“Just relax and lie down comfortably and it’ll be over soon.”
I was lying on a cold metal bed with nothing on my upper body.
An Joo-hyuk, who spoke with a confident voice as if to reassure me, was really trustworthy.
If I hadn’t seen him filling the syringe with a strange drug, I would have surely continued to trust him.
“…I’m not relaxed at all. I’m sorry, but can’t you do it somewhere I can’t see?”
“Huh? Oh, this isn’t for you. It’s for Laura.”
“Hmm.”
Laura Hartmann nodded slightly and rolled up her sleeve.
She turned her head with a slight grimace, and Evangeline, who was watching her, giggled and laughed.
“Lara, are you still afraid of needles?”
“I’d rather fight a dragon. And I told you not to call me that… Ouch!?”
As the needle pierced her arm, Laura clenched her teeth and flinched.
At that sight, An Joo-hyuk slapped her arm with a familiar look.
“Relax. If it breaks inside, you’ll have to cut it out with a knife.”
“I know that…”
“Hmm, then I’ll get ready too.”
Leaving the whimpering Laura alone, Evangeline Loengrin began to lay out the things she had brought.
Candles of strange colors, jars of powder, herbs, and so on. They were all things that suited her nickname of ‘Grand Witch’.
“Kheuk.”
Laura, who had been injected, also rubbed her arm and laid out the things she had brought.
Silver needles of different lengths and shapes, a strange-looking bell.
And things that looked like cultural relics from some country, such as a large bowl.
“What is this…”
As I tried to get up reflexively, An Joo-hyuk gently laid me down again and said.
“You probably know best, so it’s better to be honest.”
He looked at me straight and asked.
“Do you know that you are cursed right now?”
I nodded at his words.
It was true that I was cursed as a price for using the King of Thorns to the limit.
“…And we’re going to lift it now.”
“Really?”
I was surprised and frowned at him.
And he seemed to take my reaction in a different way.
“We can do it. So please trust us.”
“…”
I couldn’t tell him that it would get better over time with a serious expression on his face.
To tell him that, I had to tell him about the King of Thorns, and that would risk exposing everything related to Svengali and the Seven Tribes.
And above all, the King of Thorns was the most powerful skill and trump card for me right now.
I even kept it a secret from Han Soo-young, Choi Hyun-woo, Jin Ye-seul, and Ivan… And Eun-a.
There was no way I could reveal that secret here.
“Evangeline is proficient in curses and curse-breaking.”
“Yay.”
Evangeline made a V sign with her fingers and smiled mischievously at An Joo-hyuk’s words.
“I didn’t eat the title and rank of Grand Witch for nothing.”
“…And Laura is skilled in necromancy, exorcism, and blessing.”
“…”
Laura silently filled the bowl with water and examined the silver needles she had brought.
An Joo-hyuk sighed softly and stepped back a few steps from the bed I was lying on.
On the floor, there was a large magic circle engraved around the bed.
Then, the geometric patterns that were forming slowly began to emit a strange light.
“And I’ll assist these two and check your overall condition.”
“Hmm, excuse me for a moment.”
“…It might sting a little. Hang in there, Yoo Ji-hyuk.”
Evangeline began to apply a salve made of ash, herb juice, and her own blood to various parts of my body.
Laura also took out the silver needles from the bowl and stuck them in various places on my body.
Then she dipped her hand in the bowl and splashed it around, then moved her hand as if playing a prank and touched my body with her wet hand.
[An unknown salve seeps into your skin!]
[For a certain time, the recovery speed of all status abnormalities is drastically increased!]
[For a certain time, you gain resistance to all attributes!]
[For a certain time, the recovery speed of health and mana is increased!]
[Blessed holy water seeps into your skin!]
[For a certain time, all attacks are endowed with the ‘light’ attribute!]
[For a certain time, you gain high resistance to ‘darkness’ attribute and undead attacks!]
[All abilities are temporarily increased!]
“It might be painful, but please bear with it.”
As he said that, An Joo-hyuk clapped his hands.
The magic circle below, which reacted to his magic, shook violently and reacted again.
Evangeline and Laura sat down a little away from me and closed their eyes, muttering something incessantly.
“…It begins.”
As he said that, a fierce energy burst out of An Joo-hyuk’s body.
***
…A breeze tickles my cheek, and a pleasant warmth settles on my face.
Slowly, I regained consciousness and heard a chatter.
“…Huh?”
At some point, I had fallen asleep without knowing it.
I was even sitting on a wheelchair.
As I twitched my body, someone who was pushing the wheelchair leaned in with a whoosh.
“Ah, you finally woke up.”
Brown hair and fair skin, a face that reminded me of a squirrel or a hamster.
She was none other than Eun-a.
“Ji-hyuk, you’re not a sleeping princess in the forest, how long have you been sleeping… Ouch!”
“Ji-hyuk, are you awake now?”
“How do you feel?”
Choi Hyun-woo, who was joking with a smile, had his foot lightly stepped on by Han Soo-young, who looked at me with a worried expression.
Jin Ye-seul also looked at me with a lot of worry in her eyes.
I, who had just woken up from sleep, nodded blankly.
“Uh, I think I’m much better.”
“That’s good.”
Han Soo-young smiled brightly as if she was really relieved.
I averted my eyes without realizing it, but I couldn’t tell if it was because of her bright smile or the glaring sun.
“How long has it been?”
I asked Jin Ye-seul, who caught my eye as I looked away.
She had a slight frown on her face, but she quickly smiled and answered.
“…It’s been exactly two hours, thirty-seven minutes, and fourteen seconds since you went in for the procedure, and eighteen minutes since we started walking around after they said it was okay to take a stroll.”
“…Uh, thanks.”
I felt a chill and nodded slightly.
I glanced around and saw Han Su-yeong, Jin Ye-seul, Choi Hyun-woo, and Ivan.
And Eun-a was there too.
“I feel like I’ve become a big shot.”
“You are a big shot. You’ve done a great deed.”
Ivan laughed loudly and Han Su-yeong muttered in a low voice.
“It reminds me of the old days. …You were in a wheelchair then too.”
She added in an even lower voice.
“And you’re more injured than before. Why…”
“Oh, right. Do you remember when I pushed your wheelchair back then?”
Choi Hyun-woo quickly spoke up and patted my shoulder.
“It was less competitive then, but now it’s fierce. They fought over who would push you from behind and ended up voting.”
“Voting?”
“A vote on who would push your wheelchair.”
Ivan followed up.
“Eun-a won by three to one to one.”
“Ha ha ha…”
Eun-a laughed awkwardly.
“Well, since you’re my employer… I thought it would be right for me to do it.”
She asked me with a worried voice after a moment.
“But are you really okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Maybe it’s because three of the ten strongest are sticking to me.”
“…But you don’t look any different. And the only thing that’s stabilized is your magic wavelength.”
Eun-a murmured as Ivan opened his mouth.
“But you don’t have a bandage on you anywhere. Didn’t An Ju-hyuk say he finished treating you? I know him as a monster-like ability user who can attach severed body parts perfectly.”
“Ah… It was so shattered that he wasn’t sure. He said he attached everything, but he fixed it just in case.”
I moved my arm in a cast and Ivan nodded.
Then Jin Ye-seul gently took my hand and whispered.
“Ji-hyuk, can I ask you something a bit out of the blue?”
“Huh? What is it?”
“What hand do you usually use?”
I answered without much thought.
“I can use both hands. I was left-handed when I was young, but I got hit, no. I got scolded by my mother and fixed it. Somehow I could use both hands.”
“…Really?”
Jin Ye-seul nodded and gently stroked my hand.
I could feel her touch vividly even though I was moving my fingers along the cast.
“Then you’ll need both hands to feed me…”
“…”
Vroom.
“Uh…!”
“Huh? What’s wrong?”
I was startled by the phone vibrating in sync with her whisper and blurted out a strange sound.
Jin Ye-seul looked at me strangely and answered the phone right away.
“Yeah, sis.”
The person who called was probably Jin Ye-jeong.
“Why are you calling me at this time? You should be napping by now. You’re still not feeling well.”
Jin Ye-seul joked with a slight smile.
“Sis, if you keep making me worry like that, I won’t stay still either.”
…From my perspective, knowing that she managed Jin Ye-jeong’s daily life by the minute, it was not a joke I could laugh off.
Then her expression suddenly sharpened.
“…Yeah? Really? Seriously?”
After a brief pause, she hung up the phone and looked at me with a sorry face.
“Ji-hyuk, I’m really sorry, but can I go somewhere for a bit?”
“Did something urgent come up?”
“Yeah… I think I have to go right now.”
She looked like she had no face, and I nodded that it was okay.
Then Jin Ye-seul laughed with relief and said.
“Thank you…! Then while I’m gone…”
She quickly scanned the group and naturally looked at Ivan.
“I guess I can ask the leader. It’s the leader’s role to take care of the injured member.”
“Me?”
Ivan looked surprised.
But Jin Ye-seul didn’t answer him and bowed her head to me again, then melted into the shadows and disappeared.
“Wow.”
And Ivan reacted exaggeratedly to that.
Then he straightened up when he saw Han Su-yeong’s expression freeze next to me.
“…”
Eun-a didn’t say anything.
She just kept pushing the wheelchair at a moderate speed as before.
“Ah, it’s cold!”
I reflexively twisted my body and put my hand on my back.
It seemed like the wind was blowing, but drops of water fell from above.
“Oh, right. It rained earlier.”
Choi Hyun-woo muttered that.
“Here’s a handkerchief.”
Eun-a quickly took out a handkerchief and Han Su-yeong wiped the water on my back.
I felt sorry for that and smiled awkwardly.
“I’m sorry, I scared you guys… And I wouldn’t have bothered you if I was fine.”
“…”
But Han Su-yeong didn’t say anything and just silently wiped my body.
I closed my mouth feeling awkward and she spoke a beat late.
“I’m not going to answer you for a while because I got an apology from you.”
“What?”
She suddenly looked up at me as she was half-kneeling and wiping the water on her apron.
Her red hair swayed and a fresh scent that I couldn’t describe tickled my nose.
“This wasn’t the time to apologize, you know?”
She made a sly expression and tilted her head, drawing out her words.
Then she stuck out her tongue at me.
“Nyah, you stupid idiot.”
“Hey, how can you call me an idiot…”
“Hmph.”
Han Su-yeong turned her head as if she was angry and got up from her seat.
Then she smiled at Eun-a and said.
“Ah, thanks for the handkerchief. Eun-a.”
“…Uh, sure.”
Han Su-yeong handed the handkerchief to Eun-a and leaned toward me subtly.
I pulled my neck back as far as I could, afraid she might touch me, and turned my head slightly.
Then I heard her whisper in a small voice above my head.
“…You’re really an idiot.”
With that, she walked away from me and moved ahead a little.
Choi Hyun-woo and Ivan also exchanged glances and followed her, relaxing as if they were relieved.
“Hey, Eun-a?”
“Huh? Oh, sorry.”
Eun-a, who had been still, snapped out of it at my call and followed them belatedly.
“…”
She still didn’t say anything.
As always.
