49. The True Identity of Kuwaba Himawari
“—-chan!”
My vision and head are a little hazy, and I can’t move my body very well. Numbness in my fingertips and a slight chill. It took me a little while to remember what this condition meant.
“Wake up, wake up!”
When I first became Philance Green, I often failed. Anemia due to overuse of my abilities. Of course, even blood donation has a limit depending on your weight, so it’s no wonder that a layman would do this if they just took blood by feel .
“What’s wrong, did you die? Hey, wake up! Nightingale-onee-chan!”
The next thing I knew, I was being held in small, muddy hands.
“Kuwaba…san?”
In my gradually clearing vision, I saw Kuwaba-san looking terribly anxious. On one side, I could hear the roar of the river and the sound of rain drowning it out, and on the other side, her voice calling me.
“Was I out?”
“Yes! You were about to be swept away by the river.”
I slowly got up and looked around. The rain was still falling, but it was bright outside, and I could tell that I had been out for a long time. Under a large tree by the river, not a place where I could avoid the rain and dew, Kuwaba-san must have dragged me here, tank and all.
“Thank you. It seems I’ve become anemic.”
It’s an embarrassing failure for me. I hadn’t been sleeping well for the past few days, so I guess I didn’t have enough blood. I’m ashamed that I’ve become arrogant as a veteran hero and neglected my health by overdoing it.
“Anemia?”
Kuwaba-san asked as she handed me a bottle of water. When I took it, I noticed that the blood collection tube had been removed from my left arm and that it had been stopped with a tissue and a handkerchief, however simple.
Surely, she must have seen me collapse and taken the best action she could. I can feel her kindness from the slightly clumsy way the handkerchief is tied. Maybe I’ve misunderstood her until now. I thought she was a vulgar and childish girl who adored Sora-san as an older brother, but isn’t she a very honest and wonderful girl who thinks of me, Sora-san’s wife, as a real older sister?
“Yes, so don’t worry. Thank you, Kuwaba-san.”
When I smiled gently, Kuwaba-san breathed a sigh of relief.
“My ability is to generate a versatile transparent chemical and mix it with my own blood to change it into a chemical with any composition or property I want. My ability requires blood collection, but I seem to have passed out because I took too much. “
“Making medicine from blood, that’s an amazing ability.”
Well, I don’t know how long it’s been since I collapsed, but what’s the situation now? I hope my blood hasn’t flowed in vain.
“The neutralization of the harmful substances that have flowed into the river is still in progress, but I won’t be able to draw any more blood today. I’ll consult with the doctor once…”
And as I took out my smartphone from my luggage, her small, muddy hand grabbed my wrist in front of me.
Her grip was so strong that for a moment I thought of that red devil-like hero.
“Why not?”
And Kuwaba-san looked at me with eyes that were straight, so straight that they were terrifying.
“Um, that, if we take any more blood, you might collapse again, so I think it would be better to consult the doctor and reschedule…”
She was still a junior high school student. Was she too young to understand my abilities?
“…Hey, to make the medicine using that blood, does Onee-chan need to stay awake?”
The question that came back was one whose intentions I didn’t understand.
“No, the composition of the potion is decided when the first drop is added, so even the blood taken after you pass out is by no means wasted…”
If the potion hasn’t flowed into the river, it must have seen into an unrelated place and been lost, but is that something we should be checking now?
I continued, puzzled.
“Anyway, it’s dangerous to keep using my power like this. I think it would be better to ask the doctor to make a judgment.”
The doctor has been overworking me, but he understands that my death would be a disadvantage, so if he knows the situation, he’ll come up with some kind of plan. Besides, since Sora-san started watching over me, the doctor has been less harsh with me, and I’m sure he’ll understand if I talk to him.
“So… I’m sorry, but could you move to a safe place for now? I’m still a little unsteady, so I’d be happy if you could lend me your shoulder.”
Even so, Koshiba-san didn’t let go of my wrist. She held it tightly and smiled a lovely girl’s smile.
“There’s no need for that, Onee-chan.”
“Huh?”
Her lips parted innocently, but for some reason, it seemed terribly creepy to me.
“It’s fine to keep going like this. You can keep going even if you pass out, right?”
It was then that I finally understood what kind of person Philance Yellow was.
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“Um, Koshiba-san? That, fainting means that you’ve taken more blood than a human body should normally give. If you keep going like this, I might die, so that’s impossible…”
“Why?”
Not an ignorant, childish, vulgar girl, but a good-natured, understanding little sister who would bless me and Sora-san. It was a thought I had just revised, but I realized that I had greatly misunderstood her again.
“With the power of love, you won’t die. Onee-chan’s love for Onii-chan is real, right? The sooner you get rid of the bad stuff, the happier Onii-chan will be. Look, even if you pass out, I’ll be there to support you so you don’t move.”
She probably thinks that my… no, the lives of anyone other than those she loves don’t matter. And that that value is the majority and the norm.
“Come on, Onee-chan. You have to try harder.”
My so-called stepsister was a devilish girl.