The room next to His Highness's sleeping quarters seems to be a room for the maidservants to wait on, but it too is simple for a royal maidservant's room, and the only decoration is the flowers on the chest of drawers.

...... What am I supposed to do?
'Yes, ...... then, to bed .......'
Why is ...... in bed when there's a chair over there?
'Yes, no, not in a weird way. It's just that the little chair you use in front of the restroom table puts a lot of pressure on you to maintain your posture. I need to be able to examine you in as comfortable a position as possible.
'Well, I'm sorry ......, I've only ever been to a female doctor. I apologize for being overly cautious ...... because I'm a man, and I apologize for my rudeness.

　Ms. Raquel sits on the bed. I go around to the other side of the bed and look at her back - and then Raquel-san turns the pigtails that were hanging on her back from herself forward to make it easier to examine her.

'If you're a ...... knight, you should keep your hair short, but you don't have time to cut it, and it's just been left to grow out. I know it's unsightly, but I hope you'll forgive me for now.

　That's what she said, but since demon warriors have a higher body metabolism than normal people to begin with, their hair grows faster.

　Fortunately for the speed of her recovery, she was able to recover from excessive strain on her body before it became important, even if she had suffered a minor muscle tear or something like that - but there are parts of her body that cannot be compensated for by that alone. It's the tendons and joints.

'Raquel-san, could you take off your jacket?

　She nods and removes the general's jacket. The collar of the shirt he wears underneath already reveals a bandage wrapped around his upper body - this is probably to keep the pain at bay.

　The way the bandage is wrapped is either instructed by the previous military doctor or taken into account so as not to inhibit violent movement. However, the way the bandage is wrapped up is also constantly evolving, and a method of wrapping it up for martial arts practitioners was also devised by the doctors in the royal capital.

'Can you try moving it around a bit? Is this movement okay?
.......... that's about it... nothing... nothing at all...

　After all, the strain that is placed on the super-heavy javelin when swinging it out is almost beyond the limit. The tendons have become inflamed and the joints are worn out, and if this continues, bone spurs will probably develop and cause pain.

(But osteophytes aren't something that can be surgically removed. It's a natural healing process, so if you're at rest, you won't have much pain. ...... What you need to deal with right away is tendon inflammation. (I haven't even put any medication on it, so my whole body is overheated.

...... Mr. Raquel, the next time the enemy attacks, will you still be fighting on the front lines if they do?
'Of course. I've always done that, and I'm still in good physical condition, but the reason I'm not going out is because of ......
'But if His Highness Astina hadn't gone to help Raquel-san, it would have been a much more difficult battle.
"Huh. ...... It's .......

　Mr. Raquel was at a loss for words. And I remembered now that I had tried to block the enemy archer's movements and cover Raquel-san.

　Besides, she had noticed - her eyes, which were reflecting on me, were different than before.

'...... I was prepared to take arrows from the enemy archers at that moment. Even though I was slightly injured, I was ...... able to cleave off the enemy, but the archer's movement was unnaturally slow. If that's what our side did, I can only think of one thing: ...... I was saved by magic.

　The only two mages on my side who were there were me and Rendle-san. You couldn't even see me, who was far behind, but Raquel-san was still determined that it was something I had done.

'I should have thanked you for that time first. Even when treating your highness, I didn't defend my position and said a lot of unnecessary things ......
''No, no, ...... I know how much Raquel-san adores His Highness. I want to respect His Highness's feelings as much as you do. So don't worry about it.
Are you not offended by ......?
'Yes, totally ...... I'd like to live like a big tree, if I could say so. I used to call the longest-lived tree in the academy Jic-chan, and he's a tremendously generous person, or something like that ......
...... I wish I could be like that, too. I wonder if being able to talk to a plant spirit can have that effect on you: ......

　Raquel-san was listening to my story with interest. Other than Leslie, Sven, and his sister-in-law, I had never seen anyone else give me such a look - I think of how closed off the Academy of Magic was to the world.

'...... You're right, I'm putting a lot of strain on my body by using heavy equipment. Every time I wielded a javelin on a horse, I began to feel pain every time I wielded a javelin, and lately, just walking around in my armor has made my upper body ache. Sometimes my body gets so hot when I sleep that I can't even sleep.
'I knew it, yes, ...... Thank you for talking to me. I'd really like to do some serious treatment, with a plan in place. In the meantime, I'm going to give you some first aid.

　I take out another ointment, not the one I used on His Highness. Then Raquel's eyes widen and she covers her own body - her white skin flushes and turns bright red all at once.

''That's it, it's ...... on me ...... body, all over the place, just like your highness.''
No, no, I won't do that.
What ......?
'I think Raquel is going to take off or re-wrap the bandage before she goes to bed. At that time, you'll apply this ointment where I tell you to. I'll draw a diagram for you. Also, I have a better way to wrap the bandage, so you can practice wrapping it around me.

　Raquel-san blinks her long eyelashes - did she think it was something I was going to apply? As expected, if you do that all the time, even if Raquel-san allows you to do so, you'll receive the suspicion of those around you.

'...... Nah, I'm not making any mistakes. That's right, if you're going to teach me, it's only fair that I paint it myself.

　She seems to be sulking a bit, but that's probably just my imagination. And there's still one more thing I need to tell her.

'This is just a first aid measure, so once the zirconia attack has settled down, you'll be given a full-scale treatment.
...... Okay, I get it. That's a promise.
'Good. Well, let's start by applying an ointment ...... and we'll go over the painful areas.

　Mr. Raquel did what I said, and I was able to locate the pain. I'd like to think that this won't be a serious injury until the next round - and that it won't be a serious injury until the next round.

　But I haven't told her yet, but I'll have to do some pretty painful treatments to quell the muscle fatigue, tendon strain, and inflammation in various areas that have progressed to this point. I'd like to get an understanding of that when I actually do the treatment.