Damien decided to accept this fact as it was.
He has gone through several battles so far, and has been close to death countless times, but he has emerged from them unscathed and without a major wound.
That in itself was a miracle.
But now, that fortune has been exhausted.
But, if you think carefully, you will find that this is also a bit of luck.
If a hand grenade explodes in front of his eyes, leaving only one arm and his life remaining?
It's a net profit.
'I wish fate had chosen my left hand, for I am right-handed, and it would have been easier if my left hand had flown.'
As he delivered these thoughts with a cold spirit, he began to feel his body with his trembling left hand.
His entire body was wrapped in bandages until he felt a feeling of tightness and pressure under the clothes.
There is no place where he is not in pain, to the point that he could not identify the exact location of the wounds except his right arm.
He was thinking to himself: When will the doctor come to explain his condition to him?
Then he heard noise and running, followed by a voice shouting:
"Damien!"
The door to the room suddenly opened, and Paul Jeska burst in, followed by a man in a white doctors' uniform.
Damian looked up with a pale face as if in a dream, looking at Paul, then turning his gaze to the doctor.
He did not care much about Paul's arrival, as his main concern was the state of his body.
But Paul wouldn't leave him alone.
"Damian, you bastard!
I was writing your death notice myself, and then I got a call from the hospital, and I almost fainted!
For God's sake, how did you even survive this time?!
This soul of yours has a thousand lives!"
His baritone voice was sending a headache to Damian's head.
When he tried to raise his right hand to coldly indicate to him to stop, he found nothing under his elbow.
He smiled dryly as he looked at the empty space of his amputated arm, then looked shyly at Paul.
Paul took a deep breath and said:
“Whatever it is, it is easier than death itself.”
“I see it that way too.”
He had barely uttered a few words when his throat hurt.
He pointed to the water, and Bolz handed him the waterskin he was carrying.
While Damian was clearing his throat, the doctor began explaining his condition:
“The bomb exploded next to him, and he was on the verge of death, but some passing refugees discovered him at the last moment and took him to the hospital.
He remained unconscious for a whole week.
As for his identity, they knew it thanks to the military chain hanging around his neck, but the military administration of the Estarica Army was unstable, so it took days to confirm his identity.”
During that time, they performed a surgery to remove a quarter of his liver and patched up all of his wounds.
Doctors tried to save his right arm, but there was no hope, so they had to amputate it.
Damian asked with a straight face:
“I take it from this that my life is no longer in immediate danger?”
The doctor replied with a hesitant face:
“If the wounds don't get worse, you'll probably be fine.
But, truth be told, your body could collapse at any moment.”
Damian said with a weak smile:
“As long as I live, things will be dealt with later.”
Paul covered his face with his palm, shaking his head.
Then Damian asked:
“Are there other disabilities besides the right hand?”
The doctor said:
“You've lost a quarter of your liver, so be careful not to drink too much.”
Drinking was not his habit, never mind.
However, the loss of his right hand was a bitter blow, and yet it was a source of salvation.
Paul said:
“Man!
Do you know how gloomy the countenance of your companions was?
They were about to form teams to search for you, and I succeeded in calming them down only with difficulty.
Now that they know of your survival, their tears are undoubtedly flowing.”
Damian gave a short laugh.
He felt sorry for burdening his comrades, but he was helpless.
Then he remembered and said:
“Didn’t Sergeant Nicole tell you what you told her to do?”
Paul raised his eyebrows and said:
"A will?
I didn't receive anything."
Damian said between his teeth:
“I asked for reinforcements, but you ignored my call as if I had not spoken.
They heard this saying about me: (Feel at ease now, you vile bastard).”
He added:
“That was my calling.”
There was silence, as Paul had no excuse to make, then he said after a sigh:
“They preceded us, bombing our runway before we moved.
Perhaps our plan was revealed.”
"Ah, yes."
His short answer was somewhat sarcastic.
He looked at his amputated arm with a strange look, and said:
“It looks like I won't be able to hold the gun for a while.”
Paul replied sadly:
"And you won't be able to return to your unit either."
Damian said:
“Then allow me to discharge, First Lieutenant.”
Paul nodded seriously, saying:
"You have been authorized to be discharged."
When his condition stabilized, Damien was transferred from the civil hospital to the military hospital to continue his treatment.
When he gradually got used to the loss of his arm, and was able to go out for therapy sessions, Paul visited him again.
He had with him his discharge certificate, some of his luggage from the camp, and a train ticket to Estarica.
Damian kept staring at the discharge certificate.
His departure from the army seemed to him heavier than the loss of his arm.
While he was immersed in this, Paul took out other papers and said:
“You will receive a fixed pension.
Take these papers to write down the bank account and correspondence address.”
Damian slowly raised his head and said:
“But… I have no home to return to.”
"What?"
“I joined the army as soon as I left the school dormitory.
I am now a man, so I cannot go back to the orphanage.”
Paul said, scratching his temples:
“Temporarily write down the address of the Jessica’s mansion.”
Damian frowned sternly, and categorically refused to have anything to do with Marquis Jessica.
Paul merely smiled bitterly.
Damien said:
“Can I provide the address later?
I have some money, and when I get to Estarica I will rent a room in a shared house.”
"Yes, do that."
They gave him a pen to sign, but he muttered:
“I am right-handed...”
Paul realized too late what he meant.
Damian tried to sign with his trembling left hand, and his handwriting looked like a child's handwriting.
He muttered:
“How distressing my heart is to lose my right hand.”
Then Paul wrote something on a piece of paper and handed it to him.
It was titled Manufacturer of Artificial Limbs.
He said:
“He is the most skilled at making hands and legs.
He connects the nerves of the torso to a precise machine so that it moves as if it were a real hand.
It is true that it is expensive, but it is useful.”
Damian replied:
"Yes…"
Then he carefully folded the paper and put it in his wallet.
After completing all the papers, Paul extended his hand and said:
“Congratulations on your discharge...
Let’s meet in Estárica when the war ends.”
Damian didn't want to see the Jessicas again, but he didn't hate Paul.
He shook his hand, smiling, and said:
"That's fine."
Paul squeezed his hand and said:
“Do you have anything you want to do after discharge?”
Damian said:
“What I want to do... there is someone I want to meet.”
When he said it, a sparkle shone in his eyes that had not been seen in a long time.
He added:
"I should go meet him."
Her voice echoed in his mind when the bomb was about to kill him:
“May you escape in peace, and come to me.”
Damien remembered that at that time he did not want to die.
Not only was he no longer alive against his will, but he wanted life in order to find it.
------
With his character, he had the same face if he proposed to her before chapter 150