Rehabilitation Therapist for the Broken Warrior

And so, this weekend was designated as ‘the day to meet Hero Sion’.

Coincidentally, there was a patient being discharged this weekend, and since we’d also arranged the schedule, this day also marked Sion’s admission to the Center.

Once Sion’s inpatient life began, the baseless rumors about our relationship, which were openly circulating within the Center, would completely disappear.

“Sion, will tomorrow be alright?”

“Tomorrow is the meeting day, right? Is there a problem?”

“Are you perhaps… afraid of appearing in front of people?”

“Huh? Why would I be?”

“That’s good then.”

I asked because social phobia is the most common symptom in people with trauma or mental distress, but it seemed like an unnecessary worry.

“Now, let’s focus.”

“Okay.”

Strength training isn’t something rehabilitation patients can do every day.

To help Sion focus more on tomorrow’s event, today we’d thoroughly take care of today’s tasks.

Sion lay prone on the mat spread on the floor.

Standing exercises were still too much for her, but in this position, we could expect a full-body workout effect.

“Slowly raise your arms and legs and inhale~”

“Uuugh…”

The exercise involved lying still and raising the left arm and right leg towards the ceiling as much as possible.

It was a full-body exercise that utilized not only the limbs but also the core muscles, including the back.

“Lower them slowly and with focus. Exhale slowly~”

“Huuuuuuh…”

“Rest for 3 seconds, then again, one, two~”

“Uuugh…”

10 repetitions made one set. And after each set, a 1-minute rest.

This cycle was repeated for 3 sets.

We alternated sides.

Sion concentrated on the exercise in silence.

To be able to crouch beside Sion, watching her as she trembled and lifted her arms and legs while lying prone on the floor…

Sion couldn’t see my face, but Mirei was also present, so I had to manage my expression…

“Well done, Sion. Let’s rest for a minute and then do it again.”

“Haaaah… Is this supposed to be this hard?”

“If it’s hard, you’re doing it right.”

Sion stretched out her arms and legs, relaxing.

Suddenly, Sion rolled 180 degrees and lay on her back with her limbs outstretched towards the ceiling.

“Sion? What are you doing?”

“It hurts when it’s pressed…”

Hurts? Was there another problem with her body?

“It hurts? Is something else wrong?”

“Director Hope,”

Startled by her words, I asked Sion again, but it was Nurse Maid Mirei standing behind me who tapped my shoulder and called out.

“Here…”

And, whispering softly so Sion couldn’t hear, she pointed to a part of her own body.

‘Ah.’

Mirei was pointing to her chest, the area where only women had protruding organs.

I see.

It hurts for women when they lie face down.

In Sion’s case, they were quite large…

I’d seen the rehabilitation exercises of many patients, but since it was rare to have women do strength training, this was a situation I hadn’t experienced before.

“Mirei.”

“Yes.”

I too stood up, so Sion couldn’t hear, and gave Mirei instructions in a very low voice.

“Bring me a cushion. Something of a suitable size to put on Sion’s stomach.”

“Understood.”

Mirei headed off somewhere after receiving my instructions.

While waiting for Mirei’s return, I looked down at Sion once more.

Her slender body enveloped in a pristine white patient gown.

Her messy, dark hair with a hint of violet.

The part of her body that hurt when pressed, rising and falling with each breath.

Her vermilion eyes, glazed over with exhaustion, staring blankly at the ceiling, dotted with beads of sweat.

Sion, stretched out like this, with such a beautiful, delicate, and fragile body, was the hero of this world…

“Director Hope?”

Did she notice me looking down at her?

Sion looked up at me with a puzzled expression.

“Hasn’t it been a minute?”

“Just wait a moment. We’ll continue when Mirei gets back.”

“More importantly, what are you looking at right now?”

“Just checking if you’re alright, Sion.”

“Really?”

Sion giggled and smiled brightly, as if she found something amusing.

It looked like she was trying to steer the conversation, probably to make me look strange again.

“Director Hope, I brought it.”

“Thank you, Mirei. Sion,”

“Yes?”

Just in time, Mirei returned, and I placed the pillow-sized cushion she brought next to Sion.

“This is…?”

“Try lying face down again. Put this on your stomach.”

Sion rolled over, adjusted the cushion’s position so it was under her stomach, and then resumed her prone position with her arms and legs extended.

“Ooh? This is much better. It doesn’t hurt as much.”

“It won’t hurt with that, but you’ll have to raise your arms and legs a bit higher, so it’ll be harder.”

“Is that okay?”

“Let’s try it.”

At this rate, it would be suitable for equipment-based exercises, so as long as Sion didn’t find it too strenuous, it should be manageable.

“Uwaaaah…”

Sion once again lifted her limbs with all her might.

“How is it? Manageable?”

“Yes, I can… somehow manage!”

Fortunately, it didn’t seem too much for her, as Sion completed one set without any issues and then collapsed again, catching her breath.

“Haaaaah!”

“Okay, rest for another minute…”

This time, Sion didn’t roll over like before and rested in her prone position.

It seemed the cushion was effective, and she wasn’t in pain.

If we continued like this until the last set, today’s exercise would also be successfully…

“Is that the Hero?”

“?”

An unfamiliar voice intruded.

Turning my head towards the source of the sound, I saw a patient slowly approaching, staring at Sion lying prone.

‘What is this? What are the nurses and interns doing?’

“Sion is in the middle of treatment, so please return to your place.”

“B-But, I just wanted to see the Hero…”

“You must follow my instructions in the Center. Nurse!”

“Yes, Director Hope!!”

“Please take this person back to their place quickly.”

“I-I’m sorry!! Let’s go back now. You need to receive your treatment.”

Since the news that the Hero was at the Center had spread, it was natural that people would come looking for her.

That’s why we even prepared an event, but if they came looking on their own like this, how should I respond…

“Hero?”

“It seems the Hero is undergoing treatment!”

“That’s the Hero.”

“I can’t see her face!”

I tried to send the first patient back with the help of a staff member, but the commotion seemed to have attracted even more attention.

All the patients who were gathered in the exercise room, each doing their own rehabilitation training, suddenly started to flock towards us.

“Everyone, please return to your places…”

“Director Hope.”

Sion called out to me softly, looking up.

She shook her head with a relaxed smile as if telling me not to, as I frowned and tried to send the patients back.

“I’m alright. Would it be okay if I just greet them briefly?”

“Sigh…”

Don’t try to control the atmosphere like that while lying sprawled on the floor…

Sion wasn’t someone who could ignore people when so many of them wanted and wished to see her. So, telling her no here wouldn’t work.

“Mirei.”

“Yes, Director Hope.”

“Help Sion up and into her wheelchair.”

“Understood.”

Mirei lifted Sion, who couldn’t get up on her own, and placed her in the wheelchair.

“Hello everyone. I’m Hero Sion Lorel.”

Sitting demurely, Sion waved to the patients who had gathered to see her.

“Ooh, Hero!”

“It’s really the Hero!”

“Thank you so much!!”

The patients exclaimed and greeted her, drawing closer.

Since people were crowding around Sion so tightly and closely, I had no choice but to intervene.

“Sion said she’s alright, so I won’t say anything more, but please don’t get too close to her, since she’s also a patient. And don’t touch her.”

Fortunately, the patients complied with my instructions this time.

They’d see plenty of her at tomorrow’s event anyway, so why were they making such a fuss?

“I’ve been fighting for a long time, so in the end, I’ve become a patient myself.”

“It’s a relief you weren’t injured.”

“We were curious about your well-being, Hero!”

“To see the Hero struggling to move like this… It would have been better if you’d come for rehabilitation sooner.”

“Haha, you’re right.”

Despite her training being interrupted, Sion was constantly smiling, happily greeting people, listening to their stories, answering their questions, and fully engaged in interacting with them.

Sion, conversing with people with her usual light smile.

‘Sion. Hero Sion Lorel…’

The wielder of the holy sword and the strongest, fastest swordsman.

The adventurer at the pinnacle.

The adversary of the Demon King and the savior of humanity.

The reason people could hold onto hope and protect their homes during the seemingly endless war against the demon race was because Sion and her companions were on their way to the Demon King’s Castle.

Everyone was acting as if meeting Sion was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, crowding around her, trying to get a closer look.

Of course, Sion was a special patient to me as well.

Because she had such a glorious past, her current state held even more significance for me.

‘Hmm…’

But Sion… did she always smile like that?

I thought I’d seen Sion’s smile countless times, but the smile she was wearing now felt somehow…

Unfamiliar, as if I was seeing it for the first time.