Rehabilitation Therapist for the Broken Warrior

“Sion. I’ll take some leave, so please wait a little while.”

“Huh? Are you really going to stay with me?”

Sion, who had secretly exercised alone with her weakened body, developed muscle pain and couldn’t move.

There was no other choice but to stay with her since I couldn’t leave Sion, completely immobile, alone at home all day.

The Rehabilitation Center is the most important institution in the kingdom, and since my house is close to the Center, I should be able to go back and forth quickly.

“You asked me not to leave you alone.”

“But without Director Hope, the Rehabilitation Center…”

“Things worked out when I went on a business trip to the Empire, so I’m sure it’ll be fine. I can just hand over my duties like I did back then.”

Sion’s gaze, which had been pleading with me, now turned downwards with a worried expression.

That pattern again.

Because I do such important work for so many people, Sion sometimes feels like taking up my time is a bad thing. She always makes that expression then.

“Sigh, Sion. I am a very important person at the Center, but it’s not like patients are going to die or anything if I’m not there. I’m a Rehabilitation doctor.”

“What does that…”

“I told you, right? Rehabilitation is slow and steady. All the patients at the Center are recovering on their own, following the prescriptions I’ve already given them. So…”

Hmm… Is this right?

Sion doesn’t cause harm to others, so I want to tell her it’s okay to ask me for anything, but…

Somehow, I feel like Sion doesn’t understand when I try to speak nicely.

I need to try a different approach.

I feel like I’m getting better at speaking harshly these days, and I don’t particularly like this way of speaking, but…

Since Sion got herself into this mess by exercising alone, I suppose I can think of it as giving her a little punishment.

“No. I’ll just close the Rehabilitation Center today. I’ll go and give them the closure notice, so wait here.”

“What? Why? Is it because of me?”

“Of course. Have you already forgotten why I started researching Rehabilitation Medicine in the first place?”

In the end, I chose to lie again.

My concept of being a Regressor to heal Sion is useful in many ways.

“Rehabilitation Medicine was created from the beginning to rehabilitate Sion. All the patients I’ve healed so far were just to build case studies and collect data. Now that Sion’s rehabilitation has begun, there’s no reason for me to heal other patients anymore.”

“Th-then what about the patients…!”

“They’ll manage. Anyway, if they interfere with Sion’s recovery, I’ll send them all away.”

“No! Please don’t do that!!”

Sion hurriedly kicked off the blanket and tried to get up… but,

“Ugh, Oww!!!”

Naturally, her muscle pain flared up, and she froze in place, her face contorted in pain.

She inevitably fell back again, gasping for breath from the pain.

“Haa… No, Director Hope… Closing the Rehabilitation Center because of me…”

Of course, I had no intention of doing that. It’s not even possible.

Although I established the Rehabilitation Center, it was founded with the kingdom’s support, and now there’s even a global Rehabilitation Medicine agreement in place.

After six years of war, the world’s attention is focused on the care of retired soldiers and adventurers, so even I can’t just quit as I please.

“I was wrong, Director! I won’t overdo it anymore! I won’t exercise alone, so please…”

“That’s not the point.”

“Huh?”

“Sion. There’s nothing in the world more important than your rehabilitation. Not to me, and not to the world. You need to realize that.”

“…”

So, this declaration is a kind of bluff, a shock tactic.

If Sion hesitates to accept my help because of the Center and the other patients, I wanted to impress upon her that I could handle it this way.

“You, of all people, keep worrying about the patients at the Center more than yourself. If you keep doing that, the only option left is to close the Center.”

“Th-that’s…”

“Are you going to say ‘no’ again?”

“How do you always know what I’m going to say?”

“Come on, Sion. Repeat after me. ‘I am the most important.’”

“I…”

“If you don’t say it by the time I leave, I’ll go out and close the Center.”

“Ugh, Ugh!”

Sion scrunched up her face, her lips twitching, then closed her eyes tightly and repeated the words I told her.

“I… I am the most… important…”

“Good job. Then I’ll take my leave…”

– *Growl…*

“?”

What was that…?

I was speechless, and while I was stunned, Sion, the culprit behind the sound, quickly reached out, retrieved the blanket she had thrown off earlier, and hurriedly covered her stomach.

“Director! Did you hear that?”

“I did. How could I not, it was so loud.”

“But how could it happen at a time like this…!”

– *Growl…*

“A-ahahaha, maybe it’s because I exercised all night~”

“I’ll bring you some bread, so eat it. I’ll really be back.”

“Okay…”

Anyway, it seems Sion understood, so I placed the bread basket within her reach and left the house for the Center.

‘Mark my schedule as leave, remove my appointments, and since my house is thankfully close, I can just quickly visit the patients who need Buffs and Skills, almost like working from home… I can manage somehow.’

My steps felt quicker than when I was rushing because I was late last time.

I needed to hurry up and finish my work so I could go back and take care of Sion.

************************

‘Warm.’

What Sion felt now was warmth.

The warmth of the bread in her hand.

The warmth of the blanket covering her stomach.

The warmth of the morning sunlight streaming through the window. And…

‘Why is my face like this again?’

Sion put the bread in her mouth and placed her hands on both cheeks, feeling the warmth.

Her face was burning hotter than ever.

‘It must be because I’m sick. I need to eat quickly and rest…’

Since she was incredibly hungry and bewildered, Sion quickly swallowed the melting bread and lay down, covering herself with the blanket.

She didn’t seem to have a fever.

But why was her face burning so much?

“There’s nothing in the world more important than you, Sion.”

Why did these words keep coming back to her?

“…I am the most important.”

She repeated the words Hope had made her say.

Words she had never uttered in her life.

She was the most important in the world?

It was a foreign concept to Sion, who had lived her entire life for others.

There were countless things in the world more important than herself.

She had always thrown herself into battles, fighting for something else.

So, what was the most important thing to Sion?

‘The most important thing. If I had to choose one, it would be my comrades.’

As expected, only her comrades came to Sion’s mind.

Nao, Airi, Hanamana.

These three.

And these three always told her that she was the most important.

Was Hope also saying that she was the most important person because he was originally one of her comrades?

‘Wait a minute. Comrades are the most important people? Then, the remaining comrade is…’

If there was anyone Sion could call a comrade now, there was only one.

Someone who was always with her, sharing the common goal of defeating the future Demon King.

Just one person.

Sion’s face was still flushed, and her mind was becoming more and more complicated.

‘Ugh… Director Hope is my most important person? It’s not impossible, but something… something…!’

After wriggling under the covers for a long time, Sion, surrounded by the warm blanket and sunlight, finally fell asleep.

***********

“Sion, I’m back.”

The staff at the Center were a bit taken aback by the sudden leave request, but since I manage all personnel matters at the Center, it wasn’t a big issue.

I instructed them to work according to the absence manual I had prepared during my last business trip, then used my leave and returned home.

It wasn’t abuse of power or anything.

In the past three years since I established and operated the Center, I had never taken any leave, so the staff’s reaction was more along the lines of, “Are you finally taking a break? Leave the Center to us and please get some proper rest!”

“Sion?”

There was no answer, so I opened the door and entered Sion’s room.

What I saw was Sion buried under the covers, not even her face showing.

“Sion~?”

She didn’t respond no matter how much I called, so I gently lifted the blanket to check.

Sion was fast asleep with her eyes closed.

‘She said she exercised almost all night, so it’s no wonder she’s tired.’

I took leave to look after Sion, but she’s fallen asleep.

Did I take leave for nothing?

“Mmm… Don’t leave me alone…”

Just as I thought that, Sion mumbled in her sleep as if reading my mind.

Come to think of it… Even though she felt like she shouldn’t take up my time, when I was about to leave for work, Sion pleaded with me, “Don’t leave me alone.”

‘Was she afraid of being left alone, unable to move? Even the hero…’

The hero who defeated the Demon King, so weakened that she trembled with fear and clung to me with a fragile voice.

It was hard to believe that the strong, beautiful, and brave, strongest Sion from the books and the Sion lying here in front of me, immobile and whimpering, were the same person.

A truly unbelievable story.

And all I could do, faced with this unbelievable sight, was…

‘Should I just stay by her side for now?’

All I could do was grant this one earnest request from the small girl who was once a hero.