"Hey, be honest with me. Are you even human?"
"Huh?"
Right now, I'm in the academy's infirmary since it's the closest place.
Also, calling an ambulance costs money, and Tyler seemed to be overreacting a bit.
The female doctor looked at my swollen, bruised stomach and pressed on it.
"Does it hurt?"
"Yeah."
"Then at least make a pained expression, will you? Do you even know how many bones you've broken?"
I had no idea I was this badly injured.
"Is his life in danger, doctor?" Aura asked. She was sitting beside me, along with Mr. Tyler and Violet.
"It could be. But the fact that he's acting so normal is making me question life itself. Luckily, none of his broken bones have pierced his internal organs."
...So I'm actually in a pretty dangerous state?
"Alright, just stay put. I need to grab some supplies to treat you."
With that, the doctor left, leaving us behind.
"Hey, I have a feeling you're gonna be hospitalized for a while," Aura said.
"Don't jinx it. I really don't want that to happen."
"Are you sure you don't want to go to a proper hospital? They have better treatment options there," Tyler asked worriedly.
"Teacher, you already spent money last time. I'd feel bad if you had to spend more."
"But—"
"Teacher, at least hear me out."
"...Okay, then I just hope you recover quickly."
Teacher, to be honest, the fact that a villain like you is so concerned about me is scarier than anything else.
At least you're not some NTR villain, so I can trust you.
Violet just stood there whistling, watching me. It was a little uncomfortable since I barely knew her.
Aura glanced at my stomach, then hesitantly touched it.
"Sorry. I didn't expect buying you food would somehow get you seriously injured."
"It's fine. Just treat me to a meal next time."
"That's all?"
"Did you want me to ask for more?"
"Uh... no."
Okay, why are we talking like this? Since when did a simple acquaintance relationship become this closer?
"I'm back. Now, everyone please leave. I'll begin treating him."
Hearing that, Tyler and Aura left. Violet, however, smiled at me before leaning in close to my ear.
"I'm curious—just how high is your Spirit stat that you can endure injuries like this? I hope we meet again, Kai."
"..."
She waved and left.
I don't like her. Feels like she wants to use me for something.
"Alright, before we start, I figured out why you're so calm even after breaking several bones."
"And that is?"
"It's all thanks to your Spirit stat. The higher it is, the stronger your mental fortitude. The downside is that you won't realize when you're close to death since you either don't feel pain or don't take it seriously."
"Sounds kinda useful."
"Trust me, it's considered the least important stat since everyone naturally has some level of psychological defense. Sure, it helps resist things like mind control, but resistance isn't immunity—it's nothing compared to an actual protective magic spell."
"..."
So my highest stat is the one nobody cares about? That's depressing.
"Alright, we'll perform the surgery right here."
"...?"
"Unlucky for you, I ran out of anesthesia. Good thing your Spirit stat is high enough to handle the pain, so… Teehee!"
"Hey hey hey hey HEY HEY HEY!!"
I've changed my mind—I wanna go to the hospital! Teacher, save me!!!
And then the sky had already darkened.
I looked down at my stomach, which had finally healed after being torn open.
"You've got strong mental resilience. Watching me perform surgery on you, and your expression didn't even change."
"It hurt like hell."
"Feeling pain is a good sign. Otherwise, I'd suspect you were a demon disguised as a human."
"You sadist."
I stood up, no longer feeling any pain.
But seriously, going through surgery without anesthesia… I'm not a character from Baki, damn it.
"Oh, by the way, doctor, why didn't you just use healing magic from the start?" I turned to ask the doctor, who was putting away her tools.
After the surgery, she had used healing magic to restore my stomach, and it was both quick and effective.
"You idiot. Healing magic is only used for emergency stabilization or reconnecting wounds. It simply accelerates the body's natural recovery process. If used too often, it makes the body lose its natural ability to heal."
Then she handed me a card.
"I have a feeling you'll be coming back here for treatment again, so here's my contact info. I love cutting people open."
"...How the hell did they accept you into this academy with that psychotic personality?"
"You're the 37th person to ask me that. Now go back to your dorm. The academy assigns each student their own room, right?"
...
"I... don't know where my room is."
We stared at each other in silence.
"Hey, be honest—do you need me to treat your memory loss too? I've never dissected a brain before."
"Shut up."
***
After talking to the dorm manager a few times, I finally found my room.
F-14. That's my room.
It's about… a ten-minute walk from the academy. Sounds close, but compared to students from Classes E to S, my place is far. They get to stay in nearby apartments, and Class S even has a direct connection to the academy.
A system that treats the weak like garbage—I hate it.
Sighing, I took out my key and unlocked the door.
Inside… the room was decent?
It had a bed, a wardrobe, a desk, and a bathroom.
...And that's about it.
Well, at least they cleaned it. Otherwise, I wouldn't even want to sleep here.
I put away my school supplies and collapsed onto the bed.
"At least the bed isn't moldy… they still care a little, huh?"
I was about to sleep, but I got up to check out the rest of the room.
"...Huh?"
I noticed a black suitcase. It looked… familiar?
I opened it and found a bunch of stuff—clothes, personal items, blah blah blah.
But what caught my attention was a letter.
I picked it up and looked at the name on it.
"To Kai?"
I opened it and read the contents.
[This is your little sister, Leafy!
If you're wondering why there's a letter in your suitcase, it's because I secretly put it there!
I can't believe you had to leave for the city. I already miss you.
But hey, please don't cry when things go bad, okay? I won't be at the academy to cheer you up.
Our dad is still as cold as ever, but I know he misses you a lot!
So, whether you feel lonely or not, please remember that you have me and Dad!
Alright, I don't know what else to write…
Goodbye, my crybaby brother!]
"..."
I don't remember anything about Kai's family being mentioned in the book.
Or maybe I just haven't read that part yet?
Looking at the letter, I noticed a lot of crossed-out words and ink smudges—she must've put a lot of effort into writing this, even though it was so short.
…Having a family out of nowhere—it felt strange.
I suddenly felt guilty for taking over Kai's body… even though my name was also Kai.
"..."
I placed the letter on the desk and smiled.
"I took over Kai's body, so I should at least give something back as an apology."
To me, money was everything. I had worked myself to exhaustion just to earn it because my family was dirt poor.
But I never cared about money itself—I only cared about providing for my little brother.
Now that he was gone, I had no reason to keep going.
But now… I had a new family. Which meant I had a new purpose.
After all, family comes first—
Even if I don't truly belong to them.