The Fraudulent Protagonist and the Unlucky Heroine Are Already Involved (1)
The fraudulent protagonist and the unlucky heroine were already caught up in events.
(1) Late at night, after work had ended. The Neutral Saint's hospital still shone brightly. The emergency room had never known the difference between day and night anyway, and there was always the chance that people in need would find the hospital more easily. By the same logic, it inevitably drew the attention of wild monsters as well, but there were no monsters strong enough to threaten the hospital nearby, and just like the emergency room, there were watchmen who guarded the hospital in shifts without rest.
Tap. Tap.
"Hmm... So you said you were nervous because it was your first night shift. Right?"
Shake shake!
Tap.
"No? Then— the opposite? You've done so many night shifts that it's bringing back old memories?"
Tap-tap-tap-tap!
"Hey, your name was Ron, wasn't it? You don't have to laugh that hard. How exactly am I supposed to understand you just from the sound of your teeth clicking?"
Khan and Ron, who had been made to stay with the watchmen by the supporting character's orders, had grown quite close in just half a day. Unfortunately, because they were both from the magic world, language translation didn't activate, but they could manage simple conversations through gestures, and more detailed talks through writing, so there was no real problem.
And surprisingly, Jack and May, who were doing odd jobs around the wards, were also blending in with the people around them at a fairly quick pace.
"Mister. Are you really a butler? Like, the kind that serves in rich people's houses?"
Clack.
'Not just any rich person— I was the butler of a noble household. Though now I'm merely a skeleton serving my master.'
"And you're a maid, ma'am?"
Clack.
'I am not a ma'am, thank you very much. I may look the same as Jack on the outside, but I'm still in my early twenties, you know?'
"Kids? Can you understand what these skeletons are saying?"
"Yes! Can't you hear them, sis?"
"This one used to be a butler at a house with the strange name Laratia! And this... lady here was a maid!"
Clack.
'Laratia is not the name of the house, but the family name...'
Clack.
'Still, they're calling me "lady" now...'
"Huh? Laratia...? There was definitely a family by that name... So these skeletons really were the butler and maid of that house?"
"Yes!"
Clack.
'Thanks to my master, I'm living a new life, and because of that, I can help all of you.'
Clack.
'My master is truly a kind person. He asked us to help everyone staying in this hospital, not himself.'
"The person they call master sent this... lady here to help us!"
At first, everyone was naturally afraid of the walking skeletons, but to the children, it was more fascinating and fun than scary. And once they realized they could communicate, they quickly understood these weren't bad people. Even the magic-world people blended in easily as the modern humans helped translate.
And at the same time.
"This is my room."
"...How can a room be this bleak?"
Arty and the supporting character were talking in a strange room that contained nothing but a single mattress.
"If I don't sleep here, something always falls on my head while I'm asleep. You can use the room next door."
"Next door?"
"What, were you planning to sleep here? Well~ You do have a legitimate reason to sleep with me~"
"...I'm leaving."
"Wait, I won't stop you from going, but be careful."
"About what?"
"You don't know why the room next to this 'Arty Stria Jewel Heroine' has been empty until now?"
"...Something happened?"
"If there's no risk of me getting hurt, my bad luck affects the people around me. So in the end, you could end up in danger. The person who slept next door last time almost had their head split open by a falling alarm clock."
"Huh? Then I'll sleep somewhere else too."
"No. The Saint told you to stay with me. Besides, even while you're sleeping, that 'Bone Armor' magic of yours will protect you, right?"
"How am I supposed to sleep knowing something's definitely going to fall on my head?!"
"You'll be fine. You're a necromancer, after all."
"What does being a necromancer have to do with the risk of my head getting split open because of you?"
After watching over people in the emergency room until late, Arty and the supporting character were ordered by Sosia to rest, so they came up to the wards.
And in the emergency room.
"Dr. Kim, how are those three patients who said they were attacked by monsters?"
"Ah, Nurse Sosia. Luckily, their organs are mostly unharmed. With just a transfusion and proper wound disinfection, they should be fine."
Dr. Kim handed Sosia the patient's chart, which he had written by hand, and answered. Sosia immediately skimmed through the chart and asked Dr. Kim for confirmation once more.
"Deep stab wounds that avoided all the organs... Didn't they say they were attacked by monsters?"
"Uh... yes. That's what the watchmen told us. We haven't been able to ask the patients directly since they haven't regained consciousness yet."
"...There are monsters in the magic world that we don't know about. There might be one that leaves wounds like this. Please check once the patients wake up."
"Understood."
Dr. Kim greeted Sosia and went off to rest. Sosia looked over the chart once more and forced down her uneasy feeling.
Three days had passed since the supporting character came to the hospital looking for Sosia.
"Haa... May, can't you just wake him up and bring him here~"
Clack.
'No. Originally, the one the Saint entrusted Miss Arty to was Master. You have to go wake her yourself to confirm.'
"Damn it... No matter how I think about it, I shouldn't have come to this hospital."
The undead Jack and May worked through the wards all night, and every morning one of them would come find the supporting character to wake him. Thud thud thud!
"Arty! Wake up!"
......
There was no response from inside the room. With an expression that said 'Again?', the supporting character vented his irritation and pointed at the door to May.
"...May, go in and wake her up."
Clack.
'Master should go in yourself. You received permission the day before yesterday, didn't you?'
"Are you crazy? After what happened yesterday, you think I can go in there again?"
Clack.
'There wasn't really any problem, was there?'
"So you go in."
"Mmm~ Sleepy..."
"Please, I'm begging you— I hope you come to your senses quickly today. Don't cause a scene like yesterday."
"Ugh... Why are you like this to me..."
Arty, still not fully awake, grabbed onto the supporting character's arm and staggered along, leaning on it.
"Pull yourself together and talk. Or just quietly follow behind me."
"Mmm..."
After waking Arty, he received a brief report from Jack and May about what had happened during the day, then headed straight to the emergency room.
"Hello, Luna. Working hard again today."
"Ah, hello..."
"Hello to you too, Mr. Rion. You look like you've been busy again today."
"Haha... Hello, Joyeon. Well— something like that. Still, I'm learning a lot, so time flies."
Ever since Rion's party came to the hospital with the supporting character, Luna had been helping in the emergency room, Mugido and Neisila had been assisting outside with the watchmen, and Rion himself had been moving between the emergency room, wards, and lobby, helping with almost everything. Of course, they weren't being worked for free— in exchange, they had been promised basic first aid supplies, food, daily necessities for their upcoming journey, and a thorough physical examination before departure.
"The modern world really has a lot of fascinating things. It's completely different from our magic world. Learning new things makes me feel like a child again."
"I feel the same. The shock of seeing magic for the first time~ When I first started learning magic, I had no idea what to do, but now reading books is actually fun."
After greeting Rion's party, he sat down in his usual corner chair in the emergency room and looked around. Just like the other followers, Tiasia, who had been working in the emergency room all night, came to find him.
"Master, did you sleep well last night?"
"Good morning, Lara. Of course I slept well. Aren't you pushing yourself too hard? Shouldn't you rest a bit too?"
"I'm fine. Like the others, I don't feel fatigue. Hello, Arty?"
"Mmm~ Hello, Tiasia..."
"You still look half-asleep. I'll go get you some warm milk."
"Thanks, Lara."
And so he spent most of the day in the emergency room. Of course, he wasn't watching patients all day. He only paid attention when new patients arrived or when passing through morning and evening. Most of his time was spent reading the forbidden book. When he first took it out, Arty had shown interest.
"Is that really that fun?"
"Not bad. Better than spacing out and wasting time. After reading it for over two months, it kind of became a hobby."
"Can I read it too?"
"I don't mind. It's not a book that kills you just by reading it."
He handed Arty one of the forbidden books, but she frowned, unable to read it.
"I can't tell what it says."
"Don't you have language translation?"
"Of course I do."
'So what's the problem? If she can't read the forbidden book even with translation, is it because she's from the magic world after all?'
Once she realized she couldn't read the forbidden book, Arty would frown whenever he took it out and bother him.
"How long are you going to keep reading?"
"I just opened it."
"You read a lot yesterday too~ You don't look like the type who'd like books this much~"
"What's wrong with how I look?"
"You don't look like someone who'd enjoy books at all."
"...I spent so much time reading while learning magic that it just became like this."
"Stop reading and talk to me~ It's not every day you get to talk to a peerless beauty like me~ I'm bored~"
"I'm probably the only person you can have a normal conversation with. Besides, that kind of thing might've worked on others until now, but it won't work on me."
"...Uuu!"
Arty wasn't completely self-centered either, so when he started concentrating, she stayed quiet beside him without saying a word. But once three hours passed, she would start bothering him again, so his reading time never exceeded three hours.
"Patient incoming!!"
On top of that, since he had his own duties, he couldn't ignore it when new patients came into the emergency room.
"Again? Were they attacked this time too?"
"Yes. It doesn't look too serious, but they need treatment."
Hearing the nurse and watchman at the entrance, the supporting character looked at the man who had just been brought in as a patient, barely standing while covered in blood.
"The sixth one already... There are no monsters nearby, so where exactly are they getting injured?"
"Who knows. They really do come in injured like that."
"Should I check it out?"
"You? You're thinking of going outside the hospital?"
"No. House, come out."
Crack... A giant roach egg sac rose up behind the supporting character's feet.
"Huh? This is... also one of your followers?"
"Yeah. House, I think we need a more detailed external survey. Make as many as you can and go check what's out there."
-Confirmed.
House opened its mouth, and baby roaches began pouring out.
"Eek?! B-Bugs?! Wait, hold on. Those bugs are definitely the ones I caught last time..."
"I scattered them to survey inside the hospital. You killed them all though."
"...I got in the way?"
"No, it was after the survey was done, so it wasn't a problem. I just never imagined you'd find and kill every single baby roach."
"So you can turn bugs into undead too. Interesting."
"I didn't expect it to turn out like this either at first."
After finishing the check on the new patient and sending House out for external reconnaissance, the supporting character spent time talking with Arty. And while passing time like this, uninvited guests would occasionally appear.
"Miss Heroine! Hello~"
A man approached from afar, waving at Arty. The moment she heard his voice, Arty wiped the smile from her face and put on the same composed expression she'd worn when she first met the supporting character.
"...Hello, Mr. Ragon."
The man was one of the three who had come to the hospital covered in blood a few days ago. His wounds weren't as deep as the other two, and since his major organs were mostly unharmed, moving around normally wasn't difficult.
"You look beautiful today as well. More beautiful than anyone else in this hospital."
"Thank you. I hear that all the time."
"Do you have time today? Let's have some tea together."
"No. I have personal reasons, so I don't have time."
"Yesterday you said the same thing, but you didn't really do anything and just stayed in the emergency room."
"...I told you I have personal reasons. I understand you're interested in me, but you'd better give up quickly."
"Understood. I have no intention of doing anything you dislike, Miss Heroine. It was an honor just to talk like this."
The man didn't push further, gave Arty a lingering smile, and turned away. Watching the situation from the side, the supporting character was about to speak when Tiasia, who had appeared beside him at some point, smiled as if she were quite angry.
"Shall I take care of him?"
"What nonsense are you spouting all of a sudden?"
"It's obvious he's approaching Arty with bad intentions. And right in front of you, Master, completely ignoring your presence... We saved his life, and now he's loitering around being a nuisance."
"Thanks for worrying, Tiasia. This kind of thing happens often, so don't worry too much. Even if I only spend ten minutes alone with him, he'll probably start thinking of me as a cursed woman."
"Why not actually test that? If something like an iron pipe falls on his head, he won't bother her again."
"What if Arty gets hurt too? Just ignore him. We were going to discharge him once he's fully healed anyway."
At the supporting character's words, Tiasia pouted and leaned in to whisper.
"Master, no matter what you think, from the outside, you and Arty look like you're more than friends but less than lovers. And for someone to approach like that while seeing the two of you together is just shameless. You should teach him a proper lesson."
"...What kind of nonsense is she saying now."
"We need to make him understand your dignity. If you allow it, I'll go fix his attitude with my fists later."
"Permission denied. Do you think something like that can happen inside the hospital?"
"But..."
"He's a human who'll be gone in a few days anyway. Arty thinks the same, so we're just leaving him alone."
"...Understood."
And so the minor annoyance passed, and a little more time later, evening arrived.
"May's cooking is delicious no matter when I eat it! I wish I had a maid like May~"
Clack.
'Thank you for the compliment. Just seeing Miss Arty eat so happily makes me incredibly happy~'
"How can she say such pretty things~ Joyeon, I want to live with May. Give May to me."
"Say something that makes sense. Absolutely not."
After finishing the dinner May had prepared, the day came to an end just like that.
On the way to the private rooms in the wards.
"Hehehe~~"
"Did something good happen? Why are you grinning like that?"
"Of course something good happened."
"Huh? What? It was almost the same as yesterday."
"Tsk tsk tsk. Not at all."
Arty placed one hand on her hip and held out the other toward the supporting character, wagging her finger as if to say 'You just don't get it.'
"For three whole days! Three days without a single misfortune happening to me!"
"...Now that you mention it, yeah. There really wasn't any."
"This is a new record. Even when I pour all my focus into not making mistakes or getting seriously hurt, I could never last a single day— but three whole days! This is definitely a good thing!"
"Did your bad luck disappear?"
"That's not it. It's still clearly listed in my status window."
"Hmm... Then, is it thanks to me?"
"We'll have to wait and see about that! I'm going to sleep now! See you tomorrow~"
With those words, Arty gave the supporting character a bright smile and a goodnight greeting before entering her room. The supporting character muttered to himself, 'Yeah, right. Bad luck disappearing because of me? As if that makes any sense,' then waved to Jack and May nearby before entering his own room to sleep.
Just like that, another ordinary day at the hospital passed by.