Chapter 234

I was completely healed, but as Luna suggested, I decided to stay in the hospital for another day.

To be honest, I wanted to check out immediately, but with so many eyes on me, I had no choice.

What’s worse, Rod showed up unexpectedly, so I reluctantly lay on the bed. I had no choice but to stay still.

“Then who’s going to take care of you? You’ll need someone here for at least a day.”

Before I knew it, a bunch of acquaintances poured in. Among them, Eli spoke up.

I couldn’t help but wonder if I really needed a caretaker, but there was probably another reason too.

‘Maybe they’re worried I’ll pull a stunt while I’m here?’

I felt a bit wronged. I had never caused any trouble at the hospital.

If I was sick, I was sick, but I had never tried to escape the hospital.

Well, I intended to do that today. Danyerin could be assassinated by dawn.

For the sake of stopping that, it would be more reassuring to return to the dormitory. However, I couldn’t come up with a good excuse.

‘Even though I’m fully healed, I was told to rest for at least a day.’

As I lay there blankly staring at the ceiling, lost in thought.

“Let’s just all stick around here and head back in the evening. If there’s only one of us, we’re bound to fight again.”

Scrunch-scrunch—

In response to Eli’s question, Kara replied, currently peeling a piece of fruit that’s supposed to be one of Tartar’s specialties. Tartar’s known for its sweet foods, and the fruit is no different.

I stared absentmindedly at Kara, who was peeling the fruit. It felt strange since it contrasted so much with her usual rough-and-tumble image.

It was as if maturity and grace were combining, showing a different kind of charm. It surprisingly suited her well.

“But what if Sivar gets sick? There should be at least one person here, right?”

“Then Luna can stay. If it’s just us, we’ll end up fighting.”

“Why me?”

Luna asked back, flustered when she was singled out. I felt a bit sorry for her when she said that.

Kara cut the fruit into bite-sized pieces before handing it to me. Not from hand to hand, but from hand to mouth.

I simply opened my mouth, munching on the sweet fruit. It was incredibly sweet, like it was coated in sugar.

“If it’s just us, who knows what could happen. Don’t you think?”

“I’ve been living with Sivar up until now.”

“Then you can be excluded. You’ve already done enough sucking and nibbling.”

“I didn’t suck or nibble!”

“··· ···”

Grace’s face turned red as she shouted. It was clear to everyone that it sounded pretty suggestive.

It seemed Kara intentionally brought that up, as she giggled at Grace’s reaction. Her charming smile was quite the sight.

But it would be a shame to leave Luna out of this. Luna tilted her head, pondering Grace’s words, before throwing out her own question.

“Does that mean you did nibble? Where did you nibble?”

“I didn’t nibble! Don’t turn innocent people into perverts!”

Luna’s teasing was especially entertaining from a third-party perspective. She knew how to stir up chaos.

Even though I wanted to get used to it, I just couldn’t. It’s like getting punched in the solar plexus often doesn’t make the pain any less familiar.

“Really, did you never nibble? Not even once?”

“Where was I supposed to nibble?”

“On the lips.”

“··· ···”

Eli was also not holding back. It was hard to tell if she was clueless or just enjoying teasing Grace.

Naturally, Grace’s face was turning so red I thought it might burst.

If I pressed down on her with a finger, she would either burst or start leaking red liquid.

“Enough already. She’ll end up crying.”

“Who’s going to cry? Who do you think I am? Anyway, are we all heading back today? Got it?”

In the end, everyone except Luna returned to the dormitory. It was a somewhat agreed-upon situation.

“What about my opinion? You didn’t even ask for it?”

For the record, Luna’s opinion was completely disregarded. Everyone just ignored her smoothly.

It felt like a subtle kind of ostracism. Eventually, Luna decided to stay by my side for a day to take care of me.

At least thanks to the ruckus, there wouldn’t be classes for a while. Most of the time, it was just autonomous training anyway.

“··· ···”

“··· ···”

Being alone with Luna was oddly awkward. If it had been someone else, we would have chatted about anything and everything.

More like, we’d be sneakily touching each other. I would be pretending not to notice while enjoying it.

Luna and I were in the same boat, but things were pretty delicate. Our relationship was closer to that of comrades or friends.

Moreover, we didn’t really have much to talk about. If anything, it was probably only about the past.

“Umm… Sivar?”

“Yeah?”

“What does Sivar like the most?”

“What do you mean?”

It felt like she had skipped some parts of her sentence. That was quite a peculiar way of speaking.

Realizing this, Luna hurriedly filled in the blank.

“Sivar gets lonely easily.”

“Me?”

“Yeah. It shows quite a lot.”

I blinked in surprise. Well, Luna wasn’t wrong about that.

I realized my loneliness when I transitioned from living in the forest to the civilized world.

Perhaps that’s why I often leaned on others. Especially with Eli, I ended up clinging to her the most.

Not just Eli—Grace was the same. Although opposite to Eli, I found warmth through her as well.

“What do you like most to soothe loneliness? Probably hugging, right?”

“Yeah, I like hugs.”

“Hmm…”

Luna narrowed her beautiful brows in thought. She was contemplating something.

After a moment, she nodded and looked straight at me.

“Then should I hug you?”

“You, Luna?”

“Yeah. I figured since we have nothing to talk about, it might be better to just sleep.”

I didn’t actually need a nap. But Luna had no clue about that.

Still, I figured refusing would only hurt her needlessly, so I accepted it calmly. Then, Luna began to move closer.

The first sign was when she let her hair down, which she normally kept in a ponytail. She looked really good with her hair down.

‘Wow, what a total transformation.’

It was like magic changing her from a vibrant image to a fragile one. It was clear that women, just like men, could gain a lot from changing their hair.

Then Luna wriggled her way into the bed and snuggled under the blanket.

She was quite slender compared to others, so I didn’t feel all that comfortable, but it didn’t matter.

“Is this alright?”

“Yeah.”

“You must be tired, so just close your eyes.”

I wasn’t tired, but I thought that while silently holding her close.

Luna began to pat my back gently. I wasn’t sure why she was behaving like this all of a sudden.

Maybe she’d shared something with Rize but never mentioned it. There were many things left unsaid.

‘But still…’

It wasn’t entirely bad. I always longed for the warmth of a person.

I was just about to let my eyes close and sink into comfort when—

Bang—

“Sivar, there’s something I forgot to—”

Someone flung the hospital room door wide open. I snapped my eyes open.

Looking over at the door, I saw Eli standing there, frozen solid.

“······What are you two doing?”

Eli asked in a startled voice. It felt like we’d just been caught in an affair.

I didn’t know why, but it felt that way. The atmosphere was just right for that.

And our dear Luna…

“I was putting him to sleep.”

“Putting him to sleep? Who?”

“Sivar.”

“··· ···”

She answered as if she didn’t have a clue.

No wonder they wouldn’t stop doubting us.

*****

We were caught in a supposed affair, but thankfully there were no real issues, aside from Eli hugging me extremely tight.

I almost suffocated from how strongly she hugged me. It felt as if I would have met my end by her massive affection.

Anyway, time passed, and dawn was approaching. Luna, who had been keeping me company, fell asleep.

“Zzz…”

“··· ···”

Did she really need to sleep in the same bed as me? I gazed at Luna, who was soundly sleeping.

With her delicate features and doll-like beauty, she looked even more fragile with her hair down.

She had hugged me to help me sleep, yet she was the first to drift off into dreamland. Honestly, it wasn’t unexpected.

‘This is actually nice.’

I checked the time. It was getting close to midnight.

I decided to gently ease Luna off me, who was hugging me tightly like a stuffed animal.

Although she was stronger than Grace, I managed to sneak my way out without waking her up.

‘Was her grip always this strong?’

Maybe she had grown in that short time. I quietly tiptoed to the window, making sure she wouldn’t wake up.

When I looked outside, the moonlight was almost non-existent. It was pitch dark outside, close to a pitch-black night.

The streetlights were scattered here and there, but they were insufficient. That made it even better.

Creeeak—

I carefully opened the window and lightly jumped down. I had previously figured out the dormitory’s location.

Soon, I hid in the darkness and sprinted toward the dormitory. The feeling of the dirt under my bare feet was quite vivid.

I usually preferred being barefoot, but now it felt inconvenient. Not wearing shoes made the sensation both refreshing and strange.

‘Am I becoming a civilized person?’

As I mused over that, I had reached the dormitory before I knew it. First, I decided to check my room.

I needed to see if Grace was sleeping well. With my legs firm, I leapt up high like a frog.

In a single jump, I could reach two stories high. Then, grabbing hold of the railing was the end of my ascent.

‘Good, she’s sleeping soundly.’

Peeking in, I found Grace sleeping peacefully. She occasionally stirred but was definitely fast asleep.

I left her to check the room next door, which was Danyerin’s. It was about time for her to wake up.

As I was holding onto the railing and stealthily moving, I glanced in and who would I run into but—

“··· ···”

“··· ···”

I locked eyes with Danyerin just as she was coming out with a bottle of alcohol. The scene was rather peculiar.

Here I was, hanging onto the railing, and she was staring at me in disbelief.

Danyerin looked quite shocked to see me and, with a skeptical voice, asked, “What are you doing? Here to steal something?”

Honestly, I had no words. To any onlooker, I must’ve looked like a thief.

Hanging from the railing, I rolled my eyes and quietly said, “I came to drink.”

It was honestly a pathetic excuse.

Danyerin chuckled slightly at my response and replied, “Sorry, but I want to drink alone tonight. So, could you please back off?”

“······”

I was shot down.

“Alright, then…”

I turned away dejectedly.

It was a hasty excuse, but being rejected felt rather painful.

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