episode_0093

Lian doesn’t spare his body.

This wasn’t just Noah’s own thought. It was a thought agreed upon by everyone who cherished him.

The fact that Lian suffered cruel experiments in the laboratory of the dark sorceress Mia was known only to Noah in detail; other children didn’t know what experiments Lian had undergone. Nevertheless, no one denied that Lian had a very self-sacrificing aspect.

As much as that, Lian often acted recklessly with his body in daily life.

There were times when he casually put his finger into boiling water to measure its temperature, and many times he would overlook injuries on his body while cooking.

He would endure silently without saying anything if he got hurt while playing with the children, until it was discovered.

He always smiled brightly, but sometimes he seemed as if his insides were rotting. Yet, everyone could spend three years smiling because Lian was an older brother, a brother, and a father figure to the children.

Because he was an older brother, a brother, a father, family.

So it should be okay.

To those who held such careless thoughts, Lian, whose stomach was pierced, returned. A pale face, breath that seemed like it could stop at any moment, a body growing cold.

Just as a naive child is shocked upon seeing their parents’ tears, the children were greatly shocked.

Their “adult” whom they thought would never die, their precious “family,” they only realized that they could die now.

As the time Lian remained unconscious lengthened, their anxiety continued to rise, and eventually…

Clang.

Noah couldn’t stop Lian from putting shackles on his ankles.

***

“Ugh…”

I lay sprawled on the bed and let out a long sigh.

“I fought with Noah…”

Honestly, I’m not sure if calling this a fight is accurate. It’s more like… we clashed.

“It seemed like he was really angry… What should I do?”

I wasn’t particularly mad at Noah. I felt sorry for making Noah, who was always rational, so angry and worried. On the other hand, I felt somewhat good.

“But still, feeling worried makes me itch.”

If Noah hears this, he might explode, but it’s unavoidable.

In the world of comedy, it’s hard to receive worry unless something serious happens. If I seem a bit excited about something being cherished -…

“Let’s never mention it because it might be beautifully sliced with a sword.”

After organizing my pointless thoughts, I started racking my brain to find a way to reconcile with Noah.

***

In the dark room where all the lights were off, Noah knelt down, resting his forehead on his knees. His chest was pressing against his thighs as he sat there, with his magic wand and bandages undone.

“Why has it turned into a cave again?”

Juliana flew over to Noah and spoke. Noah looked up at Juliana with eyes covered by a blanket over his head.

“…Master, am I doing well?”

“Why? Because you couldn’t protect Lian?”

Upon hearing the cutting remark, Noah closed his mouth.

“That was inevitable. If you had left the main building and rushed to the annex, most of the people in the main building would have been slaughtered.”

“But… I still couldn’t protect him.”

“You’re alive. You just need to protect him now.”

“This isn’t the first time!”

Noah unknowingly raised her voice, startling herself as her eyes trembled.

“…I’m sorry for yelling.”

[ No. It’s better to speak openly than to keep things inside. ]

Julianna sat next to Noah and patted her back.

[ Speak freely. Don’t hide like Lian does when things get tough. ]

The person Julianna referred to as “Lian” was someone who concealed their pain and struggles, urging Noah not to act like Lian, whose behavior caused internal turmoil even in times of distress.

This prompted Noah to speak up eventually.

“I… I’ve been trying to become stronger to protect everyone, to protect Lian.”

[ Yes, you’ve worked hard. You’ve done well. ]

“But – at crucial moments, I couldn’t always help Lian. Whenever he was in danger, I…”

[ I’ve said it many times, but that was unavoidable. ]

“But if I had defeated the monsters faster, I could have… I could have rushed to protect Lian.”

Subsequently, a hypothetical scenario surfaced.

If I had noticed the enemy sooner.

If I had kept Lian safe at headquarters.

If I had hidden the headquarters better.

Such words only served to hurt Noah without offering any help, yet she couldn’t stop dwelling on them.

Julianna, witnessing Noah’s despair and tears, thought her actions resembled self-harm.

Repeatedly hurting herself for failing to protect him, akin to punishing herself.

[ Then there’s one solution. ]

“Y-yes…?”

At the unexpected mention of a ‘solution,’ Noah turned to Julianna.

[ You said it yourself. If you had defeated the monsters a bit faster and gone to find Lian, things would have been fine. ]

Julianna rose from the bed, hovering in the air, looking down at her.

[ So the solution is simple. Become even stronger. ]

“Stronger…?”

[ Yes. ]

“But…”

Noah clenched her lips, bowing her head. Stunted in growth due to being blocked by a wall for two years, the advice to ‘just become stronger’ offered her no help, only plunging her further into despair.

[ Blocked by a wall, huh? ]

“…!”

[ There is a solution. ]

“A solution…?”

[ Yes. ]

With a serious expression, Julianna gazed at Noah.

[ But… you’ll have to risk your life. ]

“It doesn’t matter.”

Flutter!

Noah pushed aside the blanket covering her, her eyes flashing.

“If I can become stronger.”

Thus, if she could only protect Lian.

[ …Alright. ]

Julianna placed a book in front of Noah, where her true self was bound.

Shuffle!

[ If you overcome the trials I faced, you’ll grow stronger. But… you might also die. ]

Bright light emanated from the book, filling the room.

[ Time passes slowly inside, so don’t rush. Take it step by step. ]

Smiling at Julianna’s concerned words, Noah responded.

“Thank you, Master.”

[ May you return safely. ]

Engulfed by the bright light, Noah staggered before collapsing onto the bed, her mind lost in the trial.

[ “Noah, you must keep moving forward without rest.” ]

When Noah’s steps stopped in despair, he would build a wall with his own hands and wander trapped there forever until he collapsed.

Julianna had seen countless geniuses like that in the past.

[“Grabbing your ankles, breaking the chains that drag you down, flying higher…”]

Julianna chuckled ominously.

[“I’ll teach you how to tie up worrying, nerve-wracking men by your side.”]

Julianna sang a tune.

[“When is a good time for a cold one?”]

—

The moment Noah was about to face a trial.

Clatter.

“What should I do?”

Lian was fiddling with the shackle on her ankle. Despite having the shackle on her ankle, there was no one in the room. Everyone had left to deal with the aftermath of the chaos at headquarters. Jess and Iris were taking care of the children at Lian’s request.

They probably wouldn’t return for about three hours. Lian wanted to meet Noah before that and offer an apology. She wanted to run out immediately, but being shackled at the ankle left her helpless.

“If I could just remove this, I could go apologize…”

Lian imagined cutting off her ankle with a ‘snap!’ in her mind and reattaching it, but due to the bloody bed, the image of ending up with two shackles made her abandon the idea.

There were many other bizarre solutions, but she decided not to implement them as they seemed likely to cause chaos.

“What should I do? Should I wait for Noah to come?”

Thinking so, she rolled on the bed, and the clattering sound echoed loudly.

Thud.

At that moment, someone came to Lian’s room.

“Come in!”

She shouted joyfully.

Creak…

The door slowly opened, and someone dressed in a robe entered slowly.

Thunk.

‘…Who is it?’

The person exuded a suspicious aura to the point where Lian momentarily thought, ‘Is this an enemy?’

“Oh…”

A slightly paused but high-pitched female voice was heard.

“Lian-nim!”

“…?!”

When you’re too surprised, you can’t speak. Lian was exactly in that state.

Thud!

The suspicious person quickly ran to Lian’s bedside.

Flutter, the hood of the robe flipped back with the recoil.

“Oh? Pia?”

“Yes, Lian-nim!”

Lian looked at Pia, who knelt beside the bed with a bewildered expression. Not stopping there, Pia leaned forward and prostrated herself flat on the ground in a posture called ‘dogeza.’

“…?”

Pia had thrown the comedian into confusion!