episode_0037

[······.]

When Stae said, “I’ll connect a call for you when treating others, so if you feel lonely, just listen to that,” May Lina’s mind went blank for a moment.

It wasn’t particularly strange to hear, or rather, it was full of strange things just by hearing it, but on top of that, Stae’s ‘treatment’ was different from the treatment people usually know about.

Right now, Stae was telling May Lina, who found it hard to endure being alone, “Then listen to the sound of me comforting other girls. You’ll at least hear human voices, so you won’t be lonely.” He was saying this as if it were the most natural thing, achieving the feat of making the esteemed saint, May Lina, bewildered.

But her daze was only temporary; May Lina, like a seasoned hero who had experienced all sorts of battles and public opinion warfare, immediately regained her composure without discrimination.

[“W-what kind of alternative is that! Are you mocking me! How dare you ridicule me, even if it’s Stae! I can’t tolerate being seen as a joke like this! I’m really going to get angry!”]

It was only natural for May Lina to be furious at Stae for offering an absurd alternative as a response to her distress. However, due to Stae’s warm touch as he gently stroked her hair and forehead, May Lina’s tone seemed more petulant than angry.

“Huh?! Y-you dared to mock me, Stae, so you should have apologized and made amends, but why are you speaking in this manner? Even if I speak weakly like this, no one will acknowledge my anger! Again, again, I need to calm down, but with Stae’s affectionate and warm touch on my forehead, I can’t help but… can’t help but… ugh. I’ve been feeling this since last time, but why does Stae’s touch feel so good! If I keep experiencing this, I won’t be able to concentrate!”

Mei Luina knew she should be properly angry, but despite that knowledge, she found herself not able to do anything but squirm under the affectionate touch of Stay’s hand. Even feeling mocked, she couldn’t express her anger properly and instead sulked like a petulant lover, demanding attention. Mei Luina had no choice but to listen silently to Stay’s explanation that they had all agreed on rotating treatment days for efficiency in dealing with curses.

“Then what am I supposed to do? It was a condition of the contract to focus on Dain Adamas on his day and on Mir Ryuin on hers. You all agreed that rotating treatments would be the most efficient way to quickly address the curses,” Stay said in a tone that left no room for argument.

“But, but! Just because you say so doesn’t mean I have to listen when you’re treating someone else!” Mei Luina retorted.

She had overheard what treatments the other two were receiving from Stay: pounding on Dain Adamas’s lower abdomen, marked with a clear and distinct uterine tattoo, or prodding at Mir Ryuin’s anal area with fingers. Naturally, Mei Luina felt repulsed. Hearing the sounds of her colleagues being roughly handled, who were of a similar rank, was······ well, she hated it. Therefore, Mei Luina firmly (metaphorically) opened her mouth to tell Stay that she didn’t want to hear such things.

“Is that so? Well, then, there’s nothing I can do about it. I won’t make any calls. Instead, I’ll just leave some hero-tube videos on autoplay. Maybe some crowing videos,” Stay replied.

But before Mei Luina could express her displeasure, Stay quickly stated that he wouldn’t make any calls. Upon hearing this, Mei Luina momentarily thought that listening to famous YouTubers’ crowing videos would be better than hearing her colleagues being handled.

Alright, alright. I guess that would be better. Instead of listening to Mr. Stay helping others… No, it’s better to watch YouTube.

[…]

“Miss Maylina?”

[Just…]

“Just?”

[Just… please connect the call and leave it by my bedside. I think that might be a little better. I don’t really like HeroTube.”

“…Alright. By the way, Miss Maylina, you seem less resolute than I thought. You just said you didn’t want it, so why did you suddenly change your mind?”

Even though Stay’s words might have seemed unpleasant at first, Maylina didn’t feel any emotional sway. Her mind was too clouded with confusion right now to let his feeble taunts penetrate.

Why did I say that? If I felt so averse, why did I suddenly ask for the call again, going against what Stay said?

Her self-directed questions roamed through the empty darkness within her, only to return as ambiguous responses.

I just… just felt bad at the thought of not being able to hear Mr. Stay’s voice for the remaining three days. I unconsciously changed my mind because I suddenly felt down. Why? Why do I feel down? What is it about Mr. Stay? HeroTube’s YouTubers’ content is much more enjoyable than Mr. Stay, isn’t it? But why on earth?

Rationally, listening to YouTubers’ content would be far more enjoyable and time-worthy than hearing Stay talk about Dain Adamas and Mir Ryuin. Yet, despite knowing this fact, Maylina couldn’t bring herself to ask Stay to play a YouTuber’s video instead of calling.

“Anyway, let’s end this with a call. Don’t act like today again in the future. Understood?”

[…]

“Miss Maylina, understood?”

[Yes.]

“Good.”

Just by fixing my expression to hide the discomfort that lingered in a corner of my heart, I found inexplicable relief in being able to hear Stay’s voice, even though it wasn’t a day for treatment.

※

“Whew. It’s tough, really tough.”

After spending the whole day inside Meiruina’s hospital room, soothing her cheeks and stroking her forehead, I felt drained. If we’re talking about the intensity of the work, working as an ER janitor would be much harder, but this is just physically tiring. However, when dealing with Meiruina by her side, even though my body is at ease, it’s mentally taxing. Still, well, as time goes on, the curse gauge rises quickly, so this job will probably end sooner than expected. Unlike the years left before I could quit as an ER janitor, treating S-class heroes is progressing rapidly towards its end. “I fainted once more before coming out, and seeing the curse gauge hit 25%, I think I can finish within a month at this rate.”

I was about to leave after exchanging greetings, thinking it was about time, but suddenly Meiruina started whining, feeling like she wasn’t fully relieved. So, I gave her a full-course pacifier clockwise twist to induce another fainting spell.

Before inducing the fainting spell, she was insisting she didn’t want it to end so soon, asking for it to be slower and longer. It’s quite something to hear that from Meiruina. I thought she’d just feel disgusted, but surprisingly, it seems like there’s something going on.

Meiruina seems to hold back a lot, but right before fainting, she seems to become somewhat honest. Earlier, she said things like how she liked my performance, asking me not to stop. But no matter how hardened I am by experience, sleep is necessary to replenish the energy needed for tomorrow’s treatment. So, I ignored all of Meiruina’s pleas and unhesitatingly applied the pacifier, inducing a deep fainting spell.

The moment I activated the soundproofing function, inexplicable regret washed over me. However, as soon as the soundproofing was on, and my empathic listening function was off, Meiruina fainted at its peak, erasing any lingering regret and allowing me to leave without further ado.

“Well, I left the speaker behind and confirmed that the call connection works well. I won’t be lonely enough to chatter away.”

Meiruina couldn’t help feeling lonely. After all, there wasn’t much time left until the end of her treatment, so she had no choice but to endure it.

I, too, am doing my best for the treatment of these three people.

With that thought in mind, I threw myself onto the softest infirmary bed I had ever laid on in my life. It took less than a minute to fall asleep.

※

“Heheh. Heheheh.”

Feeling refreshed from a good night’s sleep, I got up, quickly washed, and with a hummed tune, headed straight to Mir Ryuin’s ward, today’s patient.

[User’s will confirmed. From now on, you can hear the inner thoughts of the target within a certain distance.]

At the same time, a notification appeared and disappeared in the corner of my vision, indicating that I could now hear Mir Ryuin’s inner thoughts.

[129601, 129602, 129603, 129604, 129605… Huh? Oh, you’re here.]

Mir Ryuin, who had been counting to the point of faintness, noticed my presence and greeted me.