I opened my eyes to a blurry state of mind and saw a stark white ceiling.
I heard the regular sound of water droplets falling, drip, drip.
Turning my head slowly to the right, I saw an IV bag hanging on a long stand.
The tube connected to the bag stretched all the way to my right arm.
Since I was connected to something, I thought I shouldn't move and tried to raise my body with my other arm.
But my body didn't budge at all.
Feeling something was off, I turned my head slightly to the left and saw that the left sleeve of my hospital gown was empty and flapping.
I stared at it for a moment and then smiled bitterly.
Yes, that's right.
It had been blown off up to my shoulder.
Still, maybe because I had already experienced losing a body part when I turned into a girl, it wasn't as hard to accept as I thought.
This time, it wasn't an accidental loss but a deliberate one.
It wasn't as psychologically difficult as I expected.
It wasn't, but...
...still, I felt a bit empty.
*
“Ah, the patient is awake?”
As I lay there, blinking, a nurse entered the room.
When I nodded slightly while lying down, she smiled kindly and said to me,
“Now I've called the doctor, so please wait a moment. Do you feel dizzy or have any pain anywhere?”
I felt her gaze brush past my left arm area when she asked if I had any pain.
Her eyes, filled with regret despite her kind smile, made me smile and answer that I was fine.
Her eyes then misted over slightly.
It must be tough for someone in the medical field to be so sensitive...
Wiping away her tears, the nurse left the room, and a moment later, an elderly doctor with white hair entered.
Holding a chart in his hand, the doctor stood in front of me and spoke with a troubled look.
“I'm really sorry, but...it seems the only option is to attach a prosthetic arm.”
The doctor continued with a stern expression.
To summarize his explanation, it was impossible to reattach the arm because it had been completely severed and burned.
And even the most skilled healer couldn't restore a lost limb unless it was immediately after the injury.
Fortunately, it was possible to restore the nerves and muscle tissue in the wound area using magic, so attaching a different arm was still an option.
If not for the makeshift tourniquet, I might have become an amputee.
I had tried to save myself, but following what I saw in a cartoon was clearly a crazy thing to do.
There is research on creating new body parts using genes, but since it can only create parts at a normal human level, the doctor recommended a prosthetic arm for me, a superhuman.
If there was a problem, it would be that I couldn't afford a prosthetic arm, right?
“By the way, patient, did you ever receive healing magic when you were young and had a serious injury all over your body?”
While I was worrying about the cost, the doctor asked me this.
Since I didn't know anything about my past, I just stayed silent, and the doctor looked me in the eye and earnestly warned me.
“Whatever happened, your body's natural healing ability is now quite low. This time, you were lucky because someone brought you to the hospital quickly, but if you get injured when there's no one to heal you, even a minor injury could be fatal due to internal bleeding. Do you understand?”
I nodded at the doctor's serious tone.
He was saying that even a small injury could be fatal.
Honestly, I would prefer not to get injured at all, but in this world, that's not an easy thing to do.
Anyway, now that I know I'm a superhuman, I need to be more careful with my body.
After giving me several warnings, the doctor left the room.
I looked around the now quiet room.
A private room...it was even bigger than the place I lived in.
I started to feel anxious.
Can I afford the hospital bill?
There's probably no health insurance here...
But since I was hospitalized while protecting people, they should at least cover the hospital bill, right?
While I was worrying, the door to the room suddenly opened, and a middle-aged man who looked tired came in.
He looked at me, approached, and spoke.
“I rushed here as soon as I heard you woke up...how is your body?”
I had never spoken to him directly, but as someone who attends the academy, I couldn't not know his face, so I answered calmly that I was fine.
He looked like an uncle coming home from a late shift.
He was the principal of Aegis Academy.
“You asked for a door to be installed in the gym. Without you, I can't even imagine what might have happened...”
The principal sighed deeply, as if he had aged ten years.
His appearance, worn down by the world, made him look like an ordinary middle-aged uncle, not someone with a serious demeanor.
Academy trope) The principal is usually the strongest in the world.
The principal should have been someone who was famous in their youth or a thousand-year-old girl, but this principal was just an ordinary middle-aged man, and not even a superhuman.
Why is such a person the principal? Because his last name is Aegis.
The Aegis Academy has a hereditary principal system.
It's surprising that this system has been maintained without much complaint.
“Thanks to you, I've bought some time before I go completely bald... When my runaway sister brought a girl in and asked for an entrance exam, I thought something was up, but really, you saved us.”
Seeing him plead to someone much younger, I felt really awkward, so I quickly helped him up.
Honestly, I didn't care about being famous, so I was about to say it didn't matter when the principal added,
“I'll cover all the hospital costs and the prosthetic arm, no matter how much it costs. Can you please consider this...”
Are you okay? Of course, I am.
With my biggest worry resolved, I nodded vigorously.
“But honestly, this is something we should do anyway... Is there anything else you want? I'll try to grant it if it's reasonable.”
The principal seemed to still have something on his mind as he said this.
There was one thing I was worried about.
I glanced at where my left arm used to be.
Even with a prosthetic arm, it would naturally be weaker than before, so I asked more as a request than a demand.
“Can I still attend the academy with my arm like this?”
“...What, are you asking such a thing? Of course, you can. Ah, really...with students like you, I can't quit being the principal no matter how tough it gets.”
The principal answered with a look of disbelief and then muttered to himself.
As if he had finished his business, the principal turned to leave the room. Before he stepped out, he turned and bowed deeply to me.
There was no trace of the casual demeanor he had shown earlier.
The principal spoke in a solemn tone.
“Scarlett Evande, thanks to your heroic courage and sacrifice, the citizens are safe. On behalf of the 12,493 people you saved, I, the principal of Aegis, express my deepest gratitude.”
A sincere expression of gratitude, regardless of the age difference, because he truly believed in the significance of what I had done.
Seeing this, I thought he was indeed the right person to be the principal.
After saying that, the principal straightened his back, sighed, and scratched the back of his head as he rushed out of the room.
12,493 people.
I should be happy that I saved that many with just one arm.
But maybe because the number was so large, it didn't feel real.
I lay there in a daze and eventually fell asleep.
*
When I woke up, it was dusk.
I heard a rustling sound from the side and turned to see a girl with short black hair and glasses.
She was sitting on the left side of the bed, looking at me with wide, surprised eyes.
Her eyes, which had been wide with surprise, quickly filled with tears.
May, who had been trying to say something, finally closed her mouth and tightly held the loose sleeve of my left arm with both hands.
Maybe she couldn't organize her thoughts.
But I knew what she wanted to ask.
Probably why I had to do that.
So I asked her,
“What day is it today?”
“...Tuesday.”
She answered softly.
Tuesday.
It's Tuesday, huh.
Even though Monday had passed, she was still by my side.
She was still alive.
Now that it was finally sinking in, a smile formed on my lips.
“Listen. On Friday...”
So even though I had lost my arm, I could still smile and tell her,
“A classmate promised to make me chocolate.”
That was my answer to the question she couldn't ask.
A classmate.
Even though we were only at that stage.
Hearing my words, she hugged me with her teary eyes.
The warmth of one person felt more real than the number 12,493.
I thought that was enough reason to sacrifice my left arm.
The warmth that filled the emptiness on my left side made me greedy.
I wanted to be a bit closer to her, not just a classmate.
But can I really do that?
Just as I was wondering,
She spoke in a small voice, sobbing against my chest.
“...You fool. You didn't have to...”
The words she had never been able to say to me.
And they were the answer I desperately wanted to hear at this moment.
So happy, truly happy.
“I understand. May.”
I said her name, which I had never spoken before,
In the gentle flames,
Smiling.
Author's Note (Afterword)
I've become friends with the class representative. I added a subtitle to commemorate it.
This is the first real 'friend' I've made since coming to this world.
Since she regained her mental strength by sacrificing her body, Miss Evande is now a happy Miss Evande!
She chose happiness over test scores...
Fan art by Youyeon has been posted on the fan art board!