The Otherworld Was Way Too Brutal – After I Healed the Mutilated Girl, She Turned Into a Completely Obsessed Yandere Guard Dog - Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Two days had passed since Tsugumi’s right leg grew back.

Out back behind the house in the empty lot, the same dry smacking sounds echoed again today.

Cattleya and Tsugumi going at it.

“There! You left an opening!”

“Kh…!”

Cattleya’s wooden sword lightly smacked Tsugumi’s side.

Tsugumi stumbled a bit but didn’t fall.

She dug her right foot hard into the ground and braced herself.

Every time I watched, her movements looked sharper.

Having a complete body again had optimized her balance perfectly.

And more than anything, it seemed like the natural athletic ability sleeping inside her was finally getting pulled out—thanks to having Cattleya as an top-tier teacher.

“…She’s amazing.”

I let out an impressed breath while watching from the house window.

Tsugumi wasn’t just someone who needed protecting anymore.

A hunter’s gleam—the kind that locks onto prey—had started shining in her eyes.

But I couldn’t just stand still either.

The biggest goal—fixing Tsugumi’s arms and legs—was done.

Still, that wasn’t the end.

There was still someone I owed a huge debt to.

(…Ray.)

My one-armed master.

The guy who taught me how to fight, how to survive.

Without him, I wouldn’t be here now.

I probably couldn’t have healed Tsugumi either.

I looked down at my own two hands.

Level 4 power.

Now that I could fully regenerate limbs, I should be able to give him his right arm back.

“What’s up, Jin? You’ve got a serious face on.”

Cattleya came inside the house wiping sweat, taking a break.

Tsugumi followed right behind her.

Both of them were drenched in good, honest sweat.

“Nah, just thinking about the next job.”

“Job? I don’t think the master’s called for us yet.”

“Not an order from Genzou. Something I wanna do myself.”

I looked straight at both of them and said it clearly.

“I wanna heal Ray’s arm.”

Cattleya put a hand to her chin like “hmm,” and Tsugumi nodded big.

“I think that’s good. That guy helped you out a ton, Jin. Gotta pay him back.”

“You’re on board too, Tsugumi?”

“Yeah. Plus if he gets strong again, it’ll take some pressure off you, right?”

Looked like Tsugumi’s decision-making always circled back to what was best for me.

I gave a wry smile—man, she never wavers—but I was really grateful.

“Technically it’s doable. We already proved it with Tsugumi.”

“The issue’s your magic reserves, huh.”

Cattleya hit me with a sharp point.

“Yeah. When I fixed Tsugumi’s arms and legs, I put at least a full day between each one. Even then it was cutting it close.”

“Your magic tank’s grown some, but regenerating a whole adult man’s arm from scratch is gonna cost a serious chunk.”

She was right.

Ray was a built warrior.

Rebuilding muscle and bone to match that body might take even more magic than Tsugumi did.

“Let’s go see Ray first. Gotta check if he even wants it, and prep properly.”

“Got it. I’m coming too.”

We got ready and headed to Ray’s place.

His house sat in a rougher part of town, close to the slums.

When we got there, Ray was out front splitting firewood.

Watching him swing an axe one-handed had become a normal sight, but it still looked kinda awkward.

“Yo, Ray.”

“Hm? Oh, Jin! And Tsugumi-chan too… wait, whaaaat!?”

Ray almost dropped the axe when he saw Tsugumi.

Couldn’t blame him.

In his memory, Tsugumi was the girl with no arms or legs who I carried on my back.

Now she was standing solid on her own two feet, waving both hands as she walked.

“Your… your legs… your hands…!?”

“Yeah. I fixed everything.”

“Holy crap… you actually pulled it off… Congrats, seriously, congrats!”

Ray came jogging over, face all scrunched up with joy like it happened to him.

Tsugumi looked a little shy but smiled happily too.

“Thanks, Ray-san. Because of you, Jin got strong.”

“Nah nah, I didn’t do much at all. It was all Jin’s hard work.”

Ray scratched his head, being modest.

I looked at him seriously and got to the point.

“Ray. I’ve got something to talk about.”

“…What’s with the formal vibe? Come on in, standing out here’s weird.”

He invited us inside.

His little sister Leia greeted us and burst into happy tears the second she saw Tsugumi.

After tea was served and we finished celebrating Tsugumi’s recovery…

I got down to business.

“Ray. I’m just gonna say it straight.”

I stared right at his right shoulder—the empty dangling sleeve.

“I wanna heal your arm too.”

The air in the room froze.

Ray’s eyes went wide with shock, then slowly dropped.

I heard Leia suck in a breath.

“…My arm, huh.”

“Yeah. With where I’m at now, I can do it. Level 4 lets me completely regenerate missing limbs.”

I kept going.

“You can still fight. You’re already that strong with one arm. With both, you’d be way stronger.”

“…………”

Ray went quiet.

I’d figured he’d jump at it right away.

But his reaction was heavier than I expected.

He gripped the stump of his right shoulder hard with his left hand.

“Jin. When I lost this arm… I gave up on everything.”

Ray started talking quietly.

“My future as a mercenary, my confidence in taking care of my sister… But then I met you and found a new purpose as a teacher. Even with one arm, I could still help someone.”

“Yeah. That’s exactly why. You’ve still got so much ahead of you.”

“…I’m scared.”

Ray muttered it softly.

“Huh?”

“I’m scared to hope again. If it gets fixed… can I really go back to the battlefield? Can I face that terror again? If my arm comes back but my heart doesn’t… won’t I just turn into a coward all over again?”

He’d accepted what he lost and built a new version of himself.

The fear of having that flipped upside down again.

And the dread that once he was whole, he’d have no more excuses.

It was a real, deep warrior’s conflict.

While I struggled for words, Cattleya spoke up from the side.

“Don’t be a baby.”

It was an ice-cold snap.

Ray’s shoulders jerked.

“Cattleya-sama…”

“The disciple you taught pushed past fear to get this far. Took down a Mad Bear, stopped a stampede, cut his way out of a giant frog’s guts and came back alive. And now his master’s sitting here thinking about losing before the fight even starts?”

Cattleya’s words were harsh, but her eyes were pushing him forward.

“There’s still regret in your sword swings. You’ve mastered one-handed style, but unconsciously you’re still reaching for that right-hand support… Your soul still wants to hold a sword with both hands.”

She must’ve nailed it.

Ray’s face snapped up and he stared at his own left palm—covered in calluses.

“…You see right through me.”

“Obviously. I’ve been swinging a sword longer than you.”

Ray let out a long, deep sigh, then lifted his head.

No more hesitation in his eyes.

“Sorry, Jin. That was pathetic.”

“Nah… it just means you were being real about it.”

“Yeah… Please. Heal my arm. I wanna hold a sword again.”

Ray bowed his head.

I nodded firmly.

“Leave it to me.”

We decided to do the treatment tomorrow morning.

Reason was magic, obviously.

To be at full strength, I needed to spend all of today just refilling my reserves.

“Your place okay? Cattleya’ll be there too—if anything goes wrong we can handle it.”

“Yeah, got it. I’ll come by in the morning.”

“Jin-san, please… really… my big brother…!”

Leia grabbed my hand tight, practically begging.

I gently squeezed hers back.

“It’s gonna be fine. I’ll make sure it works.”

After we left Ray’s house, we headed to the market.

Gotta buy nourishing food for tomorrow.

Not just for my magic recovery—Ray needed stamina for the procedure too.

“Jin.”

On the way back, Tsugumi tugged my sleeve.

“Yeah?”

“If he gets healed, he’ll get super strong?”

“Oh yeah, no doubt. He was already crazy good. With both arms back, he might even go toe-to-toe with Cattleya.”

When I said that, Tsugumi nodded seriously.

“Then once he’s healed, I wanna learn from him too.”

“Huh?”

“Not just Cattleya—I want him to teach me sword stuff. Maybe even dual-wielding or something.”

…How strong does this girl plan to get?

Half stunned, half impressed.

But her forward energy was a huge relief for me too.

“Yeah. Ray’d probably love teaching you.”

Back home, I ate an early dinner and hit the bed right away.

I went into meditation, focusing on the magic circuits inside me.

Pulling mana from the air, mixing it with my own, storing it below my navel.

Boring work, but skip it and the treatment fails.

In the corner of the room, Cattleya quietly sharpened her sword.

Tsugumi read a book without bothering me—she’d started studying letters lately.

Quiet time.

But the air felt tight.

Healing Ray’s arm wasn’t just treatment.

It meant bringing a powerful warrior back to life in this town.

That was gonna shift the power balance going forward.

The weird stuff in the northern forest, Genzou’s ambitions.

This would be a big step toward pushing back against all of it.

(…Can’t fail. No way.)

I sharpened my focus.

The feeling of magic filling up.

Like a water level slowly rising, power spread to every corner of my body.

“…Phew.”

Late at night, I opened my eyes once.

Good enough.

I could do this.

When I glanced sideways, Tsugumi had slipped under my blanket and fallen asleep.

Her usual spot.

Looking at her sleeping face calmed my heart right down.

“Night, Tsugumi.”

I stroked her head and closed my eyes again.

Big job tomorrow.

To give my old master the best payback possible.

I sank into a deep sleep.