Conclusion of the Battle (2)

“For now… it seems to have been reattached safely, Prince Blackwood.”

“Huu, huu… Thank you, Saint Celista.”

Ethan, who had somehow managed to retrieve and reattach his severed arm.

I had been worried that Ethan’s wound might not heal properly or that his arm wouldn’t reattach, but thankfully, things didn’t go that wrong-it was nothing short of a miracle.

“Are you in your right mind, Young Master Ethan? How could a swordsman, especially one who wields dual swords, even consider giving up one arm?”

“…Isn’t it precisely because I’m a dual-wielding swordsman that I could make such a decision? After all, being able to wield a sword in both hands means I can still fight with the remaining one.”

“……”

“…It was a joke. Wasn’t it funny?”

“That’s a relief. If you had truly meant those words, Young Master Ethan, I would have had to break your other arm.”

“……”

“Of course, I was joking too, Young Master Ethan.”

“R-right… I knew that…”

Anyway, she really knows how to make someone’s heart drop.

When I hurried back after quickly dealing with Ethan’s twin brother Okam to support him, seeing Ethan with his shoulder completely severed made me feel as if all the blood in my body had drained away.

‘At least Ethan’s arm had fallen nearby, so it was fortunate. If it had been stepped on or slashed during the battle and further damaged…’

If the injury had been so severe that it couldn’t be healed by simply reattaching it, what was he thinking by doing something so reckless?

Even though it was fortunate that he was safely treated, the injury was far beyond what could be dismissed with just a simple “thank goodness.”

“Haah, please ensure absolute rest for your right arm for a while, Prince Blackwood. Holding a spoon or such is fine, but swinging a sword or an axe is obviously out of the question…?”

“…Understood, Saint Celista.”

“This is ridiculous. What on earth did you do to end up more injured than the Hero?”

“…Just because I’m weak.”

“A bandit twin who introduced himself as Okam charged at the Young Master and me, Miss Agnes. Both were at Expert-level strength, so it was inevitable that Young Master Ethan would be injured during the battle.”

“…No need to sugarcoat it, Lilith. I just lost a one-on-one fight against an Expert.”

“……”

It seemed the fact that he had lost to another Expert still weighed heavily on his mind.

Of course, it was nonsensical to compare Ethan, who hadn’t even been an Expert for a full year, to the Okam twins, who had likely been Experts for at least 4-5 years.

There was a clear difference in experience-both in terms of their time as Sword Experts and their real combat experience-between Ethan and the Okam twins, who were undeniably skilled.

…The problem was that I had won both of my one-on-one fights against the remaining Okam brothers.

Even if I had used my past-life knowledge to lure them into carelessness and ambushed them while using Ethan as bait, the fact remained that I had won and Ethan had lost.

Though he had always overwhelmed me in sparring, in actual combat, he had suffered such a crushing defeat-it was only natural that today’s outcome would leave him deeply frustrated.

“Ugh, sniff…!! Hng…!!”

After treating the most severe injury-the severed right arm-Celista moved on to the axe wound on Ethan’s left forearm.

Fortunately, since the blade had only penetrated halfway, this wound wasn’t as difficult to heal. Of course, the treatment itself was still painful, as evidenced by Ethan biting his lower lip and stifling groans.

After Ethan, Celista treated Gyeotmwa, whose knee had been completely shattered, Thomas, whose arm had been pierced by a spear, and Natalie, who had lost four fingers on her left hand.

Additionally, Seraphine and Luke also had minor injuries on their legs and hands, suggesting that the Hero’s party had endured hardships no less severe than ours.

The three in the rear had no reason to be injured, but the fact that every frontline member had sustained injuries indicated just how fierce the battle had been. It wasn’t a situation where I could complain about them not coming to help Ethan and me.

‘In fact, if anything, it might have been fortunate that Ethan and I were here.’

If Ethan and I hadn’t been here, the Hero’s party would have had to face not only Hyuma but also the Okam twins-under those circumstances, the worst-case scenario could have been a total wipeout.

For me to live peacefully in this world without worries, Gyeotmwa Josyegigot and the Hero’s party absolutely must not die. I needed them to handle the Demon King subjugation so I could avoid the unwanted Demon King subjugation event.

‘Though I still need to observe a bit more to understand how reality differs from the game…’

For now, more than anything, I had no choice but to focus solely on Ethan’s recovery.

Originally, I had thought of the Humanities Exploration class as just an experience point event, but now, all I wanted was for this week to pass as safely as possible.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

I think I mentioned this once before, but Lilith was positioned as a versatile support character in 『Luminor Academy』.

Her most commonly used role was, of course, buff magic, but she could also be equipped with a dagger as a secondary weapon to serve as a support combatant. Though her Luck stat was low, making offensive magic inefficient, she could also be used as a Spirit Summoner by contracting with spirits.

And above all, even if she had lost her qualifications, she was once a body worthy of becoming a Saint. As such, among Lilith’s support skills were healing spells that ordinary mages couldn’t learn.

‘I really didn’t want to invest any more in support magic…’

Since offensive magic was more advantageous for solo adventuring, I had wanted to allocate my skill points solely to that. Support magic would hardly be useful after graduating from the academy.

But now, with Ethan having narrowly escaped death and the urgent need to recover his injuries before the Humanities class event concluded, I had no choice but to learn the third-tier support spell 「Healing Aura」 and use it on him.

And to use this Healing Aura most effectively, one of the most crucial conditions was maximizing physical contact between the caster and the target.

“I clearly told you to take off your clothes, Young Master Ethan.”

…Just to be clear, this is absolutely not an act driven by my personal desires.

It’s simply an unavoidable choice because the 「Healing Aura」 skill I possess is more effective with closer physical contact.

「Healing Aura: Recovers the injuries of characters around the caster. The effect increases proportionally to the square of the proximity between the caster and the target.」

This aura doesn’t just increase its effect linearly-it scales with the square of proximity.

The difference in effectiveness is significant enough that even a single layer of fabric between the caster and the target can make a noticeable impact. Naturally, the purpose of this skill’s existence in 『Luminor Academy』 was for service scenes.

The premise that physical contact must be as close as possible for maximum efficiency provided the perfect excuse to have Lilith and the protagonist strip and embrace.

Moreover, if the goal was to heal other female characters as well, it also served as a pretext to hold multiple girls naked at once.

Of course, to an outsider, it might seem like an absurdly embarrassing spectacle, but its effectiveness was undeniable. That was why, to heal Ethan’s injuries now, I had to use 「Healing Aura」 as efficiently as possible.

“U-um, isn’t this a bit inappropriate here, Lilith? Even if the tent is covering us, we’re still outside, and the Hero and the others are right in the next tent over…”

“What on earth are you misunderstanding, Young Master Ethan? How many times must I explain that what I’m doing is purely healing magic?”

“I-I know. It’s not that I think you’re lying, but still, here of all places…”

Had losing a battle awakened some girlish shyness in him? Despite my persuasion, Ethan hesitated strangely, unwilling to take off his clothes.

“Since Young Master Ethan seems to be acting unmanly and embarrassed, I’ll take off my clothes first.”

-Swoosh.

“Lilith…?”

Thinking that if I stripped first, Ethan might feel less embarrassed, I began removing my clothes piece by piece in front of him.