CH 14

Raen’s words sounded so vague. I think I knew what he meant, but also, at the same time, I wasn’t so sure.

Raen, examining my expression, continued in a soft voice, “I suppose I spoke too unclearly, I just meant that it would be better to be careful since there’s little knowledge about healing magic yet.”

Of course, my ability wasn’t truly healing magic. However, I just nodded along. Raen, holding my hands and activating teleportation magic, finally said in a relieved tone, “Up till now, nothing seems wrong with Yihan-ie. What a relief–I don’t think your body will bear many burdens even if I use magic right next to you.”

This truly was fortunate news.

I returned back to the room I shared with Song Ha-gyeon and sat blankly on the bed, lost in thought. Unfortunately, during the course of these experiments, three days have already passed by in a blink of an eye.

<Required Quest!> ‘Raen – Don’t Doubt me! III Failed!

Penalty: ‘Nausea for 3 days’ will commence.

A new quest in the series appeared before me.

<Required Quest!> ‘Raen – Don’t Don’t Me! IV’

Success: Gain Raen’s Trust

Failure: Penalty. Intermittent nosebleeds for 3 weeks

Time limit: 3 weeks

If life is a series of trials, then I’m living a pretty fulfilling life, huh?

I exhaled deeply; darkness had already settled outside the window. It was the middle of the night. A round moon hung high in the sky when the last quest began, so I knew that we had reached the appointed deadline for the previous quest.

‘…Ngh.’

It felt like bitter liquid was crawling up my throat; I hugged my pillow tightly and leaned against the headrest. I felt a little mentally better at the soft feel of the pillow, but, naturally, my stomach wasn’t relieved.

I turned my head to the side; the bed opposite mine was empty. Song Ha-gyeon must be in the laboratory, even at this time. I had never encountered him at night even though I tended to fall asleep quite late.

Was there a place to sleep in the lab? Or, is he not sleeping? I wondered when Song Ha-gyeon, who consistently stood upright–prim and proper, slept.

However, my curiosity didn’t last long. My stomach ached seriously. The only thing my brain could wonder about right now was my immediate future.

‘I don’t think I’ll be able to eat for the next three days.’

Park Yul’s home-cooked food was delicious, though…

Honestly, this was so unfair. Though I’m the one who’s being suspected by Raen, I’m also the one who has to resolve that doubt. I felt it was a bit unjust for me to suffer a penalty when I fail to appease the man.

I glared at the window floating in the air. The time remaining for the newly launched quest was quietly ticking down. I buried my face into the pillow in my arm; I think I was a bit sad. Every time I exhaled, my stomach seemed to flop over. Throughout these violent internal upheavals, the pillow still smelled quite good.

‘The scent of grass.’

There was a subtle scent of greenery that filled the room–a scent that reminded me of a summer’s night. Come to think of it, the paper that Song Ha-gyeon attached to my forehead had a similar scent.

Does he experiment and study various herbs and herbal medicine in his lab or something?

""

I’ll be sure to ask him next time. If my hunch was correct, I shouldn’t expect Song Ha-gyeon to offer up information before I ask him directly. That man never really talked about himself.

‘Ah, wait a minute. I think I’m actually going to vomit.’

The urge to throw up suddenly overwhelmed me; I hurriedly covered my mouth with my hand.

Of course, nothing left my mouth. Though it felt strange to feel nausea without the resulting vomit, I felt relief that there were no more side-effects.

I raised my head–much time had already passed. Considering how heavy my eyelids felt, it must be well past my usual sleeping time. So tired…

And, it was utterly dark.

I was left alone in a room with no light–dark and spacious. That’s when a sudden realization hit home.

…I hated it. I don’t like it at all. The dark…it was scary and heavy. My heart thumped–I needed to do something like draw back the curtains…

Click–

The door handle turned quietly; my head swiveled immediately towards its direction. The door was slowly opening. Song Ha-gyeon carefully entered the room with several thick books floating in the air in an organized manner.

Song Hagyeon discovered me sitting on the bed; the man trembled a little. He opened his mouth and, in a low tone, said, “…Why aren’t you asleep yet?”

I felt like throwing up–though, I couldn’t really give him that answer. I just stared at his face with a distant expression. Though the other always looked calm, his facial expression changed slightly. Now, he looked a little surprised–just a little bit.

Song Ha-gyeon haphazardly threw the floating book onto his bed; it flapped as the pages splayed out on the blanket.

After suddenly approaching me, he summoned a small, rectangular white box in the air. Then, Song Ha-gyeon gently brushed the floating box with his fingertips; a subdued light spread across its surface.

He then placed the box on the bedside stable; the light gently overtook the darkness in the room.

“…Did you have a nightmare?” He asked, slowly reaching out over my head. I shook my head slightly–I couldn’t even fall asleep in the first place.

After pausing momentarily, he swept my bangs off my forehead; his certain hands swept away my cold sweat. “…Are you in pain?”

Am I hurting or not? To be frank, the answer to that question was quite complicated. Thanks to my passive effect, I won’t feel any pain, persay, but the penalty and the resulting side-effects still apply.

Does this discomfort not count as pain? Or are the penalties I receive separate from my ability?

Come to think of it, why was every system’s penalty based on some standard of ‘pain’ or ‘discomfort’?

“Sun Yihan?”

I heard Song Ha-gyeon’s voice. His tone was quite flat, but, still, he sounded concerned.

“I’m alright, Ha-gyeon Hyung.” Actually, I didn’t feel bad enough to complain. I’ve just never felt this sick before since my body was so strong; it would be ridiculous for me to claim that I’m going through some hardship right now. “Why isn’t Hyung asleep yet?”

Shouldn’t this line of questioning be turned towards Song Ha-gyeon? For what reason was he awake until this late hour? Is he incredibly busy?

However, I wasn’t graced with an answer to my question. “…It seems like you’re not feeling well though?”

‘I’m not sick. I’m sure I said I was fine–I doubt he’s even listening to me.’

The other looked down at me with a slightly rigid expression–it felt like he would continue to stand like that until I answered properly. Who knows–Song Ha-gyeon might actually do that.

Reluctantly, I opened my mouth, “I’m mostly fine; my insides are a little…”

As soon as I finished speaking, Song Ha-gyeon’s hand waved minutely in the air; two round flasks–both two different sizes–appeared midair. Their glassy surfaces glistened in the dark. Pink liquid swirled about inside in the smaller flask. The slightly larger bottle was half-filled with liquid that was transparent like water.

He tilted the smaller flask into the larger; the transparent liquid gradually became stained and tinted with pink. Song Hagyeon stared at the liquid–he almost seemed to be lost in thought–before floating a finger-sized leaf upwards.

Rustle–

The leaf crumbled midair, became fine powder, and then fell into the flask. Song Hagyeon grabbed the bottle’s neck with one hand and gently twirled it around. The pink liquid gradually turned a rich purple–exactly the color of early dawn.

The whole process was completed in an instant; Song Ha-gyeon handed the potion over to me. The glass felt cold in my hands.

“…Just drink a little,” He murmured.

To be honest, I thought it would be a waste for me to drink this. As if the other had lifted the night sky and placed it within this flask, fine power twinkled and was suspended within the liquid. As if the milky way was contained within.

When I just stared at the glass bottle, Song Ha-gyeon continued, “Are you feeling that nauseous?”

Ah–I said I was fine, though. I guess I dragged my feet for too long. I tilted my head back and placed the lip of the flask to my mouth. Song Ha-gyeon carefully supported the bottom of the bottle with his hand. “If it’s too much, then just one sip.”

Honestly–it’s not as if I’m some sandcastle that would immediately collapse as soon as someone touches me. I felt a little embarrassed by his level of worry.

My discomfort wasn’t to the point where water wouldn’t pass down my throat. When I swallowed about two sips, Song Ha-gyeon took the glass bottle out of my hands. “Don’t force yourself to drink more.”

His voice was slow, but determined–as usual. The potion was sweeter and more refreshing than I had expected; I was a little disappointed to have it be taken away.

After vanishing away the flask, Song Ha-gyeon lightly grabbed my chin and turned my head towards him. His fingers gently swept across the corners of my lips.

Perhaps he was trying to wipe the potion off the edges of my mouth… I didn’t think I was that sloppy, though.

“…Lay down, now.” Song Ha-gyeon whipped out a pillow from his bed and placed it next to me, tapping on the plush surface lightly. I was slowly becoming drowsy, so I lay down on his pillow wordlessly.

After drinking that medicine, my body felt somehow relaxed. Sleep was rushing over me, overwhelming my consciousness. Song Ha-gyeon gently pressed on the pillow in my arms; the pillow became warmer and warmer. I recalled that Raen had showed me similar magic. Hugging something so warm and fluffy helped to subside my nausea.

He covered me with a blanket, pulling the covers over my head. Then, he placed his hand on my head and stroked gently. “It’s alright. Sleep.”

My eyelids closed automatically, as if my body was melting. Was this magic as well? His voice gradually sounded more and more distant. The light leaking from the small box that had been placed on the table began to fade as well.

“…Sleep well.”

I heard that comment just before I went to sleep.

◇~◇~◇~◇~◇

When I opened my eyes, sunlight was already pouring into the room. The pillow between my arms was still warm.

The sun was high in the sky–a peaceful afternoon. Although, my body didn’t feel peaceful at all. I still felt quite nauseous. Though I felt momentarily recovered when I took Song Ha-gyeon’s medicine, when I woke up, I was back to turn one.

I sighed deeply and walked out of the room. On the bright side, three days weren’t so bad. People won’t die if they don’t eat for three days.

“Ah, Yihan-ah.”

As I descended the stairs, I encountered Park Yul coming up from below. The warrior strode straight up to me and then covered my shoulder with what he had on hand: a sky-blue blanket. “How is your nausea? Are you feeling better now? I heard about your struggles from Song Ha-gyeon this morning.”

Park Yul added that he was on his way to wake me up, but I had woken first–drowsily wandering his way.

When we opened the door to the canteen, Raen was already there. In front of him, there was a plate topped with a few, round, slices of bread and soup. Park Yul asked what I’d like him to make, but I couldn’t stomach anything. With tears in my eyes, I refused.

“I see–you’re not feeling well enough yet,” Park said in a worried tone and heated up a kettle. He then sprinkled some green leaves inside. “Ha-gyeon gave me this. He said that these are medicinal leaves that calm the stomach.”

The tea smelled faintly of grass; a single sip warmed my body.

I gripped the heated glass with both hands and sipped tea; Raen, sitting across from me, suddenly asked, “Yihan. Can’t you use healing magic on yourself?”

TL: Hey guys, so sorry for the long break from updating. I am recovered from covid! However, I have like no stockpile left, so I’ll be a bit harried and slow for a bit. (Especially since I’m in the middle of applications). So, this update might have more grammar errors than usual.

Sorry >.<