Chapter 66
Terminally Ill, but It's Okay — Episode 66
Meanwhile, Joo A-rin and Cheon Seo-yoon were on their way to the library to write up their individual sparring reports.
Unlike usual, the paths were quiet.
The smell of firecrackers soaked into the air, and the distant murmur of a microphone felt like something from another world entirely.
Cheon Seo-yoon, pleased by the quiet, smiled softly and spoke up.
"Don't we look like total model students right now?"
"Model students?"
"Yeah, everyone else is out having fun, and we're going to study."
"Is an assignment studying?"
"Then isn't it?"
"Well, I mean...."
It wasn't exactly wrong, but....
Just as Joo A-rin was nodding with a lukewarm expression, it happened.
"Hey, stop for a second."
"...What now."
"Ah, hurry!"
Startled, Cheon Seo-yoon quickly crouched down and pointed at a spot ahead.
"Look over there."
"What am I supposed to be looking at...."
Reluctantly, Joo A-rin looked in the direction Cheon Seo-yoon was pointing.
Then, as if surprised, her eyes went round, and Cheon Seo-yoon reached out and pulled her down.
"Worth making a fuss over, right?"
Cheon Seo-yoon grinned as if she had known all along and stared ahead again.
There, a pair—a man and a woman—were wandering around Taehak.
The man wore a smile brighter than anyone in the world, and the woman was clutching the man's jacket tightly.
It was a relatively common sight at Taehak, where dating was permitted, but what made it stand out was the unexpected identity of the man.
"Wow, Park Ha-yul. What's with him? He always has a sulky face, and now he's acting all sweet over there."
They had spotted Park Ha-yul and Reina, who were being forced to accompany each other for the sake of Taehak's peace(?).
"Where'd he meet a priestess?"
"Priestess?"
"Yeah, I've seen that robe on TV. But what's their relationship?"
Cheon Seo-yoon, who had no way of knowing the complicated circumstances, soon narrowed her eyes like a child who had discovered an interesting toy.
"Well, they're probably not family, and they're too close to be just friends, don't you think?"
Maybe because they had been tangled up together often lately?
Joo A-rin pretended not to care and held her tongue, but in truth she was focused on whatever Cheon Seo-yoon would say next.
"Hmm. I smell something here...."
Cheon Seo-yoon, buoyed by her own hasty expectations, stared intently at the two before murmuring as if she had made up her mind.
"Let's follow them for now."
"What?"
Joo A-rin let out a loud voice without realizing it. Cheon Seo-yoon hastily lowered her body and went on.
"What do you mean, why? Aren't you curious?"
"......."
"No, think about it. A guy and a girl meet up in the middle of all this noisy festival stuff, and now they're walking along all buddy-buddy like that. You're not curious? It obviously looks like things are going well between them."
"Even so...."
Joo A-rin, who had naturally been about to refuse, suddenly swallowed her words.
Of course, given her indifferent personality when it came to men and women, not caring what the two of them did would have been the response most like her.
But maybe because of Jeong Ae-ri's constant pushing?
It would have been a lie to say she didn't feel at least a little curiosity.
"If you really want to go, then go ahead."
Joo A-rin agreed as if she had no choice and subtly nudged Cheon Seo-yoon's back.
With a composed expression, as always.
* * *
It was May, with fresh greenery all around, and I was walking across a university campus beside someone of the opposite sex.
It was the kind of scene almost everyone dreamed of at least once in their youth....... and I was living it.
Though I had my doubts, outwardly I wore a bright smile.
I led Reina around here and there, adding brief explanations.
"This is the Grand Library. It was built at the same time Taehak was founded, so it must be about a thousand years old."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. Is there anything you're curious about?"
"No. Nothing."
"Really?"
"Yes."
Hmm....
But she really was suspicious.
Originally, Reina was the type to be expressionless but full of curiosity, so she tended to talk a lot when she saw something new.
Yet she seemed so utterly uninterested that it made me wonder why she had even asked for a guide in the first place.
As if the tour was just an excuse—as if her real purpose lay elsewhere.
"Is there something on my face?"
"......?"
"No, I just thought you kept looking at me, Priestess."
"No. It's nothing like...."
On top of that, the way she kept sneaking sidelong glances at me was another odd point.
She definitely had something going on.
Something important enough to set aside the event and wander around Taehak.
I resolved to find out soon and led Reina toward her weak point—
a place where even she would inevitably let her guard down.
As expected, once we got close, a reaction began to surface.
"Mm...."
Reina broke from her consistently expressionless attitude, even letting out a strange little hum as she stared intently at one shop.
The shop in question was a bakery café thick with the savory smell of bread.
It was a famous eatery inside Taehak, the kind of place people normally lined up to eat at.
It was the same principle as a sparrow unable to pass by a mill.
Because the thing Reina liked so much she lost her mind over it was none other than bread—not prison.
It was a setting Yoo So-young had hastily crammed in, saying a character ought to have at least one cute element.
I suppressed a smile of victory and casually spoke up.
"The bread here is good."
"......."
But the resistance was quite fierce.
She looked ready to dash over at any moment, yet Reina kept her lips pressed shut and didn't answer.
How long could she hold out?
"Then we'll just keep moving."
I pretended not to notice and tried to walk past.
Grip—
But the hand clutching my jacket didn't lie.
She grabbed on and hung back with a force that suggested she'd kill me if I kept going. So I asked again.
"Shall I buy some?"
Only then did she nod.
She had finally taken the bait.
I let out a small laugh and went into the bakery.
Money? Well, I had plenty, so I filled a bag generously.
I had it all wrapped up, looked for a quiet bench, and soon sat facing her and held it out.
Nom.
Reina bit into it as if she had been waiting. For a moment, her eyes went round as if in admiration.
Each one of those cost as much as a bowl of seolleongtang, so there was no way it wouldn't taste good.
"Try some coffee too."
I even stuck the straw in myself and placed the coffee in front of Reina.
Reina did not refuse. She put her lips to it and took a long pull, then bit into the bread again with a noticeably softened expression.
She didn't seem aware of it herself, but the way her feet were tapping showed she was in quite a good mood.
I took the chance to ask carefully.
"But is it all right for you to slip away like this? The delegation is supposed to be attending the welcome event."
For a split second, silence fell, and Reina's chewing slowed noticeably.
...That look was sharp enough that I briefly regretted moving too hastily....
"I did not sneak out. Please do not worry."
"Ah."
...It had just been needless worry.
Reina turned her gaze back to the bread, and I took a sip of coffee while pretending to be relieved.
But my suspicion only deepened.
Because it meant this outing was not personal conduct, but an official visit recognized by the Vatican.
"Then."
I opened my mouth again to fish for more precise information.
——!
But then, a suspicious presence suddenly made itself felt behind me.
The movement was faint and stealthy, but maybe because the surroundings had gone quiet?
It couldn't fool my Heightened Senses.
...The Vatican?
I pretended to glance around, then sharpened my gaze toward the spot where I felt the presence.
Nearby bushes. There were people hiding like stray cats.
And their faces were quite familiar.
"...What are they doing over there?"
Cheon Seo-yoon and Joo A-rin were watching this way, trying to gauge the situation.
It was so absurd I nearly let out a dry cough, but Reina seemed to have noticed too and quietly asked me.
"Are they friends?"
She asked while calmly picking her next piece of bread, but I sensed an inexplicable wariness.
Since it wasn't something I could hide, I nodded for now.
"More importantly...."
I tried to continue my questioning.
But my intention was quickly thwarted.
"It seems time is up. Thank you for today."
Reina cut the conversation short first.
At the same time, bursts of fireworks and showers of confetti filled the sky.
The celebratory fireworks signaling the end of the Vatican event.
That brought my conversation with her to an end.
Reina sprang up from her seat. Then, before I could even register it, a hand as white as snowflakes touched my forehead.
[The Saintess's blessing is upon you.]
[Your fatigue is relieved.]
At the same time, a bright light and a refreshing energy wrapped around my entire body.
The feeling of my body floating was so unfamiliar and awkward that I briefly forgot my words—and that was when it happened.
The bluish film covering her face vanished, revealing her distinctive silver hair and golden-blue eyes.
A face that had become clearer.
Her beauty far surpassed the illustration, and for that moment I could only stare blankly.
"Reina von Bien Hildegard. That is my name. I will see you again tomorrow."
With those words, Reina disappeared—along with the bag of bread that had been sitting in front of her.
Right after, the presences of Joo A-rin and Cheon Seo-yoon also vanished.
* * *
That evening, the comprehensive training ground was quieter than usual.
Baek Sa-young, his whole body drenched in sweat, gasped for breath before sprawling out flat on his back.
With a relieved expression, he looked at the system message floating on the screen ahead.
[The Virtual Reality Competition has ended.]
[Final rankings are now announced.]
[1st place. Buhansi 300 points]
[2nd place, Baek Sa-young 297 points]
[3rd place, Ildoyangdan 293 points]
.
.
Although he had failed to achieve his goal of first place, he had no regrets.
"Because I did everything I could."
Not a token effort—he had genuinely done his very best.
For nearly two weeks, he had challenged it for a full ten hours every day, so it was an excuse without a shred of shame.
But who really was it?
Baek Sa-young stared intently at the nickname standing proudly above his own.
"Buhansi."
There had been plenty of talk about cheating and errors, but seeing it confirmed in the final rankings meant that, in the end, as pullback had insisted, this was a hidden expert concealing their skill.
Competition rankings didn't directly equate to strength, but it was still surprising that such a skilled person was in the same year.
As a swordsman, it stirred his competitive spirit enough to want to cross blades right away.
"Would I get smashed to pieces?"
Baek Sa-young, who had suddenly been imagining a massive Buhansi charging at him while swinging a greatsword, laughed foolishly.
Since even their track hadn't been revealed, it was a meaningless thought.
"I need to get stronger."
Baek Sa-young sprang to his feet and mulled over his future direction.
The new trait he had obtained during the recent public support mission.
He still hadn't commissioned the Awakener Association for an analysis, so he didn't know the specifics, but he had a vague sense that it was related to the body.
Because the more he pushed his body, the more his overall stats rose slightly.
Therefore, pushing himself to the limit seemed like the best approach, but....
It felt too crude.
It also seemed like a better choice to spend that time honing his swordsmanship instead.
If only there were someone by his side to give him advice at times like this.
When his thoughts reached that point, Baek Sa-young suddenly thought of someone.
But it was a meaningless thought.
He didn't know their contact information, nor when he would see them again.
"Isn't there some way?"
He was fiddling with his phone out of regret when it happened.
Bzzzt.
A message arrived with a sudden vibration.
[Confirmation of the Saintess guard team for tomorrow's Vatican Myeongdong Mass. Message recipients are to report to the department office by 9 a.m. tomorrow....]
He had already been tipped off in the afternoon, so there was nothing special about it.
It was supposedly some showmanship to publicly promote the agreement between the Vatican and Taehak, or whatever.
He'd heard the most he'd have to do was stand around and keep them company.
But.
Bzzzt.
The phone vibrated once more.
He had assumed it was another message from the department office.
[It's been a while. Have you been well?]
In an instant, a tingling shudder swept through him as if an electric current had burned through every nerve in his body.
His heart lurched from the very first sentence. Anyone could tell who it was from.
Baek Sa-young, who had been standing there blankly, realized this was no time for that and hurriedly read through the message.