Nina, the One Closest to Him

"It hurts, it hurts, Nina."

"Be quiet. Stop moving your tongue. Just stick it out and hold still."

I pried his mouth open and smeared the ointment over the pitiful lump of flesh.

The idiot had bitten down without a shred of mercy, so the wound on his tongue was deep and ugly.

Nearly severed halfway through, barely clinging together. Honestly, it might heal faster to just rip the thing off entirely. It'd probably grow back like a lizard's tail…

The thought crossed my mind, but I let him off the hook. If by some slim chance it didn't grow back, I'd never forgive myself, and besides, I was a doctor. He was my patient, fool or not. I had an obligation to treat him as best I could.

"There, all done."

"Hey, Nina. Isn't there a medicine that tastes a little less awful? This is seriously too bitter… Having you reapply it every day is pretty rough."

What a child.

"There isn't."

I answered the pathetic fire dragon without missing a beat.

Honestly, no matter how many years went by, he never changed one bit.

"Poor Ryouji-san. Let me cool it for you."

"Stop that. Don't do anything unnecessary."

A woman clad entirely in white came over and said that, so I put my foot down.

"Lowering the temperature reduces the medicine's effectiveness. It'll take longer to heal."

Even Ai had the sense to pull back the hand she'd been reaching toward his tongue.

"Thank you for worrying about me, Ai. But it'll probably heal in about a year, so I'll be fine. More importantly, how's your wound?"

"That was just an arrow wound, and it didn't even go that deep, so it healed ages ago. You're in the way, so get out of the clinic."

"Hey, why are you answering for her? And I'm here to visit, so it's fine."

It was not fine. And he was just as bad, going all doe-eyed around her. Made my blood boil.

Maybe I should swap the herbs in that medicine for something even more bitter…

"Big brooother. I came to pick you up!"

"Mentorrr, let's go home together."

Just as I was considering it, two more headaches showed up.

Yuuki and Rin, who had supposedly recovered their old memories, had been clinging to him even more than before. Yuuki I could understand, but Rin hadn't been like that with him before, had she?

"Enough! Get out! Shoo!"

"Alright, visiting hours are over. All guests, please make your way to the exit."

When I shouted, Chryse, who had been working as a nurse lately, chimed in with that announcement while pouring her soul into the bed, bodily shoving Ai and the others out. A daughter truly was a treasure to have. She was the only one on my side.

… Though the fact that she still clung to her father far more than any daughter should, and her stubborn refusal to ever call me "Mom," did bother me. Just a tiny bit. I was overthinking it, right? It was fine… right?

"You're a patient. Stay put."

"Gack."

He tried to slip out with the others, so I grabbed him by the collar and dragged him back. The treatment was technically done, so there wasn't really any reason to keep him here, but…

Chryse closed both eyes in a clumsy attempt at a wink, then quietly slipped out of the room. Her winking was as terrible as ever, but I appreciated the gesture all the same.

I stared up at his face in silence.

He averted his gaze, looking uncomfortable.

"… Sorry."

"It's fine, I know… Honestly."

If he felt guilty, he could've at least tried to make some excuse. But he just went and apologized straight out, so all I could do was heave a deep sigh.

I'd known from the very start. If he could just dismiss them now that they'd remembered, write it all off as ancient history… if he were the kind of person who could do that, I probably never would have ended up in this situation to begin with.

And besides… I was the one who'd tried to monopolize him while everyone else had conveniently forgotten. I was probably at fault too, in that regard. Well, maybe just a little.

"It's fine. It's not like I hate it that much."

But it still irked me, so I grabbed his cheeks and stretched them out while I said it.

"Ish dat sho?"

He offered no resistance whatsoever, letting me pull his cheeks to my heart's content.

"Yes. Because… you, who do you like best?"

His whole body flinched.

"Just kidding. I'm not going to ask something that petty."

He relaxed with visible relief. Part of me wanted to say "You could've at least lied and said me," but another part thought that if he ever became the kind of person who could say that without batting an eye, I'd hate it.

"I'm the one who's been by your side the longest, and the closest. Isn't that right?"

I flicked his cheek and asked. He nodded.

"Yeah. That's absolutely true."

"Then that's enough for me."

I'd let it go. For now.

What a wonderful woman I was. I even congratulated myself a little.

"So, how's the reconstruction going?"

"Not well, I'm afraid."

After that. After the fire dragons died, the world had changed.

Whether it was because the dragons died, or because people died, I couldn't say.

But the power of magic had grown drastically weaker… or so they said.

I said "or so they said" because neither he nor I could feel the change ourselves.

The same went for Ai, Yuuki, Rin, and Chryse, for that matter. In short, anyone who possessed their own magic showed no decline in power.

But the vast majority of people were not so fortunate. Magic hadn't become completely unusable, but summoning spirits as casually as before was no longer possible, and according to Innis, the power would only continue to wane from here.

As a result, dealing with monsters and magical beasts had become considerably harder, and I was busy beyond belief every single day.

"This time, I'll take it slow and work through the solutions carefully."

He, for his part, seemed to feel deeply responsible for the fact that the weapons he'd created had thrown the entire world into chaos.

"I'm going to revisit all the magic and sorcery systems that have been built so far. All of it, from the very beginning. From the start. A complete do-over."

"Well, do whatever you like."

"That's cold."

He said that without meaning a word of it.

"I'm telling you to do whatever you want because I'll be right there with you through all of it."

I said it with my back turned, changing the sheets on the bed.

A stifled laugh came from behind me. That infuriating voice that said he saw right through me, same as always.

But then again… that laugh wasn't so bad, either.

I'd been hearing it for over a thousand years, after all. Of course I was used to it by now.

"Oh, that reminds me."

Out of nowhere, as if it had just occurred to him, he asked.

"Why did you give Ai the name Hiiro?"

"It overlapping with the village name was… just a coincidence."

It was the villagers at the time who had named this village Hiiro, and besides, the characters were different.

The Hiiro of Hiiro Village meant scarlet. The color of his scales.

"You gave it to her, so it's a flower name, right?"

"I suppose."

A flower name was originally something elves gave to conceal their true name, but I had given one to Ai. Really, it was simply because I hadn't known any other way to name someone.

"I want you to give it to me, Nina-san."

That was what she had said, back then.

"Why?"

"The name Ai that Mentor gave me is precious. I don't want to be called by any other name, and I'd rather not receive a different name from him, either… if I can help it."

I could understand that feeling. I'd ended up giving myself a name that sounded very much like the one I was used to being called, after all.

"So… if I'm going to have another name, I want you to be the one to give it to me, Nina-san."

A flower name was chosen based on the color of the flowers that person's magic caused to bloom.

If they bloomed thorns of purple, then purple.

If they bloomed flowers of pale blue, then pale blue.

Her flowers.

To me, they looked more passionate and more beautiful than anything else.

Flowers that burned the very body they bloomed upon, consuming it utterly. Flowers of passion.

And so, the color of flame… Hiiro.

But saying that felt like admitting she was a perfect match for him.

"It's a secret. I'm never telling you, not ever."

I stuck my tongue out and gave him my answer.