The fingertips of her right hand wouldn't move properly. Lena exhaled a short breath and forced strength into her fingers one more time. Her trembling fingertips finally managed to pluck the small white flower. Moon-white grass—a prized ingredient for wound salves, even at the Holy Healing Institute. "...That makes five bundles." She muttered the words and tossed it into the basket at her hip. The edge of the Schvane Forest was bathed in the soft afternoon sunlight. Every time the light filtering through the trees swayed, Lena lifted her head and checked her surroundings. Her right eye could barely sense light anymore. The right half of her field of vision always seemed shrouded in a gray fog. She gauged the distance with only her left eye and stretched out her right hand. Her fingers swiped through empty air again. "...Tch." Lena bit her lip. Three years ago, this wouldn't have happened. As a healer, as a member of the hero's party, her hands had healed thousands of soldiers. Through the life veins—spiritual circuits flowing within the body—she had mended the wounds of others using her own life force. Her talent had been among the finest in the Kingdom of Serdina. But that day had burned everything away. The sight in her right eye. Most of the freedom in the right side of her body. And the Holy Healing Light Ring. Lena stroked her left wrist with her right hand. Nothing was there. That was where a silver bracelet had once rested. A healer's proof, an auxiliary tool that helped control the circuit flow. Now, there was nothing on her wrist anymore. "...Alright." She tried to rise, but her right leg tangled. She put a hand on the ground and stayed like that for a while, steadying her breathing. The muscles on the right side of her body felt like they were withering more with each passing day. *(I might have pushed myself a little too hard today.)* Even so, her expression didn't change. No trace of pain, no shade that invited pity. She simply, matter-of-factly, righted her body and shouldered her basket again. By the time she left the forest, the sun had sunk considerably. Harune Village was a small settlement located at the southwestern edge of the Kingdom of Serdina. Its population was less than three hundred, with just over sixty houses. It was a basin surrounded by gentle hills, with the Kaval River flowing to the east and the Schvane Forest pressing in from the west. The village's livelihood depended on medicinal herb cultivation and wool—a remote frontier five days by carriage from the royal capital of Ortias. Lena had been born and raised in this village. Until the age of fifteen, when her talent was discovered at the Milene Branch of the Holy Healing Institute and she went up to the capital. At the eastern edge of the village, a single-story house along the Kaval River was Lena's home. She had once lived there with both her parents, but her father had been conscripted for the Velgnot Campaign and never returned. Her mother had died of an epidemic two years later. Now, she was alone. She set the basket down by the kitchen entrance and walked toward the center of the village. The general store, "Tessa's Shelf," was the only shop in the village. It was an old wooden storefront that handled everything from daily necessities to dried goods to buying up medicinal herbs. The owner, Tessa Lim, was fifty-two. The village's greatest source of information—a woman with a loose tongue but a good heart at the root. "[gentle]Oh my, Lena. You're late today." From the back of the counter, a plump woman emerged. Her brown hair, streaked with gray, was tied back in a single bunch, and a friendly smile graced her wrinkled face. "[gentle]I went in a little too deep." Lena took the bundles of moon-white grass from her basket and placed them on the counter. Five bundles. Tessa inspected the bundles with practiced ease and narrowed her eyes. "[gentle]Fine quality, these. You do well, considering your eyes." "[serious]I'm used to it." Tessa didn't mention her body any further. That was something to be grateful for. Everyone in this village knew about Lena's past. That she had once been the healer of the hero's party. That she had broken her body in the campaign. But few directed excessive pity at her. That was the reason Lena had chosen to return to her hometown. As Tessa counted out copper coins, she suddenly looked up as if remembering something. "[excited]Oh, speaking of which, did you know? The heroes are returning to the capital from their southern inspection soon." Lena's fingers paused, ever so slightly. "[serious]...Is that so." "[excited]I hear Lord Aldric and Lady Sophie are with them too. They just announced their engagement, so it must be quite the celebratory mood. The Valcourt family seems to be making moves as well—the capital must be bustling." Tessa's voice was lively, but Lena offered no further response. "[gentle]...Here. Thank you." She took the copper coins and moved to leave the shop. Tessa's voice caught her from behind. "[gentle]You were a hero too, weren't you." Lena's shoulders stiffened, just a little. She didn't turn around. She left the shop. The murmur of the Kaval River could be heard in the distance. Twilight. Lena lit the small hearth in her home. She threw water, dried vegetables, and yesterday's leftover barley porridge into a pot and stirred it with a wooden spoon. Steam rose, and a faint scent of salt spread through the room. The room was austere. A wooden desk and chair, a small bookshelf, a bed against the wall. No decorations whatsoever. Only at the bedside, near the pillow, lay a faded pendant. It was the identification tag of the former guild that had organized adventurers as a subordinate body of the Silver Veil Knights. The sound of a bell reached her from afar. It came in fragments, carried on the wind. The church bell of the town of Milene. Judging by the direction, it was probably the chapel of the Milene Branch of the Holy Healing Institute. Lena's hands stopped. *(A bell celebrating their engagement?)* The hero Aldric and the healer Sophie. The hero who had vanquished the Demon Lord Velgnot, and the healer who had joined the party as his successor. The world praised the two of them as "the most beautiful bond born of the campaign." Deep in Lena's chest, an old memory throbbed. The battlefield. The smell of blood. The groans of soldiers. As Aldric's dignified commands echoed around her, Lena had held both hands over the wounded, her circuit flow fully open. She poured her own life force into the damaged life veins of the injured soldiers. One after another. Each time the light of healing illuminated the battlefield, something was scraped away from Lena's body. *(This is my limit.)* She heard someone scream. It might have been her own voice. A searing heat shot through her right eye. The right side of her body burned as if submerged in lava. Her circuit flow burned out. Vein Severance—the phenomenon in which a healer's spiritual circuits are destroyed by excessive healing. In that instant, Lena lost everything she had as a healer. And the one Lena herself had recommended as her replacement was her childhood friend, Sophie. Sophie had wept. She repeated "I'm sorry" over and over, clutching Lena's hand. Lena had smiled. *(It's alright. You can do this.)* She removed her own Holy Healing Light Ring and placed it on Sophie's wrist. Then, without a word, she left the battlefield. Lena stroked her left wrist with her right hand. *(I thought I wouldn't feel anything anymore.)* The soup in the pot bubbled and simmered. Lena stood up and lowered the fire in the hearth. Outside the window, the world was already wrapped in complete darkness. Night came early in Harune Village. Everyone returned home when the sun set and went to bed to prepare for the next day's labor. Lena looked at her own face reflected in the dark windowpane. Her reddish-brown hair was cut short and neat. Her left eye was a steely gray. Covering her right eye was a well-worn leather eyepatch. Her lean, taut frame still bore the traces of a former adventurer, but the right side of her body showed clear muscle atrophy. Beneath her plain brown tunic, jagged old scars crawled from her left arm to her collarbone. *(I don't want to show this appearance.)* Was thinking that a weakness? It was then. Outside the window, she saw flickering lights approaching. Lantern light. Multiple. At least three people. A chill ran down Lena's spine. No one from the village ever came to visit at this hour. The footsteps stopped in front of her door. —Knock, knock, knock. Three knocks. Quiet, yet carrying a sense of firm resolve. Lena slowly approached the door. Her heart pulsed at an unpleasant speed. *(It can't be.)* Her right hand stopped just before touching the handle. Hesitation. No—it was a premonition, close to certainty. She knew who was on the other side of this door. Lena let out a small breath. As if steeling herself. And as if resigning herself to something. She opened the door. The night wind brushed against Lena's cheek.