Chapter 741

When I returned with a prosthetic arm, Leonor had something to say. She said, “You think you won’t get caught? You’re really trying hard, huh?”

And indeed, she was right.

—

“Sister, can we talk?”

That evening, after I received the prosthetic arm from Asha’s Workshop, Rana finished her meal, washed up, and approached me with a serious expression as I was preparing to sleep.

“You don’t look so good. What’s wrong? Are you worried about something?”

I casually tucked my left hand, with its metallic texture, into the hem of my robe and asked.

Her expression was different from usual—her brows furrowed, her face slightly flushed. It was hard to tell if she was angry or just concerned.

After the war with Ka`har and returning to the capital, it seemed like we were about to head back into battle without any proper rest. Was she worried about that?

“If it’s about Nidhogg, you don’t have to worry—”

“It’s not about that. Sister, show me your left hand.”

Rana pointed to my left hand, hidden under my robe, and dropped a bombshell that made my heart sink.

“Huh? W-why my left hand all of a sudden?”

Did she find out? Right after I got the prosthetic? I thought I hid it well with Ice Blade, so how did she notice?

“No, more importantly, Rana, you should wash up too. It’s time to sleep. We have a lot to do tomorrow, so we should—”

Flustered, I took half a step back and started rambling nonsense.

“Stop talking nonsense. Just show me your left hand, okay?”

Of course, that nonsense didn’t work. Rana walked over with a determination I’d never seen before and grabbed my left arm.

“Ah.”

There was no way to stop her.

The moment Rana grabbed my left arm, my body reflexively wanted to counterattack, but if I did that, Rana’s body would’ve exploded like a pomegranate, so I had to suppress the urge.

I didn’t expect her to be this aggressive, so I let my guard down.

“…I knew it.”

Rana’s expression hardened as she felt the cold, hard metallic texture and looked up at me.

“Sister, what is this arm?”

It felt strange. It was as if winter had arrived early, even though we hadn’t even left for the Sky Mountain Range yet.

“Uh…”

I broke out in a cold sweat, trying to come up with an excuse. Even if I had ten mouths, I wouldn’t know what to say.

“It’s a left arm of steel, transcending the weakness of flesh and blood…?”

“Stop joking!”

…That didn’t work. It was my best attempt at a joke.

Since my attempt to lighten the mood with a joke failed, the only path left was to confess the truth.

“Sigh… Well, here’s what happened…”

I let out a deep sigh and explained everything to Rana.

How I lost my arm, the process of getting the prosthetic, and why I had been hiding it from her.

“So… you hid the fact that you were seriously injured because you didn’t want to worry me?”

“…Yeah, that’s about it.”

“What kind of foolish… no, no. What kind of ridiculous thing are you doing! Hiding your injuries because you were afraid of getting scolded by the Healing Priest? Even five-year-olds don’t do that!”

Rana, who seemed to have not expected this answer, stared at me blankly for a moment before suddenly exploding in anger.

[I completely agree. This is beyond foolish. It’s downright idiotic.]

…I had no words. To think I’d be treated like a child afraid of getting a shot at this age.

“No, well, you see. Up until now, even minor injuries made you worry so much, so I thought if you saw this, you might faint or something…”

“So it’s my fault?!”

“No, that’s not what I meant…”

I frantically waved my hands, trying to calm Rana down with desperate excuses.

What is this situation? Trying to plug a hole with a hoe only to make it worse? Trying to hide my injury clumsily only made things several times more difficult.

If I had known it would turn out like this, I should’ve just been honest from the start.

—

“Understand, sister? The reason I got angry every time you came back injured was because I was worried about you. Whether it’s because of the culture I grew up in or overconfidence in the Healing Miracle, you treat your body too recklessly.”

After a while, Rana, who had calmed down a bit, sat me down on the bed and began a long lecture.

“The Healing Miracle isn’t omnipotent. If you die before fully recovering, or if you exhaust all your life force, even I or Archbishop Elmain wouldn’t be able to heal you. And yet, you’ve done this so many times…”

“Uh… well… sorry.”

“Sigh… I’ve been so worried, hoping you wouldn’t get hurt. I never thought you’d choose to hide serious injuries instead of being careful like I advised…”

Rana shook her head, still unable to believe it.

“My mistake. I never thought you’d act so childishly. All my worrying has only made things worse.”

“Uh… you don’t have to think that way, do you…?”

Unsatisfied with my answer, Rana sighed, grabbed my shoulder, and said:

“Listen, sister. From now on, I won’t tell you not to get hurt. It’s pointless. Even if you promise, you’ll just get hurt again and come back. Like always.”

It’s unfair. It’s not like I wanted to get hurt. It’s just that the enemies I’ve faced have all been so troublesome that I couldn’t avoid getting injured.

“No, I do try not to get hurt, but it’s not easy—”

Rana raised her index finger to stop me and continued.

“So, instead, promise me this one thing. If you get hurt, tell me right away. Don’t lie to me, and always say you need healing. How about it? Can you promise me that?”

The look in Rana’s eyes was so earnest that I had no choice but to nod and promise.

…Thinking about it, I guess I was in the wrong. A frontline fighter hiding injuries from the healer because they didn’t want to burden them? If this were a game, I’d be the worst kind of troll.

“Alright. That’s enough… Now, show me your arm properly. I need to check its condition.”

After letting out a shallow sigh, Rana plopped down beside me. I opened the front of my robe and showed her my left arm.

The half-length forearm and the black iron prosthetic tightly wrapped around it.

“……”

Rana watched silently as I unlocked the prosthetic, and as soon as I removed it, she grabbed the remaining forearm, lifted it, and examined it closely. Then, she summoned Holy Power and cast the Healing Miracle.

A crimson light, resembling the sun, descended onto my forearm and shoulder, illuminating the exposed skin.

It wasn’t like my arm would grow back immediately… but at least the recovery speed would increase.

“…Done. You can get dressed now.”

After finishing the treatment, Rana set my arm down and stood up, looking down at me.

Perhaps because of the faint crimson light still emanating from the fading Holy Light, her face looked slightly redder than usual.

“Uh, yeah. Thanks.”

Since things seemed to have been resolved, I awkwardly smiled, tucked my left chest back into my robe, and tied the robe’s strings.

I didn’t reattach the prosthetic. Now that my injury was exposed, there was no need to wear the heavy metal prosthetic until bedtime.

So, I could just sleep like this.

I placed the prosthetic on the bedside table, straightened the messy blanket with one hand, and crawled under it.

“Are you going to sleep right away?”

“…Yeah. I’m a bit sleepy. It’s pretty late.”

I answered in a slightly drowsy voice. Was it because the tension had eased? The accumulated fatigue was weighing heavily on my eyelids.

Rana chuckled softly, seemingly amused by my half-asleep mumbling, and nodded.

“You’ve been running around all day, so it’s no wonder you’re tired. Sleep well. I’ll go wash up.”

“Alright, see you tomorrow…”

“Okay. See you tomorrow, sister.”

Rana went into the bathroom and returned to the bedroom almost an hour later.

How did I know that, even though I had fallen asleep?

Because the sound of her footsteps from the bathroom suddenly stopped at the head of my bed, and I reflexively woke up.

Though I didn’t jump up and kick off the blanket, I just opened my eyes.

“Uh……”

Through my blurry vision, I met the gaze of a pink-haired girl—no, honestly, she looked more like a high schooler because of her height.

Her slightly damp pink hair shimmered faintly under the moonlight streaming through the window.

“Rana…?”

“Ah… Did I wake you, sister?”

Rana smiled down at me. Maybe it was because I was still half-asleep, but her smile felt somewhat dreamlike.

“Sorry. I thought you might be having a nightmare, so I wanted to check on you. I guess I ended up disturbing your sleep.”

“Really…?”

A nightmare… Was I having a nightmare…? I don’t know. I can’t remember what I was dreaming about. If I can’t remember, it must’ve been nothing important.

“It’s fine, go to sleep…”

I gestured toward Rana’s bed beside mine and mumbled.

“Okay. Goodnight, sister.”

Rana nodded lightly, then went back to her bed, sat on the edge, and used the towel around her neck to dry her hair. She spent the rest of the time silently watching me.

Until her shimmering hair was completely dry. The whole time.

…Why is she staring at me like that?

Maybe she’s still not completely over her anger…?