Li Shen didn't know whether he felt relieved or unsettled by that, but there was a strange, restless stirring in his chest.
"No, no… I'm just feeling weird because the person who's been acting like my guardian isn't around right now. That's all. Yeah."
Trying to convince himself, he ran his fingers through his hair to smooth out the bedhead he was sure he had, then slowly slid his feet off the bed.
It was only now, as he became aware of it, that he realized what he was wearing—a soft, white, knee-length tunic that looked like a long shirt.
It kind of resembled a hospital gown.
Though, to be fair, the quality of this one was miles ahead of any hospital wear he had ever seen.
And actually, this was the first time he was getting off the bed at all.
That strange, dull pain all over his body had still been there yesterday, but he had finally reached the point where light movement was possible.
…Even though the last time he'd only managed to sit in a kneeling position on the bed and that had somehow triggered that whole intense conversation.
Anyway—this was it.
This moment was going to be Li Shen's very first step in another world.
Yes. He was stepping forward… stepping into the unknown—!
"Ah?! Daaaaaaaah—!!!???"
Regret.
Intense, full-body regret.
And technically, he hadn't even taken a step.
The moment his hips lifted off the bed, a burning pain shot through his body like lightning and he collapsed onto the floor with a dull, wet thud.
Oh. The carpet was actually really soft.
But everything else hurt.
He wanted to roll around in pain, but it hurt too much to even move a finger.
Why?
He'd been able to kneel just fine! Why did trying to stand up make him feel like he was being electrocuted!?
Sigh… What the hell am I even doing?
With his face facing down on the floor, he consciously took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
This was a good moment to reset himself.
In another world with memory loss and being loved by… well, maybe not that part.
Still, it was one strange, chaotic thing after another, as if the universe had decided to throw all its nonsense at him at once.
He needed to calm down.
Yes… he needed to think carefully about everything Somnus had told him up until now.
Could he really believe it all?
Li Shen had grown undeniably close to the man who was always by his side—Somnus.
Anyone would, really. If you suddenly woke up in a strange world, in a strange situation, and someone cared for you that much, you'd probably feel some attachment too.
Emotionally, Li Shen had already decided that he could trust Somnus. That part came naturally.
But even then, it was getting harder to ignore the parts that didn't make sense. He couldn't pretend not to see them anymore.
Unless this world had a system of government drastically different from anything Li Shen had ever known, it didn't make sense for someone with the title of His Imperial Majesty the Emperor to have this much time to personally watch over one person.
And more than anything else—since the moment he woke up in this room until now—Li Shen had not seen a single other person besides Somnus.