Chapter 66: Sword Emperor Siegfried (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 66: Sword Emperor Siegfried (1)
My eyes slowly drifted open. Through the narrow slit of my eyelids, a familiar white ceiling came into view.
The Joaquin Academy infirmary. The chemical smell of medicine lingering at the tip of my nose was something I could never get used to.
That artificial scent snapped me awake. It didn't take long for reality to sink back into my skin. After all, this was already my third time.
As I shifted my body slightly, a series of pops and cracks echoed as my bones settled into place.
I must have been lying down for quite a while. I forced my eyelids open once more. They felt incredibly heavy, and only after straining my eye muscles for a moment did I finally manage to open them.
"Ugh..."
A faint groan escaped through my gritted teeth. It felt as if my bones and muscles had been shattered into pieces and then hastily reassembled. My body trembled slightly from the agonizing pain.
If I had been stabbed, at least only that specific spot would hurt like hell. But with my entire body aching, there was nothing I could do.
Still, looking on the bright side, this throbbing pain racking my entire body was proof that I was alive.
The problem is that it hurts like fucking hell.
I pressed my hands against the bed and pushed my upper body up. A pair of handprints left deep indentations on the white sheets.
As the ringing in my ears gradually subsided, I heard the sound of paper rustling and folding. I focused my blurry vision and turned my head.
"Looks like you're awake."
"...Sword Emperor?"
The Sword Emperor, wearing glasses, folded his newspaper. Using only his left hand, he folded the square glasses that had slid down to the tip of his nose and placed them on top of the newspaper. It was a fluid, practiced motion.
Where his right arm should have been, his sleeve fluttered emptily. Sensing my gaze, the Sword Emperor patted his missing right arm and offered a gentle smile.
"You possess a rare, noble spirit. You've been knocked out cold for two weeks, yet the first thing you do upon opening your eyes is worry about someone else instead of yourself. But do not worry. I've actually grown quite accustomed to living with just one arm."
"...Have I really been asleep for two weeks?"
"Yes. To be precise, you've been in this hospital room for a week. The other week was spent in the operating room."
"A week in the operating room...?"
At my utterly shocked reaction, the Sword Emperor shrugged his right shoulder and continued.
"Medea threatened the entire hospital to keep you alive. Because of that, more than ten medical staff members were glued to your surgery. It was quite a spectacle, unlike anything I've ever seen in my life. Thanks to you, I'm seeing many new things even in my seventies, haha."
The Sword Emperor chuckled softly.
The majestic, solemn aura he usually carried was nowhere to be found; he looked just like any ordinary, friendly old man.
After laughing for a while, he picked up his folded newspaper and glasses from the table and stood up.
"Anyway, now that you've regained consciousness, Kang Geomma, I shall take my leave. Ah, and once your bones are fully healed, come find me in the principal's office. I'll usually be there."
With those words, the Sword Emperor turned around with disciplined grace. His empty right sleeve fluttered in the air. The sight brought a sudden lump to my throat.
"Sword Emperor."
My voice calling out to him reached his back. He turned his upper body halfway to respond.
"Yes, what is it?"
"By any chance... have you been nursing me this whole time?"
A subtle expression flickered across the Sword Emperor's face before he turned back toward the door. His graying hair swayed like silver threads.
"How could that be? I simply dropped by the hospital today and got lucky that you happened to wake up."
The Sword Emperor gave a wave of his empty right sleeve and pushed the door open.
With the door halfway open, he paused as if remembering something and tossed a word back.
"Ah, by the way, you won't have to worry about hospital bills from now on. This room will remain reserved exclusively for you. Make sure to chew your meat thoroughly, and get plenty of rest. Well then, I'll be off."
The Sword Emperor tapped the white wall with his left hand as if knocking, then closed the door behind him without looking back.
"What was that about?"
I tilted my head in confusion for a moment, but soon buried my back into the blankets. The tension in my chest melted away, and a wave of heavy fatigue washed over me, lulling me back to sleep.
At the time, I didn't understand what the Sword Emperor meant.
It was only after staying for three more days and being discharged that I learned the truth from a nurse.
The fact that the Sword Emperor had rented out the entire VIP ward with his own money, and that he had stayed by my side the entire time I was hospitalized.
* * *
Inside the Wolf Class. It was the morning of the sixteenth day—two weeks and two days—since Kang Geomma had been hospitalized.
From her seat at the very back of the third row, Saki Ryozo rested her chin heavily on her hand and stared out the window. Her long eyelashes cast soft shadows over her eyes.
Her face was expressionless, but a whirlwind of emotions constantly flickered in her eyes.
Ever since Kang Geomma was hospitalized, male students from all classes had been coming over to strike up a conversation with Saki Ryozo.
Each time, she shot a freezing glare right between their eyes. The male students would offer awkward smiles and back away in a hurry.
"...Sigh."
Saki let out a long, drawn-out sigh. It was a continuous stream of dull, stimulation-free days.
Even if she slept all day, her mind remained hazy, and yanggaeng didn't taste as sweet as it used to.
"I wonder if he's awake by now."
Saki muttered softly with a vacant stare. After the Uninhabited Island Survival Training ended, she had heard the news that Kang Geomma was in critical condition.
They said more than ten medical staff members had performed a major surgery on him for a whole week.
And though Kang Geomma had barely managed to start breathing again, grim rumors that he was still hovering between life and death were constantly on the lips of the students.
Every time she heard them, Saki felt a surging urge to plant an arrow right between their eyes.
Kang Geomma, there's no way he'll die.
Saki asserted to herself. Yet, she was just as clueless about his actual condition as anyone else.
The Academy had strictly forbidden anyone from approaching Kang Geomma. Guards patrolled the ward where he was hospitalized in shifts, day and night.
Even when she had dropped by with Speed Weapon and Chloe to visit him, the guards refused to let them through. They blocked all outsiders, repeating only that it was a special order from the Academy Principal.
"...Is this related to the Sword Emperor?"
In truth, public attention was currently focused not on Kang Geomma, but on the Sword Emperor. The Sword Emperor, who had accompanied them to protect the students, had returned from Avallon Island missing an arm.
Since Saki had also been on Avallon Island, she had sensed that something was amiss. Even from a distance, she had felt a resonance of magic power that made every hair on her body stand on end.
Indeed, the map of Avallon Island had changed drastically after that day.
Lava bubbled where there had been none, and artificial ridges had formed along the mountain slopes.
Though the exact facts remained unknown, it was clear that either a magical beast or a Majin had invaded, and the Sword Emperor had stood in their way. However, nothing had been revealed about what kind of enemy it was.
Media outlets from all over the world flooded the Sword Emperor with interview requests, but he remained completely silent.
Academy Principal Medea acted as his spokesperson, stating only that she would thoroughly investigate the situation before making an official announcement.
"Sigh, this is so frustrating."
Saki muttered, throwing her head back. Her light blue hair fanned out beautifully before settling back down.
Various hypotheses swirled in her mind. However, her insight would not jump to conclusions without evidence.
"...When are you coming back? You're making me worry."
Saki murmured. Her chest felt tight, as if filled with acrid smoke. Even her exceptional insight couldn't pinpoint the root of this emotion.
She only knew that right now, even if Kang Geomma just gave her his usual expressionless nod, she would welcome him as warmly as if they were reuniting after decades apart.
As the image of Kang Geomma hovering on the brink of death flashed through her mind, her eyes grew red and began to sting.
Saki sniffled, her nose tingling for no reason.
She shook her head to clear her thoughts. Her sky-blue hair fanned out and gathered again. Just then, she sensed someone nearby.
"Sniff, sniff. Geomma-kun..."
Two seats away, Chloe was continuously wiping her tears with her sleeves.
Ever since Kang Geomma was hospitalized, her tears had never dried. Her swollen eyes were dry and bloodshot, making her look like a rabbit.
Saki felt sorry for her, but at the same time, she felt a slight chill run down her spine.
Though she looked like a cute girl at first glance, her actions while Kang Geomma was hospitalized were completely beyond common sense.
Even so, breaking into the ward in the middle of the night just to see Kang Geomma is definitely not normal...
Because of that incident, Chloe had been caught by the guards and put under house arrest for a week. She had only returned to school today. Rumor had it that her resistance had been incredibly fierce.
Chloe, who had screamed and shouted with hollow eyes, was now spoken of like an urban legend among the ward staff, who dubbed her the 'Red Demon'.
...
Just as Saki was about to look away after staring at Chloe's profile, a not-so-welcome face showed up in the Wolf Class.
"Weapon, why the hell do you keep coming here every day? It's annoying."
"Tsk, you think I come here because I want to see your face?"
Weapon glanced at the sobbing Chloe before shifting his gaze to Saki. He had a large, rolled-up sheet of paper tucked under his arm.
"What's that?"
Saki rested her cheek on her fist and gestured with her eyes.
"Ah, this is our club poster. That's why I'm here. Once the president gets discharged, we'll start the club creation process right away, but we're still short one member. Come to think of it, we've always just relied on him and never really done anything proactive ourselves."
Weapon rubbed under his nose, looking a bit embarrassed. His tone carried absolute certainty that Kang Geomma would return safely.
At those words, Saki's indifferent eyes widened. Chloe also stopped crying abruptly.
"...Weapon, you..."
"W-What? I know what I said sounds cringey!"
With a blush creeping onto his cheeks, Weapon grumbled loudly. Saki let her lips curl up slightly as she added,
"I'm just saying I'm proud of you. Proud."
"Sniff, she's right. Geomma-kun will definitely be discharged in good health, so we should do what we can until then."
Chloe nodded vigorously in agreement.
"This is the first time I've actually been impressed by you, Weapon."
"Uh, really? Well, is that a compliment? Anyway."
At the unexpected positive response, Weapon scratched his cheek and let out an awkward laugh.
"Well, show us the poster you made first. Let's review it and see if anything needs fixing."
"Ahem, there probably won't be anything to fix. After all, this is a poster that the great Speed Weapon stayed up all night designing."
As Speed Weapon spoke proudly, Saki's eyebrows arched gracefully. Meanwhile, Chloe's eyes sparkled with anticipation.
Saki quickly composed her expression and gestured for him to unroll it. Weapon cleared his throat with a short cough and unrolled the paper.
Fwip—
* * *
☆★ Recruiting members to join the Travel Club! ♥♡
♣ We are looking for people who fit the following~!
– Those who want to share the burning friendship and romance of youth while casually conquering dungeons! ^^
– Those who want to freely roam the eight provinces of South Korea, enjoying camping and traveling!! ^^
– Anyone who feels Academy life is boring, gather round quickly! <(_ _)>
♦ Eligibility & How to Apply
– Eligibility: Any student of Joaquin Academy!
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"..."
Saki stared blankly at the poster. It was a chaotic combination of mismatched emoticons and fonts.
Above all, the highlight was the neon-colored, multi-colored background and a light blue sea otter character with a wistful expression.
She was so dumbfounded that she muttered her thoughts aloud.
"...Wow. Even if someone tried to make it this bad, they couldn't."
"Haha. What do you think? Surprised?"
At Weapon's question, Saki nodded reluctantly.
"Yeah. In more ways than one."
"Heh, as expected of the top student, you really appreciate my aesthetic sense."
Speed Weapon thumped his chest proudly with a confident fist.
Saki had a lot to say, but she held her tongue for now.
She looked back and forth between the poster and Weapon's face.
Is this bastard out of his mind?
His intentions were admirable. However, the poster's atrocious quality made it impossible for her to squeeze out a compliment. She could only let out a low groan, her lips twitching awkwardly.
Just as Weapon was about to start passionately explaining his artistic philosophy line by line—
Riiip.
The paper was cleanly sliced in half from left to right by a pink utility knife. Through the gap, Speed Weapon's utterly horrified face was revealed.
"Ch-Chloe! What the hell are you doing?!"
Weapon pointed a trembling finger at Chloe.
Click, click.
She retracted the protruding blade of the utility knife and spoke in a hollow voice.
"...We cannot show this kind of garbage to Geomma-kun."
"I worked my ass off all night to make that! How could you just rip it in half?!"
Chloe tilted her head slightly without a word.
Click, click.
The sound of the metal blade clicking against the plastic casing was chilling. Weapon's pupils dilated in fear. He silently pleaded for help with his eyes toward Saki, who was merely observing the scene.
Saki wore a bright smile and gently patted Chloe's head.