Chapter 99

She clenched her fists tightly, involuntarily moving closer and closer, taking small, deep breaths to try and calm herself down.

However, the quiet and hazy moistness of the bathroom made her increasingly unable to control herself.

Yukina braced her arms against the washing machine, biting her lower lip tightly, feeling as if her heart was about to be set on fire, sending scalding blood to every part of her body.

"Naoko..."

The sound of water in the bathroom drowned out all other noises. Yukina took a full hour to shower before rushing out of the bathroom in a panic.

That night, neither Efnir nor Yukina could sleep. They lay on the same pillow, each thinking about the same thing, and the object of their fantasies was right beside them, which made it even harder to fall asleep.

The nights are especially long.

Efnir's injuries showed obvious signs of improvement immediately after the first day.

In just one day, Efnir was able to get out of bed and walk on her own. Two days later, nurses and doctors gave Efnir a full examination and told her that "the rate of Corruption has been reduced to an absolutely safe level."

Three days later, Efnir finally received good news for her—she could be discharged from the hospital.

This day happened to be a Saturday, and Yukina was enjoying her weekend break, which was a time of rest for the students.

For Efnir, time seemed to be slowed down in the hospital room.

Time spent alone is dull and tedious.

When Yukina wasn't around, Efnir would always wait alone by the hospital bed, standing by the window.

After feeling a little better, she left the ward to visit Fengling Shiyin and Shiina Rin. Watching the wounded soldiers come and go, she placed the flowers from her ward in front of their windows to cheer them on, shared the snacks she had piled up in the ward with the nurses, and chatted with them.

Shinomiyami Nami laughed at her for never being able to stay still.

But only Efnir knew that she was simply very uneasy inside.

So every day she would ask the doctor when she could leave the hospital, and after a follow-up appointment that morning, she received a positive answer, so Efnir immediately applied for discharge.

Before leaving the hospital, the doctor asked Efnir to remove some of the stitches and undergo another dressing change and full-body examination.

As soon as Efnir returned to the ward after doing all this, Yukina immediately came up to her.

"Naoko, how are you feeling?"

"I can't help but ask, "Yukina asked worriedly.

"Will the wound hurt? Should we stay for a couple more days to see how it goes...?"

Yukina's concern warmed Efnir's heart. She smiled and reached out to touch Yukina's hair.

"Don't worry, don't worry, the doctor said you can be discharged now."

Yukina pursed her lips slightly, not answering, but looking at Efnir with concern, still seemingly uneasy.

Efnir continued:

"Don't worry, simple actions are no problem. Don't underestimate the agent's recovery ability."

"But..."

Yukina hesitated, realizing that the doctor had already made his diagnosis, so she had nothing more to say.

But she was still worried.

For Yukina, Efnir's recovery speed was truly astonishing.

Agents recover from injuries five to ten times faster than ordinary people. This is a unique power of agents that modern science cannot explain well, and even among agents, Efnir belongs to the category of those with particularly astonishing recovery speed.

Finally, Yukina sighed.

At this moment, Efnir looked no different from when she was in the ward. Her whole body was still covered in shocking white gauze, and her right eye was covered by bandages and hidden under her slanted bangs.

Even walking was somewhat difficult for him; he limped.

The nurse brought me a whole box of pills, and I was told I had to have a check-up every two to three days.

This doesn't look like a recovery at all.

But Efnir seemed unwilling to stay in the hospital for even a moment longer, and couldn't wait to start fixing her clothes and hair. However, for Efnir, who had suffered a severe shoulder injury, raising her hand to braid her hair and put on her clothes was too much of a struggle, causing her to grimace in pain.

Yukina couldn't bear it and said:

"Naoko, let me help you..."

Thank you...

Efnir smiled helplessly and handed herself over to Yukina.

"I'm not very good at Naoko's hairstyle... Can I change it a little?"

139. Sister's Hairstyle

"It's okay, just do whatever you like, Yukina."

Efnir's eyes curved into crescent moons as she smiled, seemingly unconcerned.

In front of the full-length mirror, Efnir sat upright, while Yukina stood behind Efnir, styling Efnir hair.

This was a completely new experience for both of them.

In the quiet morning, the morning light streamed into the ward through the window. Yukina gently stroked Efnir's hair, feeling the smooth texture gradually slip away from her fingers.

Unconsciously, Yukina leaned down and gently hugged Efnir from behind.

"After being discharged from the hospital... Naoko, you absolutely mustn't force yourself, okay?"

Knowing she couldn't persuade Efnir, Yukina gave up on continuing her stubborn insistence.

"Don't worry, I'll rely on you a lot, just like these past few nights~~"

Efnir emphasized the phrase "these past few nights," her eyes narrowing with a smile. Yukina understood that Efnir was implying something, and her clean cheeks instantly flushed red.

"Naoko ~~~!"

Yukina gave a coquettish laugh, but Efnir just kept laughing.

Unconsciously, Yukina recalled what happened in the bathroom three nights ago.

The idea of doing that with her own sister's underwear through a door was something Yukina had never even dared to imagine.

After nearly getting carried away on the first day, Efnir finally toned it down a bit, thus saving Yukina from falling into that awkward, unpleasant situation a second time. So, using Efnir's underwear for that kind of thing was only a one-time thing.

Although she wanted to do more, by the second day Efnir had regained some of her ability to act independently, Yukina no longer had that opportunity.

If Efnir were to discover that she was doing some strange things with her underwear, everything would be over. So, Yukina stopped doing those things and only sniffed them for the past two days.

"Okay, okay, stop moving. I'm going to comb your hair now."

Yukina's face flushed, and she took the initiative to change the subject.

"Then it's up to you."

Efnir sat still obediently.

When she's in her everyday life as Efnir, Yanase Naoko's most common hairstyle is a unique yet cute side ponytail, a variation of a fishtail braid or scorpion braid.

While this hairstyle isn't particularly complicated to maintain, it's definitely not something you can easily replicate just by looking at it once. Even Yukina couldn't do it without braiding it herself at least once.

Unlike Efnir, who only knows a few hairstyles, Yukina is quite skilled at braiding.

Is this okay?

Yukina gently gathered Efnir's hair, tied it up, and then showed it to Efnir.

This is the same hairstyle as Yukina's own.

Or you could say it's a "sister hairstyle".

The only difference is that Efnir's hair is different from Yukina's long straight hair; it's the type with slightly curled ends. So, although they have the same hairstyle, the final product is still a little different.

"I like..."

Looking at herself in the mirror, who resembled Yukina remarkably much, Efnir said softly.

Surprisingly, Efnir was very satisfied.

"Lady Efnir, here is your discharge application. I've brought it to you!"

The nurse came to Efnir's ward with the discharge consent form from the doctor.

I don't know when it started, but the way the nurses addressed Efnir began to sound a little strange. Or rather, over the past few days, the attitudes of the soldiers, nurses, and doctors towards Efnir had changed to some extent.

In fact, aside from the period immediately after she joined the agency, Efnir rarely needed to be hospitalized.

Even if something happens, it's mostly taken care of by Nishizaki Yuki, so although she has some contact with the doctors and nurses here, she keeps a great distance from them.

Simply put, I'm not familiar with the nurses and doctors here.

But in just a few days, Efnir's relationship with them had grown considerably.

Since they were all people who frequently walked through the Erosion Disaster areas, they easily approached each other. In the nurse's words, "I felt that 'Efnir' had become a little more real."

"Ah, thank you, thank you for your help."

Efnir reached out and took the papers from the nurse, then put them away.

"The doctor also said to avoid strenuous exercise as much as possible, and if convenient, to come for a check-up at least every two days so that we can accurately assess your recovery. If all goes well, your injury should be basically healed in about a week."

The nurse relayed some of the doctor's instructions, and then noticed the suitcase behind Efnir.

Efnir and Yukina didn't leave much luggage at the hospital. Most of it consisted of a change of clothes that Shinomiyami Nami had brought for Efnir after that day, as well as textbooks, books, and her own clothes that Yukina had brought from home.

These items weren't many, and Yukina managed to pack them into a small suitcase.

The nurse hesitated for a moment, then suggested:

"Speaking of which, Lady Efnir, if it's clothing or anything like that, I can help you apply for a return service. It can be delivered directly to your address, which is very convenient."

In fact, to provide maximum convenience for agents, their luggage can be returned to the hospital, a special preferential service offered by the United Hospital for agents.

Just tell the nurse, and someone will pack your luggage and other belongings and deliver them to the designated location.

"No need. It's nothing too troublesome, I can do it myself, my sister will help."

Efnir waved her hand, smiled, and politely declined the nurse's suggestion.

Unless it was absolutely necessary, Efnir didn't want to use up the hospital's already scarce human resources at this time.

The nurses and doctors in the hospital had very little rest time in the past few days, and were extremely busy. It wasn't until yesterday that things got a little better.

There were far too many wounded, a large portion of whom were soldiers. Most of them came from the destroyed areas of their Garrison District and other areas affected by Erosion Disaster. In Efnir's opinion, it was the right thing to do to allocate more manpower to help those who needed it more than to Efnir.

Seeing that Efnir had no interest, the nurse, having anticipated this, readily moved on from the topic.

She asked reluctantly, "Are you leaving today?"

Efnir smiled and said, "Yes, it's a bit depressing to stay here all day, and it's not good to keep occupying this precious hospital room, so I want to get out as soon as possible."

"I see... I'll really miss it..."

"I am so grateful for all the time you have taken care of me."

"Efnir said."

140. Plum Yukina