I Thought It Was a Healing Farming Game Chapter 8

His voice didn’t sound like that of someone who had just woken up.

Was he so busy doing something that he didn’t hear me?

Click.

The door opened.

I was just about to greet him with a happy smile when I noticed something.

Siad’s face was even paler than usual, and beneath his more casually dressed appearance, blood was dripping from the inside of his partially rolled-up sleeve…

“Siad! Are you okay?! How did you get hurt?”

As I panicked and fretted over him, he calmly tried to reassure me instead.

“I accidentally dropped a glass bottle. It’s only a small cut, so please don’t worry.”

“But you’re bleeding so much! Is there anything we can use to stop the bleeding…?”

“There are medical supplies in my room that we can use for first aid. More importantly, could you fetch some water for me?”

“Y-yes!”

I hurried off to find a basin.

I turned on the tap, filled it to the brim, and lifted it with both hands.

“Ungh…”

I-it’s heavy.

Even as I carefully carried it back, trying not to spill a drop, my mind was in turmoil.

Siad wasn’t careless, nor was he the sort of person who would get injured easily.

Could he have been startled because I called out to him…?

Looking close to tears, I hurried over and set the basin of water down in front of him.

“I can take care of the wound myself, so you should get some rest, Lady Miel.”

“No! No, I’m fine.”

Even I could tell that my frantic waving of my hands wasn’t particularly reassuring, but leaving an injured person alone while I went off to rest would have been even more distressing.

“It looks like it’s in a difficult spot to clean by yourself. Give me your arm. I’ll clean it for you.”

I grasped Siad’s large arm and pulled it toward me.

Then I soaked a cloth in the water and began wiping away the blood.

“Please tell me if it hurts!”

Seeing how calm Siad was helped me settle down, too.

After washing the blood away, I used a disinfected cloth to dry the area.

A long wound, as though he’d been cut by something sharp, came clearly into view.

“What about the glass bottle? Don’t we need to clean up the remaining pieces?”

“I’ve already cleaned them up.”

“Already? When did you…?”

“While you were fetching the water.”

“Oh…”

I nodded and carefully lifted the cloth I’d been pressing against his wound.

Blood was still seeping through. It didn’t look nearly as shallow as Siad had claimed.

It looks like something pierced him pretty deeply.

I pressed the cloth firmly against the wound again to stop the bleeding, watching Siad’s expression as I did so.

When our eyes met, Siad smiled gently.

He doesn’t even look like he’s in pain…

After checking several times to make sure the bleeding had stopped, I removed the cloth.

“Siad, where are the hemostatic medicines and ointments?”

Reaching across the desk with one arm, Siad found the medicine and handed it to me.

“Here they are.”

“This might sting a little.”

Without realizing it, I’d imitated the tone nurses had so often used with me.

“Yes.”

His obedient response nearly made me laugh.

Holding Siad’s arm in place, I carefully applied the hemostatic medicine before spreading ointment over the wound.

It must have stung quite a bit, yet his arm didn’t even twitch.

Perhaps he was simply hiding his pain so I wouldn’t worry.

“Just bear with it a little longer. I’m almost done.”

As I kept glancing at him anxiously and speaking, Siad’s finger lightly touched the space between my eyebrows.

“I’m fine, so please relax.”

The gentle touch as he softly rubbed my brow made me relax. Somehow, I felt embarrassed.

“You look like you’re in more pain than I am.”

“…I guess I was concentrating too hard.”

I gave an awkward smile and looked down at Siad’s arm. Then I noticed that the wound was gradually shrinking.

“Huh?”

It wasn’t my imagination. The wound had visibly decreased in size.

“It’ll heal soon. It’s a special medicine.”

I watched in fascination as the wound healed little by little, as though someone had sped up time.

Was there really medicine this effective?

Thinking back, I’d only ever used stamina recovery items and high-grade potions in the game. I’d never treated a scrape before.

Besides, there’s no way the game would bother implementing something so minor.

Even so, watching a wound heal within minutes was shocking in more ways than one.

“By the way, did you enjoy looking around the village?”

The question came from above my head.

Only then did I realize I’d been staring at his arm without saying a word. I quickly nodded.

“Yes! It was fun! I walked around and looked at all sorts of places, and I even saw the big clock tower.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed yourself. I felt bad that I couldn’t show you around myself today.”

“It’s okay! I can get around just fine on my own.”

I grinned, then remembered something I’d forgotten to mention.

“Oh, right! I met Kais today, too! Um, Lord Kais from the tavern.”

It seemed my habit of casually calling him by his name while playing the game had lingered in my subconscious.

I hurriedly corrected myself.

“…You met Kais?”

Siad’s hand, which had been resting on my head, stopped moving.

“Yes.”

“What did you discuss with him?”

“He told me I should come to him if I wanted to find a house. So, while I was looking around the village today, I stopped by the tavern to see him!”

“…You already went to see him. In that case, have you signed a contract as well?”

I shook my head.

“I told him I’d come back once I’d saved up the money. I thought I should find a job first…”

Siad’s Affection +3

“It’s best to be cautious when deciding whether to take out a loan.”

“Right? That’s why I’m going to look for work starting tomorrow!”

I didn’t want to impose on him by staying for too long, so I made sure to emphasize that I intended to find a job as soon as possible.

“Since you’re a patient, there’s no need to push yourself right away. Please make yourself comfortable here for the time being.”

Choices

1. Express gratitude for his kindness.
2. Ask him to lend you the security deposit.
3. Say that you want to keep living here instead of finding a house.

A set of choices had appeared in front of Siad for the first time in a while.

But what’s with these options?

One choice asked me to borrow money from the very person who’d rescued me, while another asked me to mooch off him indefinitely.

Have they no conscience?!

Every single option was practically repaying kindness with ingratitude.

“Just letting me stay here is already a huge help. I want to do my best to adapt to the village, too!”

Even if I didn’t find a job immediately, I’d grown tired of simply lying around doing nothing.

“…If you need help, please let me know at any time.”

As he said this, an affection indicator appeared above Siad’s head.

Siad’s Affection +10

It seemed my decision hadn’t been wrong after all.

“You, too, Siad! If there’s anything I can do, I’ll be happy to help. Just let me know!”

“Aren’t you already helping me enough? You even took care of my wound.”

“Oh.”

Only then did I remember that Siad was the injured one. Carrying the basin of water, I hurriedly straightened up.

“Please get some rest. And if you need anything, just call me!”

“Have you eaten? Before it gets too late, I’ll…”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Stay seated. I’m fine!”

I stopped him in alarm.

No matter how quickly his wound healed, I had absolutely no intention of making someone with an injured arm cook for me.

“I know how to cook, too, so I can prepare something for myself. Would it be okay if I used a little of your food ingredients…?”

“Please feel free to use as much as you need. You don’t have to ask for permission every single time.”

“But you’re the homeowner, so I should ask first. Thank you, Siad! Get plenty of rest.”

I carried the heavy basin away and poured out all the water I’d used to wash off the blood. Then I let out a deep sigh and quickly washed my face.

That really startled me… I never thought I’d see Siad get hurt.

It was something I’d never experienced in the game, so I’d completely lost my composure.

I shook the water from my hands and headed into the kitchen. It was my first time cooking in about three years.