Chapter 44
Translator: FusionX
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I was dizzy.
I couldn’t properly control my body.
I lay down for a long time, blankly staring at the ceiling.
I was momentarily flustered because my vision disoriented, but it didn’t take long for me to realize.
I had given up one of my eyes as the price for it.Not having one eye was much more inconvenient than I had imagined.
First of all, my sense of distance was lost, but the worst was my blind spot.
As evidence, I tried to grab the glass of water right next to me and ended up dropping it.
As soon as the sound of glass shattering echoed in the sickroom, someone immediately ran into the room.
“Teacher…!!”
Her red hair shook roughly due to the rebound.
Her unstable eyes were filled with tears.
I smiled at the girl whose height had grown a lot compared to a year ago, Helia.
“Come here, Helia.”
“Teacher!!!”
Helia ran to me like the wind and stuck close to my side.
Fortunately, she didn’t rush at me, who was injured.
At least compared to before, she had that level of consideration now.
Thinking it was a good thing, I lifted my hand and stroked Helia’s red hair.
Despite not taking care of it usually, the feeling of her soft hair dominated my hand.
“Where are the others?”
“They went to Commander Yuren. Not a single one stayed behind…”
“That’s understandable enough.”
Helia spoke resentfully, but I shook my head and denied it.
Because the person who had spent the most time with them right now was not me, but Commander Yuren.
Moreover, Commander Yuren’s life was in a very critical condition.
So it was only natural for people to gather around her.
Now Helia also had to understand this.
I opened my mouth.
“Everyone has a sore thumb. Just as you cherish me the most, they simply believed in and relied on Commander Yuren sincerely.”
“I, I see.”
“Yes, and it’s not like they didn’t visit me even once, right?”
“Now that you mention it…”
“Then that’s enough. Demanding equality in affection is something that even the wisest have not been able to do.”
Helia had an unfortunate childhood.
She lost her parents, and until I helped her, she lived on rotten food.
Even in the original work, the village she lived in was completely ruined.
As a result, that distorted affection led to an excessive desire for power in the original work, and now it led to an obsession with me.
But if I teach Helia slowly from now on, her future can also change.
And that was a problem that no one else but I had to take responsibility for.
But apart from that, thanks to Helia, I didn’t feel left out.
If I had woken up and there was no one around me…
No matter what, a person would inevitably feel a little disappointed, right?
Of course, I would understand it in my head.
I got up from my bed.
“I will assist you, Teacher.”
“It’s alright. Rather, how many days have passed?”
“It’s already been a week since you returned, Teacher.”
“A week… More time has passed than I thought.”
Does that mean I was lying in bed for a whole week without moving?
Indeed, my body was stiff, and it wasn’t easy to move properly.
I slowly stretched my body and asked,
“Then how is Commander Yuren’s condition?”
“I heard she got through the critical stage. Now she is somewhat stable.”
“I see, that’s a relief.”
“Cluna said that if the treatment had been just 10 seconds later, Commander Yuren’s life couldn’t have been guaranteed.”
Going to Cluna was the right answer.
Although time stop was maintained, if I released it right away, there was a high possibility of death.
So I barely released it in front of Cluna.
And my efforts until now were not in vain.
I succeeded in saving Yuren, the former commander of the Royal Knights.
But not all problems were solved.
I had to do something about that damn clown bastard.
Whether it was Yuren or Bayard, it was clear that they had been affected by the clown.
Otherwise, there was no way Bayard would have had such a dream.
Commander Yuren was in the sickroom right next to me, receiving intensive treatment from Cluna.
When Helia and I entered, the girls who were next to her were slightly flustered and hurriedly spoke.
“Ah, Commander…”
“Th-that’s… This is…”
“We, we were going to stay a little longer and then go to the commander!”
“There’s no need to make excuses. It’s only natural to pay attention to Commander Yuren, whose life was in danger.”
And above all, Commander Yuren was the top-class talent who would succeed me and take over as the commander again.
Rather, it would be better for them to build a stronger bond with her from now on.
“Are you still treating me as the commander? It seems these girls have already made up their minds.”
“Yuren, your physical condition is still…”
“Yuren, you should lie down more!”
“What do you mean?”
“…Let’s discuss this matter later. Don’t we have something we need to do right now?”
She forcibly got up from her bed.
Her black hair dangerously covered her empty chest.
But rather than her chest, my eyes were drawn to the hole pierced in the middle.
“If you move now, you might die.”
“It’s alright. I’m satisfied just being in my right mind now.”
“…What are you going to do in that condition?”
“Revenge.”
Her eyes were blazing with anger.
It seemed she had experienced something beyond imagination there.
I looked at her.
To be precise, I was barely able to look at her.
According to the setting, dragons were the race of benevolence.
No other race could be a threat to them.
It was said that it was very rare for dragons to get angry.
But if you make a dragon angry, there was no race that could survive their anger.
But to think I would experience it directly.
It was hard just standing here.
Even though that anger was not directed at me!
I furtively looked around.
I could see everyone being crushed by her spirit.
I couldn’t stay like this.
“Don’t be stubborn for nothing, Commander Yuren.”
“What did you say?”
Uh-oh, time out.
A spirit that had become even stronger pressed down on my shoulders.
I couldn’t hold up and ended up sitting down.
Fortunately, I stopped time before that.
Otherwise, I would have been humiliated.
“Phew, ha, phew, ha.”
I calmed my mind through deep breaths.
I fully understood her anger.
Her comrades didn’t just die.
They were blatantly humiliated in an inhuman state.
Moreover, her current condition was not good, even as an empty compliment.
It was only natural for her to get excited in a way.
However, in her current state, there was a very high possibility of her being defeated instead.
It was not just a serious injury, but a fatal wound to the heart.
If she wasn’t a dragon, and if the enemy hadn’t let his guard down, she would have died before I could do anything.
There was no other way.
I had to suppress her with force now.
I used “that.”
I felt a feeling as if lead was flowing from my heart.
At the same time, time stop was released.
I approached Yuren like that, grabbed her neck, and pushed her against the wall.
Of course, I controlled my strength.
When I pushed her against the wall it wasn’t a strong push either.
It was just a light shove.
Yuren couldn’t react to the sudden attack.
And now she couldn’t even remove my hand.
I silently looked at her.
Clara tried to stop me, but…
“Wait.”
“Th-that’s right. We, we should trust the commander now.”
“But Yuren needs rest…!!”
Thanking Ruby and Bayard who trusted and left it to me, I turned my head and looked at Yuren.
Yuren was glaring at me, but she didn’t say anything more than that.
“Let’s be rational. What can you, who can’t even shake off the touch of a mere human like me, do?”
“…”
“Keep your heart passionate and your head cool. That’s the basics of battle.”
“…I understand, as frustrating as it is… You seem to be right.”
Fortunately, my sharp advice had some effect on her, who was once the commander of the Royal Knights.
I silently released my hand. And immediately stopped time.
“This is really annoying.”
Damn it, I was so scared when I scolded her.
Although I had no choice but to take responsibility as the commander, in fact, provoking a dragon like this was risking my life.
It might be different normally.
But it was even more so when she was angry like now.
But I couldn’t just leave her alone.
Because she’s the one who will become the commander instead of me.
So I have to save her no matter what.
So I took a gamble.
And as a result, I somehow succeeded.
I swallowed my saliva and stood up again.
Anyway, I had to maintain a cool appearance until I handed over the commander position.
“…?”
I tilted my head.
Just before releasing the time stop, I saw Yuren’s face.
The corners of her mouth were raised.
No, it wasn’t a smile of suspicion.
It was a smile as if she was enjoying something…
But I couldn’t take a closer look.
Because time stop was released right away, and her face returned to being expressionless.
Could it be that she liked having her neck grabbed?
No way.
I must have seen it wrong.
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