"Mr. Yoon Ha-min, please say something."
The teacher's voice felt like it was piercing through me.
The doctor seemed so uncomfortable that he froze in place, unable to either leave or speak, just watching the teacher cautiously.
I hesitated, about to explain my original relationship with Kanna.
But before I could, Kanna shouted loudly.
"I'm fine with it!"
"Kanna, that's not the issue. In front of a teacher, that kind of..."
"..."
Kanna's expression darkened instantly.
Because of this, the teacher's voice trailed off, and she tried a different approach, speaking in a soothing tone.
"Kanna? That's not it. It's just a bit problematic for students to be so close without a guardian present. If it were somewhere private, that might be different, but when a teacher is watching, I have to intervene."
"Then can't you just pretend you didn't see?"
Kanna was surprisingly cheerful. Like a child throwing a tantrum, she seemed to want everything to conform to her wishes.
But what confused me was that until just moments ago, she was saying we weren't friends and stabbing at my heart, yet after a few conversations, she apparently liked me enough to act out in front of the teacher.
The more Kanna acted this way, the more awkward it became for me.
"Kanna, I've already seen and heard..."
"Teacher."
I spoke with a heavy voice.
The teacher, who had been struggling with how to handle Kanna, turned slightly toward me when I called.
"Yes?"
"Actually, Kanna and I live together... I'm sorry for causing this situation by trying to keep it secret."
"What?"
Her voice was filled with disbelief.
Honestly, I understand. What teacher would expect a student to suddenly announce they're living with another student?
It's obvious what would happen after hearing such a thing, which is why no student would normally do this.
But Kanna wasn't in a normal state right now, which is why she was acting out.
Unfortunately, she was embracing pain and suffering that troubled those who saw her.
It seemed like she was indicating that this place was her final destination, having been driven to the edge both physically and mentally.
"...Kanna's luggage is there too."
"But this is..."
"We haven't done anything you're concerned about, Teacher. And we won't. I only offered her a room because she was going through a difficult time and asked for my help."
The reason I was desperately explaining was to take Kanna with me.
Certainly, the teacher's home might provide better care.
But teachers ultimately follow orders from the Hero Association leadership.
I was determined to protect Kanna even if it meant being expelled from the Hero Association.
That's why I believed it was right for me to take her, since my priority was Kanna.
"I'm not comfortable entrusting one student to another..."
"But I like Ha-min!"
"Kanna, this isn't your decision to make."
The teacher spoke sharply.
And Kanna's voice, cutting in between, showed her stubbornness.
With Kanna lying in bed and me standing firmly behind the teacher, it seemed we both wanted the same thing, making the teacher conflicted.
As silence settled for a moment, the doctor, who had almost been forgotten in the background, carefully added his thoughts.
"If they've been living together already, I don't think it would be bad to continue? Repeating familiar experiences is important for recovering from memory loss."
That comment was the deciding factor.
The teacher insisted on checking my home address once, and after confirming that Kanna's suitcase was indeed there, she nodded.
It seemed she finally believed we had been living together before Kanna was hospitalized.
Well, if I had suddenly persuaded Kanna to come with me without any prior relationship, that would have been problematic in its own way.
I smiled bitterly as I let Kanna inside.
Thanks to the teacher, we were able to complete both the hospitalization and discharge processes.
While Kanna's condition was far from fortunate, at least she was alive, which was what mattered.
Yes, rather than spending each day wondering when she might wake up, it was better to identify the problem quickly and focus on treatment.
Just as the doctor said, if we could help recover her memory by repeatedly showing her things she had experienced before and stimulating her lost memories, that would be wonderful.
We couldn't leave this situation as it was.
"Kanna, now that you're back, do you want to shower first? We just grabbed whatever clothes, so you'll need to change."
"Yeah, I want to shower! My hair's a mess!"
"Alright, alright..."
As I said this, I felt somewhat relieved.
I had worried that if she had been in this state when she had no limbs, or if her limbs hadn't regenerated at the very end, she would have been devastated.
"Time to shower~"
"Kanna, come here."
"Huh?"
"This is your room... your suitcase is here."
I showed Kanna the room I had previously shown her.
I pointed out where her suitcase was, then took her to the changing room to show her the washing machine and laundry basket.
"Wow, this really is mine...!"
Kanna exclaimed as she opened the suitcase, but somehow even that seemed new to her, which gave me mixed feelings.
Well, even though it was her own suitcase, it made sense that she would react this way since she had no memory of it, which made me feel sad.
Still, I just needed to help her recover.
No, even before recovery, I wanted her to rely on me.
Because Kanna kept feeling isolated.
She had entered my home out of fear and even slept with me because she couldn't sleep alone in the dark.
But those were all dependencies, not reliance.
It meant I couldn't remove her mental burden.
"...Do you want to shower first?"
"Yes! I'll go shower first!"
Kanna smiled brightly as she gathered the clothes she would change into.
She went into the bathroom, and I stared at the closed door.
I kept worrying that someday she might choose death if things became too difficult. She had previously thought that dying might be better if she couldn't handle the fear of the Mysterious Person.
If the Hero Association leadership made some strange decision and tried to exclude Kanna, she might choose to die peacefully before that happened.
I wanted to prevent that, but in my current state, it seemed impossible.
Left alone for a moment, I sat on the living room sofa and clasped my hands together.
I tried to slowly draw out my power, but unlike usual, something seemed to be blocking it, making me frown.
The light that flickered on and off eventually went out.
Normally, it should have emitted a strong, bright light, but the unsatisfactory output frustrated me.
In this condition, I clearly wouldn't be able to protect Kanna, let alone perform properly.
I might be able to maintain my Top Rank position if I gave it my all, but it was obvious that once I started activities, my limitations would quickly be exposed.
I needed to do something about the Mysterious Person who had made an eating gesture at the end, but the fact that I couldn't do anything if they didn't appear again tormented me.
Ironically, I found myself hoping that the Mysterious Person would appear again, which felt absurd.
Things related to Kanna were scattered everywhere. It would take time to sort all this out.
The issue with my ability seemed like it would continue indefinitely. As long as the Mysterious Person didn't show up, I would probably remain in this state.
"...Ha-min! I'm done showering!"
I must have been lost in thought for a while, because Kanna had already finished her shower and come out.
Seeing her humming a tune while roughly drying her hair with a towel made me catch my breath.
"Kanna! You need to dry it properly!"
"Huh? It's fine, it's fine. Just roughly drying it with a towel is enough."
"No, come here."
I jumped up and took her to the changing room, positioning her in front of me.
"It's really fine..."
"Look in the mirror. It's not good for your hair if you don't dry it properly."
"That would be bad?"
"That's why you need to dry it."
I stroked Kanna's ivory-colored hair with the hair dryer.
For some reason, my emotions welled up, and I struggled to swallow the sudden surge of feelings.
"Why are you crying?"
When she said that, I looked up and saw my contorted expression reflected in the mirror.
Kanna was worried about me.
Why, why...
Seeing Kanna worry about me brought tears to my eyes.
She should be worried about herself right now, not me.
It hurt my heart that Kanna was concerned about me when she should be focusing on her own body.
It stung.
"I'm not crying..."
I wanted to say I wasn't crying, but even in the mirror I could see that I was, so I couldn't continue speaking.
In response to my failed excuse, Kanna whispered to me.
"I want you to smile."
Ah.
Suddenly remembering that day, I felt a lump in my throat.
A voice I had heard before.
But from Kanna's current perspective, she should have just met me for the first time, yet she spoke as if she had known me from before.
Come to think of it, she spoke like she knew me at the hospital too.
"...Why?"
I found myself asking without thinking.
The current Kanna might tell me clearly.
Why she wanted me to smile, why she would say such a thing when she needed happiness more than I did.
"When Ha-min cries, it makes my heart hurt."
But Kanna didn't explain.
My nose stung, and all I could do was nod.
"I'm sorry."
"Oh, you smiled!"
When I smiled bitterly, Kanna seemed pleased and lifted her head to look directly at my face instead of through the mirror.
Looking down at her face, smiling so close to mine, I felt my heart breaking.