86 – My Precious!
[ Error, unable to measure ]
[ Detailed error description ]
[ Error 0291 ]
[ Error 98821 ]
[ Error 0031 ]
[ Error 7876 ]
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The paper Lily was holding contained the message that it was impossible to measure and endless error messages. Lily couldn’t hide her trembling gaze as she thought,
“Do the top-grade magical devices used by bosses of other organizations really fail to measure?”
There were only two possibilities in such cases.
First, the magical device was malfunctioning or unable to measure the correct values.
Second, there was no way to measure Lian’s condition even with the top-grade magical device due to some reason.
Of course, the former was more reasonable. Lily immediately removed the band from Lian’s body.
Nero, who was checking the results together from the side, quickly realized the situation and raised his hand to his neck, speaking.
“I measured it most recently, so let me measure it.”
If it was completely broken, the results obtained just a while ago would be completely different.
Lily attached the band to Nero’s body, and soon the result sheet came out.
“…It’s not broken.”
“Ah.”
That meant that there was nothing wrong with the magical device. Noah, who had been holding his breath, spoke in a low voice.
“….We’ll have to find a better magical device. Or find a skilled healer.”
“Yeah, it seems like that’s the only way to measure it properly.”
Finding a magical device better than the top-grade one would require raiding the kingdom’s treasure warehouse at the very least. So finding a better magical device was almost impossible or something that could only happen in the distant future.
Noah bit his lip and thought.
“If it can’t be measured with a top-grade magical device… does that mean the condition is really bad? No, no. It might not be a bad condition but rather a side effect. The side effect of the experiment.”
Noah clenched his fist, trembling all over as he recalled the cruel experiment Lian went through.
“Um, excuse me, I’m hungry, so can’t we have a meal now?”
The atmosphere in the room seemed to freeze at Lian’s words. Since there was nothing they could do immediately, Lian prepared the meal as requested.
Lian suddenly collapsed and couldn’t wake up for a whole week. But they couldn’t figure out the reason why. This fact weighed heavily on the hearts of those who cherished Lian.
Even though Lian was laughing and talking right in front of them, it felt like they could crumble and disappear at any moment. In this precarious atmosphere, Lian thought to themselves,
“Ah, I can finally live now.”
Lian felt a surge of energy throughout their body and thought that this situation was nothing to worry about.
…Until they were partially confined the next day.
***
“Noah, is there anything I can do to help?”
“Don’t worry about me, just relax and lie down.”
Since the day I had a strange dream, I couldn’t have any alone time anymore. It may sound strange to say it like this…
Simply put, whether I was inside the room or outside, there had to be at least one person by my side.
And if there was no one?
…I couldn’t leave the room.
“This isn’t confinement…right? Nah, it can’t be. hahahahaha!”
I burst into laughter at my own absurd thoughts.
“When they see that I’m getting better, everyone will go back to their own business!”
So a week passed.
…I was still in a situation where I couldn’t go anywhere alone. Around this time, I realized that something was off.
“How come there’s no one with free time?”
“Well…Nero said he’ll come back as soon as possible. Maybe you can switch with Nero.”
“I’m healthy now, so I can be alone.”
Just like any newly formed organization, the Nest organization is a very busy one. Because of that, it’s sometimes difficult to have a superior by my side.
In those moments, I would either wait for someone who is less busy to quickly finish their work and come back, or I would postpone my own tasks and rush over.
Every time that happened, I would say, “I’m healthy,” but no one would listen. Sob sob…
“Jujin-nim! Jujin-nim! Look what I made!”
While feeling down, Jess came running towards me, holding something in his hands. It was a work of art made by sticking colored paper onto a piece of paper.
“Oh, well done.”
“hehehehe…”
As I praised him, he immediately lowered his head and perked up his ears. When I raised my hand slightly, his ears perked up even more and his tail wagged vigorously.
His mischievousness made me want to pat his head and tidy up his hands, but he looked so adorable that I couldn’t resist and raised my hand to give him a pat.
Pabababat!
His tail wagged as if it could reach the sky.
“By the way… who does Jess take classes from?”
When I asked that question, Lily, who had been by my side until Nero arrived, answered.
“Children Jess’s age take classes in a separate building called the Annex, which is a little away from the main residence.”
“Oh, really? Why have I never seen the kids before?”
“There’s a perception barrier magic circle operating between the main building and the Annex where the children live, so they can’t come to the main building. Jess and Iris can come over because they have a pass.”
“I see…”
While sighing in admiration, Jess raised his chin and looked at Lian with sparkling eyes. When I patted his chin, I heard a purring sound.
Jess’s tail didn’t seem like that of a feline when I patted his chin or head; it made a sound like a cat. It was cute.
“Can I come see you once?”
“Hmm…”
Lily rolled her eyes as if contemplating for a moment, then nodded.
“There’s nothing particularly dangerous, so if you want, you can visit once.”
While having that conversation, Nero arrived.
“Sorry for being late!”
“No, you’re not late.”
As soon as Nero arrived, Lily exchanged greetings and left. She was quite busy, after all.
“Phew… So, what are we going to do today, Hyung? Want to play chess with me?”
“Rather than that, I want to visit the annex where the kids are staying.”
“The annex?”
“Yeah, Lily said it’s okay to go.”
Nero nodded approvingly, trying hard to convey the fact that he had permission, fearing rejection.
“If Lily gave permission, well, it should be fine!”
Nero smiled mischievously and looked towards Jess.
“Besides, we have to take the naughty student who escaped with us.”
“Huh? Escaped?”
“Yeah, it’s right in the middle of class time.”
As I looked at Jess, he looked back at me with an eye that resembled an accident-prone puppy. Overwhelmed by his somewhat innocent yet not unpleasant appearance, I ruffled his hair.
“What should we do if this guy secretly escapes from class?”
“Hee hee hee, I wanted to show this to Juin-nim, so that’s why!”
“But next time, come running after class. Got it?”
“Yes!”
I took Jes’s hand and headed towards the annex with Nero.
“Come to think of it, it’s my first time coming outside the main building.”
Just like I had seen from the terrace, the main building was surrounded by a forest. Nero walked along a path in the forest where traces of people could be felt.
How long did I walk behind him? The surroundings were filled with hazy fog, making it difficult to see even an inch ahead.
“Oh, right. Hyung, take this.”
Nero belatedly handed me something round and flat. It was a wooden disc with a magic circle carved on it.
“You need this to pass freely. I have extras, so you can use it, hyung.”
“Oh, thank you.”
From Noble mtl dot com
After putting the disc in my pocket, we continued moving. After about 20 minutes, the fog cleared, revealing a wide open space.
A single-story building was situated on the spacious open space. It was bigger than I had expected.
“We built the building as a single-story because the kids are so young and we didn’t want them to get hurt.”
“That’s probably for the best. They could fall from the second floor.”
As we entered the building, we could hear the voices of the children following the teacher’s instructions.
“Now then, what do we say in a situation like this?”
As I silently felt nostalgic for my childhood in response to the gentle question…
“If you don’t want to break your fingers, it’s better to keep your mouth shut properly! That’s what you should say!”
“That’s right!”
“….?”
“Then, in a situation like this?”
“Stare for 30 seconds and grab the sword handle! If there’s still no reaction, turn back! When walking while showing your back, be prepared for an attack!”
“….??”
Content that didn’t match the lively voices seeped out of the classroom.
“Cardisian is such a dangerous place that this kind of education is necessary.”
I nodded at Nero’s words, accompanied by a wry smile.
“The education I received was possible in a safe world.”
For a brief moment, I thought, ‘Was it really safe…?’ But compared to the dark fantasy world, I lightly dismissed the thought that it was a safe world.
“There’s only one class left. Iris and Jess also take classes in this class. Jess has to attend class, so I’ll knock.”
Knock knock.
As Nero knocked, the teacher’s voice abruptly stopped.
“Just a moment!”
Someone rushed over and opened the door.
“Oh my! Jess!”
A middle-aged woman with her long hair tied up high smiled with crescent-shaped eyes, then quickly hardened her expression and said firmly.
“You can just run away as you please, can’t you?”
“No, I can’t…”
“You won’t do it again next time, will you?”
“No, I won’t…”
When Jess looked up at the teacher with a sullen face, the teacher’s face melted instantly. That’s how cute Jess looked.
With his head bowed deeply, Jess suddenly raised his face and looked at the teacher with sparkling eyes. Jess’s finger pointed at me.
“Teacher, this is my owner!”
“….!?”