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“Is Zion going to be okay…?”

Today too, I spent the whole day seeing patients, providing treatment, and assisting with rehabilitation.

Now that the work is over, it’s time for me to go check on Zion, who’s been resting due to the withdrawal symptoms of buff addiction.

I had instructed Serin to inform me immediately if anything unusual happened with Zion, so it should be fine.

“?”

As I headed toward the ward, I found Serin sitting in the hallway in front of Room 104.

“Serin. Why are you out here?”

“You’ve arrived, Teacher.”

When I called out, Serin stood up and faced me.

“I told you to check on Zion.”

“Zion asked to be left alone.”

“When did he say that?”

“Right after you left.”

Right after I left? I had admitted Zion and started the treatment just after 3 PM, so…

“Then you’re telling me you’ve left Zion alone for over three hours?”

“Yes…”

“Do you think that makes any sense? I told you to keep an eye on him!”

“Well… I was keeping an eye through the window in that door.”

“Then how is he doing now?”

“There’s nothing special, so it’s better for you to see for yourself. He’s lying on his side, seemingly just resting.”

Lying still, huh…

Now that I think about it, Serin did mention that when Zion isn’t with her, he generally stays still.

Since Serin said she was watching him continuously, should I take a look too?

I want to see what Zion’s condition is like when I’m not there.

‘……’

Peeking through the window at the entrance of the ward, Zion looked just as Serin described; hugging the ladybug-shaped cushion tightly, lying on his side with his eyes tightly shut.

Is he sleeping?

‘?!’

I was about to take a closer look to see if he was asleep when Zion suddenly opened his eyes and looked this way.

In the blink of an eye, our eyes met, and to avoid being caught eavesdropping, I quickly opened the door and stepped inside.

“I’m here, Zion.”

“Hop Teacher!”

As soon as Zion saw me enter, he straightened up and jumped off the bed, running toward me…

How?

“Zion?”

“Ah, Teacher! I missed you! I was waiting! So long!”

Zion jumped into my arms, just like how he was embarrassed about clinging like a koala back in the gym, yet here he is, hugging me in the ward!

And while I caught him by surprise, how is he moving?

“How are you moving right now?”

“Huh? I’m moving? Me?”

“You just jumped over and hugged me.”

“Did I? Jumped and hugged?”

Zion, hanging onto my back with both arms and legs, seemed fascinated by the fact that he was putting strength into his body and began to squeeze me tightly.

“Haha, it’s nice that Hop Teacher is here and that I can move. Is this a dream? I must be dreaming a wonderful dream~”

A dream, huh? Oh no. It seems he thinks he’s still asleep.

It looked like he was entering a kind of trance state where his body and mind were creating a delusion simultaneously.

First, I need to at least stop him from moving too much. I can’t predict how it might rebound later if he overdoes it.

“Zion, for now, relax your body. You shouldn’t overdo it, so I’ll lay you back on the bed.”

“Hehe, Hop Teacher says the same thing even in a dream.”

“This isn’t a dream, Zion. Moving right now could be a big deal, you know?”

“But I can move! It feels so good~ I can hug Hop Teacher like this, it really feels like a dream. Oh, could it be a dream? Hehe.”

Zion was clinging to me, rubbing his cheek against me. I felt a dizzying rush, almost losing my sanity, but I managed to regain my composure.

No matter how much I insist it’s not a dream, he just wasn’t listening. What he believes is his complete reality, so saying otherwise would be pointless.

This seizure is genuinely dangerous… Stopping Zion from leaping at me while declaring his joy is harder than providing comfort when he’s crying out in pain.

Anyway, since he’s squeezing my limbs tightly, I sat down in a chair with Zion still in my arms, letting his bottom rest on my thighs.

This way, it’s more like sitting than dangling, making it less exhausting for him.

“Hop Teacher, I waited for you. I was scared that if my body couldn’t move, I would never recover from rehabilitation… It was so hard, so depressing and painful, but I somehow endured it. Because you promised to come after work!”

Zion spoke with a smile, but the content was shocking to me.

Zion had actually been thinking like that? That she was struggling and suffering?

It was indeed dangerous that Zion was mistaking this situation for a dream, but at least it allowed me to hear her true feelings.

I had tried various methods to check how Zion was feeling, yet in an unexpected circumstance, I received an honest response.

“Zion…”

Despite being a hero, she too must have suffered greatly.

Just because she’s a hero, I had vaguely assumed she’d be fine based on her superior ability to endure pain compared to others.

But no matter how much pain someone can withstand, the feeling of pain itself is the same for everyone—that fact I had ignored.

In fact, the more pain someone can endure, the more they might feel suffering.

Even in a situation that would have broken another person, Zion stood strong, managing to endure it.

I had failed to realize that Zion, in her heart, wanted to cling to me like this and seek comfort.

How could I not know how much the patient was suffering… how am I supposed to help her with rehabilitation?

“Teacher, I did well, right? Just thinking that Hop Teacher would come to see me allowed me to endure and overcome. You’ll praise me, right? If you do, then in the future…”

“What do you mean ‘did well’?”

“……Huh?”

Despite it being me who should be scolded and reprimanded, I found myself shamefully blaming Zion instead.

I’m not as strong as her, nor can I bear as much.

“If you were in pain and suffering, you should have told me. Why did you hide your pain from the person who promised to help you?”

If Zion just kept enduring and holding on, clinging like that…!

And even more frustratingly, I couldn’t even scold her properly.

My voice was caught in my throat, and I couldn’t express myself.

“I can’t… help you.”

I finally managed to finish my statement and examined Zion’s state.

Zion, who had been snuggling tightly against me for a good time, now sat a little away, facing me.

And her expression was…

“Did I… do something wrong?”

With trembling eyes, she was filled with fear.

Just like a child about to be scolded by a parent.

“I… endured through the pain and suffering, but was that wrong? Then what was I supposed to do…!”

Damn it, what am I even doing?

– Thud

“?!”

I placed my hand on top of Zion’s head, who looked like she was about to burst into tears.

In an unexpected turn of events, Zion looked surprised, wide-eyed, gazing up at me in a daze.

“Zion, you did well. It’s because I’m useless. But from now on, if you’re feeling tough or depressed, you must tell me, okay?”

“……”

Zion slowly lowered her head.

“I… received praise.”

Was she pleased that I placed my hand on her head? Zion’s slight smile appeared as she lifted the corners of her mouth.

“You’re always doing well, Zion. I can praise you all I want, so promise me right now that if you’re feeling down or depressed, you’ll tell me. You won’t bear it alone anymore.”

“I’ll tell you when it’s hard. I won’t endure it alone. I promise.”

Zion, who assured me she’d keep her promise, felt so commendable that I moved my hand and gently ruffled her hair.

Then Zion buried her head into me once again, pulling me close.

So this is where we stand; Zion’s depression was at this level.

Though I had crossed into another world, buff addiction was still vastly unknown territory for me, seeing how it was the first example of failure in rehabilitation.

There wasn’t much data on what the withdrawal symptoms were like for patients after they stopped using buffs, how their bodies or minds reacted, and how to cope with that.

However, among patients suffering from buff addiction, there were plenty of tragic cases where they either failed in rehabilitation, gave up treatment, or ended up completely incapacitated.

Even facing such dire circumstances, I was merely relying on Zion’s strength and remaining optimistic.

It seems I need to take a more active approach with this matter.

Simply hoping Zion would overcome it if she stopped using buffs is now considered a failure.

At least while Zion is struggling like this, I think it’s best for me to focus entirely on her.

“Zion.”

“Yes, Teacher.”

“Starting next week… let’s go convalesce together.”

“Huh?”

“We’ll go to a nice, peaceful place to help Zion’s withdrawal symptoms from buff addiction heal more quickly. It’ll just be the two of us, where we can forget about treatment and exercise. How does that sound?”

“……”

Zion was silent for a while. What thoughts might be racing through her mind now?

“Haha, what a wonderful dream. To convalesce with Hop Teacher.”

Could she not believe it? If that’s the case, we’ll just let it roll for now and talk about it again later.

I’m curious to see how she might respond at that time.

 

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