Rehabilitation Therapist for the Broken Warrior – Chapter 135

After wandering around here and there for a few days, contemplating and struggling, I could finally finish almost all the preparations for the necessary wedding gifts.

Now, all that’s left is to figure out the time and place for the proposal. In other words, the atmosphere…

“Ugh!!”


“Oh wow~ our Risen has quite the flair, huh?”


“Really?”


“Of course! Who’s daughter is she~?”


“Mom’s daughter!”


“Right, right~”

Swinging a toy holy sword, identical to Zion’s but smaller and lighter, Risen proudly showcased his swordsmanship, while Zion beamed beside him.

Here I was, stuck in a headache situation about how to propose when there’s a child involved. Usually, proposals aren’t done when there’s a child around, so I had no clue what to do in this case.

“Ah, it’s getting red!”


“What? Teacher again?!”


“?!”

As I sank into thought for a moment, Risen had already pointed the sword this way.

Is he asking me to play together? But I must still pretend to be a monster, so being a dad is tough…

“Give me back Dad! You bad monster! Yaah!!”

Risen approached me, raising the toy sword with all his might, then—

“Ugh!”

He thought hitting me hard would hurt, so he slowly swung the sword, lightly ‘attacking’ my chest.

“Ugh, this is frustrating…”

I’ve recently been practicing falling over for effect. Hey, maybe my acting skills have improved a little since the first time?

Since I was already down, I decided to keep pondering how to create a romantic atmosphere and propose to Zion.

***

“Here’s the pair of rings you ordered.”

I finally came to pick up the wedding gifts from the number one jeweler in the kingdom.

Special items crafted for my proposal to Zion.

Inside a small jewelry box were two splendid rings that sparkled beautifully at a glance—delicate and exquisite.

“As per your request, I surrounded a pair of magical spheres with emerald pieces carved delicately into laurel leaf shapes. One is designed to look like a laurel crown, while the other sits atop it. Please check them out.”

I picked them up as the jeweler spoke, and the small gems artfully connected together were shaped just as I wanted.

I was amazed at how finely the gems had been cut, and each leaf-shaped gem stretched out directionally with an exquisite aesthetic sense, resembling a real laurel crown. The gems sparkled, reflecting light—truly showcasing the craftsmanship of the kingdom’s finest jeweler.

“This is amazing. It’s more beautiful than I imagined.”

“To be honest, I thought it was a rather unreasonable order… But since it’s for a hero and Hop, I did my best. I think I learned a new way to value gems that are hard to price. I had a hard time polishing them back to transparency after cutting them small and shaping each leaf.”

“Thank you so much. I’ll pay you generously. How much will it be?”

“Ha ha, normally I would charge based on the gems’ prices, but since this is a unique item made with hard-to-price gems, you can decide, Hop. It will be based on the value of my effort, rather than the gems themselves.”

“Understood. Then, how about this much…”

This guy is the kingdom’s top jeweler. He had nobles lining up to pay insane prices just to get their hands on his crafts.

Having snagged an appointment using the hero’s name, I figured I must pay appropriately for it.

I handed him a fair amount, and he smiled with satisfaction.

“I had a feeling you would offer generously, Teacher, but this is quite a reasonable price. I can accept this without any burden, so thank you.”

“But may I ask you one thing?”

“Yes, of course.”

“This magical item… it seems to shine toward each other. So, you’re using it as a wedding gift, then?”

“That’s right. It’s also an item full of memories and significance.”

Is he asking something personal?

While I know he worked hard, I’d prefer to avoid questions that dive too deeply…

“But what are the two lights pointing in the same direction? If it’s for a wedding gift, wouldn’t that be unnecessary? Does it have some meaning or point to a special place? It’s purely personal curiosity, so if it’s a sensitive subject, you don’t have to answer.”

Was that what it meant?

I indeed had some hesitation at first about using these spheres to make the rings due to the light from Naona and Hanamana.

It’s natural to be curious, but…

“That’s hard to answer.”

But it wasn’t that I wanted to share something irrelevant with someone else.

If it were after the proposal, maybe it wouldn’t matter, but this jeweler mingles with Little Academy parents and various nobles, so bringing it up unnecessarily beforehand wouldn’t benefit me.

“I’m sorry. I guess I shouldn’t have asked.”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll share it whenever the opportunity arises.”

Anyway, my business here is done, so I put the jewelry box into my spatial area.

Now I just have to return and decide on a time and place…

“Oh my, Hop Harvey, what brings you here?”

“Huh?”

Just as I was about to leave the workshop, a voice suddenly called out to me.

When I turned towards the source, there stood a noblewoman, accompanied by her attendant, seemingly there for the same purpose as me.

“Good day, Duchess.”

She’s probably one of the parents from Little Academy…

I couldn’t quite recall who she was but, thanks to her title, I managed to greet her without too much awkwardness.

“Nice to see you. Hehe, seeing you here makes me feel like the timing is right.”

“Right? What timing are you talking about?”

“You don’t have to keep it a secret. I’ve already heard about it from Mrs. Hop.”

“What do you mean by ‘heard’…?”

Did Zion tell her something?

And it even relates to my being here?

I couldn’t quite grasp the situation, but the Duchess resolved my confusion with her following explanation.

“They say you’re about to have a wedding ceremony soon. You’re here to pick up the rings, right?”

“Did Zion really say that?”

“Yes. She said you’ve regained your memory, so there will be a ceremony soon.”

‘Whoa…’

So that’s it.

I realized I needed to hold a wedding because the King had informed me.

Having regained my memory, I hadn’t previously considered the wedding—Zion or others must’ve assumed it would happen soon, as if it were a matter of course.

So, Zion is waiting for me to propose?

“Haha, you’re right. As you said, I came to pick up the rings.”

If she already knows there will be a wedding soon, there’s no need for me to hide my intentions to propose.

Or rather, should I ask for advice?

“But, it’s tough to find time since we have a child. It would be great if I could have some time alone with Zion…”

“Ah, that’s true. The two of you do have a child, right? What a predicament.”

The Duchess tilted her head in thought with a puzzled expression.


Does she know what to do in situations like this?

“Hmm…”

After a brief pause, she thoughtfully responded, “That works out well. Next week, there’s a camp at Little Academy.”

That was totally unexpected.

“Really?”

A camp at Little Academy? So, Risen won’t be at home then?

“Indeed. They have a scheduled program to experience adventurers’ camping, where they’ll spend a night just outside the castle gate with a knight escorting them. I already know, but there will probably be a notice going out through the children today or tomorrow. What do you think? Then, you could spend a night alone with your wife?”

“……”

That’s just what I needed!

How did they time this perfectly with Little Academy’s camp?

Having regained my memories and being fully prepared to propose to Zion, this schedule comes out of nowhere?

I completely forgot about the wedding and proposal until the King summoned me to inform me, and then I casually run into the Duchess, who drops a hint about Risen’s schedule.

It’s as if something is pushing me forward, creating opportunities.

This feels like…

‘Is this the world loving me?’

It feels like the whole world wants Zion to be happy.

Despite the immense pain Zion has endured as a hero, the world seems to want to say it loves him.

“Definitely, that’s the case. Thank you for the information.”

“Hehe, please make her happy.”

And the Duchess is also wishing for that.

To her, it might just be a simple greeting, but it feels somehow like a mysterious request from the world towards me.

“Yes, of course.”

Then I have to give her the proper reply.

But… that reply will be delivered to Zion, not the world.