Wounds of Devotion
The fraudulent protagonist began the cleanup. (6)
The next morning, Joyeon woke up surprisingly quickly despite his fatigue. He cracked his eyes open slightly and scanned the surroundings, wondering if the same thing from the previous day might happen again.
"...You have a terrible sleeping habit. Did you roll all the way over here?"
What entered Joyeon's view was an empty bed and Artie, curled up asleep on the floor near his cot. She had moved so far that the distance to his cot was closer than the bed itself. Joyeon tried to pick her up and lay her back on the bed, but recalling how she had grabbed him the previous morning, he simply took a blanket from the bed, covered her with it, and left the room to ask Tiasia or May for help with the next tasks.
"Ah, good morning, Master. You must be quite tired today, so you could have slept a little longer."
Tiasia was waiting right outside the door again.
"Morning, Lara. I guess I'm getting used to it—my eyes just opened on their own. Artie couldn't sleep last night, so we talked until she fell asleep right there in the room..."
Joyeon trailed off mid-explanation and stared intently at Tiasia.
"You mean Lady Artie. I shall wake her. Please do not worry."
"Lara."
"Yes, Master."
"What's wrong with your face?"
"P-pardon?"
"It looks a bit swollen."
"Ah... well..."
Joyeon noticed that Tiasia's face was slightly more swollen than usual. The reason was, of course, the punishment she had received from her fellow followers at dawn. Since her mask hid nearly half her face, Tiasia had never imagined Joyeon would notice, and she panicked, struggling to come up with a reply.
"Lara?"
I can't tell him it was a wound I inflicted on myself to steel my resolve.
"Ah... It is nothing. I must have gotten slightly injured in yesterday's battle. It is not a serious wound, so it will heal quickly. It is not something you need to concern yourself with, Master."
Pressed by Joyeon, Tiasia had no choice but to offer a plausible excuse.
"Really? Anyway, take care of Artie for me."
"Yes, leave it to me."
Tiasia felt relief mixed with a twinge of guilt as she watched Joyeon accept her words without suspicion, and she moved to enter his room.
"Wait a moment."
"Yes? Is there something else you need...?"
"No. Just stay still for a second."
Joyeon reached out and placed his hand on Tiasia's mask.
Restoring the follower's body.
Along with the notification, the black jewels floating around Joyeon and his hand emitted a soft glow, instantly returning Tiasia's swollen face to its original state. Tiasia, who had not expected him to heal such a minor injury, stammered in slight confusion.
"If you're hurt, tell me. I won't be passing out from lack of mana anymore."
"I-I could never trouble you over something so trivial..."
"What are you saying? You're my subordinate. It's only natural."
"...But we failed to properly carry out your orders as your subordinates..."
"Huh? Did we? When?"
"Y-yesterday, we did nothing..."
"Yesterday? Ah, right. But what does that have to do with anything?"
"......Pardon?"
"How many orders have I given you or the others? You're all moping just because you couldn't complete one single task. Did I get hurt? Or did Mom get hurt? In the end, everything turned out fine, didn't it? Don't dwell on it too much in your heart. It'll fester if you do."
"B-but Master, you were truly in dange—"
"If you make a mistake, I'll cover for you. And if I make a mistake, you'll protect me. Right?"
"......"
"You're not answering? It's true, isn't it? Right?"
"Y-yes..."
"Good. This mission is one I absolutely cannot complete, so I hope you'll carry it out well. I'm heading out for a bit to do what I can. Seeing your condition, the others are probably hiding their injuries too, so I need to check on them myself. Good work~"
Joyeon gave Tiasia a playful salute with a smile and summoned House to ask where the other followers were before heading down the stairs to find them. Tiasia watched him go with a hand over her chest, her expression filled with emotion. She could not easily take a step forward, overwhelmed by his qualities as a Dominator that far exceeded her expectations.
"As expected... You are not someone a mere being like me can fathom, Master..."
[A magnanimous lord who offers encouragement and support rather than punishment to a self-blaming subordinate.]
[The follower is deeply moved by the Dominator's unfathomable capabilities.]
[Follower Lara Tiasia's blind devotion has begun.]
[The buff 'Devotion' has been added to follower Lara Tiasia.]
[Through 'Devotion,' she can inherit a portion of the Dominator's power.]
[The status ailment 'Fanaticism' has been added to follower Lara Tiasia.]
[Through 'Fanaticism,' she will absolutely believe in the Dominator's orders.]
['Fanaticism' cannot be removed.]
['Fanaticism' is contagious.]
The notification window that appeared near Tiasia made it clear that coincidences and misunderstandings would only continue to pile up and deepen.
****
Clack.
'Master, there is no need for you to treat this wound. This much will heal quickly...'
"You're saying the same thing as Tiasia. Just stay still."
Click.
'Master, truly...'
"Tsk! I told you to stay still."
Tap...
'Master, this wound is a kind of engraving to never forget my oath...'
"Engraving my ass. How is a wound an engraving? It's proof of weakness. Stop saying stupid things and come here."
Smack.
'To have someone as unworthy as me, who failed to be of help to you, receive treatment...'
"Oh, come on! Can't even one of you stop with the unnecessary talk and just come over?!"
...
Smack.
'...Yes.'
With House's help, Joyeon managed to locate and treat all his followers within thirty minutes. Each of them tried to speak in serious tones, but Joyeon lightly ignored their words and healed their wounds cleanly. After treating all the unexplained injuries, Joyeon ordered his followers to report any injuries, no matter how minor, from now on. Then, debating whether to return to his room, he decided to wander the hospital instead, thinking Artie might not have woken up yet.
"It should be fine to rest a bit today, right? House."
Click!
Agreeing with Joyeon, House sent one of its baby roaches up onto his shoulder and tapped it.
"Huh? House? What's wrong? Got something to say?"
Click.
"Yeah? Might as well practice Morse code while we're at it."
Joyeon slowed his pace so he could easily understand the Morse code House was sending.
-Question. Actions taken for Master's sake may put Master in danger.
"Huh? What actions?"
-Yesterday, accurate information about the situation was not relayed to Master, and intentions were not conveyed to other followers.
"Oh? You didn't? Why not?"
-Threatened by Delpiari.
"Ah, then it couldn't be helped."
-I do not know how to act in such situations.
"Hmm~ Who knows~? Even if you had ignored Delpiari's words and told me or Lara, it probably wouldn't have helped."
House fell silent for a moment, seemingly deep in thought after hearing Joyeon's words.
-Incomprehensible.
"It can't be helped. That's just how the world works. I don't fully understand it yet either. Besides, House, you haven't even been in this world for long. You need to learn a lot more. The only way is to experience various things yourself."
-Experience...
"Some things can't be taught through words alone. Neither I nor Tiasia can teach you. You have to go out and feel it for yourself. How about going outside to learn directly? It shouldn't matter if the baby roaches are separated, right?"
-Directly?
"Yeah. Thanks to the mana reactor, we won't run out of mana anyway. It might be good to let the baby roaches out whenever we have time so they can learn various things."
-Outside... In that case, permission.
"What permission?"
-Permission for autonomous action of the roaches.
"Autonomous action? Sure, do whatever you want. What's the problem with cockroaches wandering around freely?"
-Thank you.
"What's there to thank me for~ Instead, don't make yourselves too noticeable in crowded places like the city. Plenty of people will try to kill you on sight."
-Understood.
After finishing his conversation with House, Joyeon aimlessly wandered the hospital when he spotted Artie approaching from afar, her forehead red and swollen, alongside Tiasia, who wore an expression of utter helplessness.
"...Why is she hurt again?"
"Joyeon! Where did you go, leaving me behind?!"
"What are you talking about? Where I go is none of your business. I have times when I want personal space too."
"M-me! I got hurt! You're my bodyguard! I fell because you weren't there! Look at this~!"
"That's something to brag about? You're a grown woman, not a child—does it make sense to trip and hurt your forehead?"
"W-well, it couldn't be helped! It's because you weren't there! What are you going to do about it!"
****
House looked on with a bothered expression at its master using 'Mini Heal' and at Artie, whose face flushed as she watched him.
-There is too much I do not know.
-I heard that the woman before me is an important existence to Master, but I do not understand why she is important.
-I cannot precisely understand the meaning behind my colleague's self-harm last night either.
-I cannot comprehend Master's thoughts in healing wounds that would heal anyway.
-I cannot understand Tiasia's thoughts in swearing loyalty again after a brief conversation following treatment.
-There is still far too much I do not know.
-I must learn more.
-I must experience more.
-I must become stronger.
-Permission has been granted.
-I shall venture farther.
-I can do it.
-Let us learn new things away from Master.
-Then, surely I will come to understand.
-Master's profound intentions. The resolve of others. And even this feeling I harbor.
House's egg sac opened wide.
-Until I know everything.
-I shall set out on a journey.
[House uses 'Roach Hatchling'.]
[Entity, Morion Roach, has been created.]
[Mutant zombie trait has been activated.]
[Mutation has occurred in the entity.]
-Sever permanent connection with the colony to send them far away.
-Hold periodic meetings for information sharing.
-Implant basic knowledge for survival.
-Grant independent egos for survival in different environments.
-Restrict indiscriminate resurrection using Master's mana.
-Maintain the above restrictions until the number of entities drops to double digits.
Baby roaches that had received special orders began pouring out of the egg sac. Their number was approximately three thousand. The same orders. Mutant insects that had begun walking entirely different paths. They scattered at high speed, unbeknownst even to their master, Joyeon.