[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Chapter 244
I had regained love.
And along with it, I gained discomfort.
The kind of discomfort every adolescent boy experiences at least once.
Overcoming that discomfort required a lot of patience.
"Hannon oppa!"
Just then, Xenia appeared.
She must have followed .
"I told you, you really need to rest."
Strangely, I felt a sense of peace, and my posture straightened.
Family really is a good thing.
"Senior."
At that mont, Nikita ca out of the room.
Wearing a black veil and with her dark brown hair, she looked like Sekita.
Nikita’s face was slightly flushed.
The sight was quite provocative.
"Please knock from now on."
"I’ll keep that in mind."
"But sotis... it's okay."
What does that even an?
I couldn’t bring myself to make eye contact with Nikita.
Then, an important thought struck .
"Xenia, what about Arcadium?"
Arcadium—the one I had defeated.
Since Nikita had just co out of the hospital room, she wouldn’t know the situation.
Only Xenia could.
"Professor Vega, who returned from the Demon Dungeon, subdued and captured him."
So there were no major problems on the Demon Dungeon side.
That must be why Vega, as a professor representative, had returned to check on the academy’s terror situation.
Vega had previously been inford by about Arcadium.
So she must have taken precautions and restrained him.
If Vega personally took care of it, I could be at ease.
There was a lot I needed to ask him.
"Senior, you were really on a rampage, huh?"
Nikita leaned her head lightly on my shoulder.
"If you do that again, I might really punish you next ti."
I had nothing to say.
Facing Arcadium without any information was dangerous even for .
Especially the part where he beca a ‘dragon-kin’—if Nikita hadn’t been there, sothing irreversible could’ve happened.
"I’ll keep that in mind."
"Good. Because I can’t live in a world without you, senior."
Nikita looked up at with a soft smile.
I really wished she wouldn’t look at like that right now.
I still needed ti to adjust to the love I had regained.
Nikita tilted her head, as if puzzled by my evasive eyes.
She seed to react that way because I wasn’t making eye contact like usual.
Should I tell her or not?
I had a hunch sothing big would happen if I did.
Tap-tap-tap—
Suddenly, rapid footsteps echoed in the distance.
They were familiar to .
"Prince Sweet Potato!"
The first to appear was Seron.
Sweat beaded on her forehead.
It was the height of the spring Demon Dungeon Tournant.
I was surprised to see her here and stared at her in disbelief.
Seron exhaled.
"I finished things there, no matter what it took!"
What in the world had happened at the Demon Dungeon?
I didn’t know, but Seron glanced at Nikita, and her eyebrows twitched.
"What do you think you're doing, holding onto him so casually!"
She then swiftly pulled my arm away from Nikita and clung to it.
Seron panted, visibly out of breath from running.
Normally, I would’ve told her not to touch because of the sweat.
But for so reason, I couldn’t take my eyes off her today.
Under her red hair, her eyes looking up at sparkled.
She looked genuinely happy to see after a long ti.
Was she always this pretty?
For a second, I wondered if I’d lost my mind.
"Prince Sweet Potato, what did you do this ti? The academy’s in chaos!"
So she really had co straight from the Demon Dungeon.
"Husbaannd—"
Next ca Sharin, staggering as she walked.
She looked utterly exhausted, likely from expending a lot of magic.
That would explain why she arrived later than Seron.
Thanks to her training with Aisha, Seron had improved her stamina and could arrive first.
Sharin saw , Seron, and Nikita and walked right up.
Then, without hesitation, she slung her arm around my neck and leaned on .
A strong blueberry scent from Sharin hit my nose and stunned for a mont.
Was this an assassination?
Only now did I realize what kind of "attacks" I had been enduring from them all this ti.
Then Sharin looked up at , tilting her head slightly.
It seed like she sensed sothing was off.
"Haaah, you two left everything to and ran off..."
Finally, Isabel appeared.
She had taken the role of team leader during the Demon Dungeon Tournant and had likely co after finishing her report.
When she saw surrounded by the three of them, she raised an eyebrow.
But then her eyes slowly widened.
"You..."
With a stern expression, Isabel spoke.
"Don’t tell … you regained your love?"
How could she tell just by looking?
I knew Isabel had an abnormal level of perception, but this was beyond that.
The mont Isabel’s words rang out, all three girls around turned their eyes to at once.
Seron was shocked.
Sharin frowned.
Nikita smiled shyly, her cheeks flushed.
And Isabel froze in place.
Her lips trembled, and she clenched both fists tightly.
"What?! You really got it back?"
"Husbaannd—"
Seron and Sharin simultaneously erupted in anger, grabbing onto tightly.
Their soft touches and scents overwheld my senses and made my body flinch instinctively.
Seron and Sharin locked eyes.
And then, their reactions subtly changed.
"Hmmm… is that so?"
"Husband, look at ee~"
Seron intertwined her fingers with mine, while Sharin poked at my cheek repeatedly.
Nikita, with a slightly pouty expression, looked off in another direction.
That alone couldn’t hide the smile tugging at her lips.
Only Isabel was different.
“…Just .”
My gaze landed on Isabel.
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
She flinched slightly, then turned to with a bright smile.
But I could tell right away—the surface was smiling, but underneath, she was trembling.
“That’s great. You’ve found all your emotions, haven’t you?”
They might not be perfect, but I had found them.
Isabel congratulated and turned away.
“Sorry, I have sothing left to report.”
She hurriedly started to run.
Seeing that, my body instinctively moved forward.
Sharine and Seron, only now realizing the situation, hesitated.
“Uh, hmm.”
“Looks like it.”
The two stepped away from .
“Go on, senior.”
Nikita motioned with her eyes for to follow her.
Lastly, I made eye contact with Xenia.
She stood there blankly, then flinched slightly before speaking.
“Please rest when you co back. The effects of the Celestial Magic are still lingering.”
“Yeah.”
Leaving the four behind, I ran.
Isabel was nowhere to be seen—she must’ve sprinted at full speed.
But fortunately, I had a good idea where she was going.
It was a place I had once followed her to.
The upper walls of Zerion Academy.
A secret spot Isabel often visited when deep in thought.
Running beneath the night sky, I arrived at the base of the wall.
I climbed the wall, and in the distance, I saw Isabel.
The wind blew.
Her honey-blonde hair danced in the breeze weaving through the stone.
Isabel noticed and gasped.
“…Co to think of it, you knew about this place.”
She must’ve just rembered the ti I followed her here.
She probably hadn’t had ti to think amidst all the confusion.
As I approached her, Isabel lowered her head.
“Sorry.”
She apologized abruptly.
The sa apology she had offered earlier.
I didn’t understand why she kept saying sorry—what did she have to be sorry for?
“Isabel, why are you apologizing?”
“…Because…”
Her head remained down.
She opened and closed her mouth repeatedly, unable to speak the words aloud.
Ti passed.
The moon above had moved a little when she finally opened her lips.
“…I promised I’d help you find your emotions, but I couldn’t do anything in the end.”
Her shoulders trembled.
I could sense the tears forming on her downturned face.
In her voice were sha, self-loathing, deep regret, and sorrow.
Under a starry night, Isabel’s tear fell to the ground.
“I found everything because of you… and I couldn’t give anything back. That makes feel pathetic and sorry.”
Her confession ca to mind.
How she had vowed to return all my emotions—anger, sorrow, love.
How she had promised to confess again once I had found everything.
Now I realized how brave her words had been back then.
And now, I could feel just how much pain and heartache those sa words held in this mont.
“I’m sorry. I guess I wasn’t enough to reach you.”
She slowly lifted her head.
Her tear-streaked face bore a heart-wrenching smile.
“But it’s okay. It really is. Just knowing you got your emotions back makes this happy.”
My hand reached out to her.
“No, it’s not.”
I pulled Isabel into an embrace.
She wasn’t smiling at all.
“Isabel, you tried harder than anyone to help get my emotions back.”
As if I didn’t know how much effort she put in.
She worried about more than anyone, always leading the way to bring my emotions back.
“How could sothing I found thanks to you… not reach you?”
It wouldn’t be wrong to say that the foundation of all my reclaid emotions had been laid by Isabel.
Without her efforts, I might never have even thought about getting them back.
So how could she say she did nothing?
As the person directly involved, I couldn’t accept that.
“Isabel, I was able to regain my emotions because of you.”
Because of you, I learned what these feelings ant.
So don’t cry like that.
“Look at , Isabel.”
I pulled her shoulders gently so she could see my face clearly.
Her tear-filled eyes t mine.
“Are you really the kind of person who would give up on because of that?”
I had heard her resolve with my own ears.
I knew the courage and depth of her feelings.
I saw, with my own eyes, the woman who loved so dearly.
Would Isabel—who loved this much—really give up just because she thought she hadn’t helped?
“…No.”
She shook her head.
“No, never. I lived because of you. I don’t even know how to go on without you anymore.”
She held tightly.
As if she never wanted to let go.
“I like you. I love you. I really, really love you. Since you’ve gotten your love back, I’ll keep saying it until you say you love too. I love you.”
The emotions she had been trying to suppress overflowed again.
Her tearful voice echoed clearly in my ears.
Her feelings hit my heart with perfect clarity.
I wrapped my hand around her hair.
Then, she slowly lifted her head and kissed .
The thing she had always done for —I now returned to her.
Isabel, who had cried out her love, finally regained a bit of light in the midst of her tears.
Long ago, I had promised to be the moon to Isabel.
Because I couldn’t be the sun to her sunflower, I said I’d be the moon instead.
But now, seeing her eyes—I finally understood.
To her, I had already beco the sun.
Behind us…
The moon faded, and the sun began to rise.
Its rays wrapped around us in warm embrace.
And the tear on her cheek, kissed by the sun, sparkled beautifully.
[Translator - Night]
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