Chapter: 342
“…First things first, let’s take a break. You’re probably exhausted, but I’m completely wiped out from fighting.”
After the battle with Beatrice, I managed to somehow sort out Yoon Si-woo’s condition with my abilities. Finally, I could breathe a sigh of relief, so I decided to focus on resting.
I was in such a fatigued state from pouring every ounce of strength I had into the fight that it wouldn’t have been surprising if I collapsed right then and there.
“Ugh.”
With that in mind, I flopped down next to Yoon Si-woo. He looked a bit dazed, perhaps still in shock, as he turned to look at me and asked, “…Hey, this isn’t a dream, is it?”
“What kind of random nonsense are you spouting all of a sudden?”
I chuckled at Yoon Si-woo’s unexpected question. But the next moment, I couldn’t keep smiling anymore.
“…Huh.”
“Yikes, why are you crying all of a sudden…?”
It was because I saw tears welling up in Yoon Si-woo’s eyes. That was quite a shock for me. Yoon Si-woo was someone with a strong mental fortitude, so he rarely showed such a vulnerable side.
He had never shed a tear in front of me before. I couldn’t help but wonder what had prompted this sudden change.
“I thought it was all over because of me… That I couldn’t protect you, Scarlet, or anyone else… I thought everything ended because of me…”
Listening to him weep, I could understand why he felt that way. Yoon Si-woo had essentially carried the weight of humanity on his shoulders as he stepped into battle.
But ultimately, he wasn’t able to defeat Beatrice. I could only imagine how devastating it must have felt for him to lose after having such a huge responsibility on his shoulders.
“I’m sorry… I promised I would win for you. But I couldn’t, and now I can’t keep that promise… I’m sorry for that…”
Yoon Si-woo repeatedly expressed his apologies as tears streamed down his face, tormented by the guilt of failing in a fight that determined everyone’s future.
To console him, I moved closer and called his name softly.
“Yoon Si-woo.”
When I called him, he looked at me with eyes filled with pain. I slowly took his hand in mine and asked, “Can you feel it? My hand—warm, right?”
As I wiggled my fingers to emphasize my point, he slowly nodded in response.
“I can feel it. Your hand is warm.”
I raised his hand to his eyes, saying, “And that’s proof that we both survived just fine.”
“……”
“That’s all that matters. So, you don’t need to feel sorry at all.”
I said this with a slight smile, and Yoon Si-woo whispered quietly, “…I see. I guess that’s all that matters.”
He murmured this while managing a small smile. Seeing him stop crying and smile again made me feel like he’d calmed down enough. I decided to lighten the mood by jokingly saying to him,
“Right? A guy should be celebrating, not sniveling like a baby.”
“…Ugh, can you just pretend you didn’t see that? I’m embarrassed.”
“Eh, nope! I’m telling everyone that Yoon Si-woo was bawling his eyes out!”
“…Please don’t! Anything but that!”
As we joked around, maybe feeling a bit silly, something shifted. Yoon Si-woo, now fully awake, suddenly had a question.
“…By the way, how am I still alive? To be honest, I thought I wouldn’t be able to open my eyes again after that impact.”
…Ah, I see he’s starting with that question.
From his perspective, given how certain death seemed, it was naturally something he’d be curious about. However, explaining that would inevitably involve discussing my abilities.
Not wanting to get too into it, I answered lightly, “Oh, that’s thanks to my timely first aid. If I hadn’t given you CPR, you’d probably be wandering in the afterlife by now, you know?”
But as soon as I said that, I regretted it.
“…C-CPR?”
Yoon Si-woo’s face immediately stiffened at my response.
I didn’t think he’d have such a serious reaction, even when hearing a terrible dad joke.
Startled by his intense response, I questioned if I had said something very wrong.
As I thought about it, it made sense why Yoon Si-woo would react that way. Even if you want to joke about something, you shouldn’t humor life-and-death situations.
Yoon Si-woo probably knew better than anyone that no amount of first aid could magically heal him.
The more I thought about it, the guiltier I felt, and I quickly apologized to Yoon Si-woo, saying, “I’m sorry; that was just a joke. Actually, I awakened a new ability, and I used it to heal you.”
But maybe my joke had genuinely upset him.
Yoon Si-woo looked at me with narrowed, serious eyes, asking cautiously, “…So, what about the CPR?”
“…Huh?”
“I mean, did you or did you not do it?”
“Well, I did, but it was totally ineffective…”
As soon as I got to that point, Yoon Si-woo slammed his fist onto the ground with a furious expression.
“Eep! I-I’m sorry! I won’t do anything dumb again…!”
I quivered in fear, overwhelmed by the strange pressure radiating from him as I muttered while shaking.
What is wrong with him? Why is he so mad?
Did something go wrong with my first aid…?
While I was pondering over it, a memory of a story I’d heard in the past flickered through my mind.
It was about someone who was trying to perform CPR too aggressively and ended up breaking a rib.
I stared blankly at my hands.
Thinking back, I probably pressed down way too hard when I was performing CPR in a panicked state because of my powers.
I should probably count my lucky stars that Yoon Si-woo’s ribs weren’t broken.
…But maybe they were broken and healed back together.
…Yoon Si-woo might have figured out the reason for the pain in his chest after regaining consciousness, which would explain his anger.
I should be more careful next time…
With that thought, I reflected deeply on my actions.
As I was lost in my thoughts, Yoon Si-woo suddenly murmured with a cryptic expression, “…It was my first time.”
*
After a brief commotion, Yoon Si-woo and I managed to get enough rest to regain some strength.
By the way, during this time, not a single word passed between us.
Yoon Si-woo, still upset from the CPR conversation, seemed utterly deflated, so it wasn’t the right moment for me to reach out to him.
Even if talking about my abilities wouldn’t be a bad subject for me, it felt awkward to be sitting in silence beside Yoon Si-woo.
If there was something else we could do aside from resting, I would have suggested separating to engage in different activities.
While we were left with the only task of finding the Sacred Remnants pointed out by Beatrice, with Ari transformed into an egg and useless for exploration, I was stuck right next to Yoon Si-woo.
After enduring that suffocating silence, salvation finally arrived.
“Scarlet! Yoon Si-woo!”
“Ah, Sylvia!! Over here!”
It was Sylvia, leading the search team to look for the Sacred Remnants. She arrived just in the nick of time, and I internally cheered for her arrival when she rushed to us, visibly flustered.
“Are you all okay?! Is anyone hurt?!”
“Yeah, we’re fine. We definitely took down the Witch of Sloth. No need to worry.”
“Thank goodness. I was really scared something terrible had happened!”
“Hmm? Why?”
When I asked, Sylvia turned to glance at Yoon Si-woo, whose face was filled with an expression of sorrow.
What on earth is up with him?
As I puzzled over it, Sylvia couldn’t suppress her curiosity and asked Yoon Si-woo, “…Hey, is something wrong, Yoon Si-woo?”
“Yeah, something really sad happened…”
Is he still holding onto the loss to Beatrice in his heart or something?
Even though I thought it was unnecessary to fuss over.
Sighing, I nudged Sylvia and said, “You don’t need to worry about him. It’s not a big deal. More importantly, we got a general idea of where the Sacred Remnants are, so let’s hurry and find them.”
“Got it! So where should we search?”
I pointed my finger toward a specific area.
Sylvia’s expression hardened a bit as she asked, “…Um, over there?”
“Yeah, over there.”
What I was pointing at was a large hole where you couldn’t even see the bottom.
Now it was time to dive in and search for the Sacred Remnants.
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