Chapter: 85
‘Did the kids move me?’
The last memory I had was rolling around on the floor, so it seemed someone found me and moved me to the bed.
‘Ugh… I need to drink some water.’
Today, my heavy legs swung out of bed as I plopped down on the edge.
“Yawn, ahem!”
Yawning made my throat sting, so I quickly shut my mouth. Just as I was about to get up and find water,
Click.
The tightly closed door swung open softly, and Iris entered the room with a glum expression.
“Oh, ahem… Iris—”
I instinctively grabbed my throat and barely managed to say her name when Iris, who had been looking down, shot her head up to meet my gaze.
“Ah…!”
With a quick gasp, Iris practically sprinted to my side, moving faster than a racing car.
“Brother!”
“Ugh!”
Iris hugged me so tightly I toppled backward, collapsing onto the bed while still holding her.
“Brother, Brother…”
“Huff…”
I wanted to comfort her, but her skinny arms were squeezing my waist so hard I could barely breathe. I managed a weak pat on her back.
“Su…rrender…”
If my message got through, Iris was startled and let go of me.
“Bro—…ther.”
Her voice echoed in my ears, and my vision started to fade.
‘Wait, am I fainting right now?’
That thought was the last thing in my mind before everything went black.
*
How much time passed? I came to my senses as though waking up from a dream.
“Ugh…”
“Lian!”
“Brother!”
“Everyone, be quiet! Brother is a patient!”
As the buzzing continued, I slowly opened my eyes to see a bunch of worried faces.
“Ahem, wa…ter…”
My throat was so dry I could barely whisper. Someone supported my shoulders and back, lifting me halfway up, while someone else held a cup to my lips.
Gulp, gulp.
“Ah! That’s better!”
Once my thirst was quenched, my mind cleared, and I felt some energy return to my weary body.
Growl…
Now, if only I could fill my grumbling stomach, I’d be back to my old self.
“Ah, I’m hungry.”
I muttered that reflexively, and Noah sprang up, zooming out of the room. I saw red hair peeking through the open door.
“Master…? Master…?”
Jess’s voice hesitated outside as if she was pacing back and forth. I blinked in confusion and mumbled,
“Why is Jess… out there?”
“I told her not to come in since she’d probably bum rush in here if she knew you were awake!”
Still feeling groggy, I regurgitated my thoughts, and Lily chimed in,
“Can we let her in? She looks so pitiful.”
“Nope! Not happening. You’ve been out cold for a whole week! You haven’t had a proper meal and your body is totally weak. If Jess rushes in, it’ll be more than just fainting.”
“A week…? Me?”
I stammered, still spaced out when suddenly someone dashed in. It was Nero and Noah!
“Brother! You’re awake!”
Nero darted to the bed to check my condition, while Noah brought over a tray.
“Whine…”
I could hear Jess whining outside the door like a sad puppy. I turned to Lily and said,
“I’m fine, just tell her to come in.”
“You’re definitely NOT fine!”
A sudden shout made me jump. I turned to see Noah glaring at me, her brows furrowed. She handed the tray to Nero and leaned in closer, launching into rapid-fire words.
“Do you know what you looked like when we found you? You were lying on the floor, completely unresponsive! Even after a day passed… two days… Do you know how scared we were thinking you might leave us for good?!”
Before I knew it, tears started to well up in Noah’s eyes, and my body went stiff. She bit her lip, eyes downcast, and asked in a shaky voice,
“Why didn’t you tell us?”
“Tell you what?”
“That you weren’t feeling well enough to the point of fainting! Why didn’t you say anything?!”
Sweat dripped down my forehead as I rolled my eyes.
‘It’s not that! I just picked up a gem from the floor and fainted while looking at it!’
I couldn’t confess that fear of looking like someone who scrambles for random shiny objects off the ground. Imagining their concerned eyes turning icy with disappointment sent chills down my spine.
I never realized my brother was such a klutz.
At your age, you shouldn’t mess around with things on the ground!
You wasted our precious time worrying for nothing!
Dramatically, I envisioned myself in a spotlight, sinking to my knees like a tragic heroine, crying, “Kids, I’m sorry! Don’t leave me!” and the kids strutting away with cold faces.
Just picturing that made it even harder to speak.
“Uh, um… that is…”
I desperately searched for a plausible excuse, rolling my eyes again.
“Lian!”
“Oh my…!”
“…?”
Noah seemed flustered while Lily, who had been quietly observing, hurried closer to inspect my face.
“What’s with all this sweat…?”
“Oh.”
While trying not to get shunned by the little ones, I was sweating buckets, soaking my clothes and the bed.
“Sorry, I made a mess of the bed and my clothes.”
“What are you talking about?!”
As I fretted over dirtying the bed, Lily scolded me with a fierce glare. I began to look around nervously, feeling like a guilty puppy.
“It’s not about the dirty clothes—no, this isn’t the time for that!”
Lily dashed out of the room like a bullet. As I blinked, watching her disappear, Nero put the tray on the bedside table and said,
“Lily’s studying healing, so she went to fetch some medical tools.”
“Ah, but I’m not sick! Honestly, I think I’ll be fine once I eat something.”
I spoke the pure truth, but all I got were fierce glares in reply. Nero, with a stern look that resembled Lily’s, declared,
“First, you get examined, then you can eat. We still don’t know if you can eat yet.”
With such clear reasoning, I had no choice but to flop back down on the bed like a deflated balloon.
‘If I just get some food, I’ll be all better…’
While sulking over that thought, I felt someone gently grab my right hand. Turning, I saw Iris holding the tip of my finger with a sad face.
Her tentative touch felt nice, and when I clasped her small hand, she looked startled and stared at me wide-eyed. I smiled as gently as I could to reassure her.
“Sniff…”
“Huh?”
Suddenly, Iris’s eyes began to brim with tears. I tried to sit up and hug her, but a firm hand shoved me back down onto the bed.
“Stay still.”
“Yes…”
Noah spoke in a low, commanding voice, her eyes sparkling with authority. I shrank back into a curled-up ball, my hands resting on my chest. After a bit of time,
“Master!”
Jess and Lily entered the room. Jess seemed to have caught the message to be gentle and approached carefully. It was absolutely adorable.
‘What’s all that stuff…?’
My gaze shifted from the cute Jess to the items Lily had just carted in.
“We found some really good stuff while raiding various places in the organization!”
Lily exclaimed, laying out the unfamiliar items on the bed as she flung the blanket off. Then, without warning, she lifted my shirt.
“Ahhh!”
“…?”
Unexpectedly, a feminine scream erupted. Noah had stepped back, blushing furiously, covering her face with both hands.
“Master… Are you feeling really sick? Should I lick it to make it better?”
Jess sniffled, making a sad face as her tongue darted out. Lily shoved her away, insisting that wasn’t a good idea, and lifted a fist-sized object.
She twisted the round gizmo, revealing it to be merely a case; inside was something resembling a medical bandage. Lily slapped it onto my solar plexus.
Then, she fished out three more bandages, sticking one on my forehead and one on each of my calves. Next, she fiddled with some other tools.
‘She’s acting like a mad scientist.’
Watching Lily reminded me of those crazy scientists where things sparkled and clanked until ding, a microwave finished cooking something!
After a little while, a square machine began spitting out what looked like a receipt.
‘It must say I’m healthy, right?’
Other than being a bit hungry, there was nothing wrong, so it should definitely say I was in great health.
“…Why?”
That should’ve been the case, yet Lily’s face had gone pale as she read the results.
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