The World After the Bad Ending

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 142: Realizing Because I Almost Lost It

Do you know when a person dies?

‘Right now.’

I opened my eyes wide.

For a moment, I truly thought that if I closed them, I would die.

As my vision gradually adjusted, my surroundings came into focus.

A hospital room.

It was a hospital room.

And from the silence, it seemed to be the middle of the night.

‘When did I pass out?’

My memory was hazy.

I blinked a few times, then flinched as I instinctively tried to move my left shoulder.

It was the memory of my left arm being completely blown off.

But contrary to my memory, my left arm was still there.

Ah, though I couldn't exactly call it intact.

It was covered in scars, with no unscathed areas in sight.

A chilling sensation ran through me, and I hurriedly checked my body.

‘…It's all attached properly?’

I carefully examined myself and found that Veil Bandages were in place.

That meant my identity hadn’t been exposed to the world.

I had suffered severe physical damage.

I had no idea how things had unfolded.

My scattered consciousness slowly started returning.

Little by little, the memories of what had happened before I collapsed resurfaced.

Crossing the seventh floor’s cycle of reincarnation hole with Isabel.

Then, my arms and legs being severed, leading to massive blood loss.

On top of that, exhaustion, malnutrition, and the effects of the Heavenly Dragon Transformation all contributed to my blackout.

‘…This time, I really almost died.’

It had been even more dangerous than when I faced Nikita, the Calamity Dragon.

At least back then, I had some countermeasures prepared.

This time, I had none.

Yet, strangely, I felt no particular emotion about it.

The threat of death didn’t instill much fear in me anymore.

Once again, I realized just how terrifying the Veil Bandages were.

But at least it was better than being paralyzed by fear of death.

In this state, I could still enter the Dungeon without issue.

I checked my legs as well—they had been treated successfully.

Given the level of treatment, it was clear that a Saint had intervened.

‘Did they treat me while I was still wearing the Veil Bandages?’

It was unsettling, but considering the Saint’s abilities, it was plausible.

If my identity had been exposed, I would have been captured long ago.

After all, there was someone here who wasn’t supposed to be.

‘Somehow, I survived.’

The only regret was that I hadn’t been able to secure the equipment I originally aimed for.

‘Doesn’t matter. My life is more important.’

As long as I was alive, that was enough.

The equipment on the sixth floor hadn’t been a necessity.

I had already prepared an alternative.

I had just wanted to make things easier for myself.

I sighed in relief, glad to have made it back alive.

But when I tried to sit up, I found that I couldn't lift the blanket.

I looked down.

Following the moonlight streaming through the window, I noticed something—or rather, someone.

Two people lay on my bed.

One had red hair.

The other had deep blue hair.

Seron Parmia.

Sharin Sazaris.

Both of them were curled up on my bed, fast asleep.

How long had they been like this?

I had no idea, but either way, it was problematic.

If I tried to pull the blanket, I’d wake them up.

Still, seeing the two of them here reassured me that I had truly made it back alive.

All the struggle to bring Isabel back had been worth it.

‘Speaking of which, where is Isabel?’

Was she safe?

I needed to find her first.

"Ughh…"

At that moment, a sound came from Seron.

She stirred, half-opening her sleepy eyes to look at me.

Then, her eyes grew wider and wider.

Tears welled up in her eyes almost instantly.

"Hiiiing… Prince Sweet Potato…"

"Seron, calm down. Why are you crying?"

I panicked and tried to console her, but she suddenly headbutted me in the chest.

Was she trying to finish off a man who had just woken up?

As I coughed from the impact, Seron clung to me tightly.

"I really, really thought you were going to die, you idiot!"

Hearing that, I gave a bitter smile.

It seemed like she had seen the state I was in.

I must have looked completely wrecked back then.

"…Did you come to rescue me?"

"When we reached the seventh floor, Bel brought you back."

Seron sniffled as she answered.

The Dungeon had a different flow of time.

Even though we had spent two months in the lower floors, the fact that they had reached us meant they must have pushed themselves to the limit to get there.

‘They must have set a new record for Dungeon exploration.’

I was grateful that they had come to save me.

"Look, I’m fine now."

"You idiot, do you have any idea how messed up you were? If it weren’t for the Saint and Saintess, you really would have died! You would have!"

So the Saintess had been involved as well.

Perhaps she was the reason my identity remained undiscovered.

I owed her.

She must have noticed the Veil Bandages while treating me and chosen to discreetly cover for me as a favor.

‘Narea would definitely do that.’

She had been a hero in her past life.

She would have more than enough awareness to handle the situation smoothly.

I’d have to thank her later.

Because of her, I had kept both my life and my freedom.

"I believed you'd come to save me."

"Hiiiing…"

Seeing my reassurances, Seron finally began to calm down.

Srrrk—

At that moment, Sharin also woke up.

As always, she gazed at me with a languid expression.

I was about to greet her with a small wave when—

Plop—

Tears began to silently fall from her eyes.

Before I could even react, she just quietly cried.

It was the first time I had ever seen Sharin cry.

She had always seemed so composed and indifferent.

I hurriedly reached out and patted her back.

I wasn’t good at dealing with crying women.

Sharin then hugged me.

Now, I had Seron clinging to one side and Sharin holding onto the other.

I wasn’t sure what kind of situation this was, but I couldn't exactly push them away.

As I tried my best to comfort them, Sharin finally spoke.

"…I didn’t know."

"Didn’t know what?"

"That saying 'I like you' so easily was a mistake."

Sharin leaned her head against my chest.

"I just thought… being by your side was fun and interesting. I thought it would be nice to stay together. I thought that was liking someone. You were always strange and did the most fascinating things."

She was treating me like some kind of rare specimen.

But that wasn’t it.

Love was far more complex and confusing than that.

People could fall in love for the smallest reasons.

Even something as simple as laughing together could make someone precious.

"But I was wrong. It wasn’t just that."

Sharin clenched her fist as if she were feeling a sharp pain in her chest.

"I don’t want a world without you."

At first, I had found Sharin’s feelings for me puzzling.

Seron’s love made sense because we had a pre-existing connection.

Her feelings were understandable.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

But Sharin and I had no real prior relationship.

As she had said, I had simply amused her.

Her affection had always seemed shallow.

Perhaps she had gotten jealous when others took an interest in me, igniting her possessiveness.

But this time, the real possibility of losing me had changed her.

Sharin’s "Mirinae" could see more than anyone realized.

And so, out of everyone, she must have seen the clearest vision of a world without me.

She couldn’t understand such a world.

Sharin tightly gripped my clothes.

“I don’t want to live painfully in a world like that.”

She looked up at me.

Her eyes, filled with the Milky Way shining brightly under the moonlight, glistened with tears.

In Sharin’s world, there was only Sharin.

In reality, she was someone who never gave up her place to others.

That’s why she was fickle.

Her mother had died of syphilis.

Moreover, even though her mother had abused her, she had never loved her.

From childhood, Sharin had lived only to protect her own place.

Since she never gave up her place, she lived a capricious life, leaving lightly when she lost interest.

Yet, at some point, I had leaped into her world.

And I had shamelessly settled down.

At first, it was just curiosity.

The one who could lift Isabel.

The one who handled magical inscriptions and mysteries.

The one who constantly stirred up incidents.

The one who took all the blame in the magic academy for her sake.

The one who brought the ancient dragon’s magic.

The one who learned to wield Zerion’s magic.

The one who became her fiancé.

The one who kept sparking her interest, even though she was so changeable.

That was me.

I kept causing trouble everywhere, leaving no room for Sharin’s whims to emerge.

She found it fun to watch and even more fun to be a part of.

Before I knew it, I had become her fiancé and led her through a whirlwind of emotions.

Enough for her to readily admit she liked me.

And that had an impact far greater than I had imagined.

As I said before, Sharin was fickle.

But the moment she gave up her place, even just once—

She became someone who swore eternity, not whimsy.

She admitted she liked me.

Only then did I realize how much that meant to her.

“So don’t ever let this happen again.”

The girl, who had learned what it meant to lose something precious for the first time in her life, pleaded with me.

“Don’t make me go through this pain again.”

Considering the journey ahead, it was a difficult promise.

To be honest, I didn’t feel much about it.

It was a crisis, and I nearly died.

That was all.

I kept thinking she didn’t need to worry so much.

But my basic common sense told me—

That my current state wasn’t normal.

‘This promise right now…’

Would surely become an important brake to keep me in check.

So, I decided to make the promise.

A promise not to overdo it—just to keep that promise.

“Alright, I promise.”

In the quiet of dawn, the tears of two girls finally subsided.

Because my survival was the most important thing, they barely managed to stop crying.

Letting out a good cry makes you feel relieved.

But aside from that, it also brings a strange sense of embarrassment.

Because expressing emotions in front of others isn’t easy.

Sharin buried her face against me, refusing to show her face anymore.

The tips of her ears, flushed red, showed she was feeling embarrassed too.

Beside her, so was Seron.

Squirm—

No, wait.

This girl was using the opportunity to snuggle closer to me.

I could see the corners of her lips sneakily curl up.

This perverted forehead freak.

“Seron, if you burrow in any deeper, I’m reporting you for harassment.”

“Wh-what? H-harassment?!”

Seron jerked her head up, shouting in shock.

Yet, her face had turned as red as a tomato, looking exactly like a pervert caught in the act.

“I-I just, well, your scent is nice. That’s all.”

“You’re sniffing someone else? Wow, you’re seriously a major pervert.”

“N-no, it’s not like that! It’s really not! But, ugh, it’s just—it smells so good! Who told you to smell so nice?!”

Sorry, but I never smelled nice.

The only thing on me right now was probably the scent of disinfectant.

As I stared at her, exasperated, Seron covered her face with both hands.

“What smell are you even talking about?”

“It’s, like, comforting. Warm and soothing. Right, Sharin, you feel it too, don’t you?”

Seron hurriedly sought an ally.

At that, Sharin slowly turned her head—then buried her face back into me.

Seron’s face instantly darkened.

“You sly fox! What are you doing, taking advantage of this moment?! Get off of him!”

“Nooo, he’s my husband.”

“You’re his fiancé, not his wife yet!”

“We’ll get married.”

Seron shook Sharin furiously, and Sharin clung to me even tighter.

Which meant I, too, started swaying along with her.

What the hell is this chaos?

I feel like throwing up.

Please, stop.

“Gyaaah! Prince Sweet Potato! Do something and pry her off!”

Me, get Sharin off?

Even if I used Heavenly Dragon Transformation, that seemed impossible.

Realizing she couldn’t pry Sharin off, Seron suddenly lunged at me instead, tightly wrapping her arms around mine as if declaring war.

“Prince Sweet Potato is mine! I confessed first!”

“My husband.”

Seron and Sharin glared fiercely at each other.

It looked like a red badger and a blue fox fighting over territory.

And as the one being fought over, I was in trouble.

“Both of you, stop—”

“What a lovely time you’re having.”

A voice suddenly sent chills down my spine.

Turning my head with a stiff motion, I saw a pair of crimson ruby eyes glinting coldly.

Iris Hysirion.

I had no idea when she had arrived, but she stood there silently, without a sound.

Meeting my eyes, she smiled faintly.

“Having two girls at your side—must be nice.”

“Iris, this isn’t—”

“I risked my life to save you, thinking you were in danger. But the moment you wake up, you’re playing around with women?”

Her voice was sharper than usual today.

More than that, she was still treating me as Hannon.

Which meant she hadn’t found out my true identity yet.

“And you two.”

Iris turned her gaze to Seron and Sharin, who were still locked in a fierce battle of wills.

“Hannon is my little brother. He’s not yours—he’s mine.”

With that absurd declaration, she threw more fuel onto the fire.

Seron and Sharin slowly turned their heads toward Iris.

Both of them knew I wasn’t really Hannon.

So they exchanged glances, then—

“……”

“……”

Without words, their eyes communicated.

Then, as if nothing had happened, they each tightened their grip on my arms.

“No.”

“Even you, Lady Iris, can’t have her.”

Iris raised an eyebrow.

A silent question—"Are you really defying a princess?”

But neither Seron nor Sharin flinched.

Fierce gazes clashed between the three of them.

“So you’re picking a fight.”

Iris cracked her knuckles.

If she joined in, it would be the end.

Unable to tolerate the situation any longer, I raised both arms in surrender.

Creak—

At that moment, the hospital room door opened.

Hania stood there.

“Lady Iris, the doctor is calling for Hannon.”

Behind her stood the doctor.

With the specialist’s arrival, the battle was put to an end.

As I sighed in relief, Hania met my gaze and winked.

Hania, what a wonderful woman.

I felt like crying.

As expected, my ex-girlfriend was the only one who took care of me.

I quickly got up from my seat and decided to go see the doctor.

“Hannon, you know you were really in serious danger this time, right?”

As I passed by the door, Hania casually spoke up.

It seemed she was worried about me too.

“I’m fine. Perfectly fine.”

“It’s okay to act like you’re not. The doctor said you might have post-traumatic stress disorder. You should get a thorough check-up.”

“I’m not that weak. It’s just a couple of missing limbs.”

“……”

Hania furrowed her brows slightly and stared at me.

“Hannon… that’s not something you can just say ‘just’ about.”

Damn, I messed up.

Trying to sound carefree only made her more worried.

“I’ll go get checked up right away.”

Under Hania’s strange gaze, I quickly left the room.

I should be more careful with my words from now on.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]