Illustrations for the hospital are in the comnt section...Check them out!
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Just as Einz was about to launch into another tirade, a calm voice suddenly cut through the tension.
"Hey."
Mika said casually, stepping forward and leaning one arm on the reception counter like he was chatting about the weather before saying,
"Do you want to know so fun facts about the battle angels?"
The entire lobby fell silent for a second.
The question was so absurdly out of place that even the children hiding behind their parents blinked in confusion.
The receptionist also stared up at him, startled, and Einz turned toward him with a sharp glare.
"What!?" the noble hissed, his tone spiteful. "Who the hell are you supposed to be?!"
"Just a guy who likes fun facts." Mika said lazily.
Einz’s face twisted in disbelief.
"Are you an idiot!? Did you escape from the ntal ward or sothing?! What kind of moron walks into this conversation and starts asking about fun facts?!" He jabbed a finger toward Mika’s face, his voice rising. "Get lost before I make you regret stepping in here!"
But Mika didn’t even look at him. He turned his head slightly, eyes still on the receptionist, who looked utterly confused but also sowhat intrigued.
"So..." He repeated in the sa calm tone. "Do you want to know so fun facts?"
For a mont, she just blinked, her lips parting like she wanted to say what?...but then, seeing the subtle glint in Mika’s eyes, she understood.
He wasn’t being random.
He was doing sothing. Trying to help her.
So she nodded quickly, even though she had no idea what he was trying to do
"Of course. What...kind of fun facts?"
Einz looked ready to explode. "Are you serious right now?! You’re humoring this lunatic?!"
Mika finally turned to face him, that easy, almost lazy smile still on his face.
"Well." He said. "This one’s actually pretty interesting. Did you know that all Battle Angels have an innate ability called Spatial Awareness?"
That made Einz pause. Not because he cared about the trivia, but because the way Mika said it carried weight.
His guards, too, stopped shifting impatiently and turned slightly toward him, their brows furrowing.
"Spatial Awareness..." Mika continued smoothly, like he was giving a lecture to a curious student. "...is sothing they developed during the war."
"You see, when you’re constantly surrounded by enemies, when danger could appear anywhere, at any ti, you learn to...sense your surroundings. Even when you’re asleep. Even when you’re bathing. Even when you’re eating."
The receptionist tilted her head slightly. "You an...like being able to detect movent around them?"
"Exactly." Mika said, smiling faintly. "By manipulating the mana around them, they can read changes in the flow of the environnt. They can see, hear, and feel things long before they happen. In open fields, they can sense enemies approaching from miles away."
Einz scoffed, crossing his arms. "And why in the world are you telling this nonsense right now?"
"Oh, patience, patience." Mika chuckled lightly. "I’m getting there."
"See, that sa Spatial Awareness also works in close range. It doesn’t matter how large an area is, as long as they’re within it, a Battle Angel can monitor everything happening around them. Every voice, every whisper, every little shift in emotion."
He paused, then leaned a little closer to the counter.
"And since Fauna is also one of the battle angels, she also probably has that ability. Wouldn’t you agree?"
The receptionist’s eyes widened slightly, realizing what Mika was implying, while he continued before Einz could interrupt.
"Now, from what I’ve heard, Fauna spends most of her ti in this very hospital. Her pride and joy. Her ho. So even though this place is big...to soone like her, it’s really quite small." He smiled again, this ti with a sharper edge. "Small enough for her Spatial Awareness to cover every inch of it."
Einz froze. His guards, suddenly tense, exchanged wary glances.
Mika’s tone softened, but there was a gleam in his eyes now.
"Which ans...she’s probably been watching this whole scene unfold. Every word. Every threat. Every...little insult."
The color drained from Einz’s face.
"So..." Mika went on, still smiling as if he was discussing the weather. "Considering that Fauna is known as the kindest, most compassionate, even the most childish of all the Battle Angels, that might sound comforting. But there’s also another rumor."
He lowered his voice, his tone almost threatening.
"They say there’s a side of her that even other Battle Angels fear. The side that surfaces when soone dares to taint her sanctuaries or threaten her people. And personally..."
Mika added, straightening up and giving Einz a look of thoughtfulness.
"I don’t think she’d take very kindly to soone standing in her lobby, screaming about how he’ll destroy her hospital and harass her staff."
The entire room had gone utterly still.
Einz’s hands, which had been clenched at his sides, trembled. His eyes darted around, as if expecting Fauna herself to appear from thin air at any mont.
The guards subtly stepped closer to him, murmuring warnings.
"Now, I could be wrong. Maybe she’s too busy to care. Or maybe..." He let his words hang in the air, a faint pulse of mana rippling around him. "...she’s listening right now."
Ding!
And just then—a loud chi echoed from the elevator behind them.
Every head turned.
The parents, the nurses, the children holding balloons, the guards, even the frail patriarch of the Hawthorne family, all stared at the opening elevator doors.
The young noble Einz froze in place, his face draining of color. His heart thudded painfully in his chest.
For a tense mont, silence consud the entire lobby. Everyone was expecting, terrified even, that Lady Fauna herself had heard everything and was about to descend from the heavens to deal with them personally.
The elevator doors slid open with a soft chi.
And out stepped...
An elderly woman with a cane, shuffling slowly into the lobby, smiling at a nurse who imdiately rushed to assist her.
Everyone exhaled at once.
Shoulders slumped, hearts resud beating, and the color returned to faces. Even Einz, whose expensive coat was sticking to his back from cold sweat, wiped his forehead shakily.
"Thank the heavens..." One of his bodyguards muttered.
But just as Einz was regaining his nerve, his humiliation at being scared got the better of him. "You bastard—"
"Enough."
The word ca like a command. It wasn’t shouted, yet it carried the weight of authority that silenced the entire entourage instantly.
The patriarch of the Hawthorne family, the old man in the wheelchair, was staring straight at his son with cold, heavy eyes.
"Not another word." He said firmly. "We’ve caused enough trouble here already. Do not disgrace our na further."
"But Father, he—" Einz tried to protest.
"Enough." The old man’s tone hardened. "We will find Lady Fauna through the proper channels. There’s no need for more commotion here. Do you understand ?"
Einz bit back his frustration, his teeth grinding audibly. For a mont, he looked like a spoiled child scolded in public. Then, with a sharp glare, he turned back toward Mika.
"I’ll rember you, you damn brat." He hissed before spinning on his heel.
The Hawthorne entourage then began moving away. And as soon as everyone saw this, a wave of collective relief washed over the place.
A few people clapped quietly.
Others just sighed and muttered under their breath about "nobles and their tantrums."
The receptionist also leaned against her counter for a mont, visibly exhausted. Then she looked up at Mika and smiled, a little shaky, but genuine.
"Thank you." She said softly. Then louder, with more conviction. "Thank you so much. I honestly didn’t know what to do. If I’d called the guards, it would’ve just gotten worse. You really saved back there."
"Don’t worry about it." Mika waved a hand dismissively, his tone casual. "I also had sothing to ask of you and I couldn’t do so with that guy hovering over you, so I decided to send him off."
The woman smiled warmly, cheeks faintly pink.
"Still, it ans a lot. You’re...You’re really kind."
Her gaze lingered a bit too long, her eyes tracing over his features.
"And, um, very handso too."
She added under her breath before catching herself and straightening.
"Anyway!" She said quickly. "What can I help you with, sir? Are you here to see a patient? Or maybe admit yourself?"
"Not exactly." Mika smiled faintly. "I’m here to see my family...She’s a doctor who works here."
"Oh." She was pleasently surprised. "And who would that be? If you tell their na, I can call them over or guide you to their room."
"Na?...I guess she goes by Fauna, even though she pesters to call her ’Fafa’ all the ti like it’s a good na."
"Ah yes, Lady Fauna...Just give a minute and I’ll—"
The receptionist blinked, thinking she heard wrong.
"...Pardon?"
"I said." Mika repeated, his tone calm and unhurried. "I’m here to see Fauna. I was hoping soone could take to her, or she could co down herself."
For a few seconds, the woman just stared at him, unsure if she’d heard correctly.
Then ca the coughing.
All around the lobby, people who’d been trying to return to normalcy started choking on air.
A man with a newspaper froze mid-turn of a page.
A mother blinked in disbelief.
The children stopped playing.
Even Einz and his family, who had nearly reached the door, stopped and turned around.
The look on their faces was priceless: disbelief, shock, and barely contained outrage.
Einz’s mouth then dropped open before curling into a cruel grin.
"You?" He said, laughing. "You have got to be joking. Just a minute ago, you were acting all high and mighty, telling us not to demand her presence, and now you’re doing the exact sa thing?"
He clutched his stomach, laughing louder.
"Are you out of your damn mind!? You think Lady Fauna, the Plague Maiden herself, will co down for you? What are you, her long-lost pet?"
Even the receptionist faltered.
"I-I’m sorry, sir." She said carefully. "But Lady Fauna is currently occupied. She’s on the rooftop terrace doing her daily exercise sessions with the patients. She doesn’t et visitors without an appointnt, so perhaps you could co another ti—"
"Oh, no." Mika interrupted with an easy smile. "It’s not like that. I’m not dropping in uninvited—she’s the one who asked to co."
The laughter from Einz doubled.
"She invited you?" He said between laughs. "The woman who’s saved millions of lives, the one of the most revered being on the planet, invited you?"
"That’s right." Mika’s smile didn’t waver.
"You really are crazy." Einz sneered. "Absolutely insane."
The receptionist looked unsure, caught between disbelief and confusion. Still, she tried to stay polite.
"I’m...sorry, sir." She said carefully. "But that’s impossible. Lady Fauna doesn’t usually invite guests herself. Are you sure there isn’t so misunderstanding?"
Mika smiled patiently.
"No misunderstanding." He said. "If you just check your list, I’m sure my na’s on it sowhere."
That made her hesitate. "Your...na?"
He nodded. "Mika...Mika Sanctivelle."
Her expression faltered.
"Sanctivelle?" She repeated slowly, as if the na carried weight she couldn’t quite place yet.
She then bent down and began flipping through the guest registry anyway, mostly out of formality.
Einz, standing nearby, smirked arrogantly.
"Go on." He said mockingly. "Check. Let’s see how many random lunatics claim to know her these days."
The receptionist scanned the nas absently thinking that she’ll do so for a while and say there’s nothing—until her eyes froze on one entry.
Her pupils widened.
Her hands trembled slightly as she stared at the line in disbelief.
Then, slowly, she looked up at Mika, her voice almost shaking. "Your na is...Mika Sanctivelle?"
"That’s right." He smiled faintly.
The mont she got the confirmation she needed...she didn’t hesitate.
She rushed out from behind the counter, nearly tripping over her own feet, and stopped right in front of him.
Then, with a quick bow that made her hair fall forward, she said breathlessly.
"I-I deeply apologize, Master Mika! I’m so sorry for not recognizing you imdiately!"
Her tone was frantic now.
"Please forgive for the delay. I should have escorted you to Lady Fauna the mont you arrived. I truly apologize for the mistake! Please pardon for what I’ve done!"
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