53. What Does That Mean?
53. What Does That Mean?
As soon as the Headmaster saw Edgar on the verge of death, he hastily deactivated the subspace, and both participants in the duel were rushed to the emergency room.
An oxygen mask was placed over Edgar's nose as he couldn't even breathe properly due to the paralysis setting in, and he was carried away on a stretcher.
I said I was fine, but since I had inhaled the same gas in the same space, they said I might have a seizure at any moment and loaded me onto a stretcher as well.
The sight of us being carried away side-by-side on stretchers was quite comical.
When the subspace was deactivated, I could see the Director laughing in the VIP room.
She seemed extremely satisfied, laughing her head off.
It was a duel filled with nothing but injuries and no real winner, but it seemed there was at least one satisfied person.
"Keureureureuk..."
Before we were moved to separate private rooms, Edgar, who was receiving emergency treatment first, glared at me fiercely, making a sound like phlegm boiling in his throat.
Glare or not, I propped up my upper body and watched the scene with amusement.
While I was killing time like that, another patient came in from outside.
"The patient is bleeding severely!!"
"Prepare for a blood transfusion!!"
A beautiful young man with long, flowing blue hair... Zeke Albion.
He too was carried in on a stretcher, foaming at the mouth and having a seizure.
I quickly looked him over, and the location of the wound was a bit... delicate.
'He was injured... between the legs. How did that happen...'
In this world, simple physical trauma can be healed quickly, so if he's lucky, he might recover.
The duel was between me and Lemnos, so why did that guy come in?
———————————————-
Since there had been a toxic gas leak from a plant-type monster, visitation was prohibited for the entire day.
Even though there was nothing particularly wrong with my body, I was given an IV drip to remove the toxicity and was sitting idly on my bed when someone opened the window and came in.
It was our Mary Poppins Director, flying through the sky on her sword.
"What's with all this fuss over nothing?"
"Do you think I'm here because I want to be?"
"Surely not."
She stepped on the windowsill, hopped down lightly, and sat on the edge of my bed.
"I've seen an interesting spectacle... so I'll be heading back soon."
"You're leaving already."
Since the duel ended inconclusively, I thought she might stay a bit longer, but she's leaving after all.
"Why? Are you that happy to see me go?"
"How could that be? You know how much I respect you, Director."
"You're saying things you don't mean again."
The Director laughed, saying I was just trying to butter her up, but it was sincere.
Since my apprentice days, I've owed her a great deal.
Even now, I respect her far more than Titan's parents.
"The duel ended in vain... but it was fun, so I'll let it slide. Edward has already left."
"His son collapsed and he just left?"
The moment I heard that, I felt the veins in my head bulge.
His own son collapsed, having a seizure, and his own father just left?
Maybe it's because I've been through that hellish experience here myself, but I couldn't tolerate it.
"He left because he was conscious of appearances in his own way... Don't get angry. You know better than anyone that's just how noble families are."
"Even if I'm used to it, there are things I can't tolerate."
"You're still kind. I know you're not on good terms with the Lemnos child, yet you're getting angry for him."
The Director placed her hand on my head and stroked it.
"That's one thing, and this is another."
"Still, you must not beat up Edward. Even if you use a legal method like a duel, you can't."
The Director, who had never stopped me from beating anyone up, unusually stopped me this time.
"I'm holding myself back from wanting to slap him every time I see him too, so if you do it, I'll feel unjustly treated."
So that was her reason.
———————————————
In the middle of the night, someone knocked on the hospital room door.
It says visitation is prohibited out front... And besides, no one is allowed in at this hour.
Wondering who it was, I spread my senses and felt a familiar presence in front of the door.
"Emy..?"
I dragged my IV stand over and opened the door, and Emy burst right in and immediately closed the door.
Uncharacteristically, she came in very aggressively, which surprised me.
"Ah... Atlas, something terrible has happened..!"
"What's going on?"
"I... caused trouble.."
When Emy said she caused trouble, I had a bad feeling.
The last time she caused trouble, she definitely fired a gun at me... What kind of trouble could it be this time?
"Did you shoot someone again..?"
"Huh..? How did you know??"
.
.
.
.
.
.
I heard from Emy what happened while I was in the duel.
After hearing her out, it seemed she had done something even more serious.
"S... So... you shot Albion's... thing?"
"I wasn't aiming for it exactly!! I shot at his shoulder, but the bullet was blocked by a defensive spell, so the trajectory must have been deflected.."
Emy, suspecting something was off about my situation, heard from Phrygia that a bold bastard might be interfering in the arena in real-time...
She got suspicious, rushed to the first place she thought of, saw Albion in the middle of manipulating things, and immediately fired a shot, it seemed.
She tried to aim for the easiest target, the shoulder, but it was blocked by defensive magic, the trajectory shifted, and it hit his lower body.
She said Albion collapsed foaming at the mouth when he was hit.
"So that's why he was brought to the emergency room.."
"You saw him?"
"He came in foaming at the mouth."
"Ahhh... Wh-what should I do..?"
At first glance, Emy's anxiety seemed like she was scared because she had shot someone, but in reality, it was completely different.
It didn't matter that she shot someone, but the problem was leaving a potentially irreparable wound on 'Albion'.
There was no way that petty bastard would stay still.
"No, Emy, you did well."
I took Emy's anxious hand.
"When Albion starts looking for the culprit... they'll find out quickly.."
That would be inevitable.
People who own firearms in this world are extremely rare.
If a family of that caliber starts a full-scale investigation, they'll find a clue quickly enough....
"Don't worry. I'll handle it somehow."
So that unpleasant trap was Albion's idea?
Conveniently, that guy is also hospitalized right now.
I'll show him the hell I went through.
"Umm... Atlas? I think you're thinking something really wicked... Are you really okay?"
———————————————-
Zeke Albion regained consciousness when the evening glow was dyeing the whole world a scarlet red.
"Huh..?!"
Waking up with a start, Zeke Albion realized he was lying in an unfamiliar room.
He was in a white patient gown, with an IV needle in his wrist.
"Why... am I...?"
His memories were vague.
As he wondered why he was lying here and tried to lift himself up...
"Uh... huk...!!!"
He groaned at the sharp pain in his lower body and collapsed back down.
"Heok... Heok... What is this...?"
It wasn't lower-body paralysis.
He had sensation and could move if he tried, but... any attempt sent a tremendous shock through him.
"You've regained consciousness. Don't worry. This is the hospital."
"What... happened to me..?"
He heard the voice of a doctor wearing a white gown next to him.
He didn't use any honorifics.
Among those who became doctors, none had noble status comparable to the Five Pillars.
Naturally considering them beneath him, Zeke displayed an extremely rude attitude.
The doctor continued speaking calmly, as if accustomed to such attitudes.
"My lower body... hurts so much... What happened to my body...?"
"I'll tell you once you've fully recovered. Please rest for now."
Zeke remembered the sharp pain when he tried to sit up.
His legs moved, but the fact that he felt such pain meant there could be a problem with his organs... or his waist.
Hearing that he would only be told about his current condition later made his blood boil.
"I said... tell me..!! What family are you from...!!"
"Hmm... I intended to tell you once you fully recovered, but if you want to know that badly, I shall tell you."
When Zeke pressed him, the doctor sighed.
Just how badly was he hurt for the doctor to say something like that? On the outside, he himself looked fine.
"You were hit in... a not so good place. From now on, Mister Albion... will have only one nut in his pouch."
"What... did you say?"
What came out of the doctor's mouth far exceeded Zeke's expectations.
"Don't be too disappointed.
The penis was also about halfway severed, but that part regenerated well, so you can still have sexual relations and leave descendants... it's possible.
It's only half, but it works."
"What do you mean..."
His head went blank.
It was something he had never imagined.
What... only one is inside?
"As I told you just a moment ago... Mister Albion, you now have only one nut in your pouch. We did our best, but it was completely crushed and could not be regenerated."
"Are you... telling me I'm a half-balled... freak..?"
"'Half-balled' refers to when the sizes are different on each side, so in this case, 'one-balled' is the correct expression."
"Is that... what you have to say right now..!! Ugh?!!!"
The moment he raised his voice in rising fury, pain like a knife stabbed through his lower body again.
"You must rest. If you get excited, you could bleed again! If that happens, blood will fill the pouch and it will get even worse!"
"I... I've become one-balled...!! And you're telling me I need to rest right now!!"
He couldn't believe it.
'One of the two... heir factories to carry on the Albion line has disappeared?
What happens then...?
From now on, it's not two nuts and a rod, but... only one nut inside?'
Bewilderment and shame... everything mixed together and turned Zeke Albion's face red.
Only then did the most important thing flash through his mind.
"The duel... what happened with the duel..!!"
"... First of all... it ended in Mister Lemnos's defeat. The moment Mister Lemnos fell, he started convulsing, so it had to be stopped midway."
It felt like thunder had struck inside his head.
"Lemnos... collapsed and started convulsing the moment he fell, so it ended as a loss..??"
At first he couldn't understand what that meant, but he quickly realized.
Because it was none other than himself who had set it up.
The convulsions... were likely symptoms caused by the poison gas he had set up in the arena.
A poison gas that would paralyze the muscles of an ordinary person with just a small inhalation and cause death by respiratory failure... he had spread it thickly on the ground, set to only affect those under 150cm tall.
Since the terrain was a volcanic basin, he had confirmed that the poison gas had successfully settled at the bottom, so it must be correct.
Gradually, he began to understand what kind of situation he was in.
"Edgar... lost? Because of me?? No, more than that, I haven't even succeeded the line yet... I'm a one-balled freak...!!! I... I!!!! This is nonsense!!"
Since he was carried in after collapsing, they must have definitely caught him secretly manipulating things from the control room.
He didn't know who attacked him, but one nut had disappeared.
And... despite suffering this damage, Edgar ultimately lost.
Worse, it was because of him.
The original plan was for Atlas to inhale the poison gas as soon as he entered and become sluggish, then Lemnos would quickly finish him off and end it, but Atlas himself was walking around perfectly fine... and Lemnos, the moment he fell, was defeated just like that.
"Keu... Aaack!!!"
He didn't want to believe the fact that he had gained nothing and had only been crippled.
Foam bubbled up from his mouth.
"Oh dear..!! Administer a sedative..!!"
A syringe needle was inserted into the IV line.
Even as his consciousness faded, Zeke felt the pain in his lower body as vividly as ever.