As I opened my eyes, a familiar ceiling filled my vision.
The feel of the blanket against my body was also extremely familiar.
Just as I blinked blankly, realizing this was my room—
“Nyaaaang~~!!!”
The familiar and adorable cry of the baby dragon reached my ears.
Yor threw off the blanket covering me and slipped right into my arms.
Then he rubbed his cheek against mine, expressing joy and affection.
My hazy mind fully woke up, and finally it sank in.
“Ah… I’m alive…?”
“Yaong yaong, aeng aeng, myaaat, nyaaat~!”
I couldn’t understand what he was saying, but through his intonation, I could tell Yor was pouring out his grievances to me.
My wise baby dragon must have guessed why I, thinking of the protagonist of another novel, covered myself with sleep powder.
But that didn’t mean he wasn’t afraid.
‘No, that would have made him even more scared. He must have also noticed that the original author set the stage to kill me!’
After I fell asleep.
Imagining Yor bravely overcoming adversity despite his anxiety made me feel not just grateful but deeply impressed.
Moreover, the fact that I was alive like this was proof that Yor, as an Irregular, struggled to defy the original author’s will.
“Yor, are you hurt anywhere?”
The worry buried under the relief of survival made itself known.
I sat up on the bed, laid Yor down, and rolled him around, checking thoroughly from the tip of his horn to the end of his tail.
He was a bit grimy, probably because he couldn’t leave my side to wash, too worried about me who had fallen into a deep sleep after inhaling monster-derived sleep powder.
“Phew…”
I let out a long breath, patting my chest.
Even though he was dusty and his mane was tangled, I confirmed there wasn’t a single drop of blood on his body.
That meant he hadn’t been injured and then healed with a potion—he hadn’t been hurt at all.
“Yaong yaong, nyaaa~!”
Suddenly, Yor leaped into the air, spun once, and then flexed his arm as if showing off a nonexistent bicep.
He seemed to want to convey that he was perfectly healthy, so I shouldn’t worry.
Even though I had sighed in relief, he was afraid I might still have lingering anxiety lodged in my heart.
That kind heart of his was incredibly touching.
And the sight he just showed was extremely, extremely cute and adorable.
“Yor, you’re truly the best..!”
I opened my arms wide, praising the baby dragon.
Then Yor immediately flew over and clung to me.
A baby dragon’s body temperature is lower than a human’s, radiating a cool aura, but holding him warmed my heart.
In the midst of this—
“Gyaerung gyaerung, nyaeng nyaeng nyaeng, goreul goreul~”
—Yor hummed a purring tune in such a lovely voice.
My lips curled up naturally.
‘Anyway, since it’s only me and Yor in this room right now, I don’t need to bother controlling my expression!’
Thinking that, I laughed out loud, “Ha ha ha!”
But then I discovered something.
Someone standing beyond the slightly open bathroom door.
“Hup…!”
Our eyes met in that instant, and I was so startled I inhaled sharply.
I stopped all movement, including breathing.
“Ahaha! Sorry if I scared you.”
The figure inside the bathroom opened the door fully and came out.
With an expression that showed no trace of apology.
On top of that, this guy had soaking wet hair and was completely naked except for a towel wrapped around his lower half.
‘This is definitely my room, right?’
Just in case, I turned my head to look around the room, and it was indeed my room.
That meant the protagonist of another novel, leaving his own room, had deliberately showered in someone else’s. And not only did he do such an shameless thing, he even secretly watched me and Yor enjoying our emotional reunion?
My gaze toward the protagonist of another novel could hardly be kind.
Yet the other person kept a smug smile and said this:
“Did you sleep well?”
“……Why are you there in that state?”
“I also inhaled sleep powder and fell asleep, and when I woke up, I was here. I wanted to wash, but I also wanted to see you wake up, so I asked Yor for permission and borrowed the bathroom.”
This protagonist of another novel’s room key must be in his inventory.
On the other hand, Yor also had a key to my room.
So whoever rescued us must have brought me here and thrown Reysir in here as well.
The reason Yor didn’t tell me about this was probably because he was so happy I woke up that he forgot about his existence.
Or maybe he never even imagined that the protagonist of another novel, knowing I was awake, would just watch from the bathroom instead of coming out.
Either way, my Yor is not at fault.
The protagonist of another novel is the problem.
“…How long have you been watching me and Yor?”
“Just when I finished my shower, I heard Yor’s happy cry.”
“That means…?”
“Karbaldr. So you really did try to save me, even risking your life?”
I didn’t know why the word “really” was attached.
Anyway, it meant he had been watching ever since I woke up and uttered my first words, “I’m alive…?”
“…!”
“If you finished your shower then, you should have thought to dress and come out. Why are you still in that state?”
“If I changed clothes, I’d miss you relaxing and playing nyaengnyaeng with Yor. That would be too disappointing.”
“Don’t spout such ridiculous nonsense with a serious face!”
“Ahahaha! But thanks to that, you can see with your own eyes that I’m perfectly fine without a scratch, so isn’t that reassuring and nice?”
“……”
The already embarrassing protagonist of another novel struck a pose with arms wide open and spouted nonsense.
He must be doing that to make fun of me for fussing over Yor.
So I felt embarrassed.
But I hid it, glaring at him with a look of pity, then stood up from the bed while holding Yor.
“Move. I need to wash too.”
“Yeah, yeah. Wash up and come out. I’ll wait.”
The protagonist of another novel, who had been blocking the bathroom door, stepped aside and answered like that.
He still seemed to have no intention of going back to his own room.
Well, since it’s a school suspension period, there’s no one in the hallway anyway.
I thought about yelling at him to get out right now, but I gave up.
Because a civilized person with manners should not engage in long conversation with a naked barbarian.
I just shut my mouth, entered the bathroom, and locked the door.
Then, as I started undressing, I realized something…
‘Why is there blood?’
Since there wasn’t a single drop of blood on Yor’s body, I was puzzled.
But I soon understood.
Since the original author was determined to kill me.
Monsters would have relentlessly targeted my life, so it wouldn’t be strange if I had one or two wounds, right?
Right now, my body wasn’t in pain at all; rather, thanks to a good sleep, I felt very refreshed.
‘Yor must have fed me a top-grade potion while I was asleep!’
I thought that and tried to brush it off as insignificant.
If not for the strange detail that caught my eye.
“If I was hurt enough to bleed this much, my clothes should have been torn…”
Unless the monster had the ability to pass through clothes and only pierce the body, that should be the case.
But the clothes I was wearing were stained with blood but not torn or punctured.
If so, there was only one conclusion that could be drawn.
120121
Yor took out the Whiteboard and wrote down Reysir’s initials to show me.
So my conclusion had been correct.
“This is… Reysir’s blood?”
“Yaong.”
“…From what you saw, did he seem badly hurt?”
“Aeng.”
“Did he get like that protecting me?”
“Ooong…”
Every time I asked a question, the baby dragon’s small head nodded up and down.
I couldn’t help but review my recent behavior, wondering if I had been too harsh toward Reysir.
And I felt relieved.
‘Whew… good thing I didn’t kick him out.’
Even if the protagonist of another novel had acted like a barbarian and said stupid things.
If I had chased away someone who bled and fought to protect me, I would never have been able to lift my head in shame.
And besides, wasn’t he naked except for a towel?
‘Well, he brought that state upon himself!’
Anyway, I carefully washed Yor, then diligently cleaned the body I had possessed.
After that, I changed into clean clothes and even fixed my hair.
Usually I clean the bathroom too before leaving, but since someone was waiting outside today, I decided to put it off until later.
“I couldn’t ask earlier because the situation wasn’t right, but how are you feeling? Are you okay?”
When I opened the bathroom door and came out, a figure finally dressed like a civilized person asked me this.
Along with the thought, “Why is he saying what I should be saying?” a feeling of gratitude and apology welled up.
Because I couldn’t help but know that the reason I was alive right now was because Reysir had tried to protect me.
‘I’m completely fine without a scratch, while Reysir was injured enough to bleed… Maybe the original author judged it was impossible to kill only me while leaving Reysir alive?’
His joke-like words, “Isn’t it reassuring and nice that you can see I’m perfectly fine with your own eyes,” felt different now.
I thought maybe he did that on purpose, worried that I would realize he was hurt from the bloodstains on my clothes.
“Hmph… Wasn’t it you yourself who created that ‘inappropriate situation’ in the first place?”
“Ahahaha! That’s true too, isn’t it?”
Even though the person he had protected with all his might didn’t bow to express gratitude but instead shot back at him with a sharp tone, showing resentment wouldn’t be surprising.
Yet Reysir even laughed it off as if amused.
That made me even more grateful, and I couldn’t help but express it.
“…I’m fine. Thanks to someone.”
“Yeah? Good to hear!”
“………?”
“Huh?”
“Reysir. I asked if you’re okay.”
“Are you worried about me now? Even after confirming with your own eyes just now that I’m perfectly fine?”
The protagonist of another novel curled the corners of his mouth into a mischievous grin.
Like, would it hurt him to just let it slide?
Man, this is really heal my corporate soul