"Delicious."
Kanna smiled brightly, swinging her feet with the innocent joy of a child.
As she stretched her legs and swung them repeatedly, she occasionally bumped my knees across from her. Each time, Kanna would look at me with an "Oh!" and check my reaction, but I just smiled back at her.
I hoped she wouldn't feel the need to apologize for such small things. I wanted this place to be somewhere she could feel comfortable.
We couldn't go to the Academy before she recovered her memories—that would definitely cause problems.
The reason Kanna was disrespected and ridiculed for being at the bottom of her class might have been because she appeared to just want an easy life with the "hero" title. That was probably why the top students looked down on her.
Most students probably thought they wouldn't have to deal with her at the Academy or in society later, so they didn't even bother paying attention to her.
The lower-ranked students competed against each other to avoid falling further, sometimes even ganging up on others. They probably deducted points during combat training just to climb one rank higher.
In that atmosphere, Kanna had perfectly secured her position at the bottom.
With no physical abilities, no awakened powers, and no knowledge of magic, she became easy prey for those who claimed she only wanted the "hero" title.
But now?
Now some students must have seen Kanna fighting like a true hero. Her blue tie would have identified her as a first-year, and her ivory hair and purple eyes would have revealed her as Kanna Aurora.
If she went to the Academy now, she might actually gain a good reputation. Even if I didn't know about it, word would spread, which would be great.
But what worried me was the commotion that had happened in front of the Academy that day.
The moment when Kanna nearly lost her limbs might be deeply etched in the other Academy students' minds. If they added their own interpretations, they might arbitrarily brand her as a "traitor to humanity."
The truth didn't matter. Only what suited their tastes would be accepted as truth.
Cleaning up a tarnished reputation required time and mental strength, ultimately causing suffering only for the person involved.
"Are you finished eating?"
"Yes. It was delicious. You really are a good cook, Ha-min."
"Really?"
"I knew you were good at cooking!"
...Could she be remembering?
If she vaguely remembered the food I'd made for her before, that would be wonderful.
But knowing it wouldn't be good to pressure her to remember, I just watched her quietly before standing up from my chair.
As I was about to clear the empty bowls, Kanna also stood up and picked up her dishes.
"Oh, you don't have to. Go rest on the sofa."
"No, it's not like I'm really a patient."
Saying that, Kanna quickly put her dishes in the sink and washed her hands.
Watching Kanna made me feel relieved over and over again.
Was it fortunate that we'd avoided the worst? Was it a blessing that we could still recover from this?
It was the same this time. If she had complete amnesia, it would have been more painful. If she had developed something like dissociative identity disorder, it would have been difficult to distinguish what was really Kanna. I kept sighing with relief at how fortunate we were.
We spent time sitting in front of the TV.
We watched a variety show and checked the news for updates.
Three mysterious beings had appeared beyond the collapsed wall. Everyone knew their power far exceeded what had been shown before.
But compared to that, casualties were only on the heroes' side, and civilians had been able to evacuate quickly.
The fact that heroes had died in the line of duty was sad, but things seemed to be getting under control. I thought this was also Kanna's achievement.
After all, wasn't it thanks to her that the lives of those twenty heroes had been saved?
As the night sky darkened, I began to hear a rushing sound.
"...Is it raining?"
Strange. I didn't think rain was in the forecast. They said there was a 30% chance of precipitation, so I had dismissed it, but it seemed that 30% had hit us. I got up briefly to pull back the curtains, and through the window I could see heavy raindrops pounding my small yard.
"Kanna, looks like it's raining."
"...Yeah."
Kanna seemed uninterested in the weather outside, staring blankly at the TV screen. I didn't think the TV itself was fascinating to her—ah, Kanna's home didn't have a TV, did it?
Regardless, the news content itself was worth focusing on.
Stories about heroes, about the collapsed wall.
Even though Kanna had lost her memories and her mental state had regressed somewhat, her interests hadn't changed.
[At that time, heroes who confronted the mysterious beings on the front lines simultaneously fell unconscious. According to eyewitness accounts from nearby heroes, there was a violent explosion of unrefined mana.]
The story was about people Kanna had protected but couldn't remember.
[...Three days later, the heroes are regaining consciousness one by one. Let's hear an interview with Hero Tawar.]
The screen changed.
The studio view switched to a hospital, where a hero named Tawar began talking with a reporter. After brief introductions from both the reporter and Hero Tawar, they moved on to the part I was curious about.
[You were unconscious for three days due to the intense battle with the mysterious beings. Do you remember anything about the situation at that time?]
[It's a bit hazy, but at that time, I was coordinating with about twenty other heroes.]
[Twenty heroes? The mysterious beings must have been incredibly powerful.]
[Yes, just before I lost consciousness, someone ran in front of me and deployed some kind of ability. Looking back, I think it might have been a barrier created by their power. Thanks to that, I think I was able to survive.]
I could breathe easier now. The situation had become clear that Kanna was not one of the mysterious beings.
As I sat on the sofa watching TV as if entranced, various thoughts came to mind.
Even the top brass of the Hero Association would have trouble arbitrarily dealing with Kanna, who had risked her life fighting mysterious beings, nearly died, and thrown herself into danger to save heroes.
Tawar, Tawar. I memorized that name. I didn't know the names of all the heroes who had lost consciousness, but I needed to remember the name of the interviewed hero for future reference.
[...I don't remember which hero it was, but if they've regained consciousness like me, I'd like to go thank them.]
Kanna showed no reaction to the screen, just staring blankly.
If that was her achievement, if people who survived thanks to her were feeling grateful, there couldn't be anything more heartwarming.
I wanted to tell her, "You did that." But I shook my head. Treatment was the priority for Kanna right now.
There was no need to push memories she didn't have by saying, "You did that." My job was simply to help her remember on her own, slowly.
"Kanna, shall we go to bed? It's getting late."
"Yeah, I'll sleep. Where should I sleep?"
Right, where should she sleep?
Without her memories, she probably wouldn't have trauma right now. She wouldn't feel afraid of being left alone in the dark.
If that was the case, was it time to use the room that had never been used before? But to stimulate her memories, she needed to repeat what she had done before. Should I deliberately avoid that?
I felt guilty just for worrying about sleeping arrangements.
"...Ah, you know the room where the suitcase was? That's your room."
"Really? Okay."
"The bedding is in there..."
"Thank you."
Kanna said that and turned off the TV with the remote beside her. The living room suddenly went quiet, the lights went out, and I went to my room while Kanna went to hers.
Honestly, I felt a bit lonely.
At first it had seemed crazy, but sleeping together with Kanna had become almost routine.
It would be a lie to say I never had inappropriate thoughts, but I had endured because I wanted to live up to her expectations when she depended on me out of fear.
Already the third night. I lay alone in bed, staring at the ceiling.
I would rather be in a hospital bed if it meant knowing Kanna was healthy and well beside me. Not having her next to me, not being able to see her right now, made me anxious.
This was probably excessive worry, but still.
"..."
What should I do to help Kanna return to normal?
Actually, wouldn't recovering her memories be more painful? Wouldn't it be better to let Kanna escape from her painful memories? But that couldn't be right.
I had no idea what choice would be best for Kanna.
If she regained her memories, she could be whole again, but she would have to face her suffering, trauma, and unfortunate circumstances directly.
But turning a blind eye to reality wouldn't solve everything either.
My worries were mounting.
Feeling suffocated, I covered my closed eyes with my hand. At that moment, I felt as if the darkened space had briefly brightened.
"?"
Wondering what it was, I dropped my hand and looked toward the window. Beyond the pouring rain, as if to confirm that the flash I had seen wasn't an illusion, thunder rumbled.
This rain seemed like it would last quite a while.
And then—
At the sound of two knocks, I sat up abruptly.
"Kanna?"
When I opened the door, I could see purple eyes trembling in the darkness beyond. Kanna was hugging her pillow, shaking, and pointing toward her room.
"I-I'm scared... C-can I sleep with you?"
"Uh, um...?"
"I-I don't know why, I'm just scared..."
Ah, I see.
Even though she had lost her memories, it wasn't a complete erasure, and there was hope they would return someday. Kanna was trembling from trauma she herself didn't recognize.
"Yes, come in."
"Sorry..."
"Don't be."
Kanna entered the room with a relieved expression. It took some time for her to hesitantly check my reaction and carefully claim her spot beside me, but she definitely seemed more stable than before.
"...Good night."
"Y-yeah, good night, Ha-min."
Sweet dreams.