Confession (2)

After one thing led to another, the practical exam finally ended, and I made my way to the academy infirmary with my injured arm.

“You’ll need to expect at least four weeks of recovery.”

“……”

I received that brief diagnosis from the gray-haired infirmary doctor wearing reading glasses.

Apparently, the bones along the inside of my right arm had been crushed into countless tiny pieces, with fragments scattered in every direction.

The infirmary doctor seemed to examine the X-rays on a monitor visible only to him, then clicked his tongue and continued speaking as though scolding me.

“What on earth were you thinking, trying to stop a rock falling from the ceiling? Didn’t it occur to you that catching it with your forearm would end badly?”

“……Hmm……”

“Count yourself lucky this is an academy. If you’d been in a real dungeon without even a university-hospital-level facility nearby, you’d have had to say goodbye to your right arm by now.”

I awkwardly scratched my cheek and lightly lifted the right arm wrapped tightly in a cast...