Rehabilitation Therapist for the Broken Warrior

Serin, Sion’s personal nurse dispatched from the Empire, arrived overland.

As expected, it was a long journey that took three weeks.

It was a moment that made Sion realize just how convenient and game-breaking the Magic Tower’s teleportation function was.

Sion had contacted Serin beforehand, telling her that she had found a place for her to stay and that they would meet there.

“Serin!”

Sion waved and greeted Serin, who had arrived earlier and was unpacking and getting settled, but Serin simply bowed her head in response.

“Was the trip tiring?”

“It’s alright.”

Serin maintained a blank expression, only speaking when necessary.

Was Serin a business-like type of person?

Since Princess Nao had personally assigned her to Sion, Sion had imagined her to be competent, but she had a business-like attitude, a plain appearance, and a blank expression.

It was hard to tell exactly what kind of person she was, but it wasn’t Sion’s concern.

“Nice to meet you, Serin. I’m Director Hope Harvey, the head of the kingdom’s Rehabilitation Medicine Center and a rehabilitation specialist.”

“Ah! You’re the…”

“Do you know me?”

“Yes. Since I also work in nursing, I’ve heard of your reputation.”

Even people in the Empire knew Hope’s name.

Due to the large number of retired soldiers and injured adventurers after the long all-out war, the kingdom’s rehabilitation center was currently attracting attention from all countries.

And Hope was the founder and leading figure of Rehabilitation Medicine, having established the concept in this world.

“I heard that Sion was going to the kingdom’s rehabilitation center urgently, but I didn’t know you were taking care of her directly, Director.”

“It’s Hero Sion’s rehabilitation, so of course I had to step in.”

“I see… Thank you very much.”

In any case, time was tight, so Hope had to quickly convey the necessary information and head to the Center.

Today was the day Sion would be admitted to the Center.

There was also an event planned with Sion as the main focus, so it was a busy day with many things to prepare.

“Anyway, Serin, we’ll go to the Center together now. Remember the location, and you can come to work there starting tomorrow.”

“Understood.”

From now on, Serin’s job was to take care of Sion, who would be living in a patient room.

After helping Serin organize her luggage, they headed to the Center.

The staff were clearing the equipment in the largest rehabilitation exercise room and laying out mats so that people could gather.

“How are the preparations coming along?”

“Yes, almost finished.”

Mirei, who was efficiently managing and directing the staff, reported the situation.

“Thank you for all your hard work for me.”

“Not at all, it’s nothing compared to what you’ve done for us, Hero.”

Sion thanked the staff, but…

For Sion?

It was true that they were preparing an event with Sion as the main focus, but strictly speaking, this event was being held for the people who wanted to see Hero Sion Lorel.

Wasn’t it a bit strange to say it was for Sion?

“Everyone at the Center is throwing a welcome party to celebrate my admission!”

Ah… Sion was seeing the event in that light.

“Mirei, is the room ready?”

“Yes. We finished cleaning it as soon as the previous patient was discharged yesterday.”

“Good. Sion, Serin, let’s go to the room.”

“Okay.”

“Understood.”

Sion’s room was a single room on the first floor.

It was fortunate that the patient using this room happened to be at their discharge date.

As Mirei had said, the room was neatly organized, and Serin began to unpack her luggage and place it around the room.

‘What? What speed is…’

Was what Hope was seeing a cleaning android in human form?

As if she had grasped the optimal placement of every item the moment she stepped into the room, Serin was pulling items out of her bag and putting them away with practiced ease.

The moment Hope realized Serin was already done organizing, Serin finished everything, placed flowers in a vase, and the room looked as if it had been prepared in advance to welcome Sion.

“Sir Sion. Please let me know if there’s anything you’d like to move while you’re here.”

“Yes. Thank you, Serin. I feel relieved now that you’re here.”

“It’s nothing… Are you going?”

“Thinking about what Director Hope did to me… ‘sob’”

“Then I’ll go buy the necessary items.”

“Ah, you will?”

What was this again?

The current conversation pattern…

Sion seemed to be trying to cause a misunderstanding, just like she did with Mirei, but Serin didn’t react at all and simply declared that she would go do her work.

Sion’s nurse, Serin… the more Hope saw her, the more intriguing she became.

“Serin. Do you know where to go?”

“Yes. I memorized the layout of the kingdom’s capital on my way here.”

“I see. Then, please go ahead.”

“Please take good care of Sir Sion.”

“Don’t worry about that.”

Bowing her head, Serin left the hospital.

She even memorized the map; she wasn’t lacking in anything.

Perhaps Nao had good reason to entrust Sion to her.

“So this is where I’ll be staying.”

Sion looked around the hospital room curiously.

Hope thought there was nothing curious about it since it was just a room with a bed and a locker…

“Our staff and Serin will take care of you from now on. The treatment will begin in earnest as well. We’ll also adjust your diet.”

“Diet?”

“A balanced, customized diet that provides proper nutrition according to the patient’s condition.”

That was a nice way to put it.

The only downside to hospital food was that it was low in sodium and therefore didn’t taste very good.

However, in a medieval setting, people weren’t accustomed to strong flavors, so this disadvantage disappeared, making hospital food the best diet for patients.

“Diet…”

But Sion looked somewhat downcast, lowering her head as if something was bothering her.

“Director Hope.”

“Yes?”

Avoiding Hope’s gaze, Sion barely managed to utter a single word in a small voice, still with her head lowered,

“Bread…”

“What was that?”

The voice was so quiet that Hope couldn’t hear it properly.

“Bread. Freshly baked morning bread from Baker’s.”

Hope strained his ears and finally understood what Sion wanted.

Of all things, bread?

“That shouldn’t be a problem, since it’s something you always eat. We can do that.”

“Thank you.”

“You must really like it.”

“…….”

Sion still didn’t raise her head.

At Hope’s question, Sion smiled faintly, seemingly embarrassed to have asked for something, and continued,

“Because it was warm.”

“…….”

It was such an unexpected remark that Hope couldn’t find anything to say.

However, looking at Sion’s usual smiling face, Hope suddenly thought…

‘That’s right. Sion always smiled like that.’

Was the smile she showed in front of everyone yesterday due to nervousness?

“If you like warm things, send Serin to my house every morning. It’ll be less trouble than going to the bakery for the first bread of the day.”

Sion didn’t answer, but silently nodded.

A brief silence fell over the room.

Neither of them spoke any further.

But from somewhere, the chirping of birds filled the room, followed by the scent of the flowers Serin had placed, and the sunlight streaming in from the window, filling the room.

***********

The event was kept simple so that Sion wouldn’t overexert herself.

As the organizer, Hope first introduced Hero Sion and then explained the precautions for participating in the event.

Hope reminded everyone that Sion was present not only as a hero but also as a patient, like everyone else, and this was a procedure to prevent excessive contact or stress from the participants.

Next, Sion gave a message of hope to the patients, and finally, she was scheduled to go around a few tables and have brief conversations.

“I could see at a glance that most of the people training with me at the Center fought alongside me on the battlefield. Perhaps we are still fighting. Our opponent is no longer the demons, but we are continuing a much harder fight.”

Sion delivered her speech skillfully.

In fact, eloquence was an essential virtue for a hero.

A hero always stood at the forefront on the battlefield, boosting morale and giving hope to everyone.

Being a hero wasn’t simply about being strong.

A hero was someone who could give people hope to believe in and fight for, even when faced with war and despair.

“Um… Director.”

“Yes?”

Serin, who was listening to the speech with Hope at the back of the stage, quietly called out.

“Has Sir Sion’s condition improved a lot?”

“No. It’s only been three weeks. Physically, she experiences less discomfort when she moves, but there hasn’t been a significant change in her motor skills yet.”

“…I see.”

Serin, still with her unreadable expression, was deep in thought.

“Why? Does she seem much better?”

“Well… she’s become incredibly bright.”

“Incredibly? Enough to say that?”

“Yes, Director. Do you remember seeing me? The day you came home with Sir Sion after canceling your dinner appointment with the Princess.”

Serin remembered that?

Hope had definitely met Serin that day, but it was dark, and Sion had snapped at Serin not to be curious when she looked up at Hope, so Serin couldn’t have seen Hope’s face properly.

It was remarkable that she accurately remembered

Hope’s face from that brief encounter.

“Yes, I saw you.”

“If you recall Sir Sion’s demeanor back then, it’s very different from now.”

“Hmm…”

Back then, Sion had certainly been cold to Serin, and towards Hope… well, she had even threatened to kill her, so there was no need to recall.

“You’re right about that.”

Brighter… Come to think of it, Serin, standing next to Hope now, was the nurse who had cared for Sion for three years after the story’s conclusion.

She knew everything that had happened during those three years.

Hope made a mental note: if she had any questions related to Sion’s past three years, similar to the pressure wheelchair practice incident, she could ask Serin instead of Sion to avoid triggering Sion’s trauma.

“Woohoo!!”

“Thank you, Hero!!”

“Let’s keep fighting together!!”

Sion’s speech ended successfully, and thunderous applause and cheers erupted from the attendees.

Hero Sion Lorel.

Everyone who used the rehabilitation center would remember that she was here.