Dream Life Vol II Chapter 49.2: “Injured”

　At that point, my consciousness suddenly stopped.　

When I regained consciousness, I was laid out on my own bunk.

　I brought my hand to the wound and touched it fearfully to see how I was feeling. But there was little pain, only a slight twitching in my left shoulder. I was relieved that this was well enough, as I was looking at the wound where the whole flesh had been gnawed off.

　Slowly I looked around and saw Liddy lying in a chair.

　She hadn’t changed her clothes or removed her leather armor, so I guessed it hadn’t been that long since she had returned.

　I hesitated for a moment to wake her up, but I knew she must be worried, so I called out to her,

“Liddy, wake up. Liddy.” (Zack)

　She groaned at the sound of my voice and opened her eyes. I guess she was relieved that I called out to her, because a large tear drops from her eye.

　Then, without saying a word, she hugged me and repeatedly said, “I was so worried about you,” as she cried.

　I said, “Sorry. I’m sorry for worrying you.” I stroked her hair with my right hand.

　After crying a lot, Liddy went to call Sharon and Beatrice who were waiting downstairs.

　Beatrice opened her mouth and said, “I’m sorry. If only I had been a little more observant…” she apologized. I shook my head.

“Thank you for saving my life. If Beatrice hadn’t gotten to me in time, I might have died. And it wasn’t Beatrice’s fault. It was bad luck and my fault for not being prepared for such a situation.” (Zack)

　Sharon was peering at me behind Liddy and Beatrice. She was crying, her eyes were bright red, and she asked, “Does it hurt? Are you okay?”

　I also said to Sharon, “I worried you.” I tried to reassure her by saying, “Don’t worry, it feels a little twitchy, but it doesn’t hurt.”

　But as I broke the tension she almost collapsed to her knees, clinging to Beatrice’s leg. She looked like a small child clinging to her mother, and I couldn’t help but smile, even though I thought it was out of place.

“Anyway, I was wondering if you could tell me what happened after that.” (Zack)

　Beatrice, who was relatively calm, knelt down next to my bed and told me about what happened after that.

　I had been injured before noon, and Liddy had cast a healing spell on me right then and there to heal my wounds. However, when I didn’t wake up, she decided that the paralyzing poison affected me, so she also cast a purification spell. If the paralyzing poison was removed by the purification spell, I should have woken up immediately, but they waited for about an hour and I still did not wake up. So, Beatrice decided it was too dangerous to stay in the ghoul-infested wasteland, so she carried me back home.

　We arrived home a little after 3:00 p.m., but I haven’t woken up.

　Concerned, Beatrice called a skilled healer she knew, but even when the healer used healing magic, I did not recover. The healer said that I had hit my head and that was probably why I was unconscious and told them to wait until tomorrow to see how I was.

　For the next three hours, now after the 6:00 p.m. bell, Liddy said she didn’t want to leave me, so she stayed close to me the whole time.

“I really worried all of you. I hit my head, but I’ll put some healing magic on it myself. I’ll probably be okay now.” (Zack)

　I said, and then I started to apply the healing magic. It was probably a concussion, but the damage to the brain is not foolproof. Since there may be bleeding in the brain, I use wood attribute magic to repair the blood vessels in the brain, and then use water attribute magic to clean the blood vessels in the brain to prevent the formation of blood clots. Finally, use light attribute to purify the area around the brain and prevent brain damage with the image of invigorating the brain cells.

(I’m not a doctor, so I can only come up with this much, but it should be enough to rest and relax for the rest of the day. If I feel sick or dizzy, I’ll try the brain-healing magic again…) (Zack)

　Beatrice was surprised to see my unusual healing magic, but Liddy and Sharon seemed relieved and relaxed their expressions a little.

“Maybe this should work. Tomorrow we also have a holiday at the academy, and I’ll be getting a good night’s sleep. I’m hungry, though. Sharon, is dinner ready?” (Zack)

　Sharon said, “Yes! I’ll go warm it up,” she said, and went downstairs as if she were flying.

　When I tried to get up, Liddy stopped me, and Beatrice picked me up. I was absurdly embarrassed by this so-called princess carry. I told them to let me down because I could walk by myself, but they didn’t listen to me and went down the stairs.

　I was taken to the dining room while being held like a princess, but there was one good thing.

　Liddy had not taken off his leather armor, but Beatrice had already taken off her gear and was dressed in a rough shirt and vest. There were two large cushions on my right side as I was being held.

　I enjoyed the feel of the resilient cushions, but soon we were in the dining room and slowly being seated in chairs.

　Sharon had already heated up a stew-like stew and placed it in front of me.

　As I was about to eat, Sharon said, “Mr. Zack hasn’t washed his hands. I’ll help you,” and she sits down beside me, takes the spoon from my hand, and feeds me the stew. Beatrice and Liddy looked at me smiling.

　I decided to endure this shameful play because I worried the three of them.

“Thank you, can you tear off a piece of bread and soak it for me?” (Zack)

　Sharon followed my instructions and took care of me.

　Meanwhile, Liddy had gone to get dressed, and Beatrice, who had stayed behind, was about to leave.

“You really helped me today. Thank you.” (Zack)

　Beatrice said, “Don’t worry about it. It was my mistake too,” she said, raising one hand.

　I saw the sad look on her face and couldn’t help but call out to her.

“I can’t prepare a bath for you today, but why don’t you stay the night?” (Zack)

　Beatrice looked like she was about to say something, “Hey, Sharon. Beatrice can stay, right?” I immediately asked Sharon.

“Yes. Beatrice’s presence would be very helpful. It’s not easy for me and Lydia to carry Master Zack.” (Sharon)

　Then Liddy appeared while laughing and said, “Yes. Let’s have a drink while watching Zack sleep.”

　I said, “That’s not going to happen,” and she kissed me on the cheek, saying, “That’s your punishment for worrying us.”

　The next morning, I woke up refreshed, with no headache or nausea.

　I was able to make it through the morning without incident, although Beatrice had to hold me up when I went to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

　The weather looks good, but since I intend today to be a rest day, I won’t do my morning workout and lazily toss and turn under the covers.

　Liddy and Beatrice, who brought in a folding bed for guests, were sleeping next to me.

　I thought they were joking, but last night they were really drinking while watching people sleep. But they didn’t talk, just drank quietly, and I fell asleep right away.

　As I watched them sleep, I was puzzled by the fact that three women love me, including Sharon. To be exact, Mel is also in the village of Rathmore, so I am loved by four women.

　Mel and Sharon are still children, so it could just be adoration. But the two sleeping here are grown women. And two women who are beautiful enough and independent enough to love me.

　Beatrice hasn’t said anything, but I’m not going to be so obtuse that I can’t guess from her attitude yesterday. No, I may be obtuse enough, but I can still tell from the way she acted yesterday that she sees me as a man.

　I was not popular in my former world, and my marriage failed. I am happy enough to have only Liddy’s feelings for me. That’s why I’m puzzled by this situation.

(It’s okay for now. I have to think seriously about it someday. But I became a riajuu… Not to burst jinx it, but… I never thought I’d be in this situation.” (Zack)

　As I was thinking about this and looking at their sleeping faces, I heard Sharon’s footsteps going down the stairs.

　She may have gone to prepare breakfast, but her footsteps woke them both up.

“Good morning, Liddy. Good morning, Beatrice.” (Zack)

　They both responded to my voice, Liddy yawning and Beatrice, bewildered by the situation, returning the greeting.

　I said, “Now get out of here and get dressed,” and they both offered to help. As expected, the shame play ended yesterday, so I kicked them out of the room, changed, and went downstairs.

　While eating breakfast, we reflected on yesterday’s ghoul fight.

　I didn’t mean to be careless, but Beatrice nodded when I said that not being able to respond to the change in circumstances was my carelessness.

“You are calm in any situation, and you can use magic and swords quite well, and when it comes to avoiding situations, you are already a top-notch player. That ghoul must have really caught you off guard.” (Beatrice)

　Her opinion matched mine.

“That’s true. I never thought I’d be caught by a ghoul myself.” (Zack)

“The biggest thing that caught you off guard was the fact that you weren’t wearing any protective gear. It’s easier to move without it. Maybe it’s better for your style, but if you’re acting as the vanguard, things like yesterday will happen again sooner or later. If you have the gear, it’s going to be a completely different situation. You know that, don’t you?” (Beatrice)

　What Beatrice was saying was something I had been thinking about myself. The biggest reason for yesterday’s failure was that I didn’t have “insurance”. In other words, the way I had been fighting yesterday was based on the assumption that I would not fail under any circumstances.

　Even if I were ambushed or an accident occurred, I would always be able to avoid it. That’s the kind of thinking that must have been in my mind. If I had been wearing leather armor, the damage to my shoulder would have been much less severe. If the damage to my shoulder had been less severe, I might have been able to fight back against the ghoul that was biting me on the shoulder.

“Beatrice is right. Putting aside Sharon who is not in the vanguard, you should wear protective gear. And it’s not a waste of time to put it on now.” (Liddy)

　Beatrice nodded at Liddy’s words.

“You’ve never worn armor, have you? Your range of motion is different when you’re wearing armor and when you’re not. You should get used to it from now on. That’s what I think.” (Beatrice)

　I said to Beatrice, “Okay. I’d like to go look at some protective gear at noon. Can you show me around?”

“It’s your rest day today, right? You need to get some rest.” (Beatrice)