I’ve kept you waiting far too long. Unexpectedly, recovering from my move didn’t go as planned, and it’s been a while. I’m so sorry.
I received fan art from “Kamu”! Never did I imagine a day would come when my humble work would get fan art. Thank you, Kamu! Details are in the afterword.
Since many of you said you were eager for the continuation of Chapter 16, this chapter picks up right where it left off.
“‘Heal.’”
As I cast the spell, a faint white light thinly enveloped the knight’s body. At the spot where his left arm had been missing, a dense white mist-like substance gathered, gradually forming the shape of an arm. The mist glowed softly white too, seemingly the same as the light covering his body, just differing in intensity. Golden particles sparkled within the white mist like glitter, shimmering brightly. The knight glowed like that for just a few seconds. When the light faded, his left arm was there, properly restored. He stared at it with a stunned expression for a while before slowly clenching and opening his hand.
“Any discomfort or anything?”
“…None.”
He kept clenching and opening his hand so much that I got a bit worried and asked, but it seems there was no issue. Good, it worked perfectly. I feel a little happy, and the corners of my mouth lift. He stops clenching but still gazes at his hand dazedly.
“Sei.”
“What’s up?”
He calls my name quietly, so I tilt my head, wondering what’s wrong. Suddenly, he grabs both my hands, which had been resting on my knees, with a firm grip. Startled, I let out an “Eep!” but he doesn’t let go.
“…Thank you.”
His usual lighthearted tone is gone, replaced by a furrowed brow and an expression on the verge of tears as he thanks me.
“Uh, you’re welcome?”
“Why’s that a question?”
“Well, just kinda…”
Getting thanked feels a bit embarrassing, and I accidentally reply with a questioning tone. He slumps his shoulders with a sigh, returning to his usual self. I’m a little relieved. Being treated so differently from his normal casual vibe makes me nervous, especially when someone usually so laid-back gets all serious. It seems he feels the same, and we share a wry smile. Then I notice eyes on us. Looking around, I see all the other patients in the room staring at me. Some looks are filled with shock, others with a hint of hope. Oh, yeah, of course. I just grew an arm out of nowhere.
Like the first ward I visited, this place groups people with similar conditions together. This room is full of folks who’ve lost an arm, a leg, or some other part. Depending on what’s missing, most here will probably leave the knight corps after discharge. Healing just one person in front of them would naturally make them think, “What about me?” Well, I’m already in too deep, so might as well heal everyone while I’m at it. I take a deep breath and ask the knight to fetch some MP potions from the institute, any rank is fine. His injury seems limited to his arm, so running an errand should be okay, right? Even with my high MP, healing everyone might drain me mid-way. He happily agrees to the task, and I see him off with a “Take care.” After a few steps from the bed, he suddenly goes, “Huh?”
“What’s wrong?”
I call out, wondering if something’s off, but instead of answering, he starts stomping his feet and doing squats right there for some reason. After checking something thoroughly, he turns back to me slowly, his movements creaking like a rusty hinge.
“Old injuries are healed too.”
“Huh?”
He says even a knee he’d hurt before is fixed now. The lingering discomfort he’d had is completely gone. When I remark that magic is amazing for healing old wounds too, he says that’s not normal. What? Another case of the “50% bonus curse” here? Or did I pour in too much mana? Still, I’d rather overdo it than underdo it and leave it half-healed, so I decide not to overthink it. I’ll ponder the old-injury thing later—for now, I focus on healing.
I face each person in the room one by one, treating them. Small wounds, big wounds, external or internal—magic heals it all. Seeing it in action, magic really is convenient. Everyone who gets healed is amazed that everything’s fixed, thanking me with near-tearful gratitude. Some even start crying outright. Seeing grown men cry for the first time threw me off a bit. After healing everyone in the room, I turn to leave, only to find a crowd gathered at the entrance.
Noticing I’d finished, a few people from the doorway step inside, asking questions of those I’d healed. I talk to one of them and learn they came to check things out after hearing the commotion. Fair enough—some of the healed folks were shouting with joy. The newcomers seem to be acquaintances of the patients here, and of course, they knew about their severe injuries. Most people hospitalized right now are from that recent subjugation, so they’re all comrades. Everyone’s thrilled their buddies are healed, and cheers erupt here and there. Some even thank me alongside the healed patients.
Man, I did a good deed. I’m feeling pretty satisfied as I step out of the room to head back to the institute. That’s when I run into the knight, arms full of MP potions. Oh right, I’d asked him to get those in case my MP ran out mid-way. Surprisingly, I had enough to heal everyone in that room. I put a decent amount of mana into fixing those missing limbs, but maybe ‘Heal’ doesn’t use as much MP as I thought. Still, it feels bad to have him fetch them and not use them. Hmm, how about I heal more people as practice? Yeah, let’s do that. I’ve already messed up my “ordinary person” cover beyond repair anyway. Might as well go all in and heal the other wards too.
I try to carry the MP potions he brought, but he and some others insist on doing it for me. As we head to the next ward, a bunch of onlookers trail behind me and the knight with the potions. It’s like a scene from a medical drama’s grand rounds. Being the center of attention is super embarrassing, but there’s no helping it, so I give up resisting. I keep healing people one by one, sipping MP potions as I go, but with the whole hospital, the numbers add up. I’m getting tired of casting ‘Heal’ individually when I recall a book mentioning an area recovery spell. Might as well give it a shot. I’ve already healed all the severe cases like limb loss, so the rest are relatively minor injuries. If I mess up and it heals halfway or doesn’t work, I can just go back to ‘Heal’-ing them one by one.
In the next ward, I walk to the center and stop. Instead of focusing mana in my palm like before, I try releasing it to fill the room around me. I’ve never expelled mana from my whole body, so I concentrate, imagining pushing the mana inside me outward with a mental “Out you go!”
“‘Area Heal.’”
The moment I cast it, I feel a chunk of mana drain from my body. A magic circle-like pattern appears on the floor around me, drawn in white glowing lines. Within its bounds, the same white mist with golden glitter from ‘Heal’ thinly spreads. It’s a dreamy, totally fantasy-like sight that lasts just a few seconds. Did it work? I look around, and everyone within the circle seems healed. They’re all checking their injuries, and judging by the smiles creeping onto their faces, it worked. I mentally fist-pump with a “Yes!” when a familiar voice calls from behind.
“That just now… was that an area recovery spell?”
I turn to see the Director and the Knight Commander.
“Yeah, it was. Why are you here, Director?”
“Why? You’re late coming back, and then a Third Knight Corps guy shows up for MP potions, so I got curious and came to check.”
“Sorry…”
He says it with an exasperated tone, and I apologize, feeling a bit guilty. He just gives a wry smile.
“Still, you went all out, huh?”
“Not really…”
“Oh, I just saw it myself, everyone who’d lost arms or legs is healed. I was shocked.”
Following the Director, the Knight Commander chimes in too. Yeah, I might’ve overdone it a bit, but come on, what was I supposed to do! They were all looking at me with such expectation. I had to meet it. … … … Sorry. I also kinda wanted to try out some magic.
“Well, you did good.”
As I look down, reflecting a little, the Director says this and gives me a reassuring pat on the shoulder, joined by the Knight Commander.
Afterword
I got fan art from Kamu! When I received the message, I was dancing in front of my PC. Then, seeing the amazing artwork, I couldn’t stop grinning. Check out the wonderful illustration!
Kamu first contacted me at the end of August, but my slow updates delayed the reveal. I’m so sorry for the inconvenience, especially since you registered with “Mitemin” and revised the artwork for posting. Kamu, I’m really sorry.