Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/2912051601476634937
Knock, knock.
There was a loud knock on the door.
Without waiting for a reply,
the hospital room door swung open forcefully.
The first to rush in was Mia.
Right behind her, Lilia entered the room, slightly out of breath.
Both of them were disheveled—their clothes and hair were a mess.
It was obvious at a glance that they had rushed over as soon as they heard the news.
“Master!”
Mia tried to run toward me.
But her feet stopped.
“…!”
Her wolf ears trembled slightly.
The tip of her nose twitched.
The smell of blood still lingered in the hospital room.
My body was covered in bandages.
My complexion still didn’t look good.
The moment she saw me like that.
My chest tightened.
“…Master.”
Her voice trembled.
“You really… got hurt.”
She looked as if she were about to burst into tears at any moment.
Lilia was also at a loss for words.
She didn’t have her usual composure.
She simply.
stared at me, covered in wounds.
For a while.
No one spoke.
Eventually.
Mia’s gaze slowly drifted downward.
My right hand.
Leona was holding it, cradling it with both hands.
My left hand.
Serena was gently holding it.
“……”
“……”
Both of them fell silent.
And then.
Mia muttered quietly.
“…That’s not fair.”
Leona turned her gaze toward her.
“What’s unfair?”
“Have you been holding it the whole time?”
With those words.
The hospital room fell completely silent.
Leona didn’t deny it.
“…Yeah.”
She replied briefly.
“That’s not fair.”
Mia’s ears drooped.
“I wanted to hold it too, and I wanted to be there when Master woke up.”
In her voice,
jealousy and loneliness were intertwined.
Lilia looked at Mia like that.
She let out a small sigh.
And then.
She slowly turned her gaze toward Leona.
“…Why?”
Her voice was quiet.
“Why is something like this happening in Leona’s guild?”
The hospital room fell silent.
Leona didn’t answer.
Lilia continued.
“I thought I’d feel at least a little safer with you.”
“I thought you’d protect Alt.”
“But—”
“For him to end up with injuries like this…”
Leona slowly lowered her head.
“…I didn’t get there in time.”
“It’s my fault.”
“No.”
I spoke up quietly.
“It’s not Leona’s fault.”
“Leona wasn’t even there in the first place.”
“I acted on my own.”
“I couldn’t just leave the new recruits behind.”
“That’s why I got hurt.”
“That’s all there is to it.”
Lilia remained silent for a while.
Eventually.
She let out a small sigh.
“…I guess so.”
“I was getting a little emotional, too.”
“I don’t really want to blame Leona.”
Lilia looked straight at me.
“I was scared.”
“When I heard that Alt had been hurt.”
“What if I hadn’t made it in time?”
“What if he had died?”
“I couldn’t stop thinking about things like that.”
“So…”
“I just wanted to blame someone.”
Leona quietly looks up.
“…I’m sorry.”
Lilia shakes her head.
“I’m just as sorry.”
“But—”
“I don’t want anyone to ever have to go through this again.”
“Yeah.”
Leona gives a brief nod.
“I won’t let this happen again.”
It was a short statement.
But.
Her voice was tinged with deep regret.
Serena spoke up quietly.
“Leona.”
“What is it?”
“This isn’t about who was at fault.”
“Alt acted recklessly.”
“And it was only because you got there in time, Leona, that he was saved.”
“So.”
“Let’s make sure this doesn’t happen again.”
Leona nodded quietly.
“Yeah.”
After watching them for a moment,
Lilia finally turned back to me.
“Alt.”
“Hm?”
“Just this once, I’m going to be angry.”
Her voice was quiet.
“You’ve always been like this.”
“You always put yourself last.”
“You can’t just leave someone in trouble alone.”
“And that’s how you end up getting hurt.”
“As for me—”
“I hate seeing you get hurt, Alt.”
“I hate it when you get hurt somewhere I don’t know about.”
“And I hate it even more when I find out about it later.”
“Please—”
“Don’t rush off on your own like that anymore.”
I nodded quietly.
“I’m sorry. I worried you, Lilia. I promise I’ll be more careful from now on.”
This time, it was Mia.
She looked at me while wiping away her tears.
“Master.”
“Please don’t do anything reckless anymore.”
“I’m begging you.”
“I was really scared.”
“I thought you were going to disappear again.”
“So…”
“Promise me.”
“That you won’t do anything reckless anymore.”
“Yeah.”
“I promise.”
“For sure?”
“Absolutely.”
Hearing those words,
Mia finally smiled, looking relieved.
But then,
she timidly opened her mouth.
“Um…”
“Hm?”
“Just a little bit.”
“Can I hold your hand, too?”
Leona and Serena looked at Mia at the same time.
The atmosphere in the hospital room grew slightly tense.
“Just for a little bit!”
“Please!”
Seeing Mia’s desperate plea,
Leona let out a small sigh.
“…Just for a little bit.”
“Really!?”
Her ears perked up.
Mia happily grabbed my right arm with both hands, as if she were about to hug me.
“Ehehe…”
And then,
She murmured softly.
“I don’t want to let you go anywhere anymore.”
“I want you to stay by my side forever.”
“Forever…”
I heard every word.
But.
I couldn’t say a thing.
Serena smiled quietly.
“Alt.”
“Hm?”
“The next time you do something reckless on your own—”
Still smiling.
She stopped speaking there.
“Serena?”
“What is it?”
“What was the rest?”
“It’s a secret.”
She just smiled.
That smile.
It was scarier than any words.
Lilia quietly approached the bed.
“Lilia?”
“What?”
To my forehead.
She gently placed her hand there.
“You don’t have a fever.”
“Is that why?”
“Of course.”
But.
Even after she was done checking.
Her hand didn’t move away.
“Lilia.”
“……”
“It’s okay now, right?”
“Just a little longer.”
“Just a little longer.”
Keeping her gaze averted.
She continues to touch my forehead.
That hand…
was trembling slightly.
In the end.
Leona was in my right hand.
Serena was in my left hand.
Mia was on my right arm.
Lilia was on my forehead.
Not a single one of them.
tried to pull away from me.
“…Hey.”
“What?”
“What is it?”
“What’s up?”
“What?”
All four of them said it at the same time.
“It’s cramped in here.”
No one answered.
“It’s not cramped.”
Again, all four of them said it at the same time.
I couldn’t help but let out a wry smile.
The feelings each of them was holding inside—
they were all gathered in this hospital room.
Anger.
Fear.
Relief.
Jealousy.
And.
The desire never to lose him again.
All of it.
“…It’s pretty lively in here.”
I muttered without thinking.
No one answered.
But.
That warmth alone.
Never left me, right until the very end.
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