liana immediately looked at me.
“Evan.”
“Why now?”
“It’s inside the house.”
“Just draw it.”
“The opponent is a Sword Saint.”
“I know.”
“That makes it even more difficult.”
Now that I thought about it, that was true too.
Cecilia looked between the two of us.
Then, without a word, she placed her hand on the hilt of her sword.
“Can this confirm it?”
“Probably.”
Liana sighed.
“Again with the probably.”
“If you want certainty, watch the movement.”
“Then say so.”
The corner of Cecilia’s mouth moved just a little.
I might have been mistaken; it vanished so quickly.
“Draw it slowly.”
Cecilia drew her sword.
A soft metallic sound.
The silver blade slid out of the scabbard.
It stopped there.
I widened my eyes slightly.
There was no tremor.
Not at the tip.
Not at the wrist.
Not at the fingers.
At least to my eyes, it was perfect.
Cecilia asked.
“Did you see?”
“Yes.”
“No problem.”
“Again.”
Cecilia’s eyebrows moved just a little.
“What did you see just now?”
“It was too good, so it was hard to see.”
Laughter came from behind me.
I turned.
“Why are you laughing?”
“No.”
“You were laughing.”
“Continue.”
Cecilia sheathed her sword without another word.
“This time, keep it drawn until I say so.”
“How long?”
“Until I say it’s enough.”
The sword moved again.
It stopped.
At first, nothing.
I looked at my hand rather than the sword.
Fingers.
Wrist.
Elbow.
I waited a little longer.
Then.
The ring finger of her right hand trembled ever so slightly.
Soon after, the pinky finger followed.
“There.”
Cecilia’s gaze turned to me.
“Ring and pinky.”
The tremor stopped immediately.
It had not vanished.
It had been suppressed.
“There are times when senses dull.”
No answer.
“When you hold a sword for long, the inside of the wrist aches.”
Cecilia’s eyes changed slightly.
“Who told you that?”
“No one.”
“Then how did you know?”
“I saw it just now.”
“Just a slight movement of the fingers.”
“That slight movement keeps happening.”
Cecilia stared at me for a long time.
I pointed at the sword.
“You can sheathe it now.”
The sword returned to its scabbard.
“May I see it once more?”
This time, Cecilia did not extend her hand immediately.
I waited.
If she did not want to, I would not force it.
“If you don’t want to, you don’t have to show it.”
“Then what?”
“I would have to send you away.”
“Without treatment?”
“I can’t force it.”
Cecilia’s expression changed just a little.
Had I said something strange?
“The pain is Cecilia’s.”
I chose my words carefully.
“Deciding is also Cecilia’s.”
Silence.
The atmosphere around Cecilia wavered for a moment.
I did not know what emotion it was.
Then, after a short time.
The right hand beneath the cloak slowly emerged.
“Look.”
“Thank you.”
I took her wrist.
It was cold.
Much colder than I had thought.
“Is your hand always this cold?”
“I don’t know.”
I looked at Cecilia.
“It’s her own hand.”
“I’ve never paid attention to it.”
Liana spoke from beside me.
“Evan isn’t in a position to comment on others.”
“Why me?”
“You don’t know your own hands are cold.”
“I’m not cold.”
Liana took my empty hand.
After a moment.
“It’s cold.”
“The weather today is a bit.”
“Warm.”
“…”
Cecilia looked between my hand and Liana’s.
“They’re similar.”
“What is?”
“Not paying attention to your own body.”
“I’m not that bad.”
Liana chuckled.
“You were amazing at making potions, you remember?”
“That was because the orders piled up.”
“Cutting herbs with a cut hand and bleeding?”
“It was almost finished.”
“Staying up all night and going into the forest the next day?”
“Liana.”
“Huh?”
“The patient is over there.”
“Both of you seem like patients.”
Cecilia gave a very small laugh.
I awkwardly turned my gaze to my hand.
“Anyway.”
I checked the fingers first.
“Spread them.”
Cecilia spread her fingers.
“Clench them.”
She made a fist.
“Again.”
Once.
Twice.
On the third try.
The reaction of the last two fingers was slightly late.
Cecilia watched the hand I moved for a moment.
“You’re quite familiar with handling hands.”
“Because I’m an alchemist.”
“Does an alchemist examine a person’s hand like this?”
“If they’re in pain.”
Cecilia looked at me once.
“Always?”
“Only what I can see.”
“I see.”
I checked the fingers again.
“Can you feel it?”
“What?”
“The ring and pinky fingers are a little late.”
Cecilia looked at her own hand.
“That won’t interfere with combat.”
“Say that again.”
Cecilia lifted her eyes.
“Why?”
“You keep talking about combat.”
“In a sword fight, that’s the standard.”
“You’re not coming to fight now.”
Cecilia closed her mouth.
I pressed the inside of her wrist.
“Here.”
“It’s fine.”
A little to the side.
“This one?”
“No problem.”
Further in.
The tip of her finger twitched for a moment.
I immediately pulled my hand away.
“Here it is.”
“It’s bearable.”
“Say that again.”
Cecilia looked at me.
“You have a lot of prohibitions.”
“Because the patient keeps giving strange answers.”
Liana nodded from across.
“That’s what Evan says.”
“Liana.”
“This time it’s my side.”
“This time?”
Liana pretended not to hear.
I looked at Cecilia’s wrist again.
“Flow a little mana.”
“With your hand?”
“Like when you use a sword. Just a tiny bit.”
Cecilia hesitated for a moment.
Soon, a faint blue light gathered near the back of her hand.
Mana flowed.
At that moment.
The tremor at the fingertips clearly grew stronger.
“Stop.”
Cecilia immediately cut off the mana.
The tremor slowly subsided.
“It’s not just the muscles.”
“What do you mean?”
“It seems the part where mana flows is also burdened.”
I twisted her wrist slightly.
“You’ve been using the sword and flowing mana while damaged?”
Cecilia did not answer.
That was the answer.
“Since when?”
“I don’t remember.”
“At least roughly.”
Cecilia lowered her gaze for a moment.
“Before entering the Demon King’s Castle.”
My hand stopped.
“You fought in that state until the Demon King battle?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
I realized I had also found my question strange.
Why fight.
Cecilia said it as if it were natural.
“Because I had to fight.”
The words were too short.
As if there was nothing more to explain.
“You didn’t receive treatment?”
“I did.”
“How?”
“The shrine maidens confirmed it.”
“What did they say?”
“No interference with combat.”
That sentence stuck.
Liana asked first.
“Then it ends there for the knights?”
Cecilia looked at her.
“During the war, that was mostly it.”
“If you can fight again?”
“Yes.”
The smile vanished from Liana’s face.
“Even if it hurts?”
Cecilia did not answer for a moment.
Then she said it as if it were truly natural.
“Everyone was hurting.”
The room grew quiet.
I looked at the hand I held.
“That doesn’t mean the treatment is over.”
Cecilia looked at me.
“What?”
“That means you can fight, not that you’re healed.”
“Is it different?”
“Of course it is.”
“Ultimately, you can use the sword.”
“If you can walk, a broken ankle is healed?”
“That kind of injury isn’t that bad.”
“It’s an example.”
“It seems like an over-the-top example.”
I fell silent for a moment.
Liana laughed beside me.
“Just give up. You seem to have understood.”
“Is my explanation strange?”
“A little.”
“Where?”
“Your ankle suddenly broke.”
“It’s a metaphor.”
Cecilia looked between the two of us and lowered her head just a little.
She seemed to be holding back laughter.
I asked again.
“Are you in pain now?”
“I can bear it.”
“Don’t say that.”
“It’s true.”
“I asked if I can bear it?”
“…”
“I asked if you’re in pain.”
It grew quiet.
Cecilia was the first to avoid my gaze.
I simply waited.
After a long time.
“…A little.”
Her voice was smaller than before.
The first proper answer.
“Then I should treat you.”
“For combat.”
“Say that again.”
This time, Liana laughed first.
Cecilia looked at her.
Liana covered her mouth with her hand.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine.”
Cecilia looked at me again.
“But it really is no problem for combat.”
“The war is over now.”
The moment the words left my mouth.
The atmosphere around Cecilia settled.
I closed my mouth.
Cecilia said nothing.
Had I said something unnecessary?
For me, the war being over was good news.
The Demon King was dead.
My brother had returned alive.
I could live comfortably in my hometown.
I did not know if it meant the same for Cecilia.
For years, she had started her day with a sword.
As long as her body could endure, she returned to the front lines.
Then one day, everything suddenly ended.
I changed my words a little.
“Now, we can look at it with different standards.”
Cecilia lifted her head.
“Different standards?”
“Normally.”
“Normally?”
“Not how well you use the sword.”
I lifted the right hand I held slightly.
“Whether it hurts here or not.”
Cecilia said nothing.
“Just look at her as a person in pain.”
The atmosphere shook greatly.
I immediately relaxed my grip on the hand.
Had I been holding it too tightly?
“Why?”
“…No.”
“You don’t look happy.”
Cecilia’s gaze fixed on me.
“It really is felt.”
“Roughly.”
“Do you know how I feel right now?”
“I don’t know that far.”
“Then what do I know?”
“It’s not good?”
Cecilia looked at me for a moment.
“Is that all?”
“Yes.”
“…I see.”
It sounded like a small relief.
I added unnecessarily.
“It’s comfortable. It reduces the chance of being fooled by liars.”
Liana said.
“Still, you get fooled every day.”
“When?”
“When I’m angry.”
“You can tell when I’m angry.”
“You can’t guess why I’m angry.”
“That’s outside the scope of my ability.”
“So you say strange things every day.”
Cecilia looked between the two of us.
“I heard you’ve known each other for a long time.”
Liana laughed.
“Since childhood.”
“Even so, you don’t know?”
Cecilia asked this time.
“People’s hearts are like that, aren’t they?”
Cecilia thought for a moment.
“…I guess so.”
Her face looked oddly accepting.
“How much do you sleep?”
I asked.
“Enough.”
Cecilia avoided her gaze just a little.
‘Lie.’
“How many hours?”
No answer.
“Miss Cecilia.”
“Two or three hours.”
Liana reacted immediately.
“Per day?”
“Yes.”
“How is that enough?”
“During the war, even less.”
Liana closed her mouth.
I asked.
“Then why don’t you sleep more now?”
Cecilia did not answer for a long time.
“…I can’t sleep.”
This time, it was not an excuse.
“Even lying down?”
“Yes.”
“Waking up in the middle?”
Cecilia’s pupils moved just a little.
“Sometimes.”
Sometimes.
Her tone suggested it was frequent.
I did not ask further.
“Meals?”
“I eat.”
“What did you eat today?”
Cecilia did not answer.
Liana raised her eyebrows immediately.
“You didn’t eat, did you?”
“I ate.”
“What?”
“…Dried meat.”
I said.
“That’s not a meal, it’s emergency rations.”
Cecilia looked at me.
“It was a meal on the battlefield.”
Liana said softly.
“It’s not the battlefield here…”
Cecilia fell silent.
Liana asked gently.
“How much did you eat?”
“A little.”
“How much is a little?”
“About the size of my palm.”
Liana looked at me.
“Small.”
“Small.”
Cecilia said very softly.
“Don’t both speak at the same time.”
I paused for a moment.
Liana laughed first.
“Okay.”
Cecilia’s mouth corner moved very slightly.
At this point, it was no longer just a matter of treating the hand.
She could not sleep two or three hours and had no proper meal.
The body was here, but the way of living was still the battlefield.
Would it look good to ride again and go north in this state?
“Liana.”
“Huh.”
“Is there an empty room?”
“Plenty.”
Cecilia lifted her head immediately.
“Wait.”
“Why?”
“I never said I would stay here.”
“I know.”
“Then why talk about rooms?”
“I thought you’d only sleep two or three hours at the inn.”
“That’s my problem.”
The words stuck.
It was right.
I could not force her just because she was in pain.
“Then I’ll ask.”
“What?”
“Will you receive treatment?”
Cecilia answered immediately.
“I don’t need it.”
Liana raised her eyebrows slightly.
I nodded as if I had expected it.
“I knew you’d say that.”
“Then why ask?”
“Because I can’t treat without permission.”
“I can use the sword.”
“I know.”
“I can fight in combat.”
“I know that too.”
“Then?”
“Is it okay if the hand keeps trembling?”
Cecilia closed her mouth.
“Then I really can’t hold the sword?”
“Fix it before that.”
“It’s now that time.”
I could not object immediately.
I moved my body back a little.
“I can’t guarantee it’s completely cured.”
Cecilia looked at me.
“Home forest herbs are not that amazing.”
“That’s what I heard from Leon.”
“What did he say?”
“He can make good medicines but can’t make materials without them.”
I paused for a moment.
“He said it properly.”
“Otherwise.”
“What?”
“My medicine tastes bad.”
Liana laughed immediately.
I looked at Cecilia.
“Why do you remember that?”
“Because you said it often.”
“Brother really.”
Cecilia’s mouth relaxed a little.
Still, this conversation had come back to Leon’s side.
It still felt natural.
“Anyway.”
I continued.
“If it’s a problem accumulated for years, it won’t go away in a few days.”
Liana said.
“You should have said that from the beginning.”
“I did.”
“Just now.”
“If I say it now, it’s fine.”
“It’s not like that from the patient’s perspective?”
Cecilia looked between the two of us.
“So how long will it take?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
“You have to try the medicine directly and see the reaction.”
“…”
“It could be weeks. Or longer.”
“It’s too long.”
“Then will you keep holding the sword in pain for a few more years?”
Cecilia did not answer.
After a moment.
An unexpected question came.
“Why are you so concerned?”
“What?”
“Treatment.”
I blinked.
“We just met today.”
“That’s right.”
“I was just your brother’s colleague.”
Cecilia looked at her own hand.
“There is no relation between us.”
I thought for a moment.
I was not sure what answer she wanted.
“So?”
Cecilia looked at me.
“Why don’t you try to treat me?”
I looked at the trembling hand.
“It hurts.”
Cecilia did not move.
I added because I did not know why this needed explanation.
“I can do something.”
“Is that all?”
“Yes.”
“…”
“What else is there?”
The atmosphere shook again.
This time, the frustration I had felt at the beginning of the conversation weakened for a moment.
I could not understand the reason.
Liana watched Cecilia silently from beside me.
Cecilia opened her mouth after a long time.
“A few days.”
“Huh?”
“At least how long is needed?”
“First, I need to check the condition for a few days.”
“Exactly.”
“Why do you all like exact dates so much.”
Liana laughed.
“It’s not curious from the patient’s perspective.”
“Then you decide.”
“Why me.”
Cecilia thought for a moment.
“Five days.”
“Why five days?”
“It will be three days late compared to the day we were supposed to arrive in the north.”
I looked at Cecilia.
“You were still calculating that?”
“Of course.”
“With the body like this?”
“There are people waiting.”
The date to return was still more important than resting.
“Then let’s negotiate again in five days.”
Cecilia’s eyebrows moved.
“Negotiate?”
“If the condition is bad, extend it.”
“I did not agree.”
“I’ll ask then.”
Liana chuckled.
“That’s not negotiation, that’s notification, right?”
“There is a choice.”
“You talk well.”
Cecilia let out a short breath.
“Good.”
“You will receive treatment, right?”
“Yes.”
I laughed.
“You thought well.”
Cecilia looked at me for a moment.
I did not try to interpret that gaze.
We had just met today.
She was my brother’s colleague.
Her body condition was not good.
This was enough for now.
***
I could not give the medicine immediately.
I had to select ingredients again to match Cecilia’s condition.
When I entered the workshop, Liana followed.
“What do you need?”
“Moonlight Grass.”
“Is there any good one today?”
“Pick a good one.”
Liana opened the cabinet.
“This one?”
I took it and squeezed it in my hand.
“It’s fine.”
“Again?”
“Blue Moss.”
“There are dried ones.”
“That’s old.”
“How old?”
“Half a year?”
“Can it be used at that age?”
“The effect has weakened.”
Liana took out a small bottle from the shelf.
I touched it once and set it down.
“Remove this.”
“Why?”
“The inner mana is almost dead.”
“It looks the same on the outside.”
“That’s why I’m doing it.”
Liana looked at me for a moment.
“You sometimes pretend to be cool.”
“You were cool just now.”
“No.”
“The atmosphere is good.”
“Don’t abuse that ability.”
I laughed.
I laid out several ingredients on the workbench.
First, reduce the pain.
Make sure the damaged part is not stimulated more.
Reduce the burden a little when flowing mana.
Fundamentally, rest was needed.
Time was also needed.
“I remember you said you were going to the forest tomorrow.”
Liana said.
“I remember.”
“Date.”
“I know.”
“Don’t make me work under the excuse of herbs.”
“There are a few things needed.”
Liana looked at me silently.
“…Make it only until morning and leave.”
“Promise.”
“Yes.”
“Start working and don’t finish by evening.”
“I’ve done that a few times.”
“There have been a few times.”
“I said it wrong.”
“It’s already late.”
At that moment, a small sound came from the door.
I turned.
Cecilia was standing at the entrance.
“Why are you standing there?”
“Was I interrupting?”
“No.”
“Can I watch?”
“It’s fine.”
Cecilia came inside.
Her gaze went to the herbs on the workbench.
“Did you make the medicine for Leon here too?”
“Most of it.”
“Even when you were in the capital?”
“When it was urgent, I made it there.”
“I see.”
Cecilia looked at an old flask.
“Leon told me not to talk when you make medicine.”
Liana laughed.
I looked at her.
“Why are you laughing?”
“It’s true.”
“You have to concentrate.”
“I called once and you didn’t answer three times.”
“You didn’t hear.”
“That’s not answering.”
Cecilia said softly.
“Leon said the same thing.”
I fell silent for a moment.
“Did you two talk about me behind my back?”
“Probably.”
Liana answered first.
“You’re too much.”
Cecilia smiled very small again.
I arranged the herbs on the workbench and looked at her armor.
She had been wearing it the whole time.
“Sleep early today.”
“I understand.”
“And.”
I pointed at the armor.
“Take that off.”
Cecilia stopped.
“Armor?”
“Yes.”
“You can sleep like this.”
I looked at her for a long time.
“You slept in that?”
“If necessary.”
“Why if it’s not necessary.”
“It’s a habit.”
“It’s uncomfortable.”
“I’m used to it.”
Again.
The same words.
I sighed.
“Miss Cecilia.”
“Why.”
“Being used to something and being okay are different.”
Cecilia said nothing.
Liana said from beside.
“Shall I lend you comfortable clothes?”
Cecilia looked at Liana.
“Is it okay?”
“Of course.”
Liana compared Cecilia’s height with her own.
“…It might be a little short.”
“Find something from my mother’s clothes that’s left.”
I said.
Liana nodded.
“That’s better.”
Cecilia hesitated for a moment and said.
“Liana.”
“Huh?”
“Thank you.”
Liana paused for a moment and laughed.
“It’s nothing.”
Cecilia looked at me again.
I pointed at the armor.
“Take it off even if it’s just today.”
“…”
“You don’t have to wear it here.”
The atmosphere settled a little.
If I forced her to take it off, it would be worse.
So I said slowly.
“It’s not the battlefield here.”
No reaction.
“It’s a village.”
I pointed outside the workshop.
“It’s just a house.”
I added after thinking for a moment.
“It’s safe.”
Cecilia stared at me for a long time.
Was that such a difficult word?
Then very softly.
“…I understand.”
Her voice was the first to lose a little strength.
I did not ask further.
This person was not just a Sword Saint—
She was someone who needed to rest.