Rehabilitation Therapist for the Broken Warrior – Chapter 8

“Zion. Is there a place with a bed?”

“If it’s a bed, it’s in the room.”

It was more comfortable to lay Zion down on a bed rather than have her sit in a wheelchair to check her condition.

Normally, the first step would be to test her physical strength and muscle capabilities, but for a patient like Zion, who had extreme mobility issues, it was more important to check for any special abnormalities first.

“Come over here.”

Following her in the automatically rolling wheelchair that moved without Zion pushing it, we entered the room.

I should ask how that thing moves someday.

The room with the hero’s bed was nothing special at all.

It seemed that since she couldn’t move, there weren’t any other pieces of furniture besides the bed and closet, and she didn’t even feel like decorating it.

On top of that, the only thing lying cold by the head of the bed was the holy sword, the origin of which was anyone’s guess.

“Ugh…”

Once we entered, Zion leaned forward, flopped onto the bed, and with great effort, managed to turn over to lie flat.

“Ah… is this okay?”

Zion lay limply on the bed, eyes closed, surrendering her body. Her long hair, tangled and displaying a deep, dark purple hue, spread out chaotically on the bed, and it was easy to notice her chest rising and falling with each breath.

She seemed like a patient barely hanging on to life, yet including those broken parts of her, I found her beauty to be nothing short of stunning.

“Alright. From now on, I’ll check your muscle mass and joint condition.”

Her limbs were so thin that they felt like they would snap if I attempted to bend them. The weight I felt when lifting her earlier made me wonder if I was really lifting a person at all.

I raised her arm and checked her triceps first by grasping the upper arm.

‘Hmm…’

Rotating her arm joints around, I was checking the muscle interlocking, major connection points, and splitting areas while assessing how much her muscles were contracting and relaxing.

Lowering down to her forearm, I checked that as well, and then repeated the same procedure on the other arm.

Fortunately, there didn’t seem to be any significant damage to the joints or cartilage. The movement was smooth, so the only real issue appeared to be muscle mass.

“I’ll check the legs as well.”

Starting at her thighs over her clothes, I lifted her legs, rotating and checking for range of motion and any pain.

There were no damages here either. The same was true for the other leg…

While Zion had sustained injuries during the final battle, it seemed they weren’t as severe as the Third Princess Naou’s; her exercise abilities weren’t diminished due to injury.

“How is it? My body.”

Zion peered in my direction with her head slightly sticking out, perhaps worried about how I was feeling her body.

“You have drastically reduced muscle mass. I can guess the reasons behind it…”

It wasn’t to this extent, but I was relieved to remember seeing a similar condition during my practice with a patient.

Thanks to that, I had a good idea of the potential cause, but I needed to confirm it, so I decided to ask her some questions.

“I need to check a few things, so please answer my questions honestly.”

“Alright.”

“When did this start?”

“It started getting harder to move around the end of last winter. After the war ended and all the post-war events were over…”

“Really?”

“Yes?”

If the cause of the hero’s demise was indeed what I suspected, it wouldn’t have deteriorated so suddenly as she described it happening ‘right after.’

“Zion. I’m here to help you heal. Please cooperate without deceiving me.”

“…….”

Having no further need to examine her body, I sat next to Zion’s head and quietly observed her.

It seemed she couldn’t make eye contact with me, as if caught hiding something.

“Can doctors specializing in rehabilitation understand that much?”

“The body doesn’t lie.”

As I pressed for more information while looking at her directly, she sighed as if resigned and shook her head.

“The first time I felt my body not moving well was right after we nearly broke through the northern region. It was just before entering the Demon King’s castle formed around the gate.”

So that would be about three years and three months ago. One year for breaking through the northern territory and three months for attacking the Demon King’s castle. A continuous struggle of battles without a break every day.

So that’s when it began. The fact that her body hadn’t moved then…

“Did you start using No Resistance in daily life around that time?”

Zion crinkled her brow as if hit right on target, slowly raised her arm, and covered her face with her hand.

“How did you know…”

No Resistance. Zion’s ability to erase pressure in the movements around her, breaking through the limits of speed.

Given her current condition, that ability was likely the reason for her body breaking down.

I had seen similar cases when I went for practice at a hospital in Washington, USA.

Muscle atrophy specific to astronauts who had been exposed to microgravity for a long time. My experience observing the state and rehabilitation of astronauts at that hospital, which had close ties with NASA, proved helpful at this moment.

“You’ve always moved in No Resistance both during battles and in daily life. To think it began from the moment you entered the Demon King’s castle, how could you have sustained that state for three months while still engaging in the final battle…”

This was a plot twist not mentioned in the story. How could such a thing happen?

If one always moved in a state of No Resistance, the muscles that didn’t bear any load would naturally be lost.

It was a phenomenon close to physical inevitability; yet, witnessing it occurring in the hero’s body was simply unfathomable.

“I knew that moving in a world without resistance would wreck my body. But the more it fell apart, the more I had to rely on my abilities. If I stop, this world will…”

She truly did bear the fate of the world on her shoulders.

She was the only one who stepped into the Demon King’s castle after breaking through the northern region.

If she, Naou, Airi, and Hanamana had not penetrated through the frontline to defeat the Demon King and closed the gate, humanity would still be struggling against the influx of demons.

No, if they were still holding on at the frontlines, then it might be a blessing. By the time of the story’s conclusion, the Keroa Empire, which was adjacent to the northern region, was on the verge of collapse, and if the empire fell, how long could the other nations withstand?

“Thanks to that, the war ended. So now, let’s try and move your body again.”

“No, it isn’t over yet.”

With a solemn determination, Zion exerted her back and arms to rise from the bed.

I gently placed my hand on her back to help her up, and she struggled to sit upright against the bed, looking in my direction.

Zion’s scarlet eyes, gazing at me now, felt like they were burning, unlike before.

It was a small flame, but it radiated a will that hadn’t been there a moment ago.

While it wasn’t yet the full radiance of a sun, perhaps this was the light Zion had shown her companions and the people of this world.

“The war in two years, as Mr. Hop said… my role isn’t completely over yet.”

“…….”

It sounded like the adventure of the hero was about to begin anew, filled with anticipation.

Is the person right before me truly the same person I met at the national cemetery?

“Are you going back to the kingdom tomorrow?”

“Yes, there’s no problem with the rehabilitation center in the empire, so as scheduled.”

She seemed strangely brighter; could it be…?

“Then I’ll tell Serin, so please come pick me up when you return. I’ll head to the kingdom as Naou suggested.”

Serin must have been that hireling from earlier.

Although I was still concerned about Zion’s condition, we could check on that during the rehabilitation process.

“Zion. We’re going to the magic tower, but there shouldn’t be any issues using the teleportation magic circle, right? It won’t strain your body or anything…”

As the founder of rehabilitation medicine, I had the right to use the teleportation at the magic tower.

The hero Zion also possessed that right in the story, which made me worried about her physical state even more.

“It’s alright. That much is comfortable enough for me.”

“That much is true.”

“By the way, Mr. Hop can also use the magic tower?”

“Yes, it’s the standard for rehabilitation medicine.”

“Having rights to use the magic tower is akin to being treated like the tower master or a hero.”

Hero… the person lying on the bed before me was the true hero.

To hear such words from the one who defeated the Demon King and saved this world was beyond my imagination.

“In an era after the war, it’s doctors like you who save lives that are the true heroes.”

“Zion…”

Zion briefly made a bitter expression, but soon regained her spirits and smiled faintly.

“It’s fine. I’ve realized that I still have a role to play.”

“…….”

That smile she showed me just now; is it a genuine smile born from true joy?

“Then come for me tomorrow.”

“Yes, please take care going back.”

Well, whatever’s fine. As long as I could observe the rehabilitation of the hero Zion, that was enough for me.

If Zion could find the will to live again, that would be all that mattered. She had been practically bedridden until just now.

I am the only rehabilitation specialist in this world.

As Zion said, I was treated like a hero while doing work for the people.

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

“I still have things to do…”

Left alone in her bedroom, Zion Laurel murmured.

“Still, still, still…”

She struggled to gather her unresponsive limbs, clutching the cold holy sword, curling up on the bed.

“Why is it that you…”

It has been three years since Zion’s body began to fail, and the holy sword ceased to shine.

Cradling the cold sword gently, Zion was merely repeating the names of her companions.

“Naou, Hanamana, Airi…”