Visiting the Intensive Care Room in the temple had been a while.
It had only been two months, but I used to go there so often that it felt longer.
During the last semester, I was indebted to that place once or twice a month, wasn’t I?
Looking back, it was a time when I was recklessly throwing my body around.
I wondered what would have happened if the Lady Virgin Saint hadn’t been at the Academy.
At the very least, I would have lost my life or ended up disabled.
Being dependent on the Intensive Care Room was a serious matter.
For most injuries, hospitalization wasn’t necessary. In a different temple, it might be different, but the Academy’s temple was a place where high-ranking priests were always on standby.
Usually, it was common for students to receive outpatient treatment after their emergency care was finished.
However, if someone had to stay in the temple for several days, needing intensive care, there was only one reason for it.
It meant the degree of the injury was extremely serious.
For example, I was like that during the last semester.
Back then, I was struggling through various battles.
I had fractures and contusions all over my body, lost consciousness from severe injuries, and there were times when I nearly died.
Naturally, I had to frequent the Intensive Care Room.
But that was an exceptional case.
Most Academy students do not visit the Intensive Care Room. Even if they did, most went for hospital visits.
No matter how dangerous the Academy was, it was still an educational institution.
There weren’t many situations where the students’ safety was seriously threatened.
Yes, generally, that was the case.
Unless some crazy person didn’t swing around a sword or an axe.
Unfortunately, there was such a madman prowling the current Academy. The reason I was visiting the Intensive Care Room today was to check on that victim.
Because that “madman” was none other than me.
To be precise, it was “me” from the future.
I listened to the Lady Virgin Saint’s complaints with gloomy eyes.
“…Both of you are insane.”
This was the first comment the Lady Virgin Saint made to me.
It seemed she had been through a lot of mental strain since she became Ceria’s supervising priestess.
The hollowed eyes bore witness to the fatigue she had endured.
The cause was obvious.
As usual, the patients weren’t listening to her.
I couldn’t deny my own guilt, so I could only cough awkwardly.
However, there was one point of doubt in the Lady Virgin Saint’s lament.
“Both? Who are you referring to?”
To be honest, I could guess one person.
But I had no idea who else she thought was insane, so I asked.
In response, the Lady Virgin Saint raised her voice as if it was good timing.
“Of course, it’s you who came from the future and Sister Ceria!”
With that, she trembled her body.
It was a signal that she was fed up.
It seemed that Ceria was also responsible for the mental anguish the Lady Virgin Saint endured.
“That man who shatters everything as if he’s my enemy is one issue, but Sister Ceria who keeps provoking him no matter what I say is also a problem! I’ve told her several times, but her stubbornness is just too strong…”
“…Did Ceria provoke him first?”
Was it the gentle Ceria?
The Lady Virgin Saint’s voice shook. It wouldn’t have been like that if she was joking.
I knew, yet I still found it hard to believe.
Especially since Ceria said she got severely injured daily.
I struggled to understand why Ceria would provoke “me” to such an extent. It seemed the Lady Virgin Saint didn’t have a specific answer either.
She sighed in frustration.
“Well, Sister Ceria said it was part of her training, but…”
Training.
I suddenly recalled the technique that Lady Airen had received.
That swordsmanship looked mighty at first glance. Deep down, I suspected that it might be a technique that belonged to a renowned organization.
If I could receive a technique of that caliber, it might be worth sustaining severe injuries.
Any martial artist would feel that way.
Martial artists are beings who inherently crave strength. No matter how gentle Ceria is, she wouldn’t be an exception.
Yet, there was still one question remaining.
It was about the teaching methods of “me” from the future.
I couldn’t comprehend that educational method.
Lady Airen remembered her experiences of receiving the technique as good memories. In other words, it meant that excessive violence was not involved.
Conveying the essence and allowing self-training.
That was how “I” taught, as revealed in Lady Airen’s story.
However, the situation depicted in the Lady Virgin Saint’s testimony was the exact opposite.
Bringing violence until one could handle it themselves, even if the opponent was severely injured.
It was an overly simplistic and brutal training method.
Someone who conveyed the essence to Lady Airen with just a short lesson. There was no need to resort to merciless violence.
Of course, it seemed the Lady Virgin Saint couldn’t resolve that doubt either.
The faint sigh that slipped out proved it.
It meant she had nothing to add. And also, that Ceria was hiding something.
If that was the case, there was only one thing for me to do.
A sigh mixed with exasperation escaped my lips involuntarily.
“…I’ll say something.”
“Please do.”
The look on the Lady Virgin Saint’s face, as she replied like that, was clearly one of concern.
I quietly patted her shoulder.
Then she subtly buried her face into my chest and let out a deep sigh.
“What a trouble this is, getting involved with a man like this…”
“Strictly speaking, it’s not my fault, is it?”
“Hmph, if it weren’t for you, would I have had to go through all this?”
Maybe she would have.
Though pretending to be aloof, the Lady Virgin Saint was always sincere with her patients.
However, I didn’t point it out.
I wasn’t so oblivious as not to realize that her words were a signal asking for sympathy.
I quietly patted the back of the woman burying her face in my arms.
After a while, the Lady Virgin Saint looked up at me with a sulky gaze.
During that process, I could feel the soft touch of her chest, but I refrained from mentioning it.
There was no reason to refuse a favor offered by the Lady Virgin Saint.
I merely gazed down at her blushing face.
She was incredibly beautiful.
Her pale complexion only accentuated her beauty further.
Whether she sensed my thoughts or not, she puckered her lips and declared to me.
“…You will repay this debt over a lifetime.”
Let it be so.
I smiled wryly as I ruffled the Lady Virgin Saint’s hair with some roughness.
Then the Lady Virgin Saint slightly frowned, saying she had to fix her hair.
Of course, I didn’t care, regardless of her annoyance. The Lady Virgin Saint’s irritated expressions were cute too.
Thus, after finishing my private conversation with the Lady Virgin Saint, I was able to meet Ceria.
Ceria’s appearance when we finally met was pitiful.
There was not a single part of her body that wasn’t wrapped in bandages. Even her beautiful face was crossed by a white bandage.
That wasn’t all.
The blood and pus leaking from various parts had taken over my sight. It meant her injuries were not fully healed.
It broke my heart even more to realize that the maiden’s pain was still ongoing.
She looked more serious than I had imagined.
I froze on the spot as I entered.
Sensing my presence, the girl’s deep blue pupils slowly turned toward me.
Ceria gazed at me silently for a while, then showed signs of fidgeting.
It was the moment when light returned to the shadowy depths of her eyes.
Ceria bit her lips, avoiding my gaze.
As if she was ashamed to show her pitiful self.
Yet, she couldn’t ignore me, so Ceria let out a timid murmur.
“…Is that you, Senior Ian?”
I didn’t answer Ceria’s call.
Instead, I walked over, knelt down with a bewildered expression.
Then, the scars remaining all over Ceria’s body came into sharper focus.
The painful wounds that made even looking at them hurt, I unconsciously clenched my teeth.
Until then, I had thought the Lady Virgin Saint’s expressions were exaggerated.
I misunderstood that “shattered” was merely a metaphor.
But the moment I faced Ceria directly, I had to admit that it was a grave misjudgment.
It was indeed “shattered.”
It must have been done on purpose, leaving her body broken like this. There was no way one could suffer such serious injuries otherwise.
How much pain and suffering had Ceria endured?
Imagining the pain my precious junior must have gone through made my body tremble with rage.
In the end, I couldn’t hold back and let out a loud yell.
“No, that bastard really…!”
“P-Please calm down, Senior Ian!”
Ceria shouted urgently as she grasped my arm.
My body froze, unable to shake off her delicate touch.
Before I knew it, Ceria started to tear up.
“It’s my fault! I stubbornly insisted… I-I just wanted to avoid self-harm…!”
Only then did I suddenly regain my senses.
Ah, that’s right.
It was “me” who had made Ceria like this.
Even if I wanted to check her hands, there was nothing I could do. All I could do was worry that Ceria would just end up harming herself.
Eventually, I could only let out a sigh, trying to calm my heart.
The anger still lingered, but there was currently no way to protest.
I would surely pay back this debt later.
I made that promise to myself and took a seat on the chair next to her bed.
Ceria was still looking at me with anxious eyes.
I couldn’t tell who was worrying about whom, so I forced a chuckle and asked.
“…Why? Are you worried that I might harm myself?”
“Yes.”
It was an unequivocal affirmation.
I never thought Ceria would think of me that way.
I felt a little hurt, but I didn’t show any discontent with a simple cough.
Rather, it was time to listen to Ceria’s story.
At that moment, Ceria was still flustered by my dramatic reaction. It would be difficult for her to lie now.
I asked her directly.
“…So, what happened?”
Ceria’s mouth closed tightly at my question.
Seeing her glance away, it seemed there was some secret she wanted to hide from me.
Of course, I had no intention of giving up that easily.
“Anyway, if I ask Celin, I’ll find out the matter, right, Ceria… Can’t you just tell me in your own words?”
Ceria ultimately couldn’t withstand my continuous request.
After a moment of hesitation, a sigh escaped her lips.
It was a signal she was about to reveal everything that had happened.
“Well, um, you see…”
Thus began Ceria’s story.
“…Don’t follow me.”
It was an unexpected remark.
It was a man with extremely fatigued eyes.
That day, Celin and Ceria were walking together, bickering.
The two girls’ dazed gazes crossed in the void.
Nonetheless, the man merely looked at the two of them with a cold, indifferent stare. By then, Celin and Ceria had no choice but to realize the identity of the man.
It was “him” from the future.
The senior they both had unrequited feelings for couldn’t have had such a cold-blooded expression.
They were curious about the reason why.
It seemed there was a condition for “him” from the future to possess the man he loved.
But first, Celin voiced the immediate question that came to her mind.
“Why?”
There was no need to specify where he was referring to, for if he mentioned it, it meant he was leaving somewhere.
Then, the remaining question was only one.
Why were they not allowed to follow together?
The man’s answer to that question was simple.
“Because you won’t help.”
It was a truly straightforward and cruel answer.
At those words, Ceria felt a surge of emotions, marking the beginning of the trial.
Ceria still didn’t realize it.
What kind of person “he” from the future was.
He was an unimaginable lunatic.
