Page 245

I had regained love.

And along with it, I gained discomfort.

The kind of discomfort every adolescent boy experiences at least once.

Overcoming that discomfort required a lot of patience.

"Hannon oppa!"

Just then, Xenia appeared.

She must have followed me.

"I told you, you really need to rest."

Strangely, I felt a sense of peace, and my posture straightened.

Family really is a good thing.

"Senior."

At that moment, Nikita came out of the room.

Wearing a black veil and with her dark brown hair, she looked like Sekita.

Nikita’s face was slightly flushed.

The sight was quite provocative.

"Please knock from now on."

"I’ll keep that in mind."

"But sometimes... it's okay."

What does that even mean?

I couldn’t bring myself to make eye contact with Nikita.

Then, an important thought struck me.

"Xenia, what about Arcadium?"

Arcadium—the one I had defeated.

Since Nikita had just come out of the hospital room, she wouldn’t know the situation.

Only Xenia could.

"Professor Vega, who returned from the Demon Dungeon, subdued and captured him."

So there were no major problems on the Demon Dungeon side.

That must be why Vega, as a professor representative, had returned to check on the academy’s terror situation.

Vega had previously been informed by me about Arcadium.

So she must have taken precautions and restrained him.

If Vega personally took care of it, I could be at ease.

There was a lot I needed to ask him.

"Senior, you were really on a rampage, huh?"

Nikita leaned her head lightly on my shoulder.

"If you do that again, I might really punish you next time."

I had nothing to say.

Facing Arcadium without any information was dangerous even for me.

Especially the part where he became a ‘dragon-kin’—if Nikita hadn’t been there, something irreversible could’ve happened.

"I’ll keep that in mind."

"Good. Because I can’t live in a world without you, senior."

Nikita looked up at me with a soft smile.

I really wished she wouldn’t look at me like that right now.

I still needed time to adjust to the love I had regained.

Nikita tilted her head, as if puzzled by my evasive eyes.

She seemed to react that way because I wasn’t making eye contact like usual.

Should I tell her or not?

I had a hunch something big would happen if I did.

Tap-tap-tap—

Suddenly, rapid footsteps echoed in the distance.

They were familiar to me.

"Prince Sweet Potato!"

The first to appear was Seron.

Sweat beaded on her forehead.

It was the height of the spring Demon Dungeon Tournament.

I was surprised to see her here and stared at her in disbelief.

Seron exhaled.

"I finished things there, no matter what it took!"

What in the world had happened at the Demon Dungeon?

I didn’t know, but Seron glanced at Nikita, and her eyebrows twitched.

"What do you think you're doing, holding onto him so casually!"

She then swiftly pulled my arm away from Nikita and clung to it.

Seron panted, visibly out of breath from running.

Normally, I would’ve told her not to touch me because of the sweat.

But for some reason, I couldn’t take my eyes off her today.

Under her red hair, her eyes looking up at me sparkled.

She looked genuinely happy to see me after a long time.

Was she always this pretty?

For a second, I wondered if I’d lost my mind.

"Prince Sweet Potato, what did you do this time? The academy’s in chaos!"

So she really had come straight from the Demon Dungeon.

"Husbaannd—"

Next came Sharin, staggering as she walked.

She looked utterly exhausted, likely from expending a lot of magic.

That would explain why she arrived later than Seron.

Thanks to her training with Aisha, Seron had improved her stamina and could arrive first.

Sharin saw me, Seron, and Nikita and walked right up.

Then, without hesitation, she slung her arm around my neck and leaned on me.

A strong blueberry scent from Sharin hit my nose and stunned me for a moment.

Was this an assassination?

Only now did I realize what kind of "attacks" I had been enduring from them all this time.

Then Sharin looked up at me, tilting her head slightly.

It seemed like she sensed something was off.

"Haaah, you two left everything to me and ran off..."

Finally, Isabel appeared.

She had taken the role of team leader during the Demon Dungeon Tournament and had likely come after finishing her report.

When she saw me surrounded by the three of them, she raised an eyebrow.

But then her eyes slowly widened.

"You..."

With a stern expression, Isabel spoke.

"Don’t tell me… you regained your love?"

How could she tell just by looking?

I knew Isabel had an abnormal level of perception, but this was beyond that.

The moment Isabel’s words rang out, all three girls around me turned their eyes to me at once.

Seron was shocked.

Sharin frowned.

Nikita smiled shyly, her cheeks flushed.

And Isabel froze in place.

Her lips trembled, and she clenched both fists tightly.

"What?! You really got it back?"

"Husbaannd—"

Seron and Sharin simultaneously erupted in anger, grabbing onto me tightly.

Their soft touches and scents overwhelmed my senses and made my body flinch instinctively.

Seron and Sharin locked eyes.

And then, their reactions subtly changed.

"Hmmm… is that so?"

"Husband, look at meee~"

Seron intertwined her fingers with mine, while Sharin poked at my cheek repeatedly.

Nikita, with a slightly pouty expression, looked off in another direction.

That alone couldn’t hide the smile tugging at her lips.

Only Isabel was different.

“…Just me.”

My gaze landed on Isabel.

She flinched slightly, then turned to me with a bright smile.

But I could tell right away—the surface was smiling, but underneath, she was trembling.

“That’s great. You’ve found all your emotions, haven’t you?”

They might not be perfect, but I had found them.

Isabel congratulated me and turned away.

“Sorry, I have something left to report.”

She hurriedly started to run.

Seeing that, my body instinctively moved forward.

Sharine and Seron, only now realizing the situation, hesitated.

“Uh, hmm.”

“Looks like it.”

The two stepped away from me.

“Go on, senior.”

Nikita motioned with her eyes for me to follow her.

Lastly, I made eye contact with Xenia.

She stood there blankly, then flinched slightly before speaking.

“Please rest when you come back. The effects of the Celestial Magic are still lingering.”

“Yeah.”

Leaving the four behind, I ran.

Isabel was nowhere to be seen—she must’ve sprinted at full speed.

But fortunately, I had a good idea where she was going.

It was a place I had once followed her to.

The upper walls of Zerion Academy.

A secret spot Isabel often visited when deep in thought.

Running beneath the night sky, I arrived at the base of the wall.

I climbed the wall, and in the distance, I saw Isabel.

The wind blew.

Her honey-blonde hair danced in the breeze weaving through the stone.

Isabel noticed me and gasped.

“…Come to think of it, you knew about this place.”

She must’ve just remembered the time I followed her here.

She probably hadn’t had time to think amidst all the confusion.

As I approached her, Isabel lowered her head.

“Sorry.”

She apologized abruptly.

The same apology she had offered earlier.

I didn’t understand why she kept saying sorry—what did she have to be sorry for?

“Isabel, why are you apologizing?”

“…Because…”

Her head remained down.

She opened and closed her mouth repeatedly, unable to speak the words aloud.

Time passed.

The moon above had moved a little when she finally opened her lips.

“…I promised I’d help you find your emotions, but I couldn’t do anything in the end.”

Her shoulders trembled.

I could sense the tears forming on her downturned face.

In her voice were shame, self-loathing, deep regret, and sorrow.

Under a starry night, Isabel’s tear fell to the ground.

“I found everything because of you… and I couldn’t give anything back. That makes me feel pathetic and sorry.”

Her confession came to mind.

How she had vowed to return all my emotions—anger, sorrow, love.

How she had promised to confess again once I had found everything.

Now I realized how brave her words had been back then.

And now, I could feel just how much pain and heartache those same words held in this moment.

“I’m sorry. I guess I wasn’t enough to reach you.”

She slowly lifted her head.

Her tear-streaked face bore a heart-wrenching smile.

“But it’s okay. It really is. Just knowing you got your emotions back makes me this happy.”

My hand reached out to her.

“No, it’s not.”

I pulled Isabel into an embrace.

She wasn’t smiling at all.

“Isabel, you tried harder than anyone to help me get my emotions back.”

As if I didn’t know how much effort she put in.

She worried about me more than anyone, always leading the way to bring my emotions back.

“How could something I found thanks to you… not reach you?”

It wouldn’t be wrong to say that the foundation of all my reclaimed emotions had been laid by Isabel.

Without her efforts, I might never have even thought about getting them back.

So how could she say she did nothing?

As the person directly involved, I couldn’t accept that.

“Isabel, I was able to regain my emotions because of you.”

Because of you, I learned what these feelings meant.

So don’t cry like that.

“Look at me, Isabel.”

I pulled her shoulders gently so she could see my face clearly.

Her tear-filled eyes met mine.

“Are you really the kind of person who would give up on me because of that?”

I had heard her resolve with my own ears.

I knew the courage and depth of her feelings.

I saw, with my own eyes, the woman who loved me so dearly.

Would Isabel—who loved me this much—really give up just because she thought she hadn’t helped?

“…No.”

She shook her head.

“No, never. I lived because of you. I don’t even know how to go on without you anymore.”

She held me tightly.

As if she never wanted to let go.

“I like you. I love you. I really, really love you. Since you’ve gotten your love back, I’ll keep saying it until you say you love me too. I love you.”

The emotions she had been trying to suppress overflowed again.

Her tearful voice echoed clearly in my ears.

Her feelings hit my heart with perfect clarity.

I wrapped my hand around her hair.

Then, she slowly lifted her head and kissed me.

The thing she had always done for me—I now returned to her.

Isabel, who had cried out her love, finally regained a bit of light in the midst of her tears.

Long ago, I had promised to be the moon to Isabel.

Because I couldn’t be the sun to her sunflower, I said I’d be the moon instead.

But now, seeing her eyes—I finally understood.

To her, I had already become the sun.

Behind us…

The moon faded, and the sun began to rise.

Its rays wrapped around us in warm embrace.

And the tear on her cheek, kissed by the sun, sparkled beautifully.