Ch.114114. Treatment.

“Why are the people watching seem more upset than I am.”

Clearly I’m the one getting my injured leg treated, so why are the spectators the ones claiming trauma?

I tilted my head at this bizarre scene of people collectively suffering and pondered the reason.

Then suddenly, I remembered when I briefly regained consciousness while trapped under the debris.

I couldn’t lift my head due to weakness, but I vaguely recalled hearing a robot’s voice along with the sound of a drone flying.

If my memory is correct, and the broadcast was still connected then…

There’s a high chance that everything was captured on camera—from me being pulled out of the debris to getting treated in my mangled state.

“Hey. Was there a drone hovering nearby when you were treating my leg?”

“Yes, there was. The soft light it provided was quite helpful.”

“Wow.”

So people entered my stream only to immediately witness such a horrific scene.

Even if you don’t experience something firsthand, shocking images don’t easily leave your mind, and sometimes they can even trigger empathetic pain.

It makes sense that someone living an ordinary, uneventful life might develop trauma from seeing that.

…But well.

It’s not like I wanted to show myself like that, and what could I have done in that situation?

I didn’t even know the drone was filming me at the time.

If I had known, I would’ve at least asked the robot to cover the lens.

While I feel a bit sorry for those who developed trauma severe enough to scream in text form just from seeing my leg, honestly, I don’t feel apologetic. It was beyond my control in many ways.

“So… how long are you all going to be like this?”

Human emotions are closely linked to survival and spread easily.

Fear, especially, being directly related to survival, spreads faster and more widely.

[I shouldn’t have looked, shouldn’t have looked, shouldn’t have looked!!]

[I’m sleeping with my mom tonight……]

[Please, someone hit me on the back of my head!]

People who wonder “why are they acting like that?” when seeing others in panic will search for what happened previously.

And those who then encounter the horrific scene will also scream, alerting others that something happened.

Even when I showed piles of corpses in a building before, the reaction wasn’t this severe.

Is it because I’m alive that the injuries and pain inflicted on my body are conveyed more vividly?

“You should have kept me from getting hurt in the first place!”

I raised my voice suddenly as I watched the unceasing screams.

I needed to change the atmosphere, even if it meant being a bit shameless and stubborn.

Incidentally, this was also a small act of spite stemming from my tangled emotions.

Even if they developed trauma from unexpectedly seeing a horrific scene, it couldn’t be worse than what I experienced firsthand.

Even now, I’m just not mentioning it, but the mere thought of something being above my head makes me tense, so I’m trying hard not to be conscious of the ceiling.

Given that my condition is the most serious, how do you think I feel when people who should be comforting and encouraging me are just suffering alongside me?

I don’t necessarily want encouragement or comfort, but I didn’t want to see people suffering.

As I mentioned earlier, negative emotions are contagious.

So I said it.

That it was all their fault I got hurt.

At this statement that even a passing dog wouldn’t believe, messages immediately poured in expressing indignation and disbelief, asking “what on earth are you talking about?”

When unfairly accused, anyone would get angry and want to object.

As various messages flooded in with question marks and rebuttals saying that was going too far, those who were suffering from the memories suddenly disappeared.

Is this what they called “I can control people’s emotions!” that was popular for centuries?

Countless people show different reactions to my trivial words and actions moment by moment.

…To be honest, it was quite an interesting experience.

“All done. Any discomfort?”

“No. So can I go play now?”

After calming people down and leisurely chatting about old stories, my legs were wrapped in bandages again.

I was told the treatment was progressing well, and my legs should be safe now.

I sat up, thinking I’d go play the game I couldn’t earlier, but…

“Go play? We still have things to do, don’t we?”

Surprisingly, I was immediately told I couldn’t go.

Thinking I had done everything, I could only ask in confusion.

“Huh? Why?”

“Mori. You haven’t received your treatment today yet.”

Surprisingly, it was my friend, not the doctor, who told me why I couldn’t go play.

Well, with its medical module, I suppose it could be called a doctor robot.

But what does it mean I haven’t received treatment? What was all this then?

“You’re trying to leave after just getting examined?”

“…Oh. Right.”

Come to think of it, all I did was have my bandages removed to show the condition of my legs. I was so tense that I mistakenly thought I’d done some arduous task.

With a laugh of disbelief and the cruel instruction to lie down comfortably, I tried to escape.

But there was no way for a patient who couldn’t move their legs to escape.

“Um, since something good happened today, couldn’t we take just one day off…?”

Of course, postponing something is generally not good.

But if the pain from what needs to be done is great enough to push away the happiness that’s already arrived…

I thought it could be postponed at least until the current happiness evaporated.

Unlike pain, which can be experienced anytime, happiness has a very short shelf life.

So I proposed a compromise to start again tomorrow.

But—

“I’ll hold the head, please activate it!”

“Understood.”

Unfortunately, the two robots here didn’t seem to possess human emotions or hearts.

“Argh—!”

In the end, the splint’s treatment function activated regardless of my wishes. Terrible pain spread throughout my legs.

All I could do was scream and writhe in agony.

“Good job.”

“Would you like some cold water?”

“…I don’t know.”

…It really exhausts me every time.

I now have a wheelchair and have gotten used to not being able to use my legs.

But I just couldn’t adapt to the pain that comes with treatment.

“When will it stop hurting…”

The robot said that with this treatment, a process that would normally take over six months would be completed in just a month or two.

And the pain that brings tears to my eyes is supposedly only during the initial stages of treatment, so it’s clearly an amazing and beneficial technology.

Even considering that, it was really too painful and difficult.

So much so that the enthusiasm I had earlier to play games had completely disappeared.

“I should get some sleep…”

There were many places I hadn’t visited yet, including the game room.

But in my current state, I didn’t think I could enjoy anything no matter where I went.

So I sat in the wheelchair, planning to take a light nap and then go out again.

“Take this and make sure to take it regularly on your way.”

The doctor robot handed me a packet of medicine as if offering a tip.

I already received quite a lot of medicine earlier, so what could this be?

“Early signs of pulmonary fibrosis have been detected, so this is preventative. If you take it consistently, it will disappear quickly. Come back immediately if you develop a cough or phlegm for no reason.”

“…Ugh.”

I thought only my legs were the problem, but apparently there were issues with my respiratory system too.

Although it’s still in the early stages with no symptoms yet and can be cured just by taking medicine…

For someone like me who has struggled with weak bronchial tubes since birth, it was chilling news.

“…Is anything else wrong?”

“If I were to list everything, there would be quite a lot to say. But I think that’s enough for today.”

Fortunately, that seemed to be the only thing serious enough to require medication, and after being told I could go, I immediately left the infirmary.

“I thought I’d just get a quick check-up, but it took longer than expected.”

Exhausted in many ways, I muttered that I needed to rest and moved my wheelchair toward the area where various accommodations were gathered.

“Mmm… so soft and nice.”

I entered one of the many rooms lined up in the corridor within the corridor. I admired the clean, bright interior as I lay down on the bed.

“Wouldn’t it be better to wash up before sleeping?”

“Hmm… I don’t know. Too bothersome.”

Just this morning I was lying in a cargo compartment full of dust and snow, and I had just broken out in a cold sweat.

I was far from clean, even as a figure of speech, but once I lay down, I really didn’t want to get up.

How long has it been since I’ve lain in such a nice bed, in such a nice room?

The room I stayed in at the underground city was also very nice, but this felt quite different.

If that place felt like I could do anything but was incomplete…

This place was warm and stable, like a bedroom in a family home.

“This is nice…”

I looked up at the soft lighting. The ceiling being close was a bit scary, but my stomach was full and the fluffy blanket kept me warm. It felt just like being home.

Looking around absently, none of the people I miss are here, though.

“Come here. Let’s sleep together.”

“Woof!”

As my body relaxes, I start to miss things. How ironic.

I hugged the Puppy to forget my loneliness and memories.

No matter how many people were watching me, in the end, they couldn’t compare to even one robot puppy I could actually hold.

Smiling at the warmth in my arms, I fell into a deep sleep.