Chapter 22: Day After
Is this how I die
I saw a bright light hit Red before I closed my eyes and hit the grass
I think I heard a few more sounds before finally losing conciseness
"I hope the person who is fighting it will be fine"
I heard sounds of metal and the sun entering the room as I opened my eyes to see an unfamiliar ceiling
I quickly got up and felt dizziness in my head, so I just fell back down to the soft bed and under the warmth of the sun getting through the window
I was about to fall asleep again when I realized I was in a room that was not mine, so I slowly turned right and looked at the table next to the bed I was on to find a calendar neatly placed above the drawers
The calendar had dates crossed out to indicate the dates passed, there was also a date circled on the 28th of April, which I assume is this person's birthday since there was a roughly drawn cake right under the date
Since they only crossed out the date up till the 4th of April, which means only one night has passed since yesterday
I searched around my clothes to see if I could find my device, to no avail since all my pockets were empty and the weapon pouch was nowhere to be found
I slowly got up again since I felt that my head was not aching that much and looked around the room, which I probably shouldn't have but I had to look for my device to see what time it was
The room seemed to belong to someone who was very neat since all the books they had were neatly ordered by volume and series name alphabetically
The number of books also showed that this person was a person who liked to read and was someone who took care of their books well since it was all in good condition as though they were all just recently bought
Hm?
I took a closer look at all the books the owner of this room had, they were all mostly romance books that my cousin always posters me to read which I did read some of them
And they were quite well written slowly, which made my cousin very smug when I did tell her that I liked the books she recommended and I will never live down that smug face she showed me that day
I shook my head at that image and continued to look around without touching anything unnecessary, but what I thought was weird was there was not anything related to the occupant's face in this room
No pictures at all, which was very confusing for me but I guess some people do not like to have their pictures in their rooms
I took one quick look at the room for my personal items and did not find anything so I just left the room
Right as I left the room I saw something that I did not realize earlier, the chair for their desk was pointing towards the bed that I was laying upon and there was a shawl that was laid over the backrest of the chair
Then I realized, did the person take care of me the whole night and slept on the chair
I felt guilty that they had to take care of me the whole night, so I thought of how should I repay them as I made my way to the room door and opened it
As I opened the door, I got a whiff of some good smelling food which made my stomach growl slightly and I also heard the sound of tableware being placed on the wooden table
As I slowly made my way to the area I think was the kitchen the scent of food grew stronger and saw a familiar red hair cooking in the kitchen while wearing an apron
"Will she be surprised if call her out now?
And I can't believe she had to take care of me the whole night, I will definitely have to pay her back for this incident
Oh wait does that mean that date she circled was her birthday, maybe I should get her something for that"
While I was thinking about it, she turned around while holding a bowl of miso soup, and was startled by my surprise appearance
She almost dropped the items, but she regained her composure and went to put them down next to the other food she cooked and said
"I am surprised you got up already, you could have rested a bit longer"
She looked at me with concern
"I am fine thanks for your concern"
She still looked slightly concerned and motioned for me to go over to her
"Come here and let me check your vitals to see if that truly is the case"
I walked over to her side and she grabbed ahold of my hand
"Hopefully it wasn't too sweaty"
I thought
She uttered out
"Vital Check"
The Rank 1 Priest/Priestess skill is essential for them to keep up with their allies' health and condition during combat
A soft yellow light generated in her hand and went over to my hand
As the light entered my hand, I felt warm energy enter my body and it made me feel relaxed
The light disappeared after a while and then suddenly appear from my hand and went back into her hand
She seemed to think for a bit, and then smiled as she let go of my hand
"It seems there seems to be some minor dizziness but overall you seem to be fine to move around
You are built really strong to be recovered from that hit so fast"
Her saying that made me remember what I went through yesterday and I said
"What happened to the thing I was fighting yesterday and how did you even find me?"
She stopped me and said
"Get freshened up first and we will talk while eating
Do you want to freshen up in my bathroom or just go over to your room?"
"Since it just right next door, I will just go over there and freshen up to come back for breakfast"
She smiled and said
"Sure, don't be too late or the food will get cold"
"Got it"
I said as I was about to head out when I suddenly realized
"Do you have any idea where my keys and personal items are?"
"Oh!"
She suddenly exclaimed
"I think I put it near the counter where I was charging your personal device, let me get it for you and you can get ready first"
I nodded and made my way to the entrance and put on my shoes
I turned around and saw she was picking up something near the kitchen counter
She came over holding many things I was familiar with
"Here, I think your device should be fully charged and everything else is here as well"
"Thanks, and be back soon"
"Have a safe trip, although its just next door"
She smiled and waved
I waved back and closed the door
I took a few steps to the right and opened my door after unlocking it
"Man I hope nothing happened while I was gone"
I was greeted by the same room that I left with last night, hopefully meaning there was nothing happening during the time I was not in my room
As I put down the weapon pouch on the desk next to the door, thought about whether or not should I turn on the lights while I am here
In the end, I chose not to and instead just made my way to the bathroom to freshen myself before going back next door
I quickly brushed my teeth and washed my face, looked at the mirror one last time to make sure everything was neat and tidy before leaving the bathroom
I touched my head to see if there was an external symptom of the hit on the head was remaining, but I did not feel any types of bumps or cuts on the area I was touching
I turned around and strained my neck in order to see if could see the reflection of the back of my head in the mirror, while I could fully see what was going on behind my head, the area that was reflected showed that there was nothing abnormal behind my head
But since I can't be sure if there are any problems internally I should probably go check out at a medical centre somewhere, oh I could just go to the ones that are stationed in the school
There are multiple medical centres situated in each district throughout the country, with each academy in the district having one stationed inside them
This is to ensure that the students who are supposed to be the future of the country get access to the best possible treatment and care, they also serve as internship locations for adventures who are aiming to be healers or students who are practising medicines
I made a mental note in order to make sure to visit them when I arrive at school
I gave one last look at my belongings before making my way back
I suddenly remembered that there might be a chance that my parents had called me last night so I checked my Device as I closed my room door
!
I was right and there was a call that I missed last night, but it technically wasn't missed as well
It seemed that someone had picked up the call and talked with my mother for nearly 30 minutes
Who could it be....?
Could it?
No way...
I thought as I looked at the call history and pressed the doorbell of my neighbour with the question still burning in my mind
The door opened and Yuuna welcomed me in with a question
"How are you feeling now that you are more refreshed?
Any oddities in your body or was anything missing from your bag?"
"The only thing that was missing is the food that I bought last night but other than that I got all of my personal items with me, thanks for asking again"
"That's good, but although I did check earlier as well, I think it is best if you get checked out at the medical centre at the school just to be on the safer side"
I nodded and said
"That is my plan later, could you also help tell the teacher I would be late cause of that"
"Sure, now come and eat or else the food would be too cold"
She led me to the table earlier and we sat down to begin eating breakfast
As I ate the food on the table I was bracing myself to ask her the question, I think I was too obvious since she suddenly asked me
"Is there something going on in your mind?
Because you are making face like there is something you want to ask"
I opened my mouth and wanted to say it but then I closed it and gave it some thought before asking the questions
Although another question popped into my mind regarding how did she defeat the monster, the question regarding my mother's phone call lingered in my mind even more so I asked her
"Did someone call me on my device while I was knocked out?"
I phrased the question as roundabout as I could, although I don't think I had to
"Oh, yeah someone did, or more like it was your mother who called
Although I have to say, the vibe she gave me on the phone was completely different from what I thought when I had of a person who was one of the few rank 9s in the country
At first, I thought she would just be hanging up after I told you about your condition, but she continued onwards and told me about what you did when you were a child
Which was an interesting conversation"
She said as she smiled
I banged my head on the table
"Woah are you okay?
Are you feeling any side effects from last night?"
"No, I was just lamenting about the cruelty of this world"
I wonder what my mother told her about, but I am too scared to ask at this point
"Eh?"
She sounded confused
After banging my head two more times I got back to normal and started eating
While eating I saw that she was fidgeting about and seemed worried about something
And it was my turn to ask
"What's up, why do you seem so worried?"
"Ah I thought you were made that I picked up your phone without permission, I am sorry"
"Ah no no no, I was not worried about that and its not your fault that you had to pick it up since I was knocked out making it impossible for you to ask me for permission anyway
To be honest. I am thankful that you picked it up since my mother will chew me out of I missed one of her calls during her rare day offs
I was more worried about what my mother told you during the call so I banged my head on the table
So you don't have to be worried and thank you for entertaining my mother instead"
She seemed satisfied with my truthful answer and went back to her normal self
She then said
"If you are curious why don't I just tell you?
She said something about you wanted to be a hero and rescue a princess locked up in the tower and wanted to marry her after you rescued her...
It was interesting to hear that you had the heart to save someone from a young age"
She smiled as she recounted my dark history and once again I put my head in my hands and said
"Stop it's fine, I don't want to hear it anymore but I am glad you were able to have a good conversation with her"
She nodded and beamed
"She was a very captivating speaker so I had fun listening to her as well"
We continued to eat after that and suddenly remembered to check if my mother left me any text messages
I took out my phone while eating and checked my message box for any unread messages
"Oh?"
I was smart to check if there were any messages
The messages from my mother read
"I heard you got injured
Be sure to take care of yourself after getting hurt like that and don't forget to get a check-up at a medical centre to make sure there is nothing else wrong with your body
Your father was worried but I calmed him down before he did something dumb
Oh and I also had a nice chat with your "friend", don't forget to thank her for saving you
And maybe introduce her to me the next time I come over since I want to give her my gratitude for saving my kid"
I thought that was it when I saw that there were more messages
"Oh and from my short conversation with her, she seems to be a good kid so don't make her cry alright, she seemed really worried last night and I had to use your old stories to make her feel more relaxed and less worried
I will personally make you go through special training 1 if you make her sad again"
She ended that sentence with a smiley emoji
Damn, it's only been 30 minutes and you already care about her that much?
I thought to myself
But then I chuckled as I type out my answer to my mother
"Alright I will and also take care as well mom, I know you are getting more busy these days
And also tell dad to not worry that much and instead take better care of imself
And of course, I will not make her worried anymore and will be sure to introduce her that next time you come here"
I ended by sending her the same smiley emoji she liked to use
I then looked up from my phone to see her looking at me with a smile
"Did something good happen?"
"Yeah I saw that my mom had messaged me last night after your talk so I just gave her some responses"
"Ah I see that's good"
"Sorry for worrying you last night, my mother kinda told me about how worried you were"
I then saw her face turn slightly red as she put down the food she was eating on the table and buried her face in her hands as I did earlier
While hiding still hiding her face she said
"I cant believe she told you that but yes I was quite worried so I am glad you were able wake up and feel much better right now"
After continuing to hide her face for a few more seconds put down her hands and continued her meal after calming down
I also did the same as I looked at her eat
We made some small talk regarding the dishes while eating the remaining parts of the meal
After we finished she asked me, if I wanted something to drink while she washed the dishes
"I would like a cup of coffee, but do you want me to help you clean the dishes as well?"
"It's fine i can't let someone who recently got injured do house chores for me"
I stood and went to the sink and said
"It's fine, it's not like will collapse from doing this little work"
She looked at me helping her and she sighed
"Fine then I will get the coffee ready right now before we are late for classes"
I looked at the clock and saw that we still had an hour to go before classes since it was only 6:50 AM
"Oh wow we are still quite early today huh"
"Well you did wake up from your sleep quite early in the morning, at around 6:10 AM, so we can take it easy before going to school"
I nodded and said
"I actually wanted to ask, what happened before and after you found me collapsed in the street
How did you repel the thing that I fought last night
And what led you to find that monster and me"
She was heating up the water as she recounted what she did last night
"I heard some things breaking but I did not think much of it so I just ignore it while I was studying
But after something, I felt uneasy and I went out to check if something was off
A dumb idea I know
But as I went out I found something weird on the ground"