Tilea's Worries

Swoosh, woosh.

Mumble, mumble.

Bump. Bump!?

Ugh!? Where am I?

I opened my eyes slightly.

Bubbles were rising around me. Boko boko.

Every time I exhaled, bubbles rose up with a blub blub sound, and the scenery wavered—wait, water!?

Somehow, I'm underwater!

Nuuoooo! I'm drowning, drowning!

When I flailed my limbs, I noticed wires attached to my temples.

What's this? What's going on?!

What on earth happened to me?

Was I captured by Baccio's squad after being defeated?

Is this some kind of water torture?

No, wait, wait.

It's too early to jump to conclusions.

Let me trace my memories.

I was... right.

I got caught up with those chuunibyou patients and ended up in a duel with Baccio.

Then, while I was riding a black rabbit horse reciting my death poem, Edim returned just in the nick of time.

And then Edim defeated Baccio in the duel.

After that... that's right!

Gaderio, Edim's subordinate, returned with his troops.

Gaderio's unit launched an assault on Baccio's special forces.

The timing was impeccable.

A round of applause, really.

So that's what allies of justice are like.

Baccio was the spiritual pillar of the special forces.

Without her, the special forces were fragile and quickly crumbled under Gaderio's unit.

We had won the battle.

Yeah, yeah, that's right, that's how it was.

My memory isn't wrong.

But if I wasn't taken prisoner, what is this situation?

Hm!?

I just realized I can breathe.

When I put my hand to my mouth, there was a strange sensation.

Wires attached to my temples, and an oxygen mask fitted over my mouth.

This is...

And this place looks familiar.

The scenery visible through the water tank...

"Ah, how pitiful, dear sister. I wish for your swift recovery."

I could hear Timu's voice through the water tank.

That settles it.

No doubt about it. This is a room in the Evil God Army's Underground Empire.

I think it was the science room in the back of the third basement floor.

It's where Timu keeps all the magical devices he's invented. Looking closely, there are bizarre machines crammed everywhere.

I can hear multiple voices.

Timu isn't the only one in the room. Dryas-kun, the pervert, and Oru are here too. All the Evil God Army executives are gathered.

And after listening to their conversation for a while, I understood.

Apparently, I had collapsed in front of the shop.

I must have reached my limit of fatigue from the battle with Baccio.

It was a continuous stream of anxiety and tension. Nothing strange about passing out.

What's strange is these guys.

They put my exhausted self into a water tank.

It's not rational.

This is straight-up criminal.

So why did they resort to such an outrageous act?

I understood when Oru uttered words I couldn't ignore.

Something about a Medical Machine...

That's when it clicked.

I had a bad feeling all along, but now it's turned into certainty.

Sigh~ In a way, this is my responsibility too.

The Medical Machine is a healing device used by a certain vegetable person. If you enter it, any severe injury can be completely healed.

Of course, that's from manga in my previous life. Just a bit of trivia. I only mentioned it because these guys enjoy conversations in chuunibyou language. It was just lip service as part of casual conversation.

It was just idle chat, but...

Timu and the others seem to have seriously worked on developing it.

Hey, are you trying to kill me?

Timu and the others have no ill intentions.

I exhausted myself in an unfamiliar battle and fainted. They were desperately trying to heal me.

That's nice. I'm touched.

But you know, it's worse precisely because there's no malice.

They could have just put me in a normal bed.

Or why not use Timu's recovery magic?

Why choose a method that's so likely to cause an accident?

...Well, it might be too much to criticize their actions at this point.

Anyway, I understand the situation.

I need to get out immediately.

I try to pull out the wires attached to my temples, but...

Wait, is it safe to forcibly remove these?

This tank has a distinctly mechanical design.

It's a sophisticated device.

There might be electrical current flowing?

How elaborate did they make this thing!

I mean, I could bang on the tank and make a commotion, but...

I'm underwater.

What if the wires break and I get electrocuted?

Or what if water flows back through the respirator when it breaks?

The safest way would be to have someone open it from the outside.

But with the oxygen mask over my mouth, I can't call for help. And if I carelessly break the tank, there's a risk of electrocution.

Someone notice the abnormality!

Is this group psychology?

No one notices anything wrong.

You guys are my only hope for rescue!

Contrary to my thoughts, Timu and the others continue their off-target conversation.

"Camilla-sama, when will Tilea-sama wake up?"

"According to my calculations, it will be about three more hours. We are scheduled to open the Medical Machine when the time comes."

Three hours!

I don't know how long I've been unconscious already.

If I stay in this water leisurely, won't I die?

Or should I consider the risk of electrocution and quietly wait three hours for rescue?

Despite all the Evil God Army executives being present, their opinion is unanimous.

"Take care of Tilea-sama."

They want me to stay quietly in the tank and be treated.

Doesn't anyone suggest getting me out of the tank urgently?

Don't they understand this is a life-threatening situation by common sense?

Anyone will do.

Please help me quickly!

As I was desperately praying,

"Camilla-sama!"

Oru stepped forward energetically.

I have a bad feeling about this.

"Ortissio, you're being noisy. Our sister is resting. Be quiet!"

"I-I apologize. However, I have one suggestion. Regarding Tilea-sama's treatment, instead of three hours, let's make it one day, no, three days! That would be better. No, that's what we should do."

"Ortissio, why is that? I want our sister to return as soon as possible."

"So do I. I wish to see her honorable face as soon as possible. However, I want Tilea-sama to take this opportunity to rest thoroughly. We subordinates can proceed with the conquest of the world. I want Tilea-sama to reign over the world in perfect condition."

"Hmm, Ortissio, your opinion has some merit. Our sister has been hiding her wounds from the battle with the Three Evil Ones. It was probably out of consideration not to worry us, but she might have other injuries we haven't detected."

"Camilla-sama, Ortissio is right. Let's extend the treatment!"

"Very well. To think I would be taught by Ortissio... I still have much to learn."

"Indeed. That Ortissio, he's doing something quite tasteful."

"Ah, I've gained a bit more respect for him."

This is taking an ominous turn.

What do you mean by "tasteful"?

The only taste I'm getting is bitter.

The army members are nodding in agreement with Oru's opinion.

Three hours is already dangerous, but three days!

Don't mess with me!

They usually completely ignore Oru's opinions, but now they're listening to him.

There's an atmosphere of "Ortissio occasionally says good things."

W-what should I do?

These guys aren't just unreliable; they're dangerous.

Should I escape on my own after all?

"Camilla-sama, I have another suggestion. I've reconsidered. To be safe, three days of treatment might be too short. We need at least one more week. That's absolutely what we should do!"

O-oh, you... that's...

My spine froze at Oru's additional bombshell statement.

These guys are going to kill me.

The moment I thought that, I snapped.

I removed the oxygen mask from my mouth and channeled magic into my hands.

Y-you guys, this is too much...

"You're underestimating my recovery power way too muuuuch! Gaaaah!"

Like a certain M-shaped balding man, I shouted while firing a magic bullet.

The magic bullet shattered the glass of the tank and was released outside the room.

Haa, haa, haa, I thought I was going to die.

I was about to die from exhaustion before electrocution.

I cut the wires attached to my temples and stepped out of the broken tank.

I-I'm glad I got out, really glad.

After exiting the tank, I saw Oru had been blown to the wall by the aftermath of my magic bullet.

Well, that's within acceptable limits.

Waking up from unconsciousness to find yourself in a water tank...

In a sense, it's bullying, no, torture.

Please spare me from such treatment.

I take a deep breath and look around.

Timu and the others were stunned by my appearance.

Then their expressions quickly change to ones filled with joy.

"Sister! Ah, are you alright? Are you alright?"

"Y-yes, yes, I'm fine. I'm fine, so..."

Timu rushed over anxiously, so I gently patted her head.

"Tilea-sama! Tilea-sama!"

Dryas-kun and the pervert also rushed over belatedly.

Everyone seems genuinely concerned.

They appear to be truly happy about my recovery.

When welcomed so enthusiastically, I can't stay angry.

I was planning to scold these unreasonable people, but...

Yeah, yeah, I'm fine now.

Just one thing though.

Oru is twitching in the corner of the room.

I think it's wrong that no one is paying attention to him.

It's awkward for the perpetrator to say this, but please take care of Oru too.

Ah, Gil-kun is treating Oru again.

No problem then.

After that, I had the army members prepare a change of clothes for me.

I changed clothes, dried my hair with a dryer, and asked for more details about the situation.

I didn't yell at them, but given the seriousness of the matter, I did gently caution them.

If they did the same thing to an ordinary person and someone died, it would be unforgivable.

As an adult, I have to at least give them a warning.

"We're very sorry!"

When I pointed out the issue with the Medical Machine, the army members apologized profusely.

"I never intended to underestimate our sister's recovery power."

Timu also apologized with a remorseful expression.

Yeah, that's not the point.

How did you interpret my words that way?

I don't care if you misjudge my recovery power as 100 or 1000.

I'm criticizing the method.

I had enough strength, so it ended up as a funny story.

If I had been a normally frail person, I would have died.

Do you understand?

Putting an exhausted person underwater is cruel!

To use an example from my previous life...

"Last night, Nielsen Bo Classical, of no fixed address and unemployed, and Ortissio Bo Bach, also unemployed, along with several others, were arrested for drowning a 17-year-old girl by throwing her into water. According to the investigation, Nielsen and the others kept making incomprehensible claims that they wanted to help the girl recover by putting her in water because she was weakened. Many of the perpetrators are minors, and the police are investigating whether there are other crimes."

That's how you would have been arrested.

You guys are really lucky this is another world.

"By the way, why didn't Timu use recovery magic? If you had used magic, you wouldn't have needed such a roundabout treatment method."

"T-that's... as I mentioned before, holy magic like recovery magic is the most difficult field for demons. Even I, who excel in magic, can only provide moderate healing. That day, our sister had consumed a massive amount of internal magic power. By my assessment, she would have remained unconscious for several years. I couldn't sit still, so I activated the Medical Machine I had been researching."

Timu answered with a serious face.

No, no, you're really underestimating my recovery power too much.

Am I Sleeping Beauty or something?

"I-I see. I understand the situation."

Words fail me.

"Does that Medical Machine actually work?"

Could they really create such an elaborate recovery device based on my made-up story?

No matter how talented Timu is, she's still just a student. And a Medical Machine is clearly an over-powered item for this era.

It shouldn't be easy to create.

"Sister, I'm quite confident about that. This Medical Machine uses not only my magical technology but also the Seven Secret Treasures of the Demon World. We collected high-quality materials from various places, and the finest minds of the Evil God Army, including myself and Dryas, collaborated to create it. This single device has hundreds of times the effectiveness of all the medical equipment in Mage City Benz."

Hmm, Mage City Benz, huh?

There it is again.

"Timu, you often mention Mage City Benz, but I don't know that place. Could you at least explain by comparing it to the scientific capabilities of this royal capital?"

"Well, it's like comparing an ant to a giant. Probably the fragile and foolish human race wouldn't understand even one percent of its value."

Timu speaks proudly.

It's as if she's saying there's no talent in the world above her own.

No, she's actually saying that.

She's treating even the court magicians representing a country like primitives.

This is the usual chuunibyou.

So this Medical Machine is a product of that delusion.

I shudder again, wondering just how effective it really is.

"...I understand. I understand very well. All I can say is this: in such situations, you should just put me in a normal bed. Putting me in an experimental Medical Machine... I could have died."

"Y-you're right. No matter how confident I am in my creation, to put our precious sister in a device that hasn't even been proven yet. How foolish of me..."

Timu trembles and tears up.

Oh, I made her cry.

This is not good.

"I-it's okay. Timu did it out of concern for me."

"B-but! If I had captured humans earlier and conducted human experiments, I could have avoided putting our sister in danger. Despite there being plenty of experimental materials in this royal capital... I'm pathetic."

Umm, my little sister is making dangerous statements with a pitiful expression.

What words should I offer her?

"Uh, well..."

"Sister, what's wrong? I'll start experiments immediately. For starters, I'll capture about a thousand citizens from the royal capital."

"N-no experiments needed! Just be careful in the future. That's all."

"Understood. Everything is according to your wishes, sister. I'm truly sorry about this incident."

Timu bowed her head.

Following her lead, the other army members also bowed.

Dozens of grown men and my cute little sister are bowing their heads.

Even though I was nearly killed, they did it out of concern for me.

"It's over now, so it's fine. Is everyone else okay? Was anyone injured?"

From my memory, Baccio's unit was completely captured by Gaderio's unit.

The army members all stayed inside the tower without going outside, observing the situation together.

Everyone should be safe.

My memory is a bit hazy in places.

I should confirm just to be sure.

"Haha! We are deeply honored by your concern. However, such a swarm of weak rats didn't even serve as a warm-up exercise."

"Indeed. Their frailty was unparalleled. They broke and shattered with just a slight pinch. Even a cornered rat would fight back against a cat. They didn't even have the spirit to bite back in their final moments. After all, they are a fragile species."

Yeah, the boastful talk hasn't changed.

The army members were enthusiastically discussing how valiantly they defeated Baccio's unit.

Really just as usual.

It's as usual, but what are they making up?

"Um, wasn't Baccio's unit defeated by Gaderio's unit?"

"I see. You want to use them to conceal information. Leave it to me. I'll order the intelligence unit to spread such rumors."

The pervert answered with a decisive face.

No, you don't need to spread rumors or anything; that's what actually happened.

Gaderio's unit defeated them, right? We saw it, didn't we?

"No, what are you talking about?"

"Is that not the case?"

The pervert seems to have absolutely no awareness that he's fabricating anything.

He genuinely believes he defeated Baccio's unit himself.

Everyone else is acting as if the pervert's blatant lie is natural.

Sigh~ you guys... do you want to take credit that badly?

Well, I guess it's better than having false information spread that Baccio and the others were defeated by us.

It would be problematic if the existence of Edim and the vampires became known to the public.

"...That's right. Exactly. I order you to keep it confidential. I'm sorry that after you all worked so hard to defeat them..."

"No, defeating such weak rats is nothing to boast about. Everything is according to Tilea-sama's wishes. We will prioritize information confidentiality."

The pervert said this and then began whispering with Dryas-kun about something.

Spread whatever rumors you want.

Either way, many citizens witnessed Gaderio's unit defeating Baccio's special forces.

They're just stating the obvious.

Yeah, I think we're done with this topic.

But still...

I look at the Medical Machine I was in.

It's filled with strange-colored water that could be called a special culture medium.

There are also mechanical devices that wouldn't be out of place if someone told me this was a scientific world rather than a magical one.

Measuring instruments seem to be set up here and there.

Even if it's a product of chuunibyou delusion.

Now that I'm calm and observing it again.

This Medical Machine is too well-made to be an amateur's toy.

"By the way, just out of curiosity, how much did this device cost?"

I asked, pointing at the Medical Machine.

"Just about 10 billion or so."

Oru, who had recovered thanks to Gil-kun's treatment, answered casually.

"I see, just 10 billion—w-what, t-ten b-billion gold!? Y-you're joking, right?"

"I-I apologize. I wasn't accurate. Gil!"

"Yes! To be precise, it cost 10,253,037,000 gold. In detail, the special culture medium cost 5,790,000,000..."

Gil-kun, summoned by Oru, recites the exact figures as if calculating with an abacus.

This is no lie.

I know because Oru has been made to pay me many times.

When it comes to money, Oru is perfectly fine with spending outrageous amounts.

Using over 10 billion gold...

"D-don't you guys have any reservations about spending that much money on a toy like this?"

"Haha, this amount is nothing compared to Tilea-sama's life. No, it's presumptuous to even make such a comparison."

The army members are nodding in agreement again.

Yes, that's right.

Human life is more precious than anything.

I believe that too.

Cherish that principle.

But you know, a certain businessman once declared, "Money is more important than life."

I don't necessarily agree, but if you tried to earn 10 billion gold, you'd spend your entire life and still not finish.

Yet this idiot so easily...

"Oru, won't you get in trouble for using 10 billion gold without permission?"

"From whom? P-perhaps Tilea-sama is angry about the consumption of 10 billion gold?"

Oru trembled and asked as if seeking permission.

"No, I'm not angry."

"Fufu, then what's the problem? Tilea-sama's approval has been granted. Everyone is satisfied. If there were any insolent individuals who complained about Tilea-sama's decision, I, Ortissio, would punish them for you to see."

Oru confidently rolled up his sleeves and showed his muscles.

No, no, there's a big problem!

You've wasted 10 billion gold.

Oru's father, family, relatives, Oru's family subordinates, and other related parties... they're all affected, right?

And is my approval all that's needed?

The way you're talking, you're placing all the responsibility on me, aren't you?

This definitely becomes unaccounted funds for the Oru family.

Someday when the source is investigated, my name will come up.

What should I say then?

Should I honestly answer that I was developing a future medical device?

This toy?

The effect is unknown.

I might have felt a little good, but it's obviously better to just sleep or use recovery magic.

Either way, I've destroyed it. Only the remains are left.

What should I do now?

As I was holding my head in worry,

"Tilea-sama, please take this."

Dryas-kun handed me a notebook.

What's this?

I casually flipped through the pages and read it.

T-this is...

I looked up at Dryas-kun's face.

Dryas-kun returned a smiling face.

I understand. I get it.

You guys really enjoy making me worry, don't you?

[TL notes: I added a poll regarding this novel and If we should translate volume 5 which ended on cliffhanger https://take.supersurvey.com/poll5470491x6eB64CDb-162 ]