Ch.101101. A Strange and Foolish Man

Alkine’s heart is delicate.

Though she tries to act strong like her father and to fit her role as student council president… in the end, her true inner self was just a girl no different from any other student.

It was only natural that she appeared mature, given her powerful abilities and her experiences.

And those misconceptions made her uncomfortable. Like wearing clothes that didn’t fit.

It wasn’t that she particularly disliked people. Rather, she tended to take interest first when she saw gatherings of people.

She simply didn’t like being the center of attention because she always had to present a version of herself that wasn’t genuine.

In the midst of this, someone appeared who noticed her true self. It was Ludion.

Or rather, somehow he just knew from the beginning.

Seeing how Ludion seemed completely unfazed despite knowing this, she thought:

‘What a strange man.’

At first, she felt embarrassed when her secret was discovered, and was taken aback by how much he knew.

She naturally wondered how he had found out.

But… why? She felt an unusual joy knowing that he was aware of her true self.

Was this joy because she already had feelings for him? Or was it because she had always wanted someone to notice her somehow?

It didn’t matter anymore. Even if he hadn’t known about her, these feelings she had for him wouldn’t have changed.

If anything, it was better that she could now speak openly with him.

It seems that thinking was a mistake.

Happiness gained easily tends to disappear just as easily.

Everything happened in an instant.

The Rift that followed Ludion. The massive monster appearing before her eyes. Ludion embracing her and throwing himself forward.

And in the process, Ludion sustaining a severe injury.

The deep wound carved into his back was visibly pouring out a dangerous amount of blood.

“Ludion…!”

What a foolish man. Why would he do such a thing for her?

No, that’s not right. He would soon be fine, showing his usual bizarre behavior. Yes, surely he would…

“AAAAARGH!!”

“Ludion?!”

Her thoughts froze at his scream—something she had never heard from him before.

She couldn’t even distinguish if what she was seeing was reality.

Through countless situations while conquering Rifts…

Of course, there were many cases where companions got hurt, and she had dealt with such situations often.

She thought she could remain calm in any situation.

‘What nonsense.’

All her experiences until now had been mere child’s play under her protection.

Only now did she realize how incredibly arrogant her confidence had been.

“Ugh… huff… hah…”

Though her mind still wasn’t working properly, fortunately her unconscious mind was diligently moving her body.

Moving to Ludion’s side to check his wound, she found his condition even more serious than it had appeared from a distance.

“Ah, aah…”

This was dangerous. At this rate of blood loss, he would die soon.

She needed to stop the bleeding. With only that thought, she moved her body.

But despite her efforts, his bleeding showed no signs of stopping.

Actually, the amount of bleeding had decreased, but she couldn’t tell if it was because the bleeding was being controlled or because he simply had no more blood to lose.

That’s how much blood he had already lost.

She somehow managed to prevent him from closing his eyes as if fainting, but at this rate, Ludion would eventually close his eyes… and never open them again.

‘No. No no no no no.’

As her thoughts reached that point, her mind suddenly began racing.

If she didn’t stop this bleeding, it would be over. Despite applying pressure, the bleeding wouldn’t stop. What she could do now was…

Whoosh—

She should have done this much sooner. Hopefully it wasn’t too late.

The heat of the flames stood in stark contrast to his body, which had grown cold from excessive blood loss.

This was now her only hope. She would stop his bleeding and save him.

With only that thought in mind, she cauterized his wound with fire.

“AAAAARGH!!!”

Though Ludion’s pain-filled scream echoed, she barely heard it.

She moved with the sole purpose of saving him.

After finally managing to stop his bleeding…

She carefully called his name.

“Ludion.”

…No response.

“…Lu, dion?”

No, it couldn’t be. He must have just passed out from the pain of cauterization.

Look, if she listened carefully, she would still hear his heartbeat…

“Ah.”

…She couldn’t hear it.

With the sudden thought that something was wrong, her entire body went cold.

Before she could think, her body moved toward him, shaking his motionless shoulders.

Please don’t die.

If you die from an injury like this, how am I supposed to face anyone?

But he, whose heart had stopped, couldn’t fulfill her wish.

“Ugh…”

“Ludion?!”

Of course, if his heart hadn’t actually stopped, he could fulfill her wish anytime.

Ludion’s heart had never stopped. It had been beating just fine all along.

Only then did Alkine remember the ability he possessed.

‘The ability to remove sounds coming from his own body.’

Did that include his heartbeat as well?

To play such a trick even in this situation… he’s truly terrible…

“Hic, hehe. Hehehe…”

Tears of distress and laughter of relief burst forth simultaneously.

She cried and laughed for a long time.

While firmly holding his hand, which was gradually regaining warmth.

///

When I opened my eyes again, I was lying face down using Alkine’s lap as a pillow.

…So I survived.

I really thought I was going to die.

“Ludion…?”

At that moment, Alkine, noticing that I had regained consciousness, carefully called my name.

Not having the energy to speak, I just moved my head slightly.

“You’re awake!”

Alkine’s voice was quite hoarse.

It seems she went through quite an emotional ordeal while I was unconscious. I’ve done something terrible to her.

But she didn’t show it and continued speaking.

“Are you okay? Feeling weak? It can’t be helped since you lost so much blood.”

Knowing that I couldn’t respond properly, she continued speaking without waiting for answers to her questions.

“Right. How’s your wound? Does it still hurt a lot?”

…Come to think of it, the pain in my back had subsided considerably.

Or rather, after experiencing such intense pain, this level felt bearable.

“You seem okay. That’s a relief.”

But how does she know everything without even hearing my answers?

This person seems to be becoming more like Celia.

Could mind reading be included in the favorability rewards? Such a reasonable suspicion crossed my mind.

“It hasn’t been that long. Rest a bit more.”

Whatever the case, following her advice and resting was the priority.

I carefully hydrated a little and then continued resting with my head on Alkine’s lap for a while longer.

How much time had passed? Once my body started regaining some strength, simple conversation became possible.

I still didn’t have the energy to get up, so I continued relying on Alkine’s lap, but what mattered was that I was recovering.

“I feel a bit better now.”

“Are you really okay?”

When I spoke first, Alkine asked again with a slightly brightened voice.

This is awkward. Having nearly died, I can’t even put on a brave face. I’ve just caused unnecessary worry.

“I’m okay.”

“Looking at your complexion, you really do seem better. That’s a relief.”

Seeing that my condition had improved somewhat, she finally seemed able to relax and let out a deep sigh of relief.

Then she immediately began pointing out the starting point of this incident.

“You know, I could have handled it by myself from the beginning.”

“…I know.”

“And you still did that?”

Rationally thinking, that was true.

Alkine isn’t someone weak enough to be caught off guard by an ambush at the entrance. Especially now that her Swordmaster trait has been unlocked.

With her specs, even if her response had been delayed, she would have suffered minor injuries at worst. At least she would have been several times better off than my current state.

Even assuming the worst-case scenario, she wouldn’t have faced a life-threatening crisis like I did.

Thinking about it that way, I realized I had done something quite foolish. I’m much weaker than her. What gave me the courage to do such a thing?

But in that moment, I only thought about helping her… so I don’t really regret it now.

After all, Alkine is completely fine, so my objective was achieved. I nearly died in the process, but I survived.

So I’m satisfied. Even though it hurts like hell.

Just as the pain in my back started to return and draw my attention, Alkine let out a small laugh.

“Is this how you seduced Celia?”

“…What? What are you talking about?”

If someone could go this far just to seduce a woman, they could do anything.

I simply made a foolish decision in that moment and acted on it.

“I just wanted to do it then. Even I think it was crazy. My body moved before I could think… I only thought about helping you.”

Honestly, I was embarrassed by my poor judgment and tried to brush it off, but for some reason, Alkine suddenly went quiet.

“Senior Alkine?”

“…That’s even worse.”

“I know. I acted without knowing my place.”

“That’s not what I meant…. Sigh, Ludion.”

Alkine called my name as if frustrated about something and then leaned her upper body forward.

Her face, which had been hidden until now, appeared before my eyes.

Her reddened eyes had clear tear stains.

Her lips were still trembling, unable to hide her emotional turmoil, and her forced smile was visibly faltering.

I thought she was fine since her voice had only dropped a little. But that wasn’t the case at all.

Faced with an expression that looked like it might burst into tears again at any moment, I pondered what to say for a long time, but ultimately couldn’t find the right words and maintained silence.

To me, she said:

“I’m glad you’re alive. Truly.”

And then she slowly began to bring her face closer.

By the time I sensed something strange, her lips were already overlapping with mine.