HH Chapter 39

‘Its movements are restricted, so this is enough.’

I wiped my relatively cleaner hand on my pants and drew a sniper-type fire magic circle on my palm using the blood on my other fingers.

It would be more surprising if I missed from this distance. I tightly gripped the flames summoned in my palm and calmly pressed them onto the monster’s forehead.

Fizzle! The magic stone on its forehead, heated by the high-temperature flames, shattered, releasing black smoke. Some people say that this is the monster’s soul escaping.

Screech!

The monster, letting out an unpleasant sound, collapsed its massive body onto the ground. Only then did I relax and check the billing statement.

[Would you like to heal your physical abnormalities?
Full Recovery: 192 Solra
Fracture Healing: 10 Solra
Magic Neutralization: 30 Solra
Internal Organ Recovery: 60 Solra
Detoxification: 92 Solra]

‘Crazy…’

Sometimes, it’s cheaper to revive than to heal each injury individually. See, even now, it’s almost a twice the difference…

‘Oh, my stomach…’

If I left it as it is, I would die from excessive bleeding soon, and that would be more efficient in terms of saving money.

“Guest!”

As soon as the monster breathed its last, people rushed towards me. Unable to withstand the outpouring of concern directed at me, I made a decision.

[Selected Fracture Healing, Magic Neutralization, and Internal Organ Recovery options.]

[Body recovery in progress…]

So that the onlookers wouldn’t find it strange, I drew a simple circle on my palm, creating a glowing effect. It would look like magic to those who didn’t know better.

Sure enough, those who saw what I was doing murmured in surprise.

“Healing magic? Only high priests can use that…”

“Guest, were you a priest?!”

“Oh my god…”

[100 Solra deducted.]

But in reality, it wasn’t magic, it was financial therapy… 

Ugh, my stomach hurts. 

I crouched down, tears welling up from the financial loss.

Something small and white rushed towards me. I felt like I should open my arms, but I was in no state to hug anyone right now…

“Ouch!”

“Are you crazy?!”

I hadn’t expected this reaction. Haylan had slammed his clenched fist onto the top of my head.

Oh, I’m sad… 

It didn’t hurt at all when I was stabbed by the monster’s tusk, but this actually felt somewhat painful. I didn’t expect to get hit, even if I didn’t receive thanks…

‘What is this, tough love?’

Haylan, after hitting me, looked at me with teary eyes and then suddenly hugged me tightly. Taken aback, I instinctively wrapped my arms around him and blinked in confusion. 

Haylan murmured in my ear,

“Why did you suddenly interfere and do something like that?”

Is this tough love again?

Feeling like I was being tossed between hot and cold water, I replied dazedly,

“You looked like you were in danger.”

“Humans are weak. You almost died just now! Why don’t you understand that?”

I know that. I didn’t do it unknowingly.

“It was dangerous for everyone.”

Besides, it wasn’t just Haylan; the head butler was there too. Even just looking at the numbers, it was more efficient for me to sacrifice myself than for two people to get hurt.

“……I’m fine! You know I don’t die anyway.”

Oh, you don’t know what you’re talking about, but that applies to me too. I stroked Haylan’s hair and said,

“Haylan also gets hurt when he’s injured, right?”

“…….”

“No one likes being hurt.”

It was meant to be a joke, but suddenly teardrops rolled down Haylan’s cheeks. Startled, I closed my mouth.

‘Is he crying?’

It felt surreal that this kid, who seemed like he wouldn’t bleed even if stabbed, was crying because of me. If he’s crying out of concern for me… Wow, this is kind of touching…

“If you’re going to die, die alone. If you die because of me, I’ll feel guilty! And then you’ll appear in my dreams for the next 100 years!”

“……?”

He’s back to tough love…

Without thinking, I raised my hand to wipe the tears flowing down Haylan’s cheeks, then realized belatedly,

‘Ah, blood.’

I realized I had smeared Haylan’s face with blood. Come to think of it, it wasn’t just my hands that were dirty right now. I slightly pulled Haylan away from me and said,

“Your clothes will get dirty. The scarf is white, and if it gets stained with blood…”

“It’s fine, you gave it to me.”

So it’s okay to throw it away if it gets dirty?

[Caution! The ‘Trazenta’s Poison’ debuff is active.]

‘Ah.’

I didn’t detoxify to save money… Still, excluding that, it was almost half the price.

“Cough.”

“……Guest!”

“Oh my, young master!”

[Hemoptysis symptoms are manifesting.]

Thanks for the timely notification.

“Ah…, sorry.”

I ended up coughing up blood right in front of Haylan.

─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───

They said there was a problem with the wall. He simply went out to check after receiving the report, and he never imagined that the problematic wall would collapse so easily.

“Oh dear.”

As soon as he heard the monster’s roar, the head butler scooped up Haylan like an object and stepped inside the area marked by blue bricks. It was a safe zone.

Haylan asked indifferently,

“What is that? Why is there a monster?”

“Judging by the fact that it’s alone, it seems to have strayed from its pack.”

“There’s always a stupid one among monsters.”

“I just saw Izek running. We just need to stay here until reinforcements arrive.”

The hulking monster thrashed about, trying to attack them.

But it was useless. Hundreds of layers of spells were cast upon this mansion. And with the blue bricks as a boundary line, magical creatures were prevented from entering.

So, all they had to do was wait patiently until they found a way to drive it away.

‘That damn idiot…!’

Chahyun, who appeared suddenly, threw a stone. He was standing outside the protection line. Why was he making things worse by trying to solve it on his own when time would have resolved the issue?

“As expected of a mercenary. So calm and composed in the face of danger.”

Watching him bind the massive monster’s feet to the ground and even skillfully kill it instantly, the head butler couldn’t help but admire his extraordinary abilities.

However, all Haylan could see was…

‘Blood.’

Crimson blood splattered into the air. Even from this distance, it felt like he could see each drop of blood. A pool of blood formed beneath him, flowing down his leg from the gaping wound in his side, creating a trail along the slope.

Several scenes overlapped dizzyingly over that image.

Inside the pure white greenhouse, blood flowed like a river, snaking across the white tiled floor. Only monsters remained amidst the blood-soaked wedding.

“Are you alright, Young Master?”

He only realized he had been holding his breath because of the head butler’s concerned voice.

Haylan got down from his arms and walked towards Chahyun. He walked quickly. His pace increased, and eventually, he was practically running.

This idiot!

“Why did you suddenly interfere and do something like that?”

You almost died just now! Why don’t you understand that?

He really disliked this man. He was the kind of human Haylan hated the most. Reckless, thoughtless, disobedient, and stubborn!

“It was dangerous for everyone.”

“I’m fine! You know I don’t die anyway.”

Chahyun was an outsider. There was no reason for him to interfere. Yet he had crossed the line Haylan had drawn and placed his hand on Haylan’s head. He gently stroked Haylan’s hair and said,

“Haylan also gets hurt when he’s injured, right?”

“…….”

“No one likes being hurt.”

There were many things he wanted to argue about. But why did he suddenly lose his words at that moment…?

Haylan had been tied down in the past. He had believed he had to die repeatedly in place of his family.

Would Christine have been spared from the curse of endless reincarnation if he had? And he would have been more at peace than he was now. Even that assumption was entirely his own selfishness.

He disliked this man. 

He hated his nosiness, his annoyingly boisterous personality, and the way he meddled in others’ affairs. He didn’t like anything about him, not his innocent-looking, clear eyes, nor his own distorted reflection of himself in them.

“If you’re going to die, die alone. If you die because of me, I’ll feel guilty! And then you’ll appear in my dreams for the next 100 years!”

He disliked him. What did he take him for? Haylan couldn’t understand the act of throwing away one’s only life for his sake.

“Your clothes will get dirty. The scarf is white, and if it gets stained with blood…”

Even now, Chahyun was a man who prioritized Haylan’s thoughts over his own well-being. The arms embracing him were still warm.

Actually, saying he disliked him was all a lie. In fact, he didn’t entirely dislike him. Was he truly alright after losing so much blood? Wouldn’t he die? He tasted the metallic tang of blood in his mouth.

There was nothing he could do. Even moving him inside required the help of others. He hated it. He hated his own helplessness.

“Don’t worry, it’s because of the poison.”

“Poison?!”

“It’s difficult to remove monster poison with healing magic. Ah, but you don’t necessarily need medicine! It’ll heal naturally… And the antidote is extremely expensive… haha.”