Chapter 168: Academy Heroine's Right Diagonal Back Seat
Chapter 168
Squirming, her severed arm slowly reattached to the stump, healing over.
It was a sight that might have seemed somewhat grotesque, but I never looked away for even a moment.
I couldn’t allow myself to miss anything that might indicate a problem with her body.
As I kept watching with that thought, the junction eventually healed completely.
Yoon Si-woo carefully checked the neatly reattached arm and asked Scarlet cautiously.
"…How is it? Can you move it without any issues?"
"…Yeah, it seems fine. I still can't believe it. For a severed arm to reattach so perfectly like this, so quickly."
Watching her flex her fingers in amazement, Yoon Si-woo let out a sigh of relief.
It was truly fortunate. At least she wouldn’t need to replace her limbs with artificial ones.
If it had come to that, he knew he would never have forgiven himself.
Even now, in this very moment, the guilt was eating away at his chest, driving him mad.
The pain she must have endured from losing her limbs… It must have been unbearably excruciating.
He was furious that she had experienced the same agony he felt when his own limbs were torn off while forcefully passing through the distortion gate earlier.
Saying that it was okay to lose limbs as long as she stayed alive was something he meant for himself, not for her.
Why hadn’t he gotten to her sooner? If he had, she wouldn’t have had to endure that pain.
As he silently berated himself, Scarlet noticed his expression and let out a wry smile before speaking.
"…I told you not to worry because it’s not your fault, but here you go again. If you’re that sorry, why not just help me reattach my leg quickly?”
“...Your leg, too?”
Yoon Si-woo’s expression stiffened as he looked at her leg.
Her leg was severed above the knee.
Helping reattach it would inevitably mean he’d have to touch her thigh.
“…What, are you too lazy to help with my leg too? Then I’ll do it myself.”
“No, it’s not that… Sigh, never mind. I’ll help, so just stay still.”
He hesitated, wondering if it was okay to touch her, but Scarlet’s innocent eyes, as if she were oblivious, only made him chuckle and shake his head.
Yeah, you were never one to care about things like that.
Muttering to himself that this was purely a medical procedure, he picked up her leg, lying nearby, and began the reattachment process.
But trying not to think about it made him even more aware of it.
Especially after she called him something like a secret friend earlier.
He needed to focus on the connection point, ensuring it was properly aligned.
But his concentration kept breaking—her sweat-soaked, shining pale white leg, slightly revealed beneath her skirt to make the junction visible, and the indescribable feel of her thigh that he had no choice but to hold.
He fought to steer his mind away from it all, knowing that even entertaining such thoughts felt like a sin, considering the pain she had to endure.
While battling against his inner urges, Scarlet, who had been watching her reattaching leg, raised her eyes slightly and looked up at him from his arms.
There was something about her hazy expression that made him involuntarily swallow as she murmured.
“…If someone else saw us like this, it would be a big problem, right?”
...Yeah, it would be a big problem.
If someone saw him, a relatively famous figure, holding a female student’s thigh like this, it would be more than just gossip fodder.
It would probably end up splashed across every news article, with her identity, face, and everything about her exposed, painting her as someone with ties to him.
‘…I won’t be able to get married anymore. What are you going to do about it…?’ she’d probably say tearfully, and he’d have to promise to take responsibility.
No, that’s not it.
As he momentarily let his mind wander, she murmured.
“…If others found out about my body, which can reattach severed limbs, or you, going around basically announcing to everyone that you’re a witch… it would definitely be a huge problem, wouldn’t it?”
Ah, so that’s what she meant. Regaining his composure, Yoon Si-woo nodded with a hardened expression.
"…It would be. Especially after this incident, people’s hostility toward witches has only grown stronger.”
Both she and he…
If anyone witnessed this scene, suspicions of ties to a witch would be inevitable.
Since they were actually connected, it would indeed be a serious issue.
The thought filled him with dread.
They would have to be extremely careful to avoid being seen by others, but if their secret was exposed…
Scarlet, who had been interrogated as a witch’s collaborator and nearly executed without trial, would likely face immediate execution.
That was something he would never allow to happen, no matter what.
While he was lost in those thoughts, Scarlet shivered slightly in anxiety and murmured.
“…Right, people only think of witches as evil. They’d come after us, wouldn’t they? If we get caught, what should we do…?”
What should we do, indeed?
The moment they were discovered, there would likely be no way out of the situation.
Right now, witches were seen as nothing less than humanity’s enemies.
Simply put, if it were revealed that you had ties to a witch, you’d be turning all of humanity against you.
For her and him, the only people who would never become their enemies in any situation were each other.
So, after hearing her words, Yoon Si-woo recalled a thought he’d had before.
That day, when Lucy revealed her true identity to him.
He had once wondered what he would do if people found out who she really was.
After much deliberation, he concluded that the only option was to escape the city.
He had protections like the guardian spirit and the Indomitable Holy Sword that enabled him to withstand dark magic, but others wouldn’t be able to follow him outside.
Of course, even if that was the only solution, he had always hated the idea.
The outside world was a harsh place where humans couldn’t survive, and even if he did manage to escape, he would be utterly alone there.
There is no paradise for those who flee.
But…
Yoon Si-woo quietly looked at Scarlet.
If that place was truly deserted, with no one around…
If you were there. If it was just you…
Surely…
As he thought this far, Yoon Si-woo unwittingly let his thoughts slip out loud.
“...Then, should we just escape to somewhere they can’t follow us?”
“...The two of us?”
“...Yeah, you and me. Just the two of us.”
Realizing what he had just said, Yoon Si-woo felt his face flush red.
Oh my god, what did I just say…
Realizing that what he had just uttered was practically a half-confession, he didn’t know where to put himself, when a small voice spoke up.
“...Yeah. Maybe that wouldn’t be so bad…”
Startled by her response, Yoon Si-woo turned to look at Scarlet.
Then, without realizing it, he let out a bitter smile.
The girl he had been talking to just moments ago had fallen fast asleep in his arms, her breathing even, the tension of battle seemingly melting away.
…Judging by how off she’d seemed for a while now, she must have been fighting to stay conscious.
The answer she gave him just now probably wasn’t one she gave with a clear mind either.
With a sigh, Yoon Si-woo chuckled softly and refocused on reattaching her leg.
---
Honestly, he felt a sense of joy.
He was glad that she had told him that she felt lucky they now shared secrets they couldn’t tell anyone else.
Glad that when he suggested running away together if they were discovered, she had said it might not be so bad.
It filled him with joy, but Yoon Si-woo thought to himself.
More than anything else, he wanted Scarlet to be happy.
He wanted her to live a happy life here, like everyone else, not one spent running away from people.
If that were possible, he would do anything.
With that resolve, Yoon Si-woo finished restoring Scarlet’s limbs, then gently set her down and picked up the sword he had placed beside him.
To make that happen, no one could ever discover their secret.
“...You might as well come out. I can see you.”
He turned around, gripping the sword, his voice colder than ever.
From the other side of the sewer, the air shimmered, and a person’s shape emerged.
“…So, you knew, huh?”
It was someone he knew all too well.
So he asked.
“...How much did you see?”
“…If I said everything, what would you do?”
Without a word, Yoon Si-woo pointed his sword at them.
If it was for Scarlet, if it was to protect her secret…
He was prepared to do anything.
Even if that meant…
Cutting down the very mentor he respected so deeply.
---------------------
TL Note: Rate/Review us on NOVEL UPDATES. (It Motivate me a Lot :)
"Join us on DISCORD". We All Are Waiting For You :)
Oh snap
ReplyDeleteMore and more will notice fire kiana, heh.
ReplyDeleteIs that Martina?
ReplyDelete