Chapter 5

The Real Goddess

The next morning, Sir Leon left for the expedition as if nothing had happened at all.

Ugh, I could hardly sleep the night before.... I didn't know how to take that thing last night.

1. Sir Leon had so few women around him that he didn't care about anyone at this point.

2. He was so attractive that he no longer cared about the appearance of his partner.

3. It was just a joke.

I didn't think the first one was possible.... Even just by going out on the street, one could easily find three, or four girls who wanted to get close to Sir Leon. Since he had a title, he could even wed the daughter of a nobleman. Truly tremendously popular.

As for 2.... I was sure it wasn't impossible, but it was just too much of a stretch. "A Cinderella story where an ordinary girl is suddenly loved by the prince of the school! Like that?" What kind of shoujo storyline was this? It was too much of a hurdle for a less-than-average girl with bottle-bottom glasses.

Well, I guess the most realistic one was 3. I felt a little depressed because my heart was played like a fiddle.

It wasn't serious, just a mouth to mouth touch! Lips are just chapped membranes!

...No. The damage dealt was still too great. I wasn't one to dwell on past matters, but why was I so shocked?

I was getting a headache. I should get some sleep. My recently emerging migraines were caused by insomnia and my unfitting glasses. I didn't need to prepare lunch since everyone was out for the day, so I should just rest for a while.

If I kept thinking about it, I would be sure to come to a false conclusion.

***

Just as the last light of dusk faded, I woke up.

"I overslept... and my head still hurts..."

At this point, I was a little fed up with my persistent headache. I had to get dinner ready.

Leaving my room, I made my way towards the cafeteria.

...There was a strange rush and buzz in the air. Every now and then, I heard shouts.

I had an ominous premonition. Did something go wrong during the exercise? Was someone seriously injured?

If it was just an injury, that was fine, but could it be someone... died?

I sprinted off in the direction of the presences.

***

"What is this... How is this happening..."

"Hey, medics! What are you doing, hurry up and stop the bleeding!"

"It's not stopping no matter how much I hold it down...!"

While a number of knights were being brought in, the one lying on the ground with the worst injuries was Sir Leon. Why⁉︎ Leon was strong, right⁉︎ Why was he injured so badly?

"Someone burnt a demonic incense in our path."

It was Heinz who answered.

"A newcomer was injured and almost eaten since the incense attracted an unusual amount of demon beasts."

"I'm sorry, Captain! It's my fault, it's my fault...!"

"It's my job to take care of those under me. Don't apologize to me. I'm not going to die from this..."

Despite his bold claims, his abdominal bleeding still hadn't stopped.

"I've asked the Goddess to heal him, but she still hasn't come. He challenged the Goddess when he brought you here before. I don't think she thinks well of him."

"Oh no..."

It was my fault. It was my fault. I was the reason Leon was here.

"Rina. I have a favor to ask you. You're also an otherworlder like the Goddess, so maybe you have some healing power. Just try it and see. Would you try to heal Leon's wounds?"

Sir Heinz spoke seriously.

"How can I do it?" If I had even the slightest power to help Leon, I would.

As Sir Heinz instructed, I placed my hand on the wound.

Sir Leon. Don't die. I like you. No, I love you. Even though it was at a time like this, my feelings poured from my heart.

Ah, so it was like this. I fell for him before I knew it.

I focused my attention on my fingertips, tears welling up in my eyes at the fear that I might lose such an important person.

"Light!"

Please. I would do anything I could to help you, Leon...!

Instantly, an overwhelming brilliance flooded the room, so much so that I couldn't keep my eyes open.

"See, I was right, wasn't I?” Sir Heinz said with a sense of pride. To whom did he direct those words to?

"Hnff... Sir Leon... You're back..." 

Leon had to be supported by Sir Heinz to sit up, while I, holding on to his chest, cried profusely. My tears were so dirty.

After the flash, Leon's wounds closed up in no time, and his cheeks, previously deathly pale, regained a healthy glow. All the knights who had been watching with bated breath cheered.

"I never thought you'd save me this way. Thank you."

My hesitance to crying completely broke as Leon thanked me scratchily, probably still anemic from losing so much blood.

"I'm sorry for crying so much. Leon-san isn't the only one who is injured, so other people need to be healed as well..."

I finally regained my wits and pulled away from Leon-san. I took off my glasses to wipe my tear-stained face. For some reason, a panicked Leon pulled me back to his chest.

"Idiot, don't take off your glasses here!"

He scrubbed my face and stuffed my glasses back on.

"Oh, thank you...?"

I thanked him, a bit confused. For some reason, Sir Heinz was grinning.

I wasn't a fan of Heinz's smile. It usually didn't mean anything good. Gave me the creeps, in fact.

All at once, my headache came back, and I rubbed my throbbing temples.

"Hey, what's wrong? Do you have a headache?”

"My glasses don't seem to fit properly these days."

"Perhaps your eyesight is recovering?"

Recovering? I can understand if my eyesight is getting worse, but how could I recover?

"I'm sure your eyesight will recover slowly even if you leave it alone, but at this point, why don't you use your healing power to quickly heal your headache and eyesight?"

"What⁉︎ Is that possible?"

"You said before that you weren't born with bad eyesight, that it was caused by an accident. Then it can be fixed. Why don't you try it?"

"Hey, Heinz...!"

Really⁉︎ I would get better⁉︎ I could dispose of these thick glasses⁉︎ I wanted to try it...!

I immediately removed my glasses and covered my eyes with my hands to focus my attention.

"Light...!"

There was warmth from behind my eyelids. ...Would this restore my eyesight? Really?

I removed my hands nervously and looked around. Oh, my eyesight really was perfect...! I could see! I could see! What should I do? It was a miracle!

...For some reason, the knights who had been so lively just a moment ago quieted with shocked expressions.

"What, Rina? ...Seriously... your face is destructive...!"

"No way, she's so cute...!"

What? Was my face without glasses really that bad?

Wait...What did he mean by "cute?"

“Well, I expected this to some extent, but I didn't think it would go this badly.”

I didn't understand what Heinz-san said. In fact, he was still smirking.

"Commander, please stop looking at me like you're going to kill me. I know you wanted to keep it a secret all to yourself, but..."

Leon's glare was seething.

"...You, seriously, don't bring that up now...!"

"Bring it up later? Of course not. How could I possibly forget something as fun as this?"