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Chapter 24
“……”
“I’ll handle it somehow.”
Beeeep!!
My brain roared loudly. As if it was following my older brother’s lead and wanted to help too.
‘…Thanks.’
I could hear Black Captain scolding a warrior.
“Hey, what are you doing? I said get rid of them now!”
The warriors exchanged glances.
“We accept the order.”
One of them stepped forward.
“Well, it’s not difficult… I’ll make it quick.”
The man who had been lazily dragging his feet suddenly vanished—and in an instant appeared before Black Medical Officer.
Clang!
“…Gasp!”
I froze in shock.
But astonishingly, Black Medical Officer blocked the first strike—and not only that, he deflected the warrior’s sword.
A flicker of admiration crossed the warrior’s face.
“Oh? Impressive. As expected of the Black Healer’s child.”
“……”
“I served under your father for a while. No hard feelings.”
Coldness flashed in his indifferent eyes.
Black Medical Officer stepped back and curled his lips.
“Who said I’d go down easily?”
Rumble!
A faint static crackled in the dry air. A bolt of lightning struck, loud and thick.
BOOM!
The warrior stepped back, startled.
“…A divine beast? Lightning strike?”
The place where he had stood was scorched black.
The warrior’s face turned wary. He grit his teeth.
“A bloodline ability… So unfair, even though we’re both Orientals.”
The previously relaxed warrior’s sword changed. Black Medical Officer clenched his teeth.
Beeeeeep!
“What are you doing?! Go now!”
A cut appeared on my brother’s cheek. But instead of obeying him, I turned my head slightly.
‘Even if I want to go…’
That damn toad brought another warrior. And there’s Black Captain, plus his companions.
Out of all of them, Black Captain looked the happiest seeing Black Medical Officer struggle.
“Wow, what now? Looks like this time’s different, you damn brat.”
I glared at Black Captain coldly, enduring my fury.
“Don’t you know the family law says warriors can’t attack doctors or pharmacists?”
“So what? No one’ll know if we take care of it.”
Ah, so that’s how you’re gonna play it? I smiled, eyes curving like crescents.
It was a habit I’d picked up in my third life—when I got really mad, I smiled instead of showing anger.
Because I knew it made them feel way more uncomfortable.
Look at his twitching face.
“Oh, that’s too bad.”
“What?”
I spoke calmly.
“You’re dumb already, but I hope you’re ready to get wrecked even harder this time.”
I pretended to reach into my bag. Black Captain flinched.
Instead of my bag, I grabbed my water bottle.
Thankfully, I’d left the lid loose earlier when I was going to drink. I poured it right over my hand.
“What—what are you doing?! Stop her before she pulls something! She’s got powers too!”
“…Understood!”
Too late, you damn fools!
The moment my hand was soaked, the water rose like a wave and crashed over the oncoming warrior.
“Uwaaaagh!”
“What the—?!”
“A wave?!”
Not just him—the massive wave also swept over Black Captain and his companions.
“Haa, haa…”
My ability isn’t for offense.
But… if it’s just holding someone in place, I can manage that.
I panted and grinned.
‘I still can’t diagnose this many people at once…’
Back in my prime, at age twenty in a previous life, I could diagnose over a dozen people at once.
Watching the trapped warrior stare at me in panic was satisfying.
He slashed around with his sword, but couldn’t cut through the water.
Diagnostic data popped into my head.
“Yikes, mister. If you’re not careful, you’re gonna end up with a stroke.”
I glanced at his ankle.
“And that ankle? It’s been broken twice, huh? You better take care of it. One more break, and that’s it for you.”
“……”
I turned my head away.
Black Captain was shouting something like “grgl grgl squawk squawk!”—but I’d muted his voice on purpose.
I raised my middle finger at him and gave a bright smile.
“You’re just a fat kid, you piece of sh*t.”
Okay, they’re all tied up now.
What should I do?
I can’t keep this up too long.
Maybe I should help my brother first, and then we can escape together…
“Black Biyu!”
I turned my head sharply. Then looked over to Black Medical Officer—and my eyes widened.
“Oppa!!”
A breeze stirred.
From long ago, the wind had been his friend—the only companion that stayed with him through loneliness.
When he lost his memories. And again, when he lost them once more.
Even when he felt he’d lost so much that nothing remained.
…Maybe even before losing his memory, even back in his very early childhood, it had always been with him.
Black Bihu.
He now sat on the eaves of a roof.
For someone who commands the wind, tall trees or rooftops feel like a cozy home.
‘…Where does she live again?’
‘My dad is a crazy person!’
That was what the little girl—who claimed to be his daughter—huffed two days ago when asked where she stayed.
Black Bihu wasn’t sure whether to believe Biyu’s claim or not.
But truthfully, it didn’t matter to him either way.
The feeling of memories returning was intoxicating. He couldn’t help but listen to everything that little girl said.
Riding the wind, climbing to high places—it all came as naturally as breathing.
‘A baby like me would die! Seriously, die!’
‘I didn’t fly fast enough to suffocate you.’
‘Shut up. You seriously need to be scolded! You’re even more clueless than your big brother!’
‘……’
So he couldn’t really grasp how others—especially a child—might feel.
Maybe he had once known, but forgotten.
Getting scolded by a three-year-old for being more clueless than his older brother felt… new.
Black Bihu leaned forward lazily, resting his chin on his knee, gazing downward.
He was sitting on the roof of a building near where his brother, Black Biwon, was staying.
Below, he saw Black Biyu and a rather tall boy.
With some childhood memories having returned, he recognized his niece.
She looked just like his brother Black Biwon had as a child—there was no mistaking it.
Her long hair fluttered in the wind.
Then he sensed someone approach beside him.
“Came to watch?”
As Black Bihu slowly turned his head, curly hair fluttered into view.
It was his older brother, Black Biwon.
“Well, well. Should I say, ‘Nice to meet you at last, Lord Bihu’? Honored to behold your noble face~”
“Cut the nonsense.”
Black Bihu responded with zero expression.
“Hyung.”
For a moment, Black Biwon’s eyes widened. But just briefly—he quickly covered it with a sly smile.
“Don’t test me. Just say what you came to say.”
Last time they met, his second younger brother hadn’t remembered him. The youngest, Biryang, also treated him like a stranger.
There could only be one reason.
The girl who had given him and Biryang that miraculous gift.
Black Biyu.
“So, did my little brother come because he’s worried about his daughter?”
“……”
Black Biwon chuckled and plopped down next to him. The old roof tiles creaked dangerously under the weight.
“What to do? She’s my daughter, you know. I even named her~”
“Oh? So she’s your daughter?”
“……”
So it was a lie after all.
The wind blew whoooosh—and then swirled into a vortex somewhere.
Strangely, a voice flowed from within the wind.
<So, did my little brother come because he’s worried about his daughter?>
It was Black Biwon’s voice from just a moment ago.
Recording voices on the wind—something as natural as breathing for someone like Black Bihu who controls wind.
“I’m just returning it.”
Black Bihu spoke flatly, as Black Biwon’s sly smile deepened.
“Oh dear, little brother. You’re such a useless bastard.”
Black Bihu felt a faint pain. His older brother had stepped down hard on his hand.
But that wasn’t all.
Zap. A faint electric current jolted through his hand.
There was a time he wondered—if he took a full hit from that electricity, might the shock bring his memory back?
The memories that Biyu returned to him were quite substantial.
His older brother grabbed him by the collar. Still grinning like always.
“Instead of staring at your pathetic brother’s face, you should be remembering your daughter.”
“……”
“Pitiful, unfortunate… My little brother, who’s now the most dogsh*t dad in the world.”
