The West Wind's Destination - Chapter 55
Bea had a dream for the first time in a while.
In the dream, her master was being killed by a giant wolf.
The dreams she tended to have were always of this kind—direct reproductions of what she had once experienced in the past.
Her memories before her childhood were all blurry, but for some reason, this one was clear.
From the moment she saw the giant wolf, she felt as if the world had turned upside down.
Humans feel fear when faced with the unknown.
How could such a thing exist in reality? It was impossible. It felt like all common sense was shattered, accompanied by the illusion of something breaking in her ears.
Feeling nauseous, Bea desperately fled from the spot.
―You dare run away from me? You useless thing!
Her dying master’s voice yelled at her.
It wasn’t that she hadn’t done anything. She couldn’t. But Bea couldn’t say that.
Right. Thinking back, Bea had fled. Not after her master had already died, but even before that.
Belatedly afraid, Bea went to where her master might be buried and dug through the ground. She dug graves for days, sweating profusely, and finally saw her master’s decomposing corpse with her own eyes.
Bea dissected the corpse into pieces, taking in every detail of its structure.
The emotion she felt then was…
Unclear.
“……”
Bea woke up, holding her breath. Her head was spinning.
Before her focus returned, she first heard a buzzing sound.
“…Then, it can’t be treated?”
“We’ll try, but it will take a lot of time.”
“Don’t worry about time or costs.”
“It’s not just the hearing. The trauma is too old. From the sense of balance to normality. And if it’s congenital, it’s even more impossible. I hope you don’t have too high expectations, Milord.”
She half-listened to their conversation. They were speaking in hushed voices, trying not to wake Bea, but to her, that was more irritating.
“Uh, ugh…”
“Bea? Are you awake?”
The voice was familiar but sounded too distant. Bea instinctively retreated, wary. She then reflexively reached for her hearing aid to adjust the volume.
But there was nothing to grasp.
“Bea, calm down. It’s me, Aseph.”
“……”
After calming Bea’s trembling hand, Aseph reached towards her ear.
“Huht…”
Bea instinctively closed her eyes tightly and hunched her shoulders, as if bracing for an incoming blow, which made Aseph puzzled.
Soon, a crackling sound was heard from the ear Aseph’s hand had brushed. After waiting a bit, it became somewhat clearer.
But it was alien. It wasn’t the sensation she was used to.
“The one you were using needs repairs. This might be a bit inadequate, but please wear it for now.”
“Re…Repairs?”
Bea stuttered, uncharacteristically anxious.
“Yes. It’s difficult to repair the magical device within the mansion. So, I’ve temporarily left it elsewhere. I entrusted it to a skilled alchemist, so please don’t worry too much. It will be restored as close to its original form as possible.”
Aseph recalled that Bea had always been sensitive about her hearing aid. He remembered feeling awkward after seeing her tremble in fear when he once touched it.
He then lowered his posture to make Bea feel at ease and gently stroked the back of her hand.
“The person who just left is a doctor who’s capable of using magic. You… suffered a lot of internal injuries because of the… the incident. You were unconscious for several days. I’m relieved you’ve regained consciousness. I was really worried.”
Aseph paused, looking intently at her, waiting for her to speak. He often waited for Bea to respond after saying something she might not understand. Most of the time, Bea didn’t know what to say.
But this time, she felt like she might understand.
So, he’s asking about the reason she collapsed this time.
“…The high-temperature explosion temporarily created a vacuum state around the blast center, generating shockwaves.”
“Pardon?”
“The homunculus withstood it because it took after you, but it seems my body wasn’t as durable. It was a hastily made plan, so it was inevitable that some aspects were overlooked.”
The explosion itself was neutralized by the homunculus’s anti-magic power, but she hadn’t considered the subsequent shockwaves.
By the way, where was that whining thing?
She looked around, but the homunculus was nowhere to be seen.
The place was the laboratory Aseph had arranged for her before, and the bed she was lying on was the same as before.
Yet, even though it was the same place, the research table, materials shelf, flasks, and such were all cleared away. Instead, other furniture took their places. It looked more like a bedroom than a laboratory.
“Bea…”
Aseph sighed and swept his face with his hand.
“Why do you sound like you’re making excuses? Ah, I’m not asking about that. Let’s talk about it later. How do you feel?”
“…I’m fine.”
“You’re not fine at all.”
Aseph immediately dismissed Bea’s response after he was the one who asked.
She didn’t know how long she had been lying down. Bea tried to get up.
“How long have I been lying down…”
Before she could properly stand on the floor from the bed, Bea wobbled.
“Ah…”
Before she could fall to the floor, Aseph caught her.
“I told you, you’re not fine.”
She could guess the extent of her internal injuries. It shouldn’t have been to the extent that her strength was completely drained.
After resettling Bea, Aseph began to explain.
“It’s because of the treatment on your ear. You might not be able to maintain your balance for a while.”
“My ear?”
“Yes. The hearing in one of your ears… was very poor. It seems to have worsened because of this incident. We examined it, thinking it was more serious than the internal injuries. You might feel dizzy because you’re still recovering.”
