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Chapter 187

Startled by Nea’s voice heard from somewhere, Yeon-woo turned his head. Though they were at a distance, it was close enough to recognize who was who, as she trudged over.

Shar and Tae-oh were walking beside her, shoulders raised like proud older brothers, and it was cutely amusing.

However, that warm feeling didn’t last long. It wasn’t because Alkeinea had one of her arms stretched about 1.5 times longer than normal.

…?

Why is her arm long? What happened? Yeon-woo thought as he shielded his eyes from the sunlight, squinting to see better.

Is she injured? Watching Nea’s hand closely, his worry dissipated as it turned out she was simply holding a severed arm.

“Phew, thank goodness…?”

As Yeon-woo let out a sigh of relief, he soon noticed something strange.

Why is Nea holding a human arm? Both Tae-oh and Shar, as well as Yuri and Noel who were slowly coming up from behind, seemed perfectly fine. So whose arm is that supposed to be?

As he stood there seriously pondering with his chin in hand, a conclusion flashed through Yeon-woo’s mind.

“…Is it mine?”

If that arm truly belonged to him, all the questions would make sense now. The reason Nea and the kids looked so angry, and where Nea found someone’s arm, all connected. It must have flown off when the Marzong’s body exploded…

“Oh crap, this is bad!”

When was the last time he was told to take care of his body? Not to mention, trying to explain, “I cut off my arm for a reason because I have regeneration!” wouldn’t work at all.

Before long, as Nea came close enough to see her features clearly, Yeon-woo abruptly turned his body and bent down, ready to perform a grand bow.

“I’m sorry!!”

Just as Nea opened her mouth to say something while glancing at the manly display of humility, Yeon-woo realized his vision was spinning.

Classic symptom of mana depletion! He hurriedly tried to gather his elemental mana. This instinctive decision came so fast.

But soon, Yeon-woo regretted that decision.

Pain shot through his right arm. The blackened arm vanished, revealing his original arm beneath. It fell to shreds like rags, with bone slowly beginning to reconstruct around the elbow area.

“Ah.”

As the faint scent of blood spread, Nea dropped the arm and staggered.

– You’re quite the reckless one, aren’t you?

With the divine’s mocking laughter echoing in his head, Yeon-woo rushed to support Nea.

*

With her mouth shut tight, Nea led Yeon-woo by the hand wherever she deemed fit.

Though his arm was slowly regenerating, he hid it within his cloak after a quick patch-up, fearing that rumors would spread that he appeared in the Department Head’s Office missing an arm.

Eventually, they reached the obvious destination: the infirmary. Na Yang-ho mumbled, “Shar has grown a lot…?” as Nea barged in, but she seemed unfazed as she tugged Yeon-woo’s right arm to show her.

“Yeon-woo, it’s you again…? This is serious! Over here!”

Na Yang-ho, startled, lifted Yeon-woo and tossed him onto the bed as if she were throwing him. The immense strength made both Yeon-woo and Nea gasp.

Afterwards, it was a familiar scene of treatment preparations. As Yeon-woo thought it was finally over, he laid back comfortably, closing his eyes. When he opened them again…

‘I guess I’m in for a lecture….’

But how grateful it was that she would treat him before the lecturing!

……

“Ugh.”

He’d fallen into a deep sleep. Rushing to wipe the drool from his mouth with his right arm, he found that while it hadn’t completely regenerated yet, it had taken some form.

“Right, so you worried everyone and then went off to sleep, huh?”

“I-I’m sorry, Nea. There was a reason! But that probably won’t ease your mind, will it?”

“Let’s keep the obvious remarks to a minimum. Have you even thought about how I might feel if a guy confesses on the first meeting only to be found half-dead by that evening?”

“I have no words…”

“Regardless of how strong you are, or what thoughts you had, you need to consider how people will feel when they see you come back as a rag. You could’ve at least warned me. Why didn’t you do even that simple thing to prevent me and the kids from worrying?”

He truly had no words. Because Yeon-woo never anticipated that something like this would happen. Before he regressed, he hadn’t even come into contact with the malady known as the Demon God’s Fever, so it was past his mind entirely.

“Whatever the reason, I found out about that after you fainted. Sure, you won’t just cut off your arm without a reason. You wouldn’t dare ask me to protect your privacy now, would you?”

“Of course not! Thank you. You did well.”

With those final words, an awkward silence fell between the two. Na Yang-ho, having overheard their conversation while attempting to appear nonchalant at Nea’s back, had her mouth covered and her eyes darting around like one who witnessed a celebrity’s secret date.

Reading Na Yang-ho’s gaze, Yeon-woo hastily drew a shield around them. In that moment, a single tear slipped down Nea’s cheek like a glass bead.

Caught off guard by the sight, Yeon-woo could only freeze. He had never seen her cry in front of him.

Though he vaguely heard faint sobs while they were at Rare, he had never witnessed such a direct display of tears.

“Nea, please, don’t cry. It was my fault. I’m really sorry. I’ll be more careful next time.”

Forgetting that his right hand hurt, Yeon-woo fumbled to comfort Nea, flailing his limbs.

He couldn’t even think of hugging Nea. There was a momentary urge to embrace her, but knowing that she didn’t have feelings for him yet held him back.

Even being so close felt like a distant reality. The fact that they shared different feelings was painfully frustrating. He wanted to reach out and wipe away her tears.

Like when they first met, he wanted to prove that her tears weren’t treasures, that they tasted salty when they fell into his mouth, and that they were genuine tears of sadness.

“…You really are a foolish one, even though it must hurt…”

Alkeinea, who was pulling Yeon-woo’s right hand, rested her forehead against the back of his hand. Yeon-woo’s face flushed in surprise as he could only gently pat her back with his left hand.

*

At first, she was angry. She thought, what did he think of his own life? What would happen to Shar and Tae-oh if he died like this?

Even if she managed to keep both children under her care, the grief of losing a father whom they shared so many years with was something she couldn’t help them with.

Yet at the same time, there was a sense of poignancy. She knew what kind of life this man had lived, having seen it through Shar’s memories.

An awakened one without mana. A child who twisted his talentless body to sacrifice himself for the orphanage.

Pure self-sacrifice without the coercion of anyone. Nea could understand it. It was no different than how she had come to retrieve Shar.

If Shar was the line Nea couldn’t cross, for that man, it was his family and humanity.

‘Such traits must be ingrained in him.’

It was an unbearable story. Another Alkeinea would think the same. He was pitiable, yet also deserving of respect.

It was like living with extreme self-restraint. The habit of suppressing all desires to focus solely on one goal could only be explained by such an existence.

So, tears began to flow. He was living a life no one could understand, and this man was resurrecting it for the second time.

Not to mention, he probably wouldn’t even understand his own life. He would continue to face challenges moving forward.

She had no confidence that she could handle such a life. Nevertheless, Nea stammered out words through her tears. It was inevitable. Floods cannot be stopped just because one wants to stop them. How could she resist the waves that would break the dam?

“I wish you could start from the beginning. I want to see the path you take with my own eyes.”

“…Huh?”

“Let’s start from being lovers, not a married couple. Because that’s what I want.”

Raising her head, she didn’t care whether the tears flowing down her cheeks would enter her mouth. At this moment, she wanted to smile. She never imagined she could be this reckless. Yesterday, she had drawn a line saying they were neither married nor anything else; where did that girl go?

But still, you’re being cowardly.

More than the sunlight beaming down from the heavens, more than the warm wind wrapping around her.

More than the delicious ramen just freshly brewed, or even the stew she had cooked with care after studying through videos.

More than the sun-heated pavement, more than the glances of people walking down the street.

For a brief moment, more than anything she had experienced in this world, the warmth of Yeon-woo’s gaze had sunk into her heart.

Absurdly, ever since their first meeting, she realized she could no longer live without that warmth.

“So, hold me. Just like you want to…”

The boy didn’t hesitate.

*

‘Should I intervene?’

Even though there were beds in the infirmary, it was a place for treatment, not a breeding ground for families…

Thinking of the two lovebirds behind the screen acting as if they were the only ones in the infirmary, Na Yang-ho sipped from her coffee mug.

‘…But they wouldn’t start building a history, right?’

With those generational-gap-inducing thoughts swirling in her head, Na Yang-ho quietly opened the infirmary door and stepped out.

And just like when she had offered a massage to Yoo-min last time, she hoped whatever was happening could stay contained without making any noise.

Gently closing the door behind her, Na Yang-ho leaned against the wall.

“Regeneration, huh….”

It was nothing short of an astonishing phenomenon. No matter how much she looked into it, the divine power felt weak. How could such a body regenerate to that extent? Initially, she thought it was divine art, but it didn’t seem like that either.

Just a bit of divine power supplied was enough to cause the body to grow from the cross-section. No matter how much of a saint she was considered, no high-level divine technique could achieve such a feat.

“…I wonder if it can heal already healed wounds if the timing is missed.”

It would simply result in re-cutting a scar that had already healed, but Na Yang-ho couldn’t even begin to imagine how many people would happily undergo such a treatment.

As if interrupting her thoughts, a muffled sound broke out from inside the infirmary, resembling a passionate kiss.

Thank goodness she sent Shar and Tae-oh to eat; otherwise, what would they have done?

“…My side feels cold.”

The coffee tasted bitter today.

(To be continued in the next installment)

 

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