CH 26

Chapter 26

No Longer Busy

Sun Yihan:

After calming down, Raen relit the lights in the room–apparently, his magic had become unstable momentarily because he was distracted. As he spoke, I looked up at his face; his cheeks were flushed red.

Mmm–This isn’t really anything to be embarrassed about, though.

I had once heard from Min Joo-hyuk that Raen was considered a genius. He had a large natural mana pool, and he never missed being the top of his year even if he never tried to climb the academic rankings. Apparently, everyone in the Academy knew of him.

Staring blatantly at me, Raen looked as if he suddenly remembered something and vanished. Soon afterwards, he reappeared; his hands were carrying a small bowl. “If you’re feeling okay, please eat a little. Don’t overdo it, though.”

He said that Park Yul had made thin rice porridge every day, waiting for me to wake. I hadn’t had the Hero’s cooking in a long while, so the porridge tasted especially warm and delicious.

Raen checked my physical condition several times. Even though I had said I was alright, I was still being questioned. Wasn’t Raen sleepy at all? Min Joo-hyuk had immediately fallen asleep as soon as he was healed.

“Raen Hyung. Aren’t you tired?”

“Yihan, are you sleepy? Do you want to go to bed?”

“…No, I’m not talking about myself. I was wondering if you were exhausted.”

“Ah–I don’t usually sleep much anyway.”

More than once, Raen descended to the canteen late for lunch. Wasn’t that because he overslept?

Well–if that’s what he claims, then there’s no need for me to dig further. I opened my mouth, “Hyung, is Ha-gyeon Hyung in the laboratory right now?”

I should slowly find and treat both Song Ha-gyeon and Park Yul. Since the laboratory was close to us, I thought I should go to Song Ha-gyeon first.

Long ago–around the time I suffered from the nausea penalty–Song Ha-gyeon informed me where the laboratory was located.

– Sun Yihan. If your body isn’t feeling well, come on down… Anytime.

Of course, since I was never unwell, I’ve never found the need to go there.

“Ha-gyeon-ie is at the lab. Are you planning to go there?”

“Yes. I know where it is–I can go alone.”

“Mmm… Understood. Then, I’ll speak with Leader Hyung before returning to my room.” Raen magically organized the scattered papers on the floor and opened the door. The hallway was dark, and I exited slowly. Raen walked next to me.

Wait a minute–

“Raen Hyung, I thought you were going someplace else?”

“……” Raen met my gaze wordlessly. Then, he burst into chuckles; he gently mussed my hair. I could feel his light touch.

“…I’ll go for real, now.” Raen flicked his finger. A fist-sized sphere manifested in midair and floated around me. A faint light spread from the snowball-like white sphere. Though it wasn’t very bright, the sphere generated enough light for me to see ahead.

Unlike Song Ha-gyeon’s creations, this creation was circular. I suppose that meant that light magic could come in various shapes–how fascinating.

After sweeping his hand over my shoulder, Raen turned around and walked in the opposite direction down the corridor.

After watching his now distant back, I took another step down my own path. It was a short while, but walking down this hallway alone made me feel as if the atmosphere was colder. Perhaps winter was now beginning to settle in.

The laboratory was just around the corner. I knocked on the door and waited a short while. A voice from inside gave me permission to enter.

Creak–

I entered. Song Ha-gyeon, wearing a monocle, was in front of me; he held a pen in one hand and a thick file in the other.

Darkness had settled in this room just as it had in the hallway. White light spread faintly from the round crystal ball on the desk–the only light in the laboratory.

Song Ha-gyeon turned towards me; a glimmer of light highlighted his profile. Long, purple hair tied to one side came into view; those strands were the exact color of the dawn outside the window.

“Sun Yihan?” Unlike his quiet voice, his movements showed urgency as Song Ha-gyeon rushed up to me. A gentle scent of grass followed him.

Song Ha-gyeon swept back my hair; he leaned down and looked into my eyes. “…Does it hurt anywhere?”

I shook my head lightly at his slow voice. Song Ha-gyeon’s expression was calm, as usual, but his countenance was tinged with worry.

His cool hands touched my forehead. Suddenly, it occurred to me that Song Ha-gyeon was a person that resembled winter–a man as silent and still as a world covered by snow.

Nevertheless, I didn’t think the man was cold for no reason.

I wrapped my hands around Song Ha-gyeon’s wrist as if I were measuring his temperature. Before my eyes, the status window manifested, and I chose to heal him.

「This Healer Will Help!> Heal, Success!」

The blue light that had surrounded the other Warrior poured into me. At that moment, it looked as if Song Ha-gyeon’s eyes lost focus.

“Ha-gyeon Hyung?” I asked before hurriedly grabbing the staggering man. Like Min Joo-hyuk, Song Ha-gyeon appeared to be falling asleep after being healed due to fatigue.

He slowly blinked his blank, dull eyes. In the dimness of the room, those eyes looked as if they were sunken into his face.

“Ha-gyeon Hyung, are you tired?”

“…No. Thanks.” Song Ha-gyeon pressed firmly on the area below his monocle. Then, standing upright once more, he waved one hand. A large chair materialized in front of the desk.

“Sit.” Song Ha-gyeon placed a little strength in his hands as they wrapped around my shoulders and guided me into flopping onto the plush chair.

Song Ha-gyeon tapped at the crystal ball with the tip of his pen. The glow of white light spread wider within the room. I looked up at the Warrior, “Hyung, are you busy right now?”

If so, I didn’t want to get in his way. I thought about perhaps finding Park Yul in the greenhouse garden, but Song Ha-gyeon stared blatantly at me before saying, “I’m not busy anymore.”

His usual calm voice–his gaze stared straight and direct.

For some reason, I wanted to avoid that gaze; it felt as if he were denying that he was busy since I was by his side.

Of course, though, there’s no way that’s possible. I know that for a fact.

That was one of my flaws. When I lived in the temple, I never had the chance to speak for a long time with anyone except for my Master. So, I unreasonably considered even a small gaze as an invitation to come and interact.

That’s why it was so important to interact with people. Even now, I couldn’t interpret social situations well–my heart knew no moderation or decency. ‘How far can I go?’ and ‘How far are others willing to go for me?’ I still couldn’t judge correctly.

I was embarrassed to think about that, so I hurriedly changed the topic, “Ha-gyeon Hyung, I met Min Joo-hyuk upstairs.”

“Mhm. I also saw Min Joo-hyuk upstairs just recently.”

“Before I came to you, I met Raen Hyung as well.”

“Ah. Is that so…?” Song Ha-gyeon looked my way. The sphere of light floating in the air had dimmed significantly, as if it was no longer needed now that I had arrived safely.

When Song Ha-gyeon unfurled his hand and placed his palm underneath the light, the sphere gently sank. Song Ha-gyeon immediately rolled it onto the desk before tapping the crystal ball next to him. A bright map appeared before us.

The light reflected off of Song Ha-gyeon’s monocle. As he focused on the map, the Warrior slowly opened his mouth. “…An anomaly is occurring.”

He had explained that most demonic beasts retained their original forms. However, the situation was different in the location Raen and I had visited.

If it became certain that demonic beasts could seep into different locations or beings, then there would be limits to detecting them with Raen’s magic, as they have been doing until now.

“…Though, I’ll need to look into it more to know for sure.” If their hypothesis was true, then they had to look back on previously diffused dangerous areas, one by one.

Song Ha-gyeon’s long fingers touched a part of the map–a red X marked that spot.

I once saw Song Ha-gyeon acting similarly in a ‘foreseen future’ vision–though, this wasn’t exactly the same situation.

It wasn’t particularly pleasant to see the future I saw actually coming to pass. Rather, it was incredibly uncomfortable and made me feel as if the future was set.

How was it possible to see the future in the first place, anyway? If the future is something that could be changed, could I really claim that I had seen the future?

I didn’t know. Goosebumps ran up my spine when I suddenly recalled Raen; I trembled slightly.

Even if I could stop the future from happening, I had no desire to see any of the Warriors hurt. I tore my gaze off the map and the clear red mark. I turned to Song Ha-gyeon.

“…Sun Yihan,” The Warrior said.

My eyes met his straight away; since when had he been looking at me?

“Are you cold right now?”

His slowly spoken question was out of the blue. I wasn’t particularly cold or hot, so I shook my head.

Song Ha-gyeon looked at me wordlessly; he summoned a large pillow and blanket from the air. The Warrior grabbed them and covered me with the blanket, swaddling it around me. The pillow that he placed in my arms was soft and plush.

‘But, didn’t I just say I wasn’t cold?’

I seriously wondered whether or not, at this point, Song Ha-gyeon had any intention of listening to me.

However, since the blanket was warm, I decided to forget about it. I leaned back, pressing my spine into the back of the chair.

The scene was peaceful. The warm tea Song Ha-gyeon gave me was a bit bitter to the taste, but my heart felt at peace after drinking it.

I was sipping at the tea vacantly when I heard a knock on the door.

“Enter.”

When Song Ha-gyeon spoke, the door burst open. Raen, who rushed in, stood up straight.

“Ha-gyeon, do you know where Leader Hyung is?” His voice sounded urgent.

Shaking his head, Song Ha-gyeon adopted a similarly grave expression.

“It’s dangerous if he went alone…” Raen added in an uneasy tone before chewing incessantly at his lips.

“Did you go to the basement?”

Raen opened his mouth as if he were about to answer before suddenly turning his head. “Teleport,” Raen muttered before looking this way again. His golden eyes seemed to shine.

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Darkness crept away, subsiding gradually in the sky outside the window; the bright light of day pushed in, little by little.

Raen continued in a clear voice, “It’s Leader Hyung’s mana.”

I quickly followed the red-haired Warrior when he stormed out of the room.

◇~◇~◇~◇~◇~◇

A morning like dawn. The blue light of morning–the light that appeared just before the sun rose–poured into the large hall on the first floor.

I saw a person walking slowly to us from a distance; golden hair fluttered gently in the breeze.

“Leader Hyung!” Raen shouted.

Park Yul looked our way instantly once he heard that call; then, in an instant, he approached us. The cold outside air blew in; the faint scent of flowers hovered within that blast of air.

Park Yul nodded once at Raen and Song Ha-gyeon, as if to reassure them, before facing me. “Yihan-ah, I see you’ve woken up.”

A soft voice. The Chosen Hero crinkled his eyes in a light smile. There was a small scratch just below his eye, and a drop of blood flowed languidly from the wound.

As if he were confirming my presence, Park Yul cupped my cheek with one hand.