"His spine broke in four spots, all of his ribs shattered... four of which punctured his lungs, his skull cracked in three separate spots - that includes his right cheekbone caving in, and.. well, let's just say it would be a challenge to find a bone in his body that is fully intact. In good news, he did regain sight in one eye yesterday evening."
A dark-blond-haired healer standing in the hallway lowered his hand after finishing counting on his fingers all the damage that the patient had suffered.
"My lord, if Zane was a normal human, he would be already dead… and even with my healing spells, the provided potions, and his own regenerative abilities, it will take him between three to five weeks to completely recover. Am I allowed to know what happened to him, or should I go along with what he told me?"
The healer rubbed his temple before looking at his employer, Duke Brynhild, and the Duke's son, Lazurii.
"What did he tell you happened to him?"
The duke stroked his braided beard and asked, raising his brow curiously.
"That he fell down the stairs."
"..."
"..."
The healer revealed this with a meaningful expression, causing the father and son to exchange solemn gazes in silence.
"Happens."
"That's a quite common accident, really. It could happen to anyone."
Brynhild and Lazurii looked at the healer and shrugged their shoulders; the duke nodded his head with understanding while his son waved his hand dismissively.
"Common... amongst the peasants' housewives, maybe. But, my lord. There is no flight of stairs long and steep enough to cause such injuries…"
"Mathew…"
The healer tried to inquire further but was interrupted by the duke's heavy sigh.
"That's a first in this house. But, understood."
Mathew breathed out and nodded, backing off to the door to his right.
"Is it allowed for me to ask whether such an accident will repeat itself…?"
But it turned out he wasn't quite done with questioning the accident after all.
"The past two days, certain steps have been taken to prevent that."
Brynhild rolled his eyes, already over the subject.
"Right… renovating staircases, securing loose carpets, adding railings… fixing that Zane-sized hole in the mansion's demolished third-floor wall…"
"Mathew. Stop. Let us pass."
The healer looked to the side and murmured offhandedly, making the duke groan openly.
"By all means. I imagine I should…"
"Stay outside during our visit, yes."
Mathew grabbed the door handle and opened the door while bowing his head, having his sentence both finished and answered by the passing Brynhild.
The room Brynhild and Lazurii entered was quite normal, with the exception of a rather special bed.
The bed's frame was raised on some sort of makeshift scaffolding so that the patient resting on top of it would tower over whoever entered.
It was done on purpose, keeping in mind Zane's ability and the potential consequences of him suddenly growing to be the tallest person in the room while lying down…
"...master. Young master…"
Zane greeted the pair even before the door closed, providing them with some privacy.
The monstrous servant looked… terrible…
His whole body was covered in bandages stuffed full of healing herbs and secured in place with a construction intended to align his bones properly.
His head was bandaged too, leaving space only for his unnaturally wide mouth and eyes - of which one had so many burst blood vessels that its white has turned crimson red.
"It may look bad, but she didn't mean it."
Before the two nobles could say anything, Zane looked away and declared in a troubled voice.
"Zane. You were assigned as Melinda's bodyguard, but after what happened, no one would blame you for wanting to take up another position."
"Wh-wha…?"
Duke Brynhild took a deep breath and spoke up, making the wounded servant tense up and look all over the room in shock."
"My father is saying that it's perfectly fine if you don't want to stay by my sister's side anymore. She is sorry and understands your feelings. Melinda said she wouldn't blame you if you didn't want to see her again…"
"N-no! Huh?! No! There's some kind of mistake here! I-it was all my fault in the first place! No! I don't want to leave her side!"
At Lazurii's words, Zane began to shift around on the bed in desperation, making the whole construction shake and sway.
"Now, now. Zane. Calm down. No one is saying that you have to leave her."
The blue-haired youngster raised his hands, approaching the bed to appease the panicking patient.
"You're not…?"
"No, of course not."
Zane asked in a fearful voice, making Lazurii gently affirm to calm him down.
"We came here to ensure that no matter your decision, you will not leak Melinda's new circumstance to anyone. Anyone."
Brynhild floowed his son, approaching the bed and leaning while locking eyes with the wounded Zane.
"Then… it really was…"
"Gargantuan. What's more incredible and troublesome is hers is the pinnacle of possible variations focused on a single stat. Solely on strength."
Zane gulped down his saliva and asked, to which Brynhild nodded in confirmation.
"Luckily, after the terrible accident you've been the victim, her brain does a good job of restricting her strength when she is doing something to her own body... But, the moment she interacts with anything else… well, let's say you are incredibly lucky your limbs are still attached to your complete torso."
The duke continued, taking a meaningful glance at Zane's right hand.
"So… it's just her strength…? There's no change to her defense or vitality…?"
Zane froze for a moment before asking in a worried voice.
"That's right, those stats will have to be cultivated by leveling up. She secluded herself and is practicing control over her strength, and although it will be beneficial, that is not a long-term solution in the case of Gargantuan. Increasing her level suddenly became crucial for her own safety... although even that is a double-edged sword."
The duke sighed, stroking his beard in unease.
"There is one immediate positive, though. Melinda herself admitted that she should forget about attending Jade Academy in her current state."
"...!"
Lazurii breathed out and tried to lift the mood, yet his words seemed to have an adverse effect on what he intended, with Zane's irises turning so distorted they looked more like multi-point stars instead of circles.
"She used those words?! Those exact words specifically?!"
"Y-yes… is there something wrong with that?"
Zane gasped, making Lazurii lean back in concern.
"Master, young master. You need to convince her to at least take some healers with her!"
"ZANE!"
The wounded servant give the other two quite the scare when he managed to flip to his side from desperation.
"There is a healer at the ready, not in the same room because Melinda requested it, but there is no reason for you to fear for her safety during her control training."
Lazurii grabbed hold of Zane's shoulders and lightly pushed him back into a neutral position while assuring him.
"She will not stay in the same place if leveling up is what she needs, she will go out there to level up…!"
Zane didn't try to move again but his tone of voice showed that he didn't become any calmer.
"You really don't understand; she's the type to reach a level cap in the tutorial area whose only purpose is supposed to be the introduction to the very basics of the gameplay loop! When she's saying she will practice control, she means she will test whether the game mechanics still work!"
The servant added, but that statement earned him only worried looks of pity.
"Zane, your head was damaged a lot, so calm down. There is nothing to worry about. Melinda isn't stupid, and raising her level now would result in increasing the strength too... to an unimaginable degree."
"Exactly. We were going to check up on her after visiting you anyway, so after confirming that everything is okay, I will come back here to report to you how Melinda is. Okay?"
Brynhild smiled at the deeply troubled servant and sent him an encouraging smile while Lazurii nodded before making an offer.
"...y-yes. That would be very nice of you, young master. I might overthink everything… young lady Melinda would surely act cautiously with her new power…"
"That's right. Rest easy."
Zane blinked a few times and breathed out, giving Melinda the benefit of the doubt, which widened Lazurii's smile.