Rehabilitation Therapist for the Broken Warrior

Sion’s procedure and hospitalization had concluded successfully, and it was the second day of the weekend, Sunday.

To maintain my routine of 4 hours and 30 minutes of sleep every night, I had to stick to a strict sleep schedule.

So, even on a day off, I woke up at the usual time.

“Hmm…”

As always, I got up, made my bed, washed my face, changed my clothes, and sat down at the dining table.

Then, I reached for the doorknob of the room where Sion had been staying until just yesterday.

Sion’s belongings and the things she needed had all been moved to her hospital room or Serin’s quarters, but there were still a few things left to tidy up.

“….”

I had this strange feeling that if I didn’t open this door and just left it as it was, she would call my name from inside, asking for help.

But I knew that such a feeling was just a pointless sentiment.

Sion wasn’t inside.

– Click

I turned the doorknob and went in.

The neatly folded futon Sion had used was the first thing that caught my eye.

She managed to fold the futon even though she couldn’t stand next to the bed.

I imagined Sion sitting on the bed with her inconvenient body, folding the futon.

First, she would have pushed the top blanket to one side, found the two corners, grabbed them, and held them together with her fingertips.

Then, she would have stretched her other hand along the blanket, folded it in half to make it flat, and then, with a groan, lifted it high… only to fall backward because she lifted it too high.

‘Even if that’s the case, she wouldn’t have fallen, would she?’

Did Sion fall while folding the futon?

Or was she able to fold it without incident?

Since the falling scenario was more amusing, I decided to incorporate that into my imagination.

She barely managed to fold the futon and place it on one side of the bed, then she struggled to pull out the bottom sheet, folded it again, and fell again…

No, even if she had difficulty moving, she wouldn’t have fallen twice.

But it’s still more fun if she falls, so should I go with that?

Anyway, after spending enough time imagining Sion in various scenarios, I took the futons, which were no longer in use, and put them back in the closet.

I completely locked the window and took down the curtains to prevent dust from accumulating, storing them away.

I also took out the towels, trash can, baskets, and other miscellaneous items that had been placed in the room and returned them to their original places.

Things that would no longer be used because Sion was gone.

This room had now returned to being an empty room where no one lived and nothing remained.

“It’s all tidy now.”

It felt like I had a more leisurely morning than usual, even though I had done some work right after waking up.

Well, Sion had been here until now.

Ever since the first morning Sion came to our house and collapsed on the floor, I had to check on her every morning, lift her into her wheelchair, and follow her around the house, making sure she didn’t fall, get hurt, or look for me.

I even had to stay by her side all day, attending to her needs when she couldn’t move due to muscle soreness from secretly exercising…

‘Is there anything else I need to do?’

Come to think of it, what did I do on my days off before Sion came?

I organized charts, analyzed data, created manuals, training materials, curriculums…

Looking back, it seems I was always working, even on my days off.

Was I too accustomed to the life of an intern/resident/fellow that continued from my past life?

– Knock, knock

The familiar sound that signaled the usual morning. Mrs. Baker must have arrived with the bread.

“Good mornin… Oh? Serin?”

“Good morning, Director Hope.”

I opened the door and looked out to see Serin standing there instead of Mrs. Baker.

“You’re a little early. The bread hasn’t arrived yet.”

“If you mean the bread, it’s right here.”

Serin held out a bread basket covered with a cloth to keep the contents warm.

I peeked inside and saw the usual bread neatly arranged in the basket.

“Mrs. Baker is getting on in years, so I’ve decided to take over the task of bringing bread to your house, Director Hope.”

“So that means… Serin, you stopped by the bakery and then came here?”

“Yes. That’s the bread for you, Director Hope, and this is the bread for Sion.”

Serin held another bread basket at her side.

When we arrived at my house, I told her to take the bread for Sion, but she had stopped by the bakery even earlier and taken on the delivery role, distributing the bread?

“Then I’ll…”

“Serin. Wait a moment.”

“Yes?”

Serin, who was about to return to the hospital, stopped.

Uh, but…

‘Why did I call her?’

I couldn’t remember why I had called out to her.

I had called her without realizing it, but should I just tell her it was nothing and send her back?

“Is… Sion… asleep?”

“No. I checked on her and she was awake.”

She even stopped by the hospital room to check on Sion’s condition.

This person’s thoroughness is truly immeasurable.

“So… you’re going back to Sion now?”

“Yes, I am.”

“I’ll go with you.”

“Understood. Then let’s go.”

Serin coolly turned around and headed for the hospital, even though she must have been curious about my reason.

In truth, the person most curious about why I was acting this way was me.

It was a completely impulsive and sudden decision.

But well, I was going to see Sion.

I wanted to see Sion in her hospital room… there didn’t need to be a reason, right?

****

“Oh my, Director Hope, you’re here too?”

“Good morning, Sion. How’s the hospital room? Did you sleep well?”

“So-so.”

So-so, huh?

It was probably too much to expect a refreshing sleep on her first night in the hospital.

“But what brings you here?”

“Well…”

She asked for a reason.

Did I really need a reason to see Sion?

Well, I was always busy, and…

It occurred to me that, from Sion’s perspective, I might not be a very welcome visitor.

Sion often pretended to cry to Mirei and Serin, saying, “The things I endured while staying at Director Hope’s house… Sob, sob…”

Was Sion happy to be out of my house?

“When your recovery cool down is over, I’ll have you walk around.”

“That will be the day after tomorrow. But aren’t you checking all the patients’ recovery cool downs, Director Hope?”

Ugh. I tried to use the recovery skill that restores status damage with a simple spell as an excuse, but it didn’t work at all.

This skill had a unique characteristic: it barely cost the caster anything, but it imposed a cooldown on the recipient.

I meticulously managed and rotated the Recover Cools for all the patients.

Sion, who had been attending the rehabilitation center for three weeks, naturally knew about this.

“Uh… that’s not it. It’s…”

Why was I even trying to come up with an excuse?

Why was I trying to fabricate a reason for being here?

“I came to see how you were doing, Sion.”

I could have just been honest.

Why was it so hard to say those words?

It wasn’t anything special, so why was I so reluctant to admit it…?

I was really acting strangely today.

“You could have just said that from the beginning.”

“I suppose so.”

“Shall we eat bread together?”

“Sure.”

I took out a still-warm piece of bread from the basket and handed it to Sion.

The bed in the private room was in a sunny spot, and Sion’s black hair seemed to split the pouring sunlight into a scattering of violet sparks.

I had always thought her hair had a fluffy texture when she was at my house…

Was Serin taking care of it?

For her hair to change so much in just one day, she must have some special secret.

“It’s still warm.”

“….”

The freshly baked bread was not only warm but also melted in your mouth, disappearing quickly even if you took a large bite.

It was as if it warmed you from the inside.

And the warm feeling in my hand.

The hospital air gradually warming up in the morning sun.

Sion had said the reason she wanted to eat this bread every morning was because “it was warm,” and I felt like I understood what kind of warmth she had felt.

“Ooh?”

“How is it, Serin? Delicious, right?”

“…Yes. It’s a feeling I’ve never experienced in the Empire.”

Even Serin’s eyes widened at the taste.

This bread from the Baker family might be even more incredible than I thought.

“By the way, Director Hope.”

“Yes.”

“What are you doing today? It’s your day off.”

“Hmm…”

When Sion was at my house, taking care of her was my daily routine on my days off.

From Sion’s perspective, she had never seen what I did on my days off when she wasn’t around, so she must have been curious about that.

“I haven’t decided yet.”

“Really? I thought you’d definitely have something to do, even on your day off.”

Sion hit the nail on the head.

I must be a very easy person to read.

Or was it?

I had emphasized to Sion many times that I was busy, so she might have thought that way.

Actually, I did have things to do. A mountain of them, in fact.

I hadn’t been able to reduce my workload because the past three holidays were spent caring for Sion.

But today, I felt that seeing Sion was more important.

Unconsciously…

“So you’re saying you don’t have anything you need to do right now?”

“Well…”

I did have work. But, would it really matter?

Work was always piling up, and it wasn’t like there was an end in sight anyway.

“No, I don’t.”

Another lie. I felt like I was telling Sion a lot of lies.

But when Sion heard my answer, she smiled brightly like the sunshine, as if it was a good thing.

“Then, today, shall we…”

And the reason seemed to be…

“Go somewhere fun?”

… so she could say these words.