The quiet creak of old wood echoed as Ethan turned on the worn mattress, the midday sun bleeding softly through the stained glass windows of the abandoned church. His body still ached, deep and pulsing, a reminder of yesterday's brutal fight against the monstrous minotaur. His right shoulder was tightly wrapped in bandages, his ribs still tender, but he could move now—more or less.
He groaned and sat up slowly, one hand clutching his side.
Just then, the door opened with a gentle click, and Hestia walked in, holding a bowl of soup in both hands. Her expression lit up when she saw him awake.
"You're up!" she said, walking over and setting the bowl beside the bed. "How are you feeling?"
"Like I got slammed by a charging bull…" Ethan muttered, rubbing his head. Then, a flicker of thought passed through his mind, a memory half-formed. Blood. Roars. And then—blackness.
He turned to Hestia, frowning. "Hey… who brought me back?"
Hestia blinked, sitting down at the edge of the bed. "Oh. Right. You passed out cold after the fight."
"Yeah, I figured," Ethan said, scratching his cheek. "I remember killing the damn thing… and then nothing. I thought you came for me."
"I did," she said, nodding. "But not right away."
There was a pause.
"Other adventurers saw what happened," Hestia explained, her tone softer. "They said you were fighting like a madman, keeping that thing pinned down. The minotaur was bigger than anything they'd seen on those floors… One guy said it was like watching a Level 2 fight a Level 4 and somehow not die."
Ethan chuckled lightly. "Glad I could put on a show…"
"But when you collapsed," she continued, brushing her hair behind her ear, "some of them wanted to carry you themselves. Said you'd earned their respect. But... there was a small girl who stood over you first. Said she'd carry you herself."
Ethan's eyes widened.
"She wouldn't budge," Hestia said with a proud but curious smile. "Kept shouting 'He saved me! He saved me!' over and over. A couple of guys offered to take her place, saying she was too small, but she didn't care. Carried you all the way to the Guild for treatment."
Ethan leaned back, brows furrowed.
Liliruca Arde.
He remembered her face now. That girl with the brown cloak and heavy backpack. The same one who was nearly crushed when the minotaur charged. She'd been watching… probably caught in the crossfire.
"She carried me…" he repeated under his breath, staring at the ceiling.
Hestia nodded. "When the Guild staff saw you, they patched you up and called me right away. I was at the market, and when I got there… you were already asleep in a bed."
She reached out and held his hand gently.
"I brought you home," she finished with a smile. "Because… that's where you belong."
Ethan didn't speak for a while.
The warmth of Hestia's hand in his own was comforting, but his mind was still on that girl. Lili. In the anime, she was a porter, someone who had struggled through lies, betrayal, and loneliness. And here, in this world, she had still chosen to carry him. Maybe some things were meant to happen, no matter how the story changed.
He let out a long sigh and looked at Hestia again.
"…Thanks."
She blinked. "For what?"
"For everything."
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