I’m All Out of Health!

Chapter 10

“You smiled because your life expectancy is long?”

But you only have five months left! Are you out of your mind? he seemed to say.

He regarded me as though I were a complete fool, but I smiled again.

“It’s hilarious even to you, right?”

I was grinning from ear to ear.

“It is hard to comprehend, but I do not find it hilarious.”

“I thought I had three months left, so of course I was glad to hear I have five. But do I really look like I’ll live five more months?”

“To me, yes.”

“I hope you’re not lying.”

“I’m not.”

“Then good.”

I tried to get up from the sofa, but it turned out to be a difficult task because the warmed stone between my legs was pressing against my dress.

“Ugh… Ugh!”

I pushed the stone with all the force I could muster. Any other person would have pitied me and offered to help, but Kaisar just observed me trying and failing to lift a stone no larger than a fist.

“Gah!”

I actually managed to do it without his help. I didn’t lift the stone, of course—it just fell and rolled away on its own when I moved.

I walked forward and stood under the giant tree, stretching out my hand and basking in the sunlight, just as I’d imagined a moment ago. My head spun, but I moved slowly and steadily.

This body was supposed to have less than three months left, but Kaisar was projecting five months instead. The man was no doctor, but I trusted his estimate was more or less accurate. Plus, he was trustworthy. He would never lie about such a thing out of sympathy.

“That’s so long…” I said.

I felt like crying. By going through that hellish fortnight, I had earned at least two months, and I could keep on doing that. For the first time, I saw a ray of hope in the hell I was in.

“Right?” I asked.

But the man who had given me hope was still unimpressed.

“I feel like I’m at a loss for words,” he said.

“Again, can’t you keep such thoughts to yourself?”

“I thought you were expecting a reply.”

“Then… You spoke for my sake?”

“I’m only doing as you did to me.”

My hand was reaching to touch a rose, but it stopped abruptly. The flower felt so far away, and Kaisar was closer.

“Anyway, what brings you here? I suspect you’re not the kind of man to come visit for no reason. Am I in danger again?”

There could be only one reason for Kaisar to come find me: his mission to protect me.

“I really appreciate you keeping me safe, but I feel like you’re a messenger of death sometimes. You know—Kaisar is here! Take cover!”

I made that clumsy joke because I knew he wouldn’t find it offensive, and I wanted to see him smile for once. But of course, he didn’t give me that pleasure.

“This time, I have something to give you.”

He extended his hand and helped me up, moving with much care. He seemed to remember that I’d told him to treat me as though I were made of tofu.

“Oh… But I want to stay here longer,” I whined, though it wasn’t like me.

I was sad to leave the sunny spot, and I found his presence comfortable because he was a total stranger.

I planted my feet on the ground, although to him, it would have been about as much resistance as a feather. But instead of deeming my meaningless protest ridiculous, he lifted the gigantic sofa that had taken three men to carry and placed it in front of me. He did it with little care and ended up smashing a wildflower.

“Oh!”

Now that I’m so near death, I can’t help feeling bad for other lives.

I pushed the sofa gently, fully knowing it was a useless attempt, but it did move. Kaisar saw my endeavor and helped, but the flower was already more than half destroyed. It would have been unharmed if I had asked him sooner.

“Wouldn’t it have been easier if you just asked for my help?” he asked.

I felt my eyes widen.

“So you’d help me with something like this?”

“I would if I felt like it.”

“You could be nicer, you know.”

I said this under my breath, but I knew he could hear it. My words pulled a reaction out of his face, which was rare, but his expression was indecipherable to me. He didn’t appear to be used to making faces like that.

“Um… Would you like to sit down too?” I suggested, patting the sofa. It felt wrong to leave him standing when I was sitting.

“No,” he replied.

And I didn’t ask again. I believed once was enough.

“So what is it that you want to give me?”

“This.”

“A bracelet?”

“It’s an elemental stone.”

He took a bracelet with a green stone from his pocket and placed it around my wrist. His rough leather gloves scratched my arms. Perhaps it was just my imagination, but my skin felt a bit numb.

“There’s an elemental spirit inside this?”

“Yes. They’re a wind elemental, and their name is Sona.”

Sona? But isn’t that the name of his elemental?

Kaisar was an elementalist and a swordsman, although it hardly fit his image. Summoning an elemental spirit depended on how much you resonated with nature, but making a contract with an elemental spirit and befriending them required a real connection. Kaisar, however, just rose above all that with talent. He hardly had any friendly affection for the elemental, but they had been overwhelmed by his power and had agreed to make a contract with him. His incredible talent made it possible. So despite his dry personality, he was actually quite a good elementalist.

“But why are you giving this to me? I am no elementalist,” I said.

Even when an elemental made a contract with a human and was sealed in a stone, they basically didn’t listen to anyone but their elementalist. Elementals did help when they found a human they really liked, but that seldom happened.

“I thought elemental spirits didn’t listen to anyone except their elementalists.”

“They will listen to you. You have a gift. You resonate with the element of wind,” he said.

“I do?”

“Yes.”

“But I’ve never heard that before. I…”

It was something I’d never heard before, and it hadn’t been in the book, so there was no way to know if the real Ninenya before me had been like that.

I gave him a confused look, but he barely glanced at me as he dryly explained, “That’s because I’m the first elementalist to ever meet you. You had no one to guide you, and you were unable to learn it yourself.”

“Oh…”

Exceptional elementalists could notice when others resonated with elements of nature. That was why some of them wandered around the nation to find someone talented to take on as an apprentice.

“But why are you giving me an elemental spirit that already made a contract? If I’m talented, shouldn’t I try to make a contract with an elemental myself?”

“No, that’s not possible.”

“Huh? Why not?”

He frowned ever so slightly. It wasn’t like he couldn’t tell me. It appeared he was unwilling to because it was too bothersome.

“Hey, I might be bothering you with questions, but you don’t have to hate it so openly!” I said with a dumbfounded scoff.

The bracelet jingled.

“If there’s no reason you can’t tell me, please explain. I need to know.”

He let out a sigh, then raised his cold eyes.

“You will die,” he said.

“What?”

“If you try to make a contract with an elemental in your condition, you will die whether you succeed or not. It requires a lot of strength to summon an elemental spirit.”

“Aha.”

I’d been so close to death that I wasn’t scared to hear that I might die. I knew the reason, and that was enough. His indifferent gaze made a chill run down my spine.

“I didn’t want to explain because I knew you might react like that.”

“Huh?”

I hadn’t heard him, but he just looked at me with frosty eyes. It lasted only for a moment, though—he returned to his usual self in no time.

“Now, I will give you instructions for usage.”

I had a few more questions I wished I could ask him, but I decided against it. He was obviously not happy that he had to deal with me for this long.

“Okay…”

“Just call their name.”

“Their name? That’s it?”

His face hardened again, as though he didn’t approve of me getting curious.

“Don’t be so harsh. You’ve already started, so just walk me through it,” I said.

“I’ve ordered them to protect you, so summon them by calling their name, and they will put a shield around you as they come out.”

“Aha. So they will put a protective barrier around me? But will it be okay for me to keep them for an extended period of time? As you surely know, I’m very fragile, so—”

“I will supply the mana that is needed for the elemental spirit to materialize.”

“Oh? But that’s not good… You might be in danger if I keep the spirit for too long.”

“Would you rather have them take your mana and die? I think half an hour will be enough.”

“No, I don’t want to die. Thank you. I will use your mana well,” I said hastily.

I chided myself for momentarily thinking that I could afford to worry about someone else.

After a short pause, he announced, “Now… I will leave a mark on you.”

“A mark?”

“It will allow Sona to recognize you.”

“Aha. Then how does it work?”

Of course, I was curious about what he was going to do to me. But that question made him scowl fiercely.

“It requires physical contact. Skin to skin.”