Rehabilitation Therapist for the Broken Warrior

“I look forward to working with you, Director.”

“Same here.”

Perhaps word of my night shift had spread properly, because the Nurse Maids in the on-call room greeted me without surprise as I entered.

“But, Director, is there any particular reason you’re suddenly taking the night shift?”

“It’s about Room 104…”

I was about to explain why I had decided to take the night shift, but I stopped mid-sentence, realizing it might not be a good idea.

My intention was to observe Sion before she fell asleep.

There had been strange rumors about our relationship in the past, and I didn’t want to fuel any further misunderstandings.

“Room 104… You mean the hero?”

Ugh, it seemed I was too late to stop myself.

This is why I should think before I speak…

No, wait. What I’m about to do is legitimate medical observation.

There’s no reason for me to be secretive, so I decided to just tell them.

Since the Rehabilitation Center doesn’t operate an emergency room, night shifts mainly involve the Nurse Maids working while the doctor remains on standby.

I wouldn’t be taking much time away from my duties by checking on Sion, which is why I decided to do it during my shift.

However, it might look strange if I was gone for too long, so it might be better to be upfront.

“Yes, Sion. I suspect she might have Buff Addiction, so I’ll be monitoring her for any psychological changes during the night.”

“Oh… I see.”

Despite my honesty, the Nurse Maids tilted their heads, looking puzzled.

“But Director, wouldn’t a simple interview suffice? Couldn’t you just ask her if she’s feeling depressed…?”

“She doesn’t seem inclined to talk about it.”

“Oh my, the hero?”

I hadn’t actually asked Sion, but my statement wasn’t entirely a lie. ‘Doesn’t seem inclined to talk about it’ was just my assumption.

“The hero refuses to talk?”

“Really? I can’t believe the hero has things she doesn’t want to talk about.”

The fact that Sion had refused anything seemed to surprise the Nurse Maids. They began discussing their past interactions with her.

“She’s always so nice. She always smiles and talks to patients and staff, even when they bother her.”

“That’s right. People only want to see the hero once, but from her perspective, she’s bombarded by tons of people every day, yet she never shows any displeasure.”

“Her room receives visitor requests all day long, you know? Just to see her.”

“We tell them visits aren’t allowed, but they beg us to let them see her…”

“The Director always tells us to be mindful because the hero’s condition is unstable, but she doesn’t seem like that at all to us.”

“It’s almost a relief to know she’s capable of saying no.”

I had never heard any of this from Sion. These were stories I was hearing for the first time. So these things were happening to Sion during my working hours…

I knew Sion had become quite close with the inpatients and staff since her admission, but I had no idea she was receiving visitors.

“Rooney, Maya.”

“Yes, Director?”

“From now on, reject all visitor requests for Sion. Tell them it’s my order.”

“Oh, understood…”

“Should we tell the hero as well?”

“No, I’ll tell Sion myself.”

“Yes, Director.”

Although Sion hadn’t shown any signs of social phobia so far, I wasn’t going to let this potentially stressful situation continue.

Civilians visiting her? Unbelievable.

Anyway, now that I had informed the staff on duty about my intentions, what should I do next?

Lights-out would be soon. Should I go see Sion after the lights are off?

The goal of this night shift was to observe if Sion experienced any dangerous emotional changes when it was dark and she was alone. It would be pointless to visit her after she fell asleep.

Then I should visit her before she sleeps…

‘Is there even a way to see Sion without her noticing?’

Since Sion was in a private room, I could only see her by entering the room or looking through the window.

Her bed was by the window, and her room was on the first floor, so looking through the window would be ideal, but what excuse could I possibly give if she caught me?

Peeking from outside the room would be outright voyeurism, and if I got caught, it would be game over.

Then… since I had to see Sion before she slept, I might as well prepare an excuse for being in her room, assuming she would see me anyway.

“Lights out in five minutes~”

The Nurse Maids made their rounds through the hallways, announcing lights-out. Soon, all the lights in the hospital except for the minimum necessary were turned off.

I immediately headed to Room 104, knowing I couldn’t risk Sion falling asleep. I decided to quietly open the door and check on her.

“Hoo…”

I took a deep breath and grabbed the doorknob of Room 104.

I was on night patrol, checking on patients, and Sion’s room was just part of my rounds. She hadn’t told me to stay out like Serin, so it should be fine.

*Click.*

I turned the doorknob and casually entered Sion’s room.

No reaction from Sion.

Had she not noticed me yet, or was she already asleep?

*Clatter, rattle, clink, clank…*

‘Hmm?’

A metallic sound was coming from Sion’s bed. It was erratic and rapid.

How was that sound even possible?

Sion remained unresponsive, and only the metallic sound continued irregularly.

“…Sion?”

I called her name softly, but she still didn’t react.

Oh no, was she already asleep?

This defeats the whole purpose of my night shift…

*Clatter, clatter, clink, clank…*

As I approached, I saw Sion curled up, facing away from the window, clutching something tightly. She was trembling under the covers.

The clinking metallic sound seemed to be coming from whatever she was holding.

‘What is it? What’s she hugging in her sleep?’

Did Sion always sleep with this sound? If it was a habit that might be disturbing her sleep, I wanted to do something about it.

Whatever she was holding was hidden beneath the blanket.

“Director… No… Director Hope… Please…”

Sion mumbled in her sleep, still curled up and motionless.

Was she dreaming about me? What was I doing to her in her dream that made her keep saying no…?

Along with the mumbling, Sion’s trembling intensified, and the metallic clinking grew louder.

I worried she might wake up.

I wanted to take whatever she was holding to stop the noise, though I didn’t know what it was.

‘What is she holding?’

I carefully lifted the blanket and saw what Sion was clutching in her arms…

‘Oh, that’s…’

A sword.

Presumably, the holy sword.

The sword in its scabbard was rattling against something in Sion’s embrace, creating the clinking sound.

The habit of sleeping while hugging the holy sword.

This was a habit Sion had in the original story.

It was a necessary behavior when sleeping on the battlefield, where the demon race could attack at any moment.

If Sion’s sleeping habit was from her time at war, then the reason she told people not to come near her while she slept was…

‘If I take this away from her, I’m dead. I need to get out of here.’

She might attack anyone who touched her while she slept.

I gently put the blanket back down and quietly left the room.

I hadn’t been able to observe Sion before she fell asleep, but I had learned valuable information about her condition.

‘I have more work to do. I need to add to the night shift instructions that if something seems wrong with Sion after lights-out, they should contact me and not touch her. And also…’

I wanted to do something about that noise.

Sion in her prime wouldn’t have trembled while hugging the holy sword, so there wouldn’t have been any noise. But now, sleeping with that sound seemed to be disturbing her rest.

She seemed to be having strange dreams, too.

‘How can I solve this…?’

I had to find a way to help Sion sleep comfortably and address this habit without her knowing I had been watching her sleep.

I decided to think about it during the rest of my night shift.

********************

“Sion, here’s a gift for you.”

It was the weekend, eight weeks into Sion’s rehabilitation.

I handed her a large gift wrapped in a paper bag. Sion’s eyes widened in surprise as she accepted it.

“Huh? What’s this?”

“It’s a gift. Just take it.”

“A gift? Suddenly?”

“Today marks fifty days since we met.”

The gift I prepared was an item that would help Sion sleep better. I had put a lot of thought into it.

Since it really was the fiftieth day since we met, it was a perfectly valid reason to give her a gift.

“Suddenly commemorating… I haven’t prepared anything…”

“The recipient doesn’t need to prepare anything.”

“But I always receive from Director Hope… I should’ve been the one to do something for you on a day like this, but I’m just receiving again.”

Sion’s personality made it tiring to give her gifts.

But by now, I was used to appeasing and persuading her.

“People don’t usually celebrate this kind of day. Just accept it.”

“I suppose that’s true, but…”

“I’m happy if you’re happy, Sion. I thought you’d be even happier to receive an unexpected gift.”

“Then… I will?”

Sion finally smiled a genuine smile.

She carefully tore open the paper bag and looked inside.

“A doll?”

“It’s a cushion, to be exact. Something you can hug while you sleep.”

“Oh, it’s cute. A ladybug?”

It was a round, semi-circular ladybug cushion.

After much deliberation on how to address Sion’s sleeping habit, this was the solution I came up with.

“In my hometown, there’s a legend that if a ladybug lands on a sick person, it flies away carrying their illness. It’s meant to help you get better quickly, so you have to use it when you sleep, okay?”

“Director Hope…”

For the record, that ladybug legend is apparently from France. France wasn’t my hometown, but since I was in a different world, I could just claim my past life as my hometown.

“Thank you. This is… such an unexpected gift.”

Sion hugged the ladybug cushion preciously.

Was she touched? I hoped she was touched enough to make this gift special for her.

Of course, it wouldn’t be easy to replace the holy sword, but at least it would lessen the noise if she hugged them together.

It would be more comfortable than hugging something hard, too.

In any case, I was glad Sion seemed happy.

More importantly, I wanted to see if she actually used it while sleeping. Should I take another night shift?

“Wow, this is so soft!”

Sion seemed to love the cushion.

She held it up high, making eye contact with the ladybug, squeezed it to check its texture, and hugged it tightly.

Seeing her so happy made me think that maybe I didn’t need to check on her.

I had a feeling she would use the gift as I intended.

That conviction grew stronger within me.