NOVEL NEXT WORLD The destruction of the world targeted by the Witch of Lust.
To prevent that, I willingly decided to sacrifice my life.
As long as I could protect my now-cherished friends and the people connected to this world, I thought that would be enough.
But then,
“Scarlet!”
“Miss Scarlet!”
Just like that, the me who had died was resurrected.
And upon that, my friends began to obsess over me.
“Evande…”
*
…Looking back at what happened, it feels like the introduction of a web novel.
Anyway, it’s been a few days since I regained consciousness after I thought I would be stuck dead.
During those few days, I learned about what had happened to me through Yoon Si-woo and Sylvia.
If I were to talk about it a bit, it seems that Yoon Si-woo was responsible for my resurrection after I was burned by miasma and lost my life.
I heard that he used the power of the seventh Holy Sword he possessed to bring me back to life. When I first heard that, I was really surprised.
So, I thought perhaps he could also resurrect others who had sacrificed themselves for us using that ability.
‘…Miss Scarlet, actually─’
But when I asked, I learned that ability wasn’t all-powerful and required a tremendous cost each time it was used.
What Yoon Si-woo had to endure as the price for resurrecting me was an eternal farewell with Lucy.
Yoon Si-woo seemed to have hidden that from me, concerned about the burden I might feel, but thanks to Sylvia discreetly hinting to me that I needed to know, I found out.
Upon learning that, I immediately sought out Yoon Si-woo and confronted him.
I asked why he went so far as to resurrect me.
I knew all too well what Lucy meant to him, so I couldn’t help but ask.
However, Yoon Si-woo responded to my questioning like this.
‘…Don’t worry about such things, just live happily from now on. Neither I nor Lucy will ever regret that decision.’
Hearing Yoon Si-woo’s response, filled with a melancholic smile yet firm resolve, I could no longer speak about the matter.
Since they wouldn’t regret it, it would be rude for me to question it any further.
In the end, all I could do was be grateful for Yoon Si-woo and Lucy who gave me life again despite their sacrifices and vow to repay that debt somehow.
…Well, let’s end that story here.
From now on, I’ll talk a bit about what happened after I woke up.
Right after I regained consciousness, I had to go around various hospitals and medical facilities.
You don’t need to worry as it wasn’t because I was in any pain.
It was just that Yoon Si-woo and Sylvia were so persistent that they thought I should get a thorough check-up just in case something went wrong.
It’s understandable why they were acting like that.
For me, it felt like I just opened my eyes after two years, but for them, I’d been asleep as if dead for two years and had finally regained consciousness, so how worried must they have been?
That said, having to go through that similar examination five times was a bit much.
Anyway, after the doctors confirmed that I was perfectly fine five times, the two of them seemed to finally ease their worries and left my side.
With both of them gone to work, I finally had some alone time since waking up.
The moment I got that peace, I headed out to take a walk around the city.
I was curious about how the city had changed while I had my eyes closed for the last two years, and more importantly, I needed to scout around for my other plans.
That plan was to gain independence and find a house to live alone.
At that time, I was living off Sylvia’s mansion.
But I couldn’t keep living in someone else’s house forever, could I?
What was the reason I had been living in Sylvia or Yoon Si-woo’s homes until then?
Wasn’t it because I wasn’t an ordinary person?
However, after being dead and revived, I had become an ordinary human.
I could no longer spew flames or burn miasma like before.
But at the same time, I no longer had to live with the constant anxiety of being swallowed by witches or having to live with someone who might kill me if things went south, nor did I need a guardian to guarantee my safety.
Thus, it meant there was no reason for me to live in someone else’s home anymore.
Moreover, thanks to some huge compensation money from saving the world, my bank account had also surprisingly ballooned, so I was in a good position to buy a house.
So, I was out to search for my new nest…
What I didn’t know at that time was what kind of results that action would bring.
As soon as I stepped outside, things were going well.
The atmosphere of the city felt more vibrant, probably because the danger from witches had lessened.
Feelings of pride washed over me, and I walked with a smile, but soon started feeling something odd.
Maybe it was just my imagination, but wasn’t everyone passing by staring at my face?
The gazes were something I was familiar with.
Even as a witch, people often stared when I walked around the city.
But back then, the frequency felt different.
People’s attention was focused on me as I walked by, and I could hear murmurs behind me after I passed.
As the peculiar attention and silence sharpened, my initially leisurely pace began to quicken.
However, it came to a halt when I encountered a massive crowd in a park.
Later, I learned that there was an event being held to commemorate the heroes who had fallen while protecting the city.
I still vividly remember that moment.
At first, I thought only a few people were looking at me, but suddenly everyone gathered there was turning to look at me.
The murmurs that had previously sounded surprised fell into an eerie silence.
In that strange focus and quietness, someone called out to me.
“Uh, are you perhaps Miss Scarlet Evande…?”
Instinctively, I nodded at that question.
I shouldn’t have done that.
Because the moment I nodded, everyone gathered there went absolutely wild.
I had no idea.
I didn’t know that while I was asleep for those two years, countless biographies and movies portraying me as a heroine had been released.
As a result, I had become a famous person that nobody could not recognize wherever I went.
Some of that bloated bank balance had indeed come from that.
Anyway, because of that, the crowd perceived me as a true hero who sacrificed my life to save the world, and then miraculously returned from the dead.
Such a figure appearing before a group gathered to honor those like me, especially for the first time since being resurrected, was bound to cause a stir.
Just like that, I was surrounded by people, receiving an outpouring of cheers like a girl idol visiting a military base, and suddenly I was bombarded with handshake requests.
Naturally, I wasn’t used to that kind of attention and fell into a panic.
So, I decided to make a run for it.
How?
I jumped over the park wall from the back.
That attempt wasn’t bad.
If I had my old body that could knock demonic beasts around with a single punch.
But sadly, I was now an ordinary human, and overwhelmed by the crowd, I jumped toward the wall without thinking about my previous capabilities and ended up crashing into it.
As a result, I sustained a minor bruise from hitting the wall and became mortified as I made a fool of myself in front of so many people.
In that state, I was discovered by Mei, who had been sent in due to the commotion and took me back to my guardian.
For your reference, my legal guardians were currently Yoon Si-woo and Sylvia.
“Miss Scarlet! What did you do to get hurt like this?!”
“…Truly, I’m going insane.”
Ultimately, within mere hours of being left alone, the two saw me all battered up.
The aftermath was significant.
Their worry over me transformed into a near obsession, and especially,
“Are you saying you want to live alone?! I absolutely, positively oppose that! Do you know what could happen if you live alone?!”
“Right, you’re not a witch anymore. What if someone has bad intentions?”
My plan for independence could only be delayed indefinitely.
Since Sylvia was adamant about not letting me live alone out of concern, I couldn’t do anything about it either.
But I couldn’t continue being a freeloader in Sylvia’s house indefinitely.
So, I somewhat compromised and expressed my opinion, resulting in this.
“Ha, alright. If Miss Scarlet feels uncomfortable living in our mansion, then perhaps it’s better that way. But at least if there’s a trustworthy person nearby, I’d feel less anxious.”
“Ah, good morning, Scarlet.”
“…Yeah, Yoon Si-woo. Good morning.”
Thus, I ended up paying money to live in Yoon Si-woo’s house just like before.
While I had managed to escape being a parasite, I was still living in a rented room.
My dream of a sweet home was still far off amidst my obsessive friends.