What Lies Beyond
"Ugh…"
"Awake now?"
It was the morning of the third day on my business trip to the Praine Holy Nation. I greeted Sion as she clutched her head and opened her eyes from the bed.
"Mr. Hope? How did this…"
"Nothing to worry about, Sion. You just fell asleep at the restaurant yesterday. Remember?"
"At the restaurant yesterday…"
Sion dropped her gaze, lost in thought. She was probably trying to recall what had happened.
"I just fell asleep like that?"
"Yeah."
As she looked back up at me, anxiety swirled in her eyes.
"Really? I didn't do anything weird again, did I?"
"No, nothing happened. Relax."
"I didn't scream and thrash around, or grab you and hurt you, or trouble anyone else…"
"Sion!"
I had to stop her thoughts before they spiraled again. Her voice was trembling in panic, so I moved in front of her, raised both hands, and gripped her shoulders firmly to steady her shakes. Right now, she needed resolve—something solid to lean on.
"I said nothing happened."
"Mr. Hope…"
"Relax. Really, nothing at all. You fell asleep just like that, and Hanamana and I brought you here. Ask her later if you want."
"……."
We stared into each other's eyes like it was a staring contest, neither blinking. The room filled with silence. After a moment, as her breathing steadied, I slowly stepped back, released her shoulders, and straightened up.
"Sion. Everything's fine. Nothing happened this time, but even if something did… I'll always be right here, so it'll be okay. It always has been. That's why I'm here. So relax. Seeing you anxious is the worst thing for you. Got it?"
I'd been a bit stern, but luckily she nodded, seeming to understand.
Today was the day we'd wrap up and head back to the kingdom. After a quick stop at the center to watch Hanamana finish her last patient consultations, we'd teleport back via the Magic Tower by evening.
"Good morning, Sion. And senior."
Hanamana greeted us warmly as we entered the treatment room. She was bustling about, diligently preparing for the day's schedule.
"Hanamana. You wanted to see Recover, right?"
"Ah! Yes! Can I now?"
"It's Sion's scheduled day anyway. You okay with it, Sion?"
"Yeah, I'm fine."
She'd asked, so I was showing her, but demonstrating Recover wasn't complicated or a big deal.
"Alright then…"
I placed my hands on Sion's body and cast the spell.
"Recover."
A soft sky-blue light enveloped Sion briefly before fading away. This magic restored a tiny fraction of the target's lost stats—barely noticeable, really. That was Recover.
"Done."
"This is…"
Hanamana narrowed her eyes, furrowed her brow, and wore a grave expression. What was that about? Had she sensed something in the spell?
"Did I… do it wrong?"
"Why? Something off?"
Either she didn't hear me or was too focused, but she circled Sion repeatedly, inspecting her from every angle with that serious look.
"This magic isn't nature-based or holy. Senior. That was sky-blue light, right? Is it always like that?"
"Yeah. That's how it works."
"Sky-blue… Sky-blue, and yet it's recovery magic? How is that possible?"
Hanamana was referring to the two main schools of healing magic. Nature magic usually glowed green or light green, holy magic a golden yellow.
"I thought it might be like 'Recovery' since the names are similar, but it's completely different."
Recovery was an advanced healing spell for quick, immediate wound treatment in battle. As a doctor, not a high priest, I couldn't use it.
"No way I could pull off something that tough. Besides, it works on wounds and injuries but not disabilities or aftereffects."
"Healing disabilities and aftereffects seems way harder to me. I can't even comprehend it, let alone learn it."
After thoroughly examining Sion and pondering, Hanamana finally gave up with a dejected pout, hanging her head.
Even she couldn't unravel a spell's secrets from one glance.
"I'll look into a Recover grimoire for you too. With your aptitude for all magic, you'll master it quick once you find it."
"Thanks,senior. I'm dying to know what's inside it."
Soon, the rehab center opened, and Hanamana's consultations began. No training for Sion today, so we stayed in her treatment room, watching her handle patients.
"Miss Hanamana, I heard you skipped the center yesterday?"
"Eek?! Word travels fast!"
"You should've rested more. We all worry seeing you work so hard."
"Thanks, but I rested plenty yesterday~ Now I'm good!"
She chatted warmly with the patients like she was playing with kids. It was like… a kindergarten teacher? Despite her tiny, youthful look, she was an elf over 200 years old—maybe that's why it fit.
"Do these exercises at home as listed, come to the gym once a week for the priest to suggest your rehab routine, and we'll check your progress again in four weeks."
Even swamped with patients, she examined each one meticulously, prescribing precisely.
"She really is a proper doctor, isn't she?"
Sion watched, praising Hanamana verbally but smiling with a hint of bitterness.
"I'm the only one who can't do anything alone. Nao and Hanamana have returned to their places, doing what they must… but only I…"
"Sion…"
I considered taking her hand or something, but held back. She wasn't trembling.
"Mr. Hope."
"Right here."
"I'm so glad you're here. I can't do anything by myself."
Should I tell her otherwise? That she's amazing, that she could manage alone? She'd endured so much, and she is incredible—but now wasn't the time. Saying she could handle it alone might sound like I'd leave her someday. Unlikely as that was, an unstable patient might interpret it that way. I had to think from her perspective, always careful to ease her anxieties.
"Before you came, every day was hell—terrifying, lonely, anxious. I didn't even know why I was alive… But not anymore. It's still hell, still scary and anxious, but at least I'm not lonely. You give me purpose, a goal to live for."
Sion was still looking not at me, but past Hanamana—or rather, straight ahead at nothing. What was she seeing? Something beyond, somewhere in the world?
"…Sion."
"Yes, sir?"
"If you had to sum up a rehabilitation therapist's job in one phrase?"
"Huh?"
I turned to her with the question, and she tilted her head, puzzled, searching for an answer.
"Sending people back to their daily lives."
"Back to their… daily lives…"
"Restoring those who've lost bodily functions, mental anchors, hope in life—to their rightful paths. That's what we do. So, Sion. Someday, I'll get you back to yours too…"
Yes, someday. I'd finish her rehab within the two years prophesied for the Demon King's return. Even after she recovered her old self, he wouldn't appear. Then what? Would she despise me? Resent the deception? Kill me like our first meeting, if my lies crossed the line again?
What lay beyond her rehabilitation's end? I didn't know yet, but…
"Someday, I'll send you back to your everyday life. I promise."
As her therapist, I aided her weakness up close, but like her strong, beautiful past, this broken Sion I cherished had to become the past too. That's why I loved it—because it was finite.
"Mr. Hope."
Her response to my promise was something I never expected.
"It's true I envy Nao and Hanamana, living their own lives…"
"But what I want right now… isn't that."