Reiji woke up the next morning. He opened his eyes and saw another pair staring down at him, just like when they first met. It was Haruto's eyes.
"I feel terrible. How did I even end up here?" Reiji sat up and saw that they weren't in their room but instead somewhere filled with medical supplies.
Haruto was standing on a two step stool next to the bed Reiji was laying on. "They had a doctor patch you up! Something about your bones being beaten up."
Reiji lay back down and just stared at the ceiling. "If that Oldy makes me train like this it'll turn into a slow execution."
Haruto stepped off the stool. "I got to see the town! They had something called a train and it moved on these metal lines on the ground called rails. It roared really loudly and people actually could get inside it!"
"...Seems interesting. I'll ask about it later. Could you call a doctor, Haruto?" Haruto ran towards the door. "Got it!" He then opened it and walked through.
After a moment Haruto walked back in with a doctor. "Ah, I'll get Lord Fujioka right away and perform your check-up." The doctor turned and left the room.
After what felt like forever he came back with Lord Fujioka. The doctor was holding a piece of paper. "Nice to see you, Kurozuma. I heard what happened and I guess that this can be viewed as your punishment. Please, doctor, tell him his condition."
The doctor turned to Reiji with the paper in his hand and began reading. "Based on the tests done on your unconscious body you have four broken ribs that won't need any special medical attention and the rest of your body has been damaged by blunt force, the general's hands to be exact."
"I guess I'll be getting her name over her dead body. How long will recovery last? It hurts to breathe." The doctor thought for a moment. "About three weeks with the treatment we have planned for you."
"Just say that'll take most of my training. Sorry, Oldy. It looks like I won't be able to make it to the royal knight exam or whatever it is called." Lord Fujioka smiled. "That's quite alright because you seem to qualify already."
Reiji was surprised by this. "Even if I didn't need your training, I'll go there with recently healed ribs. And I've got no real martial arts or sword training."
Lord Fujioka laughed and started walking toward the door. "Hey! Where are you going?" Fujioka grabbed the handle and looked over his shoulder at Reiji. "If I were you, I'd start praying already."
Lord Fujioka walked out of the door, closing it behind him. That asshole! He's the reason I'm in this state and he says that?!
The doctor turned back to Reiji. "Anyway, I think we should get you started on your medication. It will be administered twice a day and you'll be on a diet."
"Medication? My bones are fractured. I don't have a cold to cure." The doctor sighed. "For reasons I cannot tell you, you have to take the medicine."
"Ugh, whatever gets me back on my feet." The doctor walked over to a chest of drawers and opened it. He reached in and pulled out a small bottle. He walked over to Reiji and opened it.
"Lean forward, please," the doctor requested. Reiji propped himself up on his elbows and leaned forward. The doctor poured a few drops into his mouth, causing Reiji to grimace at the bitter taste.
"Bleh, that's disgusting." The doctor closed the bottle. "Well, the best medicine tastes the worst." He walked back to the chest of drawers and put the bottle back.
The doctor turned back to Reiji. "You will take it twice a day, in the morning and in the evening. You'll also be bedridden for maybe a week. After that you still should be very careful and not get into any fights."
"I understand." Reiji lay back down and took a few deep breaths, trying to deal with the pain. "Your food will arrive shortly," the doctor told Reiji and left.
Haruto stared at Reiji. The bed Reiji was laying on was way higher in the air than any other Haruto had seen before. He walked up the two step stool again and while Reiji was focused on taking deep breaths Haruto poked Reiji's rib.
This made Reiji jerk away. He looked at Haruto for a moment before speaking. "Don't poke me. Luckily you didn't touch a broken rib this time."
This was followed up by Haruto poking him again, touching a broken rib. "Agh! You little—" Haruto started laughing at Reiji's reaction. "What the hell is so funny?!"
They were interrupted by the door swinging open and a maid walked in with a tray of food. Another maid followed her and quickly took a folded bed table from the corner of the room and placed it in front of Reiji.
The maid holding the tray put it on the bed table. "Any requests?" she asked. Reiji turned to Haruto who shook his head. He turned back to the maid. "No, we're fine, thank you."
The two maids then left the room. Reiji looked at what was in front of him and saw that it was a bowl of soup. "A tray for only this? I guess just carrying a plate would look weird, wouldn't it?"
While Reiji was thinking that not having a whole tray might be weird, Haruto would reach out and try to poke Reiji's side again. Reiji managed to catch his hand in time.
"Hey, you little punk, that shirt looks a bit long on you, don't you think?" Haruto gulped in fear as Reiji roughly pulled on the sleeves of his shirt and tied them in a knot, making sure Haruto couldn't use his hands anymore.
Haruto used all his might to try and untie the knot but wasn't successful so he just sat down on the floor and started crying.
Reiji just kept eating his soup. It was warm but every movement caused pain. "Why are you so mean to me?" Haruto asked in a shaky voice with tears running down his cheeks.
"You poked my broken ribs twice, brat." Haruto's cry intensified. "I'M SORRY, I WON'T DO IT AGAIN." Reiji sighed and looked at Haruto. "Good. If you do it again, I'll tie up your feet next time. Come here."
Haruto stood up and presented Reiji with his tied sleeves. Reiji untied them, the sleeves looking all wrinkled.
He finally got a good look at the room he was in. He was lying in a bed in the corner of the room with a window behind him. The window had a pointed arch and a glass pane set into its frame.
In the corner opposite to the corner the bed was in there was the door. To the right of the bed was the chest of drawers with all the medicine and medical supplies.
Reiji put down the empty bowl and laid back down. "This is going to be a long three weeks."
…
Over the next week all Reiji did was lay in bed. He was growing quite restless. One day, he decided he was fit enough to walk despite his broken bones causing pain with each step and breath he took.
He walked out of the door and was immediately met with a nurse. Just my luck. "You're not supposed to be walking, sir. Lie back down immediately or I'll have no choice but to call Lord Fujioka."
"Do me a favor and call that stupid general here. I want to talk to her." He spoke up in an annoyed and frustrated tone.
"Your rudeness knows no bounds. First, go back to your bed. If you're wandering, Haruto will return in a few hours."
"Ugh." He turned and slowly walked back to bed, lying down with a pained expression. The nurse left and after a few minutes the door opened and revealed the general herself.
"Geez, you're more pathetic than I thought, princess."