Rehabilitation Therapist for the Broken Warrior – Chapter 48

“Thank you so much for today. And…”

And I’m sorry. Zion was about to say that but stopped.

He decided not to apologize to his companion because Teacher Hop said so.

Zion, who had suffered a seizure after recalling painful memories while picking out a 100-day anniversary gift for Hop at the Hero Party Memorial Hall, managed to stabilize his mind thanks to Now’s quick thinking and was able to choose the gift safely.

“And?”

“And let’s meet again.”

“Yeah, okay. See you later.”

When Zion meets his companions and when they part, they embrace each other for a moment.

He likes the warmth conveyed by humans.

How could he forget this for three whole years?

Three years after the war. That was just time for Zion to realize how unnecessary he was in this peaceful world.

“Hero Zion Laurel is moving to the Noden Kingdom.”

Zion waved his hand to greet from inside the teleportation gate.

Now that he had chosen a gift, it was time to leave the Empire and return to the kingdom through the Magic Tower.

Zion had to go back to Room 104 in the Rehabilitation Center and prepare to welcome Hop back from his business trip.

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

‘I wonder if Zion is doing well…’

On the way back from a business trip to inspect the southern rehabilitation center of the kingdom.

The last day of the trip was scheduled to finish inspections by morning and depart in the afternoon to arrive late at night, so originally, he would go straight home to recover from fatigue, but worry for Zion led him to head towards the center first.

Zion shouldn’t have anything serious, right?

“Director, you’re back? What brings you here at this hour?”

“Is Zion doing alright?”

“If it’s the Hero…”

The expression of the nursing maid on duty began to harden with a peculiar tension.

“I think it’s better if you see him in person. From what I can tell, he seems to be ‘holding up well’… so…”

Holding up, huh… so he’s still having a tough time, after all.

Anyway, it seemed that nothing significant had happened, which was a relief.

“Okay. Thanks for your shift.”

“Yes, sir.”

He approached the door, but Room 104 remained quiet.

After signaling he would knock, he quietly opened the door and stepped inside the hospital room.

“Zion. I’m here.”

“……”

Inside, he found Zion sitting on the bed, curled up, trembling with his knees hugged to his chest.

“Zion?”

He called cautiously, but Zion still didn’t lift his head.

What’s going on? Can he not hear my voice?

I had been worried about how to handle it if Zion would jump off the bed and hug me since he had waited so long for my return, but now he showed no response at all. Isn’t this a big problem too?

Then, I had to reach out and touch Zion’s body. I prepared myself for any unexpected reactions…

“Zion… are you okay?”

I placed my hand on Zion’s back. To avoid startling him, I touched a less sensitive area without patting him to coax him into looking this way.

As soon as my hand touched his back, Zion flinched sharply.

Slowly, he raised his head and showed his face to me.

Had he been crying? His eyes were moist, glistening as he stared up at me with wide eyes.

“It’s Teacher Hop. Is it really you this time?”

Is it really me? If so, that means… I must have had countless dreams or illusions of meeting him again up until now.

But then Zion turned his gaze away from me and started trembling again.

“No, come on, focus, Zion. The teacher has to go to work tomorrow to see you. You just have to endure. There’s only one more night left…”

Then he lowered his head again, pulling his limbs tighter, retreating to his trembling position.

Zion… Is it really that hard for you just because I went on a business trip?

Even now, appearing right in front of him, he believes it’s all a hallucination to the point he’s in this state…

Seeing Zion curled up small like this, I struggled to calm my excited heart and took a deep breath.

I wanted to see more of his distress and keep him waiting for me, but I didn’t want to be the one to cause him pain.

I had to wake him up. So he doesn’t suffer any longer.

It seemed it was too little stimulation for Zion to wake up, so I decided to take a more daring approach.

First, I sat down next to the crouched Zion, then stretched out my arms to wrap around his shoulders and pull him closer.

“I’m really back, so stop hiding, Zion.”

“……!”

Zion’s head shot up, turning to look at me.

Since I had pulled him close beside me, his face was now right in front of mine.

Zion blinked his wet eyes, which sparkled from the tears, and stared at my face.

Then he raised both hands to touch my cheeks, as if trying to confirm it was real.

“Is it really Teacher Hop?”

“Of course. I came back right after hearing you were on my mind.”

“Ah, Teacher Hop. It really is you…”

And then, Zion slowly shifted his hands from my cheeks to behind my shoulders, pulling himself closer and resting his face on my shoulder, starting to cry again.

“Teacher, you’re a liar… You said you wouldn’t go anywhere, sniffle… You promised…”

“I’m not going anywhere. I came back just like this.”

A liar, huh… that made my chest tighten.

Of course, Zion didn’t catch on to my ‘real lies,’ but hearing her say those words made an overwhelming guilt engulf me, leaving me feeling increasingly cold.

“And you said it would be hard for me to follow you. That’s also a lie.”

“Huh? How so?”

“Being apart from you was much harder. It was so tough. I regretted it all day. If only I’d forced myself to follow you… If only I’d clung to you and cried not to let you go… Waaaaah~”

I never thought Zion had this level of dependence on me. This wasn’t just separation anxiety…

Right now, Zion, if I were to be even a little far away, would be reduced to this trembling figure, suffering all day from hallucinations drawing what I look like?

Could it be that I… broke Zion like this?

While it was thrilling and overwhelming to see Zion looking to me for dependence, I also felt a deep, pressing pain in my heart.

Is this my sin? Or is it just that seeing Zion in pain hurts me deeply?

“Don’t cry, Zion. If you cry, I’ll be sad too. I came back, so why are you crying? I thought you’d welcome me back happily and cheerfully. I thought you’d be surprised and delighted that I’m already here…”

I embraced the weeping Zion.

I just hoped Zion wouldn’t suffer anymore, that he wouldn’t hurt any longer.

The state of mind and emotions greatly affect the state of the body.

Zion is a hero at heart. I believe that once his body returns to normal, he will surely regain his original self, so today I strengthen my resolve.

There’s just a little over a year and a half before my lie is uncovered.

Until then, I must restore Zion to his original state so he doesn’t depend on me anymore.

The lie about the Demon King returning is one that must be revealed on the time I set. If that doesn’t happen, it will become obvious.

But at the very least, Zion must recognize that he was deceived while being independent of me.

If he finds out about the lie in a state like this now, it would feel like the whole world was collapsing for Zion.

What happens to me after that isn’t so important, but if that happens, Zion…

“Even if I’m happy, sniff… I’ll still be able to cry… So I’ll cry some more.”

“Then I’m glad to hear that. Do as you please, Zion.”

I quietly wait for Zion to calm down. And so do I.

These days, every time I see Zion, I can feel my emotions moving greatly.

It’s not the strange excitement I used to feel when seeing something broken; it’s something more genuinely ticklish for my heart.

I’m very curious and worried about what that feeling might be, which sometimes tickles at my heart and then disappears, but…

Yet, I’m fearful about confirming just what it is…

“Teacher Hop. Do you know what today is?”

“What is today? I’m not sure?”

“Hehe. You really don’t know?”

With a playful laugh, Zion stepped back from me, comfortably sitting on the bed just like I did.

She reached under the bed and rummaged around on the shelf before pulling out something precious wrapped in a paper bag.

“Today marks the 100th day since we met.”

“100 days… huh?”

100 days since we met? Wait, does that mean she’s trying to celebrate it since I celebrated the 50th day last time?

Oh no, I didn’t prepare anything!

The whole thing about the 50th day was just an excuse to give Zion a present, and after that, I hadn’t contemplated celebrating any anniversaries.

“You didn’t know? That’s okay. Normally, the one receiving doesn’t have to prepare anything. So please accept this.”

That was something I told her. I never imagined I’d get it back like this.

More importantly, what is this 100-day anniversary gift Zion is offering…?