After some time had passed since losing my arm, I received a call from the hospital asking me to come for a regular check-up to ensure there were no issues with my body. So, I visited the hospital where I had been hospitalized for the first time in a while today.
After completing various tests, I was heading to the consultation room for a discussion about the test results when I saw the doctor looking at a chart with a serious expression.
"Hmm... This is strange. This shouldn't be possible... Ah, it's been a while since I saw you. Please take a seat."
I glanced at the chart the doctor was looking at and saw my name written at the top. It seemed he was looking at my test results. Given the doctor's unusually serious expression, I asked hesitantly:
"Um... Is there something wrong? Has my condition worsened since last time...?"
I had been given a prognosis of about three years by my guardian, one of the creators of my body and a renowned authority in the medical field. It wouldn't have been surprising to hear that my condition had worsened, so I braced myself for any news, but the doctor shook his head.
"Worsened? Not at all. In fact, your condition has improved. Even with the prosthetic arm, your physical functions have gotten better, and most importantly, your healing ability, which was a major concern, has significantly improved. Of course, it's not to the point where you can just go around getting hurt, but this means you won't have to come to the hospital every time you get a minor injury like before."
The doctor's expression was somewhat subtle as he told me this. It seemed like he was happy, but also a bit puzzled.
I was about to ask why he looked that way when he seemed to notice my hesitation and chuckled.
"Hehehe... I apologize. It's just that this is such an unusual case, and I've never seen a patient's condition improve so dramatically in such a short time, even after so many years of being a doctor. Even for someone with superhuman abilities, this is truly a miraculous improvement. Hehe, it seems you must have been eating well since you were discharged."
I had been eating better since I started living with Sylvia after only eating basic meals every day... Could it really be because of that?
I nodded awkwardly, and the doctor chuckled, saying, "I see, I see. Regular meals are indeed the most important thing for health. No matter how busy you are, don't skip meals and always take care of yourself."
...Despite saying that, he seemed to skip meals himself quite often.
"You should take care of yourself too, Doctor... You look very busy lately, but you need to take care of your own health first."
I might have been overstepping, but after what happened recently, I couldn't help but notice how much more haggard the doctor looked compared to the last time I saw him. It was obvious he wasn't getting enough rest.
The doctor smiled weakly in response.
"Hehe, don't worry. We've been very busy for a few days, but now we can finally take a breather. Compared to the psychiatry department, we're not that busy. They're the ones who are really struggling."
It was a sad reality that he had to find solace by comparing his situation to the hellish conditions of the psychiatry department.
Speaking of which, the doctor looked at the door with a sympathetic expression and muttered.
"Some of them have collapsed from overwork and are lying down with the patients. It's a good thing Eve came to help... Otherwise, it would have been a real disaster."
I recalled hearing from Mei that Eve had been using illusion magic to treat people during the academy's closure.
So, she was working here...
I was considering whether to visit her when the doctor said,
"By the way, you're an Academy student, right? It's almost lunchtime, so we have a bit of time to chat. She cares a lot about her students, so she'll be happy to see you."
*
"My... My hands... I can't shake off the feeling of my son's body growing cold in them."
A man with a dark expression muttered in a hoarse voice.
"Do you know what that feels like? Even though it wasn't my will, I killed my own child with my hands. At that moment, I really wanted to die... I even thought about following my son... But thinking of my wife and the baby in her womb, I couldn't do it..."
The man looked at his trembling hands and sobbed. His voice, choked with unshed tears, was filled with deep sorrow.
"Since that day... Every time I try to fall asleep, my son appears in my dreams. He asks why I did it... He says he's in pain... He asks why I killed him like that... No matter how many times I tell him it wasn't me, every night... It's endless... I feel like I'm going crazy... I know I shouldn't, but thinking of my wife and child, I can't... The voice won't stop..."
The man clutched his head in agony. Someone gently took his hand and asked softly,
"What's your son's name?"
"Jamie... Jamie..."
"Jamie was a good boy, right? I'll help you talk to Jamie properly, so please get some rest. He'll understand that you didn't do it on purpose."
With a snap of her fingers, the man's eyes slowly closed. After a moment, a soft voice came from his closed eyes.
"Jamie... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do it..."
Ah... You know Dad didn't do anything wrong...? Are you forgiving me? Sniff... No... Your death is all Dad's fault... I'm sorry, Jamie... Just... Just wait a little longer... Dad will be a bit late because of Mom and your little brother... Can you wait without crying...?
Eve watched as the man, holding a smiling and nodding little boy, muttered to himself for a long time.
...Jamie, you must have been a good boy, just as Dad said.
Eve confirmed that the man's expression was gradually becoming more relaxed and stretched.
"Ah, I think I've finished with my patients before lunch. Dwayne, can you take care of this patient?"
"Understood, Doctor."
Eve's assistant, Dwayne Nineheart, a first-year B-class student, carefully lifted the sleeping man with magic in response to her request. Seeing him immediately act on her words, Eve smiled slightly and thought,
He's always so lazy, but he's actually very diligent.
When he first came to help treat patients, I felt a bit sorry for him, but now I might feel a bit disappointed if he weren't here.
Eve, who could see through appearances, called out to Dwayne, who was putting the patient to bed.
"Alright, let's go eat lunch! You've worked hard today, so I'll treat you!"
"Even if you don't always do this, I won't refuse."
"Hehe, that's right. I have a lot of money, so you don't have to refuse!"
As we were about to leave the room, a knock was heard. Eve, noticing a familiar student peeking into the room, called out happily,
"Oh? I don't know what you're here for, but it's perfect timing! Let's go eat together, Evanthe!"
*
"Oh, Evanthe, you came for a regular check-up. I thought you were here to ask for something, so I was a bit tense! Anyway, it's nice to see you after so long!"
I responded awkwardly to Eve's enthusiastic greeting.
I had just come to check on her, but now I was getting a free meal, which was a bit surprising. It was even more awkward because the student who was eating with us wasn't someone I was particularly close to.
What was he doing here with the doctor?
I glanced at the blonde boy, Dwayne Nineheart, who was the rival of Yun Siwoo in the original story and a legendary magic prodigy.
Eve, noticing my gaze, placed a hand on Dwayne's shoulder and explained,
"Ah, you're curious about why Dwayne is here, right? He's working as my assistant! Oh, the food is here. I'll get it, so you two chat for a bit!"
Eve left to get the food, and an awkward silence fell over the table.
Well... Even though she told us to chat, I've never really talked to him before, so I don't know what to say...
Just as I was feeling awkward, Dwayne, who had been picking at his side dishes, looked at me and spoke.
"You're Scarlett Evanthe from 1-A, right?"
"Ah, yeah... You know my name?"
I was a bit surprised that he knew my name. From what I knew, he was a severe magic enthusiast who rarely paid attention to anything unrelated to magic, so it was surprising that he knew the name of someone he hadn't really talked to.
"Someone in our class who's in charge of being noisy has been talking about you and some of your classmates all day, saying they want to get to know you. It's so loud that it's hard to forget."
"Ah..."
The noisy person he mentioned immediately brought to mind someone from B-class.
Flone Dolas, a pink-haired twin-tailed girl who had been trying to date me since we first met, was the one causing the noise. I could picture Dwayne frowning at her loud voice.
Because I had read the original story, I didn't find him as awkward as someone I was meeting for the first time. We had met a few times when he was treating people who had been controlled by demons during training or at school, so we weren't completely strangers.
I cautiously asked him about something that had been on my mind.
"Um, what do you mean by 'assistant'? Are you just doing volunteer work?"
Volunteer work didn't seem to fit Dwayne's character.
He was a character who, according to the original story, was obsessed with magic. His intellectual curiosity and determination to uncover the mysteries of magic were what defined him in the novel.
It didn't seem like he would help people at the cost of his own magic practice, so I was curious why he was working as Eve's assistant.
Dwayne answered my question nonchalantly.
"Volunteer work? I'm just working as an assistant to see Eve's illusion magic up close. The more I see, the more I think I made the right choice. The closer I look, the more I'm amazed."
When the topic turned to magic, his usually lazy eyes lit up. I chuckled inwardly.
Yeah, that's Dwayne Nineheart for you.
While I was thinking this, I asked him about Eve's magic.
"Eve's magic. I know it's great, but I'm not a magician, so I don't really understand how great it is. What do you see as a magician?"
"I don't know anything either, even though I've seen it up close."
"Then... What makes it so great...?"
Dwayne tilted his head in response to my incredulous question.
"The fact that I don't understand anything, even though I've seen it, is what makes it great. I'm considered a genius, and I can usually figure out how most magic works after seeing it once."
He had the right to call himself a genius. Magicians who had seen his magic skills described his immense magical talent several times, saying that he was a true prodigy.
"The known illusion magic is just about showing illusions or projecting them into someone's dreams, similar to a curse. But Eve's magic is different. It projects the subconscious, materializes illusions, and some illusions even have physical force. It's a truly mysterious and magical ability. Every time I see it, I'm just more amazed."
"I don't fully understand, but... It sounds really impressive."
"Exactly, the successor of Abigail's legacy is different. To catch up with the vast amount of time Eve has spent on magic, I still have a long way to go."
Dwayne, who seemed genuinely impressed, nodded. I felt a bit strange about his comment and asked,
"Um, isn't it a bit disrespectful to call it 'vast time' for someone so young?"
"What part?"
"Um, calling someone so young that... It just seems a bit off."
Dwayne tilted his head in confusion.
"Young? Are you serious?"
When I tilted my head in response, Dwayne looked genuinely shocked and said,
"Goodness, you really don't know. To see such an ignorant student at the Academy, I guess I have to explain briefly."
Dwayne's eyes lit up as he began his explanation.
"Where should I start? The Great Hero Aegis founded the Academy about 400 years ago. He and his companions defeated the Gluttony Witch and brought peace to humanity. Among his companions was my ancestor, Viola Nineheart, who cast a barrier to block the miasma in this city, and Abigail, who was known as the greatest illusionist of her time. Abigail, who handled illusions, took on the role of a teacher at the Academy at Aegis's request after the defeat of the Gluttony Witch. Since then, her direct disciples have traditionally served as teachers at Aegis Academy. And the fifth-generation successor of Abigail's legacy illusion magic is Eve."
I was taken aback by the last part of his long explanation.
What? Fifth generation?
"Um, you mean Eve is the fifth disciple in a line that started with Abigail? Isn't that strange? She's from 400 years ago."
Dwayne nodded and said,
"As far as I know, Eve officially took over the teaching position 80 years ago. I heard that even when my grandfather was a student, she looked the same."
"Goodness..."
I looked at Eve, who was walking back with the food, in shock.
I never imagined such a secret behind her youthful appearance...
Eve, who returned to her seat, smiled and asked us,
"Oh? You two seem to be getting along well. What were you talking about so enthusiastically?"
"J-Just about magic!"
I didn't want to say we were talking about her age, so I stammered.
Eve laughed and said,
"Hehe, typical Nineheart topics. Evanthe, you should understand. They've always been serious about magic. Come to think of it, Dwayne is quite like a Nineheart."
"R-Really?"
I felt a bit uneasy about the immense time span and wiped sweat from my forehead. I always respected my elders, so I felt I needed to be more polite than usual. I carefully maintained proper table manners as I ate.
"Wow! It's Yun Siwoo!"
Yun Siwoo?
I turned to see people in the dining hall looking at Yun Siwoo on the TV screen.
That kid is really popular.
Just as I thought this, I noticed some people clasping their hands and praying to the screen.
"Ah, Yun Siwoo... Please avenge our family."
"Please defeat the evil witch."
It was more than just popularity. The people praying to the screen looked like followers of the Yun Siwoo cult.
"What... What is that?"
I asked in a small voice, and Eve gave a bitter smile.
"Recently, I've seen a lot of people doing this. It's the expression of hostility from those who lost family members in the last incident. They want Yun Siwoo to avenge their loved ones, just like the hero who defeated the Pride Witch in the past, or Aegis, who defeated the Gluttony Witch."
"That's... That's..."
"It shows how much they hate the witch. It's inevitable. To prevent this hostility from being directed at the city or the heroes, they're using Yun Siwoo for propaganda. There's no way to calm these people down, so they're trying to channel their anger."
Eve looked at the people praying with a troubled expression and muttered,
"I hope this doesn't become a problem..."
Beyond her muttering, I could hear the people's earnest prayers.
Hero, please kill the witch.
Author's Note:
Aaah, I wanted to post this before midnight, but it's a bit late! I've packed a lot of content, so please enjoy it!