— — — — — —
The treatment lasted nearly two hours before Ryo finally stepped out of the room.
The moment he appeared, several girls immediately gathered around him.
"Your collar's a mess." Rias reached over and straightened his tie first.
"Your belt isn't fastened properly." Kuroka expressionlessly tightened it for him.
"Want some water?" Akeno offered him a cup. Judging from the lipstick mark on the rim, she had clearly tested the temperature herself.
Ryo accepted the water without a hint of embarrassment. After finishing it, he glanced at his now-neatly arranged clothes and turned to the others.
"I feel like you've all misunderstood something."
"Have we?" Rias asked with a pleasant smile.
"I don't think so," Akeno replied with the same smile.
"The fishy scent's already leaking out. Nya~" Kuroka added helpfully, clearly enjoying the chaos.
Standing nearby, Koneko looked at the four of them with a face full of confusion.
She was beginning to suspect all of them had some kind of mental illness.
Meanwhile, Ryo felt utterly aggrieved. Was his image really that awful? Did they seriously believe he'd take advantage of Valerie when she was in that condition? He hated the Greeks for pulling stunts like that. How on earth had he ended up being cast in their role?
"Um..." Gasper, who had been worried about the patient this whole time, finally spoke up. "How is Valerie-neesan?"
"She should be fine now." Returning the cup to Akeno, Ryo recalled the procedure. "I directly infused her body with a high-vitality fluid from the outside to stabilize her life force. Then I extracted her soul, examined it section by section and removed all the abnormalities. After that, I briefly controlled her consciousness and deleted the foreign memories that had been implanted in her mind. Finally, I returned her soul to her body."
"Everything appears normal right now."
Gasper immediately let out a huge sigh of relief, "Then can I go see her?"
"No." Rias rejected the idea instantly.
"Huh? Why?"
Gasper blinked in confusion. The doctor hadn't even answered yet, so why had Rias refused first?
"Because..." Rias started, then abruptly stopped and looked at Akeno.
She didn't think her own skin was thick enough for lying to children. Akeno was better suited for that sort of thing. Her conscience was darker.
Akeno froze for a moment, then sighed. "Gasper, right now Miss Valerie's most important task is rest. You shouldn't disturb her. Leave everything to the professional medical staff."
"I see..."
Though disappointed, Gasper accepted the explanation.
At that moment, Akeno turned toward Kuroka with a bright smile. "Time for our professional medical expert to do her job. Make sure... you clean everything up thoroughly."
She put particular emphasis on thoroughly.
"I know, nya~" Kuroka grinned knowingly. "I'll make sure not a single trace is left behind, nya~"
"Then I'm counting on you, Miss Kuroka," Gasper said sincerely.
Without turning around, Kuroka waved a hand in acknowledgment before walking into the room.
Inside, Koneko—who had witnessed everything from beginning to end—was even more confused.
Professional medical expert?
Her sister didn't have a medical license.
Not in the Human World. Not in the Underworld.
Wasn't there something seriously suspicious here?
Meanwhile, Ryo, who had witnessed the entire exchange, remained perfectly calm. He already knew they would tease him no matter what he said, so there was no point in commenting on that anymore. In the end, he simply acted as if he hadn't heard a thing and continued speaking quietly with Akeno.
"Valerie's recovery period shouldn't be long. Tell Kuroka to keep an eye on her and get her back on her feet by tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" Akeno looked a little uneasy. "Isn't that too soon? There's no way she could've fully recovered in that time. Did you go easy on her?"
Back then, she'd spent two days walking around with sore legs.
"???"
The corner of Ryo's mouth twitched.
He immediately realized Akeno's thoughts had gone in a completely different direction.
"She's the Sephiroth Graal bearer."
"Oh!" Akeno instantly understood.
The Sephiroth Graal might not excel in combat, but when it came to healing, life, and death, it was one of the most powerful Sacred Gears in existence.
She had been so focused on Valerie being a woman that she had forgotten about the Graal entirely.
With that Sacred Gear, recovering from injuries within a day was perfectly normal. If anything, Ryo had probably added an extra half day just because Valerie was physically weak and needed time to recuperate.
"It's a bit rushed, but time is important. Once this job is done, Valerie can rest properly. I'm not planning to work her to death." Ryo gave a brief explanation before glancing toward the room.
Then he turned back to Akeno, "The Fallen Angel personnel have all arrived, right?"
"They have." Akeno immediately understood he was referring to the trainees and answered without hesitation.
"There should be some Sacred Gear users with healing abilities among them, right?" Ryo asked confidently.
"Are you referring to Asia Argento?" Akeno sounded uncertain. "If it's her, she's currently staying at Yasaka Shrine."
Healing-type Sacred Gears were extremely rare. And among them, Asia's Sacred Gear, Twilight Healing, was exceptional even by healing standards.
So when Ryo mentioned healing Sacred Gear users, Asia was the first person Akeno thought of. In her eyes, only a Sacred Gear of that caliber would be worthy of his attention.
"Only one?"
Ryo sounded mildly surprised.
It wasn't that he thought Asia was inadequate. A gentle healing-type girl was certainly appealing.
The issue was that he wanted insurance for restoring the shadow creatures under Hanezu Himejima's command. In that case, the more healers available, the better.
Seeing his reaction, Akeno's lips curved upward.
She found it amusing that even Ryo could ask such a silly question.
"She's the strongest healing Sacred Gear user. Everything the others can do, Twilight Healing can do as well. And everything they can't do, Twilight Healing can still do."
"I see." Ryo nodded in understanding. "In that case, since she's already at the shrine, arrange a meeting with her."
"Yes, Governor."
Akeno answered with a graceful smile.
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