novelraw Chapter 109 : Chapter 109
Chapter 109 : Chapter 109
Chapter 109: Mimicry Art (3)
DING-!
The elevator doors opened slowly.
An announcement message followed.
[15th floor, Recovery Ward.]
White light spilled out.
Through the open door gap, a small blonde girl, Lily, revealed herself.
Holding an electronic pad in her bandaged hand, she was busily writing something.
[Kim Suho]
[No panic response / Minor abrasions / Complaints of slight insomnia]
[Calmness stands out due to defense-specialized abilities, but practical combat ability requires further confirmation]
Her slender fingers moved quickly across the pad.
The file's title was ‘Terror Site Practical Evaluation’.
A terror attack occurred at Hero Land.
A disaster that drove countless people into danger.
World news was already buzzing, and provocative headlines like ‘Crisis of the Korean Hero System’ heated up the media.
Photos of roaring monsters also filled the internet.
Artificial monsters different from naturally occurring demonic beasts.
What on earth is their identity, and who is the villain that released such monsters?
People's curiosity also began to swell.
Meanwhile, the incident created an issue from another aspect.
Zero Academy cadets were at that location.
This was a tragedy, but also an opportunity.
Actual combat breaks someone, but someone else proves their worth within it.
Guilds paid attention to the fact that Zero's freshmen were exposed to actual terror.
The ‘Liberta’ Guild, to which Lily belonged, was the same.
Official instructions were delivered to her.
Lily was a cadet of Zero and also served as a scouter for the guild.
Liberta requested her to check the cadets herself.
Who avoided it, and who faced it.
Who collapsed, and who proved themselves.
So Lily was moving on her own feet.
Checking hospital rooms one by one, listening to the cadets, observing their expressions and even small tremors.
Even utilizing her status as a member of the Student Council.
Under the pretext of checking the cadets' condition, practical reports on Zero cadets were being naturally written.
‘It’s tiring.’
However, if there was a problem, it was that Lily herself was also at that scene.
Unknown monsters rampaged, and even a mysterious villain targeted her.
She escaped the crisis with swift response and help from those around her, but her hands still trembled when she recalled the moment the threat grazed her skin.
‘If I were to write a scouting report on myself, honestly, I wouldn't be able to give a good score.’
Lily thought as she looked down at her trembling bandaged hand.
But work is work.
Lily finished the file she was writing and opened the next file.
‘Next is Mei Lin, Room 1505.’
She checked the room number and the hallway sign, then slowly moved her steps.
The hallway was quiet.
Since it was still early and most of the hospitalized patients were Zero cadets, it was natural.
Having suffered all kinds of hardships yesterday, it would be normal for them to be in deep sleep or cooped up in their rooms.
Except for nurses passing by very occasionally and rarely seen visitors, she didn't encounter anyone.
Just as she was heading to Room 1505.
CREAK-
Slowly, the door to Room 1503 opened.
Lily's gaze naturally turned towards it.
‘Huh?’
The faces walking out from there bewildered her.
What she saw first was a familiar face.
A face often seen on posters, magazines, and scouting reports.
Short blue hair, a sporty jacket, and sunglasses that looked somewhat old-fashioned.
‘Spike Blue?’
And someone followed behind him.
A boy with neat dark red hair in a light white t-shirt.
The Sword Emperor's son, Lee Junhyeok.
The two came out in front of the hospital room door, closed it, stopped, and started talking.
Lily hid herself around the corner in an instant.
She naturally erased her presence as well.
She hadn't done anything wrong particularly, but the sight of the two together was worth watching quietly.
Spike Blue was a promising hero.
A graduate of Zero Academy and a figure who recently started to reveal his presence rapidly.
His name was also on the Liberta Guild scouting list.
Solid mentality, sturdy body and spell system basics, he was placed in the upper ranks even in recruitment priority.
And the boy next to him, Lee Junhyeok.
The phrase ‘Sword Emperor's son’ alone is sufficient explanation.
The next-generation swordsmanship master the hero industry is paying attention to.
A boy called the ‘Prince walking the Royal Road’.
Those two people came out of the same hospital room.
They came to visit the same person.
Whose visit did they come for?
Lily's gaze turned to the hospital room's signboard.
[Room 1503 - Ryu Jinwoo]
‘Ryu Jinwoo?’
Instantly, Lily's eyes narrowed.
Ryu Jinwoo, the mysterious boy.
While showing excellent practical combat performance, he was classified as a person of interest on the other hand.
Seol Hayun's grandmother, Ju Yeonhwa, had personally requested an observation investigation.
She intended to check Ryu Jinwoo as well today if the opportunity arose.
But Spike Blue and Lee Junhyeok.
Two promising talents visited Ryu Jinwoo at the same time.
‘Is he close enough with those two?’
When on earth did he build such relationships?
Was he that close with Lee Junhyeok?
And how did he form a connection with Spike Blue?
Did they get to know each other during this incident?
Questions biting the tail of questions flowed around in Lily's head.
Lily leaned her back against the wall and looked down at her phone.
With the intention of eavesdropping on their conversation to find out anything.
But actually, the two didn't discuss anything special.
Rather, only routine, light small talk continued.
Spike Blue said almost pleadingly.
“Please! I really hope you show this to your father. I’m really asking you.”
“I understand. Or do you have more? Since father's friends might also be interested.”
“Oho! If you do that, I'd be so grateful! Wait a moment.”
Spike Blue started searching his pockets with a moved expression.
And put a bundle of business cards in Lee Junhyeok's hand.
“I’m counting on you! As expected of Junior Junhyeok! And Jinwoo too, I'm really lucky to know such good juniors……!”
Lily blinked at that sight.
The appearance of a hero running sales for connections.
After all, since the hero industry is also a people business, it's not particularly strange.
But this was the first time she saw such blatant sales.
‘He is a fairly promising hero, yet showing such a side…….’
It was a somewhat pitiable yet bitter sight.
The conversation afterwards also flowed routinely.
There was almost no special information.
More precisely, there was no useful information.
[Going down.]
Along with the mechanical sound, the elevator doors carrying the two closed.
Silence settled in the hallway again.
Lily let out a light breath.
‘Really, all sorts of things happen.’
What on earth is happening around Ryu Jinwoo?
Lily killed her footsteps and approached the door.
Her gaze turned slowly, and a small nameplate caught her eye.
[Room 1503 - Ryu Jinwoo]
Catching her breath for a moment, Lily put her ear to the door.
It was quiet.
No, the very faint sound of breathing could be heard.
‘Is he sleeping?’
Lily gathered her fingertips, placed them on her lips, and whispered quietly.
“I’m from the Student Council.”
If he happens to be awake, she can just make an excuse that she visited for a cadet investigation on the Student Council level.
If he is sleeping, an opportunity arises to observe the surroundings carefully as is.
This was an opportunity.
An opportunity to learn one step more about Ryu Jinwoo.
‘This time for sure, I will find out special details. So that Lady Ju Yeonhwa can be satisfied.’
With a short resolution, Lily turned the handle smoothly.
The door began to open slowly.
The inside of the room was quiet.
A TV hung on the wall of the spacious single room, and a machine checking vital signs next to the large bed emitted light at regular intervals.
And in the middle of that central bed was Ryu Jinwoo.
Buried completely under the blanket, he was breathing comfortably.
Too comfortably at that.
To the extent that one couldn't think he was a person who went through a major incident yesterday.
Softly closed eyes, facial expression with no sign of tension, regular breathing.
Lily looked at that scene from two steps away.
The chaos and fear that visited Hero Land yesterday.
Most cadets who experienced the incident were complaining of stress and aftereffects.
Unable to fall asleep or having nightmares and waking up covered in sweat was common.
But Ryu Jinwoo was sleeping deeply as if nothing had happened.
Suddenly, a thought that she was envious grazed her mind.
Because Lily herself couldn't sleep properly last night either.
Since she was prone to insomnia originally and was in a state of tension all day, it couldn't be helped.
‘Is this person's mentality in a different dimension?’
Perhaps this might also be a special detail.
Lily quietly took out her receiver and reported the content to Ju Yeonhwa.
[Maintains a comfortable state even after experiencing the Hero Land incident on site: Mentality is not normal]
While sending the message, Lily examined the surroundings.
Nothing special was seen.
There were items one would expect in a hospital room, and two fruit baskets were placed on the table next to the bed.
Momentarily, something on top of Ryu Jinwoo's blanket caught her eye.
‘A doll?’
A blue teddy bear doll wearing a patrol outfit.
It was sticking close to his body as if it was an attachment doll.
‘This is definitely unexpected.’
Lily was speechless for a moment.
A mysterious skilled person, a solid mentality even after suffering hardship, a person one can't help but think of as an eccentric.
To think such a person relies on a teddy bear.
No, rather, should I say it's more like him because of that?
[Attachment Doll - Possesses a teddy bear. Sleeps keeping it close during sleep.]
One more message was sent to Ju Yeonhwa.
After sending the message, Lily stared intently at Ryu Jinwoo.
And it was at that moment.
‘Huh?’
Suddenly, she felt a sensation of her mind softening.
Somewhere becoming languid, thoughts becoming dull, and eyelids feeling increasingly heavy.
Lily blinked and raised her head.
Something was strange.
It felt as if someone was whispering in her ear, ‘It’s okay, you can rest a bit.’
This sensation of being cozy yet strength draining away.
Simply put, drowsiness came rapidly.
‘Why suddenly?’
In a split second.
Lily's eyelids closed shut.
“……Gasp.”
Lily raised her head reflexively.
She almost fell asleep just like that.
A strange thing happened since entering this room.
Lily instinctively stepped backward and came out of the door.
She closed the door and quietly caught her breath.
‘Did he use some sleep aroma? Indeed, seeing him sleeping that comfortably, the possibility he used a sleep aid substance is…….’
With her body and mind increasingly loosening, Lily held onto the wall and started walking down the hallway.
And just a few steps later.
‘Ah.’
Strength drained from her toes.
Lily slumped down just like that while leaning against the wall.
Before the thought ‘I shouldn't sleep here’ could even occur, Lily's eyes closed gently.
In the dream that unfolded a moment later, a somewhat familiar teddy bear stood with its arms open.
Blue fur and round eyes.
“CoCoNenne-.”
The teddy bear made a sound like a cry, or perhaps like singing a lullaby.
A slow yet strangely warm voice.
Lily went into that embrace and was held cozily.
She was someone who usually suffered from insomnia and slept fitfully.
But on this day, Lily fell into a deep sleep for the first time in a long while.
Helplessly.