There Will Be Many Ways to Help
There Will Be Many Ways to Help
Even though the floor was made of dark-colored wood, it was impossible for the marks not to show, as it had been thoroughly soaked once with a red liquid, not ordinary water, and then dried.
And at the same time, my Saintess's Robes, which should have been pure white, were heavily stained red.
If one were to look for white parts, they would be extremely rare.
Kylon's expression, upon seeing it, was gradually hardening, and since I had anticipated his reaction, I simply kept my mouth shut and waited for him to speak.
After remaining silent for a long time, I calmly listened to Kylon's voice that followed.
"...What is this?"
Caught between confusion and bewilderment, he seemed unable to find the right words, asking me as if he wanted to properly understand the situation.
Unlike before, his voice wasn't one that had just woken up; it was a clear, alert voice, which made me feel inexplicably scared, and my body trembled.
I knew I had to answer something, but facing such a situation, I was afraid to say anything.
How should I put it? It felt like I had done something wrong and was about to be scolded.
So, I unconsciously lost my nerve, mumbled, and searched for an excuse.
Originally, I had just planned to briefly explain what happened and get a black nun's habit. If it were black, no matter how much blood I shed from my neck, the color wouldn't show.
As I was deep in thought, Kylon, perhaps frustrated by my silence, clutched his throbbing head and furrowed his Glabellum.
"I asked what this is? This is all blood, isn't it? The floor, the splatters on the bed, and your clothes... hah."
His questioning tone ceased at the end, as if he understood everything just by seeing the white clothes dyed crimson, and he simply let out a sigh.
Seeing him like that, I had nothing to say and just wore an awkward expression.
He was enjoying himself, and I didn't want to keep bothering him or ruin the mood, so I deliberately called him at a time when everyone would likely be asleep. But he didn't consider my thoughtfulness and raised his voice as if angry, which made me flinch.
So, I sighed and, facing him as he looked around my room, I answered in a small voice so others wouldn't hear.
"...I, I just kept quiet a bit, in case I disturbed you. Ah, anyway, about that... Cheonggyeol Mabeop..."
"Is that the problem right now? No, I, I told you to tell me!"
I tried to brush it off with an awkward expression, but he snapped at me, as if this wasn't something to be easily dismissed, and repeated what he had said before.
In the midst of it, perhaps getting angrier, he stammered his words and strode closer to me.
My startled body tried to retreat, but there wasn't much space behind me, so I only stepped back half a pace, which ultimately meant the distance between us became a little closer.
"When did this happen? Did you self-harm while I was having sex with Linda? Well, of course, if you did that in the middle of it, I might be okay, but Linda would probably look at it askance. But couldn't you just tell me? Honestly, if you ended up like this, there wouldn't be a single person who'd say, 'I'll just close my eyes and keep having sex.'"
His words were such that I couldn't tell if he was angry, trying to scold me, or perhaps worried about me.
It could have been all of them, or none. Unable to be certain, I just listened to his voice blankly and let out a soft groan.
"......."
It was an issue I had intended to pass over lightly, but since my clothes were completely dyed red like this, he must have thought it was serious, and so I found myself unable to back down easily.
It wasn't an itch that would disappear if I scratched it, so what was I supposed to do about something unavoidable?
Kylon's eyes, as he huffed and looked at me, were not those of an angry person.
They seemed to be eyes meant only to scold me, so I avoided his gaze and bowed my head deeply.
"...Still, to reach the ending, I have to do it, and just hearing Kylon's voice makes me feel o-okay. So I thought it would be better to just finish everything and call you in the early morning."
These words were true. Honestly, even though I couldn't become the protagonist of a Tteoktaji Yagem, and even if someone from the same world got that body and had sex to their heart's content, I envied it rather than resented it.
So, I had no intention of interfering while he was enjoying himself, and if I knew it was the path to the ending, there was even less reason to stop him.
If I didn't want to live in this world with this body, I wouldn't be doing such things.
As I was pondering how to escape this situation with what wasn't really an excuse, Kylon, perhaps hearing the gears turning in my head, grabbed my arm and pulled me sharply.
My fatigued body was helplessly pulled by his hand, and as I, flustered, met his gaze, he stared at my eyes for a moment, then frowned and spoke.
"Your eyes are bloodshot. Looks like you haven't slept."
Hearing those words, I felt like my breath caught, as if everything had been exposed.
But even then, his words didn't stop.
"Look at this, you have dark circles from not sleeping. Did you scratch yourself all night? No, scratching wouldn't cause this much blood... Did you buy a knife?"
It didn't take him long to look at my eyes, then lower his gaze to my neck, and finally find the source of the blood, reaching the correct answer.
No, it would be better to say that he realized it late, despite it being something he would normally notice quickly, due to the absurd sight.
"......."
But even though he had guessed correctly, I couldn't say he was right.
If I said such a thing here, I might unnecessarily have my knife taken away again.
He had even taken back the knife with a serious expression when I accidentally cut my finger during a camping trip before.
But it showed a situation where, if that knife were in my hand all night, this might happen. So, there was no way a knife would still be in my hand, and I simply kept my mouth shut and bowed my head to avoid his gaze.
I wasn't particularly short, but compared to Kylon, I was definitely shorter, so the advantage was that I could quickly hide my expression by bowing my head.
Kylon, who had been silent for a long time, quietly instructed me.
"Where's the knife? Hand it over quickly. Saintess's Robes wouldn't have pockets."
He let go of my hand he was holding and then looked around.
Then he walked towards a bag that was neatly tucked away in a corner, looking perfectly normal in this space that seemed to have been hit by a bloodstorm.
In this small single room, there was nothing but the bed and that table unless something was hidden by an individual, so Kylon quickly found the knife.
"I, I'll get it out for you."
So, I tried to stop him and move to get it out myself, but he reached the bag first and rummaged through it without listening to me.
And after looking inside, he stared at it blankly and fell silent.
Motionless, he stared at it for a long time before opening his mouth.
"...What is this? This, huh, is... Who told you to do something like this?"
What he held in his hand was not a knife, but a Potion.
A Potion made from none other than my own blood.
A shimmering red liquid that hadn't coagulated despite being exposed to oxygen. Its scent was also not metallic, making it hard to believe it was blood.
Perhaps because of this, anyone unfamiliar with its manufacturing method would surely find it difficult to deduce that it was blood.
However, Kylon's expression, knowing the truth, hardened to the point of becoming grim, and he began to interrogate me.
"I asked who told you to do this..."
"B-but."
Even under such interrogation, I had my own things to say.
The only time I couldn't say anything was when I secretly bought a knife and self-harmed in silence, but regarding the Potion, I had my own explanation.
So, I opened my mouth.
"Because I can't even properly use my abilities as a Saintess, I wanted to do something like this... That's why I did it. I didn't want to be a burden all by myself."
I am incapable of combat. Although I might be able to fight now that I'm outside the Game System, it was obvious that it would be impossible right now because my body wasn't trained.
So, the most I could do was heal, but even that was impossible, whether due to a lack of faith or simply because I didn't know how to use it, so I tried to use this workaround.
Then, even if I couldn't heal him immediately, I could hand over a Potion and get through the situation.
"Alright. I understand, since it's already done... Don't do this again next time. The knife is confiscated."
He said that, then picked up the knife and took it with him.
After that, he used Cheonggyeol Mabeop on my body and the inn, and everything instantly became clean, as if nothing had happened.
The red Saintess's Robes turned white, the blood-stained floor regained its original color, and the blood-splattered sheets once again boasted their whiteness.
"Is there, is there something like a black nun's habit?"
"...There's no such thing. I can guess why you're looking for black clothes, but I just wish you wouldn't self-harm... hah. No, no, wait, I just need to stay by your side, don't I?"
He cut off my question abruptly, let out a deep sigh, and then, as if realizing something, he relaxed his frown and looked at me.
Not knowing what he was thinking, I just kept my mouth shut and looked at him, feeling inexplicably afraid and worried about what he might say.
"......."
After a long silence, he broke the quiet and opened his mouth.
"Alright, well, umm. For now, I understand. Let's think about it again later."
"Oh, okay. Sorry for waking you up early..."
"If you're sorry, what does that make me?... You must be tired, so go to sleep quickly."
"Thank you."
"......."
Kylon hadn't reached an immediate conclusion, but I secretly felt relieved by his answer and let out a sigh of relief.
Honestly, as someone who dreamed of reaching the ending and escaping quickly, I didn't want him to be slowed down because of me.
Just as he intended to be considerate of me in the future,
I also intended to be considerate of him.
Since I wouldn't die, there would be many ways to help.
At the end of my gaze, as I thought that, was the Potion taken out of the bag.