NOVEL NEXT Chapter 123
Chapter 123: Unexpected Visitors
“That wasn’t incorrect.”
No, rather, they were more than that in the other world.
“Ex-girlfriend, you say?”
My mother asked again, a bit flustered, as if to confirm.
“Yes.”
Lin Xue answered without hesitation.
“Oh, I see… right…”
My mother trailed off, her voice uncertain.
It would be a lie to say she was uninterested in her son’s romantic life, but she didn’t pry unless he mentioned something first.
If he were to get married, surely he would tell her on his own, or so she thought.
So, she was mostly in the dark about her son’s relationships.
This is why she was more taken aback.
If it was just a girlfriend, that would be manageable.
But an ex-girlfriend?
Why on earth had his ex come to visit him in the hospital?
Did she still have feelings for him?
“…Did she come to pay her respects? Um… But, what should we do? Our Si-hyun still hasn’t regained consciousness, and he needs absolute rest for the time being. We’re not accepting visitors for now; only family is allowed to come and take care of him.”
“Consciousness? I see…”
Lin Xue’s expression turned slightly worried.
The effect of the Fruit of the World Tree was absolute.
That was beyond doubt.
After all, wasn’t Si-hyun’s fatal injury recovering rapidly?
But even with that certainty, hearing that he still hadn’t regained consciousness made her a bit anxious.
Seeing her concerned expression, my mother thought that perhaps she still had feelings for her son.
It didn’t seem like a facade; it felt genuine.
Anyone completely severed from their ties wouldn’t show such emotions.
True, if that were the case, she wouldn’t have even visited the hospital.
“Understood. I’ll come back another time.”
Lin Xue consented readily.
After all, she’d come on a whim, and there was no way to wake a person who was unconscious.
No matter how capable she was, such magic was beyond her reach.
“Yes, that’s right. Next time, I’m sure we’ll be able to meet.”
My mother said that out of courtesy, but if Si-hyun were to feel uncomfortable, she was secretly considering moving him to another hospital to avoid letting her meet him.
If she’d come this far, she must know where her son worked, so eventually, a meeting would be unavoidable, but at least while he was a patient, she didn’t want him to feel stressed.
Lin Xue bowed her head and disappeared toward the entrance with the emergency stairs.
At that moment, my mother had a strange look on her face.
And it was understandable; they were on the 10th floor.
It was questionable if even a single soul would use the emergency stairs to come and go each day.
Was she perhaps more shocked than she’d appeared by the news of him not regaining consciousness?
While she was lost in thought, Ha-young approached.
“Mom, why are you just standing here?”
“Oh, someone came by.”
“Who came?”
“They said it was your brother’s ex-girlfriend.”
“Excuse me?”
Ha-young’s eyes widened in surprise.
Seeing her reaction, my mother asked.
“Why?”
“Well, why on earth did she come here? What kind of nerve does she have? What a brazen woman.”
Ha-young grumbled, looking utterly incredulous.
“Do you know her? What do you mean by that?”
“That ex-girlfriend dumped my brother after all he did for her! Just thinking about her makes me want to curse.”
“Oh my… Really? Is that the kind of girl she was?”
My mother shook her head as if not knowing simply from appearances.
“If she comes back, I’ll teach her a lesson when my brother’s not around.”
Ha-young clenched her fists tightly.
◈ ◈ ◈
Upon opening my eyes, I saw the blue sky.
For a moment, Si-hyun was dazed, then he quickly sat up, recalling the last situation.
A man had stabbed him through the chest.
On the brink of death with a fatal injury, a woman had embraced him.
Who was she, and what had happened? He wanted to know, but lost consciousness.
Si-hyun scanned his surroundings.
This wasn’t a detention center.
It was an unfamiliar place.
Colorful flowers bloomed vibrantly.
Blues, reds, whites…
Each color was planted harmoniously.
Butterflies flitted between the flowers.
Si-hyun felt something was off.
The current season was winter.
There shouldn’t be flowers in full bloom and butterflies fluttering around in winter.
While he was staring at the flowers in confusion, he suddenly recalled something and looked at his chest wound.
And then.
“Whoa?!”
He exclaimed in shock.
The place where he had been mortally wounded was completely healed, without a trace of injury.
But that wasn’t the source of his shock.
His body wasn’t his own.
…He must be hallucinating because he wasn’t in his right mind.
Si-hyun closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Then he opened his eyes again.
“What the heck is going on?!”
Nothing had changed.
With a face full of shock, Si-hyun opened and closed his fists, which were as large as pot lids.
A newfound strength flowed through his hands, something he had never felt before.
His arms were thick and sturdy, resembling mighty oaks.
The bulging muscles in his arms exuded an overwhelming strength.
…This wasn’t his body at all.
His mind was in a state of extreme turmoil.
He couldn’t understand how this situation was happening based on any logic he knew.
At that moment.
“Haha, what’s this? Did you have a nightmare? Why the ghostly expression?”
A voice rang out.
Automatically, Si-hyun turned to look where the voice came from.
There stood a handsome man and a woman.
The man was exceptionally good-looking.
With thick eyebrows, a gaze that was both strong and gentle, a sharp jawline, and a sleek nose, his features were sharp yet nearly perfectly balanced.
It wasn’t just his looks; he was tall and well-built, with nothing lacking.
In contrast, the woman couldn’t even be described as pretty.
No, she was more on the unattractive side.
She had thick lips, protruded cheekbones, and a wide, flat nose.
To top it off, a dark burn scar ran across her left cheek.
Si-hyun thought they looked like an odd pairing.
But right now, such thoughts were not what mattered.
“Where am I?”
Si-hyun asked, looking for answers.
“What? You….”
The blond man looked surprised.
The woman beside him also wore a look of astonishment.
Why were they reacting this way when all he did was ask a question…?
No, wait. Thinking back, the handsome guy had spoken to him as if he already knew him from the get-go.
Plus, they both struck him as foreigners.
Yet they were conversing so naturally.
Translation Magic item?
But it didn’t feel like that.
The words flowing from his mouth didn’t even sound like Korean to him.
It was…
While Si-hyun pondered, the handsome man spoke again.
“Come on now, quit the antics. If you keep this up, you might actually scare someone.”
“Please, sir, I also beg you.” The woman’s words caught Si-hyun off guard.
“Sir?!” Si-hyun’s eyes widened.
He shot up at once.
The positioning of his eyes was no longer the same.
They were dramatically elevated.
He was extraordinarily tall.
He found himself looking down at both the handsome man and the woman.
“What’s going on with you today?”
“Sir, are you alright…?”
The man and woman stared at him, bewildered.
…Could it be that he himself was…?
“Iron-Blooded Guard? A zealot executioner?”
Si-hyun muttered in confusion.
“Come on now… are you going to keep this up?”
“Sir… did I do something wrong?”
Their reactions confirmed it.
He was definitely in the body of Po-ahim.
There was no doubt about it.
What on earth is going on?!
Had he died and crossed over to this world?
Endless questions flooded his mind.
Shaking his head, Si-hyun noticed the sword hanging from the handsome man’s waist.
It was a familiar weapon.
Upon a closer look, it was definitely Acureruts.
“Acureruts? Then you must be the Sword Master? Sword Master Delagardi?”
“…You’ve really made up your mind today, haven’t you?”
The handsome man looked at him incredulously.
From their reactions, it seemed the handsome man was indeed Sword Master Delagardi, the best friend of Po-ahim and the original owner of Acureruts.
Si-hyun felt both bewildered and fascinated.
It was like meeting characters directly from a story.
‘This is incomprehensible. Truly incomprehensible.’
Si-hyun thought to himself.
He couldn’t grasp what was happening.
But regardless, the important thing was that if he truly hadn’t died, he needed to find a way to return to where he originally belonged.
Just then, noise erupted from across the garden.
“Even if you are Prince Readrain, you can’t just barge in here.”
“Step aside.”
Voices indicated some form of a scuffle was taking place.
What’s going on?
Si-hyun sensed something was amiss.
He could feel Delagardi’s expression turning grave.
The woman’s face was filled with tension and fear.
“Lady Miriam, let him through.”
“…Understood.”
As Delagardi spoke, the woman called Miriam didn’t argue and immediately cleared the path.
As she opened the way, a cold-faced woman strode in.
Young and beautiful, but her hair was as white as snow.
It radiated an unnatural aura.
Her identity became clear instantly.
“Hyris….”
Delagardi murmured her name as if in pain.
That woman was none other than Hyris, the renowned Great Sorceress.
Si-hyun didn’t know that while losing consciousness, he had once met her when the Face-avoidance Technician had put his life on the line.
To think he would witness such a famous figure in this place.
Moreover, without realizing it, Si-hyun didn’t know that the woman named Miriam was also famous as a Bow Master known for her Death Bow, one of the best archers on the continent.
“How fitting.”
Hyris said with a smile.
But no one could miss the icy chill hidden behind that smile.
“You look quite happy. I, however, am so unhappy.”
“Hyris….”
“You shut your mouth!”
An intangible killing intent exploded, piercing toward the woman.
Delagardi blocked the woman with his hands protectively.
And just like that, the ominous intent seemed to dissipate.
“Oh… I see. I understand. Does that provoke your maternal instincts since the girl is weak like a bug? That feels good, huh? I guess I was too strong to be alluring. My bad. Maybe I shouldn’t have learned magic. Sorry.”
Hyris appeared incredibly unstable and precarious.
Si-hyun gathered what was happening.
This was a situation tangled in emotional turmoil.
When he had encountered Hyris previously, Po-ahim had sent a message through the system expressing his reluctance to engage with her.
Now he could guess why.
It made sense for him to be hesitant around a girl who had such an uncomfortable relationship with a close friend.
“Do you really like her that much? What do you find appealing? What makes her so lovable? What am I lacking that you chose to abandon me? Why did you make me miserable?”
‘What? Abandon?’
One of Hyris’s comments pierced into Si-hyun’s ears.