Time passed by, and all I had to keep my company was the pain. Thoughts were difficult, and my memories remained a scattered mess as I just tried to deal with the agony of existing. Strangely enough, my memories included countless periods of agony. Sometimes, it ended in the sweet relief of death, but other times, I pulled through. In a way, the knowledge of that gave me comfort.
Eventually, just as Catelyn had promised, the healer came. There was no fanfare. At some point as I gritting through the pain and waiting for the next time I fell unconscious, I became aware of someone entering my hospital room. I felt two hands touch my chest, and then a sudden surge of cooling energy shot through my body. I felt like I had been splashed with ice-cold water. My entire body seemed to spasm in place, but her firm hands kept me down on the bed. It only lasted for a little less than a minute, but when it was done, my eyes fluttered open.
The pain that had haunted me for several days was gone. I found it incredibly difficult to grasp. I touched my body in disbelief, only to feel more disbelief that I was able to move. There was a lightly giggle, and I turned to see a woman was standing there in a white lab coat.
She gave me a smile and a nod. "You have been healed. You should be able to leave tomorrow after a night of observation."
Her words took me a moment to process, and then all I could get out was. "Is that all?"
She let a soft chuckle. "That is all. Healing magic is much quicker than the traditional means, isn't it? It's just a shame there are so few of us."
I blinked and then shook my head as I was reminded of my manners. "Ah, thank you."
"Don't thank me…" She held out a finger, and then I felt something small I didn't notice before jump off my body and onto her. "You should thank him."
I looked at her finger where a snow-white bird was sitting. She raised it up and turned it to face me. It looked at me, cocking its head to the side like it was curious.
"Um… thank you?"
It felt a bit strange, but I thanked her bird as she asked. The bird seemed to chirp in pleasure, and the woman let out another laugh.
"He's a caladrius. A very rare familiar, but he can do what modern science has failed at."
"Caladrius." I was merely repeating what she said, as I had no clue what she was talking about, but that was when several of my fragmented memories seemed to strike me at once.
The first was a fragment of a memory of what a caladrius was. It was supposedly a mythical bird associated with healing. In that memory, there was an emphasis on it being a myth. Such a bird didn't truly exist but was from a realm of fantasy. The other memory came from this world, and it told me that such mythical beings were far from fantasies. They were servants of humanity. Everyone manifested some kind of familiar. This usually happened when they reached puberty.
"I have no familiar." I began to recall.
This was the other reason that my fight against Niles had been a complete joke. Not only was he several years older and practiced in swordsmanship, but he also had manifested his familiar. He had a particularly strong familiar which had imbued him with ice magic. Wasn't that why he had taken such a liking to Catelyn? Her familiar was a water element, making the pair quite compatible. On that note, Margaretta's familiar was fire-based. It had been a fireball that had struck me, leaving me in such a painful state for nearly a week.
"It is a bit surprising that your familiar hasn't manifested itself yet." The doctor seemed to take my statement as a question directed at her. "However, everyone manifests their familiar eventually."
"Yeah, but stronger familiars tend to appear early, while weak familiar manifest later." As soon as one memory unlocked, it seemed to connect to several others.
The doctor's smile faltered slightly. "That's not necessarily true. Certain late bloomers simply manifest late. My brother-in-law was such a person."
"What did he manifest?"
"A metal slime! Ah… ahem…" Realizing what she had just said, she wore a slightly embarrassed look.
"I think I recall metal slimes don't have magic."
"Errr… that's right. They have an enormous defense though!" I shot her a side look, and she gave a helpless shrug. "Well, either way, you're cured. Please rest now, as you'll be released tomorrow."
The healer quickly excused herself from the conversation and fled the room, leaving me with my thoughts. It turned out I wasn't just a lazy loafer, but I would also never amount to anything. My familiar was likely to be something weak and pathetic. From what I recalled about this world, everything had to do with your familiar. Familiars didn't just help you with various tasks, but your power was intricately linked to their own.
People with powerful familiars would have powerful magic. Many familiar granted an affinity to a certain element, which often became that person's strongest element. Of course, there were also various side benefits. Some familiar could fight by their side, while others could function as a mount. The best familiars could grant their master unique abilities. Some could grant their master flight or the ability to breathe underwater.
I could only sigh as I thought about the possibilities. Unfortunately, this life didn't seem to be heading in a better direction than any of the previous lives that were swimming around my head. I spent the rest of the night trying to organize and recall all of my memories from this life. I didn't gain very much. I recalled that Margaretta and her brother Niles weren't the only children of the Augustus household. They also had a younger daughter as well, and even she had already manifested her familiar! Other than that, my mind was still full of holes.
The next morning, a beautiful woman with red hair and a small beauty mark on her cheek entered my room. She wore extremely nice clothing, and it was clear that she was not only attractive but also wealthy. Yet, the second her eyes looked at me, there was an expression of scorn.
"You cost me quite enough, peasant. Get your things. We're leaving now."
I immediately recognized her snobbish voice. She had been the woman who had cut a deal with Catelyn. This was the matriarch of the Augustus family, Marianne Augustus. I seemed to recall that of everyone in the home, she seemed to have the biggest grudge against me. She respected wealth and power, so someone like me who had not a penny to my name and my only connection being the sympathy of a widow and her daughter, it was not a surprise that she thought me beneath her.
"We're leaving already?" I asked.
"Did your accident leave you deaf, boy?" She glared. "I have paid up your bill. It was far more than your worth. If you have any respect, you might be able to pay off your debts if you work for us for the next twenty years."
I noticed that she claimed it was by accident, even though I was there because Margaretta lost control of her familiar and shot me in the back with a fireball. I ignored such a thing and threw back the covers. I was already dressed, wearing everything I had come to the hospital with. Most of it was ash now, which still meant a lot of my body was exposed.
"I will pay you back." I declared.
All of those memories seemed to come from men who had at least some honor and respect. Not a single one of them was evil or despicable man. The former me might have thought about how to get out of such debt by any means necessary, but the current me didn't believe in such a dishonorable thing.
Marianne didn't notice my change in temperament. Instead, she was staring at my clothing with disgust. "You dare try to leave in that?"
"I don't have anything else," I admitted.
Neither Marianne nor any of the other visitors who had come since I had been put in the hospital had bothered to bring a fresh pair of clothes for me. I did wake up with basically nothing.
"Tsk… an embarrassment," Marianne muttered, but she seemed to be thinking about something. "Very well, before we go home, I suppose I must purchase for you a proper set of clothing. It will be proper! You will pay me back for this, and I expect you to keep good care of it."
I was honestly a bit surprised at her willingness. Although she glared at me like I was a bug, could it be possible that deep down, Marianne might be a good person? All I knew was that this was my second chance at life, and I had to make it count.