As the hot water poured from her head to her toes, Qiluo finally felt like a normal human being again.
Steam filled the bathroom. She turned the water temperature up a notch and stood under the shower head for a long time, only turning off the faucet when her fingertips had turned slightly red from the heat.
Changing into clean pajamas, she wrapped herself in her bedding, leaving only half her face and one hand exposed to hold her phone.
Raindrops continued to tap against the window. Compared to her miserable state at the convenience store earlier, this bed was absolute heaven.
She unlocked her phone. The search bar defaulted to "Erosion Body attack victim insurance," and the moment the search results popped up, her eyes lit up.
It turned out that schools in this world purchased group accident insurance for their students, and Erosion Body attacks were categorized under a "special disaster rider."
Surviving residents could apply for a rather substantial payout.
She stared at the payout amount on the screen and began calculating rapidly in her head.
That compensation would be enough to buy her pineapple buns for a very long time.
No, pineapple buns were nothing. It was enough for her to buy one of every single flavor of pudding in the convenience store's cooler and eat a different one every day without repeating.
Since the convenience store was closing early, she wouldn't have to go to work for quite some time.
And!
As a victim, she even got paid leave!
The Store Owner had sent a message telling her to get some rest, saying she would find someone to cover her shifts and that her pay would remain unaffected.
Qiluo Tian Gong rolled over in her bed, turning her phone screen off and on again.
She had worked so hard at her part-time jobs in this world, yet this was the first time she realized that being attacked by an Erosion Body came with such an unexpected windfall.
“If I can get a payout every time... No, no, Qiluo Tian Gong, what are you thinking?”
She buried her face in her pillow, but she couldn't suppress the curl of her lips no matter how hard she tried.
Getting caught in something like that was certainly terrible luck, but if she could get a payout afterward, it wasn't a total loss.
Cheering herself up, she decided she would ask her homeroom teacher tomorrow about the exact application process for the insurance.
Just as she was about to scroll through a few videos to wind down for sleep, a message popped up at the top of her screen.
It was from Night Sakura, sent over the encrypted line of the Wings of Freedom's internal communication channel. Her tone was as cheerful as ever, complete with a bouncing bunny emoji at the end.
“Lightweaver, Lightweaver, we're all done clearing things out on our end! Right now, we're sprawled out all over the place in the headquarters' lounge area. Amamiya is already asleep, and I'm in charge of cooking instant ramen. Want to come over and hang out?”
“It's fine if you don't, I'm just asking as a routine check. But if you do come, I can cook an extra pack—I can even sacrifice the super spicy one Kohinata hid away.”
Looking at the message, Qiluo's lips curved upward unconsciously.
She rolled over in bed, holding her phone with one hand while keeping the other warm under the covers, and slowly typed out a reply.
“You guys really never get tired. Since Amamiya is asleep, don't wake her up. Let her rest.”
Night Sakura replied instantly: “I didn't wake her. She'll probably wake up on her own once she smells the food.”
“Then that means your ramen is more appealing than an Erosion Body.” She paused, then added, “I'll be there in a bit. No need to save any ramen for me; I'm just coming over to see if you're all still alive.”
Night Sakura sent back three exclamation marks and a sticker of Kohinata wielding a hammer.
Qiluo closed the chat interface, placed her phone next to her pillow, and lingered in bed for a moment longer.
She sat up and walked over to the small mana recovery array in the center of the room.
Did anyone really think Qiluo did nothing all day?
The efficiency of the acceleration array was higher than she had estimated. Now, it was at least enough to maintain Lightweaver's transformation.
The Wings of Freedom headquarters.
Night Sakura moved the induction cooker next to the coffee table, where the instant ramen in the pot was bubbling and steaming.
Kohinata sat cross-legged on the sofa, her hammer resting on her knees.
Amamiya was curled up in the corner of the sofa with Night Sakura's coat draped over her. Her breathing was steady, and her eyelashes were completely still.
Night Sakura sent a message while looking at the ramen pot, stirring the noodles with her chopsticks.
“Lightweaver said she'll be here in a bit.”
“Really?!” Kohinata looked up. Her hammer almost rolled off her knees, and she quickly pressed down on it with her hand.
“Didn't she say she wasn't coming? Why did she change her mind? Night Sakura, how did you manage to lure her here?”
“I just asked her normally. Maybe she's in a good mood today.”
Night Sakura rested her chopsticks on the rim of the pot, her lips curving into a distinct smile beneath her mask.
The door was pushed open from the outside, and a warm, white figure stood at the entrance, water droplets from her raincoat dripping down the hem.
“How many packs of ramen did you cook?”
“Three packs! But Lightweaver, if you want some, I can cook another—” Night Sakura stood up, but she was cut off by Lightweaver raising a hand.
“No need. I just came to take a look. Once I confirm none of you are missing any limbs, I'm heading back.”
She stood at the door for a moment, her gaze moving from the fresh bandage on Kohinata's leg, to the adhesive patch on Amamiya's scraped shoulder, and finally resting on the bandage loosely wrapped twice around Night Sakura's wrist.
“Who treated Amamiya's wound?”
“She did it herself. I offered to help, but she said I was too clumsy,” Night Sakura shrugged.
Lightweaver said nothing. She walked in, hung her raincoat on the hook near the door, and sat on the edge of the sofa.
She reached out, holding her hand palm up.
A warm, white light rose from her palm.
Light healing magic.
She had used it countless times in her original world. It wasn't some high-level spell, but in this world, she had never used it on anyone before.
Amamiya was first. She was fast asleep, her breathing steady, her eyelashes completely still.
Qiluo hovered her hand over the wound on Amamiya's shoulder, and a soft glow draped over it like a veil.
The slight redness and swelling around the wound gradually faded under the light.
Amamiya frowned slightly in her sleep, likely an instinctive reaction to sensing incoming mana, but she didn't wake up.
“What is she doing—” Kohinata asked in a whisper, her hammer resting on her knees, her eyes wide.
Night Sakura reached out to stop her, whispering back that it was healing magic, her eyes fixed unblinkingly on Qiluo's hand from behind her mask.
Only a very faint pink mark remained where the wound had been.
Qiluo withdrew her hand and glanced at Amamiya's expression.
Her brow had unfurled, and her breathing was even steadier than before.
Turning around, her gaze landed on the bandage on Kohinata's leg.
Kohinata immediately stretched her leg forward, nearly knocking over the ramen pot on the coffee table, but Night Sakura was quick enough to steady it.
Qiluo leaned down and wrapped the fresh bandage in the same light healing magic. The light seeped through the gauze, and Kohinata felt the dull ache in her leg gradually recede, prompting her to let out an involuntary, “Wow!”
“It's cool and so comfortable. Lightweaver, you can do this too? Ooh~ it doesn't hurt at all now, just a little itchy.”
“Itches mean it's healing. Don't scratch.” Qiluo withdrew her hand and looked at the bandage on Kohinata's leg, confirming that the blood around the edges of the wound had dried.
Finally, it was Night Sakura's turn.
Qiluo stood before her without speaking, merely looking down at the loose bandage on her wrist.
Night Sakura instinctively pulled her sleeve down a bit, but then, realizing the gesture was pointless, she extended her wrist again.
She turned her head slightly and muttered, “I wrapped it with one hand, so it was hard to get a good grip.”
Qiluo took her wrist and unwrapped the bandage.
The laceration underneath wasn't deep, having been caused by a shard of an Erosion Body's carapace.
She placed her palm over it, light leaking through her fingers, slowly washing away the blood on Night Sakura's wrist.
Qiluo gently laid Night Sakura's wrist back onto her knee. The lingering glow danced on her fingertips a few final times before quietly extinguishing like a candle flame.
Night Sakura looked down at her wrist, then looked up to say something, but Qiluo had already turned to walk toward the door.
“Lightweaver, your ramen—” Night Sakura pointed at the remaining half-pot of noodles.
“I won't eat. I'm going back to sleep.” Without looking back, Qiluo grabbed her raincoat from the hook and slipped it back on.
Kohinata leaned halfway off the sofa, calling out to her retreating back, “Amamiya took on two medium-sized ones all by herself today, she was so cool! But it definitely would've been even cooler if you were there!”
“We'll see.”
Qiluo pushed the door open. She paused, turning her head slightly, her profile outlined in a soft curve by the hallway's sound-activated light.
“Amamiya, don't touch your wound when you wake up.”
The door closed behind her, and her footsteps receded up the stairs, step by step, before gradually being swallowed by the sound of the rain.
Still keeping her eyes closed, Amamiya rolled over in the corner of the sofa and buried her face in Night Sakura's coat.
Her voice muffled through the fabric: “...How did she know I was awake?”
Night Sakura portioned the remaining ramen into three bowls, leaving Amamiya's question unanswered.
Because that was just the kind of person Lightweaver was—someone who could practically be the mother of the Wings of Freedom.
In that case, who would be the other parent?
The boss? Cough, cough... No way.
Rate on N.U.
