Two-Person Hospital Room (1)

After the Magic Department’s evaluation sparring match ended, Agnes and I were confined-no, admitted-to a two-person hospital room side by side.

Normally, when the death prevention magic activates, it’s standard to assign a single room per person. After all, the death prevention magic is a miracle that revives someone who was on the brink of death, so absolute rest is necessary during the recovery period.

However, no matter how important absolute rest is, one can’t unreasonably demand to double the number of hospital rooms in the Academy Church’s patient ward, which has limited capacity. Each match is allocated one room, after all.

In other words, Agnes and I were only assigned a single room at first, so we ended up recovering in a hastily arranged two-person room with an extra bed added.

“How are you feeling, Agnes-yang?”

“…It hurts. It’s throbbing.”

“See? Who told you to use an explosion spell at such close range? If you use a self-destruct technique like that, of course you’d get caught up in it too.”

“It’s not my explosion spell that hurts-it’s the stab wound in my heart from Lillith.”

“……”

Saying it like that makes me look like the bad guy. Now I feel guilty again.

Well, in any case, neither Agnes nor I held back.

If I hadn’t fought so fiercely that day, I would probably be lying in this hospital room alone. And that too, trapped inside Agnes’ closing Flame Fortress, thoroughly roasted.

In terms of momentary pain, an explosion was slightly better than full-body burns. …Never mind that the recovery period would be a bit longer.

“Still, maybe it’s a good thing we both went down in a double knockout.”

“…What do you mean?”

“If I visited Agnes-yang’s hospital room during this time, wouldn’t strange rumors spread? Like, ‘After fighting as if they were trying to kill each other, they’ve finally reconciled,’ or something. We went through the evaluation sparring match just to avoid Prince Machart’s attention-wouldn’t it be unfair to Agnes-yang if all that effort ended up resolving the rumors we spread?”

In any case, I needed to meet Agnes at least once more to explain the plan to deceive Machart, and sharing the same hospital room in a double knockout naturally solved that issue.

On top of that, gathering Ethan, Gyeotmwa Josyegigot, and Celista would be much easier in this hospital room. Ethan and Gyeotmwa Josyegigot could use visiting Agnes and me as an excuse to come in, and Celista was a Theology Department student to begin with, so it wouldn’t be strange for her to visit the patient ward.

“…I can’t agree with that opinion.”

“Huh?”

“Why would you visit me? If it wasn’t a simultaneous death, does that mean you would’ve won?”

“Well, Agnes-yang was stabbed by my dagger first, right? Whether you collapsed right then or went for a double knockout, the self-destruction spell was a last resort, so it’s my victory. Let’s acknowledge what needs to be acknowledged.”

“No, the official ruling was my victory. The cause of death for both of us was my explosion spell, right? Since you were closer to the blast, you died first, so I won.”

“But the reason you had to resort to that was because of my dagger-“

-Click!

“Lady Lillith! Agnes-yang! Didn’t I tell you both to stay calm and rest?!”

“…I’m sorry.”

“……”

The heated argument between Agnes and me over the match result was instantly quelled by Celista, who entered the hospital room from outside.

Even someone as stubborn as Agnes becomes docile in front of a priest who’s healing her injuries-apparently, even in this fantasy world, doctors are still doctors.

“Please remember that both of you were transported to the church via death prevention magic. Especially you, Lady Lillith-you were hit by the explosion spell at point-blank range, so you need proper rest.”

“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind.”

“See? The fact that Lillith is more injured means I won-“

“Agnes-yang, you were also hit by the explosion spell! And your wounds are a mix of blast injuries and lacerations, making treatment just as complicated!”

“…Got it.”

Who told you to act up in front of a doctor? If you messed up like I did, you should just keep quiet and behave.

I smirked slightly at Agnes, who got scolded for speaking out of turn, when the hospital room door opened again, revealing a familiar face.

-Click.

“Lillith, how are you feeling?”

“You’re here, Young Master Ethan.”

Ethan entered the room with an air of urgency but tried to act nonchalant as he approached our hospital beds.

Judging by the sweat dripping all over his body, it seemed like he had just finished his evaluation sparring match.

“Did you just finish your evaluation match?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t watch, Young Master Ethan.”

“Don’t worry about it. You’re a patient right now, Lillith. It’d be worse if you forced yourself to watch.”

“Still, I knew you’d win. Congratulations, Young Master Ethan.”

“Yeah. Thanks, Lillith.”

With those words, Ethan naturally walked over to my bedside, placed a fruit basket down, and casually took out an apple to start peeling it with a fruit knife.

“Ah, let me do that, Young Master Ethan.”

“Lillith, you’re a patient. Just rest.”

“But you might hurt yourself. I can peel an apple even in this state-“

“Just stay put. And I’ve been wielding a sword for years-you think I can’t handle a fruit knife?”

“…Understood.”

Even so, the weight of a fruit knife is nothing compared to the greatsword he usually carries.

As I expected, Ethan struggled to adjust to the lightness of the fruit knife as he tried to peel the apple.

-Scrape, scrape.

“……”

“Wait a moment, Young Master Ethan. Aren’t you moving your hand too ‘straight’?”

“…Yeah. I didn’t mean to cut it at such a ‘right angle.'”

“The cross-section is looking a bit too ‘flat,’ Young Master Ethan. If you peel it like this, the flesh will go to waste along with the skin.”

“I thought I was pretty experienced with swords, but I’m still a ‘novice’ with a fruit knife. Let me try again-watch closely, Lillith.”

“Ah, wait. If you peel it that ‘flat’ here-“

“…Hah, it’s harder than I thought. It looked easy when I saw you do it before. I’ve peeled off so much that the apple slices are completely ‘stubby’ now.”

“Still, thank you. You peeled it for me, Young Master Ethan. Even if the slices are a bit ‘short,’ the taste is the same.”

“…Are you two doing this on purpose?”

“Huh?”

“What do you mean?”

For some reason, Agnes, who had been listening to our conversation, glared at Ethan and me with an irritated expression. Just then, the hospital room door opened again, and another visitor entered.

-Click.

“Agnes, Lillith, how are you feeling?”

Like Ethan, Gyeotmwa Josyegigot entered the room carrying a fruit basket. Well, if Ethan’s match had ended, then Gyeotmwa Josyegigot’s must have ended too, since his was earlier in the schedule.

“…I’m fine. Celista said I’ll recover if I rest well.”

“Both Agnes-yang and Lillith-yang have serious injuries, but recovery shouldn’t be too difficult. Since both of you were mainly injured in vital areas, we can focus treatment there.”

“Really? That’s a relief. I thought Agnes would take longer to recover since she used an explosion spell.”

“The initial treatment when you were transported to the church via death prevention magic was good. After treating Luke-yang last year during the final evaluation match-who was hit by a mana bomb and sent flying-the staff said these injuries didn’t even feel that severe in comparison.”

“……”

Hearing an unexpected mention of my sparring match with Luke last year, I couldn’t help but avert my gaze.

Back then, the only way to win was with Mana Blast, so I had no choice but to use it. I didn’t realize the injuries were that severe.

I guess Mana Blast really isn’t meant for combat between people. It’s more for large monsters or large-scale monster subjugation.

“But why were you later than Blackwood? Didn’t we agree to meet after your evaluation matches today? As the Hero, shouldn’t you have finished before Blackwood? Your rank is higher.”

“That’s true, but I had something to check first.”

“Something to check?”

“I heard the results of Agnes and Lil…Lillith’s evaluation match came out. Thought you’d be curious, so I checked before coming.”

“I won, right?!”

“I won, right?!”

Agnes and I spoke almost simultaneously, and Celista gave us a pitying look while shaking her head. But right now, the only thing that mattered to us was the result of our match.

“Agnes won. They said Lillith’s death was registered about 0.04 seconds earlier.”

“See? I told you I won.”

“No, that’s not how it should be judged. I was the one who dealt the fatal blow first-“

“Arguing with me is pointless. And you know the rules-in a simultaneous death, the one who dies first is declared the loser. You’re a student completing the Luminor Academy program, so you should know that, Lil…Lillith.”

…Of course I know. The rules for tiebreakers in Luminor Academy matches.

But that doesn’t make it any less frustrating. If this had been a real battle instead of a controlled sparring match, I would’ve won.

“Let’s fight again in next year’s evaluation match, Agnes-yang.”

“Huh? Why would I? You’re weak, Lillith.”

“I can win next time?!”

“Yeah. I’ll challenge someone else next time. If you’re so upset, take the top spot and challenge me yourself.”

“Grrrr!”

“Li-Lillith-nim! You need to rest for a while!”

…If the starting distance had been just five meters shorter, I definitely would’ve won.

Once again, I felt the unfairness of the Magic Department’s final evaluation match rules, which only disadvantaged me.