Chapter 326: Hero of Laios (5)
“Kiyoung-ssi.”
“Hyunsung-ssi!”
‘This bastard…’
In fact, it hadn’t been that long since we had been apart, but it felt like I hadn’t seen him in a long time.
A bitter smile began to circulate at the thought of having suffered that much. Eventually, things had worked out so well that I was able to laugh, but it had been from a series of situations where I had been walking on thin ice.
I had to think I was lucky, no matter how it was. If something had slipped, I would have had to run away from Laios, or could have died.
Kim Hyunsung, this bastard, must’ve had a hard time as well, but as a result, I was the one who had to overcome the danger of death several times. While Kim Hyunsung was taking care of his mental health, I actually went back and forth between life and death.
He must have known enough about it. It would be natural to show a pretty somber face.
‘Yes. Punk. I was very sick. It really hurt a lot. And it was hard, too. It was really hard… Fuck. This is all for you. So you can feel a little sadder.’
Actually, it wasn’t very painful, but it felt like I wanted to express that it was hard for some reason.
While I didn’t see his handsome face, he got pretty bony, and I didn’t know if I was mistaken, but his eyes were definitely red. He didn’t cry like Park Deokgu, but he was also worried about me.
‘Does he have more affection than I thought?’
In fact, I didn’t think Kim Hyunsung would be worried about me this much.
Of course, I thought that an invisible bond between us had built up, but when I heard that he headed this way with Dialugia as soon as the news about the magic hologram went out, I was quite surprised. He even stayed in front of my door with Deokgu rather than going after the enemy.
He chose to stand by my side rather than close the case.
“Hyunsung-ssi. It’s been a long time. Ahem.”
A coughing sound began to come out as if Jung Hayan’s cough had infected me.
Rather than thinking first and act, the body was pretending to be in pain first. I was even embarrassed to believe that it really started to hurt.
Did they say that humans changed their bodies as they deemed fit? Not only did it feel like someone pricking my chest with a needle, but it was also getting harder to breathe.
“Are you okay?”
As expected, Kim Hyunsung approached in a hurry. It seemed like he was pretending to be okay right now, but anyone could tell that he was worried about me.
I kept wanting to smile. The specs that I saw with my Mind’s Eye were also excellent.
“Yes. I’m fine, Hyunsung-ssi. More importantly… You didn’t have to come all the way here…”
“No. Of course, it is correct to come first. I was really… I was really worried. I’m glad you’re okay, Kiyoung-ssi. And your body…”
“Haha. Ahem. It’s fine. Hyunsung-ssi, really. I heard that my body recovered quickly enough to be called a miracle. Hayan, Deokgu, and Sora suffered more than I… Really, ahem. I’m fine.”
“Are you really okay?”
He seemed to be worried as I kept coughing. I kept saying I was okay, but anyone could see I wasn’t. I was hoping to see if he would take out something like an elixir from the bag, but I would have used it earlier if there were such a thing.
Of course, others also seemed worried, too, but perhaps because of the strange atmosphere, they stepped back and simply watched us.
“Excuse me… for a second.”
He even snuck up and started to put his hand on my chest.
‘Why? What’s up with this bastard? What’s wrong with him?’
Although it was momentary, Jung Hayan’s eyes opened widely. Most of the female audiences who looked at Kim Hyunsung and I also had reddish faces for some reason, but a sound like ‘oh my god’ started to come out from behind.
‘What’s going on?’
It even made me feel more uncomfortable because I was lying in bed.
He leaned over first, just in case it would be uncomfortable for me getting up. I was surprised for a moment, but I believed he wouldn’t do anything to harm my body.
As expected, he began to pour his magic power on me. There was no such thing as a function to recover the body with his magic power, but he was trying to figure out whether my body was in normal condition by turning the magic power around my body.
It was no wonder that I thought that I did well at pouring magic into Jung Hayan just before. What Kim Hyunsung was feeling right now was my completely empty magic power.
He had on a serious look. In fact, there was nothing strange about me but a little heavy breathing, but he seemed to be checking if there was any residual effect.
Of course, he was not a doctor. However, after a few laps on my body with magic power, I really felt relaxed and drowsy.
‘I really want to sleep now.’
I didn’t know if it was an appropriate expression, but it felt like I was getting a massage. It felt as if the inside of my body was being massaged coolly with magical power.
‘How is this possible?’
It was impossible to do this with my magic power that had gained divine power. It was the advanced magic power management knowledge possessed like a privilege of the continent’s powerful people.
However, I could be sure that not many of them could do this. Without Kim Hyunsung’s delicate control, I wouldn’t have felt this comfortable.
What was a little strange was that the room was becoming extremely quiet. The galleries surrounding Kim Hyunsung and I were shutting their mouths and engrossed in the strange sight we were showing.
In particular, Laios’ maids who watched this situation showed reddish faces as much as Han Sora when she looked at Jung Hayan and me. I thought it wasn’t a big deal, but…
‘This is fucking…’
I started to get nervous as our audience had begun to gush. When Kim Hyunsung’s magic power rotated around my body, a blush appeared on my face, and suddenly, an exclaim popped out.
Of course, this was only the effect of magic, no other reason. I felt like the occasion where everyone that was worried about me was suddenly turning weird.
“I-I’m all right now, Hyunsung-ssi.”
I had no choice but to hurry to stop him because it seemed that if it kept going like this, this occasion would lose its essence.
“But…”
“This is enough. I appreciate your thoughts, but your magic power is so great… that it’s too much for me to accept any more…”
“Then, how about a little more gently…”
“No. Just your thought is enough.”
I thought it was all over, but the faces of those who were listening to our conversation seemed to get even redder. I had to speak once more.
“Everyone, thank you for visiting. Really… I am worried that I may have troubled you for nothing.”
“You didn’t, Honorary Cardinal. Thank you very, very much. Laios will never forget the sacrifices of Lee Kiyoung and other heroes.”
“Thank you. Pristina-nim. But we can’t be the only ones to take the credit. Had it not been for the prayers sent by others, we would not have been able to stop the demon that day. I don’t know if it’s really a miracle, but it seemed like I could actually hear many voices.”
“Ah…”
“It’s not that much to be thankful for. Probably, even if other people were there, they must have made the same choice as us.”
As I looked at Jung Hayan, Han Sora, and Park Deokgu, I saw them frantically nod. However, Pristina still didn’t seem satisfied. Not only did she thank me with the long-standing custom of Laios tapping on the forehead, but she bowed her head toward me. Of course, her eyes were filled with tears.
“Thank you very much. Thank you very much.”
“You can raise your head, Pristina-nim. And the same goes for other Laios people. If you keep doing this, I’ll get more embarrassed. Ahem.”
“Ah… Honorary Bishop.”
“Kiyoung-ssi.”
It was a little ridiculous that everyone here flinched with just one cough.
The atmosphere got more pleasant. Park Deokgu, who was constantly crying, was energized, and Kim Hyunsung, whose eyes were getting red, also wiped out his chest.
Dialugia was looking at me like trash, she didn’t say anything, but she seemed to have noticed that there was no danger of dying in the first place.
In fact, if something went wrong with my body, she would be the first to feel the signal, so it would be natural for her to look like that.
After confirming that not only I but also Jung Hayan and Han Sora were in good shape, the room was the same as usual, and even in the middle of that, I had the Laios people thanking me. Of course, I opened my mouth as if I didn’t know anything. This time it was about those whose outside.
“Come to think of it. It seemed a little noisy outside. Did anything happen? No… more importantly, was the work properly finished…”
“I think it would be better to take a rest without thinking about anything else, Honorary Cardinal.”
“But… That demon summoner Jin Qing…”
I knew the truth. I had already heard all the progress from Cha Hee-ra.
I knew that the demon summoner who tried to destroy the city had escaped from Laios, but I had to open my mouth naturally because I had to show that I was constantly caring about Laios.
“First, you have to pay attention to recovering your body.”
“But outside…”
“It’s fine, Honorary Cardinal. It wasn’t because of the demon summoner that it was noisy outside… it’s because of the Honorary Cardinal.”
“I’m sorry?”
“I guess you haven’t seen it yet.”
“Ah… I don’t know what you’re talking about…”
I knew the truth.
Pristina smiled slightly and began to open the curtains. As she opened the window, a pleasant breeze began to enter the room.
It was natural to pretend to be surprised because it was my first time seeing such a sight officially.
“Ah…”
What I saw was a scene of countless Laios citizens praying. It was a massive crowd, as if almost everyone in the capital was gathered.
This was, therefore, a magnificent sight.
Naturally, I had to stand up slowly at this point. Of course, since I didn’t have physical strength, I stumbled, but thanks to Park Deokgu holding me tight, I avoided falling.
It wasn’t a scene I had planned, but it was not all that bad. As I raised my hand a little, a thunderous shout began to burst out. Even…
‘Why are these guys crying…?’
I laughed when I saw the innocent Laios people shed tears of joy.
“Wahhhhhhhhhhhh!!”
I didn’t know if it was because of the shouts, but my back was tingling. They cried and hugged each other. It was as if there was a festival.
“Ha… haha.”
I looked at her as if I didn’t believe it, and she looked at me with a quiet smile.
“Everyone has gathered voluntarily. After watching the heroes’ sacrifices, they have waited with us for all of you to wake up. Everyone, as one.”
“Really… It’s a grateful sight.”
“In the square.”
“Yeah?”
“If it’s okay, I would like to put a statue of you guys in the square.”
‘Pheeew… You’ve made it, Kiyoung.’
I laughed a little without saying anything, but Pristina sent a big smile as if she accepted it as a positive sign.
“Laios will never forget your sacrifice. Never.”
The alliance had already been established. Everyone was smiling happily. There were shouts outside and laughter from inside the room. In summary, everyone was happy.
Of course, there were still people who were uncomfortable in this situation. Looking back a little, I saw Yuno Kasugano, watching out for me with her head down.
‘Yuno Kasugano.’
It was obvious why she was with such a face alone.
‘Because she did something wrong.’
I didn’t know the reason. However, it was a behavior I could not understand. Although she confessed with her own mouth first, it was a little vague to say that it was a problem that I could forgive easily.
Others didn’t know it yet, but about Jin Qing, the dirty demon summoner…
It was her who had helped the guy get out of Laios.