Weren’t You the One Who Was Dying? Chapter 46

“What is it?”

When I asked again, Ehit pointed at my lips, then raised one finger in front of his mouth to signal me to be quiet. Then he said something silently with his lips.

I read the words his lips formed with my eyes and sucked in a breath.

‘It’s a listening device.’

A listening device?!

Unlike my shock, Ehit looked quite calm and composed. It seemed this wasn’t the first time something like this had happened.

After pressing down on the device and turning it off, Ehit spoke.

“It’s a device that uses magic power. An opponent used it on me once before.”

“Then was it something a pirate we met in battle attached?”

“For that, the timing is strange. It wasn’t there when I put my shoes on at dawn today, so it must have been attached after that. And after that, I was only on the ship, that train, and inside the station we just passed through.”

“…Ah.”

“Someone who was quite wary of me must have brushed past me on the train or at the station. I don’t know who, though.”

For a moment, Naya flashed through my mind.

‘No, but it doesn’t seem like Ehit ran into Naya.’

Just like I had earlier, Ehit lightly tapped the toe of my shoe.

“What is it?”

“It’s nothing serious, so don’t make such a grim face. Getting stressed over things like this is bad for your health.”

“Okay.”

“Clear your mind. You’ve already used quite a lot of divine power moving around the train and the ship, so your physical condition can’t be very good.”

At words fitting for a health guardian, I nodded.

Come to think of it, if I looked overly serious, it might stress Ehit out too, so pretending to be fine was probably more considerate.

“It’s nothing serious, I’m just tired. I hope we get to the quarters soon.”

The carriage ran on like that for a while.

On the way, I kept my robe pulled low and tried as much as possible not to meet Ehit’s eyes.

It was hard to explain, but until just now I’d been fine—being alone with him made me a bit conscious of what happened yesterday.

It didn’t help that the blue robe Ehit had given me still carried a faint trace of his scent.

‘What is Ehit thinking about?’

I’d been looking out the window, then briefly glanced at him.

Unlike me, who was trying hard to avoid eye contact, Ehit was staring straight this way with an indifferent gaze.

He really was someone who didn’t care about other people’s eyes. Especially mine!

‘Why is he looking like that? It just makes it harder for me to look back.’

I threw my gaze back out the window and spoke.

“My face has this strange condition where it wears out if you look at it too much. So stop loo—”

I was in the middle of speaking when I stopped in shock. At that moment, looking out the window, I saw part of the forest on a fog-covered distant hill collapse downward.

The earth from the collapsed forest rushed toward the village.

“Ehit, over there!”

I shouted urgently. Ehit had the carriage turned in that direction.

The distance was considerable, and because the road had turned to mud from the rain, the carriage struggled to pick up speed.

Still watching outside, Ehit spoke.

“If I get down, you return, Dapflen.”

“I’m getting down too.”

Perhaps not expecting that answer, Ehit turned to me and frowned.

“What are you saying? That place is dangerous.”

“Places where people are in danger need soldiers, but they also need healers.”

I hurriedly prepared to get off. Then, as soon as the carriage that arrived at the scene a few minutes later stopped, I opened the door and jumped down onto the muddy ground.

“Dapflen!”

It looked like several houses right in front of the forest had been hit.

The small village where the houses clustered together looked shabby at a glance. Luckily, it seemed a reconnaissance unit had been nearby—people covered in mud were being rescued and gasping for breath.

“It’s Colonel Ehit Cloyden of the Bellachen Navy. What’s the situation?”

“For now, most of the people who were inside the houses have been rescued. There are many injuries, but given the area… fortunately, there are no… important people.”

After asking the reconnaissance captain about the situation, Ehit hurried to join the rescue efforts.

Meanwhile, I looked around to assess how many injured there were. With the rain still falling and mud everywhere, it was even harder to grasp the situation.

‘One person with a broken leg, two, three… one, two with severe injuries… and then… where do I even start?’

There were far too many for me to treat alone. We would need other healers.

I ran back toward the reconnaissance captain, who was standing some distance away. I could see him checking needed personnel and supplies.

“Please call for healers too!”

Hearing me, the captain glanced at me and scratched his cheek a few times.

“Pardon?”

It was a reluctant response.

I hurriedly explained the situation.

“I’m a healer from the Bellachen Medical Institute. There are too many injured for one person to handle. Please call in other healers.”

The captain glanced at the mud-covered patients, then replied with an unwilling expression.

“Are there really that many?”

“…What?”

“Well, as you can see, this area isn’t originally one where houses are allowed. Those people, um…”

After covering his mouth with his hand, the captain lowered his voice slightly.

“They’re the poorest of the poor—even among slum dwellers who couldn’t find housing in the slums. This area isn’t officially approved either… It’s difficult to support such areas with Bellachen’s resources.”

In short, he was saying that providing more aid to an unapproved slum could cause trouble, so we should just let it go.

I tried saying a few more things, but the captain didn’t seem willing to listen.

“So you’re saying we should just pretend we didn’t see this?”

“That’s hard for me to comment on.”

Did he really have no sense of basic decency or duty?

After a few more arguments, I eventually gave up and hurried back to where the people were.

Using this time to treat even one more person felt more important.

“Please show me your arm!”

Even with the heavy sound of rain making voices hard to hear, I hurriedly treated people one by one.

My robe was soaked and my body was getting cold, but with so much that needed to be done right in front of me, I couldn’t even pay attention to that.

One by one, I felt my divine power hitting its limit. Even so, I kept forcing out what little strength I had left and continued healing.

How long had it gone on like that?

When I finished treating someone and stood up, dizziness made my body sway.

“Dapflen!”

The one who caught me was Ehit.

“Stop. Do you know your condition and still act like this?”

“I’m fine.”

“Don’t be stubborn.”

“If that person doesn’t get emergency treatment soon, they won’t be able to use their leg.”

“And what if you collapse and die in the process?!”

Ehit’s face, seen through the darkened rain, looked oddly angry.

Shaking my head, I replied,

“For any other reason, maybe—but I won’t die for that.”

It was true that my head was spinning a bit from using too much divine power, but it wasn’t to the point of death.

I wasn’t someone who would want some noble sacrifice. I was someone struggling desperately just to survive. I simply couldn’t ignore something I was able to do right in front of me.

I straightened myself again and pushed Ehit away.

“Let go, Ehit.”

The strength in Ehit’s hands supporting my shoulders increased slightly—then loosened.

I moved away from him and ran toward the injured people again.

 

 

****

 

 

“Let go, Ehit.”

The moment he heard those words, strangely enough, Ehit was reminded of something from his childhood.

It simply overlapped with what that child had said.

 

‘Let go.’

‘No, Renia. You know what could happen.’

‘That’s exactly why I have to go.’

 

And even the sight of her back as she disappeared beyond the forest after saying that.

“……”

Ehit turned around and immediately looked for the reconnaissance captain.

“Yes, Colonel. Things are settled now, so you should be on your—”

“Call in the healers.”

“…Pardon?”

“Call the medical personnel. Now.”

At the low, cold voice like metal, the captain froze.

Only after seeing him fumble briefly and then obediently request support personnel did Ehit turn back. The color had drained from Dapflen’s face.

Ehit hurried toward the woman who looked like she might collapse and die at any moment.

That night kept coming back to him.

The night that had forced him to live in darkness for years.

The night when, in exchange for everything he now had, he lost the only thing he possessed.

Renia.

Ehit murmured the name under his breath.

How many times had he seen it in dreams? It had been a very long time since he’d actually spoken the name aloud.

He saw Dapflen finish treating someone and stand up.

Sway—Dapflen’s body tilted sharply. Feeling an inexplicable fear, Ehit ran forward and caught her.

Ehit stared blankly for a moment at Dapflen, unconscious, all color drained from her cheeks and lips. His slightly trembling hand moved toward her face.

Only after confirming her breathing was steady did he snap back to his senses. He immediately lifted her onto his back and put her into the carriage.

After that brief fear came a nasty surge of anger.

Who do you think you are—who are you, to make me remember that time? With what right?

Anger sometimes points at the wrong target. But the person who holds that anger doesn’t realize it.

What Ehit truly wanted to turn his anger toward was himself—toward the part of him that still couldn’t properly face his past, the memories he had buried for so long.

“To the medical institute. Hurry!”

Still unable to admit that, he swallowed his low, hoarse voice instead.