Chapter 142: Realizations That Come From Almost Losing

Do you know when a person dies?
‘Now.’

I opened my eyes wide.
It was because I had the real feeling that if I closed my eyes like this, I would die.
Through my suddenly opened eyes, the surrounding scenery gradually came into view.
A hospital room.
It was a hospital room.
And it was very quiet, likely early dawn.

‘How long have I been unconscious?’
My memory was faint.
While blinking with open eyes, I flinched unconsciously at my left shoulder.
It was because I remembered my entire left arm being blown off.
But unlike the memory, my left arm lifted up just fine.

Ah—though, ‘just fine’ was a stretch.
There wasn’t a single unscarred area, with scars and marks all over the arm.

At that moment, a chill ran through me and I hurried to check my body.
‘…It’s properly attached?’
Upon inspection, the bandages were wrapped neatly with no issues.

So my identity hadn’t been exposed to the world yet.
Even a physical loss had occurred.
I had no idea how things had turned out.

My distant mind slowly started to return.
Soon, one by one, the memories from just before I collapsed resurfaced.
Crossing the 8th floor’s Cycle of Rebirth’s Pit with Isabel.
Then, the bleeding from losing an arm and a leg.

On top of that, the accumulated fatigue, malnutrition, and the Heavenly Dragon transformation had caused me to lose consciousness.

‘…This time, I really almost died.’

It was a situation far more dangerous than during the disaster with Nikita, the Dragon Girl of Calamity.
At least back then, I had some form of preparation—this time, I genuinely almost died.

And yet, I felt no particular emotion about it.
The threat of death didn’t bring me much fear anymore.
It made me realize anew just how terrifying the Veil Bandages were.

Still, this was better than fearing death.
In this state, I could enter the Demonic Palace again without issue.

I checked my legs too—they were successfully treated.
With treatment of this level, it was definitely the work of a Saint.

‘They must have treated me while I was wearing the Veil Bandages.’
Unsettling as that may be, considering a Saint’s power output, it was plausible.
If my identity had truly been revealed, I would’ve been captured already.
Someone like me wasn’t supposed to exist, after all.

‘Somehow… I survived.’

The only regret was that I hadn’t secured the equipment I originally aimed for.
‘Whatever. My life is more important.’
As long as I’m alive, it’s fine.
Besides, the 6th-floor equipment wasn’t absolutely necessary anyway.
I already had an alternative prepared.
I’d just hoped things would go more smoothly.

Just as I breathed a sigh of relief for staying alive and tried to sit up—
For some reason, the blanket wouldn’t lift.

I lowered my gaze.
Soon, under the moonlight streaming through the window, I began to see people.

Lying on top of the blanket were two people.
One had red hair.
The other had dark blue hair.

Seron Parmia.

Sharin Sararis.
Both of them were huddled up next to me on the same bed.
Since when had they been like this?
I wasn’t sure, but either way—it was a problem.
If I tugged on the blanket carelessly, I’d probably wake them both.

Still, seeing these two gave me a wave of relief, a sense that I’d finally made it back alive.
All the struggling with Isabel, risking death at every step, felt worthwhile.

‘Come to think of it—Isabel.’
Was she safe?
I should check on her first.

“Mmmgh…”
Just then, a voice came from Seron’s side.
She raised her face, still dazed with sleep.

With her eyes half-open, she stared at me blankly—and then her eyes gradually widened.
At the same time, tears began to well up in her eyes, glistening like dewdrops.

“Hiiiing, sweet potato prince.”
“Seron, calm down. Why are you crying?”

Startled, I tried to soothe her, but Seron suddenly headbutted me in the chest.
Was she trying to kill someone who just woke up?

As I coughed from the impact of her headbutt, she wrapped her arms around me tightly.
“I really thought you were going to die! You idiot!”

I gave a bitter smile at her words.
It seemed Seron had seen what kind of state I was in.
Yeah… I’d been a total wreck back then.

“…You came to save me?”
“When we all got to the 7th floor, Isabel brought you.”

Seron sniffled as she replied.
Time flowed differently in the Demonic Palace.
Even if we had been on the lower floors for two months, the fact that they had joined up with us meant they had pushed themselves hard to descend that far.

‘They must’ve set a new record for fastest Demonic Palace progression.’
I was honestly grateful they came to rescue me.

“See? I’m fine now, look.”
“You idiot, do you even know how messed up you were?! If the Saint and the Saintess hadn’t been there, you would’ve died! You were dead!”

So even the Saintess had been there, huh?
Maybe it was thanks to her that my identity hadn’t been exposed.
I owed her a debt.
She must’ve noticed the Veil Bandages while trying to treat me, and subtly handled things in return for clearing that debt.

‘If it was Narea, she’d definitely do that.’
She had been a hero in her past life, after all.
That level of awareness was second nature to her.
I should properly thank her next time.
Thanks to her, I kept both my life and my freedom.

“I believed you’d come to save me.”
“Hiiiing…”

As I made it clear to Seron that I was okay, she finally began to calm down.

Srrrk—
At that moment, Sharin stirred awake as well.
As always, she gazed at me silently with her usual languid expression.

Just as I was about to raise my hand for a small wave or maybe a quiet ‘hi’—

Plip—

This time, tears rolled down from Sharin’s eyes.
Before I could even react in surprise, she was crying silently, without a word.

It was the first time I had ever seen Sharin cry.
To me, she had always been calm and composed.

I hurriedly reached out and patted her back.
I wasn’t used to crying women, so I was weak in situations like this.
Then, Sharin wrapped her arms around me.

In an instant, Seron was in my left arm, Sharin in my right.
I wasn’t sure what kind of situation this was, but I couldn’t just leave them crying.

As I continued to comfort them somehow, Sharin finally opened her mouth.

“…I didn’t know.”
“Didn’t know what?”
“I didn’t know you shouldn’t say you love someone so lightly.”

She gently rested her head against my chest.

“It’s just… it was fun and enjoyable to be by your side. I thought it’d be nice if we could stay together from now on. I thought that was what it meant to like someone. You were always doing strange and fascinating things.”

She sure made it sound like I was some kind of weirdo.
But that wasn’t all there was to it.
Love was far more complicated and confusing than people thought.

Sometimes, even the smallest trigger could cause someone to fall in love.
Even just laughing and talking together could make a person feel precious.

“But… it wasn’t just that. It wasn’t something that small.”

As if feeling her heart being torn apart, Sharin clenched her fists tightly.

“I don’t want to live in a world without you.”

To be honest, I had always found Sharin’s love puzzling.
In Seron’s case, she had a prior connection with me through Vikarmen.
That made her love understandable.

But with Sharin, we didn’t really have any strong connection.
Just like she said—she saw me as someone who brought her fun.
And for her, love was probably a shallow kind of fondness, something she could say easily.
Maybe she got annoyed when others came into the picture, and that flared up her possessiveness.

But this time, the thought that she might truly lose me had changed her.

Sharin’s Mirinae saw more than people realized.
That’s why she, more than anyone here, could clearly picture a world without me.
And it was a world she couldn’t accept.

Her hand clenched tightly at my clothes.

“I don’t want to live in that kind of world, hurting like this.”

She looked up at me.
Her eyes, filled with the light of Mirinae and glowing under the moonlight, shimmered with tears.

In Sharin’s world, there was only Sharin.
She was someone who never gave up her place to anyone else.
That’s why she was so capricious.

Her mother had died of syphilis.
And though her mother had abused her, she never loved her.

From a young age, she had lived a life focused solely on defending her own place.
A fickle life where, since she never gave up her space, she would easily walk away the moment she lost interest.

But at some point, I had jumped in and taken a spot in her world.
And not just taken it—I had shamelessly settled in.

At first, it was just curiosity.
A person who could awaken Isabel.
Someone who handled magical inscription and mysteries.
A magnet for all kinds of incidents.
Someone who got scolded in the magic department for her sake.
A person who brought back the magic of elder dragons.
A person who came to wield the magic of Zeryon.

The one who became her fiancé.
The one who kept sparking interest even in the ever-capricious Sharin.
That was me.

I stirred up trouble everywhere, never giving her the chance to grow bored.
Sharin enjoyed watching that, and she found being with me fun.
Before I knew it, I became her fiancé and led her through a range of emotions.
To the point where she could openly admit she liked me.

And that had an impact far greater than I imagined.
As I said before, Sharin was fickle.
But the moment she gave up her space—just once—Sharin became someone who pledged eternity instead of whims.

She admitted that she liked me.
And only now did I realize just how much that meant to her.

“So don’t ever let this happen again.”
A girl who, for the first time in her life, learned the pain of almost losing someone precious held in her arms—begged me, sincerely.

“Don’t get hurt like this ever again.”

Thinking about the journey ahead, it was a difficult promise.
To be honest, I didn’t feel much.
It was a crisis, and I nearly died.
That was all there was to it.

I kept thinking they didn’t need to worry this much.
But what little common sense I still had left told me something—
That I wasn’t in a normal state right now.

‘A promise made now…’
Would surely become an important brake that could help keep the limitless me in check.
So, I decided to make that promise.
A promise not to overdo it—so I could keep my word.

“Yeah, I promise.”

And in the quiet of dawn, the tears of the two girls finally came to an end.
Just knowing I was safe was enough for them to stop crying—barely.

There’s something refreshing about letting it all out in tears.
Still, that doesn’t stop the embarrassment that follows.
It’s never easy to show raw emotions in front of others.

Sharin kept her head buried in me, not showing her face anymore.
The tips of her ears were bright red, clearly showing she felt embarrassed too.
And right beside her—Seron was no different.

Squirm—
…Actually, no.

This girl was using the moment to burrow even deeper into my chest.
I could see the corners of her lips twitching upward.
This little pervert…

“Seron, if you snuggle in any closer, I’m reporting you for harassment.”
“Wha—s-sexual harassment?!”
Seron shot up in shock and shouted.

But her face had gone completely tomato-red, looking exactly like a creep caught red-handed.

“I-It’s just that… y-your scent is nice. That’s all…”
“Smelling someone else without permission? You’re seriously a degenerate.”
“N-no, I’m not! I mean—ughhh, it just smells so nice! Why do you smell so good in the first place?!”

Sorry, but I definitely wasn’t giving off any kind of ‘nice’ scent.
At best, I probably smelled like disinfectant.

When I gave her a deadpan look, Seron covered her face with both hands.

“What kind of scent are you even talking about?”
“It’s like… comfy and warm and just… calming, okay? Sharin, back me up here! You feel it too, right?!”
Seron quickly looked for an ally and cried out.

Then Sharin turned her head slightly—only to bury her face into me again.
Seron’s face twisted in an instant when she saw that.

“You sly fox of a girl! What are you enjoying this moment for?! Let go of him!”
“Nooo. He’s my husband.”
“He’s not your husband! You’re just his fiancée—we’re not married yet!”
“We will beee.”

Seron grabbed Sharin and started shaking her wildly.
Sharin only clung to me tighter.
Thanks to that, I started swaying right along with her.

What even is this chaos?
I feel like throwing up.
Please stop.

“Gyaaaaah! Sweet potato prince! Get her off right now!”
Me? Remove Sharin?
Even if I used Heavenly Dragon Transformation, I don’t think I could.

Finally accepting that she couldn’t pry Sharin off, Seron charged straight at me instead.
She clung tightly to my other arm—making her intent to fight to the death very clear.

“Sweet potato prince is mine! I confessed first!”
“He’s my husband.”

Seron and Sharin glared fiercely at each other.
It was like a red badger and a blue fox battling for territory.
And as the one caught in the middle of that territory war, I was in serious trouble.

“Both of you… just stop…”

“…My, seems you’re having a lovely time.”
At that moment, a voice sent chills down my spine.

With a creak, I turned my head—and there they were, ruby-red eyes gleaming in silence.
Iris Hyserion.

Who knows when she showed up, but she stood there silently as if she’d always been part of the scene.
Iris met my gaze and gave a gentle smile.

“Flowers in both hands. Must be nice.”
“Lady Iris, this is—”
“I went through hell and risked my life to rescue you because they said you were in danger. And what do I find when you wake up? You’re off fooling around with girls.”

Her voice felt sharper than usual today.
More than that—she was still treating me as ‘Hanon’.
So my real identity hadn’t been found out yet, it seems.

“And you two.”
Iris turned to the two girls who hadn’t stopped their tug-of-war even after her arrival.

“Hanon is my little brother. Not yours—mine.”

And with that outrageous declaration, she poured gasoline on the fire.

Seron and Sharin slowly turned to look at Iris.
Both of them knew that I wasn’t actually Hanon.
Which is probably why they looked at her with this strange, unreadable expression—then glanced at each other.

“……”
“……”

A silent exchange passed between them.

Then, without a word, both of them clung to my arms even tighter.

“No.”
“Even if it’s you, Lady Iris, no.”

Iris raised an eyebrow.
A clear ‘Are you refusing a royal command?’ expression.

But neither Seron nor Sharin flinched.

Fierce glares were exchanged between the three of them.
“So you’re saying you want to go for it, huh?”
Iris cracked her knuckles.

If Iris joined the fray too, it would be the end.
Unable to stand the situation any longer, I quickly raised both hands in surrender.

Clatter—
At that moment, the hospital room door opened.
Standing there was Hania.

“Lady Iris, the doctor says he needs to see Hanon.”
The doctor was right behind her.

With the arrival of the specialist, the full-blown clash between the three girls came to an end.
As I finally breathed a sigh of relief, Hania caught my eye and gave me a wink.

Hania, you amazing woman.
I could almost cry.
In the end, the only one who really had my back was my ex-girlfriend.

I quickly stood up and headed over to the doctor.

“Hanon, you know this time could’ve been really bad, right?”
As I passed by the door, Hania spoke to me quietly.
Apparently, she had been worried about me too.

“I’m fine. Totally fine.”

“You don’t have to pretend you are. The doctor said you could have post-traumatic stress disorder. Make sure you get checked thoroughly.”

“I’m not that weak. I mean, it’s just a few lost limbs, right?”

“……”

I said it to try and calm her down, but she furrowed her brows and stared straight at me.

“…Hanon, that’s not something you brush off with ‘just’.”

Ah—oops.
Trying to sound relaxed only ended up making her more worried.

“I’ll go get checked now.”

With Hania still giving me that strange look, I quickly slipped away.
I should really watch what I say from now on.