“Leave the cleanup to me.”
When they reached the bar above ground, Anna saw the bartender lying on the floor and opened her mouth.
“…Will it be okay?”
After hearing the story about the assassins, Anna must have endured so much t0rture that her body couldn’t possibly be normal anymore.
From the start, her condition wasn’t something one could laugh off. The wounds visible through her torn clothes were serious.
But my situation… it was even worse.
There were countless cuts all over my body. My left arm and right thigh were completely numb. When I tried to open my left eye, it was sealed shut with dried blood.
Waves of nausea kept rising again and again.
I was also forcibly suppressing my convulsions with magic. Even with healing magic, I doubted whether everything could be fully cured.
“But, before that…”
Anna pushed me down gently and placed her hand on my chest. I felt something warm flow into me.
“It’s simple healing magic. It’s neither water nor light attribute, so the effect will be weak, but… at least a little.”
“Thank you.”
It wasn’t much, but I could breathe a little easier.
“I’ll finish cleaning up in ten minutes. Please wait.”
“So fast?”
“This is one of the hideouts. We’re always ready to move out.”
With that, Anna dragged the bartender’s corpse back down into the basement. After taking out the black wolf, just to be safe, she went around the remaining hideouts and dealt with the rest of the assassins. There shouldn’t be any more problems.
“Ugh…”
Until I met Anna, I hadn’t felt much pain. But once we left the basement, it started to hit me harder and harder. Now, even a slight lapse in magical flow made my whole body throb with pain.
Thanks to Anna’s healing magic, I was a bit better, but the pain hadn’t gone away completely.
It hurt enough to make me want to scream, but I clenched my teeth and held it in.
It’d be a problem if someone outside heard me.
“Young Master Ike. I’m back.”
“It hasn’t even been ten minutes yet.”
“We’ll have to move a little faster,” Anna said as she draped a long hoodie over me. “Can you still walk?”
“I think I’ll need to rest for ten minutes.”
“Then I’ll carry you.”
“What?”
Before I could react, Anna hoisted me onto her back.
I wanted to tell her to put me down, but I was trembling. I couldn’t stop her.
“This is a bit embarrassing.”
“Wouldn’t it be fine to just cover your face with the hood?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Sorry. Please forgive me.”
Anna slowly walked out of the tavern. Fortunately, it must have still been early—there wasn’t a soul around.
The morning fog hadn’t cleared yet.
For now, I decided to leave everything to Anna, and slowly closed my eyes.
***
I felt like I was drowning—like I’d been submerged in deep water for a long time.
Even though I wanted to exhale, something inside me wouldn’t let me.
“Keah!”
As soon as I woke up, I coughed out something dark.
Black blood soaked the white blanket.
“…Where am I?”
I looked around.
A white room. It looked like… a hospital?
I’m sure Anna carried me here…
“Young Master Ike?”
At the sound of her voice, I turned my head.
Anna entered through the door.
“Anna, this place…”
“This is the house of a healing mage I used to rely on often when I was part of Avatar. She knows nothing about my past, so there shouldn’t be any issues.”
“What are you talking about, Anna?”
“It’s nothing, Elin.”
A blue-haired woman appeared behind Anna.
She wore a white priest’s uniform, with a badge pinned to her chest—a design of three overlapping circles.
“That badge… the Church of Martires?”
“Oh, yes. I’m Elin. I served briefly as a priestess with the Church of Martires. Now I work as a healing mage, putting that talent to use.”
It wasn’t a lie—my body, which had been in a horrifying state, was nearly healed.
My left arm, once discolored, moved freely. Even my thigh, which I thought would be scarred forever, was spotless.
“Young Master Ike, let me take that blanket.”
After handing the stained blanket to Anna, I looked back at Elin, who had somehow ended up seated beside my bed.
“…Thank you.”
“You were in pretty serious condition. I’m glad you’re feeling better,” Elin said with a soft smile.
Her gentle demeanor made it easy to believe she had once been a priest.
But something about her stood out even more.
“Those eyes… perhaps?”
“Oh, yes. I’m blind. That’s why I usually keep my eyes closed. When I open them, people say it’s disturbing.”
She must’ve heard the question often.
Elin answered casually, without offense.
But that wasn’t what I meant.
“If you can’t see because of a wound, why not just use healing magic?”
Though faint, a long scar ran across her face—from her right eye to her left.
If the blindness had been caused by a simple injury, someone with her level of skill could’ve healed it easily.
No matter how old the wound, surely she could restore her vision.
“I made these scars myself.”
“…What?”
“A long time ago, on the day I failed to do what I was supposed to… and lost everything. These scars are my punishment—for not seeing what I needed to see.”
I had no words in response to Elin’s quiet confession.
“…Thank you.”