After that, Rita reacted quickly. With the help of another maid, I was laid back in my bed. By then, Patrick had been informed of the situation and rushed over.
Soon after, a doctor visited as well. The result of his exam was that the cause of my symptoms was unknown. Damage to the brain and nerves were treatable with top-tier potions, so the fact that recovery magic didn’t work meant that something else was the issue.
In that case, it seemed like it could be a muscle issue, but the doctor had never heard of a case where only one side of someone’s body suddenly stopped working. My mind was working fine, and my right side was in picture-perfect health. As long as I hopped around on one leg, I could even get around on my own.
I could probably get back to my life, but I was told to keep resting for a bit. Under Patrick’s supervision, I was currently lying in bed.
“Things got blown out of proportion,” I said.
“It’s a big deal for your body to stop moving,” Patrick responded.
“It’s only half my body. Oh, I guess right now my right half is stronger.”
That’s right. I was thinking about something like that yesterday. Though my right and left sides had seemed equally strong, the results of their battle were now clear. Right Yumiella was victorious, and Left Yumiella was dead on arrival.
“Now’s not the time for that,” Patrick said. “We should go to the Royal Capital and see the well-known doctors there. I’m sure you’ll be able to move like before.”
“Exactly. My body will eventually move again. There’s no way that half a human’s body could die. My left side is just sleeping.”
Though we were both saying positive things, I could tell that we were both worried that I might stay like this forever. With just Patrick and me in the room, it was uncomfortably silent. The timing where our conversation had ended was awkward.
Just then, a cheery voice spoke up in the gloomy room. The owner of the voice appeared from where Patrick was standing, or more accurately, his shadow.
“Wooo! How are you doing, mister?! I’m doing great, since miss died!” Lemn, whom I hadn’t seen in a while, was ecstatic in a way I’d never seen before. His words were also disturbing.
“Miss died?” Which miss passed? Lemn never referred to people by their names, so it was difficult to tell whom he was talking about. I give my condolences to whoever it is.
With his spirits still high, Lemn turned to Patrick, who was stunned silent. “Now we can protect the order of the world! I mean, I’m grateful she took down the god of evil, but miss is much more dangerous than she is helpful. I thought it was all over when she sprouted wings that one time.” Lemn cackled, and Patrick still seemed confused.
I used just my right hand to sit myself up and tapped Lemn on the shoulder from behind. “What are you doing here all of a sudden? You usually don’t show yourself.”
“Hmm?” Lemn said, turning to me. “Oh, it’s you, miss. Like I said, I’m just glad that miss died... You’re alive?!” A tense expression washed over the god of darkness’s face as he stared at me.
It seemed that the “miss” he was talking about was me. I mean, yeah, I’m alive? Why did he think I’d died? Lemn began trying to poke me as if to confirm I wasn’t a ghost, which I blocked with my right hand.
“You’re really alive. Why?!”
“I want to know why you thought I’d died.”
“I was sure you were in the Kingdom of Twilight...” As he spoke, he trembled and continued to poke my right hand. After poking my hand several times, he tilted his head, confused. “Hmm. You’re definitely alive.”
“Why did you think I was dead? I haven’t been to this Kingdom of Twilight place either.”
“Maybe I made a mistake. Sorry for getting so excited over a misunderstanding.”
I’d rather you apologized for getting excited that I was dead, not making a mistake. I know that the foreign element of “Yumiella” is nothing but a nuisance to Lemn since he prioritizes world order over all, but he should hide his true feelings.
I was just exasperated, but Patrick seemed upset. Sensing the tension in the air, Lemn overtly tried to change the subject.
“What’s this? Why are you in bed, miss? Are you feeling unwell? That’s right, I came to check in on you.”
Lemn’s all too convenient excuse irritated me a bit, but I remembered my current situation. Perhaps he knew something about why only my left half wouldn’t move.
I choked down my anger and decided to tell him about the abnormality in my left side. I grabbed my limp left arm and let it dangle. “As you can see, when I woke up this morning, the left side of my body stopped moving.”
“Can I touch your left hand...?” Before I gave him permission, Lemn started poking my left hand. Unlike when he was touching my right hand earlier, I couldn’t feel his finger at all. His hands-on exam ended quickly, and the god just mumbled, “You’re dead.”
“Excuse me?”
“I see... Half of you must’ve gone to the Kingdom of Twilight...”
“What’s this Kingdom of Twilight you keep talking about...?”
Lemn fell silent for a bit, lost in thought, and he nodded to himself as if he were satisfied. I could tell that his misunderstanding that I was dead and my symptoms, though seemingly unrelated, had something to do with each other. But I didn’t know what this “Kingdom of Twilight” that kept popping up was. I wanted him to share what was going on if he’d figured it out, but Lemn’s serious look just turned into a smile.
“I don’t know either. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help. Bye!” he said all in one breath before turning towards Patrick’s shadow. Oh, he’s trying to run.
The powerless Lemn’s escape obviously wasn’t successful—Patrick had grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, keeping him from diving into the shadow. Not giving up, Lemn thrashed his limbs around to flee Patrick’s grasp, but he immediately ran out of breath and calmed down. He let out a sigh as he finally gave in.
Patrick began interrogating him, the god still hanging in the air by his scruff.
“Tell us what you know, Lemn.”
“Sure, where should I start?”
“Why did Yumiella’s body stop working?”
“Half of her body died. It was just half of her that’s in the Kingdom of Twilight.”
“The Kingdom of Twilight?” Patrick repeated. “Is that like the afterlife?”
“Nope. You need to die to go there, but it’s not the afterlife.”
What does that mean? If it’s somewhere dead people go, isn’t it the afterlife? Patrick shot me a look asking if I understood, but I had no clue so I shook my head.
“Are you saying nonsensical things to try and confuse us?” I asked.
“No, no. It doesn’t actually exist, but it definitely exists between this world and the afterlife...”
You could go after you died, but it wasn’t the afterlife, and it didn’t exist, but it did. Patrick and I just looked at each other after this clearly conflicting explanation.