Raphael, who had been lying on the bed, suddenly opened his eyes and sat up, startling Michael.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
As soon as he opened his eyes, he coughed dryly without stop, fresh blood mixed with saliva spraying everywhere.
"Is this really okay?"
Seeing so much blood coming out, Michael's face turned pale. The more he looked, the more it seemed like he was about to die.
"It's fine. Just a normal day. From what I see, the more he coughs up blood, the healthier that old man gets." Leo answered casually as if it wasn't anything important.
The corner of Michael's mouth twitched a few times. Your father is coughing up blood, why does it sound like a stranger coughing up blood?
But what Leo said probably wasn't nonsense. After all, the weak and clueless person here was Michael.
'System, is he telling the truth?'
[Through system checks, that blood is very hot, clearly affected by a skill. Raphael's action is deliberate, not due to extreme weakness causing him to cough up blood.]
'So that's it.'
Michael now felt even more awed. Even in that state, his body could remain conscious enough to handle internal injuries. If it were him, he didn't think he could do it.
After coughing up blood, Raphael closed his eyes to rest. Sitting quietly for a long while, he slowly opened his eyes again.
"Probably three more years to recover." he muttered, his gaze now turning towards the other unfamiliar kid in the room.
He had noticed Michael since he got close. It was just that Michael was so weak that even if he lay still and let the other attack, he couldn't do anything to him, so he couldn't be bothered to pay attention.
"Leo, who did you bring back? Someone like you has friends? I thought you didn't have time for things like this." Raphael asked curiously.
Having observed Leo for a long time, not discovering something strange would be the problem. If Leo were older, it would be one thing, but a child behaving like this was overly suspicious.
"This is the person who will help me fulfill my ambition." Leo confidently declared.
Michael beside him felt a bit embarrassed. Being praised so highly out of nowhere made him feel like he could actually do it.
'No, can't be swayed by this kid's words. I'm not doing any revolution, just following to help him.' He quickly shook his head, firming his resolve.
"Huh?"
Raphael slightly raised an eyebrow, looked at Michael, then shook his head again. This physique, weaker than an ordinary person, what could he do? Being this weak, even if he became a contractor he could never be strong.
"Too weak. You should give up those empty ambitions. It's because of those stupid things that your mother died." He snorted, clearly unhappy to bring up this issue.
Both he and Astrid didn't want Leo involved with Gabriel at all. But no matter how they thought about it, their son wanted to follow a similar path. Moreover, this kid didn't have the strength.
"Hmph, revolutionaries aren't afraid of death. If I'm afraid, how can I reach my ambition?" Leo refused to back down, retorting.
A chubby three-year-old puffing his cheeks and glaring while saying such high-minded words looked utterly unconvincing no matter what.
"Hmph, stupid delusion. Kid, you shouldn't follow this brat. You'll really die."
Raphael didn't have any particular love for children to warn Michael. He just found Leo's behavior annoying and wanted to drive Michael away to upset him.
"I... If possible, I don't want to participate either. But this is my agreement with him, so I can't do otherwise." Michael shrugged, speaking helplessly.
On this point, he agreed with Raphael. Why not live well yourself? Why run off to save others? Moreover, the revolutionary path in his world's history saw countless people fall, but it's not certain anyone remembers them.
Raphael frowned. He wasn't stupid, so he could hear the compulsory nature of this agreement. But what kind of agreement couldn't be canceled?
"You two do whatever you want. Later when you're being hunted, don't come crying to me for help."
"Hmph, I don't need help from an old man with no will like you. Clearly having ability but unwilling to help the weak is a wasted life."
Leo naturally wouldn't spare his father's feelings. Though a child now, age-wise there wasn't much difference between them.
The corner of Raphael's mouth twitched slightly. He had no will? No will could withstand that move from Helios and still be alive now? But arguing with a child also felt beneath him, so he decided to stay silent.
Having been observing all this time, Michael would be strange not to notice something odd. He hesitated whether to ask or not, but in the end still made up his mind to clarify this matter.
"You know he's not a normal child?"
This time it was Raphael who was surprised. He could tell because of long observation, but why would a strange kid also know?
He summoned the Celestial Holy Sword, golden light flashing in his eyes, the blade pressing against Michael's throat.
"Who are you really?"
The terrifying pressure from a master's body made Michael's muscles tremble all over, his legs weak as if about to kneel any moment.
"I... I am a deity." Michael blurted out in fear.
He really wanted to keep the secret hidden, but that gaze made him feel he was completely seen through. Michael didn't dare bet that sword was just to scare him.
"A deity? Pfft haha, are you delirious?" Raphael was amused by this statement.
He knew deities existed on this continent, knew the terror of deities. There's no way a deity could be this weak, feeble thing.
Michael felt like crying but had no tears. He was telling the truth, why wouldn't anyone believe him?
"I... I... I..."
Just as Leo wanted to speak up for Michael, Raphael's voice cut him off.
"Enough, I've lost interest in who you are. Just go play with Leo, if you die I won't save you either."
He stopped paying attention to the two kids. Withdrew the Celestial Holy Sword, the pressure on his body dissipated along with it. Then he closed his eyes again to continue healing his injuries.
Michael let out a sigh of relief. At least he was temporarily safe.