The World After the Bad Ending Chapter 142

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 142: Realizing Because I Almost Lost It

Do you know when a person dies?

‘Right now.’

I opened my eyes wide.

For a mont, I truly thought that if I closed them, I would die.

As my vision gradually adjusted, my surroundings ca into focus.

A hospital room.

It was a hospital room.

And from the silence, it seed to be the middle of the night.

‘When did I pass out?’

My mory was hazy.

I blinked a few tis, then flinched as I instinctively tried to move my left shoulder.

It was the mory of my left arm being completely blown off.

But contrary to my mory, my left arm was still there.

Ah, though I couldn't exactly call it intact.

It was covered in scars, with no unscathed areas in sight.

A chilling sensation ran through , and I hurriedly checked my body.

‘…It's all attached properly?’

I carefully examined myself and found that Veil Bandages were in place.

That ant my identity hadn’t been exposed to the world.

I had suffered severe physical damage.

I had no idea how things had unfolded.

My scattered consciousness slowly started returning.

Little by little, the mories of what had happened before I collapsed resurfaced.

Crossing the seventh floor’s cycle of reincarnation hole with Isabel.

Then, my arms and legs being severed, leading to massive blood loss.

On top of that, exhaustion, malnutrition, and the effects of the Heavenly Dragon Transformation all contributed to my blackout.

‘…This ti, I really almost died.’

It had been even more dangerous than when I faced Nikita, the Calamity Dragon.

At least back then, I had so counterasures prepared.

This ti, I had none.

Yet, strangely, I felt no particular emotion about it.

The threat of death didn’t instill much fear in anymore.

Once again, I realized just how terrifying the Veil Bandages were.

But at least it was better than being paralyzed by fear of death.

In this state, I could still enter the Dungeon without issue.

I checked my legs as well—they had been treated successfully.

Given the level of treatnt, it was clear that a Saint had intervened.

‘Did they treat while I was still wearing the Veil Bandages?’

It was unsettling, but considering the Saint’s abilities, it was plausible.

If my identity had been exposed, I would have been captured long ago.

After all, there was soone here who wasn’t supposed to be.

‘Sohow, I survived.’

The only regret was that I hadn’t been able to secure the equipnt I originally aid for.

‘Doesn’t matter. My life is more important.’

As long as I was alive, that was enough.

The equipnt on the sixth floor hadn’t been a necessity.

I had already prepared an alternative.

I had just wanted to make things easier for myself.

I sighed in relief, glad to have made it back alive.

But when I tried to sit up, I found that I couldn't lift the blanket.

I looked down.

Following the moonlight streaming through the window, I noticed sothing—or rather, soone.

Two people lay on my bed.

One had red hair.

The other had deep blue hair.

Seron Parmia.

Sharin Sazaris.

Both of them were curled up on my bed, fast asleep.

How long had they been like this?

I had no idea, but either way, it was problematic.

If I tried to pull the blanket, I’d wake them up.

Still, seeing the two of them here reassured that I had truly made it back alive.

All the struggle to bring Isabel back had been worth it.

‘Speaking of which, where is Isabel?’

Was she safe?

I needed to find her first.

"Ughh…"

At that mont, a sound ca from Seron.

She stirred, half-opening her sleepy eyes to look at .

Then, her eyes grew wider and wider.

Tears welled up in her eyes almost instantly.

"Hiiiing… Prince Sweet Potato…"

"Seron, calm down. Why are you crying?"

I panicked and tried to console her, but she suddenly headbutted in the chest.

Was she trying to finish off a man who had just woken up?

As I coughed from the impact, Seron clung to tightly.

"I really, really thought you were going to die, you idiot!"

Hearing that, I gave a bitter smile.

It seed like she had seen the state I was in.

I must have looked completely wrecked back then.

"…Did you co to rescue ?"

"When we reached the seventh floor, Bel brought you back."

Seron sniffled as she answered.

The Dungeon had a different flow of ti.

Even though we had spent two months in the lower floors, the fact that they had reached us ant they must have pushed themselves to the limit to get there.

‘They must have set a new record for Dungeon exploration.’

I was grateful that they had co to save .

"Look, I’m fine now."

"You idiot, do you have any idea how ssed up you were? If it weren’t for the Saint and Saintess, you really would have died! You would have!"

So the Saintess had been involved as well.

Perhaps she was the reason my identity remained undiscovered.

I owed her.

She must have noticed the Veil Bandages while treating and chosen to discreetly cover for as a favor.

‘Narea would definitely do that.’

She had been a hero in her past life.

She would have more than enough awareness to handle the situation smoothly.

I’d have to thank her later.

Because of her, I had kept both my life and my freedom.

"I believed you'd co to save ."

"Hiiiing…"

Seeing my reassurances, Seron finally began to calm down.

Srrrk—

At that mont, Sharin also woke up.

As always, she gazed at with a languid expression.

I was about to greet her with a small wave when—

Plop—

Tears began to silently fall from her eyes.

Before I could even react, she just quietly cried.

It was the first ti I had ever seen Sharin cry.

She had always seed so composed and indifferent.

I hurriedly reached out and patted her back.

I wasn’t good at dealing with crying won.

Sharin then hugged .

Now, I had Seron clinging to one side and Sharin holding onto the other.

I wasn’t sure what kind of situation this was, but I couldn't exactly push them away.

As I tried my best to comfort them, Sharin finally spoke.

"…I didn’t know."

"Didn’t know what?"

"That saying 'I like you' so easily was a mistake."

Sharin leaned her head against my chest.

"I just thought… being by your side was fun and interesting. I thought it would be nice to stay together. I thought that was liking soone. You were always strange and did the most fascinating things."

She was treating like so kind of rare specin.

But that wasn’t it.

Love was far more complex and confusing than that.

People could fall in love for the smallest reasons.

Even sothing as simple as laughing together could make soone precious.

"But I was wrong. It wasn’t just that."

Sharin clenched her fist as if she were feeling a sharp pain in her chest.

"I don’t want a world without you."

At first, I had found Sharin’s feelings for puzzling.

Seron’s love made sense because we had a pre-existing connection.

Her feelings were understandable.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

But Sharin and I had no real prior relationship.

As she had said, I had simply amused her.

Her affection had always seed shallow.

Perhaps she had gotten jealous when others took an interest in , igniting her possessiveness.

But this ti, the real possibility of losing had changed her.

Sharin’s "Mirinae" could see more than anyone realized.

And so, out of everyone, she must have seen the clearest vision of a world without .

She couldn’t understand such a world.

Sharin tightly gripped my clothes.

“I don’t want to live painfully in a world like that.”

She looked up at .

Her eyes, filled with the Milky Way shining brightly under the moonlight, glistened with tears.

In Sharin’s world, there was only Sharin.

In reality, she was soone who never gave up her place to others.

That’s why she was fickle.

Her mother had died of syphilis.

Moreover, even though her mother had abused her, she had never loved her.

From childhood, Sharin had lived only to protect her own place.

Since she never gave up her place, she lived a capricious life, leaving lightly when she lost interest.

Yet, at so point, I had leaped into her world.

And I had shalessly settled down.

At first, it was just curiosity.

The one who could lift Isabel.

The one who handled magical inscriptions and mysteries.

The one who constantly stirred up incidents.

The one who took all the bla in the magic academy for her sake.

The one who brought the ancient dragon’s magic.

The one who learned to wield Zerion’s magic.

The one who beca her fiancé.

The one who kept sparking her interest, even though she was so changeable.

That was .

I kept causing trouble everywhere, leaving no room for Sharin’s whims to erge.

She found it fun to watch and even more fun to be a part of.

Before I knew it, I had beco her fiancé and led her through a whirlwind of emotions.

Enough for her to readily admit she liked .

And that had an impact far greater than I had imagined.

As I said before, Sharin was fickle.

But the mont she gave up her place, even just once—

She beca soone who swore eternity, not whimsy.

She admitted she liked .

Only then did I realize how much that ant to her.

“So don’t ever let this happen again.”

The girl, who had learned what it ant to lose sothing precious for the first ti in her life, pleaded with .

“Don’t make go through this pain again.”

Considering the journey ahead, it was a difficult promise.

To be honest, I didn’t feel much about it.

It was a crisis, and I nearly died.

That was all.

I kept thinking she didn’t need to worry so much.

But my basic common sense told —

That my current state wasn’t normal.

‘This promise right now…’

Would surely beco an important brake to keep in check.

So, I decided to make the promise.

A promise not to overdo it—just to keep that promise.

“Alright, I promise.”

In the quiet of dawn, the tears of two girls finally subsided.

Because my survival was the most important thing, they barely managed to stop crying.

Letting out a good cry makes you feel relieved.

But aside from that, it also brings a strange sense of embarrassnt.

Because expressing emotions in front of others isn’t easy.

Sharin buried her face against , refusing to show her face anymore.

The tips of her ears, flushed red, showed she was feeling embarrassed too.

Beside her, so was Seron.

Squirm—

No, wait.

This girl was using the opportunity to snuggle closer to .

I could see the corners of her lips sneakily curl up.

This perverted forehead freak.

“Seron, if you burrow in any deeper, I’m reporting you for harassnt.”

“Wh-what? H-harassnt?!”

Seron jerked her head up, shouting in shock.

Yet, her face had turned as red as a tomato, looking exactly like a pervert caught in the act.

“I-I just, well, your scent is nice. That’s all.”

“You’re sniffing soone else? Wow, you’re seriously a major pervert.”

“N-no, it’s not like that! It’s really not! But, ugh, it’s just—it slls so good! Who told you to sll so nice?!”

Sorry, but I never slled nice.

The only thing on right now was probably the scent of disinfectant.

As I stared at her, exasperated, Seron covered her face with both hands.

“What sll are you even talking about?”

“It’s, like, comforting. Warm and soothing. Right, Sharin, you feel it too, don’t you?”

Seron hurriedly sought an ally.

At that, Sharin slowly turned her head—then buried her face back into .

Seron’s face instantly darkened.

“You sly fox! What are you doing, taking advantage of this mont?! Get off of him!”

“Nooo, he’s my husband.”

“You’re his fiancé, not his wife yet!”

“We’ll get married.”

Seron shook Sharin furiously, and Sharin clung to even tighter.

Which ant I, too, started swaying along with her.

What the hell is this chaos?

I feel like throwing up.

Please, stop.

“Gyaaah! Prince Sweet Potato! Do sothing and pry her off!”

, get Sharin off?

Even if I used Heavenly Dragon Transformation, that seed impossible.

Realizing she couldn’t pry Sharin off, Seron suddenly lunged at instead, tightly wrapping her arms around mine as if declaring war.

“Prince Sweet Potato is mine! I confessed first!”

“My husband.”

Seron and Sharin glared fiercely at each other.

It looked like a red badger and a blue fox fighting over territory.

And as the one being fought over, I was in trouble.

“Both of you, stop—”

“What a lovely ti you’re having.”

A voice suddenly sent chills down my spine.

Turning my head with a stiff motion, I saw a pair of crimson ruby eyes glinting coldly.

Iris Hysirion.

I had no idea when she had arrived, but she stood there silently, without a sound.

eting my eyes, she smiled faintly.

“Having two girls at your side—must be nice.”

“Iris, this isn’t—”

“I risked my life to save you, thinking you were in danger. But the mont you wake up, you’re playing around with won?”

Her voice was sharper than usual today.

More than that, she was still treating as Hannon.

Which ant she hadn’t found out my true identity yet.

“And you two.”

Iris turned her gaze to Seron and Sharin, who were still locked in a fierce battle of wills.

“Hannon is my little brother. He’s not yours—he’s mine.”

With that absurd declaration, she threw more fuel onto the fire.

Seron and Sharin slowly turned their heads toward Iris.

Both of them knew I wasn’t really Hannon.

So they exchanged glances, then—

“……”

“……”

Without words, their eyes communicated.

Then, as if nothing had happened, they each tightened their grip on my arms.

“No.”

“Even you, Lady Iris, can’t have her.”

Iris raised an eyebrow.

A silent question—"Are you really defying a princess?”

But neither Seron nor Sharin flinched.

Fierce gazes clashed between the three of them.

“So you’re picking a fight.”

Iris cracked her knuckles.

If she joined in, it would be the end.

Unable to tolerate the situation any longer, I raised both arms in surrender.

Creak—

At that mont, the hospital room door opened.

Hania stood there.

“Lady Iris, the doctor is calling for Hannon.”

Behind her stood the doctor.

With the specialist’s arrival, the battle was put to an end.

As I sighed in relief, Hania t my gaze and winked.

Hania, what a wonderful woman.

I felt like crying.

As expected, my ex-girlfriend was the only one who took care of .

I quickly got up from my seat and decided to go see the doctor.

“Hannon, you know you were really in serious danger this ti, right?”

As I passed by the door, Hania casually spoke up.

It seed she was worried about too.

“I’m fine. Perfectly fine.”

“It’s okay to act like you’re not. The doctor said you might have post-traumatic stress disorder. You should get a thorough check-up.”

“I’m not that weak. It’s just a couple of missing limbs.”

“……”

Hania furrowed her brows slightly and stared at .

“Hannon… that’s not sothing you can just say ‘just’ about.”

Damn, I ssed up.

Trying to sound carefree only made her more worried.

“I’ll go get checked up right away.”

Under Hania’s strange gaze, I quickly left the room.

I should be more careful with my words from now on.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]