Chapter 156
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 156
Chapter Title: Discharge
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While giving Clara a suitable answer to her question about what I'd suddenly pulled out, I messaged Vivian back that I was at the temple right now. She replied saying we should meet on the day I got discharged.
"Discharge..."
"Clara. When do you think I can get discharged?"
"Huh? After your arm fully heals."
"From what I can tell, it'll be completely healed by tomorrow."
"Really?"
After hearing me out, Clara peered curiously at my arm, which was visibly regrowing bit by bit at an astonishing rate. She said she'd check with her mom and stepped out, only to return shortly with Gloria in tow.
"Ian. I heard you want to be discharged?"
"...I was just asking about the date... Well, yeah, I do want to get out."
It was too boring here. Sure, something fun had happened yesterday.
As I looked at Gloria's face, memories of yesterday flooded back, and I quickly turned away. But Gloria didn't notice my reaction and thoroughly examined my left arm before finishing her diagnosis.
"It really is healing fast... Did you take some kind of medicine? Even with a [Regeneration] skill, this speed is..."
"I gave him milk yesterday!"
"Milk?"
Gloria echoed Clara's words just like a mother and daughter would, and Clara suddenly chimed in from where she'd been listening behind her.
"I took the milk from the fridge magic tool in our room and gave it to him. Milk's good for your bones, right!"
"..."
She gave it to me without even knowing what it was... Milk is good for bones, sure, but does it really help with regrowing them like this? If it actually worked, maybe I should chug a ton of it.
"...Milk from the fridge magic tool?"
For some reason, Gloria's face flushed red after hearing me. She shook her head frantically like she didn't know what to do, then suddenly scolded Clara out of nowhere.
"C-Clara! How could you just give a patient anything like that!"
"Huh? Ian eats anything anyway."
That was true. I'd been pulling food from my inventory willy-nilly because I hated the hospital meals.
"S-Still, you can't just give him anything..."
"It's fine. It was delicious."
I cut the conversation short, worried that if it dragged on, they'd figure out I'd been in the middle of a bath yesterday. But Gloria's face turned even redder after hearing me.
"Mom, what's wrong?"
"...Clara. Be quiet, dear."
"???"
Clara made a wronged face after suddenly getting scolded by her mom.
After hearing what Clara said, I started eating calcium-rich dairy products and fish instead of meat, and my recovery sped up even more than yesterday. By the time the sun set, my left hand had returned to its original shape.
-Tap. Tap.
"Hmm..."
I flexed my newly regrown hand this way and that, roughly gauging the sensation.
'Feels a bit off?'
Maybe because it was an arm that had been severed and regrown, it felt awkward compared to the one I'd had before. No issues for daily life, but when I tried delicate movements, it just felt... weird?
"It's a common symptom for people who've regenerated severed limbs. It'll be good to do some precise hand exercises repeatedly for a while to retrain the nerves."
Gloria, who had been checking my arm's condition beside me, handed me some simple training tools and medicine she'd prepared for during recovery, looking worried.
"Are you really going to discharge yourself? Even if your arm's grown back, it might be better if you stayed longer just in case..."
"I'm going stir-crazy."
If I'd known I'd be discharged this soon, maybe I shouldn't have bothered with that bath yesterday. Though it did lead to something nice.
As I familiarized myself with the training tools for a moment, Gloria let out a sigh.
"Sigh. To be honest, I'm a little glad you're leaving, Ian. All the rooms are full right now."
"Rooms?"
The temple had quite a large number of hospital rooms. But they rarely filled up completely. Most patients got a quick holy magic treatment and were back on their feet in no time.
"Yes. Lately, we've had a lot of patients coming in with strange symptoms... They're hard to treat, so patients are piling up at the temple."
Gloria recited wearily, her face etched with fatigue and worry. Looking around the temple interior after hearing her, I could definitely see more patients than yesterday.
"Ugh..."
"M-Meds... Give me meds..."
"........."
Honestly, that scene was part of why I'd rushed my discharge. They kept yammering about meds and such, but if it was something contagious like a plague, I could catch it just being in the same room.
'They sound like drug addicts talking about meds...'
The temple folks would know better than me. I gave Gloria a quick bow of thanks and slipped out of the crowded ward.
"Guh... Graaah!"
And just as I was about to leave the ward, a convulsing patient lashed out and grabbed my arm. With a sigh, I tried to pry him off, but...
-Crunch...
"Urk?!"
The grip was stronger than expected, sending pain shooting through me. I yanked hard to pull free, and priests rushed over, casting calming magic as they dragged the patient back inside.
-Crack...
And as he was carried away, an ominous sound came from the patient's arm.
I looked down at my arm where the man had grabbed it. My skin, bolstered by level 6 [Physical Resistance], had a slight bruise.
'...[Limit Break]?'
Recalling the unnatural strength of the man who'd grabbed me brought [Limit Break] to mind. The skill that released the body's limiters to draw out power beyond normal limits. And that ominous sound from his arm as he was hauled off...
'...It's like...'
It reminded me of back when I'd blocked out pain and swung with reckless force. My arm shattering while unleashing immense power.
After leaving the temple, I ducked into an alley with no foot traffic, pulled out my communication orb, and messaged Vivian. The scenery around me gradually shifted.
The alley vanished, replaced by solid stone floors turning to carpet, surrounded by a room littered with books.
"It's been a while."
And in the center of that room, Vivian gazed down at me, looking more fatigued than usual.
"...It's been a while, Master."
It didn't feel like that long, but I had no reason to contradict her, so I bowed politely to Vivian. She returned the gesture half-heartedly, her expression weary.
'...What's up with her?'
She always had this dreamy, languid air, but today she looked tired and on edge.
I tilted my head slightly at the sight, but before I could ask, Vivian spoke first.
"You've been messaging me nonstop through the orb. So, what was it you wanted to see me about?"
"Ah, well..."
Since I'd been the one to ask if we could meet, and she seemed in a bad mood, I hurriedly pulled the item from my inventory.
-Thud.
"...Ho? What's that?"
As expected, Vivian's eyes, which had seemed tired and irritated, lit up. With a casual wave, she extracted the bundle of papers from the ice and summoned it to her side.
"...It's genuine. This is part of what I've been looking for. To think you'd procure it..."
She murmured in slight surprise, her demeanor softening as she looked at me.
"Very well. Since you've brought what I wanted, I suppose I owe you a reward. What do you desire?"
Just like back when I'd brought her another bundle from the 9th-floor ruins, she met my eyes and asked what I wanted in return. What I desired...
-Flinch.
"J-Just so you know, I'm not quite ready yet, so could we hold off on intercourse for a bit..."
"...Pardon? Ready?"
Vivian suddenly fidgeted and mumbled something nonsensical, but when I pressed her on it, she didn't respond, so I tilted my head and brought up my business.
"Before that... Recently, a man I suspect is Committee Seat 2 came to see me. Do you happen to know why?"
"...Hmm. Seat 2, you say."
The white-haired man who'd appeared while I was hospitalized at the temple. When I mentioned him, suspected to be Seat 2, Vivian furrowed her brow.
"...Sorry, but I don't know. Seat 2 is the hardest for even us to read. He wanders off alone muttering about the will of the gods and such..."
"...I see."
I'd thought a fellow Committee member might know, but Vivian seemed clueless about Seat 2. From her following explanation, while they were Committee members, they were highly individualistic outside of meetings.
'Sword Saint and Water King seemed friendly.'
But thinking of how chummy Sword Saint and Water King had been, I suspected Vivian might just be the odd one out, though I kept that to myself. Instead, I brought up another question.
"Master, about the recent Labyrinth mutation..."
"I can't say."
"...?"
She cut me off before I could even finish, her expression firm.
"I can't answer the question you're about to ask. That's the pact."
'...Pact?'
What I'd wanted to ask was about the entity called 「Death」. The one that had targeted me on the 22nd floor. The one that spat "again" and seemed poised to come after me once more someday.
But Vivian had preempted my question, blocking it entirely.
That sparked a bit of defiance in me.
"...What if, as payment for this page I just brought, I asked for an answer?"
I pointed at the page hovering in the air before her, half-threatening to take it back, but her face remained resolute.
"It's not that I won't tell you—it's that I can't. It's a promise all Committee members made with Seat 1."
'...Seat 1?'
Her ominous reply implied they'd sworn a pact with Seat 1 preventing answers to my question. So, I rephrased.
"...Who is this Seat 1?"
Having tangled with Vivian, met Sword Saint, received Water King's teachings, and even encountered the Demon King, I'd crossed paths with numerous Committee members. Naturally, my curiosity about the Committee had grown, and I'd asked Alensia or scoured library books for info.
'...But nothing on Seat 1.'
Strangely, there was zero information on Seat 1—less even than on the "Reaper" known as Seat 7. And now, it was coming from Vivian's lips.
Unable to contain my surging curiosity, I asked.
And surprisingly, Vivian answered.
"The creator of the Labyrinth City."