Episode 67
Episode 67
I wake up, holding my throbbing head as I sit up.
"Ugh, ugh... How much did I even drink?"
My head throbs as if it's about to split open.
It's the natural consequence of getting carried away by the mood and drinking without thinking, happy that it had been so long.
My gaze slowly moves sideways from the bed.
"Hmm..."
Bed, dining table, two small sofas, even snacks.
This is definitely the lodging Aron and I booked right after arriving in the capital to stay for about two days.
"Did Aron carry me here? I don't think I walked here on my own."
My drinking habits aren't particularly bad, but they're not good either.
I just fall asleep on the spot once I pass a certain level of intoxication. So if I was this drunk, there's no way I walked here.
Then where did Aron disappear to?
I feel unwell from the hangover, but not to the point where I can't move.
"Hup!"
With a determined breath, I get off the bed and look around the room.
"Not here. Did he just drop me off at the lodging and go back to drinking?"
Wondering if he might be in the bathroom, I walk with quick steps to the bathroom and open the door.
Click.
Even after checking inside, Aron isn't there.
I close the door again and walk to the mirror.
"Hmm, should I go out like this? My clothes are fine."
Common pants and a common top.
Compared to my previous life, it's like the most standard outfit - jeans and a white t-shirt.
"Alright. Let's go out right away."
Aron is probably either at the Harmony's Flame building we visited yesterday or taking a walk nearby.
If neither, then he probably went to buy me snacks.
'I should go to the mercenary group building first.'
I put on my shoes and walk out of the lodging.
Perhaps because it's still early morning, there aren't that many people around.
People going to work early, guards patrolling in the early dawn, bakers starting to bake bread.
'It feels somewhat peaceful.'
I walk through the quiet streets and arrive at the mercenary group building.
I immediately open the door and enter.
"The smell of alcohol..."
I see the typical mess that appears after an after-party.
People are collapsed here and there, and the floor is soaked with alcohol.
Food is left half-eaten too.
It's the typical morning-after scene of a mercenary group's after-party where no one cleaned up and just collapsed asleep.
"Huh?"
Just then, I saw Bina walking out with a tired expression.
"Bina! By any chance..."
Before my question finished, Bina tilted her head.
Even though I approached right in front of her, she spoke as if she still couldn't recognize who I was.
"Who are you? Did you come to request a job? The door is already open... Did I fall asleep without properly locking it yesterday?"
As she muttered to herself, I grabbed Bina's arm firmly.
Bina frowned and glared at me.
"It's me. Mia. You called me vice-captain..."
Slap!
"Who are you?"
My cheek burns.
My gaze turns toward the wall in shock.
As if my thoughts had stopped and malfunctioned, my head turned on its own before I looked at Bina again.
"Me, it's me. Mi..."
Slap!
My cheek burns again.
Only then do I see the mirror hanging on the wall.
"Huh?"
It's not me.
No, to be precise.
It's not Mia.
'Did I return to my original form?'
What appears in the mirror is me before I died.
That is, an ordinary man in his 20s who lived on Earth.
"Who are you! Did you come here to mock our deceased vice-captain?!"
"De...ceased?"
Something is wrong.
The mirror I checked at the lodging showed me perfectly fine.
"W-wait. I mean, so..."
While I'm flustered, a voice comes from behind.
"Bina, who's this? I've never seen this person before."
It's Aron.
If it's Aron, maybe he'll notice something's wrong.
Thinking that, the moment I turn around.
"Aron!"
Bina runs out and hugs Aron.
"Huh?"
I'm bewildered.
My thoughts can't keep up with the situation.
"Yeah, so what's going on? Did some troublesome client come?"
Aron hugged her warmly.
One hand on her waist, the other stroking her head as he embraces her.
Just like he holds me.
Bina.
He hugged.
"Aron... Don't you remember me? It's me. You saved me in the forest."
At my voice, Aron just looked at me for a moment without giving any response.
In the silence, Bina spoke.
"That person... says they're the vice-captain. Must be crazy."
Her voice changed.
Instead of the anger I felt earlier, it's a voice full of disgust.
"Ah... Don't tell me you really think you became a woman? A man who was happy to be dominated by another man? Ha, disgusting bastard."
Aron has the same reaction.
No, rather he cuts me down while bringing up facts I never told anyone.
He's making a sneering expression, genuinely looking disgusted.
As I step back, someone grabs me.
"What, you called me unni... but you were a man? Disgusting."
It's Seoryeong Unni.
She shouldn't be here, but she grabs my arm tightly and speaks.
"N-no, that's not..."
"Not that? You're the one who became a female beastkin while making excuses about proper beastkin growth."
"Th-that's..."
No voice comes out.
This time, another voice comes from the side.
"I didn't see you that way, but I'm disappointed. Then... you probably don't need this either, right?"
Eri touches her stomach beside me.
Looking where her hand passed, the pattern on my stomach has disappeared.
"That..."
I can't answer.
My throat is blocked.
Like I'm drowning in water, I can't breathe.
"What, then you didn't come to save me either..."
At that moment when I can't even answer.
"Ah, you..."
Karen Unni's voice is heard.
Like stabbing with a knife.
Thump.
Like.
"You didn't come because you were too busy being happy being dominated by a man?"
It feels like my heart has been stabbed.
I want to deny it, but I can't even open my mouth.
I'm gradually sinking.
My consciousness,
My breath,
Even my remaining emotions.
Just before my eyes close, I see Ivy.
She's reaching out her hand and shouting at me.
Through my fading vision, I see her mouth shape.
'Wa... ke... up?'
Why?
I want to sink like this.
I'm not afraid of the Cult of the End, the Imperial Family, the Empire, the Dragon Emperor, or anything else.
I'm only afraid of being abandoned and rejected.
"Wake up! Mia!"
Just before my consciousness completely fades.
I hear Aron's voice.
"Hack! Hack... Hoo... Uweeeek..."
As soon as I woke up, I had to vomit.
I'm so dizzy.
My whole body hurts as if it's broken.
After emptying my stomach for a while, I look to the side and see Aron.
"A-Aron. I, I mean..."
I'm scared.
Should I tell him now?
What if he gets angry?
"Mia, thank goodness. I thought you were dying. Did you have some kind of dream while sleeping?"
"Dream? Dream... Ah..."
It was a dream.
It was all a dream.
Checking my arm, it's still white and delicate.
Lifting my top slightly, the butterfly crest remains on my lower abdomen.
"Ugh, ugh... That... I mean..."
Aron stroked my head as if understanding.
As I slowly relaxed into his touch, my body finally began to calm down.
The hand I was tightly holding loosened its grip, and my tense body relaxed.
"It's okay. It seems like you had a severe nightmare. Could it be the work of the Cult of the End?"
"Cult of the End..."
I don't feel any physical pain or mental abnormalities.
It must have been just an ordinary nightmare.
"No. I just had a nightmare. It was... a pretty intense dream."
Aron didn't ask any questions and just kept stroking my head.
Held in his embrace, I fell into thought.
'What was that? It was too severe to be just anxiety. Is it really because of the Cult of the End?'
I thought about it for a while, but nothing particular came to mind.
It's a phenomenon I've never seen in the game.
"...I'll have to look into it later."
As Mia said this, the butterfly crest on her lower abdomen glowed faintly.
*
After resting a bit, we immediately went to see a doctor.
As expected of the Empire's capital, there were many large hospitals and competent doctors.
"Hmm, it seems you had a severe nightmare. Have you had anything particularly worrying recently? Or has your living environment changed suddenly?"
"Worrying things... yes."
I didn't bother lying and saying no.
Because the doctor didn't seem like someone who would ask for detailed explanations.
The doctor nodded lightly after confirming my response.
"This can happen when you're under a lot of stress or have things worrying you. Husband, please take good care of her. These things get better just by feeling at ease."
Aron, who suddenly became my husband, quietly nodded.
"Yes, I understand. Then there's no particular problem?"
The doctor fluttered some papers and showed them to us.
"These are today's test results. As you can see... dark magic, curses, magic? We checked for any external factors like these, but none apply to you."
"So it's Mia's psychological issue."
"Correct. I'll give you some calming tea and medication. Drink the tea about twice a day, and take the medication only if it gets too severe."
The doctor got up and went to the back of the examination room.
Left alone, Aron looked at me worriedly.
"Is it because of Karen in the forest? Then let's go as soon as possible. We were planning to leave today anyway, so we can go right away and get treatment."
"Yeah, that would be good."
Even though I knew that wasn't it, I couldn't bring myself to argue.
If the doctor is right, the reason I'm stressed is because of my previous life.
The fear that it might be discovered.
That's where it started.
'Should I tell Aron... not to recover his power? Even just being at his forest level would be enough.'
According to the Dragon Emperor, even Aron in the forest isn't exceeding 90% of his full power.
Otherwise, he would have already noticed something strange about my soul.
For now, I just tightly held Aron's hand.
*
"Hmm, I made her have a nightmare, but was it effective?"
The Saintess muttered while riding her horse.
The man riding alongside her asked in response.
"It's just a nightmare at best, what major effect could it have? She'll just lose some sleep and that'll be it."
"Right. It's just making her dream about her biggest worry as a nightmare. I only use this because I won't get caught."
"What's the principle? I've never heard of any undetectable magic."
"That's because it's a blessing, so they absolutely can't find it."
"Huh?"
At the man's bewildered voice, the Saintess hummed and answered.
"It's like a 'trial' given by God. They don't call that a curse. Everything given by God has a reason, it's a blessing."
"Such a loophole..."
He nodded inwardly, impressed.
As expected of a Saintess, she knew these aspects very well.
"By the way, I'm surprised. I thought you'd just kill her."
"Me?"
At the man's words, the Saintess looked at him with a bewildered expression.
She's never done anything that bad until now.
She's a Saintess after all.
Meaning she couldn't possibly do such things.
"I can't just break what Aron likes on my own whim. I'm just tormenting her a little. If I don't like it, I'll torment her a bit more."
"...It doesn't seem like 'a little' though."
"What did you say?"
Seeing her murderous black eyes glaring, the man quickly averted his gaze.
"Nothing. Let's just keep moving."
"Right, if you talk nonsense, I'll make you have nightmares too. Or I'll follow you around and make you anxious."
"...We'll arrive at the capital by tomorrow noon."
The man quickly changed the subject.
He didn't want to provoke this obsessive yandere Saintess unnecessarily.