"You lost a lot of blood this time. I hope that I won't see you like this again." The doctor gave me a pointed look before signing my discharge papers. I guess this would be the first of many lectures I would be receiving today.
Callie had returned with a note from Dyno to bring Mat along for a visit. He seemed pretty upset by the comment he had left under his name.
[How dare you destroy my armor so soon and so recklessly.]
Callie had taken to getting her armor maintained by Dyno as well. So it wasn't a surprise that he had found out I was injured. I rubbed my head as I moved to get out of bed.
There was still a slight ache where the claws had raked me. New skin had regrown over the injuries but the doctor said my body would remember it had been injured for a while. I needed to give it time to remember it was healed.
As it was, there was a pink diagonal streak from my shoulder down to my waist. I could hide it under my clothes so it did not bother me much. Callie had exclaimed when she helped me dress earlier, but so far she was the only one who had seen it.
I thought that she would cry again, but after a single sniffle she declared, "Next time I will heal you up so you don't lose so much blood! I made a promise with the doctor!"
I patted her head and thanked her. As our party healer, I was happy she was looking towards the future and wanted to take care of us. I looked around the room I had spent the night in to make sure I had not left anything and then slowly made my way out the door.
"Careful now."
Mat took my elbow as soon as I exited the elevator downstairs.
"Don't they usually wheel you out in a wheelchair?"
"I think you are thinking of hospitals, not the clinic."
Mat scratched the slight beard that had grown overnight and then I noticed the dark circles under his eyes. He was staring where my wound was hidden under my clothes.
"It is gone. They were able to heal the skin, so no scar will be left behind."
"Uh, that's not…" He scratched his head and cleared his throat. "I was thinking about what you said and I want to h-help you."
It seemed like he was struggling to say what he meant, so I smiled at him to encourage him to speak his mind.
"I also lost a party member. The rest of the team just went on like it was nothing, but I couldn't cope with the loss. Jenny… She was why I joined the party in the first place. So I think if you have the chance to save the party member you lost, you should take it."
"It is going to be extremely dangerous and difficult." I did not want him to make this decision lightly. "One of us could die or be seriously injured at any point. We may have Callie, but she is still barely able to heal a scrape."
"Can I say something dumb?" Mat looked at the ground sheepishly.
"Of course."
"I can say it's about my friend who died in the dungeon and explain how important she was to me, but at the end of the day after meeting you two… I just want to protect you and help you achieve your goals."
"Oh." I didn't know what to say to that. Mat was blushing slightly and he turned his face away from me.
"I can't return your feelings."
"Oh, so you are in love with that other guy?"
Unbelievable. I had to die in my past life and go through this life this long before a guy actually liked me.
"No, um… It is more like I can't think of anything else other than my objective for now. I am not ready for a relationship."
I coughed slightly in my hand and looked away. The awkwardness was fortunately broken by an ever glowing angel named Callie.
"Are we ready to stop in at Dyno's?"
"Yes. Let's head directly there. Sorry, I am a bit slow at the moment. The doctor said the soreness should go away in a few days."
"We should take you home instead of heading to the workshop."
My rejection seemed to not have set in as Mat looked me over worriedly. I didn't know how to handle such a situation so I chose to ignore his over attentiveness.
"No, we need a replacement for your shield and we need to give him time to make you something."
Mat looked disappointed and nodded his head in defeat. I wonder if I was too firm just then. Callie pulled on my hand and I stumbled into his side. What was with the romance book events today?
"Callie, don't pull."
"Fine!" She giggled and ran ahead of us.
I pulled my arm from Mat's and moved forward as well. I gritted my teeth as I walked faster to catch up with Callie. She seemingly did not hear my request to go slowly.
Soon we were in the storefront of Dyno's workshop. I could hear a hammer on metal ringing in the background. Callie waited at the counter where chairs had been placed for waiting customers.
"Be out in a minute!" Dyno's gruff voice carried well in the workshop.
"Okay!" Callie called out loudly.
Mat looked around the shop in amazement.
"Is this your first time in a private crafter's shop?"
"Yeah, my last party just bought everything at the association lounge."
"Take a look at the shields over there. Dyno can probably make you something from the materials I have on hand, but it never hurts to have extras."
"Right."
Mat wandered over to the shield section like a lost puppy and began picking up various shields.
"Callie, show Mat where everything is."
"Yes, leader!" She saluted me before running in Mat's direction.
Leader? I guess I was the leader of the party now that I thought about it. It didn't feel real. I was more in this life than in my last. This should make me happy, but all I could think of was Kei's face as he died on my watch.
I half hobbled my way over to the chairs and sighed in relief when I sat down. Reminder to myself, do not get seriously injured again. The truth of the matter was that I really wanted to just go home, but I knew how inconvenient it would be to have to wait on repairs.
"You look like hell."
"Hi Dyno. Before you start, I think I have definitely learned my lesson here."
"I know. The lass told me all about it. Did a real number on that armor too. It is gonna cost a pretty penny to make something stronger than that. Luckily for you, I just finished it."
Dyno handed me some medium armor made out of some unknown monster material.
"Dyno, this is…"
"Don't say it. I'm sorry the armor I made you did not hold up. Thank you for protecting the lass there. No one should lose such a beautiful smile."
I reached out to try on the armor, but Dyno smacked my hand away.
"You will rest there and not even think about moving. I understand you have a new party member."
I pointed to Mat who was looking at the shields with Callie.
"Big and strong. Shield User. Hey, you there! Come here for a minute."
Mat turned around in surprise and pointed at himself.
"Yes, you! Come here."
Mat walked over to where we were by the counter and shook Dyno's hand.
"I see. Turn around." Dyno took out a measuring tape from somewhere and began measuring Mat and poking at his various muscles.
Mat looked at me helplessly, but I hid a smile under my hand. Finally, Dyno finished muttering to himself and writing things down on a piece of paper.
"Come back in three days."
"Thank you, Dyno. Before we go, would you like to see the materials we gathered?"
Dyno paused in his self-absorbed muttering and looked at the pack by my side. He nodded and helped me out of the seat so we could step into the workshop. Mat trailed behind us silently.
I began pulling out the materials we had gathered in the dungeon. A thin veil of sweat formed over my brow as I pulled the items out.
"Let me do it." Mat tried to grab the pack, but I shook my head.
"I am the only one who can pull stuff out of it."
Mat frowned and looked around the workshop. He disappeared and came back with the chair I had been sitting in before. I thanked him and sat in the chair. A spell of dizziness was threatening to take over my vision.
"That is enough for today. You need to rest." Dyno stopped my hand and began calculating what he wanted out of our haul.
He handed me the coins in a small leather bag and I held open the bag as Dyno and Mat placed the unwanted items back in my pack. Before I could stand again, Mat pulled me up onto his back.
"Mat?"
"Please excuse my closeness. You need to rest now."
I couldn't argue with his logic. I ignored the stares from Callie and the many people on the street as we walked towards the association's housing building. I don't know how I got home since I fell asleep on the way.