Hospitalization (3)

"Nurse. I actually feel fine. Can't I be discharged now?"

After the chairman left the room, I brought it up with the nurse who came by on her regular rounds to check on me. I even put on a little demonstration, stretching and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠working the stiffness out of my limbs.

My mana circuits still hadn't fully recovered, of course. I couldn't use magic — but being stuck in here was honestly driving me up the wall.

"Absolutely not. You haven't even been awake for a full day. You need to rest."

"Then how much longer do I have to stay?"

I'd have settled for visitors at this point, but even that was banned. I couldn't see any of the other heroines.

"Hmm... well, actually, visitation is completely forbidden until the Saint gives her permission...."

"...Excuse me?"

"She said your condition still isn't good... but you do look a bit better, so I'll mention it to her."

"Then could you call the Saint for me? If she sees my condition herself, she might change her mind."

"Oh, shall I? She did tell me that if it's about Cadet Lee Ho-yeon, I shouldn't put it off — I should tell her immediately."

"Yes, please. Thank you."

After the nurse left, I lay back down on the bed.

Hmph.

Absolute rest, huh....

Whether the visitation ban was really about my recovery, or whether she had some other motive... I'd have to wait and see.

A knock sounded at the door.

"This is Baek A-young. May I come in, Cadet Lee Ho-yeon?"

"Yes. Come in."

The door creaked open, and a moment later Baek A-young stepped inside. She was wearing that familiar suit of hers — the one that was always just a little too sexy. Beads of sweat dotted her forehead; she must have come straight from work.

"Ho-yeon. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, of course."

I'd heard this was Chulhyul Hospital, and apparently Baek A-young was working here instead ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of the academy infirmary — just for me. Something about how looking after academy cadets was a school nurse's duty, and so on.

The moment she closed the door, she dropped the formal speech and came toward me.

"So, why'd you call for me? The nurse said you wanted me to take a look at you."

"Well, my body's gotten a lot better, so... I figured visitors might be okay now."

I wasn't even asking to be discharged. I just wanted to be allowed visitors.

"Ah... yeah. Right. You've got your own circumstances, I guess."

Baek A-young looked at me, making no effort to hide how hurt she felt.

"...Yes. There's a lot I need to take care of. This terrorist attack, for one, and there are still things I need to explain from the Celestial Festival... plus having nurses watching me around the clock is a bit much...."

"If I allow visitors, are you only going to have official business visits?"

"Well, not exactly...."

This was getting uncomfortable. The way she was looking at me was terrifying.

"If you call other girls over... and then..."

Her voice cracked. Baek A-young threw herself into my arms and buried her face in my chest.

"...Darling. You're always number one, you know that."

"Darling... nnngh."

I had no choice. I pulled out the invincible word.

It worked, just as expected. She hugged me even tighter, and I held her as she clung to me, stroking her back to soothe her. After a few minutes of that, Baek A-young lifted her head.

"Okay. You've got your own relationships. I can't just be stubborn about this."

"Thank you, A-young."

"Yeah. I want to be by your side all the time too, but... I've still got a lot of work. I at least have to finish everything I started."

"That's fine."

As I listened to her, I discreetly checked the status window.

What a relief. She still had a sense of responsibility toward her profession, and it seemed like her desire to save people was still intact. That meant I didn't have to worry about pregnancy, at least.

"Yes. Take good care of yourself. And stay on top of your... management."

Just in case, I added one more thing.

"Yeah. Thanks. I'll let them know visitation starts tomorrow. Looking at your condition, you don't need an overnight nurse either, so I'll take care of that too."

We talked a little more after that. Baek A-young said she had a mountain of work piled up and needed to get going, then left the room.

Once she was gone, the hospital room fell dead silent.

"...Even after clearing her route, she's still a handful."

Still, with her affection at a hundred, the jealousy wasn't overwhelmingly bad. Of course, whether that attitude would hold once I had more than five women was another question... but I'd cross that bridge when I came to it.

I turned on my smartwatch and started killing time. In a hospital room by myself, there was nothing else to do.

"There's nothing left to even look at."

After a few dozen minutes of that, boredom came crashing down. I'd even gotten tired of watching for the academy's official statement. Visitation needed to open up already. Nam Da-eun and Nam Daehee, Elise, Lucy, Rumi, Lim Sol, Mun Su-rin — there were way too many people I needed to worry about.

A faint rustle whispered overhead.

That was when I felt a familiar flow of mana. I couldn't use it, but I could still sense it. That was the perk of Mana Sensitivity.

"...Scarlet?"

I spoke toward whatever was moving above the ceiling of the hospital room. The mana stopped, and one of the ceiling tiles slid open.

A familiar blonde beauty dropped to the floor and landed lightly on her feet.

"You're incredible, Ho-yeon. They said your mana circuits were completely wrecked, and you still found me."

Scarlet brushed the dust off her clothes as she spoke.

"...What's going on? Why'd you come out of there?"

"The security on your hospital room suddenly weakened, so I slipped in immediately. I also had a report to make."

"Good work."

That's Scarlet for you. I was bored anyway, so this was— wait.

The necklace around Scarlet's neck was trembling faintly. Now that I looked at it, I'd seen that necklace plenty of times before. I used to carry Liliana around in that form all the time, so I remembered it clearly.

"That... is that Liliana?"

"Yes. Lady Liliana. It's safe now. You can come out."

Mist billowed out in a soft burst, and Liliana appeared beside Scarlet.

"Aahh... I haven't done that in so long. It was so stuffy."

"Liliana!"

With Scarlet and Liliana here, my hospital stay might not be so boring after all. For the first time, I felt something resembling love for Liliana.

"See? He's totally fine. I knew ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it!"

"Impressive, Lady Liliana. I believed them when they said he was in danger...."

"He's not the type to die that easily. If he were, he'd have been dead a long time ago."

"Uh, what are you two talking about?"

I cut into the conversation they'd started without me.

"Scarlet was all worried that you were in danger, so I told her not to bother. I know better than anyone how stubborn your life is."

"...?"

I almost flicked Liliana on the forehead for that weird comment, but she'd come all this way to see me, so I let it slide.

"Scarlet. What's going on with Nam Da-eun and Nam Daehee?"

Anyway, perfect timing. Nam Da-eun had been my biggest concern, and the person who knew the situation best had just shown up.

"They're resting in the dorms. I confirmed they were sound asleep, holding each other tight, before I left. Come to think of it, I have a related report as well."

"What is it?"

"I couldn't figure out why the Buyer Guild had taken Nam Daehee, so I explained that she was rescued by the organization under your command. I told them I don't know the exact reason because you haven't said anything."

"That's Scarlet. Always thorough. I'll handle that part myself."

"Yes. I'll bring Nam Da-eun and Nam Daehee tomorrow."

I already had an explanation prepared. Whether Nam Da-eun would accept it was another matter... but it would probably be fine.

"Anything else unusual?"

"Ah... now that you mention it, I received a personal order from Lady Elise."

"A personal order?"

"Yes. She told me to install a hidden camera in this hospital room……."

"...."

Why?

No, seriously — what did she take me for, that she'd want a hidden camera in my hospital room? Did she think I was the kind of guy who had sex even in a hospital bed?

...How did she know.

She's got a good eye for people, I'll give her that. Must be the Iris Guild in her.

"Hmm... Scarlet."

"Yes."

"I'll just give you a sex tape. You can pass it along to Elise. That should work."

"To be honest, I was thinking the same thing."

"I'll let you know when the timing's right. Film it secretly."

Scarlet needed to rack up some results if she was going to earn more trust, so something like this every now and then wasn't a bad idea. Last time the video had been with Liliana. For the next one, maybe I should film it with someone else — for customer satisfaction.

A finger jabbed into my side. Then again.

"You can't fight back right now, can you? This is a great opportunity. Wanna join in, Scout?"

"I'm fine, thank you."

Liliana was grinning as she poked her finger into my ribs. Wasn't that a bit much to do to a patient?

"Sure. If it makes you happy, go ahead."

She was expressing her worry through teasing after not seeing me for days. I left my side open for her. I could be generous enough to put up with that much.

"What? Forget it. This is boring."

Liliana pouted and started fiddling with her smartwatch.

...What's with her.

She said she wasn't worried....

I let out a breath, pumped up my energy, and spread my arms wide toward Liliana.

"Liliana~. You have no idea how much I missed you."

"There you go lying again. The second you open your mouth, the bullshit just comes out automatically."

"I'm not lying. I thought about you the entire time I was in here."

"...Really?"

"Of course. Come here."

I patted the hospital bed. It was a high-end hospital, so the mattress was plenty wide. Liliana lay down next to me with a skeptical look, and I stroked her hair to soothe her.

"I missed you the most, you know. Since I see you more than anyone."

She fidgeted, poking at my body as she looked up at me.

"Really? You mean it?"

Those eyes... those were a succubus's eyes. Liliana was asking for sex.

"Shall I start filming right now?"

Scarlet was already pointing a compact camera she'd produced from somewhere at the bed.

"...Yeah. Keep an eye on the hallway too."

The more videos, the better, so...

Trying my best not to think about the camera, I reached for Liliana's body.

The academy's in-house research lab.

A man and a woman were talking.

"What were the analysis results?"

"An S-class Demon."

Mun Su-rin was speaking with an academy researcher. They were discussing the skull-masked Demon that Lee Ho-yeon had taken down.

"S-class... was it a Demon affiliated with Pandemic?"

"That's our assessment, yes. And this is the mask the Demon was wearing."

The researcher handed Mun Su-rin the skull mask.

"It isn't an artifact with any special effects, but... it appears to be a marker they use to identify each other. There may be some kind of faction within Pandemic."

"I see... thank you. I'll be going now."

"Yes. Please take care on your way."

Mun Su-rin slowly left the research lab, the skull mask in her hand.

"An S-class Demon...."

An S-class Demon had attacked Lee Ho-yeon. A cadet taking down an S-class Demon by himself — that was an absurd achievement. The moment it hit the news tomorrow, the press would explode all over again.

But that wasn't what mattered to Mun Su-rin.

The price had been Lee Ho-yeon falling into a coma. Fortunately there were no major complications, and visitation would open starting tomorrow. Even so, she couldn't help being angry.

"Ho-yeon...."

She'd been able to relax a little when her grandfather said he'd speak in Ho-yeon's defense, for whatever reason... but then a different anxiety had taken its place. What if this kind of danger happened again? When that time came, she would have to be the one to protect him.

Mun Su-rin listened to the edited clip of Ho-yeon's voice as she wrestled with her thoughts.

How can I help Ho-yeon?

First, she needed to go see him. Whatever it was, she had to say it to his face.

Mm. Mun Su-rin nodded and focused on her earphones.