Rehabilitation Therapist for the Broken Warrior

“Listen carefully, Sion. Your current physical condition… I think it’s Buff Addiction.”

“…What?”

The first thing I had to do during Sion’s examination today was to convey this fact.

After checking Sion’s condition yesterday, I conducted another examination, and as expected, the results showed symptoms close to Buff Addiction.

“Buff Addiction?”

Sion’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Yes. You know that we’ve been carrying out rehabilitation with buffs because your body is so weak, right?”

“Yes, I know.”

“For people who require buffs for rehabilitation treatment, we have no choice but to proceed that way… but if the body is exposed to too many buffs, it memorizes that state, and various dangerous symptoms can appear.”

Buff Addiction was a rehabilitation failure case I learned about for the first time after coming to this world.

Naturally, such a case didn’t exist in the modern era.

Although I’ve been extremely cautious, there isn’t much data yet, so no matter how careful I am, it occasionally occurs in patients.

Moreover, in Sion’s case, even though I tried to minimize the intensity of the training, her body was so frail that buffs were essential.

Another setback was the almost complete lack of data on bodies as drastically weakened as Sion’s.

The intensity of buffs Sion’s body could handle didn’t match the calculations derived from previous data.

“It’s all my fault. I could have reduced the reliance on buffs as Sion’s condition improved, but I didn’t because I thought she’d be able to walk soon if we just pushed a little more…”

“No, Director Hope. It’s not your fault. I’m always grateful.”

Sion offered a gentle smile and expressed her gratitude despite the situation.

I had always emphasized that rehabilitation is a slow process, yet I was the one who got impatient and ended up ruining Sion’s body.

But what’s done is done.

From now on, in addition to rehabilitation treatment, we had to treat the Buff Addiction as well.

“So, from now on, we’ll proceed with training without buffs. The intensity of the training will be significantly lower, but Sion, you’ve improved a lot compared to the beginning, so you should be able to handle the training. Okay?”

“Yes, Director Hope.”

Sion nodded in agreement.

But Sion… aren’t you going to ask me anything?

Aren’t you curious about the symptoms, any precautions, things like that?

“Mirei, please take Sion back to her room and explain the revised rehabilitation program. And tell Serin I’m looking for her.”

“Understood. Let’s go, Hero.”

Sion was led back to her room by Mirei without a word.

Come to think of it, Sion has felt different since I returned from my trip to the Holy Law Nation to meet Hanamana.

She still diligently participates in rehabilitation, smiles and answers when I call or ask her something, and eats delicious food with a look of wonder, but…

I feel like it’s been a long time since I’ve seen her playfully initiate conversations or try to continue them.

Has there been a change in her mood? Could she be suffering from depression due to the Buff Addiction?

I hoped it wasn’t anything serious, but as her Rehabilitation doctor, I wasn’t going to just pray that it wasn’t.

“You called for me?”

Serin entered the Examination Room with a light knock.

I had called her because I had something to confirm about Sion.

“Serin.”

“Yes, Director Hope.”

“Have there been any unusual changes with Sion recently?”

“Unusual changes?”

“When I’m not around, does she ever seem down, anxiously look around, tremble, have a vacant expression, or experience seizures while demanding something?”

“Hmm… nothing like that.”

So, she isn’t showing any unusual symptoms.

At times like this, I can’t just assume everything is alright.

When I sense something is happening, I need to be sensitive and quickly identify the signs to understand what’s going on before it escalates.

“Then, Serin, have you noticed anything different about Sion compared to usual? Anything, no matter how small.”

“Well…”

Serin pushed up her glasses with a finger, then placed her hand on her forehead, pondering for a moment.

However, unable to recall anything specific, she shook her head a couple of times and opened her mouth.

“As far as I can see, there’s nothing unusual. Rather, it’s like… she’s more like her usual self, like when we were in the Empire? I suppose that could be considered different from her usual self from your perspective.”

“Her usual self?”

“Yes. When we were in the Empire, Sion wanted to keep a considerable distance from me. It’s not like that now, but… And Sion usually just stays still. She often spent time just sitting quietly, doing nothing.”

Just staying still…

“After coming to the kingdom, she’s been dedicated to rehabilitation, but other than that, she mostly stays still. If I tell her I need to do something essential for her, she entrusts herself to me, and that’s it. Nothing particularly unusual.”

So Sion just stays still when she’s not with me.

No, come to think of it, for two weeks after my business trip, she wasn’t that different in front of me either.

If she only did rehabilitation exercises because they were necessary, wouldn’t the way she acted in front of me be similar to how she acts around Serin?

In that case, I should stop asking about Sion’s condition for now, and…

“Is that a sufficient answer?”

“Yes. Thank you, Serin. And I have one more favor to ask.”

“Go ahead.”

It was time to get to the main point. I needed her help to understand Sion’s condition.

“I’d like you to observe Sion before she goes to sleep.”

“Before she sleeps?”

“Yes. Sion is currently experiencing Buff Addiction, so I don’t know how she’ll feel when she’s left alone in the dark. It could be a dangerous situation, so I need to check on that.”

Since this is a rehabilitation center, it’s common for hospitalized patients to lose control of their emotions or act out at night. Therefore, the Center always has staff on duty.

Interns or Residents who have learned skills like Sleep, Purify, or Tranquility to calm or subdue patients are also always on standby.

I hadn’t received any unusual reports about Sion from the night shift staff, but I couldn’t rule out the possibility. Silent symptoms are always the most dangerous.

I couldn’t, and didn’t want to, ask the staff monitoring the entire Center to constantly watch Sion, so I intended to entrust this task to Serin, the most trustworthy person.

“Director Hope, I apologize… but that’s a bit difficult.”

“What? What do you mean?”

Unexpectedly, Serin refused.

“It’s your request, so I’d like to do it if possible, and I understand it’s important, but it’s difficult for me.”

“Why?”

“When I was taking care of Sion in the Empire, she practically begged… no, almost threatened me to always stay in a separate building when she went to sleep. She asked me to keep my distance when she was asleep or just before falling asleep. Since I was asked to do so…”

Threatened? What kind of nuance did she use for Serin to even use the word “threatened”?

Did Sion really say that? Serin wouldn’t lie, but it was hard to believe.

Come to think of it, at our house, Sion did say, “You’re not going to do anything funny while I’m sleeping, are you?” when she went to bed, but I dismissed it as a joke…

“I understand. Then there’s no helping it.”

“I’m sorry I can’t be of help.”

Serin’s unexpected refusal.

It was completely unforeseen, but I couldn’t force her to do it after she said that.

“It’s okay. And just in case, please don’t tell Sion I asked you this.”

“Of course. You don’t have to worry about that.”

Serin bowed and left.

“I’m not allowed to see her before she sleeps or while she’s asleep…”

It seemed Sion had a side she didn’t want to show.

What could be the reason? And not just recently, but ever since she was in the Empire…

Although I couldn’t check on Sion through Serin, I couldn’t continue rehabilitation treatment with so many uncertainties.

I had to confirm whether Sion was experiencing depression due to Buff Addiction, any sudden mood swings, and what she was doing before bed that made her forbid anyone from entering her room.

If Serin couldn’t do it, the only option left was to check myself.

And as Serin said, if I went to Sion and said, “I need to check on your condition, so I’ll stay by your side when you go to sleep,” I would surely be rejected.

“I took the Hero back to her room.”

Then the only option left is…

“Mirei.”

“Yes, Director Hope.”

“Who’s on duty tonight? The doctor, not the Nurse Maid.”

“One moment. Hmm… Resident Robert.”

“Go to Robert right now and tell him he’s not on duty tonight. I’ll take the night shift.”

“What?”

Mirei’s eyes widened.

Since the night shift requires staying up all night and not coming in the next day, I hadn’t taken a night shift until now, as my daily presence was essential.

‘Damn it, I’ll have to rearrange my sleep routine.’

But it couldn’t be helped.

I had to see what Sion was doing before she went to sleep.