Episode 56 – Awakening

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As soon as Lily woke up, she looked around, puzzled.

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She was definitely sleeping in her bedroom, but she woke up on the living room’s single-seater sofa. Had she gone to the bathroom in her sleep and fallen asleep here, or did she have some kind of sleepwalking habit she didn’t know about? Lily wondered, stretching and getting up.

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Hearing Lily get up, Lara came out of the kitchen with two cups of freshly brewed warm tea.

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“You’re awake.”

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“Mom?”

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Lara smiled and handed a cup of tea to Lily.

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Lara’s face was unusually bright today, with a faint smile spreading across it, reflecting a truly happy expression like a princess in a fairy tale.

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Seeing her mom looking so happy after a long time, Lily couldn’t help but smile too.

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She took the teacup from Lara and asked.

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“Mom, is something good happening?”

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“Oh my, why?”

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“You look so happy.”

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“Well… Oh, right, Lily. How was your sleep? Mom moved you while you were sleeping.”

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“Huh? Mom moved me?”

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Lily twisted her waist from side to side.

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She didn’t know when she started sleeping on the sofa, which was closer to a chair than a bed, but thankfully, her back didn’t hurt.

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So, her mom had moved her here while she was asleep.

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The reason she woke up in the living room was revealed more easily than she thought, but Lily was even more curious.

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“It doesn’t hurt anywhere in particular. But why did you bother moving me here while I was sleeping?”

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“Hmm- that’s a secret, you’ll find out soon anyway.”

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Lara smiled bashfully and sipped her tea.

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Lily put her teacup on the side table and approached Lara.

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“Mom- what is it-“

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“Oh, Lily, no, don’t do that.”

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“Eyy, hehe.”

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“Kyaa.”

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Lily stuck close to Lara and tickled her.

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Back when they lived together in the forest, Lily used to play around by tickling her mom, who was very ticklish.

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Since Lara seemed to be in a good mood for the first time in a while, Lily played a prank on her for the first time in a long time.

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It felt like just half a year ago this was their daily life, but the days spent in the forest already felt like a distant past.

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Seeing Lara laughing and struggling to stop, Lily suddenly missed those times.

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Lara, with tears welling up in her eyes, pleaded with Lily while laughing.

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“Okay, okay, I get it! I’m going to spill the tea, stop it! I said I get it! I’ll tell you! I’ll tell you! Hahaha!”

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“Hehe, you’re still ticklish as ever.”

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“You, I’ll get my revenge later-“

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“Unlike Mom, I’m not ticklish hehe, anyway, what is it already?”

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“Hehe, well, Edgar is sleeping in that bedroom right now.”

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“…Huh?”

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Lily was startled by Lara’s words.

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Why in the bedroom? More than that, he’s sleeping?

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Seeing Lily’s bewildered expression, Lara sipped the teacup she had protected with superhuman patience and said.

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“About an hour ago, I woke up and found Edgar lying in bed asleep. I could hear his heartbeat and he was breathing. I don’t know what happened, but it seems certain that Edgar has returned to being human.”

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“He’s back to being human…?”

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“Surprised? I was really shocked too. He definitely went to find Banata, so what on earth happened?”

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“Banata… Ah, come to think of it,”

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Lily looked up and around.

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Mena, who usually woke up before Lily or Lara and cleaned the living room, was nowhere to be seen today.

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Lara emptied her teacup and replied.

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“Mena is sleeping. It seems she was worried about her daughter Banata and couldn’t go to bed until dawn. She was waiting for Edgar to come back and eventually fell asleep, which is a relief. It would have been very hard for Mena, who couldn’t sleep all night, to wait with her eyes open until Edgar woke up.”

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“Ah, I see…”

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“Anyway, since it’s been a while since she’s fallen asleep, I moved you to the living room so you wouldn’t disturb Edgar.”

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“I see… You said it was about an hour ago?”

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“Yeah, sorry, were you very uncomfortable?”

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“No, it’s not that,”

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Lily stared intently at Lara.

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In the carriage they rode while coming to Sioland, Lara was depressed because Edgar had rejected her confession.

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Since then, her mom’s emotional ups and downs and obsession had worsened during their days in Sioland, reaching a peak in the last few days.

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Lily recalled Lily’s expression from a few days ago.

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The way she stared at her without blinking after she hugged Edgar, feeling embarrassed, still gave her chills all over her body.

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And for some reason, after the princess and Edgar’s teacher appeared, Lara’s mood had been constantly bad.

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Lara didn’t let her guard down against them, and on days when Edgar was away, she would talk about how unpleasant those two were.

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When Lily told her, ‘Let’s trust Edgar’s choice,’ Lara would look at Lily with those eyes again and murmur, ‘It’s nice that you haven’t done anything wrong.’

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But today, she seemed to be in a good mood.

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No, it was hard to express it as just good, her face was flushed.

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Lily suddenly felt uneasy looking at her mom’s face, which had been pleasant until just now.

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Lily asked cautiously.

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“Mom, you said Edgar came about an hour ago.”

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“Yeah, why?”

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“Did you… do anything to Edgar while he was sleeping?”

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“…”

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Lara wore a smile that was hard to decipher.

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It was a captivating and sensual expression.

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Lily remembered smelling something when she had stuck close to her and tickled her earlier.

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It felt like the scent of human flesh and a bit of sweat was coming from her body.

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Lara replied briefly.

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“Well… it’s a secret.”

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Lara chuckled and turned around to head to the kitchen to clean the empty cups.

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Lily swallowed hard as she watched her back.

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Lara was wearing her pajamas inside out.

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Lara glanced at Lily and said.

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“I won’t tell you this time even if you tickle me… never.”

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*

… It’s dark.

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[It looks like Edgar is about to wake up!]

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[He could sleep a little longer,]

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My whole body aches as if it’s breaking apart. What the hell am I doing to my body?

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[Welcome back to life, Edgar. You’ve been acting like you forgot for a while, but life is pain, originally.]

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[That’s what I was trying to avoid.]

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[… Is that the result this guy wanted?]

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[It’s okay. There’s always a way to go back if you want. You shouldn’t underestimate God too much.]

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[Yeah, I guess so. But I was surprised, to be honest. Next time, give me a heads up.]

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[Oh, I didn’t actually know it would turn out like this either.]

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[Oh my god.]

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Along with the pain, there’s a cool, refreshing feeling.

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It was a nostalgic feeling that I hadn’t felt in a very long time.

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[Unfortunately, you won’t be able to feel the freshness of the morning. It’s already evening.]

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[But now you can sleep like everyone else!]

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I felt like I had recovered a little.

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Not my body, but my mind.

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I felt good because my broken consciousness felt somewhat clear.

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[Congratulations. And I’m sorry for everything.]

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[You should be sorry.]

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[Shut up.]

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[…Did you just swear? Oh my god! Edgar! Get up without dawdling! He swore!]

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[No! I didn’t! Edgar, sleep more!]

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[Get up!]

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Just 5 minutes…

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[Well, you haven’t slept for twenty years, can’t you wait five minutes?]

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[Sleep as much as you want.]

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You bastards.

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I already woke up because it was too noisy.

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I suddenly came to my senses at the chatter piercing my ears, no, my head.

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My eyes are dry.

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I don’t even know when I closed my eyes, but it seems I slept for a very long time.

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When I rubbed my eyes, some sleep crust came off on my index finger.

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“Heh,”

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What is this, what is just sleep crust,

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I realized anew that I was alive.

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When I grabbed the blanket with my hand to pull it back, the texture that touched my hand was different from usual.

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The texture and temperature of the blanket, which had cooled down in the cold weather, felt so good that I kept grabbing and releasing the blanket for a long time.

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“Am I… back…”

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The joyful feeling was fleeting, and worries began to creep in.

The undead body was so bleak and dog-like, but it was definitely convenient.

It was obvious that I could jump into dangerous situations without hesitation because I had a body without pain.

I stroked my arm.

No matter how much divine power I possess, this body, which is too weak and tender compared to an undead, will have many limitations in doing the same things as before.

I might not even be able to withstand the Demon King’s Castle, let alone the magic I emit.

I might have to revise the plan in a big way.

I stroked my face with both hands, doing a dry wash.

“Haha,”

Even as those worries filled my head, I couldn’t contain my joy because the warmth of my skin that I felt with my hands and the cold air that touched the bare skin of my undressed upper body were so welcome.

[Edward, I don’t think you need to worry about that.]

‘What?’

[While Edgar was sleeping, we carefully examined Edgar’s body.]

[Yeah, strictly speaking, you haven’t become human yet.]

[You’re human now, but it might be more accurate to say you’re in a state that’s neither human nor undead.]

‘What does that mean? And damn it, can’t just one person explain instead of singing in rounds? It feels like both brains are ringing alternately.’

[You’re talking nonsense, so it looks like you’ve recovered a bit of your mind from sleeping.]

[Does Edgar’s way of speaking change when he recovers his mind?]

[You should have seen his way of speaking when he was alive, he was a pro son of a bitch.]

‘Shut up. You pathetic Demon King who got backstabbed and died without even being able to use your skills.’

[…Haha, you son of a bitch.]

[…Um, Edgar? Focus for a moment.]

‘What do you want me to suddenly focus on? Dodging a flying ball?’

[…Divine power, I mean, Edgar.]

Come to think of it, I remember feeling another pure white divine power dwelling in my body in the warehouse of Robin’s mansion yesterday.

Actually, I’m not even sure if that’s a real memory.

Due to the fatigue that rushed in all at once after not sleeping for almost 6 months? No, 20 years, my memories after returning to a human body were not intact.

I closed my eyes and focused for a moment to sense the divine power dwelling in my body.

[Edgar, can you see it?]

Hwareureu,

Yeah, I can definitely see it.

Unlike the golden, warm light-like divine power of the Saintess that Mela left in my body, the divine power of the Holy Sword wielded by Robin, which looks like a white, fiercely burning flame.

It was definitely burning in my body with the momentum to burn away all evil.

Ah, the Goddess said there is no such thing as evil.

Good and evil are just concepts created by humans.

I suddenly asked something that might be the most evil thing in the world according to human standards dwelling in my body.

‘Hey, are you okay with sharing a room with something like that?’

[Fortunately, it doesn’t affect me. What’s wrong, Edward, are you worried about me? I’m touched!]

[Oh, I’m okay too! Edgar!]

Since I confirmed that they were okay, I decided not to respond to the two idiots who said [Idiot?] [That’s too much].

‘…First, let’s finish the story from earlier, about me not being human. Is that related to the divine power of that Holy Sword?’

[Yes, that’s right, Edgar.]

[First, here’s what we’ve found out.]

I listened intently to the two beings’ enthusiastic explanations.

After listening to the explanation, my first thought was that the Goddess’s gift was different.

Indeed, it was a gift with no penalties for me, only blessings.

The next thought that came to mind was that Lara’s predictions were mostly true.

Certainly, the knowledge she had accumulated for over 100 years seemed to be truly amazing.

I nodded and remembered Lara’s explanation.

Unlike my vague idea that I was resurrected as an undead due to the magic of the Demon King’s Castle, Lara judged that my body had consumed the divine power of the Holy Sword to resurrect as a human, and then the undeadification had progressed due to the magic.

Unlike me, who thought it was common sense for a corpse to become an undead, Lara judged that the undead made from corpses mostly lost their consciousness, so she saw me as relatively intact.

As Jennifer, the Archmage, witnessed endless experimental failures last night, resurrection was in the realm of miracles, so I dismissed Lara’s speculation, but surprisingly, it was an accurate judgment.

The Goddess gave me only one gift.

It was to fill the divine power of the Holy Sword that had been consumed in my resurrection.

In other words, my body could maintain the body of a living human as long as I had that white, burning divine power.

Conversely, if I consumed all the divine power of the Holy Sword, I would become an undead body again.

‘Then what if I need the undead body again? Do I have to force myself to use up all the divine power of the Holy Sword? That’s too wasteful.’

[No, Edgar. Try to take out the divine power of the Holy Sword on your hand. But not with the feeling of covering your whole hand, but with the feeling of gathering it on your hand.]

‘I’ll try,’

I tried to take out the divine power as usual.

Distinguishing between the two types of divine power in my body was quite a difficult task, but after wandering around for about ten minutes, I was able to get a sense of it.

A white flame flickered and began to gather on my hand.

[Good! Now, try using all of that white divine power with the feeling of taking it all out.]

‘All of it?’

[Yes, all of it!]

Um, can I trust that?

[I don’t know anything about how to handle divine power…]

[No! Why do you trust the Demon King more than me! Trust me! Edgar]

‘Um, okay…’

As the divine power said, I shot the divine power of the Holy Sword onto my hand as if vomiting it all out.

Then, I felt a much larger amount of divine power than I expected being pulled out of my body in a lump.

And at the same time, most of the senses I felt around me were cut off, and a feeling like covering my body with a vinyl suit enveloped my whole body.

I was startled and opened my eyes to look at my hand.

The Holy Sword, filled with divine power, was held in my hand, and my body had become undead again.

“Amazing.”

I looked at the Holy Sword in my hand.

The Holy Sword that anyone can actually hold, unlike the absurd legend that only a hero can hold it.

During my days in the hero party, all the party members would borrow the Holy Sword from Robin and strike a cool pose.

It goes without saying that I, being a male, did it the most often.

However, the fiercely burning white flame only rose when it was held in Robin’s hand.

That was why the Holy Sword was the privilege and symbol of those appointed as heroes.

That Holy Sword is now burning fiercely while being held in my hand.

[Cool. Edgar, no…]

[…Congratulations, Edward. No,]

‘…’

[[Hero-nim]]

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