Chapter 5 - Using Spiritual Energy Again

"Good morning, Red." Maeko greets after Junichi left.

Maeko, the first person who the Red Sovereign interacted with in this world, is actually one of the famous employees working in this hospital. Her being superioris that has the ability that allows her to ease people's pain, she became a treasured asset in the hospital.

"Good morning, paracetamol." Red greets with a smile.

"Ha-ha… really funny. Yesterday, I was aspirin. What's my name tomorrow? Ibuprofen?" She rolls her eyes.

"No… Tramadol? Maybe Vicodin?" Red says.

"Wait… My limit for now is comparable to Tramadol. How did you know?" She asks, catching the connection.

"Coincidence. I heard a doctor say something like 'give her a weak opioid first. Start Tramadol on her. Let's hope it's enough to ease her pain.'" Red says, lying.

"I see. Wait. How do you even know these drugs when you can't even remember your past? These drugs sound gibberish to laymen." She asks again, making Red smile.

"Internet. I tried looking up any new word I hear, hoping it will jog my memory." He lies.

"I see. Well. How are you feeling today?" She asks finally about Red's condition, despite already finishing her observations.

"Great, actually. Even better than yesterday." Red falsely reports.

"Good… Well. Let's just wait what will the doctor will tell us later, okay?" Maeko says.

"Yeah." Red nods.

"Hey… I didn't know you knew THE Junichi Sunada!" Maeko starts to gossip.

"I didn't know that chi-.. that … guy." Red drops his use of the word 'child' for now, not wanting to be bothered again by Maeko about it.

"Why do you speak about him like he is someone powerful?" Red asks.

"Well. Junichi isn't exactly a big deal, but his family is. They're the richest and most powerful here in Suginami, tracing back to the great war." She says.

"Hmm. I see." Red simply nods.

"I can't believe they put you in a ward. Just now that you're all conscious that they're giving you a VIP suite." She grumbles.

"I do not need it any-. What?" Red is surprised.

"Yeah. Mr. Sunada signed to have you transferred to a private suite in the VIP building before he came to see you." Maeko says.

"I see. By the way. Why am I still not discharged? My lab tests yesterday say that I'm more than healthy." He asks. "Well, those don't have anything to do with your safety. The issue is, you probably forgot many things like crossing a street, or taking a shower… It's not safe." Maeko says.

"Hm. You see how clean I am, yes? I don't have problems using the toilet. I can even use tech. I still have my habits." Red says.

"Sure… but I saw you stumble many times just from walking." Maeko says.

"Well. It just doesn't seem to be my body. I'm still uncoordinated here and there, but I don't need a hospital to do that." Red shrugs.

"See? See! That's a neurologic symptom. Just stay longer, okay? And… are you really sure you're ready to go back being a butler?" Maeko says.

"…" Red considers a few factors before nodding.

"Okay …I might actually need that VIP room after all. For privacy purposes." He decides to accept it. "Good."

An hour later, Red is now in his VIP room, with the doctor and Maeko checking up on him.

"Okay. Squeeze my hand." The doctor starts his assessment and Red follows.

"Okay. Alright.. try resisting…" The doctor then moves the assessment to Red's legs.

Shortly after, "*sigh* Okay." The doctor exhales and nods.

"Is there a problem, doctor?" Red asks.

"Yeah. Maeko's right. You still have problems in your brain. Your right limbs are weaker than your left limbs. I'll order an MRI scan on your brain for later. If there are problems there, you'll have to stay longer." The doctor says.

"Okay." Red nods in acceptance.

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow." The doctor finally leaves.

"See? I was right." Maeko says.

"Yes. Yes. You were... I need to be alone." Red feigns being upset.

"… Okay." Maeko, seeing Red's face, obliges.

"Oh. Another nurse will take charge of you starting from now." Maeko adds.

"Hm. I'll see you before I leave the hospital. Thanks for taking care of me." Red says. With that, Maeko leaves Red alone.

"Haha." Red chuckles.

Right before the doctor's assessment, he looked up on the internet how to score a perfect neuro exam, which gave him the knowledge to fake a score. He decided to stay in the hospital for longer as he has plans that might not work out without the privacy the VIP room provides.

"For now. Let's get used to this body." Red says to himself as he starts practicing a mortal level movement technique in the spacious hotel room like hospital room.

~

Night time soon comes and Red finds himself on a stairwell going up the VIP building's rooftop.

"If you cross the lips … City lights directly below … I can see it floating… City lights by the moonlight…" He sings as he opens the door of the rooftop and finds the nearest place he can sit, which is a bench beside a flower bed.

"This world has pretty songs.... When was the last time I bothered with these tiny things?" He smiles as sits down and he looks up at the night sky.

He then closes his eyes to look at his inner body. "I seem to have eight times spiritual energy than a regular high mortal warrior. Who knew I'd have the perfect foundation without even working on it…" He scoffs.

Suddenly, "Hi!" he is interrupted from his thoughts.

Red opens his eyes to see a young girl in her early teens, wearing a hospital gown, standing in front of him with a curious look on her face. The girl's jet black shoulder length hair dancing in the wind.

"Hi." He greets back.

"What were you doing? Meditating?" The girl asks.

"Yeah. Sort of… What are you doing here alone at this hour, young lady?" He asks.

"Why do you talk l- Nevermind. What are YOU doing here alone at this hour?" She asks as she sits beside Red.

"I needed fresh air." He says.

"Oh… This is the first time I saw you around here, ojisan (Uncle). Were you just admitted?" She asks.

"…" Red then takes a deep breath, making himself ready for what seems like a long chat coming from a curious girl.

"Yeah. A few days ago." He says.

"Why are you here? You don't look sick." The girl asks.

"Uhn. I don't look sick. But you don't either." He says, but feeling something is wrong with the girl's brain.

"True. But I'm really sick! I'm gonna die in two months!" She says.

"Really?" He feigns skepticism.

"Yes! I have glioblastoma. A kind of brain tumor. Doctors say it's inoperable." She says loudly as if proving it.

"Oh… Not even a superioris surgeon can take it out?" Red asks.

"No. It's in a dangerous part. They say if they remove it, they'll also remove the part of the brain that make me breathe." The girl says.

"…" Red is caught off guard by how casually the girl is talking about it.

"Well. That's a shame. You're really young." Red says.

"Yeah. But It's fine. At least I'm not feeling any pain." The girl says.

Red however, sees deep sadness and fear flash in the girl's eyes before disappearing.

"That's good. Are you having fun at least?" Red asks.

"Yeah. My friends from school visit me every day. My parents made up too because I'm sick. I'm happy." The girl says.

"I see… You're strong." he says, sincerely.

"Strong? Yeah, right. That's what caused my tumor." She says.

"What do you mean?" Red asks, confused by the answer.

"I'm a class A telekinetic type superioris. But because my powers appeared too early and grew too fast, it affected my brain." She explains, pointing at her head.

"I see." Red remembers reading that thinker and psionic type superioris tend to have brain tumors.

"So. Class A, huh?" Red asks.

"Yeah… But how did you know I'm strong?" The girl asks.

"I'm not talking about your powers." Red says.

"What did you mean?" The girl asks, in interest.

"You're strong. You're keeping a happy act in front of everyone. You're smiling even when you're by yourself." Red says.

"…How.." The girl is speechless.

"That's what strong people do. But you also have to be honest. You know what I mean, right?" Red asks.

"… No…" The girl denies.

"I know you're scared. You're very scared. It's okay to admit that to yourself out loud." Red says.

"What's the use? I don't want to live in fear. I don't want them to worry." The girl says, tears starting to pool in her eyes.

"That's exactly what you're doing. You're having them worried because they know you're acting fine, when you're not fine. At the same time, you're living in fear. Am I wrong?" Red asks.

"…" The girl has no answer. "What am I supposed to do?" She asks weakly.

"Don't hold it in or it will come at you in the end. Do you really want to die with fear by your side?" Red asks.

"…" The girl shakes her head, feeling choked up.

"So, cry as much as you want. Fear as much as you want. Eventually, you will get over the fear much quicker than you may think. In the end, you'll die happy and satisfied with the life you lived." Red says.

"*sniff* *sniff*…" Tears finally fall from the girl's eyes and

"*sob* *sob* I'm scared… oniisan. I don't want to die. *sob* *sob*" she breaks down.

The plants in the flower beds around Red and the girl, as if bending down to the girl's emotions, start billowing. Even the soil in those flower beds start dancing.

Red however does not care and he puts his arm around the girl's shoulders to console her.

"Be it two months or two hundred years, everyone dies eventually. You can still live a lifetime in your last two months." Red says.

"*sob* What am I gonna do? Two months is too short. *sob" She asks.

"Cry when you're sad… Smile when you're happy... Do what you want to do... That alone is worth years to do for others." Red consoles.

"*sob* I'm never gonna see them again when I'm gone… *sob*" She says in between sobs.

"It's sad. I know. Don't keep anything from them, and just be who you are. But at the same time, be good to them. Make good memories with them. And by the end, that's all you're gonna remember, and what they'll remember of you." Red says, feeling all sorts of emotions brew inside him.

"*sob* Will that work?" She asks, starting to calm down.

"Most likely. And it's the best you can do for them and for yourself." Red says.

"*sniff* *sniff* Okay…" Tears finally stop falling from her eyes, and she smiles.

Red smiles back. Noticing that the girl looks much more comfortable and less burdened than earlier, he removes his arm around her shoulders.

A few minutes later, the girl finally runs out of tears.

"Are you okay now?" Red asks.

"Yeah.. Thank you… *sniff* It's weird. I just cried, but this is the best I've felt in a long time." The girl says.

"That's why crying is good sometimes." Red says.

"Ojisan… Do you cry often?" The girl asks.

"haha. No. I only cried once, but I remember it made me feel better." Red says.

"Why did you cry?" The girl asks.

"Hm. I was married once. My wife and I, we loved each other but we didn't spend a lot of time to make good memories. It wasn't until when she was dying that I realized that. Sadness was not enough to describe how I felt when she passed." Red says.

"Oh… was she sick just like me?" She asks.

"You can say that. But, in her case, she cannot live as long as me. Anyways. That's when I cried. When she was dying. When I saw how as sad and regretful she was, just like I was." Red concludes.

"I see… OW!" The girl suddenly shrieks and holds her head in pain.

Red does a spiritual scan on the girl's brain and sees brain tissues contracting, causing her pain.

"Where's your meds?" Red asks in hurry.

"I-I didn't bring it." The girl struggles to say.

'…Screw it. It's not like I didn't apply illusion to my face.' Red decides to intervene and cradles the girl on his lap.

He then lays his palm on the girl's head and starts the best healing technique he knows that his high mortal cultivation can afford.

*zzzmmmm* With the help of his spiritual sense, Red gets to the root cause of the pain and immediately applies the technique to it using his spiritual energy.

A few moments later, the girl is now asleep in Red's arms, with a peaceful expression on her face.

"*huff* *huff* I still got it. Hehe." Red chuckles in satisfaction as he wipes his sweaty forehead, his spiritual energy almost drained.

"But… I think I overdid it. Heh. After all the talk about death and acceptance...." Red shakes his head in amusement.