Annapurna 

One of the program avatars revived by humanity. She affectionately refers to the humans who revived her as “Masters.”

Originally, she was a priestess-type avatar working at a sightseeing area, but she was upgraded during her revival and reborn as a therapeutic program avatar.

During the upgrade, she was fused with a newly developed flight unit created by humanity, granting her the ability to fly; however, this caused her original healing abilities to diminish.

She remains unaware of this fact as she goes about her duties.

Until now, there had been no avatars compatible with flight units, making it impossible to perform emergency medical responses utilizing them.

As a result, she finds herself shouldering the weight of everyone’s expectations on her small frame.

I have wings on my back. Apparently, they are extremely valuable parts created at the research institute where I was revived.

Thanks to these wings, I can now fly freely through the sky.

“Annapurna, are the flight units ready?”

“Yes, Master!”

My mission now is to quickly heal people whose lives are in danger due to injury or illness.

I must use these wings to save lives as fast as possible. However…

“I hate to say this, but if you don’t start showing results, your position will be in jeopardy.”

“…Yes, I will be on my way then.”

Right now, I’m not much help to anyone…

In the past, I had the power to save people standing on the brink of death. But since I was revived in this era, I haven’t been able to use my powers, and in the face of the seriously injured who occasionally appear, I’ve become a helpless presence.

“I have to do my best this time…”

Muttering that to myself, I take flight.

“I couldn’t heal them completely again…”

Having failed my last mission, I started getting harassed by my teammates.

“You can’t even heal serious wounds.”

“You’re useless!” “Good-for-nothing!”

Backbiting, insults, and being ignored. It made me feel awful, but since I knew it was my fault, I couldn’t say a word.

“U-um, when will our next mission be?”

“…I told you I’d get back to you.”

“But!”

“Enough! Just shut up and stand by!”

“…Yes, I’m sorry.

I know I’m not strong enough.

“…Yeah, I’m fine. I can still keep going.”

If I deliver results on the next mission, everyone will understand. All I can do is give it my all. With that firmly in mind, I started walking.

One day, I made a mistake while flying and caused a crash.

Fortunately, the damage to the surrounding area was minor, but the flight unit on my back was severely damaged.

As a result, my flight capabilities were reduced, and I could only stay airborne for a few dozen seconds.

It was a few days after the accident that I received a cruel verdict.

“I will be… exiled?”

“That’s right.”

“It’s true, I can’t fly properly anymore. But from now on, I will find another way…!”

“I have no expectations for someone like you who can’t fly properly. Get out of here immediately.”

“But…”

No matter how much I protested, the decision stood, and before long, I was expelled from the research facility.

“…”

Alone, I turned my back on the research facility and began walking away. I couldn’t bring myself to think about what to do next or where to go.

Why am I even here?

Until now, I had a mission. Sure, I didn’t achieve much, but as long as I was carrying out that mission, I was allowed to be myself.

…But now, I have no meaning or reason to exist.

The same goes for these wings on my back. For me, who has lost my purpose, these wings are worthless. They have no reason to exist. My entire being was for my Masters…

“…I see. I was dependent on them.”

I kept seeking my reason for living in them, and now that I lost them, I became empty. That’s exactly the situation I’m in now.

But if I don’t depend on people, if I don’t cling to them, I can’t survive. That’s the only way I know how to live.

“I wish they’d just scrapped me…”

I continue to wander through the darkness where I can see nothing.

Just how far have I walked? Day and night have repeated themselves countless times, and the scenery before my eyes keeps changing one after another.

Since my body could convert pseudo-electrons in the atmosphere into energy, for better or worse, I never suffered a system shutdown.

“…”

I kept walking across this unfamiliar land, aimlessly and without any will of my own.

Amidst this, my search radar picked up a signal.

“…Is this signal… a human?”

I found a human after a long time… my heart raced.

But I realized that this fluttering was simply joy at having found a new potential source of dependence. Filled with self-loathing, I headed toward the forest where the signal originated.

There, I found a boy who looked far too young.

In the dense forest, I found a boy crying alone. For a moment, I hesitated to speak to him, but maybe because I got too close, he noticed me.

“…Sniff… sniff… Big sis, who are you?”

“Um…”

I simply introduced myself to him. He listened intently while crying.

“What’s your name?”

“…Sniff… Elto…”

“Elto, why are you here?”

“I lost… sniff… my way home…”

It seemed that while he was playing in the forest, he’d wandered too far from his village and gotten lost.

“…Well then, I’ll help you find it.”

“…Really?”

Seeing myself reflected in this boy who’d lost his way home, I decided to help him find his house.

I decided to search for the village where the boy named Elto lived. Along the way, I healed a scrape on his leg after he fell, but that decision led to a bit of a troublesome situation.

“So you’re a god, Big sis!”

“Huh!?”

After seeing me heal his wound, Elto started calling me “a god.”

Apparently, there’s a legend in his village about a winged god who heals people, and that’s why he’s convinced himself I’m a god.

But I’m not that kind of noble being…

Before long, we arrived at the village where Elto lived. The villagers seemed to have been looking for him, and they were incredibly grateful that I’d brought him back.

“Thank you, God!”

“Hahaha, she really does look just like the god from the legend!”

The adults around us smiled at Elto’s innocent words.

…No, that’s not it. I’m not like that. I… I’m not a god at all.

I’ve lived my life for others until now. …But actually, I was just depending on them.

A being who can’t be of any use to others, who can do nothing but cling to them.

An ugly being like this would be better off disappearing. That’s for everyone’s sake. I’m sure of it.

“What’s wrong? You’re spacing out.”

A middle-aged woman from the village spoke to me as I stood there, lost in self-loathing.

“Ah… um… well…”

“What is it? Are you the type who doesn’t like being the center of attention? You’re quite the shy little god, aren’t you?”

As she said this and cheerfully laughed, the people around her began to laugh along with her. It was then…

“Everyone! It’s an emergency!”

Shouting at the top of his lungs, a young man came running toward us. Just by looking at his expression, I could tell something serious was happening.

“Ga-Gazetto fell off the cliff!”

Unlike the villagers, who were momentarily silent, I couldn’t immediately process the name of this stranger. But…

“Dad…?”

Hearing Elto’s whisper, I was speechless.

I was standing on top of a cliff with the villagers. Below us, a man named Gazetto lay unconscious on the ground.

When I spoke with the young man who had been with him, it seemed Gazetto had slipped and fallen while searching for his son, Elto.

“We have to save him quickly, or he’ll die!”

“But it’ll take too long to climb down the cliff.”

We all discussed ways to save Gazetto, but no good ideas came to mind.

I might be able to fly down to him and heal him. But if they asked me if I could definitely save him, I wouldn’t be confident. If I failed… I’d end up…

“God, please save my dad…”

I startled and turned toward the voice. There stood Elto, staring at me with a face on the verge of tears.

“Please… God, save my dad…”

“…Okay. Just wait a moment.”

Whispering that to Elto, I leaped off the cliff. The crowd screamed at my actions, but I ignored them and spread my wings in midair.

Reaching Gazetto in just a few seconds, I scanned his body. He had many minor injuries, but none were serious.

The real problem was the damage to his brain. If left as is, his life would soon come to an end.

“But this time, I will save him…!”

I used all my power to heal him.

Eventually, with his condition stabilized, Gazetto slowly opened his eyes and looked at me.

“You will be all right now. Elto is safe, too.”

“Th… thank… you…”

His words were gentle and warm.

That incident served as the catalyst for me to regain my former healing abilities.

I don’t know why I was able to regain my powers, especially since I’d lost the ability to fly due to damage to my flight unit and had been driven from my home, but if there is a “God” in this world, perhaps it was thanks to that “God.”

And so, my healing abilities were valued, and I ended up staying in this village. This was thanks to Gazetto, who, recognizing me as his benefactor, introduced me as its leader.

“Gazetto, thank you so much.”

“That’s what I should be saying. You’ve taken such good care of me, and Elto would be lonely if you were gone.”

Gazetto smiled, looking a little embarrassed.

Since then, I’ve taken on a role similar to that of a doctor in this village, and every day, I work to save people’s lives.

“Ah! Anna!”

“Good morning, Elto. Are you going outside to play again today?”

“Yeah!”

“Don’t go anywhere dangerous and get hurt, okay?”

“I’ll be fine!”

I watch Elto leave with a smile. Even if he gets hurt, I can just heal him. After all, I have the power.