After waking up in the hospital, the first thing Yujin did was check what had happened while he was asleep.
Winning the tournament didn't mean everything was over. He couldn't ask his friends who were basically foreign guests, but there was one person who knew the situation in Kazimierz best.
"…To think you actually pulled it off. I still wonder if this is reality."
Daniel Nearl, the head of the Nearl family whom Yujin hadn't seen in a while, looked at him while rubbing his face roughly.
Despite the piercing gazes behind his back, Daniel ignored them and spoke to Yujin.
"First of all, I'm glad you're alive."
"It would have been unfair if I died after winning."
He had received the Grand Master's recognition, but he hadn't even had an award ceremony.
When Yujin winked at Daniel with a smile, the gazes of Theresa and Kalaisha shifted to him. Seeing Yujin‘s behavior, Daniel let out a sigh that seemed to reach the floor.
"I'm sorry, but do you want to know your condition when you were brought to the hospital? The doctor suggested letting you go peacefully because there was no hope. That's how critical it was."
"…Uh, I didn't feel like that when I was fighting."
"Poison had spread through your thigh and side, and blood was flowing from puncture wounds. They said it was strange you hadn't died from excessive blood loss due to the countless injuries sustained during the match. Your ribs were broken and piercing your lungs, and there was a hole in your lung filling with blood. Several doctors and the best healing Arts users in Kazimierz barely saved your life."
"..."
Now all eyes were on Yujin‘s face.
"Since I lived, it's okay, right?"
"Just die."
Kalaisha slammed her staff down at Yujin, who stuck out his tongue and made a cute face, but Yujin caught it easily. Seeing the look in Kalaisha‘s eyes, Yujin realized her feelings were serious and stopped joking.
"So... I said I'm glad you're alive. Anyway, you have fulfilled my request, and you are currently the hottest knight in Kazimierz."
The duel between Yujin and Tola heated up all of Kazimierz, and it wasn't enough; the story spread to other countries.
"What do you plan to do now?"
Daniel asked Yujin. What do you plan to do now? But Yujin made one request to the Grand Master, and the Grand Master approved it. Until he recovered to deal with the aftermath, he had to stay in Kazimierz.
When Yujin told everyone in the hospital room about his request to the Grand Master, everyone looked bewildered.
An Infected Knight System.
When words no one had thought of came out, everyone was flustered.
"…You managed to put the Grand Master in your debt. But to use that debt to ask for an Infected Knight System?"
"Well, isn't it? I promised, and it would be strange if the title of knight didn't apply to the Infected."
Yujin smiled as he spoke. Who could make such a request without hesitation? Even though he wasn't Infected, Yujin threw himself into danger for them.
"Everyone here knows. In Kazdel, there are almost no humans who aren't Infected. So, if someone like me dreams of being a knight, I don't want them to give up on their dream because of the wall called Infected."
Daniel‘s eyes lowered. Then, after thinking for a moment, he tapped Yujin‘s shoulder and laughed.
"A choice befitting you. Then I will support your choice as well."
"Look forward to the day I get out of bed."
Hearing Yujin‘s words, Daniel paused for a moment. Look forward to the day you get up? What trouble are you planning now?
Although he was a benefactor, Daniel shivered slightly at the ominous feeling that an incident would occur if Yujin moved. Yujin, who heard about the situation in Kazimierz and regained a peaceful daily life, tried to lay down on the bed, but...
"Everyone out, please? I want to talk to Yujin alone for a moment."
Theresa spoke to everyone with a face that seemed to smile but wasn't smiling. Larin shook her head and tried not to leave, but after Kalaisha whispered something in her ear, she went out with her, and Theresis and Buldrokk left in silence.
"Theresa, I haven't even greeted you properly. Have you been well..."
Grab.
Before Yujin could finish his sentence, Theresa's hand was faster. She grabbed Yujin by the collar and glared at him with eyes that held autumn.
"..."
"Theresa."
"You, when you get out of the hospital, you're going straight back to Kazdel. Understand?"
Theresa's words were a declaration. Regardless of Yujin‘s will, she declared that they would return to Kazdel, ignoring his will.
"…I can't do that."
But hearing the words from Yujin‘s mouth, she gritted her teeth. Then she shouted.
"You promised! You said you would never die. But look at you now."
Lying in a hospital bed, a slightly thin body, a body barely surviving with an oxygen mask until waking up.
"You said you wouldn't die. What do you think I felt when I saw you carried into the hospital?"
When she watched the duel in Kazdel, she didn't think much of it.
It was something beyond the screen, and she never thought Yujin would lose.
But seeing Yujin with her own eyes was different. Exhausted, he fought risking his life. The enemy Yujin faced rushed to kill him without hesitation, and she screamed when dozens of spears pierced Yujin in the shadows.
And when she finally saw Yujin carried to the hospital after losing consciousness, he looked like a dead man without movement. She could hear the doctors shouting, but it didn't reach her ears.
"But I lived..."
"You know that's not something to just gloss over!"
The conversation ran parallel. Yujin wanted to move past this situation, but Theresa didn't. Eventually, Yujin sighed and looked at Theresa.
Seeing Yujin sigh, Theresa flinched, but she couldn't back down.
"Theresa, if I hadn't done it, someone would have died. That's why I did it. Kazdel or Kazimierz, they're both the same."
She knew.
That day, when unknown mercenaries came, Yujin fought the enemy to save Theresa.
It would probably be the same in Kazimierz. If someone asked for help with good intentions, Yujin wouldn't ignore it.
"…I'm sorry."
But when Yujin saw Theresa's eyes, he quietly hugged her. Because he knew what she was worried about. He couldn't coldly push away someone who worried about him.
Theresa's slender body is quietly embraced by Yujin. Theresa also hugged Yujin silently, but she bit her lip tightly.
"From now on, don't let this happen. Prioritize your safety above all else. Otherwise..."
"Otherwise...?"
"I'll follow you in death the moment you die."
Whoosh. The light in Theresa's eyes went out. Seeing that, Yujin broke into a cold sweat. Follow me in death? A joke, it must be a joke, right?
"…Don't say things like that lightly."
"So take good care of your body. If you don't want to see me follow you."
Theresa didn't say it was a joke, but Yujin took her words as a joke and carefully stroked her back. Hoping this incident was unique and nothing like this would happen next time. This time was tough enough to be called the hardest thing in Yujin‘s life.
With those words, Theresa, feeling each other's warmth, left the hospital room. Yujin, having time alone to rest, buried himself deep in the bed and fell into thought.
The affairs in Kazimierz were settled, but Amiya told him to be careful.
He didn't want to ignore the protagonist's words and get hurt badly, but Amiya's last advice was somewhat ambiguous.
Beware the demon.
Demon had a double meaning. The Sarkaz race he knew best also meant demon.
But if Amiya's words didn't mean Sarkaz...
"…Demons."
The collapsible icefields of Sami and Ursus, the Foehn Hotlands of Sargon.
Real monsters completely different from what Yujin knew.
Was she telling him to beware of the monstrosities from oral traditions and stories?
Yujin had never actually seen them. He had met the Seaborn, monstrosities from the sea, but he had never directly encountered the monstrosities called Demons.
"Whether she means to beware of Sarkaz or Demons. I can't tell..."
Since the possibility of having to beware of both was low, there weren't many Sarkaz who would touch Yujin, the disciple of Netsalem, the Nachzehrer King, in Kazdel. Basically, Yujin was also a skilled person.
And Demons... heard only in oral traditions, so he didn't know if they actually existed. Or maybe people mistook ghosts or strange people for Demons.
Anyway, Yujin‘s next destination wasn't Kazdel, nor Ursus or Sami, and certainly not Sargon.
If the work in Kazimierz was finished, the place he would leave for was...
Yan.
He planned to stop by Dahuang just for a vacation.
An important base famous as an agricultural city and responsible for Yan's food supply, he could also get information for agricultural development in Kazdel there.
"Well, nothing will happen, right?"
Where is a peaceful place like Yan these days? What could happen?
Yujin closed his eyes, thinking it was just unnecessary worry.
Still unaware of his future.
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