Chapter 5

While studying how to write, I am writing this. It's still rough, but I'll keep working on it, so if you don't mind, please take a look.

※8/13 Revised: Corrections for typos and other issues pointed out in comments.

Kazuki woke up when the sun had just begun to tilt.

The fluffy bed tempted him to go back to sleep.

A faint, pleasant scent of the sun tickled his nostrils.

An indescribable comfort overwhelmed Kazuki.

He slowly opened his eyes, but they were still heavy.

His vision and head were still fuzzy.

He felt as if he had lost the energy to get up, and his body felt weak.

But he had to teach Alicia rehabilitation.

Thinking this, he tried to move his body, but it wouldn't budge.

Unable to do anything, he rolled over, trying to move a little.

He managed to roll over.

In front of him, something was looking at him.

His vision was still not fully clear, so he couldn't make it out.

The object was observing him intently.

As his vision gradually cleared, he recognized what it was.

"What are you doing, Alicia?"

Kazuki said in a sleepy voice.

His body still felt sluggish, and he couldn't move.

Alicia reacted to Kazuki's voice, her cheeks turning red.

Her pale, snow-like skin stood out even more when it turned red.

She fidgeted, looking as if she wanted to say something.

Kazuki noticed this and waited patiently.

Alicia took a deep breath and whispered.

"Thank you, Kazuki-sama, for curing my illness."

Her face was as red as if steam was rising from her head.

Kazuki, with a "don't worry about it" attitude, awkwardly placed his hand on Alicia's head and gently stroked it.

"It's going to be tough from now on. You've been bedridden, so you need to gradually incorporate some exercise. Otherwise, you won't be able to move. The sooner you start after surgery, the better. This exercise is called rehabilitation."

He smiled while saying this to Alicia.

Alicia, as if to say "I'll work hard," clenched her hands in front of her chest.

"By the way, did you walk all the way here?"

Kazuki asked, a bit curious.

"Yes, I couldn't stay still... But I got a bit tired. I had to rest several times and hold onto the wall to get here."

Alicia answered, looking a bit embarrassed.

"That's understandable. You can't do it all at once. Start with a massage. It's faster to do it than to explain. Shall we start now?"

Saying this, Kazuki moved to Alicia's side, knelt, and said, "I'm going to touch your feet," as he gently grabbed her ankle.

Her legs were a bit thin and underdeveloped from being bedridden.

He thought they would improve over time.

He bent her leg, slowly bringing it up to her buttocks.

"K-Kazuki-sama, it hurts more than this!"

Alicia pleaded, her eyes tearing up and her hands flailing.

Kazuki laughed and eased off.

Alicia, who had been flailing, suddenly stopped moving.

Kazuki found this a bit amusing.

"Sorry, sorry. But your muscles are pretty stiff. Just take it slow, okay?"

Ignoring Alicia's response, Kazuki slowly bent her leg up to her buttocks again, making a mischievous face.

Alicia cried out, "Fwah~ Stop it~," and flailed her hands.

He did the same with both legs, and by the time he was done, Alicia was sobbing into her pillow.

"That was terrible. Kazuki-sama, you didn't stop even when I said I didn't like it. You looked like a demon."

Alicia turned to Kazuki with a glare.

"It's the first time, so it's bound to hurt. But your reaction was pretty funny. Anyway, the next part won't hurt, so don't worry."

Kazuki laughed, but Alicia looked at him skeptically.

Given what had just happened, she couldn't trust his words.

Ignoring this, Kazuki wrapped his hands around Alicia's calves and applied light pressure from above.

He held the pressure for a few seconds, then released it.

He repeated this a few times, slightly changing the position each time.

This was a modern technique called hand root compression, which he used to relax the muscles he had stretched earlier.

"Ahhh, this feels so good~"

Alicia's tearful eyes from before were gone, and she relaxed, enjoying the massage.

She seemed to think she could receive this treatment forever.

The perfect pressure made Alicia melt.

It felt like being treated like a princess.

"See? It doesn't hurt, right?"

Kazuki laughed while saying this, but the completely melted Alicia was in a dreamy state, saying things like "A bit more on the same spot~" and "Just a little longer~."

Kazuki, to bring her back to reality, said, "The next part will hurt a bit," and Alicia returned to reality.

Her shoulders trembled as she pleaded, "Just the hand root compression, please."

Kazuki, with a "I'll treat you like a child" attitude, reluctantly agreed.

Kazuki taught Alicia how to do the exercises while lying on her back and sitting.

Each time he demonstrated, she cried out.

Kazuki laughed while doing the rehabilitation massage, watching Alicia's reactions.

By the time he finished, it was around late afternoon.

Alicia was lying face down on the bed, too exhausted to move.

Kazuki picked her up in a princess carry.

Alicia, surprised, curled up in his arms.

"Shall we go back to your room?"

"Yes..."

Alicia, blushing, buried her face in Kazuki's chest.

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Kazuki took Alicia back to her room.

After that, he was led by Karin to the parlor to wait for Cain and the others to return.

The parlor was elegantly furnished without being too ostentatious.

It was a comfortable space, and the large windows offered a view of the colorful flowers planted in the grounds.

Kazuki sat on a plush sofa and waited for Cain to return.

After a while, Karin brought a drink and placed it on the table.

He took it and took a sip.

The smooth, not too sweet taste with a hint of grapefruit aroma made him realize that grapefruit juice existed in this world too.

He leaned back on the sofa and waited, and the door in front of him opened.

Cain and another woman, probably his wife, entered with a smile.

Kazuki introduced himself to the woman.

She had a refined appearance and a gentle demeanor.

Her hair was half-up, reaching her shoulders, and the same light blue color as Alicia's, which was very beautiful.

She was about 160 cm tall and wore a casual white dress.

Her simple, cute style was well-coordinated.

"I have heard about the situation. Thank you for coming from so far. I am Sara Orvis."

She smiled and bowed.

Kazuki waved his hand, saying, "It's fine, really."

Cain also bowed elegantly.

"I apologize for keeping you waiting, Kazuki-sama."

"No, no, I wasn't waiting. I was just teaching Alicia about her future rehabilitation. It took a while."

Kazuki laughed and said, "Don't worry about it," to Cain.

"Is that so? How was Alicia?"

Cain asked about the results of today's visit.

Sara was also interested and looked at Kazuki intently.

Kazuki made the status screen visible to others, expanding it to about 24 inches.

He showed the condition of Alicia's heart before and after treatment and explained it to them.

"This time, the illness is called 'Dilated Cardiomyopathy.' As you can see from the screen, before treatment, the walls of the heart muscle were very thin. After treatment, they are back to their normal thickness. This disease causes the heart muscle walls to thin and expand, reducing the heart's pumping power."

The screen showed the heart pumping blood.

One was the information he had obtained with 'Diagnosis' when he first arrived.

The other was the information he had obtained with 'Echo' today.

Both looked at the screen as if they were seeing something incredible.

"The heart moves like this... This is how it moves inside my body..."

Both had a slightly dazed look as they tried to understand Kazuki's explanation.

Even in the modern world, it's hard for the average person to understand medical explanations, even with some knowledge from TV or the internet.

They had many questions, like "How did you do it?" and "What kind of magic did you use?"

Kazuki, thinking that explaining medical magic would be too complicated, said it was a new magic that could do this.

The term "new magic" allowed him to avoid a detailed explanation, and they accepted it.

"So, Alicia's heart was in a very serious condition. The symptoms included palpitations, shortness of breath with light exercise, and eventually, inability to move or lie flat. If left untreated, she would have died sooner or later."

Both shuddered at the word "death."

The thought of the adorable Alicia leaving this world in the near future was unbearable.

"To treat this illness, I performed a heart transplant. In simple terms, it's like swapping a healthy heart for a diseased one. If you're skeptical about whether the transplant was successful, I can show you a video of the surgery, but it's quite graphic."

Kazuki had included a camera in the equipment for the surgery room to record the procedure for medical advancement and training purposes.

"No, that's fine."

"Yes, I trust you. Besides, Alicia's expression is much better than before."

Both looked relieved.

"Alright, if you want to see it later, just let me know."

Kazuki saved the video data as evidence in case of any issues.

"Moving forward, Alicia