Chapter 58
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: Mir's Jealousy
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"......Haaah. Ugh, slept so well."
I opened my eyes in the now-familiar plush on-duty room bed, stretched once, and got out of bed.
Starting my morning with some neck and shoulder stretches always felt refreshing, clearing my mind nicely.
After downing a glass of cold water and finishing my morning prep, I replayed yesterday's events once more.
"Yeah, even after sleeping on it, it still feels dangerous."
A refreshed body clashing with an uneasy mind.
It was all because of yesterday's incident confirming May Luina's separation anxiety.
The moment I realized her separation anxiety stemmed from me, a massive obstacle loomed before my dreams.
It wasn't set in stone yet—just a hazy worry born of my own anxiety—but if there was even a slim chance of that ominous future coming true, I had to prepare now.
"Realizing it too late would be bad. While all three are still in vegetative states and I'm in control, I need to take action first."
The grim future filling my once-refreshing mornings with anxiety and tension was the possibility that even after treatment, the three of them might refuse to let me go.
Logically speaking, there was no way S-rank awakeners—the world's top heroes—would stay fixated on an F-rank like me, someone they'd used as a bread shuttle, guinea pig, and emotional trash can.
But yesterday, I'd witnessed fragments of that illogical reality firsthand with May Luina, so I had no choice but to prepare for the worst.
"......Hoo. Let me remind myself once more."
Last night, right before sleep, I'd deeply pondered: "Is my life as their caregiver sustainable like this?"
Facing May Luina's separation anxiety—and the possibility that Dain Adamas and Mir Ryuin might develop the same—I knew my approach had to change.
Treatment options, how to treat them now, how to handle separation anxiety—countless choices swirled in my mind, but one truth stood above all.
"I'm someone who values my dreams far more than I ever realized."
My craving for freedom was far, far greater than I'd ever thought.
The moment I turned twenty, my own mistake turned me into a debtor, robbing me of my life and forcing me to live solely for repayment. Only then did I grasp freedom's true worth.
Becoming the caregiver for vegetative S-ranks, with my Status Window skill bringing distant freedom within reach—then yesterday, realizing it might be snatched away by them—I finally understood.
"I want to live free. Better to die than live without it."
That yearning for freedom, the dream I'd nurtured as an ER lackey, had grown inside me to feel more precious than life itself.
"Mm, good."
Recognizing the depth of my ambition clarified everything ahead.
I'd always been driven, but now more than ever, I'd do anything to achieve my dream.
Yes, anything.
"Time to head in."
With my resolve to reclaim freedom through my dream, I opened the door to Mir Ryuin's room.
Click.
Turning the knob revealed the world's greatest mage, Lord of Magic Mir Ryuin, with her familiar silky black hair.
Among the three I cared for, she was the one I dreaded most—the one with the deepest emotions piled up.
[User's will confirmed. From now on, you can hear the target's inner thoughts within a certain distance.]
I dismissed the alert in my vision without reading it fully and tuned in to Mir Ryuin's impending voice.
[Ah, he's here...! Oh, no. Ahem. You're here?]
Her voice brimmed with joy she tried to hide—but failed miserably. Anyone would think she'd been waiting for me.
Feeling a mix of emotions that Mir Ryuin would wait for me like this, I smiled brightly and greeted her.
"Good morning. Wait long?"
[Waiting? Me? For you, Stay? The Lord of Magic, no less?]
In response to my question, she fired back with utter disbelief, trying to convey both her absurdity at the idea and that my thinking was fundamentally flawed.
[......But trying to play it cool after letting that initial excitement slip so obviously...]
Yet her attempt to subtly remind me of our status gap fell flat, undone by her own words.
As she said, the moment I entered, her voice had been as bright and lively as a puppy greeting its owner.
Realizing she couldn't hide it, she admitted her delight.
[You'd think I'd get used to it after a couple times, but why does waiting for you always feel so slow? Unlike last time with nothing to pass the hours, I even set up a speaker by my head to hear your voice this time.]
Her self-questioning made my body jolt, my limbs tensing up.
[Still, time flies when I hear your voice through the speaker. My chest feels so tight and stuffy, but it eases up magically. The anxiety fades too. Is it because your voice reminds me I'm not alone? To think it'd take becoming like this for me to realize I'm a social creature after all. Life really is unpredictable.]
Hearing "your voice makes the anxiety disappear" half-confirmed what I'd dreaded as mere possibility: her separation anxiety.
That even Mir Ryuin—the least likely of the three—might feel it because of me sent chills racing down my spine.
[But you know, while your voice relaxes me, it also brings way bigger irritation sometimes.]
"Huh?"
[Like when I realized you gave Dain Adamas and May Luina full-body hugs while only smacking my butt. Or hearing your gentle voice afterward, knowing it's aimed at other women.]
Her words solidified the separation anxiety possibility completely.
[Must've felt good. Especially hugging May Luina. You even called her by name—casual speech too. Like lovers...... no, super close friends without any status gap.]
To anyone listening, it screamed jealousy over my special treatment for May Luina yesterday.
Of course, only I could hear her, so it might just be creepy otaku delusion—but even if it was, I was in deep trouble.
[It's only natural I feel this displeasure. You bantered casually with Dain Adamas from the start, massaged her lower belly during treatment, and hugged her tight. For May Luina, you tenderly pinched her nipples, kneaded her breasts, and yesterday went full casual name-call with a hug. Me? Just butt smacks. Outright discrimination—totally normal to get mad about it.]
Her tone stayed even to mask emotion, but it couldn't hide everything.
Dark, murky, sticky negativity slithered in, tightening around my throat.
Even as a powerless vegetative state, she was Mir Ryuin—Lord of Magic, the first human dubbed Dragon. It was natural she'd instill choking pressure with mere emotional inflection.
[And you knew full well about the speaker, yet did all that hugging, casual naming, bantering without hesitation—only not for me. Can't even call it ignoring me. Right? Got anything to say? Not that excuses will fix this.]
Breath caught, limbs numb, vision filled with an enraged Mir Ryuin fuming over favoritism—a life-or-death crisis.
Yet unlike yesterday, my mind didn't blank in panic.
"Mir Ryuin's jealousy? How cute."
[......W-Wha?]
Because as terrifying as it was, this scenario was within my expectations.
"Why so shocked? Hit a nerve? You never used to fluster like this, no matter what. But since our dynamic shifted, I see it a lot."
I'd hoped it wouldn't happen—it was too horrifying—but it was perfect for advancing my plan.
[Wh-What're you saying? What do you think you're doing? I'm mad! Can't you tell? You're skill-less, connection-less, broke, unlucky—but your one saving grace is sharp instincts! Seeing me this furious up close and acting so brazen anyway means you're losing your biggest—]
"You're rambling hard. Totally flustered, huh?"
Even spelling out her displeasure, my non-reaction and cheeky retort left her fidgeting like a kid caught breaking a plate—speechless.
Seeing her like that convinced me my plan wouldn't be hard. I grinned, stroked her smooth black hair, and whispered:
"Why whine like that? During those three days without me, were you dying to act spoiled?"
[Wh-Wha-Whaaaat?!]
The plan: restructure my relationships with these vegetative S-ranks.
A safeguard if even one clung to me post-treatment like now.
"No need to snap—if you want something from me, just say it. ......Mir."
[Eh?! Y-You just called me—by name only...]
"Why? Hate me calling you Mir? I'll stop if Mir doesn't like it."
[N-No! Don't hate it—love it... I mean, it's fine! Y-Yeah! Call me Mir!]
And the first to undergo this relational shift: Mir Ryuin.