Healing darkness (part 2)

As we chat and tend to the trickling stream of new arrivals, a series of loud explosions rattles the building from outside.

"Are those... soldiers?" I ask, peering through the shattered windows to see a large platoon bombarding the remaining xenos.

"No, they bear the crest of Duke Rocagris."

"Who?" I repeat my favorite question of the day.

She gives me a look of pure exasperation.

"All right, that's it. I'm assigning you reading material. You desperately need to get out more."

"Huh, why would I need to know about nobles? It's not like they have anything to do with me." While there are certainly some nice ones, a lot of the noble heirs in the academy are absolute pieces of— eh, sorry again, Mom... I mean, they're not very pleasant company.

"By sheer instinct, you just outperformed a former royal doctor! That alone is going to give you plenty of job opportunities." She doesn't change her expression.

Mmm... I haven't really thought about what I want to do yet. I haven't found anything I'm particularly passionate about. But as long as I have a job to support myself, I'll be fine... Right?

I have a feeling she'll scold me if I tell her that, so let's just change the subject for now.

"Well, I don't know, but can't I just avoid meeting them as best I can?"

She looks at me, disappointed... 'I really don't like that look. I'm sorry.' She seems more serious than I anticipated.

"You're just trying to procrastinate again. You need to live more in the present. It's exactly why you keep moping about William."

Oh... Uh... My chest tightens, and the ears atop my head instantly flatten against my hair.

That hurt more than she probably intended, since the room seems to freeze. My hands reflexively ball into fists at my sides, but... the heat of anger dies out just as fast. She's right.

Before I can swallow the lump in my throat, she pulls me into an embrace.

"Don't make that face. Forgive me. I didn't mean it, and I crossed a line. I'm just really tired and want to go home and sleep..."

It takes me a few seconds to let out the breath I was holding. I finally hug her back.

"Don't apologize. You're right. I'm sorry it took me so long to, um, want to change."

After a few seconds, we pull apart slightly but still don't let go. I need another moment to look her in the eyes, but when I do, I see a small, warm smile on her face.

'Huh... earning that smile of pride feels pretty good.'

"Do you want to take a nap?" I offer, patting my lap to change the subject. I'm not very good at emotional moments, and I notice the pharmacy is emptying out. The only people left are a few healers and the patients who haven't woken up or simply can't walk.

"Oh..." She lets go of me, lies down across my lap, and begins gently stroking my leg... Oh well, I offered. When was the last time we were this physically affectionate? We share a bed from time to time, but she's rarely this clingy.

A few minutes later, I feel her breathing slow and steady as she falls asleep.

This is so nice! Having my best friend and family trust me enough to let her guard down in the middle of a war zone.

Well... Even though I call it a war zone, I don't hear any xenos outside anymore. Wait, if more wounded come in, I'll have to wake her up, right?

Hmm, whatever. If it's not a critical emergency, I'll just leave it to the other unknown healers.

For now, I just have to take care of this sleepy puppy— I mean, my cousin.

-----

I've spent the last hour gently stroking Nicole's hair and playing with her ears.

I discovered that whenever I carefully brush the slightly longer fur at the tips, her ears twitch. I can only compare it to how certain animals shake their heads to shoo away mosquitoes. It's adorable and funny, hehe... Do mine do that, too?

But doing it too much might wake her, so I decide to hold off. Besides, my gut is suddenly telling me that something troublesome is about to happen.

Right on cue, I hear heavy footsteps marching aggressively in our direction. I quickly weave a pair of earmuffs out of darkness magic over Nicole's ears so the noise won't wake her, silently praying that whoever is coming isn't looking for me.

"There she is! Arrest that wretched girl!"

... Of course. I absolutely hate being right all the time. Just kidding.

The old man whose name I forgot is standing there, pointing a trembling finger at me with several armed knights trailing behind him. Really? You finally regain consciousness, and the very first thing you do is seek petty revenge? How the hell did someone so selfish secure such an important position in the royal court...?

Wait, no, it makes perfect sense. There are plenty of precedents, like half the noble heirs I've met in the academy.

This time, the guards don't ignore me. They draw their weapons and rush forward. Eh?

Since we're relatively close to the entrance, I don't have much time to react. I just see a group of tall, heavily armored men charging at me with furious expressions. The very next second, the knights are abruptly pinned face-first to the floorboards, crushed under a massive, oppressive weight of darkness...

Eh, wait, am I doing that!?

I notice my hand reaching out toward them, palm down. I'm the one doing that! I must have panicked the second I heard the sound of swords being drawn!

Luckily, before the situation can escalate any further, Nicole stretches, sits up, and lets out a long yawn... Oh no, it looks like I lost my concentration and the darkness earmuffs dissipated. I really need to practice my multitasking.

"You dare—" the old man starts, but Nicole cuts him off immediately.

"Anderson Blackwell. Mmm... what exactly are you doing?" she asks, rolling her shoulders to stretch her back.

At least someone here is perfectly calm.

"You're... Nicole, aren't you? That insolent vixen has attacked me twice now! I will see her executed for daring to lay a hand on me!"

"Calm down. I heard you were obstructing triage and causing a panic, so she was obligated to remove you from the premises. As for what just happened, it was clearly self-defense," she replies in a completely flat tone.

"Obstructing!? Me!? Do you have any idea who I—"

He breaks off into a sudden coughing fit. Obviously, she knows who you are; she literally just called you by your name.

"I will not stand for—"

"You are someone who screams at the top of his lungs in an area where critically injured people are trying to survive," Nicole interrupts again. "You know what? Let's take this outside."

She casually takes my hand, and we stroll out of the pharmacy. The pinned knights actively scramble out of our way in... fear? Wow!

The old man sputters something incomprehensible, but we ignore him and walk over to one of the intact benches in the square. As we settle down, he predictably marches right after us. His face has turned an alarming shade of plum, and he looks like he might spontaneously combust from sheer rage at any moment.

"Don't think you can just walk away..."

He starts to shout again, but Nicole cuts him off for the third time today, hehe.

"Embezzlement, abuse of authority, extortion of academy funds, and accepting bribes, just to name a few. Do you want me to go on? I could easily add dereliction of duty, slandering a royal mage, and actively obstructing a healer during an emergency based on what happened today alone. You're certainly keeping active for your age, don't you think?"

All the color instantly drains from his face, leaving him a sickly pale. "You know—"

"Yes, the Crown knows exactly what you've been doing. And by unjustly threatening a relative of a royal court mage with death simply because she defended herself against your thugs, you've just given us full legal authorization to audit every single property tied to your family name. How incredibly generous of you. Now, as for you lot."

She points a lazy finger at the knights who just caught up to us.

"Make yourselves useful and arrest him. Unless, of course, you'd prefer to answer a few uncomfortable questions about why you were so eagerly acting as a disgraced doctor's personal attack dogs?"

'OOOH! Nicole looks so incredibly cool!'

How unusual.

She hadn't even finished speaking before one of the knights forcefully gagged the old man. What was his name again...? Blackwell? No, that's his last name. Oh well, who cares.

The air in the square still smells of burnt ozone and the distant smoke from the monsters' remains, but mixed with that familiar, soothing scent of Nicole, the tension in my shoulders finally melts away.

Another knight wrenched his arms behind his back and secured them with... what are those? Thick metal rings clamped securely around his wrists. How practical. Some kind of new manacles?

The word 'handcuffs' instantly pops into my mind...

"What's wrong?" Nicole's voice pulls me out of my sudden reverie. I lift my head to see her looking at me with mild concern. Damn these random words constantly interrupting my thoughts; I couldn't even properly enjoy that idiot's arrest.

Since things have finally calmed down, I figure it's the perfect time to ask.

"Do you remember a while ago when I mentioned that strange words kept popping into my head? It's happened to me several times today. The word 'handcuffs' just popped up the second I saw what they were using to bind the old man's wrists."

She blinks in surprise, then gives a slow nod, as if confirming an internal suspicion. "I already had my theories, but I highly doubt you've ever heard that specific word before. Those restraints were invented very recently, and you hardly ever talk to anyone outside the house."

That last comment felt entirely unnecessary, but I really couldn't argue with it.

"I think you might have heard that word, and the others, in another life. Even though handcuffs are a recent implementation, the mechanical design is derived from knowledge left behind by people summoned from other worlds in the distant past."

"..."

Isn't she jumping to conclusions a bit too fast? But then again, she did say she already had her suspicions.

"Hey, don't overthink it. It's just a working theory. It could be something far simpler. Maybe you heard a guard mention their name in passing while you were distracted, and your brain just recalled it when you saw them in action."

That actually makes a lot of logical sense, but...

"The exact same thing happened with the monsters," I point out. "The word 'xenos' popped into my mind, even though they clearly weren't aliens. And, for some reason, I fully expected their blood to melt through the floorboards like acid." I shudder slightly, remembering how much of their blood I had spilled. "More importantly, I suddenly knew the exact medical name of a bone I fractured earlier, and perfectly understood how to mend it with my new magic..."

"Huh. Well, that's incredibly convenient for you. Regardless, even if it is fragmented knowledge from a past life, like I said, it's not a big deal. It doesn't change your personality or who you are. It's actually a relatively documented phenomenon here, so don't stress yourself out over it."

I turn to look at her. Her usual, comfortably bored expression has fully returned. She leans back against the bench, casually watching the still-smoldering remains of the monsters in the distance. She genuinely seems to believe it's not a problem, which takes a massive weight off my shoulders.

"Mmm, even if it is from a past life, I guess I'm not as worried about it as I thought I'd be. It doesn't really affect me at all, aside from a few seconds of confusion."

I say it out loud, mostly to comfort her, but also to convince myself.