Not Hungry for It?
The World Tree's sap was solidified into a hard candy pill, the size of a marble.
"Well, honestly, even with this, the severed arm should be fully regenerable... You know as well as I do that regenerating an unhealed area gets quite lively. I'm a bit worried about it."
It was the sap of the World Tree, a mother of life and mana, gathered from the academy—and specifically, from its principal, who was now confirmed to be a high elf.
Even one drop of it would suffice for regeneration. For this hardened candy pill, it would not only strengthen me further but, if handled well, push me past my current limits. The World Tree's sap held powers that defied the boundaries of the Heavenly Demon Realm.
However, my left arm was already scarred. To regenerate it cleanly, the unhealed portion had to be cut away neatly.
Doing it in the infirmary would flood the pristine white room with blood. Treating the arm here felt almost reckless.
"Since Eira set up a private space for me, I'll have to go there later."
[That's right... Come back to me quickly, my love.]
"That's something I can do right now, isn't it?"
Cheon Seong opened his one arm wide and smiled at Beatrice.
Beatrice, in her small body, flew toward him, pinched his cheek, and answered.
All Stats +[x]%
All Stats +[x]%
All Stats +[x]%
All Stats +[x]%
Crack!
"Ah, ah, Noona, that really hurts."
[I told you it would hurt, so of course it hurts.]
Cheon Seong stroked his aching cheek and asked, while Beatrice answered that it was only natural.
The couple's adorable squabbling continued for a moment, then Beatrice, who had finally reached the time to go, kissed Cheon Seong's cheek one last time.
[Then I shall go, my love. I want to see you so much. Come back as quickly as possible.]
"Alright, safe travels, Noona."
Beatrice departed, and the boring time of rest returned.
Bang!
"Hey! You missed me, right? Didn't you?"
"...You haven't finished your studies at the academy yet?"
Yoo Hwa-young opened the infirmary door and entered, having come for a visit as usual.
When Cheon Seong asked how she had come, Hwa-young placed a hand on her waist and spoke proudly.
"Hahaha! I missed you so much that I reviewed the entire lecture today and came early!"
"...Have you gone crazy?"
Everything taught at the academy was high-level material that couldn't be easily mastered through mere pre-reading.
Her comment that she had come early just to visit made Cheon Seong feel as if the ground had been pulled out from under him.
"You're really hopeless."
"Of course! I'm not going to give up—"
Swish
"Sit down for a moment. I'll make you some tea."
Cheon Seong, who had been lying on the bed, sat up for the first time in a long while.
"H-how did you even... You weren't healed yet, right?"
When Cheon Seong rose calmly, Hwa-young's eyes widened as she asked how it was possible.
Realizing her own injuries had all healed, Hwa-young answered.
"Huh? Ah, now my body's fine. There's even a way to regenerate the severed arm later."
"Whaaat?!"
Hwa-young could only gape in shock, secretly avoiding Cheon Seong's gaze while sweat droplets trickled down.
"...Did you do something else reckless again?"
"N-no? Ah, aha... I don't know what you're talking about."
Even glancing at her, it was obvious Hwa-young had done something reckless, so Cheon Seong glared at her. But when she kept avoiding his eyes, he sighed and approached.
"W-wait, wait, don't come, just listen to what I—"
"You've been avoiding it the whole time."
Hwa-young retreated step by step as Cheon Seong advanced, until her back hit the wall and she lost all escape.
Thud!
It was the classic wall-pushing stance.
Since their heights differed greatly, Cheon Seong had to lean down to meet her eyes.
"You're not going to tell me, even like this?"
"W-w-what, w-what a cheap, cheap, cheap—"
Ku-kuk-kuk-kuk-kuk
Hwa-young's heart pounded rapidly. When she finally opened her tightly shut eyes, Cheon Seong's smiling face was so close she could almost kiss him if she moved just a little.
Using her love for him as fuel, Cheon Seong pressed his fierce attack. In the end, Hwa-young couldn't endure it and shoved him back, her face flushed red as she shouted.
"A-alright! I'll tell you! Just get back!"
"I could have done that from the start."
Cheon Seong smiled slyly and backed away after hearing her surrender declaration. Hwa-young calmed her racing heart and glared at him.
"So full of yourself."
"What do you mean 'so full of myself'? You just see me through tinted glasses. So what are you hiding?"
"You think you're not ugly? Well, maybe. Ah, but do I really have to hear it?"
"..."
Swish
"Kyaaah! O-okay! I'll tell you! I said I'd tell you!"
To stop Hwa-young from retracting her words, Cheon Seong leaned in again. Hwa-young squeezed her eyes shut and said.
"T-that is, it's not that easy to regenerate a severed body, right?"
"That's right. So what's the problem—"
Cheon Seong felt a strong unease.
"You don't mean..."
"S-so, did you ask Dad earlier this morning if he could heal your arm?"
A chill ran down Hwa-young's spine, and guilt filled her face.
"S-so, after that, I haven't been able to contact Dad? Ah, ahahaha. But I did it for you, right?"
On that day, Cheon Seong remembered.
The people he loved waiting for him at home.
Thinking that Yoo Hwa-young really wanted to kill him.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Crack!
"Kwaaaah! What the hell is this last ingredient?"
Bang!!
Mir's fist slammed down hard on the desk.
Koong!
[Ouch! Hey! What are you doing?!]
A screwdriver that had fallen from the desk landed on Loki's head, which was resting on the floor. Loki shouted at Mir.
"Hey! I'm suffering here, and you're just lounging around happily?!"
[Who said I'm lounging?! I worked like a dog for a week pretending to help you! Give me a break! I have rights too!]
"You're a robot, you don't have rights like that!"
[Are you done?!!]
(ノ｀Д´)ノ
Mir and Loki, who had worked non-stop for a week researching Lightning's enhancement, now snarled.
"Uh, should I come later?"
"Hm?"
[Huh?]
Cheon Seong, who had returned with a handful of something in one hand, spoke cautiously amid the snakes' fight.
"Hey, what are you doing at this time..."
[Hey! Isn't that the thing we talked about eating before?! Are we eating it?!]
(☆▽☆)
Mir and Loki's reactions, divided into two categories.
Mir's eyes widened wide at the empty spot where Cheon Seong's arm should have been, while Loki, holding a plump white envelope in one hand, lit up with happy emojis.
"Ah, Loki. It's not everything we talked about earlier, but I bought mostly from the open places. Here."
[Yay! You're the best!!]
Loki received the envelope from Cheon Seong and flew away. Cheon Seong smiled at the sight.
But the only gaze that wasn't pleased by that smile was Mir's.
"You... What happened to your arm..."
Mir's voice, unusually low and subdued.
"Ah, it's just a little something. I'm fine, so don't worry."
At Mir's words, Cheon Seong smiled awkwardly and stroked his severed left arm.
Crack!
Grit!
Mir silently clenched her fist and gritted her teeth.
After a moment of silence, Mir spoke to Cheon Seong in a cold voice unlike before.
"Is that so? Then hurry and tell me your business."
"Eh? Uh, it's nothing special. I just wanted to see your face since it's been a while."
"If there's nothing important, you shouldn't come unless necessary. But since you're here, let me report on the investigation I did on Lightning."
Whoosh!
Cheon Seong was startled by Mir's frosty voice. Mir passed him and brought a paper bundle, then flipped through it while speaking.
"First, Lightning doesn't stimulate the mana circuits."
Chuk
Mir's hand pointed at her own heart.
"It directly stimulates the heart to forcibly amplify mana. The narcotic poisons that stimulate the heart enter when creating Lightning, and also..."
Lightning's power was enough to rule the world.
The information Mir had gathered in mere months about such a lightning was almost unbelievable.
But Cheon Seong's mind couldn't grasp Mir's words.
Mir, who usually welcomed him with a bit of shyness, now looked at him with pure hatred.
Cheon Seong felt that Mir truly hated him.
'Why? Did I do something wrong?'
He didn't know.
No matter how he thought, he couldn't figure out what he might have done to Mir.
Mir's explanation continued, and Cheon Seong's thoughts grew deeper.
While they ignored each other and did their own things, Loki, who had flown in eating the food Cheon Seong brought, spoke to Mir with a fierce face.
[Hey, aren't you treating it like it's not a big deal that she got hurt, and you're hiding it from her because you're mad?]
"..."
Stutter!
Mir froze while speaking, and Cheon Seong, who had come back to his senses from Loki's words, asked Loki.
"Hm? Loki, what are you saying?"
[Ah~ It's because she—]
"Shut up!! You tin can robot!!"
Bang!!
Mir, who had been about to speak, jumped high and slammed the report she was holding down hard.
[Kyaak!!]
Loki couldn't continue speaking after being slammed by the report and fell vertically to the floor. Mir, panting, looked at Cheon Seong and said.
"Ha... ha... It's not."
"E, eh. Yeah."
"It's not."
"I get it."
"It's not!!"
Mir's face flushed with embarrassment from Loki's words, and she kept shouting "It's not!" at Cheon Seong without listening.
Cheon Seong could only watch silently until Mir calmed down.