The Hospital Ward
"Ughhh..." When I opened my eyes again, my entire body felt like it was shattering. "Hey... some painkillers..." I asked the doctor standing right in front of me.
"You've already received the maximum dose. Try to endure it even if it hurts a little."
"Ow, this is seriously killing me..."
"That's understandable. All the muscles in your body are torn, and you have more than a couple of broken bones. You shouldn't make any sudden movements for a while."
"Aigoo..." A groan escaped me on its own.
I knew the Berserker's Potion had side effects, but my condition was far worse than I'd expected.
"Are the others okay?"
"They're all stable. You don't need to worry."
"That's a relief..."
"However, I can't say they're completely fine. Some may have lingering aftereffects."
"This is..."
Still, having all my limbs intact was something. After what happened, this was a cheap price to pay.
"You should sleep a little more. The medication will make you drowsy."
"Yeah... I'll get some rest then..."
I closed my eyes again and slept straight through the rest of the day.
"Philip."
"Ah, Lee Han! You're here?"
After regaining consciousness, the first place I visited was Philip's hospital room. Since my arms and legs were useless, a nurse had to push me in a wheelchair.
"How's your arm?"
"Thanks to Irene. She's not the Saintess candidate for nothing. Well... they reattached it, but I won't be able to use it properly for a while. I'll need rehabilitation too."
Fortunately, Philip had been able to get his arm reattached in time. He spoke with his usual energy, but his face was haggard and stiff, as if the memories from the dungeon hadn't faded. Then again, returning from his first dungeon trip with a severed arm, it would be strange if he were cheerful. It was lucky if he didn't develop trauma.
"But are you okay? Your whole body..."
"Ah, I'm fine. It's more like wide but shallow injuries. I'll recover quickly."
"If that's the case, that's good..."
Philip gave a bitter smile.
"In the end, I wasn't any help. I guess real combat really is different, huh? Haha!"
"It is different. It is, but that was an accident. Don't dwell on it too much."
"An accident... I suppose we do have to consider that possibility."
Philip seemed deep in thought.
"Come to think of it, there was a black stone embedded in that monster's chest, right?"
"Huh? Yeah."
That was an object that eroded the target's mind and made them ferocious. At least, that's what I'd learned from experience. The real problem was why it had been in this dungeon, at this time.
"Someone from the academy came to investigate and asked about that stone. They said there was nothing like that on the Minotaur's body they collected."
"It disappeared?"
Did they take it away? This really did seem like a meticulously planned attack.
"It looks like an important clue... What do we do now that we've lost it?"
"It's fine. It's not something we can handle anyway. Let's just hope the academy investigates it properly."
No need to panic. It was too early to draw conclusions, but a few suspects did come to mind. All of them were troublesome people.
What mattered was how I accepted this situation and how I responded to it.
This attack didn't seem to have been aimed directly at me. There was no reason for that. At this point, I was just an ordinary student, nothing more.
It was probably an attack aimed at Irene...
'As expected, getting involved with heroines is dangerous.'
And the friends around me who got caught up with me were in danger too.
I intended to avoid getting involved as much as possible, but I had no confidence I could stay uninvolved forever.
Should I just give up on making friends? It would be unbearable if even one person close to me ended up dead.
Maybe distancing myself from Philip's group right now was the right call.
"Hey, Lee Han."
While I was lost in serious thought, Philip called out to me.
"Yeah?"
"Do you think this is your fault?"
"What?"
"Us almost getting hurt and dying."
"Ah... well..."
I couldn't say it wasn't.
"That's not your fault. If anything, it's our fault for leaving you to fight alone."
"No. It's not that kind of problem."
"No, it is. Isn't that what friends are for? Sharing burdens and overcoming things together. The others probably feel the same, right?"
"That's true, but... it's a bit different from what I'm worried about."
"Then let go of that worry too. Whatever it is, it's fine."
"...Philip."
"Yeah."
"You guys might go through hardships because of me. Things much worse than this."
"What? Is that what this is about?"
Philip chuckled.
"I don't know why you think that, but we're in the same boat, aren't we? Or are you saying we should just watch you go through dangerous things alone?"
"...I'm seriously saying you could die."
"I'm seriously saying it too. How would we feel if we heard you died alone?"
"I don't know whether to call this kindness or stupidity..."
"I will never abandon a friend. So don't even think about dropping out by yourself from now on."
"This is driving me crazy, really..."
Philip really was a good guy. Too good to be hanging around someone like me.
"If you want to stick with me, you can't keep living as leisurely as before. The road ahead is going to be extremely rough. Are you still okay with that?"
"I was already thinking I need to get stronger anyway. I was too powerless back in the dungeon."
"Yeah. I get what you're saying."
"Good."
Philip smiled his usual good-natured smile. The corners of my own mouth lifted without me realizing it.
"I'll head out first. Rest well."
"Yeah. Take care of yourself too."
After saying goodbye to Philip, I left his hospital room.
The next place I headed was Angela's room.
When I opened the door, Angela was still unconscious, and Yohan was sitting beside her.
"Yohan."
"Ah, Lee Han."
"How's Angela?"
"Her injuries are severe, but her life isn't in danger. She'll probably regain consciousness within a few days."
"That's a relief. Are you okay?"
"I... I'm fine."
Yohan's expression darkened. He seemed to feel guilty that everyone else had been injured while he remained unscathed.
"At least you made it through. So don't make that face."
"I'm sorry..."
Yohan lowered his head deeply.
"What are you sorry for? You did your best too."
"No. I couldn't do anything. Just basic recovery magic."
"That's something. Thanks to that, Angela survived, didn't she?"
"...It's not something to gloss over like that."
"Then do better next time."
I closed my eyes and spoke.
"I don't plan on getting beaten up like this next time either."
"You really are strong. Both physically and mentally."
"There's no way that's true. I'm just looking forward instead of backward."
"Forward, huh..."
"Philip said he'll make constant efforts so something like this never happens again. What do you think?"
"...Of course I need to get stronger. This kind of thing must never happen again."
Determination filled Yohan's eyes. He genuinely seemed to believe this incident was his fault.
"I was even more useless than Irene, who arrived late. You guys are alive all thanks to her."
"I told you not to talk like that."
"Facts are facts. Even if I can't surpass her, I want to reach a level where I can stand shoulder to shoulder with her. It might be presumptuous, but I definitely want that."
So he'd found a goal. That was a very good thing.
"Good. Don't forget that feeling. Then at least next time, you'll be much better than now."
"Yeah."
After finishing our serious conversation and about to chat casually, it happened.
"Ugh..."
Angela let out a soft groan.
"Angela?!"
We both rushed to her side in surprise.
"What... why does everyone look like they're at a funeral?"
Angela spoke with a strained smile.
"I'm not dead yet, you know? Ugh...!"
Angela flinched as she tried to move. She was clearly still in a lot of pain.
"Ah, shit... it really hurts."
"Don't push yourself, Angela. It's okay to just stay still."
Yohan gently took Angela's hand as he spoke.
"I guess I have to... Aigoo..."
Angela relaxed her body and went limp.
"Angela."
I wasn't sure if this was the right timing, but there was something I absolutely had to say to her.
"No. Don't, Lee Han."
Angela cut me off first.
"What?"
"That it's your fault."
"No..."
"The one who got excited and let their guard down was me. If anything, I should be the one apologizing for being a burden."
"You guys don't know, but if I wasn't there..."
"Aah—. There you go with the incomprehensible talk again. If you weren't there, we would've died long ago. Are you saying the accident in the dungeon was all your fault?"
"That's not it, but..."
"Then that's that. Conversation over."
"...Philip and you guys really are..."
"There's no way we'll grow distant because of this incident. Right?"
"Yeah... Thanks, Angela."
"Don't mention it."
Thanks to Angela, the atmosphere lightened a little.
"But Yohan."
She slightly moved her eyes to look at him.
"Why?"
"What's this?"
Thud. Angela slightly lifted and lowered her hand. At the same time, Yohan's hand that had been holding hers moved with it.
"What... No, this is..."
"Pfft...! Were you that worried about me?"
"No...! I was worried, but...!"
Yohan hurriedly tried to pull his hand away, but Angela held on with force.
"I'm fine, but Yohan doesn't like it?"
Angela looked at Yohan with a mischievous grin.
"N-no, it's not that I dislike it..."
"Ehe—. So Yohan is a man after all? You like it when noona holds your hand?"
"D-don't tease me!"
"Hehe!"
It was truly the same playful conversation as always. My emotions felt complicated and subtle.
I thought about the three of us.
Philip had almost lost his arm. Angela was in critical condition. Yohan was gritting his teeth under the weight of severe self-blame. All of them had gotten hurt because they stayed by my side.
So I had thought distancing myself was the right thing to do.
But maybe blindly pushing them away wasn't the answer.
Running away alone wouldn't protect anything. Myself included.
Then there was only one answer.
I didn't have the arrogant thought of becoming overwhelmingly strong and protecting all of them.
After all, I was a fool who couldn't clear this game even after dozens of attempts.
So it wasn't just me who needed to get stronger. These guys had to grow stronger together with me.
'I need to make them strong.'
I had confidence. What I'd been desperately doing until now was making the heroines stronger.
So there was nothing I couldn't do.
This time, instead of the heroines, I would make the people I chose strong.
Not just me, but all of us.