Crunch, crunch.
Mmm... the apple in my mouth was incredibly sweet. But I didn't have the luxury of savoring the taste. I focused on chewing it as fast as I could.
Gulp. As soon as I swallowed and cleared my mouth...
Swoosh.
Crunch, crunch.
Another neatly sliced piece of apple was pushed into my mouth. Without complaint, I chewed and swallowed again.
And again, and again...
The only sound in the hospital room was the steady crunch of me eating apples.
...Someone, please get me out of here.
* * * *
The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was an unfamiliar ceiling. For a moment, I was confused as to why I wasn't in my room, but then I remembered what had happened before I passed out.
I tried to get up to assess the situation, but something heavy was pressing down on my stomach, preventing me from moving. I was left in an awkward position, half-sitting, half-lying down. I could only manage to lift my head slightly.
Looking down to see what was causing the weight, I found a black cat curled up on the blanket over my stomach. The cat who usually spent her time napping in sunny spots. What was she doing here?
Maybe she liked my belly because it felt like a waterbed? The rise and fall of my breathing might've been soothing, like a rocking chair.
Carefully, so as not to wake her, I eased my upper body up.
"Mrow~"
Of course, sneaking out was impossible. The slight movement stirred her from her nap. She hopped off my stomach and darted out the slightly ajar door.
With the cat being here, and considering I was lying in what seemed to be a hospital bed, I deduced I must be in the academy's infirmary. I'd never had a reason to visit before, so I wasn't familiar with it, but now I'd managed to check in for myself.
Tap, tap, tap.
While I was lost in these idle thoughts, I heard footsteps outside the room. The door slid open, and in walked Fresia.
"Oh, Boss!"
From the sound of her footsteps before she entered, I could tell she'd been running, but as soon as she stepped inside, she walked slowly, as if nothing had happened. She calmly sat down in a chair beside the bed.
I thought she must've realized I'd woken up and rushed over, maybe because she'd seen the cat dash out of the room.
"Stay lying down."
Fresia placed her hand on me, gently trying to push me back down. Although her small, untrained hands couldn't force me, I didn't resist and let her guide me back into a comfortable position.
"Does anything hurt?"
I had a lot of questions, but Fresia beat me to it. Since answering a question with a question would be rude, I took a moment to check my body. I didn't feel any pain or discomfort, but I'd need to move around to be sure.
"I don't think so?"
"That's good."
After that brief exchange, silence returned to the room. The quiet felt a little awkward, so just as I was about to ask my own questions, Fresia spoke up again.
"Um... so..."
Her hesitation was unlike the Fresia I knew. Normally, she was always so confident, even during her lazy, bored moods. That confidence had always been a part of her.
This side of her, fumbling for words, was refreshingly new to me.
"I... I'm sorry."
...?
"Huh? Why are you apologizing, Boss?"
"You got hurt because of me... trying to protect me..."
The girl in front of me really seemed to believe that it was her fault I got hurt 'although, considering how I felt now, I wasn't sure I was even hurt in the first place'.
"No, no. I'm working for you, and I'm getting paid for it, right? It's only natural for you to make the most of my help. Sure, there were some unexpected circumstances, but that's not your fault. That's on the higher-ups."
Despite my reassurance, Fresia's expression didn't brighten. In fact, her shoulders slumped even more, and her head drooped lower.
"It's still just... because it's all about the money..."
Only then did I realize what was bothering her. I could understand her feelings. Until I joined the academy, I didn't have any real friends either.
I didn't know what kind of life she'd lived, but it couldn't have been easy. So, I reached out and placed my hand over her small one, resting on the bed.
"Sure, it's a work relationship, but that doesn't mean we can't be close outside of that, right?"
"Really...?"
Finally, she lifted her head and looked at me with wide eyes, showing the uncertainty of a girl her age.
"Of course! Or did you really think I saw you as just a boss? I thought we were becoming friends."
She shook her head vigorously.
I had tried to lighten the mood with a little joke, but now Fresia's head was shaking so fast that her long hair whipped around wildly. It was cute, but I stopped her before she made herself dizzy.
"Will you keep working with me...?"
Her voice was soft, almost pleading, with a hint of hope. I already knew what my answer would be.
"Of course. Besides, didn't the contract state that neither side could terminate it without mutual consent? I'm not breaking it, that's for sure."
It seemed like she'd just remembered that part of the contract. Fresia clasped my hand between both of hers and nodded firmly.
"Yeah. For life, I won't ever break it."
For life... I hadn't quite thought that far ahead. But seeing how happy Fresia looked, I decided not to mention it.
When I thought about it, though, a job where I earned five gold coins for minimal work wasn't a bad deal. Especially since I could work whenever it suited me and even got bonuses. Maybe I'd be the one to hold onto this job for life.
"Oh, by the way, what happened to that demon?"
Now that Fresia had calmed down, I asked about something that had been bugging me. The last thing I remembered was severing one of the demon's hands, but I had no idea what had happened afterward.
"I killed him."
It was odd to hear such a cute girl casually say she'd killed someone, especially in such a cheerful tone.
"By yourself?"
"Yep."
Apparently, my boss was much stronger than I'd thought.
"And about the injury you got while working on the barrier... I'll give you extra compensation."
"Huh? Why?"
"Why? You got hurt doing my work. I have to take care of that."
"Um, I mean, sure, I like money as much as anyone, but it wasn't really your fault. If anything, the academy should pay up. Why don't you try getting compensation from them later?"
It seemed unlikely the higher-ups would give me anything, but I wasn't about to take Fresia's money either. I was already getting paid for my work, and protecting her was something I wanted to do.
"Really...? Okay."
She tilted her head slightly in confusion but eventually nodded and stood up.
"Alright, you should rest. I'll go wring some money out of those guys."
"Wait, what?"
She said that completely absurd thing as casually as someone might mention going for a walk, then walked out of the room.
Uh... will she be okay? Well, she's a professor, not a student like me, so she should be fine, right?
Yeah, I'll just trust her and take her advice to rest. The academy is still in session anyway, so when else will I get to skip class like this?
Tap, tap, tap.
Just as I was about to lie down for a nap, the sound of running footsteps outside caught my attention, followed by the door slamming open.
In my awkward half-lying, half-sitting position, I turned toward the door and immediately saw Cilly, followed closely by Annie and Yuri.
"Uh... hi?"
I raised my hand slightly in a weak wave. Cilly approached with a half-teary expression.
"You really...!"
"Hey, Cilly?"
I tried to say something, but she moved faster.
She rushed over and threw herself into my arms.
It was a little overwhelming, but it felt nice knowing Cilly cared about me. It was funny how I had once tried to assassinate her, and now here she was, genuinely worried about me. Life is full of surprises.
Awkwardly, I patted her back, comforting her.
"We were all worried about you, but Cilly was especially anxious, so you have to let her cling to you for a bit," Annie said with a grin as she and Yuri waved lightly and left the room.
As I continued to soothe Cilly, her trembling began to subside. But as soon as her body stopped shaking with sobs, it started trembling again, this time as though she was trying to suppress anger.
...?
Cilly lifted her head sharply, and our eyes met.
Her expression was no longer one of concern...
Wait, what...?
Oh no.