Chapter 71

As if she had been waiting for this moment, Ranya leaned in close.

“...Ugh.”

I wanted to ask for some water, but my mouth and lips were so dry that only a hoarse breath escaped. The quick-witted Ranya gave me a glass of water, and only then did I feel better.

“Where am I?”

“It’s, it’s Master’s house. You’ve been unconscious for two whole days.”

Ah.

Right.

‘Fainting... that’s the right term, I guess.’

I had just crossed the second wall of mind-body integration.

The same as when I crossed the first wall, my lifespan had increased by about three years compared to before.

Now, my total lifespan was ten years. Goodness, from a three-year death sentence to a ten-year one?

At this rate, it could be considered a life reversal, couldn’t it?

But it’s strange. I don’t feel any lighter, like I did before.

‘Instead, it feels like I’m lying on a rock.’

My limbs ached and sometimes even went numb.

When I lifted my head to look around, I saw a glass bottle filled with a transparent liquid hanging above me.

‘I was on an IV.’

But why was I on an IV?

‘Right, I got injured on both shoulders.’

I quickly checked my shoulders. Fortunately, neither had been severed, and both were still intact.

But how did I get injured?

‘One shoulder was pierced by Garosh, and the other by me.’

...Garosh? Who was Garosh?

A flash of realization swept through my mind.

Right, Andert!

My brother!

“Ugh.”

I tried to sit up, but the sudden dizziness was too much, and I fell back down.

Ranya, who had been tidying up the water glass, rushed over.

“Oh! Lie down! You lost an unbelievable amount of blood. It’s a miracle you didn’t die. I, I thought Daisy had... passed away because of my foolish request...”

“Who brought me here?”

“Huh? C, Calefa brought you.”

I see.

‘Phew.’

Thank goodness. Luga finally found me.

‘Wait. Then what about Andert?’

If Luga brought me here, it must mean he encountered Andert.

Where did Andert go?

“How do you feel?”

A calm voice echoed.

Luga, the owner of the voice, was sitting at a table, leisurely reading a newspaper.

His ever-shiny face, which usually looked so charming, now seemed anything but. This sense of relief was something I had only felt with Raphael...

“Damn. Did I fall for you? Tsk. I warned you to be careful.”

Now, even when he says such nonsense, I don’t get annoyed. I nodded sincerely while lying down.

“Thanks, Luga. You saved my life.”

Luga looked back at the newspaper and smiled slightly.

“Our Daisy, who owes me again. I wonder when you’ll pay it all back.”

But if I’m not mistaken, his smile seemed colder than usual.

No, I was sure of it. There was no trace of his usual smoothness or playfulness.

It wasn’t as if he was openly mocking me as usual, but...

‘Did I make a mistake?’

It feels uncomfortable.

But there was something more important to ask right now.

“Luga. What about Andert? No, Garosh. No, the man with the long scar on his face. The man I was fighting, where did he go?”

He met my eyes and answered calmly.

“I killed him.”

“...What?”

Who, and how?

For a moment, everything went black. Did Luga just say he killed my brother Andert?

Luga, my brother?

“Just kidding.”

“...What?”

I tried to get out of bed to punch him.

“Ah!”

Of course, I fell back immediately.

“Daisy! I, I told you to lie down! Your wounds will reopen. If you keep this up, I won’t take care of you anymore!”

“Sorry.”

Ranya reinserted the IV needle that had almost come out.

Seeing this, Luga, who had been laughing annoyingly, calmed down and spoke the truth.

“The man who was both Garosh and Andert watched you break through the second wall of mind-body integration and then left. He was a dog with a clear master, of course.”

Luga picked up an old notebook from the table and gently shook it.

“Dian’s diary is here, though. Good job, Daisy. You’ve obtained the relic of Dian Ket that you so desired.”

Dian Ket’s diary!

I tried to catch the diary that was lightly flying towards me with my hand... but due to my shoulder, I had to catch it with my mouth.

Clap, clap, clap.

“Right. Well done, Daisy!”

Ignoring Luga, who was treating me like a pet, I rubbed my cheek against the musty paper book.

Ah, the precious relic that saved my soul...

‘I almost died because of this guy.’

It’s a good thing I got it safely, though.

However, I was more relieved that Andert was safe.

Even though I had asked for his help... it was hard to predict how Luga would actually act.

Andert is alive.

‘As long as he’s alive, we’ll meet again someday.’

Thinking about it again, it was hard to believe.

‘That I met Andert, who was alive.’

Andert was dead.

The warship he was on was shot down by Mephisto’s army and sank into the sea. Despite searching the area for dozens of days, we never found his body.

‘But how is he alive?’

Will I ever hear the story from Andert himself?

No, it might be better not to relive those terrifying memories. If we could just remember our childhood...

‘...’

Is it okay to remember?

After my resurrection, I only lived through one season.

It was a short time, but I felt a lot. Many things changed, and I had many realizations.

But if I had to choose the thing that influenced me the most, I would definitely say the Magic War.

The war completely turned my life upside down. It led me to a wretched and miserable end, and even after the war, the vivid fear was etched into my bones, causing hallucinations and delusions.

‘If Andert regains his memories, it means he will relive the fear he felt during the war.’

I wonder if it’s necessary to relive such a horrific experience...

‘...But I will make him remember.’

I will make him remember somehow.

For ten years, I suffered, thinking Andert was dead. I will make this ten years of pain known to the traitor who forgot his family.

I will definitely make him pay.

Because I am his ‘sister.’

Just as I set a new goal and steeled my resolve, a burdensome face appeared in front of me.

“So. How do you feel?”

“...Feel?”

“Your body. How is it? I’m asking for the second time.”

Is asking about my feelings the same as asking about my body?

I pushed Luga’s chest with my head and reassessed my condition. I thought there might be something I hadn’t noticed, but I was still in the same ragged state.

“It hurts, but it’s not bad.”

“Aha. Not bad, that’s a relief.”

Luga, who seemed to be mocking me, opened the IV bottle and sprinkled red powder into it.

The powder packet read “Emergency, Sleep, Pain Relief, Anti-Inflammation,” so it seemed Ranya had obtained it separately.

After neatly folding the packet and tossing it on the table, he stared at me for a long time.

After a while, he finally spoke.

“Daisy.”

“Yeah.”

“Say you want to live.”

Out of the blue?

“Why?”

“Just say it.”

“...I want to live?”

Snap. Luga burned the packet black and laughed dryly.

“I don’t feel any desperation.”

“I’m not an actor, and you can’t just demand that I show desperation.”

“Actor? Don’t you think Daisy should be more desperate than them?”

What does he mean?

I looked at Luga silently for a moment. He was definitely more strange than usual.

The strange Luga recited in a bored voice.

“And perhaps, I might fulfill that desperation.”

“Did something happen? Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?”

“Old Calefa is always unpredictable.”

“To me, Luga isn’t like Calefa. You’re a cook and gardener who makes delicious potato gratin.”

He chuckled and pulled a chair to sit beside the bed. Luga, who had been staring at me with his chin in his hand, asked again.

“Daisy. Do you want to live?”

At that moment, I instinctively realized.

This short exchange would be a turning point in our relationship.

I thought of a long river and a waterfall. I thought of the people I met there. I thought of my melancholic sword, which I had retrieved from the depths of the sea.

“Yes. I want to live.”

“Sincerely?”

“Sincerely.”

“Good... Just now, I felt a genuine desperation. That’s enough. But Daisy.”

Luga grabbed my arm.

The arm, which had been limp, was turned inward. Three scars were neatly lined up on the white skin.

The marks of an oath.

“Isn’t this the same as our promise?”

“...Promise? What promise?”

I looked down at the marks of the oath.

The third was an oath with the afternoon sun. The second was an oath with the sword saint.

The two oaths were as vivid as if they had been made yesterday.

But something was off.

‘Who did I make the first oath with?’

...

Huh.

...

Why can’t I remember?

“Daisy.”

Luga’s neatly manicured nails pressed down on the first oath.

I looked at him.

“If you’re desperate, remember.”

Remember what?

There was no more conversation.

A heavy sleepiness enveloped my head, and long-forgotten memories of the past resurfaced.