Chapter 41

I laughed brightly at the appearance of [Arang Baldukgae], which was no different from how it was in Leore.

“Nice to… meet you…”

Recently, in reality, after undergoing rehabilitation training for my prosthetic arm and leg, I had long conversations with Anna and the doctor, which increased my vocabulary, and I greeted [Arang Baldukgae] with those words.

Was it because of the difference between my appearance in Leore and reality? [Arang Baldukgae] reacted the same way as people who saw me for the first time, but quickly regained composure and approached me.

“Hello, Guild Master! Have you been waiting long?”

“Umm… no…”

“Really? That’s good!”

[Arang Baldukgae] quickly showed me that puppy-like expression, spinning around and looking at me with sparkling eyes.

“You’re really cute! Pretty! I’m crazy, I must be crazy! Ah, did I go too fast…?”

Seeing that I had no reaction, [Arang Baldukgae] was startled, but I shook my head and said it was okay.

“Hiki… Koko… Ri… In reality… speaking…”

“Ah! I understand! Don’t worry! I have a cousin who has trouble speaking, so I can understand just by hearing key words! You said your Leore nickname and real name are the same, right?”

Nod.

“Then, would it be okay if I drop the formal speech…?”

Nod.

“Hehe. Nice to meet you, Arang. Of course, in Leore, I’ll use formal speech! There are other guild members, and we can’t lower the guild master’s authority!”

The way [Arang Baldukgae] spoke to me in the same manner as in Leore was quite endearing.

“Hey, Arang. It’s not that… well… last time we talked about… that…”

[Arang Baldukgae] spoke while watching my reaction.

I immediately knew what they wanted. Last time, while crafting equipment, there was a condition that I would fulfill a request when we met in reality.

Nod.

I nodded towards [Arang Baldukgae].

From the nickname, I could guess what kind of request it would be, but since they came this far, I thought they wouldn’t make such a request because they knew about me.

“Then, then! I brought a gift for Arang! So my request is that I give the gift I brought to Arang—”

Nod.

I didn’t know what the request was, but at the mention of a gift, I nodded again, and [Arang Baldukgae] showed a happy expression, knelt before me, and grabbed my prosthetic leg before I could say anything.

“…Huh?”

[Arang Baldukgae] froze as if time had stopped.

Fortunately, they soon regained composure and kept touching my prosthetic leg, trembling as they confirmed if what they felt was real.

I realized that [Arang Baldukgae] knew nothing about me.

A problem arose with [Arang Baldukgae]’s trembling hands.

Although I was undergoing rehabilitation training for my prosthetic arm and leg, my muscle mass was pitifully low, and my body was very weak, making it quite uncomfortable to wear the prosthetics.

Anna wanted me to adapt well to the prosthetics, and I was working hard on rehabilitation training to prepare for events or collaborations in reality.

Anna didn’t stop there; she insisted that I get used to the prosthetics to live a normal life like everyone else, so I wore them every moment in reality.

That’s why I wore the prosthetics when meeting [Arang Baldukgae] this time.

But here’s the problem.

Normally, during rehabilitation training or outings, the prosthetics would be securely fixed to the amputated limbs to prevent them from falling off.

But this is a hospital. A lounge in a building where I’m the only patient.

Everyone in this building is here for me, genuinely concerned and helping me.

So, Anna, considering my comfort, didn’t fix the prosthetics tightly but left them loose.

[Arang Baldukgae]’s hands trembled more than expected, and as they kept checking if what they felt was real, the right prosthetic leg fell off my leg like a piece of bread.

Thud.

The thigh part of the right prosthetic leg fell weakly to the floor. The foot part was in [Arang Baldukgae]’s hand.

To anyone watching, it looked like [Arang Baldukgae] had ripped off my leg.

Later, I found out that Pinkubelly and Sunchoo, who knew about me, didn’t tell anyone in the guild chat, so they mistakenly thought the guild gathering was postponed.

Moreover, the doctor also thought that Pinkubelly and Sunchoo would have told [Arang Baldukgae] about me.

==

When I first saw Arang, I was startled.

In Leore, she was cute, lively, and confident during raids, but in reality, her half-closed dead eyes and the impression of her surroundings darkening made her seem lifeless.

It was the epitome of gap moe.

If in Leore she was a beloved cute princess, in reality, Arang’s appearance was that of a fallen kingdom princess who kept her distance from everyone and trusted no one, becoming a hikikomori.

I liked Arang even more because of this completely contrasting appearance.

She’s the ultimate cute guild master with two flavors.

At first, I thought Arang was forced to attend the gathering because of me, but I could feel that Arang didn’t dislike me; she just had trouble speaking.

She just found it hard to speak.

I have a cousin who has trouble speaking with people, so I could quickly understand Arang’s feelings and what she wanted to say.

As we talked about this and that, I noticed Arang’s tension easing, and I held the bag in my left hand tightly, talking about the request I had with Arang.

Fortunately, Arang readily nodded and agreed.

As soon as I saw Arang, I had been holding back.

The impulse to touch Arang’s cute, soft, warm feet.

The moment I knelt before Arang and touched her real foot, fulfilling my long-held desire.

A sensation completely different from my imagination struck my brain through my hand.

Not the cute, soft, warm sensation I expected.

A scary, hard yet slightly soft sensation, with an unpleasant softness and a chilling coldness that felt inhuman.

My hands trembled.

What am I touching now?

This isn’t a human leg. This isn’t Arang’s foot.

This is… this is…

Thud.

Clack.

As if proving my thoughts correct, the right leg I was touching weakly separated from Arang and fell to the floor.

Now I understood why Arang wore thick high socks on such a hot summer day.

The slightly exposed leg part above the high socks showed that this wasn’t Arang’s real leg.

‘What on earth have I been doing…?’

Memories flashed through my mind in an instant.

In Leore, I touched Arang’s feet and wanted to touch them so much that I even changed my nickname.

But all those actions were actions that hurt Arang.

“Socks… shoes…?”

‘Oh no!’

As Arang’s prosthetic leg fell off, the gift bag I had prepared tipped over, and the socks and shoes inside spilled out.

I hurriedly put them back in the bag.

‘You crazy woman. What were you thinking giving socks and shoes as a gift…!!!’

I carefully looked up and checked Arang’s expression.

I thought Arang would be crying, but her expression hadn’t changed at all.

As if she had no emotions. That made my heart ache even more.

“It’s okay…”

No, I’m not okay.

I could sense something was wrong. Arang being in the hospital, being in such a building, having a doctor in charge, and the doctor personally bringing me to where Arang was.

Thinking about it now, everything was strange.

Why didn’t I notice…!?

I felt pathetic.

“Socks… shoes… pretty… wear… them…”

Hearing Arang’s considerate words, I closed my eyes tightly.

Arang’s heart must be in excruciating pain, but she was saying such things for my sake, which made my heart ache even more.

“Won’t you… do it? I’ll get… upset…?”

“No! I’ll do it!”

I hurriedly picked up Arang’s prosthetic leg, placed it against her right thigh, and fastened the easy-to-use locking mechanism.

But even in this situation, I felt disgusted with myself for touching Arang’s thigh and finding it soft.

After restoring the prosthetic leg, I carefully put the socks I brought onto Arang’s prosthetic leg and then the shoes. As I did, Arang’s mouth moved slightly.

She showed a faint smile.

And when I saw Arang’s trademark snaggletooth in that small smile, I finally regained my composure.