Accident

I smiled brightly at [Arang’s Footstool]’s appearance, which was no different from how she was in Leore, and said,

,Nice to meet… you…”

I greeted [Arang’s Footstool] with the words I’d been practicing while doing prosthetic arm and leg rehabilitation training in the real world, talking with Anna-unni and the doctor-unni for a long time.

Was it because of the difference between my appearance in Leore and in reality? [Arang’s Footstool]’s reaction was the same as that of people who were seeing me for the first time, but she quickly snapped out of it and approached me.

,Hello, Guild Leader-nim! Have you been waiting long?”

,Uh… no…”

,Really? That’s a relief!”

[Arang’s Footstool], who was looking at me while spinning around with that puppy-like expression she only showed me, had sparkling eyes.

,You’re so cute! Pretty! I’m crazy, I must be crazy! Ah, was I too hasty…?”

Seeing that I didn’t react at all, [Arang’s Footstool] flinched, and I shook my head and said it was okay.

,Hiki… komo… ri… real… world… speaking… thing…”

,Ah! I understand! Don’t worry! I have a cousin who has trouble speaking, so I can understand even if I only hear the important words! Guild Leader-nim said that your Leore nickname and real name are the same, right?”

Nod.

,Then, would it be okay if I spoke informally…?”

Nod.

,Hehe. Please take care of me, Arang-ah. Of course, I’ll use polite speech in Leore! There are other guild members, so I can’t lower the guild leader’s authority!”

I found it quite endearing that [Arang’s Footstool] was talking to me in the same way in reality as she did in Leore.

,That Arang-ah. It’s not that, but… well… what I said last time… that…”

[Arang’s Footstool] was watching my reaction as she spoke.

I knew right away what she wanted. When we made the crafting equipment last time, there was a condition that she would grant me a favor when we met in the real world later.

Nod.

I nodded to [Arang’s Footstool].

I could guess what kind of favor she would ask from her nickname, but since she came all the way here, I thought she wouldn’t ask for such a favor because she would know about me.

,Then! I bought a present for Arang-ie! So, my favor is for me to give the present I brought to Arang-ie-“

Nod.

I didn’t know what the favor was, but I nodded again at the word “present,” and [Arang’s Footstool] showed a happy expression, knelt down in front of me, and grabbed my prosthetic leg before I could even say anything.

,…Huh?”

[Arang’s Footstool] stopped as if time had stopped.

Fortunately, she quickly came to her senses and touched my prosthetic leg again, her hands trembling as she kept checking if what she felt was real.

Looking at [Arang’s Footstool]’s reaction, I realized that [Arang’s Footstool] didn’t know anything about me.

A problem arose with [Arang’s Footstool]’s severely trembling hands.

I do prosthetic arm and leg rehabilitation training, but my muscle mass is really poor and my body is very weak, so I feel quite uncomfortable wearing prosthetic arms and legs.

Anna-unni wanted me to adapt well to prosthetic arms and legs, and I am also working hard on rehabilitation training in preparation for events or collaborations in the real world.

Anna-unni didn’t stop there, saying that I needed to get used to prosthetic arms and legs so that I could live a normal life like others, so now I wear prosthetic arms and legs every moment that happens in reality.

So, I wore these prosthetic arms and legs when I met [Arang’s Footstool] this time.

That’s where the problem arose.

Usually, when doing rehabilitation training or going out, I would have securely fixed the prosthetic arms and legs to the cut limbs so that they wouldn’t fall off.

But this is a hospital. It’s also a lounge in a building where I’m the only patient.

Everyone in this building is here for me, and they are people who sincerely care about me and help me.

So, it was too uncomfortable and difficult to wear the prosthetic arms and legs securely, so Anna-unni didn’t fix them tightly to be considerate of me, but made them loose.

[Arang’s Footstool]’s hands were trembling more than I thought, and with [Arang’s Footstool]’s gestures of constantly checking if what she was feeling was correct, the right prosthetic leg that [Arang’s Footstool] was touching fell to the floor from my leg like a piece of bread.

Tuk.

The thigh part of the right prosthetic leg fell limply. The foot part was in [Arang’s Footstool]’s hand.

Anyone who saw it would think that [Arang’s Footstool] had ripped off my leg.

I found out later that PinkuBeri and Soonchu, who knew about me, thought that the guild meet-up was postponed to the next time because no one said they were going in the guild chat.

In addition, the doctor-unni said that she assumed that [Arang’s Footstool] had heard about me because PinkuBeri and Soonchu were there.

==

I was surprised when I first saw Arang-ie.

The cute and adorable appearance in Leore, and the haughty and confident appearance when raiding, had disappeared, and Arang-ie’s impression was so dead, with half-closed dead eyes and a feeling that the surroundings were darkening.

It was gap moe itself.

If she was a cute princess loved by everyone in Leore, then Arang-ie’s appearance in reality was that of a fallen kingdom’s princess who had become a hikikomori who didn’t get close to anyone and didn’t try to trust anyone.

I liked Arang-ie even more because of her completely contrasting appearances.

She is the ultimate cutest guild leader who can enjoy two flavors.

At first, I thought that Arang-ie was forcing herself to have a meet-up because of me, but I could feel that Arang-ie didn’t hate me, but liked me, even though she was clumsy at speaking.

She just has trouble speaking.

I have a cousin who has trouble talking to people, so I was able to immediately understand Arang-ie’s heart and what she wanted to say.

After confirming that Arang-ie’s tension had eased slightly while talking about this and that, I held the bag I was holding in my left hand tightly and talked about the favor I had asked of Arang-ie.

Fortunately, Arang-ie readily nodded and gave permission.

I had been holding back ever since I saw Arang-ie.

The urge to touch Arang-ie’s feet, which are cute, soft, and have a warm warmth, a lot.

The moment Arang-ie’s permission was given, I immediately knelt down in front of Arang-ie and touched Arang-ie’s real-world feet, which was my wish.

A sensation completely different from what I had imagined traveled through my hand and struck my brain.

A sensation completely different from cute, soft, and warm warmth.

It’s scary and hard, but also slightly soft, but a softness that feels unpleasant, and a chilling coldness that doesn’t seem like a person at all penetrates my hand and enters.

My hand is trembling.

What am I touching right now?

It’s not a person’s leg. It’s not Arang-ie’s foot.

This is… this is…

Tteok.

Teok.

As if to prove that my thoughts were correct, Arang-ie’s right leg, which I was touching, limply separated from Arang-ie and fell to the ground.

I could understand why Arang-ie was wearing thick high socks that didn’t even show skin on such a hot summer day.

The leg part that was slightly exposed above the high socks showed that this was not Arang-ie’s real leg.

,What the hell have I been doing…?’

Memories flashed through my head in an instant.

I changed my nickname in Leore because I wanted to touch Arang-ie’s feet and wanted to touch Arang-ie’s feet.

But all those actions were actions that hurt Arang-ie.

,Socks… shoes…?”

,Ah!”

As Arang-ie’s prosthetic leg came off, the gift bag I had prepared fell to the side, and the socks and shoes inside fell out.

I hurriedly put them back in the bag.

,You crazy bitch. How can you prepare socks and shoes as a gift…!!!’

I carefully raised my head and looked at Arang-ie’s expression.

Arang-ie’s expression, which I thought would be crying, hadn’t changed at all.

Like someone who has no emotions. That’s why my heart ached even more.

,It’s okay… yo…”

No. I’m not okay.

I could sense something was wrong. The fact that Arang-ie is in the hospital, that she is in this kind of building, and that she has a doctor in charge, and that the doctor personally took me to where Arang-ie is.

Looking back now, everything was strange.

Why didn’t I notice…!?

I feel pathetic.

,Socks… shoes… pretty… put… them… on…”

I closed my eyes tightly at Arang-ie’s words, which were considerate of me.

Arang-ie’s heart must be aching like crazy, but it hurt my heart so much that she was saying those words for me.

,You’re not… going to do it? I’m going to be… sulky…?”

,No! I’ll do it!”

I hurriedly picked up Arang-ie’s prosthetic leg, brought it to Arang-ie’s right thigh, and fastened the easy-to-understand fixing device.

But even in this situation, I felt disgusted with myself for touching Arang-ie’s thigh and feeling that it was soft.

After restoring the prosthetic leg to its original state, I carefully put the socks I had brought on Arang-ie’s prosthetic leg and put on the shoes, and Arang-ie’s mouth moved little by little.

She showed a slight smile.

And when I saw Arang-ie’s trademark snaggletooth in that small smile, I was finally able to come to my senses.