The Heroes After the Ending (1)
"I've been waiting for you, Director Hope Harvey."
The teleportation—my first time experiencing it—was far smoother than I'd imagined. One moment my eyes were closed in the kingdom's Magic Tower, and the next, I was already within the empire's borders. This was the Keroa Empire's Magic Tower.
"It's an honor to meet you, Princess."
"The pleasure's mine. I've heard so much about Director Hope's reputation."
"Coming from the princess of the world's greatest empire, I hardly know what to say."
The woman who had come to greet me with a carriage bound for the imperial palace was none other than Nao Nutriote. I'd been warned endlessly about the princess coming to meet me personally, so it wasn't a surprise. But this encounter held a special meaning for me. Nao Nutriote was the third daughter of the Nutriote imperial family... and
The hero Sion's most reliable comrade. The mage of the hero party. So that's what she looks like in person.
She was part of the hero's group that had driven back the Demon King, sealed the Gate, and ended the war.
Her reason for showing up here probably wasn't just because she was a mage who could come and go from the Magic Tower easily. No, it had to be something more. And sure enough, the princess—
"Please forgive my rudeness for not standing to greet you."
"It's fine. You don't need to go to such lengths for me."
—was seated in a wheelchair.
"Shall we get in the carriage?"
"Yes."
Because of her condition, I opened the carriage door first and hopped inside, waiting for her. The maid pushing her wheelchair stopped it in front of the carriage and reached out to help her in, but
"It's okay. I'll get in myself."
The princess refused the maid's hand, gripping the wheelchair's handles tightly. With a surge of strength in her arms, she lifted her body up. Her straight legs trembled as they briefly held her weight, then she swiftly extended her arms to grab the carriage handle. Grimacing fiercely, she stretched her legs out and pulled herself forward, throwing her body onto the seat inside like a desperate lunge.
Good lord, to witness something like this the moment I arrive in the empire.
A princess whose rank placed her among the empire's top elite, a stunningly beautiful and powerful mage, struggling so desperately just to board a carriage! It was...
Exactly why I'm glad I chose rehabilitation medicine in this world too!
"Hah... hah..."
Finally aboard, the princess slumped over the seat, gasping for breath in deep, heaving draws until she managed to straighten her back and sit properly, facing me.
"I keep showing you my worst sides."
"As I keep saying, I'm fine with it."
"What did you think? Of what you just saw."
I nearly blurted out, "It was utterly mesmerizing and thrilling." But that would probably get my head chopped off.
"You're asking for my professional opinion as a rehabilitation specialist, right?"
"Yes, exactly. I showed you on purpose, actually."
Of course. Nao, the third princess and mage of the hero party. She'd suffered a severe leg injury in the final battle against the Demon King—a detail from the novel's ending, so I already knew. For her to personally greet me like this, she must have wanted to show her condition first to me, the pioneer and sole authority on Rehabilitation Medicine in this world.
"Being able to board a carriage this high under your own power shows remarkable recovery in motor function. Quite positive, overall."
"Oh? Recovery? Do you know what state I was in before?"
"Ah..."
I'd carelessly referenced the novel's ending. At that point, her legs had been shattered by the Demon King's attack, utterly immobile.
"Well, yeah, it's obvious at a glance."
"Director Hope really is different."
Luckily, my unrivaled position in this field covered for me.
"Even though I'm like this now... I fought the Demon King alongside the hero. Can you believe it?"
In the story, the third princess had hidden her identity to travel with the hero, so what she'd just told me was something I knew but most people didn't.
"No reason to doubt you, Princess."
"I'm glad you believe me. This leg injury came from the Demon King's attack too. After sealing the Gate, I couldn't move them at all. I had... so many dark thoughts. Even wondered if I should just end it all..."
A natural response. The emptiness of losing bodily function is beyond words—something even I, who sees it daily, can't fully grasp.
"Then one day, I heard about you, Director Hope. That in the kingdom, there's a place treating not just war wounded but people who can't even live daily life anymore. It sounded like miracles were happening... but miracles don't exist in this world."
Indeed, when news of rehabilitation medicine spread, rumors exaggerated its effects. Being a fantasy world, some thought it was a new healing magic.
"That's when I saw hope in you, Director Hope."
Huh? What brought that on?
"Because rehabilitation isn't some miracle."
Ah...
"Steady exercise and training, constant healing and meditation—like going back to infancy, relearning the basics of life. The more I learned about the rehab center's process, the more my will surged. I felt like I could do it..."
A remarkably unique mindset. Most patients crave instant, certain cures—quick relief from pain. To them, rehab is hell: grueling repetition with an uncomfortable body, no clear progress, no guarantee of full recovery. But they endure because daily life is already hell otherwise. They suffer for a slightly less painful one.
But this princess thought the opposite. Pain meant a path to improvement. Fitting for a lead supporting character in a story praising humanity.
"They say you invented the wheelchair too? I owe you a lot."
"Then I'm glad."
"Anyway, I've talked too much. I just wanted to say thanks. Even though it was guesswork and self-taught, a year of hard rehab let me move like you saw."
A year to that level... impressive for amateur training.
"With proper center training, you might be walking in another year."
"Really?"
"Yes. It's clear at a glance. It depends on effort, but no doubt for you, Princess."
"If you say so, then it must be true."
We arrived at the imperial palace amid her endless thanks and praise during the carriage ride. I should have gone straight to the rehab center to inspect operations, but the emperor had requested to see me personally, so I had no choice. After a brief audience and greetings, I unpacked at the provided lodging and stayed the night.
On the second day of my trip, I headed directly to the empire's Rehabilitation Center to check on patients and interns. Surprisingly, the third princess from yesterday was among the patients, diligently training. Her upright, earnest attitude inspired the others, making their mindsets highly positive—which was a bit boring for me.
Hmm, as expected of the empire. Everything's in order.
Patient-type-specific rehab programs and intern training followed my manuals exactly. So flawless that I had time to spare.
"Director Hope. A word?"
As I evaluated with checklists, the princess wheeled over, having finished her session.
"What is it?"
"How's our empire's rehab center?"
"Impressively proper, as befits the empire. Near perfect—nothing for me to do."
"Really? That's great. Want to come somewhere with me?"
Sudden invitation. Some special issue?
"Sure. But why...?"
"Something I really want you to see."
"?"
She signaled her maid with her eyes. The maid nodded silently and wheeled her off. Their destination: the national cemetery behind the palace.
"Hydrangeas, please."
She bought hydrangeas from the cemetery's flower shop. National cemetery... hydrangeas... I had a feeling where we were headed.
Entering the grounds, she held out her hand to the maid, who handed her crutches, surprisingly.
"Sorry, but I'll go slow."
"You're going to walk?"
Her legs barely moved; standing was a challenge. Yet she insisted?
"Yes. That's the plan."
"No help needed?"
"Of course..."
She claimed no help, but after tucking crutches under both armpits, she looked troubled and thrust the hydrangea bouquet at me.
"Fine, but hold this."
"Got it."
Taking it, I asked,
"Why go through the trouble?"
"......"
She kept her head down, trembling limbs propped on the crutches, inching forward.
"I don't want to show a pitiful struggle."
Her reason for the hard walk: to avoid showing hardship. I got it, but... We were surely heading to Iri Harmony's grave. The rogue from the hero party, a back-alley kid who died in the final battle. Didn't want to show up in a wheelchair to her?
"There it is."
Matching her snail's pace felt like dragging a boulder in a stunt show. And at the spot she pointed to...
It wasn't a grave.
Who is that?
Another wheelchair. A woman with long black hair tinged purple sat with her head bowed, staring blankly at a grave. As expected, the tombstone read Iri Harmony.
"She's always here at this hour."
"That person... don't tell me..."
"You know her?"
"I know of her, but... is it really...?"
"Haha, she's changed a lot."
She didn't want to show weakness—not to the dead, but to someone who could see her as princess. Was that woman who I thought? Circumstances said yes, but seeing her, I couldn't believe it.
Hearing us, she turned slightly, her dazed expression revealing crimson eyes gleaming faintly through long bangs. She spoke softly.
"Nao..."
"Here again today, Sion?"
The name from the princess's lips was as expected.
That's... Sion?
I'd never seen her in person, but no one knew the hero Sion better than me. The hero who spread hope through every trial. Radiantly beautiful, stronger than anyone, a sun-like presence illuminating all—the supreme swordmaster and greatest adventurer. Proving every noble human virtue: justice, will, conviction, duty. The story's protagonist, Sion Laurel—reduced to that?
This can't be...
Anyone like me could see it at a glance. What was before me was utterly broken. Not just body, but spirit—shattered. Lacking any will to live.
The most brilliant existence, now at its rock bottom. And the boiling in my chest as I gazed at it...
Ah, aah...!
Something I must never let show. Something I had to desperately suppress.