NOVEL NEXT Chapter 110
I threw away Samaela’s arm that was held in my right hand and let out a deep sigh.
It’s over.
Thump, thump—I could feel my heart pounding violently.
I couldn’t tell if it was my heartbeat or Stella’s, who was nestled in my arms.
“…Huh, hic… Huh… Gah, ugh…”
Sweat-covered breaths tickled my nape.
“E- Ellie… Elit, huh, Elia, rnes…”
“Are you okay?”
The expression on her face was one of complete confusion. But it was much better than the look of someone who seemed like they were about to die.
“I… Yeah. I’m okay. But you, you… what you just said… No, um… Are you alright?”
“Not yet.”
“…Not yet? What do you mean, Huh?!”
I shoved Stella, who was still clinging onto me, off and got up. My whole body felt sore. I was cold from all the blood pouring out of the holes in my body. Dizziness squeezed my head, and my vision was blurry.
Even so, my heart raced fiercely.
The door is still open.
Samaela has fled, and the labyrinth has disappeared, but my job is just beginning.
So I can’t collapse yet.
The longer I hold out, the greater the backlash will be… but it can’t be helped.
“Hah…”
I fished through the clothes I had cast aside and gulped down all the potions I had. Then, I slapped my head to regain my focus and staggered toward where Pina was.
“Muyeong.”
There stood Muyeong, already catching Pina as she fell from the air. I couldn’t see their expression, but they looked like they had a lot to say.
“Please keep what you saw today… Cough, Hah… please keep it a secret.”
As I said this while spewing a handful of blood, Muyeong flinched—twitch—and then looked at me, tilting their head.
“If you, and that Pina over there, and Stella… Hmph. If the three of you stay quiet, we can keep it a secret, right?”
After a moment of pondering my words, Muyeong gently set Pina down and approached me.
[There’s a lot I want to say and ask. But this isn’t a place for that.]
Then, they scratched something into the floor with their toes.
[First, come over here.]
“…Why?”
[If you don’t come, I will go to you.]
Why are they acting like this all of a sudden?
Furrowing my brows, I cautiously approached.
The moment I stood in front of Muyeong…
SLAP—an unavoidable snap on the head was incoming.
“Why the sudden—”
THWACK—!
“YOW?! Ugh…!”
YOW?! YAAAH?!
Damn, what kind of ridiculous scream did I just let out…?
Rubbing my aching forehead and pouting my lips, I glared at Muyeong.
“…Are you crazy?”
[How’s your body? Any pain? You have way too many injuries. Thankfully, it seems like the bleeding has stopped, but is there anything numb or any severed nerves?]
“The place you hit is the most painful.”
[What about other places?]
Other places…
They are absolutely covered in injuries.
It’s faster to look for a spot that doesn’t hurt.
The same goes for the injured areas.
The sensations throughout my body are blurred. Nerves? All severed.
Still, I can move around casually because I’m using mana to maneuver my body.
Of course, I have no intention of saying that.
Worrying about unnecessary things just delays matters.
So I have to keep looking as composed as possible.
“…As you can see, I’m fine. No internal injuries. The visible ones… can be healed with a good potion and some sleep. I’ve already had some, and you can see how I’m doing with your own eyes.”
To Muyeong’s gaze, I must look very lively right now.
And I should look that way.
Even now, my Blood Path remains wide open.
I’d look even healthier than before.
I might even be mistaken for having leveled up after this fight.
“Anyway, please keep what happened today a secret.”
My swollen forehead… seems like I’m getting a bump.
I rubbed the bump and spoke.
After staring at me for quite some time, Muyeong wrote something new.
[You definitely don’t seem to have internal injuries. In fact, it seems you’re healthier. Strange.]
[Even so, we can’t just bury today’s events.]
[That dark mage just fled. So for your protection, we need to inform Eustetia about what happened today.]
“I don’t think that’s necessary. I can handle most of the guys that come my way.”
Muyeong lifted their head and looked at me.
Even though it’s just a mask with empty eye sockets, I could somehow feel their expression.
Anger, worry, guilt, confusion, anguish.
I don’t know why they have those emotions, but I shrugged and peered at Pina, who was lying on the ground.
“Looks like even Muyeong didn’t know what kind of Beastman this one is.”
[Stop dodging the question and answer me.]
ZAP—Muyeong’s sharp glare pierced through me.
[Why do you want to hide this? Hiding this from your parents is a very bad thing.]
“Well, yeah… But if they find out, they’ll worry, right? Especially my mother, who can’t even come outside; she’d worry even more. So please keep it a secret.”
As Muyeong’s body flinched violently, just as they were about to write something on the ground, they swiftly scratched out letters with trembling fingers.
[Why do you call your father ‘Dad’ but call Lady Eustetia ‘Mother’?]
…?
Did I? Did I even call my father ‘Dad’?
I guess that’s likely…
Oh my god.
“…Why are you asking that all of a sudden?”
[If you answer this, I won’t inform the lord about today’s events.]
The handwriting became rough.
And just like before, the smell of blood wafted back into the air.
It wasn’t as intense this time, but it lingered.
This is probably Muyeong’s Ideation.
Just like Samaela exuded the stench of reptilian decay, Muyeong gives off the scent of blood.
When the Ideation becomes strong enough to surpass perception, it manifests like this.
Well, if one manages to pass a certain threshold, they can hide even that.
That aside…
“Why do you keep meddling in someone else’s family affairs…?”
Why do they keep poking their nose in?
[Eustetia and Muyeong are not strangers.]
[I, in a way, am like family.]
I furrowed my brow and glared back at Muyeong.
They gazed at me without the slightest intention of backing down.
I eventually sighed and opened my mouth.
If I spill this… it’s a cheap price to bury today’s events…
“Well…”
Then I paused, suddenly turning around.
Stella was crawling over and pulling on my clothes.
“Cover your ears for a second.”
“…What? Why?”
“Quickly.”
After staring at me, pouting her lips, Stella finally sighed and turned her back to plug her ears.
“Hey, you idiot.”
Silence fell.
“Filthy, useless mage.”
Silence fell.
“Only bathing once every four days, pissy—”
“YAAAH!! No! No, I didn’t pee!!”
“Make sure you’re covering your ears properly.”
“Ugh…! Why do I have to cover my ears?!”
“…It’s family business. You want to be included? Stella Eustetia… Huh, that doesn’t have a nice ring to it.”
“S-Stella Eustetia…? N-No, no, no! Family?! You, you… you and me?! Am I… crazy?!”
Blushing fiercely, Stella slowly sank down to the ground.
“Y-You mean… it’s mine…?”
Then she began mumbling incoherently.
“I told you to cover your ears.”
“Ugh… Alright, o-okay…”
With her face buried in her knees, Stella covered her ears with trembling hands. Her ears and nape turned bright red.
I wonder if she’s really covering them now.
I turned my gaze back to Muyeong. They were looking between me and Stella alternately.
Clearly… even though no expression is visible, they seem to have an almost shocked look.
What’s up with everyone today?
“Anyway, that… if I say it, you’ll keep it a secret, right? You promised.”
[If you tell the lord of Eustetia, I will give you Muyeong.]
“That’s not necessary… Umm, let’s see… If I call my parents ‘Mom’ and ‘Dad’, it feels like we’re crossing a line.”
[Crossing a line?]
“It feels like I’d start doing things not appropriate for my age.”
[What do you mean by that?]
“…Well, you know. Like throwing tantrums, making those childlike whiny sounds… stuff like that.”
Honestly, I did feel that way.
Since the point I started calling my father ‘Dad’, it felt like the wall in my heart broke down in a strange way.
And… I felt like I could develop some bad habits.
Because if I call him ‘Dad’, he’ll give me whatever I want.
It’s… like I’m becoming a spoiled brat.
The biggest problem, though, is that I didn’t realize it back then. Once I got into my room, washed up, and laid down… that’s when I figured it out.
Things I said during conversations with him… my actions… my voice… all of that.
And that’s just a bit… creepy.
Me, who looked like that man, Ronan Luzarack.
…Damn.
“Anyway, so… my mother is… uh, Muyeong, have you met our mother?”
[We are very close.]
“Then you know. My mother is a bit… Ahaha… it’s weird saying it with my own mouth, but she’s a bit dignified and elegant, right? So, I’m worried that she might dislike it if I do those kinds of things. Because, well… having her affection feels good.”
Right then, Muyeong bounced up from their spot.
They nodded vigorously, so much that their mask almost shook, before picking up Pina, who was lying next to them.
“Wait a second.”
I called out to Muyeong and reached out.
Then, with their other hand, they gently pulled me into an embrace.
Uh, what… this feels oddly comfortable, familiar, soothing… no, no, no. What kind of insane thing is this?
“…Wh-What!”
I pushed Muyeong away with all my strength and glared at them.
“What are you doing all of a sudden?”
Muyeong tilted their head.
“I’m not asking to be cuddled; I’m asking for Pina.”
They tilted their head again.
“I have something I need to say to Pina. Muyeong, can you take Stella and go?”
I lightly tapped Stella, who was still covering her ears. Startled, she flinched and slowly lifted her head.
Her already flushed face had turned even redder.
“…Is it over?”
“Stay with this person. I’ll follow you shortly.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll go with Pina.”
“Then we could all just go together.”
“I have something to discuss with Pina.”
“And me?”
“Why do you care?”
“I mean, don’t I get to talk to you?”
“Not really.”
With a GASP, Stella’s mouth gaped wide open.
“You, you… you, Eliaernes, have heard my story, right?”
“Uh, yeah. I have.”
“Are you… not going to say anything about it?”
…Was I supposed to have a conversation about it?
Since Stella seemed to want to hide that, I didn’t want to bring it up.
But well, if she’s initiating it, I won’t stop her.
I held Stella’s hand, which was still on the ground, and stood her up. She still wobbled, so I firmly held onto her waist and said.
“Let’s talk about that tomorrow night.”
“…Tomorrow night?”
“Yeah. Come to my room. Make sure you wash up nicely.”
“W-Wash…? Why…?”
Stella’s eyes started to swirl in circles.
Her tightly clasped hands twitched, and I could feel the heartbeat that wasn’t even touching me.
Thump, thump.
That must have been Stella’s heartbeat earlier.
“Are you not going to wash? You look like a beggar.”
“Ugh, wash… wash…”
“Right. So I’ll send you a message tomorrow night; come to my room. For now, you need to… rest a bit.”
I gently patted Stella’s back, who still seemed shaken.
And then, Muyeong…
Swipe—scratch—with their toes, wrote something on the ground.
[As the Nameless Captain, it seems we need to have a talk about today’s events.]
“I was planning to do just that. So, Muyeong… let’s meet the day after tomorrow.”
[I’ll come to the Academy. Quietly, as much as I can.]
“Sounds good.”
As a final note, Muyeong handed me a glass vial. It was a top-grade potion.
Not just any typical top-grade potion.
The emblem of the Pranecia Holy Kingdom was engraved on the cap.
This is a potion that was blessed by the Grand Bishop of Pranecia.
Stella’s eyes widened at the sight of it.
And rightly so. It probably costs the same as an entire house.
I tucked it safely into my pocket and chuckled.
With just this one vial, all the wounds on my body will be fully healed.
“I’ll take good care of this.”
*
After Muyeong left with Stella’s presence completely absent for a while…
Blink, blink.
Pina regained her senses.
“Did you wake up?”
Blink, blink. She seemed not to grasp the situation, looking up at me with her big, doe-like eyes.
I pinched her cheek a bit harder.
“If you recklessly follow a stranger, this is what happens, you hear?”
A tear welled up in Pina’s large eyes. Then, with trembling hands, she slowly reached out to stroke my face.
As her touch brushed over me, the spirit’s strength… the Light Spirit’s power flooded into me.
Did it ease the pain a little? Unfortunately, the injuries remain unhealed. They’re injuries that such a faint light cannot mend.
“You don’t have time to cry. If you’ve come to your senses, get up. We’re going to be busy from now on.”
Pina tilted her head in confusion.
Both Muyeong and Pina…
Well, Pina is beyond saving, but regardless…
Today feels like it’s full of people who don’t talk much, but I’m having many discussions.
Yet, it’s funny how communication seems to flow so well.
Snicker-snicker—I pointed toward the enormous stone door visible in the distance and said.
“Let’s go treasure hunting.”