I can do it alone. I think so.
But these days, looking at the situation, it seems I can’t live without someone else’s help.
“Alright, so. This is how you wear it…”
I leave my body in Lena’s hands.
I have no other options anyway.
“Well, I know who you are, so it’s okay not to hide your face.”
Not that it would be hidden well anyway.
“Oh, really?”
“I’ll call you Lena.”
“You knew…”
“I didn’t really plan to attack you. I was a bit out of it from the medicine.”
That’s right.
I have no intention of attacking Lena at all.
At least not right now.
And judging by how she’s taking care of me, she’s definitely a good girl.
There aren’t any bad girls among heroines.
“I’m really sorry about the other day.”
Lena bows her head and apologizes.
“I don’t have much to say, but you… um, well… messed up!”
“It’s okay. The wounds have all healed.”
“Huh?”
Is she saying there’s something wrong with the fact that I have so many wounds?
There are quite a few, indeed.
“Well, this one was an old wound. The one from the sword has been treated.”
The bruises aren’t Lena’s fault.
When I showed her the scars, her expression turned strange.
It’s not Lena’s fault, though.
It’s the academy student’s fault.
Who was it again?
I feel like I heard a name, but I forgot.
“I’m really sorry. If you want, you can stab me once!”
“Oh, no…”
I have no intention of doing that.
Just because I got stabbed doesn’t mean I stab others.
I don’t go around attacking people unless I’m desperate for blood.
“By the way, what about Si-Hoo?”
I start to wonder where Han Si-Hoo is.
Why is Lena taking his place?
“He went out to buy some necessary supplies for a bit.”
“Necessary supplies?”
“…Since I lived in the slums, you probably wouldn’t know, but there are still a lot of things we need.”
As long as I have some medicine and food, I think I’ll be fine.
I’m not really a picky person.
So, I didn’t plan to ask Han Si-Hoo for anything.
I’m actually satisfied with this situation.
“Si-Hoo probably doesn’t know what a girl needs, so I told him. Seo-A, you left it all to another girl like me.”
Seems like that’s the case.
Well, Han Si-Hoo seemed burdened just looking at my wounds.
In that sense, maybe it’s more comfortable for him to have someone like Lena.
If I’m lucky, then that’s good.
“Right.”
For a moment, I felt like I had become a doll for changing clothes.
By the time I finished waiting, it was all done.
[10 hours 2 minutes]
“Did you stay together with Si-Hoo all along?”
“Here?”
“No, I mean before. I was a bit curious about why Si-Hoo hid that he had a friend like you.”
That was the right choice.
Yoo Seo-A’s existence should have been kept secret.
“Because I’m a stupid trash.”
Ah, I spoke harshly.
My body feels sluggish, and my thoughts are getting sluggish too.
Words that come out without filtering are surprisingly strong.
“…Don’t say that.”
It’s like something Han Si-Hoo would say.
I guess friends are friends after all.
They look good together.
“It’s true. Even now, it’s hard to hold my own body.”
“Right now, it’s because of the medicine. It’s okay. I heard you can heal. You’ll get better.”
I believe that too.
Well, since it’s medicine, it should work to heal.
Even if it does heal, I don’t know how useful it will be.
“I hate holding you back like this.”
“You’re not.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll disappear someday. Just hold on a little longer, even if it’s annoying.”
Isn’t that the best consideration I can offer?
That’s what I think.
I found myself seeking Han Si-Hoo because I needed medicine.
Should I have managed to get the medicine by myself somehow?
But the doctor even told Han Si-Hoo to kill me.
“No, it’s not annoying. I care about you more. No one wishes for you to disappear.”
Lena looks frustrated.
She’s trying hard to raise my value somehow.
“Right.”
She’s a good girl.
Lively, kind.
She might not seem too thoughtful, but she’s nice.
‘Yoo Seo-A’s superior version?’
Right now, she’s just a bit dazed and quiet.
But originally, Yoo Seo-A had a similar vibe to Lena.
Seo-A just has ordinary brown hair, but this one has shiny silver hair and seems well-maintained, and dresses nicely.
The difference between an extra and a heroine is this big.
“I’ll repay you someday. Thank you for helping.”
It’s better to say thanks.
What I said about repaying it is true.
When a threat comes to the academy, I might be able to help at least once.
Probably.
“No, repay? Once the break ends, strange people will pop up a lot… I heard they’re going to a special class. I don’t know what that is, but be careful.”
I hear warnings to be careful from everyone I meet.
How untrustworthy must the academy be?
It’s probably because the country is drafting students like soldiers.
It’s because the nation is in shambles.
“And be careful of the academy students too. Some have awful personalities but are strong enough that the academy can’t do anything about them. Especially if they find out you’re friends with Si-Hoo… there might be those who’d want to take advantage of you.”
The bruise on my stomach is also because of an academy student.
I know well about the kinds of strange people.
I don’t want to encounter them either.
[9 hours 51 minutes]
There’s still plenty of time left.
“Uh, are you sleeping?”
I don’t know if all sedatives are like this.
Sleepiness comes again.
“…No…”
I’m not sleeping.
I’ll probably stay sitting on the bed.
I need to think.
While I sit there in a daze, I always just think about what I have to do.
How to procure medicine and when to use it.
How I can maximize the use of medicine.
[9 hours]
This isn’t going away from in front of me.
It might not be visible for a moment, but once I concentrate, it reappears.
[8 hours 20 minutes]
My mind flickers.
Like a lightbulb that’s about to die.
There’s nothing strange about it.
[7 hours 40 minutes]
The light bulb at home was like that.
I still like that shabby old house.
Even if it seems like nobody would live there.
[7 hours]
Has the battery run out?
You could even think of it as an old robot.
It should be replaced with a new model, but I’m still using this old fan that’s been running for decades.
The fan doesn’t even turn, but the neck creaks as it rotates.
[6 hours 20 minutes]
Even if I put in lubricant, it wouldn’t mean anything if the machine itself was defective.
It needs to be replaced.
Or donated to a museum as an artifact.
But it’s more like scrap metal than an artifact.
[5 hours 40 minutes]
I think about things at 40-minute intervals.
Think for about a minute and rest for 39.
That sounds okay.
What if I just took a good rest?
It would probably be better than waking up continuously.
[1 hour 11 minutes]
“…Medicine.”
It’s midnight.
I need the medicine again.
I feel bad waking Han Si-Hoo, so I’ll wait.
He’s sleeping on the living room floor.
Should I cover him with a blanket?
I took a blanket from the bed and came to the living room.
And covered him.
-whoosh.
That’s not a sound you make while covering someone with a blanket.
My wrist was grabbed.
A bit forcefully.
“Si-Hoo?”
I shouldn’t have touched him.
Waking someone up was a mistake.
“Sorry for waking you.”
It’s strange, though not quite fully awake.
He seems to have grabbed my wrist unconsciously.
I didn’t know he had a bad habit of sleeping.
I have a hunch about what might be.
It might be a reflex to respond to bad people even while sleeping.
He could draw a sword while asleep, something like that.
“Si-Hoo?”
But why is he doing that to me?
Yoo Seo-A never had this kind of reaction when she unintentionally woke Han Si-Hoo up.
Oh, is it because of the medicine?
The black magical power.
It seems to be perceived quite threateningly by other Awakeners.
[51 minutes]
Time has dwindled.
Just from a bit of wrist grabbing, it’s come to this.
Now I really need medicine.
The wrist isn’t hurting.
There are a few marks, but it’s fine.
Still, the effects of the medicine are lingering.
To him, I must look like a Monster.
I understand.
That could make sense.
-clap.
Somehow, I managed to pull my arm free.
The hand that was holding my wrist falls away.
This is scary.
If I woke him up, he might strangle me.
[45 minutes]
A significant amount of time has passed.
Is he always activating the Purification skill?
So maybe he instinctively grabbed me.
Last time when I covered him with a blanket, it was okay.
What’s different now?
Military medicine? Sedatives?
He got a lot of different kinds.
It was fine when it was the medicine the doctor gave me.
Where was that?
[43 minutes]
Medicine.
The one the doctor gave me.
He said he brought it over.
If Han Si-Hoo didn’t hide it somewhere, it should be around here.
“Is this it?”
I rummage through Han Si-Hoo’s bag.
It’s a rude act, but I don’t have a choice.
I’m scared of waking him up.
He’s probably sleepy too, so I’ll manage it myself.
I have a syringe I bought in case of situations like this.
So, I just need to find the medicine.
Even if it’s dark, I can’t turn on the living room lights.
The light from the room is enough.
[40 minutes]
This is why I don’t like leaving things to others.
I’m scared time will run out on me.
I prefer the house where I could do things my way.
“I found it.”
It wasn’t in the bag but on the high shelf.
I stood on a chair to reach it and could get it.
A vial of blue liquid sloshes around.
It feels like there’s less than when I saw it last.
Let’s go to the room to use it.
The living room is too dark.
[37 minutes]
I unwrapped the bandages on my arm.
With trembling hands, I held the syringe.
I need to fill it with the medicine.
“Oh, my wrist.”
It doesn’t hurt, but it seems there’s a problem.
I don’t know how hard Han Si-Hoo grabbed it.
Since my right hand is the issue, I’ll use my left.
I broke one syringe.
It’s okay; I have plenty of extras.
Doing this with just one hand isn’t going smoothly.
[33 minutes]
With time running out, I’m becoming anxious.
The needle on the syringe bent, so I can’t use that one anymore.
“Seo-A?”
“Huh?”
Han Si-Hoo is awake.
He leans against the door, looking this way.
“What are you doing?”
“Hey, I’m trying to use medicine.”
I haven’t done anything wrong.
He said I could use it when I need it.
“How much did you use…”
There are two syringes scattered on the floor.
A small amount of medicine is dripping from the syringes.
“I haven’t used it yet. So, please help me. The syringes aren’t working well.”
“If you had just said something, I would have given it to you.”
Why does he look disappointed in me?
I didn’t do anything wrong.
I feel bad for rummaging through the bag and the shelf, but it was for the medicine.
[29 minutes]
“Oh, then can you give me the medicine from the academy? Even now.”
It’s not too late.
It’s still not too late.
Han Si-Hoo quietly gets the medicine bottle.
“Is the medicine?”
“I’ve already used plenty. And I don’t even know what this one is yet, so why without saying…”
I was too scared to wake him.
I probably should have said something before using it.
But more than that, I haven’t used it yet.
“Oh, I haven’t used it yet. My arm hurts. No, I mean I haven’t used it! Are you not going to give it to me?”
[26 minutes]
There’s no time.
I think there’s been a misunderstanding.
It’s obvious I must have mistaken something while half-asleep.
“I’m sorry, but not now.”
It must be a lie.
