EP.24
A strange ceiling.
“…..”
As soon as Jin opened his eyes, the first thought that crossed his mind was how painfully sore his body felt.
The pain was so intense that as soon as he tried to lift his body slightly, he felt a stabbing pain that made it seem like his waist would break.
Well, considering how his body had turned into a ragged mess at the last moment, it was hardly surprising that he was in such a state.
Looking out the window, he realized it was already pitch dark outside. He had no idea where he was or how long he had been unconscious.
…By the way, did something really happen to my waist? Wouldn’t it be better if one of my limbs got blown off instead? If there’s something wrong with my waist, that would be a serious problem, wouldn’t it?
– Judging by that foolish thought right after waking up, it seems he’s still alright.
“Oh, you scared me!”
Startled by a sudden voice from somewhere, Jin jumped. It was none other than Erekaya in his head.
– This is the infirmary located within Nineveh, and about 8 hours have passed since you lost consciousness. You should consider yourself lucky to still be alive after pulling such a reckless stunt.
As Erekaya chuckled while replying, Jin responded in confusion.
“Infirmary? Not the Health Room?”
– Your injuries were too severe for the Health Room to heal. The healers and priests were sweating profusely trying to treat your injuries. So, think of it as a blessing that you didn’t lose one of your limbs after pulling such a foolish stunt.
“Hmm….”
Scratching the back of his head at Erekaya’s words, Jin continued.
“By the way, has it really only been 8 hours? I expected it to be much longer.”
– …Only 8 hours? Only 8 hours?
Even though he hadn’t used his full power, he had activated Exceed, so he thought he would be bedridden for at least a week.
However, Erekaya seemed genuinely upset and raised her voice.
– Do you even have any sense? You were unconscious for over 8 hours! The depth of your injuries was so severe that even the healers couldn’t guarantee when you’d wake up!
“Why are you shouting…?”
– Wasn’t all of this caused by your attempt to save Altina von Rudel Seryas? Despite everything, she was still an aura user. Even if you were injured, would you really lose your life to some mere ogre?
“But it could have resulted in serious injuries, even if I didn’t die.”
– And was it the right choice to let your body become such a ragged mess in exchange for that?
“…..”
– Sigh… Alright, let’s skip this topic for now. By the way, what was that thing you used earlier?
“That? What do you mean?”
– Don’t play dumb. I know for a fact that your frail body didn’t have the potential to kill an ogre. Yet you suddenly closed the distance to Altina von Rudel Seryas and, on top of that, managed to unleash enough power to obliterate an ogre.
– I pride myself on having considerable knowledge, but I’ve never heard of an ordinary person surpassing an aura user, even for a moment.
– So I’ll ask you. What was that you exhibited in the last moment? Was it something dangerous for you?
At Erekaya’s question, Jin chuckled softly.
“It wouldn’t be quite accurate to call it dangerous. It’s just that… with this fragile body of mine, I ended up using it, and my body couldn’t handle the backlash.”
In truth, that was a lie. What he had just used, Exceed, was indeed a very dangerous kind of power to him.
Even ten years later, when his body was trained through endless hardships, using Exceed still put immense strain on him.
To have used it in the state of his untrained body from the beginning of his regression, it was no wonder his body had turned into a wreck.
…Nevertheless, Jin had no regrets about using Exceed. If he hadn’t used it, Altina might not have died, but she could have been seriously injured.
No, the technique called Exceed was created precisely with such situations in mind.
In a moment of dire need for power, rather than passively wallowing in despair,
There are tasks that must be accomplished, even if it means sacrificing one’s life in exchange.
No matter how much Jin may repeat the same time and live his life anew, as a human being, there are undeniably certain things he cannot concede.
– You’re telling the same obvious lie. But even if I nag you until my mouth runs dry, nothing will change. You are not the type who can change just because of a few admonitions.
Thus, Erekaya merely spat out words that were a mix of resignation and acknowledgment.
…Is this permission? So, does that mean I should just do as I please, since you don’t have a clue? Right?
– Setting that aside, it’s about time you wake up that girl sleeping next to you. I’m starting to get tired of seeing her act as if this were her own bedroom.
“…Girl? What do you mean—”
As Jin furrowed his brow and glanced beside him at Erekaya’s words.
“Huh?”
Indeed, there was someone there. A young woman was dozing while leaning against the bed where Jin lay, as if she had been taking care of him all along.
“What was her name again…? What was it?”
– Claire Delphin Mascarena. The daft member of the House of Mascarena who played a significant role in your current state of unconsciousness.
Erekaya’s tone was filled with sarcasm, unlike her usual self.
…But seriously, why is she acting like this? This isn’t typical behavior for Erekaya.
Jin sensed something was off, yet he refrained from asking Erekaya any foolish questions.
When a woman seems angry, it’s best to keep your mouth shut.
This was one of the truths Jin had learned over the past hundred years.
“Hey, hey. Wake up.”
“Ugh…”
Saying that, Jin lightly shook Claire’s shoulder—he figured slapping a girl awake would be a bit too much—but Claire showed no signs of waking up.
Either she was the type who wouldn’t wake up even if someone picked her up, or perhaps she was exhausted from taking care of him and had fainted into a deep sleep. It could be one of those two.
– There’s no need for fancy tactics. Just smack her head a bit to wake her up. If you don’t want to hit her head, then at least give her a light slap on the cheek.
“Please, just calm down…”
Fortunately, there was no need for Jin to slap Claire’s head or cheek as she suddenly woke up, rubbing her sleepy eyes.
“Ugh…?”
Once she woke up, Claire stared blankly at Jin for a while. Then, she suddenly seemed to snap to attention and exclaimed in surprise.
“You’re awake!”
Saying this, Claire hurriedly grabbed his hand with a tight hold. Tears were welling up in her eyes.
“Uh, uh.”
“I was really worried. I was so worried. Not only did someone get hurt because of the magic I used, but you also fell into a state of unconsciousness… Thank you. I’m really glad you’ve regained consciousness.”
Saying that, Claire brought her two hands, still holding Jin’s hand, to her chest.
Squish.
‘…Ahem.’
At that moment, Claire’s excessively ample assets made contact with Jin’s hand.
The softness was almost reminiscent of cotton candy; momentarily, he mistook it for something else.
He faced a tremendous conflict over whether or not to mention this to Claire, but in the end, Jin decided to keep his mouth shut.
No, it wasn’t even a decision—he simply couldn’t bring himself to speak.
The feel of her… was so warm and comforting that it had the power to sweep away all his impure thoughts and worries in an instant.
Honestly, what man would refuse such a well-set table?
– …You perverted bastard. All this time you’ve been jabbering about being a romantic, and yet during a moment like this, you live life however you please.
‘No, this is unavoidable. An irresistible force? A coerced action? Something like that.’
As Jin was fervently rationalizing his situation, Claire continued while gently stroking his hand.
“First of all, I want to apologize to you. In my desire to achieve good results in this practical class, I used too powerful a spell, which led to you getting hurt like this. No matter how many mouths I had, I couldn’t justify my actions; it’s entirely my fault. I’m truly sorry.”
With that, Claire bowed her head toward Jin repeatedly, much like a woodpecker.
“It’s fine. You didn’t do it on purpose.”
She hadn’t cast the spell intending to harm Jin; it was an accident, after all, and Jin had no intention of blowing this out of proportion.
Moreover, given that she had apparently been taking care of him while he was unconscious, he felt it might be better to forgive her just for that kindness…
– Anyway, when it comes to women, generosity just overflows.
‘That’s not it; really.’
However, contrary to Jin’s feelings, Claire seemed to have a different perspective.
“No, this is all my fault. If I had known you were that fragile, I should have been more cautious with my magic.”
“…Fragile? Me?”
Of course, it was true that he hadn’t trained even a little and was indeed weak, but why was she suddenly looking at him as if he were some delicate creature?
“Um, um. Actually, you’re the only one who was injured so severely during this practical session. The instructors mentioned that since you’ve only just recently entered Nineveh, you suffered more serious injuries due to this unexpected incident…”
“What?”
When Jin last checked, the instructors were rolling on the ground due to the aftershock of Coquitous’s spear, but it seemed they hadn’t lost consciousness.
If instructors had eyes, they would have clearly seen the scene where Jin turned the ogre to dust.
Yet, the fact that they would deliberately spread such nonsense to the students who hadn’t seen anything means…
‘They really want to keep me under the radar.’
And he could roughly surmise why the instructors were trying to obscure him from the public eye.
‘Are they suspicious of me?’
Sure, it had been fine to enter Nineveh as a descendant of the Seven Heroes, but he hadn’t produced any proof of being their descendant.
Although he somehow enrolled smoothly, it meant that those who granted him admission weren’t viewing him favorably.
That’s why they would try to minimize gossip about him among the students.
If it turned out that Jin’s identity was all a lie, the higher-ups who had allowed him to enroll would all be thoroughly embarrassed.
His mind was getting complicated. As Jin clicked his tongue lightly to gather himself and tried to get up, Claire quickly grabbed his shoulder.
“…Why?”
“I-I’m trying to support you. You must be feeling quite uncomfortable right now. So, I want to help in whatever way I can…”
As she said this, her face turned bright red, indicating that she was unfamiliar with physical contact with men.
“It’s fine. You don’t seriously think I can’t manage going to the restroom by myself, do you?”
Crack!
“…Ah, damn—”
It seemed he really couldn’t manage it alone. Jin was presently unable to steady himself due to the aftereffects of the Exceed.
“Sh-Should I carry you on my back?”
“…Sure.”
“If that’s what you want, I could even help you with your pants—”
“Now that’s a bit… that seems inappropriate.”
With a sigh, Jin expressed his refusal.
He definitely couldn’t allow such a naive girl to end up with a reputation that’s unsalvageable before she even had a chance at marriage.
