Warrior Lord Splash (1)
Binah Hospital, where Yushin was admitted, was just a five-minute walk from Maherith Palace. It was on the scale of a small palace itself, which was why the citizens of Maherith called it the "Hospital Palace."
This was the first time a human had ever been admitted to an exclusive hospital reserved solely for high elf nobles and their direct descendants. Binah was renowned for its state-of-the-art medical system, staffed by the Liberia Elf Kingdom's top physicians and healers—rumors even claimed it could resurrect the dead. Some said foreign royalty and high-ranking dignitaries occasionally checked in there as well.
"Hmmm."
Room 501. A room reserved exclusively for the High Priestess, the spiritual leader and symbol of the Liberia Elf Kingdom. Ardena Valencia, currently in that room, was lost in deep thought. She wasn't sure whether to be happy or troubled. Her rival and love rival, Allen Rocksfield, wore the same conflicted expression beside her.
"So... what are you going to do?"
The nurse asked. A cute elf nurse with freckles dotting her cheeks looked at Ardena and Allen. She held a wet cloth and a basin full of water. She'd come to wipe down Yushin's body, which had been in a coma for an extended period. But when she tried to undress the patient to clean him, Ardena and Allen had stopped her, leading to the current standoff.
"You have to undress him first... and wipe his body directly?"
"Of course. Isn't that obvious?"
When Ardena asked in a trembling voice, the nurse reacted as if it was the most natural question in the world. You couldn't just douse a comatose patient like you would a pet dog. Ardena's question about whether it was really necessary to undress him first was so foolish even a child would sigh at it.
"Get outta the way. You think I'm gonna let you long-ears see my bro's skin?"
Allen growled, snatching the cloth from the nurse. She approached Yushin. Her confident strides slowed the closer she got to the bed. Undress him. Touch his skin. Shoulders, stomach, chest—and even the intimate, embarrassing parts—every nook and cranny had to be wiped clean. For Allen Rocksfield, raised as a monster by the Rocksfield family and deprived of even basic sex education, touching a man's body and cleaning it thoroughly was more daunting than any task imaginable.
This is for bro... And we're engaged... Can't hand him over to that long-ear. B-but... I have to undress him...? We're engaged, but not officially married yet...! If a man and woman touch skin-to-skin, y-you get pregnant! Of course, I'd welcome bro's baby anytime... N-no! How could I do something so lewd?!
Allen, known as Rocksfield's mad dog and the epitome of madness, had zero romantic experience and barely any basic sexual knowledge—she was a true virgin. It wasn't an exaggeration to say she knew nothing about sex. Physically and mentally, she was the real deal. The term "heart-mind-body virgin" was made for Allen Rocksfield.
"Step aside. Yushin Gilliard is our elves' benefactor. It's only right that I wipe his body myself."
Ardena declared. She took the wet cloth. Her trembling hands reached for Yushin's patient gown, but she ultimately failed. For a high elf who had guarded her virginity for over 300 years, keeping men at arm's length, a man's naked body was a forbidden zone she could never enter. Am I really such a coward? Ardena sighed deeply at her own timid courage.
"I'll just do it then."
"...Yes."
Ardena bowed her head and stepped back quietly. Unlike her, Allen stubbornly resisted, but as the nurse began undressing Yushin and his skin came into view, she couldn't bear the embarrassment. She covered her eyes with both hands. Not even peeking through her fingers—she lacked even that courage. She bowed her head, hands firmly in place. It was the perfect chance to see her beloved man's skin, but Allen kicked away the opportunity she'd regret pounding the ground over later.
Y-yeah, what a fine body... Proof he never skimped on training... Th-this is just learning for wiping him later...
While Allen kept her eyes covered, Ardena watched Yushin's increasingly revealed muscular frame with shining eyes. This was observation, study. She had no choice but to look in order to wipe his body later. Justifying her actions like that, Ardena swallowed hard at the sight of his chiseled abs.
Room 501, where Yushin Gilliard lay, was under extremely strict access control. Even visits were tightly regulated. High elf nobles hoping to see the Diablo Slayer who had vanquished Tyranny and now Rampage Flame were turned away. Only those connected to Yushin were permitted.
"He'll wake up soon enough. Tell him to come find me when he does. I'll treat him right."
Bariteon Trident had visited.
"I thought he'd be more macho... Turns out he's a proper young lord type. Hmm, my style actually."
Rosta Buckle, who had unwittingly shown her fondness for the sleeping Yushin, was chased off by Ardena.
"Plain-looking face, huh?"
"They say he wields lightning. Bet he'll spit bolts from his mouth when he opens his eyes, sis."
"Idiot, how could a human breathe lightning?"
"Then you think a human swinging lightning makes sense?"
"You're right, Emily."
"If you pry his eyelids open, lasers'll shoot from his eyes, right?"
The mischievous twin sisters, who had tried pranking the bedridden Yushin, got their asses kicked by Allen and sent packing. After that, various others came and went. The warrior captains, Yushin's subordinates who left intact flower arrangements this time, and even Liana Linehold, who always bickered with him, left bouquets wishing him a speedy recovery.
"Moving all these flowers and wreaths is a huge hassle."
Ardena remarked. Her main duty was sorting the wreaths and gifts pouring in from everywhere. Even after moving the large ones to the next room, space was already filling up again. The entire fifth-floor VIP ward was Yushin's alone, but the sheer volume of gifts left no room to spare.
"Quit stuffing your face. That's not yours."
Ardena scolded Allen, who was puffing out her cheeks munching on a bunch of grapes. When Yushin first collapsed, she'd seemed ready to starve herself in grief, but her endless hunger won out, and now she was devouring fruit like mad.
"Bro's stuff is mine. We're engaged."
"I heard you didn't even have a proper engagement ceremony. Acting like his fiancée after unilaterally declaring it—how shameless."
"Better than a 320-year-old spinster fawning over him."
"Wh-what did you say...?!"
A heavy fact punched her in the gut. Ardena reeled from Allen's merciless attack. Hitting with facts was dirty play—practically attempted murder. She glared fiercely at Allen, but had no comeback. It was all true. Plus, Allen was younger than Yushin, putting Ardena at a disadvantage.
"Go sort the gifts already. I gotta keep nursing bro."
"Nursing? You mean demolishing the fruit?"
"Shut it, long-ear. Bro's gifts are mine. If he wakes up soon and sees me all gaunt from starving, how sad would he be?"
Allen's verbal skills had improved leaps and bounds since coming to the elf kingdom—thanks to Ardena. Sparring words with her rival had sharpened her tongue day by day. Ardena had unwittingly contributed to the growth of Allen, who used to stammer badly. Not that she was happy about it. Allen always dragged up irrefutable facts.
"Pickled herring."
"Guess we settle this once and for all."
"Fine by me. Bring it anytime."
Ardena and Allen glared at each other, locked in a battle of wills. They raised their voices in a patient's room. Ardena had called out Allen's rudeness at first, but now she was getting aggressive too, fury boiling over.
"What, bro? Make this long-ear shut her trap? Got it. I'll handle it."
"Don't you dare drag Yushin into this!"
Allen leaned close to Yushin's ear on the bed and whispered. Of course, Yushin hadn't said anything. She was just pretending he'd asked her to make Ardena quiet. But then, something astonishing happened. Yushin's fingers, comatose for over a week, began to twitch faintly. It was the first time since his subordinates' chrysanthemum terror stunt.
Rampage Flame spoke.
"On your 120th try, you finally scratched me. Barely a razor nick... Fine. Now get lost."
She traced the fresh scar on her neck with a finger and addressed Yushin. 120th attempt. After 119 deaths, Yushin had succeeded in landing a hit on her.
"Cold."
"No intentions of bonding with you."
Rampage Flame informed him that Sabnack, on the brink of death, had revived. With her minions' help, she'd escaped the front lines and miraculously recovered. Now stripped of immortality and her demon king status, Sabnack would surely come for half her Demon Core, Rampage Flame warned.
"Thanks."
Yushin extended his hand for a grateful handshake. Rampage Flame stared at it, scowled, but didn't refuse.
"Weirdo."
She replied. How could he so brazenly offer a handshake? Even in this virtual world without true death, he'd endured 119 fatalities at her hands. Her shoulders stiffened at his gesture toward such an opponent.
"Shameless bastard. If I weren't just a half-body, I'd drop you into a world crafted from your memories and torment you endlessly."
"Which memory?"
"Your school days."
"...Spare me."
Yushin groveled so pitifully that Rampage Flame snorted a laugh. She was the half Demon Core that had detached from Sabnack and settled into a human soul—now Yushin's new partner and shared-lifespan bird. Nodding at his face, she deemed him just barely passable. Sending him back to reality, she warned again that Sabnack would come for the core.
"So how're you sending me back?"
Yushin asked. Rampage Flame pulled out a bonk hammer from who-knows-where. Red plastic head, yellow handle—like a cheap toy from any stationery store. She swung it.
Boiiing!
Struck square on the head, Yushin felt pain like a stainless steel basin to the skull—and opened his eyes.