***
Surgery doesn't end just because you close what you opened.
You shouldn't say a surgery was a Success until the Patient wakes up from anesthesia and you confirm there is no abnormal Pain or adverse reaction at the incision.
Because if the incision hurts or the Patient doesn't wake up from anesthesia, it could be a sign that the surgery was botched.
Of course, Trauma Surgery patients often can't wake up anyway, so there are many cases where checking isn't strictly necessary.
But because my Teacher's teachings from my General Surgery days were ingrained in me, I had a habit of checking on the Patient's condition after surgery even though I wasn't in the Anesthesiology Department.
Delaying Leaving Work to visit Eri's Hospital Room right after the surgery ended was an extension of this habit.
"Nnghehe......"
"Erika. Wake up."
"I already said that 5 minutes ago."
Inside the Private Room for Eri and Freya.
Since she wouldn't wake up even when I tried to rouse her, I firmly pulled away the Blanket.
As my Teacher used to say.
Right after surgery, a Doctor must badger the Patient to keep them from falling asleep.
Because you can't afford to find out too late if the surgery went wrong or if the Anesthesia went wrong.
Since a slight mistake could mean they might never wake up forever, you hold back your tears and wake the Patient up.
"Heeee...... It's cooold......"
"Unnie. Wake up."
"Heh...... Freya, looking from below, you're ugwly."
"...... Unnie?"
It definitely wasn't because it was fun watching a Patient waking up from anesthesia create a Dark Past in real-time.
Anyway.
After somehow waking up Eri, who was spouting such Nonsense, I had a Meeting with her as she shivered wrapped in a Blanket.
"Ugh...... Is it because of the Operating Room. Why is it so cold."
"It could be because the Operating Room was a bit cold. By the way, Erika. Are you thinking of coming back injured like this next time too?"
"Huh? Can't I? You can just treat me, Teacher."
"Anesthesia isn't something you can do that frequently."
"Is it perhaps because of Addiction?"
The Facial expression of Eri, who was from D-Sector, darkened.
As if she was thinking of the drug addicts in Smoke Alley in E-Sector.
I immediately corrected that misunderstanding.
"The Ether and Propofol we use during surgery don't have very severe addictiveness."
Ether and Propofol, which are being used as Anesthetics.
Unless they're used for purposes other than surgery, Addiction doesn't easily occur as long as the proper Dosage is maintained.
The highly addictive Drugs Eri is worried about are Cocaine or Opium, and I didn't even use those in this surgery.
The point is, that isn't the part I'm concerned about.
What I was concerned about was her Stance of taking surgery too lightly.
"I don't want you to get hurt without any meaning."
"I got hurt trying to win the sparring, though?"
"That's exactly what getting hurt without any meaning is."
I know Eri well.
To the point I'm certain she could beat most of her Peers even if she didn't go out of her way to get hurt.
"You can easily beat Student Kal, who's a Second Year, can't you."
Scholarship Student Kal from the Department of Swordsmanship.
That boy enrolled in the Hero Department as a Second Year was performing a Great Performance at the Academy without fail.
According to Shallot.
To the point she said she had never seen a Second Year student beat him in a sparring match utilizing a Sword, at least.
Since even that Kal calls Eri 'Nunim', there are no Hero Aspirants among the First years who can compare to her.
Meaning she could easily avoid it if she tried not to get hurt.
"I heard you didn't use your Fighting Aura."
"To be precise, I missed the timing. I was supposed to turn it off and on at the very last second, but I made a mistake."
"In that case, how about taking your time and slowly getting used to it without being impatient?"
"......"
Eri, looking at me without a word.
Soon, she spoke.
"My Rank is too low for that. I was originally supposed to be your Bodyguard, Teacher, but after you became a Saint, you've been entrusting it to that Mr. Muscle because my Rank is low."
"Were you perhaps upset about that?"
"Rather than being upset......"
Twirling her untied red Hair, Eri spoke bluntly.
"No. I think it's true that I'm upset."
After hearing those words, I simply couldn't bring myself to scold her any further.
Because I felt like I knew the true nature of that anxiety.
It was an emotion I had also harbored for a time.
All my Peers were pulling ahead.
Everyone was Opening a Clinic, becoming a Professor, getting married, and so on.
While I was trying to get something like a Double Board and ended up drifting around as a Fellow, let alone a Professor.
I guess I was also anxious back then.
That's probably why I overworked myself and constantly pulled stunts like a 36-hour Consecutive Shift.
But as you can see, the Result of that.
I learned one lesson from that experience.
"I'm sorry. I didn't even realize."
Going fast isn't what's important.
What matters is how far you go, and who you go with.
However, this was something that wouldn't easily resonate even if I said it a hundred times before she experienced it herself.
That is why, instead of telling her not to be anxious, I made a different promise.
"In that case, I'll give you a new Task."
"A new Task?"
"When we were in the Limbus Pit, I used to give you Tasks often, didn't I?"
Eri nodding.
Because it was right after surgery, her untied Hair swished every time she nodded her head.
"This time's Task is...... Right. I won't tell you not to get hurt."
I didn't entirely dislike The Military's Guideline to have sparring matches once every Fifteen Days.
In the end, this is a Dark Fantasy.
And a Hero is a Profession that has to face the most dangerous Demonic Beasts and Demonkin, in addition to Black Sorcerers.
She couldn't be treated like a Greenhouse Flower forever.
In that sense, I understood The Military's Stance of letting them accumulate as much Actual combat experience as possible as long as they didn't die.
Knowing that it would eventually be the path for Eri's sake, too.
In that sense, as long as they were sparring, it was inevitable that Eri would get hurt.
Therefore, I wouldn't tell her not to get hurt.
Instead,
"Even if you get hurt, get hurt with meaning."
"With...... meaning?"
"In order to protect someone, or when you can gain enlightenment. Be willing to get hurt at times like that."
I stroked Eri's head.
"I will always be behind you. So if there's meaning in it, do whatever you can to your heart's content. If not, be as careful as possible not to get hurt."
"......This is exactly like when we first met, Teacher."
"Didn't you know? I have been, and will continue to be, your Guardian."
The Meeting ends here.
I gave a brief explanation to Freya, her Guardian, and turned my body toward the Exit of the Hospital Room.
"You have to go to the Academy Tomorrow too, right? You probably won't be able to fall asleep easily since you slept in the Operating Room, but try to sleep early anyway."
After saying that, I left the Hospital Room.
***
Inside the Hospital Room where Director Schun had left.
The Hospital Room, with only Freya and Eri left behind, was enveloped in Silence.
Scrape, scrape.
Freya peeling an apple with clumsy skills.
While waiting for the apple, Eri, with her hair untied, hugged her knees on the bed.
And then she muttered as if meant for Freya to hear.
"Freya."
"Hm? What is it, Unnie?"
"What do I do."
"About what?"
"I think I've grown to like the Crow."
"......?"
***
After the day I treated Eri.
"This is a Patient with Compartment Syndrome caused by a Hematoma. How do you think we should proceed in this case?"
"I believe we should perform a Fasciotomy to remove the Hematoma and then use Heal."
"You answered correctly, Student Ayla."
Since that day, the Infirmary began to be crowded with students from the Hero Department.
Just as they say humans are animals of Adaptation, the students who used to be afraid of getting hurt gradually began to adapt to this System.
Thanks to that, getting a limb or two broken on sparring days became a Daily life occurrence for the Hero Department.
"Gregor. Please help align Student Dorian's Pelvis bone."
"Understood. In which direction should this one... no, should this humble servant align it?"
"First, pull it outward once, and then push it firmly inward."
I could also meet familiar faces from time to time.
Student Kal, one of the Scholarship Students.
And the friend named Dorian, an Aspirant to become a Commanding Officer, whom I had called Student Bear in the past.
Since both of them were friends from the Hero Department who recklessly threw their bodies around just as much as Eri, they quickly became famous figures in the Infirmary.
I didn't realize it during our first meeting, but that friend named Dorian was just as reckless a human as Kal.
To be precise, he was Rational normally, but if he could 'rationally' win in a sparring match, he was a friend who would give up his flesh to take the opponent's bones.
Thanks to that, the Nickname that spread in the Hero Department was 'Hero-Tearing Bear'.
"Dorian. Why did your Pelvis get so twisted this time?"
"I have no face, Lord Saint."
"He says he got hurt while trying to forcibly squeeze through a Shield while breaking through the Vanguard during Group Sparring."
Kal, lying side-by-side with Dorian, tattled.
At the Betrayal of a trusted Comrade-in-arms, Dorian's eyes sharpened.
"Even though you intentionally didn't dodge either just to snatch the Flag."
"But I won, didn't I?"
"Didn't your Pneumothorax have a Recurrence again?"
"It couldn't be helped. Pneumothorax is originally prone to Recurrence."
In the past, Kal once got hit in the chest by the Lizard Man and had his Lungs shattered.
During that process, he supposedly bent and fixed his Lungs to perform First Aid,
and perhaps due to its Aftereffects, the Pneumothorax reportedly occurred repeatedly even after he recovered.
He was consistently receiving Heal, but it would recur immediately if he overexerted himself even a little.
Hearing that story, I asked Kal a Question.
"You've never told me anything like that, have you, Student Kal."
"Th-That's...... I didn't want to cause you Worry, Lord Saint......"
Kal, reading the room and exhibiting Avoidance with his gaze.
Dorian let out a Sigh and said.
"He says he secretly received treatment all year round last year."
"......"
The Crow Mask stared silently at Kal.
Kal shrank his head down deeply as if he had no face.
"But...... The Priest always said there was no Treatment Method yet for a frequently recurring Pneumothorax caused by Aftereffects......"
"Do you not trust me, Student Kal?"
"No! It's not that, I just didn't want to trouble you, Lord Saint......!"
"Recurrent Pneumothorax is a Disease that is perfectly capable of a Complete Cure."
"......Pardon?"
"This worked out perfectly."
There rarely ever was a Patient with Recurrent Pneumothorax worth showing off.
A good Teaching Material just happened to come in.
I immediately summoned the Respiratory Healer.
When I told him I would show him a freaking awesome Treatment Method this time as well, he abandoned his Outpatient Clinic and came running straight away.
"What kind of Treatment Method are you planning to show us this time, Lord Saint!"
"I intend to show you a method that can treat Recurrent Pneumothorax."
I spoke to Kal, who was looking at me, completely dumbfounded.
"Student Kal. Let's draw some blood first."
It was Time to show the Technique of Sealing a Leaking Lung with Blood.