Chapter 17: If I’m Sick, Then Someone Should Stay With Me

The next day.

I came down with a fever and was bedridden.

"It might be the fatigue from the journey catching up to you."

Karen-san said that as she placed a hand on my forehead.

It’s true—these past few days, I hadn’t been sleeping well on those hard floors. I’d been feeling hot and a little dizzy now and then, but I thought I could just power through it.

Back when I lived on Earth, that kind of mindset usually worked.

Just keep warm, eat properly, and you’ll be fine. I’d almost never gotten sick.

"I’m sorry, Karen-san..."

"Don’t be. We help each other when we’re in need."

She smiled gently.

I was lying on a bed inside the abandoned house. The original blankets had been too worn out to use, so we’d replaced them with the bedding we’d brought along.

"Would using healing magic help cure me?"

"That’s... difficult."

Karen-san gave me an apologetic look at my suggestion.

"Why not?"

"Healing magic is meant to treat physical injuries. It can help restore stamina or strengthen your immune system, but it can’t cure an illness instantly. Someone of higher rank could probably manage it, but I... can’t."

"I see..."

She looked so genuinely sorry that I felt bad for asking something unreasonable.

"I’ll at least cast 【Healing Heal】 to help with your strength."

"Thank you. I’m sorry… we’re supposed to reach the 'Demon Dragon' as soon as possible, and yet..."

"Please don’t apologize so much. You are the 'Saint', Yuto-sama. O miracle of the gods, grant healing—【Healing Heal】."

A gentle light enveloped me.

I felt my body grow lighter, as if the fatigue had eased a little.

"I think... I’ll sleep for a bit..."

Overwhelmed by drowsiness, I told her that.

"...Good night, Yuto-sama."

"Yeah... good night..."

For some reason, I felt completely at peace as I drifted off to sleep.

"Karen, have you ever cooked before?"

"...Unfortunately not. Back at the castle, we had staff for that sort of thing."

"Same here, actually."

I’d done some curry cooking during school home ec classes, but the recipe was long gone from my memory.

The two of us stood in front of the cookware and the frozen ingredients, uncertain what to do.

It was nearly noon now, and of course, we were both starving. In fact, we’d skipped breakfast entirely.

"At the very least, we should feed Yuto something nutritious..."

"Yes. I’ve always been told since I was young that meals are the most important thing when you’re sick."

"Well, maybe if we just cook it thoroughly, it’ll turn out okay?"

Stir-frying some vegetables shouldn’t be too hard.

Just chop them up and fry. Even someone with no cooking sense like me should be able to manage that. Unfortunately, we were out of meat. A plate of just vegetables felt... a bit depressing.

"I’ll go out and hunt something."

"Then I’ll go with you."

"No, you stay with Yuto. It’s probably just a cold, but if anything happens, it’s better if someone like you—who can use healing magic—is there."

Besides... I couldn’t bring myself to say it out loud.

Things like wiping down her body—well, it wouldn’t be right for me now, not anymore.

"I’m counting on you."

I strapped Galatine to my waist, left the ruined village on my own, and headed off to find something to hunt.

"...Karen-san?"

When I changed the ice pack on her forehead, Yuto-sama stirred awake.

Her eyes looked hazy, likely from the fever dreams she’d been having earlier. Her forehead had been burning up, so I’d used magic to conjure the ice in a hurry.

"Are you all right? How are you feeling?"

"It’s hard... to say I’m okay. I was having a scary dream."

"A dream?"

"Yes..."

Yuto-sama looked away.

Her usually sleek black hair, normally tied in one neat bunch, was disheveled from sleep.

"Did I ever tell you about my parents?"

"...Raiga-sama did. That they died protecting you."

"That’s correct. That’s what happened... I was dreaming about that moment."

Yuto-sama looked so fragile as she spoke.

She trembled slightly, curling in on herself.

Normally, she’s strong and composed—but maybe that’s exactly why, now that she’s unwell, she wants someone to listen. Maybe her weakness is coming to the surface because of the fever.

I gently pulled her into a hug.

"Karen-san? You’ll catch it from me…"

"It’s fine. I used a spell to boost my immunity ahead of time."

It would be a problem if both I and Raiga-sama ended up bedridden, so I had already cast it as a precaution.

"I see. Then... I won’t hold back."

That’s all she said, before leaning against me.

She was different from usual—clingy, almost like a little sister—and I found her endearing in that moment.

Then, Yuto-sama began to speak.

After her parents passed away, Yuto-sama had no one left to take her in.

In the world she and Raiga-sama came from—Earth—there’s a kind of magic anyone can use that lets you contact people instantly, called a telephone. But even with that, she wasn’t able to reach anyone.

Because her parents had eloped, going against both their families’ wishes. Even though that world no longer had a class system, deeply rooted prejudices still lingered.

In the midst of all that misfortune, there was one small blessing: Yuto-sama’s parents had been frugal. They had saved up a substantial amount of money for her future. On top of that, the person responsible for the accident paid a large settlement. Apparently, they were wracked with guilt—so much so that they even offered to act as her sponsor.

Thanks to that, she was able to devote herself to her studies.

She’d had the option of entering an orphanage in that world.

Even though their standard of living is extremely high, it’s not easy for a child to survive alone. Still, Yuto-sama didn’t want that.

Instead, she stayed behind—alone—in a house no one would ever return to. So she wouldn’t lose the memories she had of living with her family.

"...I see."

"Sorry for going on and on like that..."

She gave a hollow smile.

"I don’t know why... I just really wanted someone to hear it."

Her heart felt so fragile—like glass, on the verge of breaking. That’s the impression I got.

So I hugged her again, tighter this time.

"Um—"

I gathered my resolve and spoke.

"What is it?"

Yuto-sama tilted her head.

"Would you mind... if we stopped using formal speech?"

"Huh?"

"Could you talk to me the way you do with Raiga-sama? In return, I’ll call you just ‘Yuto-san’ instead of ‘Yuto-sama.’"

"U-uh..."

"I’ve been speaking formally since I was born, so I probably can’t stop completely, but... could we be friends?"

Yuto-sama—no, Yuto-san—froze up for a moment, and a brief silence passed between us.

"Ah... so we weren’t friends already?"

"Eh—no, I mean—just officially, I guess?"

"...That was a joke. I mean—that was a joke. Looking forward to being friends, Karen-san."

She held out her hand to me with a bright smile—different from the one she wore while telling her story.

For the record, she never did stop calling me “Karen-san.”

Apparently, I’ll always be “Karen-san.”