Mei clung to me for a long time until her tears stopped.
When the flames burning in her body gradually subsided, Mei seemed to have calmed down, and with a blush of embarrassment, she slowly pulled away from me.
âW-What was that fire just now? It didnât feel hot, just warm...â
âSometimes it bursts out like that depending on your emotions. Just now, it was because you were happy.â
She suddenly asked about the fire, perhaps trying to divert attention from the fact that she had been crying. Her response seemed to indicate that she didnât quite understand my answer.
Hmm... Itâs a bit embarrassing to say, but I wanted to convey how I felt right now, so I held her hand with my right hand and said,
âIâm really happy to be friends with you, Mei.â
â...Iâm happy to be friends with you too, Scarlett.â
Her face, tinged with the same sunset color as the sky outside the window, answered in a small voice.
Seeing her like that, I thought:
Even though itâs not as deep a relationship as family or lovers, the kind of friend who can share joy and sorrow is essential for living. The existence of a friend I met in a world where we have no connections is incredibly precious to me.
She has become a pillar of support for me, like the friends I had in school, to the point where just looking at her can ease my worries a bit.
After getting lost in thought for a moment, I noticed the sky darkening as the sun set behind the buildings.
I couldnât keep her here too late, so I brought up the topic I was curious about.
âCan you tell me what happened after I fainted?â
When I asked, Mei, who had been sitting quietly with a red face, flinched and answered.
âEh? Well... After you fainted, Leon-sama defeated the monster and took you to the hospital. After bringing you here, he came back and told us not to tell anyone else about what happened today. Apparently, there were instructions to keep the details hidden to avoid causing panic among the citizens. After the alert was lifted, the citizens were sent home, and we were also instructed to return home.â
She smiled bitterly as she looked at my arm.
âSo, the citizens only know that a monster appeared, but not what happened outside. Even though it was to prevent panic... normally, you would deserve praise for what you did.â
I shook my head and laughed, as if to say it didnât matter, and she chuckled and said,
âStill, the news somehow got out to the teachers and students, even if they were told to keep quiet. The kids were shouting about visiting you today. If the teachers hadnât calmed them down, the hospital room would have exploded. Iâm the class representative today, so I came on behalf of everyone. A few more will come tomorrow. Jesse will probably come too, so be prepared. Sheâs going to cry a lot, for sure.â
Just hearing her say that made me imagine the scene vividly, and we both chuckled.
âAre the kids who went on the mission safe?â
âYeah, no one was seriously injured. They were divided into two groups, and one group had it really tough. I didnât get the full details because they looked too exhausted, but they said they killed nearly a hundred monsters with less than ten people. Iâm not sure if itâs an exaggeration or not.â
As I continued to laugh and talk, she seemed to relax, and the atmosphere brightened a bit.
Anyway, it seems the mission went as in the original story.
Yun Si-woo must have gone all out.
In the original, the current hero, who was in charge of leading the group, performed so impressively that even the veteran hero was amazed.
As it was getting close to evening, Mei got up from her seat.
âWhen do you think youâll be discharged?â
Mei asked.
Honestly, apart from the inconvenience of my arm, I felt I could be discharged right away.
I told her I thought it would be in a few days, and she left the room, saying she hoped to see me at school next time.
.
.
.
Is she gone?
After Mei left the room and I waited for a moment, I put my right hand into the empty left sleeve of the hospital gown.
I had been feeling a strange sensation, which was bothering me.
When I put my hand in, it felt empty.
Of course, with no arm, the left sleeve was naturally empty.
I was about to dismiss it as just a feeling when,
I felt something in my right hand.
It was small, rough, and hard.
I held it and pulled it out.
When I opened my hand, I saw a small, black piece.
The surface was cracked in various places, and if I had to describe it, it looked like a piece of charcoal.
And I definitely remembered seeing something similar before.
With a strange tension, I swallowed and focused on the strange sensation I had felt since the flames had burst out of my body.
I mentally turned off the switches where the flames had flowed out.
One in my head, one in my chest, one in my abdomen.
And I regulated the sources of the flames in my legs and right hand so that no flames would come out.
Naturally, even if I tried to summon anger, no flames should have come out.
They shouldnât have.
But the flames were burning.
On the small, black piece in my right hand.
Looking at the flickering flames, I became certain of what I had suspected.
This burning piece was my left arm, which had been completely burned inside the monsterâs stomach.
My head started to spin.
I thought the arm could emit flames because it was cut off right after it entered the monsterâs stomach.
But for some reason, this black piece, which had been separated from my body for quite some time, was calmly burning in response to my emotions.
I had always thought my ability was simply to emit flames from my body based on my emotions, so this strange situation was confusing.
Moreover, what was even more chilling was that I had no memory of picking this up before I fainted.
It was unlikely that someone had picked it up and given it to me, and since I had even changed clothes, it shouldnât have been in there.
Even in a world with strange monsters that were hard to hurt and where magic and superpowers existed, I still wasnât used to such inexplicable events, so I had a lot to think about.
âPatient, your meal is here.â
âAh, thank you.â
While I was deep in thought, the nurse came in with my dinner.
I quickly put the object in my hospital gown pocket and unfolded the table attached to the bed, where my dinner was placed.
Dinner was porridge.
I wasnât sure if it was out of consideration or if all patients got the same, but the porridge in one bowl was easy to eat with just a spoon, which was convenient.
The porridge was colorful with various ingredients.
I wasnât sure if it contained vegetables, abalone, or meat.
It could be all three.
Honestly, it looked too luxurious to be hospital food.
Maybe because it was a private room, the porridge was extraordinary.
I had only eaten plain white rice porridge before.
Of course, plain white rice porridge with soy sauce was delicious, but...
I scooped a large spoonful, filled with the anticipation building in my chest.
Steam was rising, as if it had just been cooked.
While it didnât matter if the porridge was hot for someone who could withstand fire, the mood was important, so I blew on the spoon to cool it down before carefully putting it in my mouth.
The porridge melted on my tongue without needing to chew, spreading in my mouth.
Still, I savored it as if chewing.
After swallowing the porridge, a warm sensation spread through my body, and I exhaled the residual warmth.
A spoonful of porridge, contained in just one bowl, held a flavor that was impossible to count.
Despite the variety of ingredients, it was surprisingly harmonious.
It felt like a new horizon had opened up in my appreciation of porridge.
It was a shock greater than when a colleague bought me a caramel frappuccino from a coffee shop, after reciting a magical incantation of what kind of drizzle and chips to add.
Both plain white rice porridge and mix coffee are not without flavor, but expensive things are expensive for a reason...
Each spoonful seemed to fill me with energy, making me feel like this was indeed hospital food.
Before I knew it, I had cleaned the bowl and was savoring the lingering taste in my mouth.
The nurse who came to clear the empty bowl smiled.
Eating delicious food calmed my complicated thoughts.
Yeah, thereâs no point in worrying about things I donât know.
Itâs better for me to enjoy a good meal and sleep well.
After washing my face and brushing my teeth with one arm in the bathroom, I recalled the conversations with Mei and the taste of the porridge I had today, and fell asleep.
Ignoring the strange sensation connected to something in my pocket.
Author's Note:
Thereâs no point in worrying about things you donât know... I felt that deeply while taking an exam.
My brother ordered chicken for dinner, so after eating something delicious, all thatâs left is to sleep well...