TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 204
The Young Lady had an Uncomfortable Body.
She couldn’t walk on her own and needed assistance even to go to the bathroom.
Flying through the sky with Magic.
In this world, where Training could produce Abnormal Physical Strength, the Young Lady ended up with a body bound by restrictions.
This world was not kind to people with physical limitations.
Because everyone was healthy and strong.
Even in old age, those who had trained sufficiently rarely experienced discomfort due to aging.
Of course, compared to their youth, there might be some shortcomings in stamina or appearance, but it didn’t hinder their mobility.
It was one of the things that surprised me the most when I came to this world. At the same time, I was horrified by how people with physical disabilities were treated.
The place I used to live in was a place where consideration existed. Unlike this world, it was filled with people who had physical limitations.
People with disabilities caused by aging, illness, or accidents, for example.
It wasn’t that the people of this world lacked compassion. There were always those who extended a helping hand to Middle-Aged Men who had lost their legs due to adventures.
However, this world lacked the concept of Welfare for people with disabilities. There was no effort to develop systems for disabilities, such as the Wheelchair the Young Lady used, Rehabilitation Systems, or related policies. Instead, society openly revealed its intent to abandon them.
There were Artificial Arms, though. Perhaps because they could be turned into weapons when modified, it was an incomprehensible world.
This world was harsh to those with disabilities. In my Childhood, I thought it was a story unrelated to me and watched from a distance, but as an adult, I could feel its injustice more directly than anyone else.
After the Young Lady was afflicted with her disability, I felt bitter emotions about the discrimination I had forgotten.
Even small things were hard to come by.
For example, even beds commonly used in hospitals were unavailable in this world.
In a world where Healing Magic served as a grand alternative, the concept of treatment through rest might exist, but there was a severe lack of consideration for those who couldn’t use Mana. Moreover, the costs were beyond imagination.
I vaguely remember leaving a store with a bitter smile after seeing how outrageously expensive items made for nursing the sick were.
So, I began to care for the Young Lady through Self-sufficiency.
Reviving the experience of nursing an elderly woman I was acquainted with at a Geriatric Hospital in my Previous Life. It wasn’t a Job. I wasn’t smart enough to work in the Medical Profession, nor did I have the financial means to do so.
It was a Crude Improvisation Skill I had picked up by watching over the shoulder of a Nurse while caring for the elderly woman who often visited the Orphanage.
At the time, I thought it would be a useless experience, but as I cared for the Young Lady, I realized it was a valuable skill in many ways.
You never know what life has in store for you.
The sick Young Lady was stubborn. She had always been strong-willed, but her stubbornness after her disability made her refuse to listen to anyone.
-…
She was depressed.
She was disappointed.
She had no willpower.
The Young Lady was so stubbornly silent that I thought it would be better if she just got angry.
-Young Lady, you can’t stay lying on one side for too long.
-Don’t mind me.
-…
When I tried to adjust her position to prevent Pressure Ulcers, a skin condition caused by lying in the same position for too long, she would snap, “Don’t touch me.”
When I tried to help her up after she fell off the bed, she would shake off my hand and push me away coldly, saying, “Don’t Pity Me. You think I’m pathetic too, don’t you?”
I couldn’t understand the Young Lady.
I didn’t presume to think I could understand her sadness, so I didn’t entertain such an arrogant thought.
So, I simply remained by her side, silently offering my help.
Through one-sided consideration, the Young Lady gradually began to improve. Compared to the early days when she lost her legs, she started talking more and even had days when she smiled. She was getting better little by little.
Thankfully.
*
“Yawn…”
After escorting the Young Lady to the bathroom, I leaned against the wall, rubbing my sleepy eyes.
Perhaps because I had just used the Hand of Rehabilitation, the fatigue in my body seemed to have accumulated excessively.
As I fought off the exhaustion that made me feel like I could fall asleep the moment I closed my eyes, I heard the Young Lady’s Timid Voice cautiously calling out to me.
“Ricardo… are you out there?”
The Young Lady’s trembling voice, afraid of the night.
I paused for a moment and teased her.
“Ricardo…?”
“Eeeek… You can’t be gone. I’m scared of the Tissue Ghost story.”
“Eeeek…”
Smiling softly at the Young Lady’s Coward-like behavior as she muttered in a tearful voice, I carefully opened my mouth.
“Our estate doesn’t have red or blue tissues, Young Lady.”
“Don’t joke! I was startled because I thought they weren’t here.”
“I see. Next time, I’ll answer even later.”
“Eeeek…! You’re dead when I come out.”
“Then I’ll run away?”
“Sorry.”
With a trembling voice, the Young Lady told me not to run away and, almost whining, asked me to stay right there in a timid voice beyond the door.
“Don’t go anywhere.”
“…”
“I’ll give you an allowance… okay?”
The corners of my mouth twitched. Her Whiny Complaints were so adorable that I couldn’t help but find her endearing. Thinking she might cry if I teased her again, I hummed a tune, imagining the Young Lady in the bathroom.
“Three bears live in one house.”
“…”
“Villainess Bear. Butler Bear. Just a Bear.”
“The bears in our house don’t listen to me.”
“…”
“I’ll have to eat them.”
“Gomtangi would cry if she heard that.”
“She can cry.”
The Young Lady seemed to have a lot bottled up.
I spoke to the Young Lady with a Small Smile.
“Anyway, don’t worry. I’ll use the bathroom too.”
“Is it urgent…?”
“I won’t run to the bathroom on the first floor, so don’t worry.”
“Phew… Then don’t go in right after I come out.”
“Yes.”
As a skilled Butler, it was my duty to protect the Lady’s feelings, so I answered her concerns with a Small Smile. She was still such a Girl. Even after more than ten years together, her consideration touched me deeply.
The Young Lady took longer than expected once she entered the bathroom.
She adjusted her skirt and did everything herself despite her Uncomfortable Body. Naturally, she needed more Time than others.
In a way, I thought it was fortunate.
If she had refused to do anything on her own, that would have been more troubling. Her stubbornness, even for the sake of Rehabilitation and mental health, was something I appreciated.
Usually, the Young Lady rarely mentioned wanting to use the bathroom.
Because she had lost sensation in her lower body, she recognized the signals from her bladder later than others. When the Young Lady said she wanted to use the bathroom, I had to prepare her clothes.
-Ricardo…
-I think Pink Clothes would suit you today.
-…
-No matter how I think about it, the Sky Blue Dress doesn’t seem right.
-You’re right.
Initially, I struggled a lot with these situations.
I wondered how to change her clothes without causing her stress and how to prevent such accidents.
As Time passed, I roughly learned to predict when the Young Lady would want to use the bathroom, but in the beginning, it was truly a challenge.
It must mean things are gradually improving.
My nursing skills.
The Young Lady’s bright demeanor.
Everything was much better than it was at the start.
I believed that tomorrow would hold a Brighter Future than today. The Young Lady’s Stubbornness didn’t like staying stagnant in Disciple-like passivity.
As a brief moment passed and a loud noise came from beyond the bathroom door.
I was carefully thinking of a line in my head to hand over the clothes I had prepared in advance beyond the door.
‘How should I give them to her?’
Making the Young Lady ask for clothes to change into herself would not be proper etiquette for a Butler. I needed to come up with a plausible line.
“Ahem.”
Given the Time, I couldn’t think of anything.
Creating a reason to change clothes at Dawn was far too difficult.
If it were summer, I could have used the weather as an excuse to suggest it, but since it was spring, that wasn’t possible. I tightly held the Young Lady’s clothes in my hand and fell into thought.
Until I heard the ‘swaa’ sound from beyond the door, I couldn’t think of any suitable line.
‘I’ll just hand them over today.’
I was about to carefully knock on the door to the Young Lady without saying a word.
The Young Lady, who had grown accustomed to this, would understand the meaning even without me saying anything.
I smiled bitterly as I brought my fingers to the door, and at that moment, with a ‘bang,’ the door opened, and the Young Lady’s brightly smiling face began to appear before me.
The Young Lady was smiling.
“Hehe…”
She bit her lip, wearing a smile that seemed ready to burst at any moment, and puffed up her cheeks with air.
Flustered, I tried to avert my gaze from the Young Lady, but seeing her fully dressed, I started to display a Question Mark over my head.
“Huh?”
The Young Lady brightly said with a smile.
“I don’t need to change clothes today!”
Hope began to appear.
A very small Hope was shouting at me to let go of my small Desire.