Day 2: The Worrywart Director's Sleepless Morning
The second day of my business trip dawned, filled with concerns about the hardworking director. After spending the night at the papal palace, Sion and I were on our way to the Praine Holy Nation Rehab Center.
"Um… Mr. Hope, how were the charts you took yesterday?"
Sion asked in a worried tone about the patient charts I'd picked up from the center. I'd spent the entire night after dinner reviewing them.
"I expected it, but still…"
"They're a total mess, aren't they?!"
"No, they're precise and thorough. Maybe even more so than mine."
And as I'd checked until dawn, Hanamana's patient charts were exactly as expected—flawless.
Because when I'd received them yesterday…
"Hanamana."
"Yes, Senior!"
"You worked hard today. Can I see the charts for the patients currently in rehab?"
"Pardon?"
Hanamana jumped in surprise at my request for the charts.
"May I ask why?"
"To check if they're filled out properly."
"Oh, then I should give them to you, but…"
"Is there a problem?"
"No! If it's necessary, of course I'll hand them over, but… um…"
Hanamana trailed off, her voice shrinking. Was she embarrassed to show them to me? Maybe they're sloppily done…
"I need to review them myself too before going home."
Ah, that was it. Naturally, she'd need to look them over herself. At least she wasn't refusing outright, which was a relief.
"I'll review them today. It'll serve as a check too."
"No, I can't! They're my patients, so I have to check them every single day!"
"……."
Her firm stance on her patients was admirable, but did she really need to review them daily…?
She wasn't just making excuses to avoid showing them to me and puffing up, was she?
"Ah, sorry for yelling like that, even though I'm just Hanamana…"
"It's fine. Besides, it would be a problem if I couldn't review them properly."
"Is that so? Hmm…"
Hanamana pondered deeply for a moment.
"Then… would a copy be okay?"
"A copy?"
What? A copy? There are no photocopiers here—how could she have copies? More than the method, did the very concept of archiving duplicates even exist in this era?
"Yes. Since clumsy Hanamana might lose the precious originals, I make an extra identical one every time I fill them out and keep it stored…"
Her copies existed thanks to Hanamana's excessive worrying. Out of that anxiety, she'd somehow arrived at the idea of making duplicates.
"And when I make the copies, I can check for mistakes or anything odd. Though since it's Hanamana doing it, even the copies might have errors…"
She was even reviewing them in the process. Despite saying something so impressive, Hanamana shrank further instead of boasting.
"Then give me the copies."
"Yes, Senior!"
Relieved at my approval, Hanamana beamed with an innocent smile, finished answering, and hurried to her private office to fetch the charts.
"Not only did she make copies—something even the kingdom's center doesn't do—but she reviews them daily too. No wonder they were flawless when she handed them over so confidently."
"Right? Hanamana's the best~"
A little praise for Hanamana, and Sion started puffing up with pride.
"Hanamana works hard despite how she seems!"
"I acknowledge that, but it's still not enough."
"Ugh, true. She got scolded pretty bad yesterday. It was heartbreaking even for me…"
Sion made a weary face. I'd given Hanamana a talking-to yesterday, but was it that intense for Sion to react like this?
"I just pointed out her mistakes each time, but if you're saying that, maybe Hanamana just makes a lot of them?"
"Urk, yeah, that's true."
As we chatted while walking, the Praine Holy Nation Rehab Center came into view before we knew it. Today, we'd spend the day inspecting the center, focusing mainly on Hanamana.
"But Hanamana will definitely do well."
Sion smiled refreshingly in the morning sunlight, her faith in her comrade unshakable. Seeing her like that made me smile unwittingly too.
"We'll see."
Entering the center, we saw staff bustling with opening preparations. From yesterday's staff checks, I knew that unlike the kingdom or empire centers—staffed mostly by nurse-maids—this one was composed mainly of former priests and priestesses.
"Please take care today, Director from the Kingdom."
"You too."
"Please look after our Hanamana~"
"With the Hero and the kingdom's Director together, you'll recover in no time. May the Creator prepare your path ahead."
"Thank you."
The staff greeted us kindly. As Sion and I responded, they bowed their heads, clasped hands, and offered blessings and prayers.
With staff who were priests, this was the atmosphere. As I'd felt yesterday, the solemn, sacred vibe here surely aided patients' rehab. The pope had joked that prayer and faith alone had no healing effect, but mindset and will did help during rehab.
"Where's Hanamana?"
"The director should be in the exam room."
I knocked on the exam room door where Hanamana was likely preparing for work.
- Knock knock
"Hanamana, it's me."
"……."
No response after knocking and waiting a bit.
"Hanamana?"
What could it be? I glanced puzzled at Sion, but she just smiled like it was nothing.
"Maybe she's sleeping? She's weak in the mornings."
Come to think of it, that was part of her character setting. Since I was supposed to be her colleague, I played along as if I knew.
"Yeah, but still…"
- Knock knock
Another knock, but still no answer.
"I'm coming in."
No choice—I opened the door. And the sight before me was…
- Zzz...
"Haha, hahaha…"
Hanamana, surrounded by piles of paper, face-down asleep on her desk. She'd really come to work just to crash out.
"Hanamana?"
"Yeees~?"
Calling softly, she stirred with a dreamy smile, blinking her eyes. But the moment they met mine—
"S-Senior?!"
She jolted up from her seat in shock.
Why so startled? I was smiling with all my might.
"You must be exhausted, huh?"
"U-Uwaaah!!"
Instead of answering, Hanamana backed away screaming.
"Answer me."
"Huh? Answer?"
"I asked if you're tired."
"Th-That is…"
She clutched her beloved staff with both hands, shrinking back. How many times had I seen this scene since arriving? Too many to count.
"You're… tired, right? Probably."
"……."
What was I supposed to do? No boot camp drills here. This tiny thing trembling in fear with a pitiful expression—what could I do with a frightened little animal like her…?
"What were you doing last night?"
"W-Well… You said you'd review my charts, so I got worried and checked them too… These here."
Piles of papers on Hanamana's desk—the originals of the charts she'd given me yesterday.
"You went through all of them?"
"Huh? Aren't you… supposed to check them all?"
"How many patients are in regular treatment here?"
"Inpatients: 182, outpatients: 2,145. Total: 2,327."
"Exact numbers?"
"Yes…"
Remembering down to the ones place? I'd counted yesterday and knew there were over 2,000 sheets— I'd planned to ask how she could review them all, but her absurd answer caught me off guard.
"How do you review 2,000 charts in one night?"
"I thought you would… You didn't check them all?"
"I sampled about 100. How do you review 2,000 in a day?"
"Th-That…"
"And Hanamana."
"Yes?"
"Can you fix errors in the copies by reviewing the originals?"
"No."
"And if there's a problem with the copies I have, is it a big deal? If they're wrong, do I eat you?"
"N-Nooo…"
Was it my imagination, or did tiny Hanamana shrink even more with each answer?
"Then why waste your precious time on useless work?"
"Sorry, I'm sorry! I got so worried I did it without thinking…"
"So, after reviewing 2,000 sheets, how much sleep did you get?"
"None at all. I stayed up all night…"
"What did you say?"
"Eek!!"
All this over that? I raised my voice a bit, and she shrieked, curling up. I'd scolded her a fair amount yesterday, but was it that worrying?
I knew her personality, but this was overkill. It was just paperwork review like in the empire—did she really lose sleep over it and cling to the charts…?
"Hanamana."
"Yes!"
"Go inside and sleep. I'll handle today's consultations."
"Wha-What?!"
She jumped at the order to sleep.
"I can't…"
"What, treat patients in that dazed state? Nodding off?"
"Th-That's…"
Hanamana fidgeted, squeezing her eyes shut, muttering to herself, shaking her head frantically in distress. Finally, she sighed with defeated eyes.
"Okay, Senior…"
"If you say you couldn't sleep from pointless worrying again, brace yourself. I'll recommend to the pope that we replace the director."
"Yeees…"
Shoulders slumped, Hanamana left the exam room. Now it was just Sion and me.
"Hehe."
Sion covered her mouth, giggling at whatever amused her.
"You find this funny?"
"Not that—it's just, Mr. Hope, you're so kind."
"Pardon?"
Did I hear wrong?
"Where was that kind?"
"You let Hanamana rest."
"She couldn't work properly, so that's why."
"You're embarrassed~"
Sion kept giggling at something. Whatever.
"Anyway, we have your rehab today too."
"Oh, right. I came for that but almost forgot."
My workload had increased unexpectedly, but I wasn't here to play. And dealing with incoming patients might be less exhausting than handling Hanamana.