Chapter 16

When I woke up, I was lying on a bed in one of the rooms at the headquarters' medical facility.

The air was filled with the smell of medicine.

After a while, I sat up.

The first thing that came to my mind was Roll's safety.

What happened to Roll?

I quickly got out of bed and left the room.

The corridor of the medical facility was stark white. The air conditioning kept the entire facility cool.

I strained my ears to listen for Roll's sounds.

I could hear two people in the room next to mine.

All the other rooms were empty.

I stood in front of that room.

Is it okay to just go in...?

As I was thinking this, the door in front of me opened, and Senyaku came out.

Senyaku is a tall woman with brown hair.

She always wears a white coat. Her glasses are always slipping, and today her bedhead was particularly bad.

"Oh, it's you, Shizune. You're awake.

Are you feeling better? Does anything still hurt?"

I just noticed, but all my injuries were healed. Senyaku must have treated me.

I was also changed into a white pajama-like outfit.

"Senyaku.

Thank you."

"I had to do a quick job because it was an emergency. If there's anything that's not healed, let me know."

"No, I'm fine. Thank you.

...Is Roll in there?"

Seeing me glance at the room, Senyaku adjusted her glasses with a smile.

"Yes, she's in there. She barely made it. It was really close.

She's awake now, so you can go see her. She was worried about you too.

I have work to do, so I'll leave it to you.

Make sure Roll rests."

With that, Senyaku turned and left.

Without watching her go, I quickly opened the door in front of me.

"Roll!"

In the corner of the room, Roll was sitting up in bed, reading a book.

"Oh, it's you, Shizune. Are you feeling better?"

Closing the book, Roll spoke, and I stumbled over to her.

"Roll, are you okay...?"

"I'm fine. All the external injuries are healed. I'm feeling much better.

But my spine was damaged, so I'm paralyzed from the waist down.

Senyaku said it will take a month to fully recover."

So, you're not in any danger... and you'll recover in a month.

"That's... good..."

"It's not good. Now my summer vacation is ruined.

Sigh, I had so many things I wanted to do with you..."

Seeing Roll looking so lively, I felt tears welling up in my eyes.

I tried to hold back the tears that were about to overflow.

"What are you crying for?

Honestly, you'll probably get hurt someday too. I don't know what to do if you overreact like this."

Hearing Roll's words, which sounded like she was trying to be strong, I couldn't help but hug her.

I know it must have looked pathetic, but I couldn't control myself.

Roll was in this situation because she saved me.

"Sorry... I'm sorry... It's my fault..."

Roll gently stroked my hair. Her touch was gentle.

She also smelled nice.

"It's not your fault. There was nothing you could do."

I could feel Roll's heartbeat faster than usual.

Maybe I surprised her by hugging her suddenly.

It was embarrassing to stay like this for too long, so I eventually pulled away from Roll.

I felt a bit embarrassed about hugging her on impulse, and my face was hot.

Roll's face was also slightly red.

"C-Cough"

Roll cleared her throat and said, "Well, while I'm gone, you can't just sit around doing nothing. You can accept Shadow missions.

Also, don't slack off on your training just because I'm not around.

I'll focus on recovering from my injuries."

"Understood."

"Also, come visit me sometimes when you have free time."

Roll said this with a bit of a playful tone, but I answered seriously.

"I'll come every day."

"You don't have to come every day."

Roll laughed, but I decided to come every day.

I've been hospitalized before, and it's really boring.

There's not much to do besides watch TV or read books.

Anyway, I seem to have a debt I can't repay to Roll.

---

After talking with Roll for a while, I heard the post-mission report.

The mission failed, but the boss didn't blame us. Instead, he came to apologize to Roll.

The self-defense force's rescue was completely unexpected.

The supplies were recovered by the self-defense force, but we managed to reduce their strength, so the boss considered it a draw.

I don't know if it really was a draw, though.

I need to get stronger.

This time, I was completely a burden.

If Roll had gone on the mission alone, she would have completed it without any issues.

For the next month, while Roll is unable to move, I have a lot to do.

First, since I'm now allowed to accept Shadow missions, I'll try to go on as many as possible.

I looked at my Anonymus dedicated mobile device.

There were over 100 unread Shadow mission emails in my inbox.

Until now, I had refused all of them as Roll had instructed, but from now on, I'll try to complete most of them.

I need to gain more practical experience.

I'll also follow the advice and not slack off on my training, but I want to get used to real combat.

Also, I need to learn how to control this awkward ability properly.

Leaving Roll's room, I started walking towards the training room.

The time displayed on my mobile device was 9:00 PM.

I'll start training now.

My motivation was through the roof.

At the very least, I need to get strong enough not to hold Roll back.

With this in mind, I headed to the training room.

Just then, my mobile device beeped with an incoming message.

It was an email.

I wondered who it was from and checked the sender.

The sender's name was "Sigh," and there was no subject.

An email from Sigh?

I was surprised by this, but I opened the email.

The message simply read, "Come."

Chapter 1 End