ITSM 27

Chapter 27

Feeling awkward, I forced myself to change the subject and went on to explain in detail to Roan how I had spent my time while he was away.

“More importantly, while you were gone, I managed to handle quite a bit of work, and I learned a lot from Bael about how Winsphere is run.”

I said it to ease the tension, but Roan didn’t respond in any particular way.

“Ha… haha. I didn’t think Bael would ever let me handle anything related to the interior, but I got things done so quickly that he ended up giving it to me anyway.”

Seeing his face after such a long time, he somehow looked pale. I found myself staring at him without realizing it.

Noticing that our eyes had met for too long, I hurriedly looked away.

“And also…”

At that moment, Roan raised his hand and pressed on his own eyes.

I flinched at his action, but only briefly. Then Roan called my name.

“Lia.”
“Y-Yes? Did you… have something to say?”

Only after answering did I realize that, unlike usual, he wasn’t speaking politely to me.

“Roan…?”

Hearing my voice, Roan lowered his hand from his eyes. At the same time, I noticed that his gaze was hazy and unfocused.

Feeling that something was wrong, I instinctively stepped back, and Roan closed the distance.

“R-Roan… what’s happening…?”
“I’m glad.”
“Eh?”
“I’m glad. This time, it’s not too late.”

Before I could even ask what he meant, Roan leaned on my shoulder.

Gasping, I grabbed both of his shoulders to steady him, and only then did I realize.

“Why are you so hot?”

Roan’s body was burning like a furnace.

“My goodness! What on earth have you been doing with yourself?!”

He stood there, as if fainted, unable to answer me. I was worried that a living being radiating this much heat might die.

“Roan! Snap out of it!”

Having been moving around all day, I couldn’t hold his large body for long. If I let him go here, he might fall and get a concussion.

“Please, anyone, help!”

My voice tore through the quiet library. I held his head close and shouted.

‘If I get under him when he falls, maybe it won’t be so bad…’

Even if I could bear the weight, it would hurt, but I couldn’t push someone this sick to the ground.

‘Ugh… I hate that it hurts.’

The thought was brief.

Just as I was about to hug Roan tightly and loosen my own body, a voice of salvation reached me.

“Liliana!”

Bael, who had rushed in, quickly supported Roan leaning on me. The moment the weight was gone, I collapsed to the ground.

“Haha… if you had been just a little later, you’d have seen me pinned under Roan. What a pity.”
“Are you joking now?”

Soon after, Zion, who hadn’t shown up for a while, appeared.

“Gah, Your Majesty—!”
“Zion.”
“Roan!”

I didn’t even think about scolding their behavior.

Bael handed Roan to Zion, who immediately used magic to make him disappear with him. The library fell completely silent, as if the previous chaos had never happened.

“Do you need support?”
“No, I’m fine.”

I answered bravely and began to stand up, and at the same time, Bael bowed deeply to thank me.

“Thank you for holding Roan so he wouldn’t get hurt.”
“I didn’t really do anything, so it feels awkward to be thanked. More importantly, is Roan okay?”

Perhaps embarrassed to say it, Bael hesitated for a while before answering.

“It’s a chronic condition.”
“Oh.”
“That’s why I told you I’d be away for a while.”

I nodded along with Bael’s words, but a small question lingered in my mind.

Can the king of demons really get sick? Being immortal and a perfect being, he shouldn’t feel pain except when attacked by an angel.

While I was pondering, Bael made a curious request.

“Liliana, please pretend you didn’t see what happened today.”
“Pretend I didn’t see it?”

To whom? Was he asking me not to tell the other demons about Roan’s condition?

“Don’t worry; I won’t tell anyone else.”
“No, not others… Roan himself.”

That was strange.

He meant I shouldn’t tell Roan, who was here today. Even if I didn’t say anything, he would know.

Noticing my confusion, Bael explained.

“He was acting while feverish and not in his right mind. Even if he wakes up, he probably won’t remember today.”
“Oh… I see.”

I felt reassured.

“Roan hoped you wouldn’t tell him this fact.”
“His chronic illness…?”
“Yes. Above all, if he showed this side of himself to others while not in his right mind, he wouldn’t feel good about it either.”

I wanted to ask Roan something, but if it was said while he wasn’t in his right mind, it felt awkward to ask later.

“Of course, if you’re unwilling, you can refuse.”

Bael gracefully stepped back.

“No, I understand. I won’t mention today’s events to Roan.”
“Thank you. You must be tired; go rest now.”

I bowed to him and was about to leave, but handed him the documents I had been preparing all day while roaming around Winsphere.

“Ah, Bael. These are the things I organized today. You said I could start right away, but I thought it might be good for you to know.”

After handing them over and bowing, I left the library.

Thanks to Gregory, who had appeared after a long time, I had a proper dinner and then returned to my room, lying on the bed.

“Ugh.”

At this hour, I should have been looking over documents. My body had grown used to it over the past few days, so I couldn’t fall asleep right away.

I tossed and turned for a bit, then a thought I hadn’t fully explored earlier crossed my mind.

“Ah, Roan!”

I rubbed the shoulder he had leaned on and recalled the last sight of him.

“Will he be okay?”

His body, burning like fire, seemed as if he could die at any moment. Though there were famous demons around, I was still worried.

“Why is he really sick? Saying it’s a chronic illness feels like an excuse.”

In the original story, the demon king Roan could only be hurt by angels; nothing else could even scratch him. There was no way someone like that could be burning up with fever.

“I haven’t even faced the angels yet.”

Something about it felt off.

I thought carefully but couldn’t come up with another explanation. More importantly…

“Relying only on the original story feels… unsettling.”

There wasn’t a grand reason behind the thought.

The novel’s narrative was entirely focused on the two main characters. Information about the demons was limited, and they were simply labeled as evil beings to be dealt with.

But the demons I had actually met weren’t like that. They had odd and slightly frightening sides, but they weren’t beings evil enough to be ‘dealt with.’

“Still, I won’t be staying here forever.”

Even if this world existed only in my imagination, I had no intention of staying in Winsphere.

Living with demons in a world that believes in angels? A big incident seemed inevitable.

I wanted my life to be quiet and peaceful.

Being in Winsphere would inevitably pull me into some huge incident—that was my judgment.

“I wish there were more information besides the original story.”

Relying only on the original story left a strange discomfort.

“It feels like the story was made to make me think demons are bad.”

It might be an over-speculation, but…

“Blindly trusting only one side isn’t good either.”

It would be nice if something could help me think more broadly about this situation.

After shifting back and forth a few times, my eyes landed on a bookshelf.

“That’s right. I brought some books. I’ve been busy lately, so I… forgot…”

At the same time, I remembered the books I had hidden.