CHIRP!
CHIRP!
"Ugh..."
I forced myself upright, sunlight stabbing through the window like it had a personal grudge against me. Eight hours of sleep, by my estimate.
Maybe more...
So why did I feel like I’d just got run over?
’No food service either...’
I noted, glancing at the empty side table. The hospital hadn’t bothered to wake me for dinner, assuming they even offered any.
’Guess I’d thank them for the forced diet later.’
I swung my legs over the bed and stood. My limbs felt heavy. The kind of exhaustion that went deeper than muscle.
’Magical training’s aftermath, maybe?’
Yesterday’s session with Annabele had pushed my mana further than I’d ever taken it in this body. The ward, the light sphere, the constant healing spell I’d kept running through conversation and concentration both.
Guess it finally added up.
Made sense the bill would come due eventually.
I shuffled to the window and forced it open, letting the morning air hit my face. The kind of air that didn’t exist in my old world, not outside filtered military compounds.
It helped. Marginally.
Now I just needed food, more training, and a plan for what came next—
THUD!
A dull sound echoed from behind me, like someone had bumped into something, and I turned to see what had happened.
To my surprise, it was Annabele.
She was on the floor, one hand pressed to her aching nose as healing magic shimmered over it, the other still clutching a boxed meal.
"A-Are you okay...?"
Before I could move any closer, Annabele raised one palm to stop me. Her expression was annoyed, though not quite angry.
"Turn off your ward before you walk toward me."
Eh...?
Wait...
I had my ward active?
"And... probably the rest of the spells surrounding the room, too."
Annabele added, looking around.
Her comment definitely didn’t help my freshly awakened brain. And my eyes weren’t much help either when I finally looked around to see what she was talking about.
"W-What...?"
First, there was the ball of light hovering above the potted plant. Then, the lingering warmth across my forehead. But most glaring of all was the faint, translucent ward of light shimmering in the air around me.
And there were more.
The room was so filled with the glow of my spells that I hadn’t even noticed the chandelier had gone dark.
For some reason, I had all my spells working while I was asleep and unconscious.
’How...?’
✧ ✦ ✧
Turns out, Annabele had only come by to bring me breakfast.
And, as usual, she explained it in the most apologetic way possible, going on about how she hadn’t known the hospital she’d brought me to didn’t provide food.
So she made sure to pack extra just so she could bring some for me.
A saint. An absolute, undeniable saint. And potentially an even better devoted crazy villainess, once I finally managed to get through to her properly.
As for my spells, she didn’t stay long enough for us to talk about it.
Apparently, she was already running late and wanted to discuss it later when she came back.
Honestly, that went better than I expected. Explaining how I’d somehow kept every spell active through a full night of unconscious sleep wasn’t exactly a conversation I’d been looking forward to.
"That was a good meal~"
I hummed, closing the container and setting it on the side table as I stood up. Out of habit, I pressed a hand over the wound on my forehead.
And to my surprise...
There was no pain at all.
"Has it already healed...?"
I immediately left my room to get myself checked. Still dressed in my hospital robes, I headed to the receptionist at the front desk and asked for the physician who had examined me the day before.
With a quick glance at her schedule, she told me he was busy.
But I didn’t really care. I was dealing with a head injury, not some unknown disease, so I simply asked if another available physician could take a look at it.
And all it took was an extra bill for her to agree, one I had billed to my family without hesitation. I’d already been cruising through life on their money. This one wouldn’t hurt their wallet.
And after heading to the available physician...
"Seems like you’re all recovered."
The physician sounded slightly dumbfounded as he reviewed the previous doctor’s notes, then checked my forehead with diagnostic magic.
A sub-element of Light.
One that Annabele had told me just the night before.
"Does that mean I can leave without risking any long-term damage?"
I asked.
The physician checked again, then gave a hesitant nod.
"Yeah. You may return to your academy."
✧ ✦ ✧
I gathered my things, which amounted to nothing more than the clothes I’d arrived in and the empty breakfast container Annabele had left behind, and stepped out of the hospital into the morning sun.
The city sprawled before me, its cobblestone streets already alive with merchants, carriages, and early risers. It was nothing like the conquered territories I’d overseen in my past life.
This place was alive in a way that had nothing to do with military occupation.
"Academy, huh."
I muttered the words under my breath as I checked the note the physician had given me to hand over to the Academy faculty.
It was an excuse letter permitting me to return to class in the afternoon. Apparently, the physician wanted me to spend the entire morning monitoring whether the pain would return.
Something about—
"Your recovery is unprecedented. It may be a false alarm, so return immediately if you feel even the slightest pain."
I could work with that.
It meant I had enough time to visit my new home and meet my new family. And while I already had full access to Reyn’s memories and his family dynamics, seeing them firsthand wouldn’t hurt.
Better yet, I could try giving them the same redemption speech I’d given Anna and hope it changed their minds about me.
Call me vain, but a slightly higher allowance never hurt anyone.
And if I was going to start seducing villainesses, I was definitely going to need capital.