37-Please give me medicine for bad sleeping posture

Just as I started preparing to cook the pumpkin, the knights came wandering in from the field of grass. There were twenty of them in total. I was surprised; I didn't know that so many knights had come.

The knights put the pumpkin into a cauldron that they'd brought from somewhere and took it outside to cook. Apparently, yesterday while I was asleep, they'd also cooked like this during their break from searching.

Since they were taking a break, they had taken off their armors, and now I could see that every one of them were really young.

It seemed that this job of surveying the giant grass and searching for aloe was turned into training for recruits. One of them would be selected to join the next trip, so everyone was working seriously.

Well, I could understand why they were being so earnest; apparently being able to accompany Firks-sama on his journey was a great honor and a sign of being a first-rate knight.

But it was clear that this pumpkin wasn't enough for these heavy eaters, so they skewered a huge piece of meat and started roasting it over an open fire.

Whenever they were out on a journey, it would be the knights' duty to cook at night, so this could also be considered as practice.

This group of young men were loud and energetic, and in-between the lively noises of food preparation, I could occasionally hear shouts of, "Hot!!" and "What did you just put in the pot?!"

"How nice... I wanted to cook with them too."

Krish-san had carried me back to my bedroom, so right now I was lying all alone in my bed. I was forbidden from going outside anymore today.

I'd told him I felt loads better today so I'd be fine, but he'd rejected me saying that he couldn't believe in my definition of 'fine.'

Amongst the voices of the young knights coming from outside, I could also occasionally hear Pochi and Brian's calls. Pochi had apparently recognized these knights who wore the same armor as Krish-san as Krish-san's comrades, so he didn't show any aggressiveness. Instead, he even played with them a few times.

I was so envious of Pochi; he'd also been injured, but now he was completely fine and running around everywhere.

My lower lip jutted out as if to show my envy.

There was thumping up the stairs until Krish-san appeared. He took a look at my face and smiled wryly. "Are you still sulking?"

"But I'm so bored. I can't see outside from here. If I was near a window then at least I'd be able to see Pochi and the others playing."

Lying down on the bed as I was, I could only see the sky from the window.

"Tomorrow after you're reexamined, if the doctor permits it, then we can extend your time outside."

"It's just bruises; do I really need to be examined by a doctor so much?"

"You're from another world, after all. There are differences in the sturdiness of our bodies, so we have to make doubly sure," Krish-san replied. "......I'm just worried. Can you understand that?"

Well, now that he said it like that, there was no way I could refuse. Besides, I knew that Krish-san was worried about me, which was why he was doing all he could for me. He even took a break from his work as Firks-sama's guard.

I wondered how long Krish-san was going to stay with me. I felt safe when he was beside me, and very happy to be nursed back to health by him.

But I knew that I was also causing him trouble.

Krish-san was Firks-sama's knight, so shouldn't he have more important business than being here and looking after me?

I knew I only had to ask him a single sentence of, 'Is it alright for you not to go back to work?' But I was a coward. I didn't want him to answer with, 'I'll be going back tomorrow,' so in the end, I didn't ask him anything at all.

Ah, and the pumpkin was incredibly delicious. It was just as soft as I had imagined.

That night, Krish-san once again applied the ointment on me. But it seemed like my body's reaction was gradually getting stronger, so I was a little anxious.

The tingling had turned into throbbing. Thankfully, I got rid of it by imagining a man's head growing from the ground, but the effect of that image had gotten weaker compared to yesterday.

In the end, I had to imagine two heads.

When I imagined two heads gagged by the grass' roots, squirming on the ground, I was so scared I thought I would pee in my pants.

Because of that, I was too scared to fall asleep, and I really wanted to snuggle closer to Krish-san. But I thought that I shouldn't keep on acting spoiled and causing trouble for him, so I held back. Who knew that when I woke up in the morning, I would find myself in Krish-san's arms again.

Apparently, I'd gotten too close to the edge of the bed and was about to fall off it during the night. I felt really bad that I was even disturbing Krish-san's sleep, on top of him nursing me back to health.

In any case, I felt so sleepy. Why was I so sleepy?

When I let out a huge yawn, I was told I could go back to sleep until the doctor came, so I followed that advice and took a nap just like I did yesterday.

Naps felt really good.

"Good morning. How are you feeling?"

The doctor who came to examine me was a smiling old man with a mountain goat-like beard.

There were laugh lines creasing his eyes and he looked really kind.

I didn't really remember this, but apparently this old doctor was the one who'd treated my wounds the day Krish-san came to the rescue.

"I feel much better than I did on the first day," I said.

"That's good. Then let's examine you today." He pulled on the skin below my eye, had me open my mouth and show him my tongue, and took my pulse.

The doctors of this world actually did the same things as the ones in my original world, huh.

He said, "Your complexion's gotten better. The swelling in your eye is slowly healing, too. Well then, let's have a look at your contusions."

As he examined the bruises, the old doctor applied the ointment which had yet to be applied today for me too.

After he was done skillfully applying the ointment to the front, he started applying it to my back. At that moment, several question marks formed in my head.

My back was just as ticklish as ever, but I didn't feel that tingling in my embarrassing place that happened when Krish-san was applying the ointment.

What was the difference between the old doctor's hand and Krish-san's?

"It's good that you've been applying this ointment. Like this, you won't need to apply it anymore after a week," the old doctor said. "What about the medicine? Have you been drinking it three times a day?"

"Yes. But it's really bitter so it's a bit hard to drink."

"I suppose so. However, you just need to endure it. That bitterness is what makes it effective." He explained, "That medicine is the reason why you can move right now. It's numbing the pain. If you stop drinking it, then you'll be hurting so much you won't be able to sleep."

I thought he was exaggerating, but when I glanced at Krish-san who was watching the proceedings from one corner of the room, he was nodding seriously.

Eh, really?

"I heard that you wanted to extend your time outside, but I think you should wait on that for a little longer. Please continue resting, at least until you've finished half of the medicine.

"Let's watch your condition and slowly decrease the amount of medicine you need to drink. Krish-dono is a regular drinker of this medicine, so he is very familiar with its effects. I'll be leaving managing the dose to you, Krish-dono."

"Has Krish-san really gotten injured that much?" I grew worried as I remembered the various scars on Krish-san's body. My chest twinged as the reality of the dangers a knight faced dawned on me.

It stung, just like when the wind would hit my grazes. Feeling restless, I gripped at the sheets.

"Oh yes. Of course he's gotten more ever since he became a knight, but even before then, he was a mischievous child. When he ran into that pole, it caused a huge ruckus amongst the adults." The old doctor stroked his beard and laughed, "Ho-ho."

It seemed that he'd known Krish-san since he was a kid.

When I glanced back at Krish-san, he was looking away into the day after tomorrow with an awkward look on his face.

Krish-san, who had been a naughty boy, running around until he smacked into a pole. Looking at this calm, hero-like countenance, I really couldn't imagine it.

I kind of wish I'd been born in this world. Then I would've been able to run around and play with the kid-Krish-san.

"Well, let's end the old stories and continue with the examination. Have you been sleeping well at night?"

"I've always found it easy to fall asleep, so yes, I've been sleeping well. But yesterday and earlier today, I was still sleepy and found it hard to wake up even though I had a good night's sleep. Is this also because of my injuries?"

"Yes, that's possible. Perhaps your body is unconsciously craving rest. Is there anything else that you're worried or concerned about?"

Anything that I was concerned about...... I was concerned about the changes in my body whenever Krish-san was applying the ointment on me, but I didn't have the courage to ask about it while he was there.

No way I could ask, 'Doctor, why did I only feel ticklish when you were applying the ointment, but I felt tingly when it was Krish-san?'

Instead, I said, "Um, I feel lonely not being able to spend much time with my family ever since I got injured."

This was true. The newly recruited knights were looking after Pochi and the others on my behalf, but I still wanted to do it myself.

Drawing water from the pond first thing in the morning and greeting everyone a, 'good morning!' as I let them drink water.

I wanted to be able to work on the farm with everyone, just like before, as soon as possible.

"That does sound lonely. But if you overextend yourself, you'll just prolong your healing. Eating well, resting well, good sleep, a bit of exercise and spending time peacefully is the fastest way to recovery," the old doctor replied. "Since Krish-dono and those young knights are staying here, just leave the physically demanding jobs to them and focus on recovering."

"I understand......"

It was no good after all. I'd had a bit of expectation, so now I felt disappointed.

Seeing me so dejected, the old doctor gave me one thing to look forward to. "For now, since your condition has become stable, let's allow you some visitors. Young Norn from the administration building seems to be so worried about you that he can't settle down to work. Please show him that you're doing fine."

Eh, had I been banned from having visitors? I broke into a cold sweat. Didn't that mean that I'd been in a pretty precarious situation, and it was only thanks to the medicine that I wasn't feeling any pain?

Then I really should apologize to Krish-san. I was even sulking when he brought me back to my bed yesterday.

It was too bad that I couldn't stay out longer, but just the thought that Norn was going to visit had me excited.

I was sure that Norn had been worried. I felt a little bad, but I was really happy that there was someone who worried about me.

The old doctor chatted with me a bit about my daily life before leaving.

With Krish-san included in the conversation, we leisurely talked about all the things that had surprised me about this world and the differences in food as we drank some fragrant tea. The doctor advised me to drink the tea before bed as it had a calming effect and would let me have a good sleep, so I decided to try it out that very night.

We spent longer chatting than doing the examination, though... I wonder if that was alright?

At night, Krish-san once again applied the ointment, and the throbbing that hadn't manifested when it had been the old doctor came back with a vengeance. I curled up a bit and slept a bit further away from Krish-san so that he wouldn't feel the place that had grown a little bigger. But in the morning, I was once again in Krish-san's embrace. I really regretted my bad sleeping posture.

Old doctor, it seemed that what I really needed right now wasn't calming tea, but medicine that could fix bad sleeping posture.

Could you please prescribe some to me next time?