NOVEL NEXT Chapter 40
The discharge process went smoothly and quickly. Thanks to that, I was able to get out of bed the next morning, just like the doctor promised.
I changed into my school uniform and packed up my decent-looking bag and belongings, ready to leave.
I had the uniform altered with Fukukin’s money. It was surprisingly expensive. If I had paid for it myself, I would have been heartbroken.
But the reason I was still at the hospital was to hear some things I needed to watch out for from my doctor.
“Uh… as you can see from these numbers, the patient is surprisingly healthy right now. However, just to be safe, please refrain from strenuous exercise this week.”
I pressed down on the spot where the catheter had been removed with an alcohol pad, letting the doctor’s words slide past my ears.
After all, I had even received Regeneration Recovery Medicine—what kind of body was I supposed to be cautious about? With that, even a severed leg would grow back.
However, Justitia was listening seriously and asked the doctor if light exercise was okay.
She had only just arrived this morning. I guess once the urgent fire was put out, she finally had some time on her hands.
Even the robust Justitia had dark circles under her eyes, so it wasn’t too hard to guess what had happened.
“I see… excuse me, I haven’t been able to sleep well… I understand.”
“Even if you are superhuman, overworking yourself is not good, Gazer.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
The doctor would occasionally give advice to Justitia as well, and then mentioned that he was done with what he needed to say but had one last question.
“What is it?”
“No matter how good your constitution is at receiving Regeneration Recovery Medicine, there should be some side effects when using it for the first time. But Miss Blanca showed no such rejection. So I’m asking just in case, have you used Regeneration Recovery Medicine before? It’s showing up as a no in the medical records.”
If she had, that would be perfectly normal.
The doctor casually asked if she had used Regeneration Recovery Medicine before.
Justitia’s expression froze upon hearing that. Mine wasn’t much different.
I never expected them to ask such a thing.
What the heck was I supposed to answer? I hadn’t even thought about it, and I was flustered.
As a professional, any half-baked lie would get caught. I couldn’t kill the mood and ask, what to do?
I glanced at Justitia, silently asking what we should do.
Whether she understood me properly or not, Justitia slowly opened her mouth.
“…Yes. It was administered when we rescued you from the outskirts, so it wouldn’t be in the medical records. That was before I got my citizenship.”
Back then, when I had spun that lie at Lapiz’s house.
I thought the kids might ask Justitia about it too, so I had said it like this as a precaution.
Since then, I hadn’t heard from her and thought it was all fine, but she was now using that excuse.
The doctor, surprised by the sudden heavy information, quickly reassured her that he wasn’t trying to pry into her past.
Maybe it was because Justitia was my legal guardian. Or perhaps it was the weight of the words from a ranking hero.
Whatever it was, it was convenient.
Justitia asked the doctor to please keep it a secret, and the doctor promised in the name of Hippocrates that he would keep it confidential.
“So, are we really done here?”
“Yes. Thank you for your hard work. I hope to see you less often from now on.”
“I’ll probably see you often.”
The doctor made a joke, trying to lighten the mood, and I went along with it.
Because honestly, I really would see him often. Thinking about the incidents and accidents ahead, it was going to be harder not to get hurt.
I couldn’t help but wish that Jinhyeon would drop out amidst all the trials and tribulations, but… who knows?
The guy who can even manipulate fire probably wouldn’t just go down easily.
I should ask how he ended up using fire. Knowing the details might help me figure out how to deal with him later.
As I walked out of the consultation room, Jinhyeon and Yeonhwa, who had been waiting right outside, asked me what the doctor had said.
I told them I just heard to take it easy and avoid strenuous exercise, which basically meant there was no problem at all.
There was no need to bring up Regeneration Recovery Medicine.
“Oh, I’m so glad to hear that!”
“In the past few days, I feel like I’ve heard ‘thank goodness’ more times than I can count.”
Jinhyeon didn’t realize I was joking and genuinely hoped things would stay that way, clueless as ever.
“I hope so too, Miss Blanca. It’s good that you aren’t hurt.”
Isn’t it strange for you to say that while planning to betray me soon?
Until you betray me, are you content to play the good teacher?
If you insist on doing so, I won’t stop you.
“Since Blanca is okay, let’s go look at phones! Is that okay, teacher?”
It seemed Yeonhwa had no intention of giving me any free time. Even if I had free time, I’d have nothing to do anyway.
“Sure, Yeonhwa. There’s really no need to drive all the way there, right?”
“Nope, it’s just over there!”
It shouldn’t take too long.
I optimistically followed her to what was undoubtedly the den of phone salespeople.
And if I was wrong about anything, it was that the salespeople turned out to be surprisingly ethical merchants.
It took excruciatingly long to choose just one phone.
It had only been 8 AM when I stepped out, but somehow it was almost noon before I knew it.
What on earth had I been doing?
I wondered about that, but I couldn’t figure out why the time had melted away so slowly.
Had it taken this long because we were testing features while prioritizing design over functionality, or had the staff also been influenced by Yeonhwa and fell into idle chatter?
Either way, I started to have doubts late in the game. Maybe both could be true.
But did it really matter? In the end, Yeonhwa was the one spending the money, so she should do what she likes.
Yeonhwa had said I could buy whatever I wanted, but if she really thought that, she wouldn’t have bothered asking me which one I liked.
Fumbling awkwardly with the phone she picked out, I accepted Yeonhwa’s continuous compliments on how good it looked.
I hid my struggle to figure out how to operate it since the shortcut commands were different from my previous brand because it felt like I was being stingy in front of the person who paid for it.
“I’m glad you like it. So… Yeonhwa, I was hoping to have a meal just with Blanca. Is that okay?”
Justitia complimented my phone and brought up the idea of arranging a time for just the two of us.
Yeonhwa, who knew the relationship between Justitia and me, discreetly took the hint and left.
Jinhyeon also took off, saying he had fun and to see me again during the break— to which I gave a vague answer of “if I have time” as I waved goodbye.
“I don’t mind Yeonhwa, but it’s just too tiring to be around her…”
“Well, your personality is quite different from hers.”
Once they were far enough away that I wouldn’t say this in front of them, I finally grumbled about it, and Justitia shot back as if it were obvious.
“Do you prefer steak or pasta?”
“I’ll take both.”
“Then let’s go to a place I know. It should be… less crowded.”
Justitia suggested while subtly glancing at the reporters taking pictures from a distance.
Since I didn’t want to be exposed to the media, I followed her suggestion.
The place she knew was a cozy spot in the downtown area.
I couldn’t expect complete privacy, but at least it was a place where those paparazzi wouldn’t come around.
Finally, I could chat with her in peace.
“You remembered that time.”
“How could I forget? You told me not to forget repeatedly.”
That may be true, but I really didn’t expect her to remember it that well.
There had to be times when she had forgotten what I said.
“…By the way, while you were out cold, I interrogated the Executors who were after you.”
Justitia got straight to the point as if she didn’t want to chit-chat any longer.
I knew this already, but I had to make sure not to reveal that, so I feigned curiosity and asked what she found out.
“It seems like there’s a bigger organization behind them. Moreover, it seems like that organization is keeping an eye on you, Blanca.”
Evil Society is watching me… huh.
Hearing that worry I only suspected was confirmed made my head throb.
“…Why?”
“Apparently, they didn’t know that much. I spilled everything I knew about the organization, but they didn’t talk about that.”
“Is that all you have to say?”
“That’s about it regarding the villain organization keeping an eye on you. Just be careful. It doesn’t look like things will go smoothly. By the way… are you preparing well for the midterms? There’s only two weeks left.”
“Come on, how hard could a 1st-year midterm be? I could do it with my feet.”
“I’m glad to hear that; you seem pretty confident. Well, since you’re a student, I guess you’ll handle it yourself. Oh, by the way, Blanca, there’s some news you might like. The boss is planning to come here around the time the midterms are over.”
That was genuinely wonderful news to hear.