NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 197
I squinted at the blinding fluorescent light without realizing it, but the people around me just kept buzzing without caring whether I knew or not.
They weren’t bothering me directly, but they insisted on keeping their eyes wide open and blabbering away, nagging me at every turn.
It was noisy, and I wanted to shout, “Be quiet! My eyes hurt! Turn off the lights!” But saying it out loud felt like too much effort.
…Am I in a hospital, or some strange facility? More importantly, why am I lying here? Oh, right. That’s how it happened. Is Arman actually dead?
But seriously, is this a hospital or is it more like a research facility of the Evil Society? No, it seems way too friendly for that.
“Blanca! Blanca! Can you hear me?! Are you okay?!”
After doubting everything, hearing that familiar voice made me go, “Aha!” and relax. So it’s a hospital after all. Especially since the kids are here.
I tried to go back to sleep, but that was a non-starter.
If I lay still, the kids kept calling my name more and more desperately. Their voices sounded watery, like they were about to cry.
I waved my right arm wildly to swat away the pesky ones nearby and struggled to sit up.
“You guys can’t let a sick person rest, can you? What kind of nonsense is this?”
Saying that, the kids flocked around my bed, ready to jump on me at any second.
The people who looked like doctors or nurses were taken aback, but since they didn’t seem to want to intervene, I figured it was all good.
“Blanca! Can you recognize us?!”
Even with my brain still not fully working, there was no way I wouldn’t recognize you, Yeonhwa.
But why are you asking me that? It’s not like I’ve been lying here for years…
…Wait a minute, really? Is it true?
“Hold on a second. What date is it? What on earth happened while I was out…?”
I asked tremulously how long I’d been lying down, and Minho replied that it was just shy of a week.
Phew. I thought I’d been stuck like that for years. Calming my racing heart, I joked that there was no way I could forget you guys after lying down for just that long.
However, the kids didn’t take my joke well. They looked either tearful or full of pity.
No, why are you acting like that? It’s not like I said anything awful.
“Blanca. You might not know this, but you… no. You really died and came back to life.”
Looking at me with eyes that demanded an explanation, Jinhyeon dropped a bombshell of a story I never expected.
“…I was resurrected?”
Incredulous at the sudden curveball, I asked for a little more detail about what that even meant, and Yeonhwa chastised Jinhyeon, elaborating a bit more.
She said it was pretty certain that I’d killed Arman.
When they found me, there was something horrendously dissolved in a vile alkaline solution around me, but it had been so badly mangled that they couldn’t identify it.
So, they just assumed it was Arman.
“It must’ve been Arman. I’m the one who splattered him with that mess. Ha, serves him right, that bastard.”
I felt anxious at the thought of him still being alive after that, but hearing that he was dead gave me a sense of relief.
“Ahem, anyway. So Arman is out of the picture, and now onto your story…”
They said that when they found me, there was no chance of survival whatsoever.
They claimed I was literally clinging to life by a thread, but they seemed reluctant to describe my exact condition.
Out of pure curiosity, I asked what state I had been in, and Yeonhwa hesitated before passing the baton to Minho.
“I’m not too keen on this, but since you seem curious…”
Severe body bruising and fractures. Partial lacerations and ruptures. Systemic organ damage due to blunt force. Loss of control over slime resulting in partial loss of the right arm and leg, along with brain damage and nervous system damage. Spinal fractures. Severe blood loss… and the list goes on.
…Huh.
“How on earth am I still alive…?”
“That’s why I said you died and came back to life.”
“Can you not keep mentioning that in front of someone who’s alive? It’s kind of a downer, you know?”
I jabbed Jinhyeon as I marveled at how what I’d seen was not just a hallucination of my brain.
That person I met… they were seriously trying to keep me from eating. Was that why? Because it was food from the afterlife… If I had eaten it, I’d have gone with them.
They wanted me to live.
“Good thing we found you early, or you would’ve been gone for good. Do you have any idea how scary it was? Even pouring regeneration recovery medicine, your body’s deterioration was faster than the healing!”
My utterly wrecked body was disintegrating faster than the regen could fix it. There were countless times when things got dangerously close.
“At that moment, I thought… I really wouldn’t get to see you all again…”
Lapiz said, her eyes glistening with tears. Oh no, she’s about to cry again.
“But look! I’m still alive, aren’t I? Look, my arm is still attached…”
“About that, Blanca. It’s true you survived somehow…”
But Minho was saying it in a way that indicated he wasn’t finished with his point yet, making me a little uneasy.
“While they were bringing you back, they used multiple healing ability users and experimental drugs from the Mimic. But how it all interacted with you… Heros Company still hasn’t fully figured that out.”
“…Can you put that in simple terms?”
“So basically, we don’t know if you’re really okay or not.”
Oh.
So, it’s unclear whether what I appear to be or what I really am is fine, huh.
“According to the doctors, during the healing process, it seems that the slime combined with your body in some way…”
As Minho spoke in a kind of dazed way, the medical staff behind him chimed in with additional explanations.
It seemed like they were saying it shouldn’t pose any major issues to live like before, or something along those lines.
In that case, I guess there’s not really a huge problem.
Even if I didn’t have a firm grasp on what’s happening in my body, I wasn’t too worried.
After all, I’d never really understood how my body worked to begin with.
As long as I could function without too much trouble, that was all that mattered, right?
“…Phew, well, at least it’s all turned out alright.”
“Right? The Evil Society is gone, the people who were under Arman’s control are free, and from the perspective of Heros Company, those major nuisances are out of the way.”
Minho mumbled as if he still didn’t feel great, and Ageha seemed to echo Minho’s sentiment.
“The distrust and scars from conflict against Heros Company that are deeply rooted in society still remain, but that’s something for Heros Company to deal with moving forward. Please focus on getting better first, Miss Blanca.”
“Thanks for the heads up, Ageha. Oh right, congrats, Ageha.”
“Congrats on what…?”
“You said you were going to become a better hero than me. I’ll admit, you’ve proven to be a much better hero than I ever was.”
Saying that, Ageha blushed bright red and wondered if I was really that happy just to get one person’s approval.
That’s how it looked to me, though.
While it wasn’t a joke, the mood did seem noticeably lighter after that. Taking advantage of the moment, I was about to ask where Justitia was when the hospital door swung open and some guys in black suits walked in.
“Apologies for interrupting this miraculous reunion, but could you please clear the room for a moment? Students from Heros Academy and medical staff.”
“We still have to do some tests—”
“It won’t take long. Please don’t give us those looks, students. I swear, it’s not anything harmful for Miss Blanca.”
“How are we supposed to trust you?”
That response from a student at Heros Academy seemed a bit out of line, Seolhwa.
But it seemed like all the kids felt that way.
While their concern was touching, with them acting this way, I figured Heros Company might come after them later…
I asked the kids to give the suited folks a moment to breathe.
“Hey, you promised.”
Lapiz glared at the guys in black suits, clearly not trusting them even as she moved toward the door.
“So, what is it that you want to talk about?”
“Before we discuss that, could we ask for your thanks? On behalf of Heros Company, I humbly express our gratitude for your dedication in taking down the villain Arman.”
“I wasn’t looking for thanks from you guys.”
As I growled back with hostility, the guy in black acknowledged my feelings and continued on.
“Given that Miss Blanca is a former Liberator and considering her past, it’s understandable she wouldn’t want to receive thanks. You’re curious about what we have to say, right? It’s simple. Will you work for Heros Company?”
“What? Is this about the revealing video I posted? Are you serious?”
I reacted sharply at what didn’t even sound like a prank, but the guy in the black suit kept a cool demeanor as he went on.
“If you choose to work for Heros Company, all of your past crimes will be erased. You’ll become a hero who infiltrated the ranks of rebels for a greater cause, and you could return to the Academy just like before. You’ll be provided with a stable residence and status. Furthermore…”
There’s no need to keep listening.
“Nope, hard pass.”
I refuse.
You want me to deny my time as a Liberator? What kind of nonsense is that?
“So, I take it that’s a refusal?”
“Get lost.”
“I understand Miss Blanca’s intentions. What a shame. It would have been quite beneficial for Heros Company if you were to have supported us at this moment.”
The guy in the black suit left with an expression that seemed to say he expected this outcome all along.
“What on earth was that about…?”
As the others returned looking curious, I replied that they just blabbed some nonsense and then left.