Chapter : 20
“Done!”
I let out a breath of relief and collapsed onto the spot.
‘My whole body feels like it’s gone limp.’
With Rumi’s life resting in my hands, I must have been more tense than I realized. But now there was nothing left to worry about.
The quest success notification had appeared!
Smiling in satisfaction, I pressed the [Accept] button.
The sweet reward you get after a grueling quest—no matter how many times I receive it, it always makes my heart flutter.
Feeling my pockets grow heavier, I checked on Rumi and Frisia.
After confirming that the fever—which had been far higher than usual—had dropped completely, Frisia held back her tears and pulled Rumi into a tight hug.
The child gently pushed her away, saying there was still some of the drink left.
For a moment, Frisia’s face filled with bewilderment—but only briefly. The child, having finished her strawberry latte, hugged her tightly instead.
“Mom, you worked so hard because of me, right?”
“…Mom didn’t work hard at all. You’re the one who was sick, Rumi.”
“Hehe, I’m not sick anymore. I drank the drink big sis made, and now I’m all better!”
Her voice was brimming with excitement. It was an innocent, cheerful tone that Rumi hadn’t even shown when she met Hugh.
“I can’t believe how long it’s been since I last heard this voice!”
Frisia hugged Rumi tightly once more.
A beautiful little world formed around just the two of them.
Watching the mother and daughter, I smiled warmly and began organizing the items I’d brought.
One by one, I placed them back into the cloth, wrapped them up, and tied everything neatly.
Just as I finished cleaning up—
Beep—!
A warning sound rang out.
!Warning!
!!Energy remaining: 5%!!
- A debuff has been activated.
Please take sleep (07:59:99) immediately.
The system window flashed obnoxiously in front of my eyes.
“…Damn it.”
I knew it. The weakness I felt wasn’t from releasing tension—it was from low energy.
‘…Ugh, I really hate debuffs.’
My vision spun, the back of my head throbbed, and a headache struck as if my skull were splitting open. It hurt so badly I could barely open my eyes.
Clenching my eyes shut, I shook my head. The dizziness sank into my stomach, making me feel like I was about to throw up.
There was no way I could make it back to the café like this.
Gathering what little strength I had, I spoke to Iliana.
“Um, Iliana…”
“Yes? You called?”
Iliana answered brightly, then stared at me and widened her eyes.
“Are you sick? What’s wrong? Leila, are you okay?”
“Huh? Leila’s sick?”
“…This is bad.”
At Iliana’s reaction, everyone in the room turned to check on me. Iliana and Frisia looked flustered, not knowing what to do.
But Millan was different.
“I expected as much. Frisia, could you spare us a room? We need to put Leila to bed. At this rate, she’ll turn into a corpse before we even make it back to the café.”
“O-of course! Iliana will show you the way!”
“Please. Quickly.”
Urging Iliana on, Millan lifted me into his arms.
I didn’t have the presence of mind to understand what was happening. I only felt my head touch something soft.
Without even a hint of resistance, I was carried by Millan and placed onto a bed.
I didn’t have the strength to protest—and honestly, it was comfortable.
The guest room door flew open as Iliana led the way. Millan walked quickly to the bed and gently set me down.
Thanks to Millan, my energy still remained at 5%.
Thankfully, it hadn’t immediately dropped to 3% like before. I couldn’t exactly afford to get a nosebleed in someone else’s shop.
The soft bed embraced me, and a cozy blanket covered my body. I was already half asleep.
Still, I wanted to express my gratitude, so I forced my mouth open.
“…Thank you, Millan.”
“You still have the presence of mind to speak?”
“Ha ha…”
An awkward laugh slipped out. Millan sighed, then lightly patted the blanket.
“Go to sleep now, Leila.”
Without a single worry—
With Millan’s gentle pats, my eyes slowly closed.
Steady breathing filled the room.
Millan, watching the pale-faced woman—who looked like she could collapse at any moment—sleep soundly, slowly shifted his gaze.
Frisia was standing there.
“How’s Rumi?”
“She’s asleep now. It was long past her bedtime anyway. More importantly… is Leila okay?”
“She’ll be fine once she wakes up. It’s not that serious.”
“Thank goodness…”
Frisia’s voice was heavy with worry.
Leila was the person who had saved her daughter. And that person had suddenly lost consciousness and collapsed.
The image was still vivid in her mind.
Leila, pale-faced, biting her lip hard as she struggled not to fall.
At the same time, Millan’s low mutter echoed in her head.
“Tch. Pushed herself too hard, and this is the result.”
It was entirely because of her request that Leila had overexerted herself and collapsed.
Feeling both overwhelming guilt and gratitude, Frisia couldn’t fully rejoice in Rumi’s recovery.
That was why she had barely managed to put Rumi to sleep, despite the child insisting she wanted to stay awake longer than usual.
If Hugh hadn’t helped, Rumi would still be wide awake even now.
In any case, once the children were asleep, Frisia immediately came to Leila’s room.
Thinking Leila would be alone, she skipped knocking.
“Millan… I didn’t expect you to be by Leila’s side.”
Seeing Millan guarding Leila, Frisia had to blink in disbelief.
Even when Basha’s health had steadily declined, Millan hadn’t shown much concern. He’d confidently insisted she’d recover soon.
He had even left her side for long periods.
And during that time, both Basha’s health and the café had deteriorated.
Frisia had resented him for it—at least a little.
But there was a bond between Basha and Millan that she could never intrude upon.
Millan knew Basha better than anyone, and Basha knew Millan best of all. So Frisia had assumed Basha herself must have asked him to act that way… but—
“Did you decide to protect her properly this time?”
“Not yet. She’s a person I can’t quite get a read on.”
“Then what? How long are you planning to just watch?”
“Well… at least until I see how she runs the café.”
Millan’s gaze turned to Leila.
Worry, curiosity, and confusion mingled in his eyes. He still couldn’t understand this woman.
A woman who committed all sorts of bizarre acts, then blinked those big eyes as if they were perfectly normal.
A woman who could draw out 100% of a magic tool’s true function—when most people couldn’t even manage 10%.
A woman who would exhaust her own body just to fulfill the request of someone she’d only just met.
Truly…
She was a strange woman who couldn’t be defined in a single sentence.
So this was what it meant to be Basha’s granddaughter. Basha herself was also someone Millan could never fully understand.
Slowly shaking his head, Millan looked back at Frisia.
“I don’t know when this will end. She’s someone who doesn’t take care of herself at all.”
“I see. Well, someone like Leila really needs someone by her side to look after her. Otherwise, she’ll live her life without realizing she’s wearing herself down.”
“Speaking from experience?”
“I’m someone who lives with regrets.”
“I see.”
Millan let out a quiet chuckle and stood up.
This wasn’t exactly the right place for two people in similar situations to have a heart-to-heart.
After all, they couldn’t very well start drinking with Leila lying between them.
“Let’s have a drink. For people who regret things.”
“Sounds good! I’ll treat! I owe you one too.”
“Your thanks should be directed solely to Leila.”
“Still, it sounds like you have regrets too?”
“…Frisia.”
Millan’s expression turned icy in an instant. His gaze was cold enough to freeze someone solid.
Frisia burst out laughing.
“Hahaha! Alright, alright.”
She tilted her head toward the door—a signal to leave.
And so, Millan and Frisia headed down to the first-floor furniture shop.
The next day.
“…Huh?!”
I sat up, wiping the strangely damp corner of my mouth with the back of my hand. I felt oddly refreshed, and even the sound of birds chirping seemed lively.
I’d slept so deeply that my mood was great.
Then—
“…What time is it?”
I’ve got a lot to do today too…
Cold sweat began to trickle down my back.
