"That is why I need you."
"…Pardon?"
"Not those so-called famous brigands in the imperial capital. I’m asking you—the person who knows the condition of my body best, and who possesses greater skill than anyone else—to become my personal physician."
Gulp.
I heard Elise’s throat bob.
Ding.
[The skill “Enchanting Eloquence” stimulates “Elise von Kleist’s” desire for research and her calling as a physician.]
[“Elise von Kleist” accepts your proposal.]
"…Very well. I swear it."
Her cheeks flushed red.
"As your personal physician… I’ll do my utmost. I’ll make sure this secret never leaks out."
It was a success.
I let out a sigh of relief and said,
"Good. Then we have a deal."
Click.
And, with perfect timing, the door to the hospital room opened.
"Captain! I brought the medicine!"
Hanna came in, panting for breath. Elise rose as if nothing had happened.
"Ah, thank you, Sergeant. I’m going to set up the IV and connect the needle, so please help me for a moment."
"Yes, understood."
The two women turned their backs and began moving busily.
I leaned against the headboard and leisurely admired their backs.
My still-fresh-faced personal adjutant.
"I’ll mix in a vasodilator. It may sting a little."
And the intelligent, beautiful military doctor.
Satisfied that, at the very least, there was no longer any chance of my secret leaking out, I closed my eyes.
*
Three more days passed after that.
Rosenheim’s temporary field hospital was no longer a hospital, but had turned into something like a pilgrimage site for some religion.
"To the commander of the 2nd Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Infantry Brigade! From all the officers and men of the 3rd Division!"
"Captain Jaeger! The supply unit sent premium ham and cheese!"
"This is a plaque of appreciation from the mayor of Rosenheim!"
In one corner of the hospital room, canned goods, liquor, bouquets, and all sorts of condolence gifts of unknown origin were piled up like a mountain.
I leaned back in bed and looked at Hanna, who was peeling an apple.
"Hanna. What do you plan to do with all that?"
"Do not worry. Everything that won’t spoil will be packed up and sent to your personal storage, Captain. And the liquor…"
Hanna narrowed her eyes and swept the paring knife through the air.
"Since Military Doctor Elise said you are absolutely forbidden to drink, I will confiscate it and keep it in my custody."
"…Wouldn’t one glass now and then be all right?"
"No. Your body is now a matter for state-level management, Captain."
Hanna firmly shoved a slice of apple into my mouth.
Crunch.
My body was still creaking, but thanks to using [Touch of Attunement] for self-treatment whenever I had the chance, I was able to move around.
That was when it happened.
Bang!
The hospital room door opened, and a booming voice burst in.
"Hahaha! How is your condition, hero of the Empire?"
It was Brigadier General Karl von Dietrich, commander of the 7th Brigade.
I reflexively tried to raise myself.
"Sal—"
"Now, now, stay lying down! You’re the most valuable body in the Empire right now."
Dietrich pressed my shoulder down with his rough hand.
‘Status Analysis.’
[Name: Karl von Dietrich]
[Status: Extreme elation, greed, sense of victory]
[Hidden Desire: Wants to ride this momentum and seize a key post at Central Command.]
The mind of this old fox was always the same.
"Have you heard the reports? The moment news of the defense of Rosenheim reached the imperial capital, it caused an uproar! ‘The Ghost of Rosenheim,’ ‘The Miracle Commander.’ The newspapers are plastered with your name!"
He pulled a crumpled copy of the Imperial Daily from his coat and waved it. On the front page was the imperial flag fluttering over the ruined Rosenheim city hall, and beneath it, with an 88mm anti-aircraft gun in the background, the backs of Major Hermann and me standing there—though I had no idea who had taken the picture.
"You flatter me, sir. It was all thanks to Your Excellency’s decisiveness in authorizing the use of the 88mm."
I habitually gave him the credit. Dietrich’s mustache trembled as if he were pleased.
"Indeed, indeed! My eye was not mistaken. Ah, and this is something I’m telling only you first…"
He lowered his voice and leaned toward me.
"The higher-ups are positively considering your promotion. A special promotion from captain to major is all but guaranteed, and there are rumors that the Imperial Guard has its eye on you as well."
Promotion to major. And the Guard.
Sweet honeyed words. If I went to the Guard, there was a high chance I would become the Emperor’s or the Princess’s plaything. I had to suck up as much honey as possible here, in my own turf—the 7th Brigade.
"I wish to remain under Your Excellency’s command. There is no place that trusts me as much as the 7th Brigade."
"Oho, as expected, you are a loyal man! Don’t worry. Do you think I’d let you go? We must become stars of the imperial capital together!"
Dietrich clasped my hand tightly and shook it.
"Rest well! If you need anything, say the word!"
With those words, he strode out of the hospital room in high spirits. It felt as if a storm had passed.
I sighed and massaged my stiff hand. Handling a superior steeped in lust for power was easy, but at times like this, it was exhausting.
Knock, knock.
This time, a calm and regular knock, the complete opposite, sounded.
"Come in."
The door opened, and Captain Elise, wearing a white coat, entered.
She came to the side of the bed, flipped through the chart, and carefully examined the records.
"How are the wounds, Captain?"
"They still throb, but not enough to kill me."
"You’re exaggerating. With injuries like that, you should normally have been unconscious for three days."
She replied dryly and took out her stethoscope.
"Excuse me for a moment. Could you lift your shirt?"
I unbuttoned my hospital gown. Hanna looked at us with a strange gaze, then soon stepped aside.
"Breathe in… and out."
"Hoo."
"Again."
The examination went on longer than I had expected. The crease between Elise’s brows gradually deepened.
"……"
"Is there a problem?"
I asked, pretending to be unconcerned.
"A problem? No, there’s no problem at all. Your body is truly… healthy, Captain. To an odd degree."
A faint curiosity appeared in Elise’s eyes.
"There’s bound to be waste in an ordinary recovery process. When you’re wounded, an inflammatory response causes fever, and pain signals scatter your energy."
She explained as if murmuring to herself.
"The energy that should actually be used to regenerate cells is mostly spent creating those noisy reactions."
Her cold fingers brushed the skin around my wound, where almost all of the redness had vanished.
"But your body, Captain… skips that process. As if someone is directing traffic."
"Directing traffic, is it."
I swallowed a bitter smile inwardly.
She had seen through the mechanism of [Touch of Attunement] perfectly. Though she probably mistook it for a unique constitution produced by my malformed mana circuits.
"…I’m glad I can treat you. As a physician, and as a scholar."
Elise’s brown eyes settled calmly for a moment. Then she spoke again.
"But Captain, simply being in good condition isn’t enough. Right now, your circuits are like a dam that could collapse at any moment. Since the channels have been forced open, we need to know exactly where erosion is occurring and which areas are under overload."
Elise took another step toward the bed.
"We need a thorough examination."
A thorough examination.
‘Status Analysis.’
[Using the skill “Status Analysis (Lv.3)” on “Elise von Kleist.”]
[Name: Elise von Kleist]
[Status: Excitement, tension, professional immersion]
It was probably professional curiosity. I slowly nodded.
"Very well. I’ll entrust my body to you, Captain."
"A wise decision."
Elise drew the curtain around the hospital room.
"Please take off the upper half of your hospital gown completely."
I obediently unbuttoned it and tossed the garment aside. Elise stared intently at my exposed upper body, marked with scars and firm muscle.
"Sit up straight on the bed. With your back to me."
I turned around and sat as instructed. Soon, I heard rustling behind me, then felt the bed mattress sink. Elise had sat down close behind my back.
So close I could feel her breath.
"…Bear with it if it feels cold."
Elise’s slender fingers slowly descended along the line of my spine.
"The degree of muscle contraction is abnormal. Especially between the fourth and seventh thoracic vertebrae… That’s where the mana circuits are most densely tangled."
Her fingertip pressed firmly on a specific point.
"Ah—ugh."
"It hurts, doesn’t it? Take a deep breath, then exhale slowly."
Elise leaned her head forward as if resting her chin on my shoulder and whispered. Her soft breasts lightly brushed against my back, then moved away.
"Hoo……"
"Good. The expansion of the alveoli isn’t bad. But your heart rate is too fast. Whether that’s because of overload in the mana circuits, or…"
Elise stopped speaking and placed her fingers on the pulse near the nape of my neck. Her fingers were trembling faintly.
"……whether it’s for another reason, I’ll have to check."
Elise’s hand moved down near my pubic bone, to the border at the waist of my hospital pants.
"……Excuse me for a moment. I need to check the pulse near the inguinal region."
Cool fingers slipped slightly inside my pants and touched my inner thigh.
That was the moment.
Throb.
‘Ah, damn it.’
[The skill “Virile” activates.]