“*(&)(^)&^(”
“)(*^)(^(&098”
*Why is it so damn noisy?*
I slowly opened my eyes to the sounds echoing around me. The first thing I saw was a rabbit doll; Yoshinon was right in front of my face.
“Oh! Hieta-kun is awake!”
“Ah, hello...”
“Hello, Yoshinon. Yoshino-san. So, where are we?”
As I regained my senses, I sat up and looked around. Curtains hung beside me, and monitors extending from the bed I’d been lying on were displaying all sorts of strange data.
“Then we’ll go let everyone know Hieta-kun’s awake~!”
“W-wait, please...”
With that, Yoshinon and Yoshino left, leaving me alone with my thoughts for a moment.
First, how long had it been since my body collapsed? And had things been resolved properly? I could ask about those details once the others arrived.
Next was the issue of my power. Controlling it was difficult. For one thing, it wasn’t a power I’d been born with; it had simply appeared. Besides, Dark Souls was all about the brutal survival of the fittest—it was always a matter of either me dying or the enemy dying. There had been no need for fine-tuned control. Well, not that I actually stay dead, though.
Anyway, that was the gist of it. I needed training to handle my abilities. The strength I’d suddenly acquired was far too immense by this world’s standards. Seriously, if I’d lost control, I might have killed everyone on that rooftop, Tokisaki included. If I’d gone all out, the entire place would have burned to the ground.
And lastly, where the hell had Hikinon gone? Since my body had collapsed, he should have slipped out of my hands.
With that thought, I checked my inventory. Thankfully, he was still there. This guy had probably suffered quite a bit blocking the commander’s attack, so I pulled him out to praise him and equipped him again.
“〔Master!!!! I really thought you’d died for real!!! I blocked that attack so coolly, too!!! Then your body suddenly collapsed and I was so shocked!!!!!!〕”
Tears dripped from Hikinon’s tiny button eyes. *How does a doll even cry?*
I pushed that question aside and decided to calm him down first.
“Hey, I’m alive and well, aren’t I?”
“〔That’s what you say?! I seriously thought my heart was going to drop out!〕”
“Yeah, yeah. My bad. So stop worrying now.”
As I patted Hikinon’s head, his expression softened. The more I looked at him, the more amazing he seemed.
“〔Hehe... No! You can’t just brush it off! I went out of my way to worry about you and you just wave it away like it’s nothing! You jerk of a master!〕”
Hikinon started smacking the hand that had been patting him with a fist made of scraps of cloth. He really was a strange doll, changing moods in an instant.
“Ow. That actually hurts, so stop.”
“〔It doesn’t even hurt! Fine! Put me back in the inventory!〕”
He was properly sulking now. I didn’t really understand why he was acting like this just because my body had collapsed, but since he asked, I put him back in the inventory.
“Hieta! You’re awake!”
The moment I put Hikinon away, people came rushing in. Starting with Shido, then Tohka and Yoshino, and of course, the commander. Even Kannazuki had come.
“Why is everyone here?”
“What do you mean, why?! You! What were you thinking?!”
Ah, I’d already heard this one.
“What are you talking about?”
“Blocking my attack! Do you know how shocked I was when your body collapsed right after?!”
“Calm down, Kotori. Hieta just woke up.”
“Haa... Fine.”
Shido stopped the commander from going off the rails. Grateful, I secretly gave him a thumbs-up.
“So, is your body okay?”
“Of course. I’m fine and dandy. I mean, I revive even if I die, so it’d be weird if something like that took me out.”
“You certainly have a way with words.”
“So, what happened with everything?”
“Ah, I’ll explain that.”
Murasame, who had come with the others, began the explanation. From what I gathered, after my body collapsed, Kurumi fled. Thankfully, there were no casualties besides me. She also added that Origami and Mana had been taken to the hospital by the AST.
“Well, that’s a relief. Glad it all worked out.”
“Worked out? You’re the only person who would collapse, wake up two days later, and say something like that.”
“That’s my special charm, commander.”
Only then did I realize from the commander’s words that I’d been asleep for two whole days. So that’s how it is. If I push myself too hard, I’m out for about forty-eight hours.
“Tch. What nonsense. Shido and I have something to discuss, so we’re heading out.”
The commander left with Shido and Murasame. Tohka also mentioned that now that she'd confirmed I was safe, she was going to head out as well.
“Haha, it’s getting kind of lonely in here.”
“Ah, Kannazuki-san.”
“I’m truly relieved. Until you woke up, Hieta-san, the commander was blaming herself. She may act tough, but I’m sure she was worrying a great deal inside.”
As expected of the vice commander—or perhaps because he’d known her for so long—he seemed to understand her perfectly.
“By the way, your angel has quite a few abilities, doesn’t it?”
“Quite a few, you say?”
“You return to life after dying, you fire strange shockwaves, you manipulate light... and this time, you even fought while burning your own body.”
“Ah...”
I nodded at Kannazuki’s words. Come to think of it, since he believed I was a spirit, it made sense he'd think that way. The spirits I’d seen so far all had consistent, themed abilities, but I didn’t. Even so, there was nothing I could really explain. I’m not a spirit.
“Well, just think of it as me having a bunch of different things going on.”
I gave him a vague answer. If I admitted I wasn’t a spirit now, I still wouldn’t be able to explain my abilities, and it would likely just cause more trouble. That was the safer choice.
“It seems this is a difficult topic for you. Still, there’s no need to force yourself. I was only curious, after all.”
He saw right through me immediately. *I guess you need to be able to read people that well to hold the vice commander position?* (No.)
“Well then, I’ll be going too.”
With that, Kannazuki left as well, leaving only Yoshino, Yoshinon, and me in the room.
“Hieta-san...”
“Yes? What is it?”
“Just now, when you mentioned your body collapsed...?”
Oh no. Yoshino hadn’t known what happened back then?
Looking at her face, I could see the genuine worry in her eyes.
“Well, you see...”
I trailed off, wondering how I was supposed to explain this. How do you tell a little girl, “I overdid it trying to block the commander’s attack, and my body just gave out”?
“Hmm...”
“〔If it’s something you can’t talk about, that’s okay~! We trust Hieta-kun~ You were helping someone, weren’t you~?〕”
I quietly nodded at Yoshinon’s words. Yoshinon looked satisfied with my reaction and added,
“〔I knew it would be something like that for Hieta-kun~ Still, for our Yoshino’s sake, you should take better care of your body—〕”
Suddenly, Yoshino covered Yoshinon’s mouth. Why?
“Why’d you do that?”
“N-no reason! B-but still, overdoing it isn’t good...”
To have a child worry about me like that... I couldn’t help but feel a bit pathetic.
This time, Yoshino was right. I was touched that she cared, and before I knew it, I unconsciously patted her head.
“E-eh...”
“Ah, sorry. I did that without thinking.”
Yoshino looked flustered, so I quickly pulled my hand away. She seemed a little disappointed, but that must have been my imagination.
“〔Hieta-kun~ Do people ever tell you you’re kind of clueless~?〕”
“What are you talking about? I’ve never heard that once.”
I’m basically a dead man, except for being clueless.
Comments (0)
Please log in to leave a comment. Login or Register