Rehabilitation Therapist for the Broken Warrior

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

“Hanamana!”

“Uwaaaah! I know, I know!!”

A shower of dark magic and the yellow honeycomb-shaped defensive magic opposing it.

And the healing magic enveloping Sion, kneeling with his sword plunged vertically into the ground, Nao and Airi’s covering fire, and the strengthening magic cast on Airi.

All of this magic was being deployed simultaneously by a single Elf Cleric, Hanamana.

“Ugh… I’m sorry. To think I’d get caught…”

“Heal instead of talking! Meteor Rain!! Earth Needle!!”

Following Nao’s Spells, flaming meteorites descended from the sky, and sharp pillars erupted from the earth, crushing the swarming monsters from above and below.

The rising pillars, struck by the meteorites, shattered into fragments that rained down upon the monsters once more—a relentless barrage of magically generated physical force.

However, the sheer number and strength of the enemies allowed some to penetrate this hell and reach the barrier.

And just as a monster’s sword was about to swing at Hanamana’s holy barrier, specialized in defending against dark magic—

– *Thwip.*

The monster’s arm was severed, followed by its head.

Amidst the chaos and darkness of the battlefield, Airi was an invisible blade.

– *Crackle*

Despite the Hero’s Party’s excellent coordination and airtight cover, cracks began to appear in Hanamana’s barrier, and Hanamana’s expression, busy casting spells here and there, began to crumble.

“I didn’t think I could hold out long, but the Demon King is the Demon King after all! I can barely hold on even though he’s just bombarding us!!”

Hanamana, completely blocking physical attacks and elemental magic that were disadvantageous against the holy barrier, was on the verge of collapse simply from the sheer volume of dark magic cast by the Demon King alone.

The Demon King, drawing infinite magical power from the demon world through the Gate open behind his throne, and his army, were too high a wall for the small Hero’s Party to overcome.

They had bravely entered the Demon King’s Castle after breaking through the northern front, but this party had realized that fact far too late.

“Hope! We have to get out of here! As soon as possible!”

‘What? Me?’

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

“?!”

I opened my eyes to find myself sitting on a chair next to Sion’s bed.

The sun was already high in the sky, and the world outside the window was dazzlingly bright.

‘What was that just now? A dream?’

What I had just seen was the Hero’s Party’s battle.

It was a dream where I watched the four members of the Hero’s Party from someone else’s perspective.

That scene was definitely the first battle against the Demon King. But at the end, Nao gave me instructions.

‘I guess since it was a dream, I was included.’

“You’re awake?”

While I was still hazy from the lingering effects of the dream, Sion opened her eyes and spoke to me.

“You were awake? Since when?”

“For a while. More importantly, I saw something nice.”

“Something nice?”

“Director Hope’s sleeping face. I think it’s the first time I’ve seen it.”

“What’s so nice about that?”

“It was nice for me.”

Calling my sleeping face “nice.”

Is she being nice, or what…?

More importantly, taking a nap wasn’t a good thing.

Was my mind getting lax because it was my first vacation?

If so, I’d have to readjust my sleep Routine.

I had taken a few days off, not knowing when Sion’s condition would improve, so I’d have to adjust during that time.

“Director Hope… By the way, I…”

While I was busy calculating when to sleep and wake up in my head, Sion called me again.

She seemed to be stammering, as if something was troubling her, and she was fidgeting and shrinking back into the bed.

“What is it? Are you in pain again?”

“No, I, um… the bathroom…”

“Huh?”

Sion’s shrinking voice was so small that I could barely hear her.

I leaned closer to Sion to hear her better, and Sion, with great effort, moved her head towards me and rested her forehead on my shoulder.

In a barely audible whisper, she told me what she needed.

“Could you take me to the bathroom… quickly… I’ve been holding it in and I can’t anymore…”

“You were holding it? Since when?”

“Don’t ask and hurry!”

“You should have woken me up instead of holding it.”

“Just hurry up!!”

Well, she ‘can’ speak loudly.

I could have moved Sion to her Wheelchair, but the bathroom wasn’t far, and Sion wasn’t heavy, so I pulled back the covers, slipped my hands under her shoulders and knees, and lifted her in a princess carry.

“Uwaaaah!! You could have just moved me to the Wheelchair!!”

“You said it was urgent. Let’s go.”

Sion flailed her slender arms as if struggling, but when I walked into the bathroom without flinching, she finally covered her face with both hands.

I wasn’t sure why she was covering her face, but I placed her on the toilet and reached for the doorknob.

“I don’t need you to stay, right?”

“Just get out!!”

Her arms worked fine, so there shouldn’t be a problem. Leaving the bathroom, closing the door, and waiting outside… seemed a bit awkward, so I decided to wait a little further away.

“Director Hope~”

– ‘Knock, knock, knock’

Soon after, I heard her voice calling me and a knock, indicating she was finished.

I knocked back and opened the door to find Sion sitting on the toilet in the same position I had left her.

“Are you done?”

“Please don’t ask me that…”

Sion turned her head shyly, avoiding my gaze, and extended her hands towards me as if asking to be picked up.

I complied, scooping her up as she had requested.

She ended up clinging to me like a koala on a tree.

“Director Hope.”

“Yes?”

“Did you develop that chair with a hole in it yourself?”

“I did.”

Since the novel was set in a medieval fantasy world, the toilet must have seemed strange to her.

I had specially ordered it when I built this house.

Even just imitating the shape made things much more convenient.

Back in the bedroom, I laid Sion down and covered her with the blanket.

Her face relaxed into a comfortable smile as she looked up at me.

“I’ve traveled all over the world, but I’ve never seen anything like that. It’s a truly groundbreaking invention.”

“Is it really that impressive…?”

“If it hadn’t been there…”

Sion’s eyes widened, filled with a sudden terror.

What was she thinking about?

“I see. If you had to squat…”

“Director Hope?”

“You wouldn’t have been able to lower your pants yourself.”

“What are you thinking about?”

“And since you can’t squat, I’d have to support you from behind or lift you.”

“W-Well, I brought it up, so I can’t tell you not to imagine it, but…”

“And then…”

“Please stop talking…”

“Do I have to wipe?”

“Stoooop!!!”

Sion suddenly sat bolt upright in bed, reached out, and began to attack me with a barrage of slaps.

“Ow! Ow! Why are you hitting me?!”

“Don’t you know why?! You pervert!!”

Ouch, that really hurts! Sion’s slaps were making sharp cracking sounds and turning my defending arms red.

It was the kind of hitting a normal woman could do, but Sion’s arms were supposed to be weak.

Where was this Power coming from?

Could it be…?

“Sion!! Are you using Zero Resistance right now?! Are you crazy?”

“Punishing evil is a hero’s duty!! Even if I break my body doing it!!”

“But what evil am I that needs punishing?! Ow!”

The damage to my arms continued to accumulate, so I had to retreat from Sion’s bed.

Sion, still fuming, continued to glare at me with hostility, breathing heavily.

“Aren’t you coming over here?”

“Huff, huff… Sion… Just so you know, I’m not running away because I’m scared or it hurts.”

“Then why are you running away?”

“Because if you use Zero Resistance while hitting me, something bad will happen to ‘you’!”

“You’re so good with words!! If you’d just kept quiet, you wouldn’t be getting hit like this!!”

After yelling loud enough to shake the mansion, Sion took a few more deep breaths with an angry expression.

Then, seeming to regain her composure, she collapsed back onto the bed.

“You deliberately said those things out loud… You really do enjoy teasing me, don’t you, Director Hope?”

“That’s not true at all. It’s a good thing that didn’t happen.”

“I see. That’s certainly a relief. If I had to do that, how would I ever face you again…?”

“Is it that serious?”

“Of course it is! How could I look you in the eye after something like that?!”

If what I had described had actually happened… it certainly would have been quite a sight.

But it was a good thing it didn’t happen, so putting that aside—

“More importantly, Sion. What about your arms? Do you have any idea what could happen if you swing them around like that?”

“But a hero’s duty…”

“Are you kidding me right now? Duty is important, but you broke the promise we made this morning in less than half a day.

Didn’t we agree you wouldn’t do anything I didn’t tell you to, including exercise? Weren’t you supposed to ask me before exerting yourself?”

“Mmm…”

Having nothing to say, Sion covered her face with the blanket.

‘Sigh… It was only for a short time, so I can only hope nothing happened.’

However, this hope was cruelly dashed in less than half a day.

That evening. I prepared dinner, brought Sion out, and seated her at the table…

“Director Hope…”

Sion whimpered, her lowered arms trembling.

“My arms hurt so much I can’t move them…”