Chapter 222
Chapter 222
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 222
Chapter Title: Memories of Galliante (2)
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“I'll finish this as quickly as possible. Don't you worry. I took surgery classes once.”
Unlike general practice, surgery, which involved performing operations, required the use of Schema. The physician was capable of basic Schema, so he could sever the bone quickly.
“I'm starting now. He might have a seizure, so hold him down tight.”
Tess nodded, sobbing uncontrollably. Watching her, Amy and Arin couldn't say a word.
If they had been the ones to choose, they would have run away. It was a decision only Tess could make, one born from her resolve to take responsibility for the rest of Rian's life.
“Hoo! Hoo! Alright, I'm starting!”
“Stop.”
The physician, startled by the voice that came just as he placed the long saw on the shoulder, whipped around.
Shirone, having regained consciousness, was getting out of bed. The exhausted recovery mages lay on the floor, gasping for breath.
“Tess, what are you doing? Why are you trying to cut off Rian's arm?”
“Shirone, Shirone…”
Tess burst into tears. Lost, unable to decide, and simply letting events unfold, Shirone's recovery was like a welcome rain in a drought.
“Shirone, what do I do? They're going to amputate Rian's arm. Rian will now be…”
“No. Cutting off his arm would ruin his life.”
“But he'll die otherwise! Rian will die!”
“Even if he dies, we can't. I won't allow it.”
Shirone's words stabbed into Tess's heart like a dagger.
Of course, Shirone was Rian's master. Even if he were to die, Rian would never blame Shirone.
But then, who would understand how she felt?
“Tess, think again. Rian wouldn't want this.”
“I know! I want Rian to become the greatest swordsman too! But that's what's important to him, not to me! I don't care if he's missing an arm!”
“How can you say something so cruel! Could you say the same thing in front of Rian?”
“That's why I'm doing it! He's unconscious, so I'm going to do what I want! Rian will give up the sword now. So you should give up too! Doctor, please, hurry up and start!”
“He's still holding his sword!”
Tess turned back to Rian, her face turning pale.
“Look at Rian! He's still holding his sword! There's nothing left but bone, and he's still fighting! And you want to amputate? Until Rian gives up, no one can tell him to give up!”
Tess stared at Rian's arm.
Why wouldn't he let go of the sword? Did he intend to remain Shirone's sword until the very moment of his death? If so, she would never be able to have him all to herself.
But it didn't matter. Because that was Rian. Because he was that kind of person…
…she loved him so much.
Tess buried her face in Rian's chest.
She wouldn't go through with the procedure. If he held his sword until the very end, he would be a swordsman even in death.
A faint voice escaped Rian's lips.
“Tess…”
Tess's head shot up.
“Rian! I'm here! Are you awake? Does it hurt a lot?”
“Shirone, is Shirone…”
“He's fine! He came back safely! We're at Jis's house! You're the one who's most seriously injured!”
Rian stirred and sat up. As he looked down at his right arm, which was nothing but bone, his friends' hearts sank.
“What's this?”
Unexpectedly, Rian didn't even bat an eye. To remain calm while looking at his ruined arm was a sign of superhuman spirit.
Tess realized Shirone had been right. He had known. He'd known just how much resolve Rian had poured into his sword since the day he took his knight's oath.
“What's wrong with my arm? How did it get this messed up?”
Rian was merely displeased. The nerves were gone, so there was no pain. The hand holding the sword didn't even feel like his own.
“Rian, well, you see…”
At that moment, the greatsword clattered from Rian's arm. The five bony fingers splayed open, and blood spurted from his shoulder.
“Rian! Rian!”
The physician pressed down on Rian's shoulder and shouted.
“He's bleeding out! Get a styptic and bandages, quickly!”
No one moved.
As the physician glared at them with murderous eyes, a strange sound came from Rian's arm.
Gurgle. Gurgle.
It was the sound of a viscous liquid sloshing around.
The physician turned his head and, like everyone else, stared at Rian's arm in a daze.
The blood flowing from his shoulder was taking shape.
It was impossible. Not even an archmage of the recovery school could alter the properties of blood.
“Y-You, what in the world…”
Rian watched calmly as his arm was restored. As the nerves recovered, he slowly began to feel that it was his arm again. Carefully examining each and every muscle fiber, he asked his friends.
“What happened? Can someone explain?”
“You… you ate the giant's arm. You cut off the giant's arm, and the giant fed it to you. It turned into a liquid, like the one used in the Elixir of Anecdote, and went down your throat.”
“I cut off an arm? A giant's?”
It was nothing more than a fragmented image, hardly a memory, but the scene of him cutting the giant's arm faintly came to mind.
‘So I got a hit in, at least.’
When he flexed his arm, he could feel immense power. Was this also one of the secrets of the Elixir of Anecdote?
At that moment, the room fell silent. When Rian looked around, everyone's jaws were hanging open.
“What's wrong? You all look like you've never seen a muscle before.”
“Are you… really okay? It looks like your skin is regenerating now too.”
“I see. I'm fine.”
Shirone shouted.
“That's not what I mean, you idiot! I'm asking how this is even possible!”
“How should I know? It just happened, so I'm just accepting it.”
No matter how bold he was, it was his own body; shouldn't he be a little suspicious? Or perhaps it wasn't boldness, just plain stupidity.
“Alright! He's awake!”
The mages assigned to Canis shouted.
Canis, propped up, looked around with his eyelids half-closed, then scowled and said.
“Quiet. I'm dead tired, so don't wake me up.”
Then he lay back down on the bed and fell fast asleep, dead to the world.
Having been tormented by the sleep demon's objet, it was a natural reaction, but given the circumstances, his friends felt a sense of anticlimax.
Arin stroked Canis's hair and whispered.
“Sleep well, Canis.”
@
For three days after their return from Heaven, Shirone's group was treated like patients under the utmost care of Jis and Yuna.
They slept an average of sixteen hours a day; their routine was to sleep, eat, and sleep again.
When they gathered in the living room for dinner in the early evening, Shirone would recount their time in Heaven.
However, he remained silent about the final war.
Rian frequently broke things with his right arm. His strength had grown to the point where it was uncontrollable. Tess explained that it would take time for him to develop the fine motor skills needed to control his strength.
Whenever Tess had free time, she would clean and maintain her drone. She never let it out of her sight, and the ghostly sounds she made while stroking it in her sleep terrified Amy and Arin every night.
Canis and Arin spent a lot of time talking alone. It seemed they had obtained what they wanted in Heaven, but they didn't tell anyone what it was. However, Canis did confess that he was the one who had shortened Kadum's lifespan.
Amy walked around with her ancient spirit, Jack O' Lantern, lit. When she pointed to the bouncing flame and called it cute, Rian told her that she was cuter.
When the boys and girls hung out separately, Amy would watch Shirone for long periods. But, true to her meticulous nature, she was never caught by her friends.
Shirone often sat on the sofa, lost in thought. At those times, the face of the Archangel Ikael was the first to come to mind.
The insight of Ataraxia was still engraved in his mind, retaining its warmth.
Everyone who had gone to Heaven had achieved their goals to some extent, but no one had received as great a gift as Shirone.
Canis whined that it was cheating and begged him to share the secret, but what Shirone didn't know, he didn't know.
‘Ikael… I wonder if you're doing well?’
Due to the nature of its function, he'd had no choice but to leave the Metagate in Heaven. The coordinates had been reset, but with Heaven's technology, they might be able to find a way to bypass Miro's dimension with that alone.
But at the last moment, Kariel had been unable to defy Ikael's counsel. As long as she sided with humans, the final war would not happen.
On the other hand, he wanted to see them again. A wave of longing washed over him as he recalled Peope, who was soft-hearted despite her grumbling.
“Shirone, let's go to bed. It's best we get a full rest tonight.”
Amy stood there in her pajamas. Her form, bathed in the moonlight, was beautiful.
For the past few days, both of them had been burdened by the feeling that there was something they needed to talk about. But in the end, they simply looked at each other and smiled, tabling the discussion for now.
“Yeah, let's sleep.”
Shirone entered the room where the boys were sleeping. In the small, attic-like space, Rian's snores echoed. Next to him, Canis was fast asleep, his ears plugged with a pillow.
Shirone sat in a corner and stared into the darkness. A shiver ran down his spine as he thought about how everything he had experienced was real. Starlight was reflected in Shirone's eyes as he wore a tense smile.
That night.
Jis, having returned from his work at the port, burst through the front door. Panting heavily, he glanced around before running straight to the room where the boys were sleeping.
“It's an emergency! Wake up! Quickly!”
As he opened the door and shouted, Canis's pillow flew through the air and smacked him in the face. No one else woke up. It seemed that after going all the way to Heaven and back, nothing could truly be considered an emergency.
“I said, get up! Don't get mad at me later!”
Shirone rubbed his eyes and woke up.
“What's wrong? What's going on?”
“Hurry and wake the others! We have to go now!”
Without taking the time to explain, Jis turned and ran down to the first floor. This time, he barged into the room where the girls were sleeping.
“Guys! Wake up! Yuna, you too, hurry!”
“Ugh, what is it…”
Amy, roused from a deep sleep, shot up, ready to pounce. Then, as her mind cleared, she instantly grasped the situation, turned her head, and glared daggers at him.
“Hey! What do you think you're doing, barging into a room where girls are sleeping! You wanna die?”
“Agh! I'm sorry! It's just really urgent!”
It was only then, seeing the girls in their pajamas, that Jis realized his mistake. Tess, sleeping with her navel showing, always looked so mature. But there was truly no time to waste, so he grabbed Amy's hand and pulled.
“You'll regret it later if you don't get up now!”
“Alright, alright. Hey, everyone, wake up. It looks like Jis has something to say.”
“Ugh, I'm so tired. What is it?”
Meanwhile, the boys came down the stairs, rubbing their sleepy eyes. Shirone mentally kicked himself for trying to act cool in the middle of the night, only to lose sleep, and peeked into the girls' room.
Arin and Tess were tidying their blankets, while a sleepy-eyed Amy was being dragged out by Jis.
“If this isn't really important, you're going to get it. I'll hit you twice as hard for barging into our room.”
“Anytime! I'm telling you, you'll change your mind once you hear this!”
After much ado, everyone was gathered in the living room.
Jis debated the best timing to deliver the news without giving his friends a heart attack, then finally spoke up.
“Do you know what today is?”
“No. Is it your birthday?”
“No! The day that comes once every ten years…!”
At that moment, Yuna, who had just woken up, scrambled out of the girls' room and shouted.
“Brother! Kaios! Kaios!”
Shirone tilted his head and asked.
“What's Kaios?”
Not to be outdone by Yuna, Jis shouted even louder.
“The water dragon! Kaios the water dragon is coming here!”
@
“Sir, can you go a little faster, please!”
The carriage carrying Shirone and his friends sped toward the port.
Amy bit her lip anxiously. They hadn't even had time to get dressed, so she was still in her pajamas.