Boy, she was quite the odd young lady. Innocent and naive... and Nanami called her an angel, but what in the world is she actually? The older soldier that saw Ristia and Nanami off, named Kurz, thought to himself as he performed traveler checks.
“Kurz, you around?”
“Yes, right here. Anything the matter, Sir?” The gatekeeper captain called him, prompting him to immediately jog over.
“No, nothing in particular. I just came to tell you that you’re free to head out soon.“
“...Are you sure, Sir?” There was still some time left until the scheduled bell rang.
“Well, it’s not like we’ve got a ton of travelers today. You hurry on back home to your wife.”
“...Yes, thank you very much, Captain,” Kurz said in gratitude to his captain before hurrying on his way back home.
He made it to a small single house tucked in the corner of the city. Kurz took a breath, straightened his face out into a smile, and entered his home.
“Oh, welcome back, Dad. You’re back home early.”
“Yeah, the captain let me off my shift early out of consideration. Where’s Anna?”
“Mom? She’s sleeping in her room.”
“Ah, alright. I’m going to go check up on her.”
“Yup, feel free.”
His daughter, Remi, watched him walk off as he headed into his bedroom, where his wife was sleeping. There on the bed was Kurz’s wife, Anna, resting.
“...Welcome back, Dear.”
“Sorry, did I wake you?”
Anna shook her head in response in a rather feeble manner. Her being in that state it wasn’t unreasonable, given the circumstances. Anna had fallen victim to a monster attack in the woods about a month ago and sustained massive injuries. The injuries were so massive, in fact, that not even magic could help to cure them; it was a miracle that she had made it out with her life. But as a result, she grew gradually weaker, and she was told that she might not live for very much longer.
“Dear, what is that you have in your hand?”
“Hm? Oh, this? It’s a present for you.” Kurz walked over to her bedside and showed his wife the pendant that he bought off of Ristia.
“Oh my... it’s gorgeous. And you’re giving it to me...?”
“Sure am. Looking back, I realized I’ve never actually given you a present before.”
“Thank you so much, Dear. Could I bother you to put it on for me... please?” Anna asked him with a slightly troubled expression. Upon seeing that, Kurz felt like kicking himself for being so tactless. Anna had lost her arm as a result of her massive injuries, and she wasn’t able to operate her other arm all that well. Kurz bit his lip for a second, but quickly put on a face as if nothing was wrong and proceeded, saying, “Of course I’ll put it on for you. Let’s see... Hmm, like this, I guess?” as he closed the clasp of the pendant around Anna’s neck.
“Hmm, yup. It looks perfect on you.”
“Hee hee, flattery will get you nowhere, Dear.”
“Flattery, my foot. It’s the truth.” Even Anna’s face had severe scarring. In spite of that and the other injuries, her good-natured personality remained the same. Kurz thought, from the bottom of his heart, that Anna was the world’s best wife.
“This is such a delight, Dear. I’m truly blessed to have been your wife.”
“...You big dummy. Don’t go saying stuff like things are already over.”
“I’m sorry... But I just wanted to make sure you knew. I’m pretty sure I don’t have long. So... hey, Dear? Once I die, please take care of our daughter.”
“Stop it. Please, just stop.” Anna was a kindhearted woman who everyone adored. She used to go looking for medicinal plants for the sake of others—a truly compassionate woman. Why in the hell did this have to happen to Anna of all people? he thought, cursing fate. Kurz stood shaking with his fist balled up tight as Anna did nothing but smile in a slightly forlorn manner—at least, she was until surprise suddenly came over Anna’s expression.
“Wh-What is this? My face feels hot for some reason... No, not just my face. My whole body is burning up... Aah, my wounds. My wounds are burning!”
“What? Anna, are you alright?! Urk, Remi, come here! Quick!” Kurz started to panic once he saw Anna suddenly writhe in pain. Remi dashed into the room after she heard Kurz’s scream.
“What’s wrong, Dad?!”
“I don’t know. Anna just started suddenly started saying something about her wounds burning.”
“Burning? Mom! Are you alright?!” Remi ran over to Anna’s side... and had her breath taken away. “Dad, look... look at this.”
“What? What’s wro—” Kurz looked over to the spot that Remi was pointing to only to have his breath taken away, as well.
The terrible scars that were on Anna’s face were wrapped in a rainbow-colored light and started to disappear right before his eyes. Witnessing this sight caused him to go dumbfounded.
“Y-You’re... What is that? What’s going on?”
“I don’t know what... Oh my, the burning sensation has finally subsided.” Anna sat up in bed in a lively manner before stretching out wide with a refreshed expression and tiny grunt, “Mm~!” It was an unbelievable sight that left Kurz and his daughter Remi’s jaws on the floor. “Oh my, why are you two making that face?”
“W-Why are we? What about you?! A-Are you okay?”
“Huh? Oh... Now that you mention it, I do feel pretty good.”
“N-No, you’ve got the wrong...” Before he could finish his sentence with “idea,“ his daughter’s hysteric shout cut him off.
“M-M-M-M-Mom! Your arm! Look at your arm!”
“What’s with my arm now? ...Huh?” Anna held out both of her hands in front of herself... and her eyes opened wide. There before her were both of her arms—both completely unscathed. It was something fundamentally impossible. Mostly because Anna had lost her right arm when that monster assaulted her.
“Why is my arm back to normal?!”
“I-I don’t know. But I think that light a second ago helped you grow a new arm!”
“G-Grow? What are you talking about? Arms don’t just grow on bodies.”
“But it did grow. The proof is right there!”