noveltune Chapter 340
Chapter 340
The left eye was closed, but the right eye was wide open.
Yet, I couldn’t see anything.
With one eye open, I should be seeing something, but my vision was hazy, as if thick fog had settled in front of me.
Unconsciously, I let out a small chuckle.
[...Your right eye has become murky. Is it a result of using your power? Are you okay?]
At that moment, hearing Lucy’s words, I opened my left eye and checked the state of my right eye reflected in the sword.
Upon closer inspection, as she said, the vibrant red color of my iris had faded, leaving a dull hue behind.
Gray, the color of ashes where flames once burned.
Confirming that my eye was indeed different from before, I instinctively understood.
This wouldn’t be something that could be fixed with regeneration.
I wouldn’t be able to use my right eye properly anymore.
I conveyed to Lucy, who was concerned if I was okay, that the prognosis for my eye didn’t look good.
“...Well, my eye isn’t okay. I can’t see anymore.”
[Hah... Do you think I wouldn’t know whether you can see with that eye or not?]
In response, Lucy let out a frustrated sigh, indicating she hadn’t meant to ask that.
[I was asking if you were okay, not about your eye. I thought you were shocked and lost your senses because you suddenly laughed. Are you fine?]
She seemed to be asking because she thought I looked unwell.
I chuckled and replied to her question.
“I’m fine, really.”
[...There’s no way you can be fine. One eye has become unusable.]
“Really, I’m okay.”
It was indeed a big deal to have lost one eye.
But I truly felt fine.
Because,
“I think it’s a price I paid to protect something much more important than just one eye, so it doesn’t bother me at all.”
Even though I had lost one eye, I had managed to protect something far more significant.
As I responded to Lucy like that, I looked at Yoon Si-woo, who was now breathing steadily with a healthier complexion than before.
While it was true that using my power had taken one of my eyes, just consider having not had that ability at all.
I wouldn’t have been able to defeat Beatrice, nor save Yoon Si-woo’s life.
Reflecting on that potential future, I couldn’t help but feel gratitude towards the power that allowed me to achieve such miraculous results with just one eye lost.
And I had gained this ability originally because I wished for my loved ones to be safe.
From my perspective, it was somewhat like having my wish granted, making it strange not to feel fine about it.
[...No matter how you look at it, what’s good about losing one eye that makes you laugh?]
But Lucy didn’t seem to believe that I was truly okay, regardless of my answer.
It seemed that I looked absurd for laughing even though I had lost an eye.
Of course, I wasn’t laughing because I was happy about being blind, so I explained to her.
“Ah, the reason I laughed is different. One of my constant worries has vanished.”
[Worry? What worry?]
“Um... the worry about whether I had unconsciously used my power earlier.”
[What do you mean... Wait, could it be...]
As I said this, Lucy, sounding troubled, murmured something as if she had realized something.
[...So, besides your eye, was there another part that’s been damaged?]
“Hahaha... Well, I suppose so.”
[...Where else is damaged?]
“Um... I guess it’s my sense of taste, so my tongue.”
[...Again.]
My sense of taste disappeared after the World Tree, which had been dead due to heavy contamination by magic, revived.
My sense of smell vanished after the cursed relic of the mermaids, the Tears of the Ocean, regained its true form.
“...It wasn’t meaningless. In the end, they were all used for me and the people.”
Things didn’t simply vanish without reason.
The hardships I had gone through didn’t hold no meaning either.
Today, I finally realized that.
That realization brought me a joy strong enough to make me forget all the struggles I had faced up to now.
“...I feel happy.”
The laughter flowed naturally from me.
[...Why would you be happy sacrificing your body for others?]
Like Lucy’s response, this might be a kind of joy that others cannot empathize with.
I once read a fairy tale called “The Happy Prince.”
The statue of the Happy Prince was adorned with gold and jewels.
Feeling pity for the poor, the prince asked a swallow to take the gold and jewels from his body and distribute them among the needy.
However, after endlessly giving away his riches, the prince was left bare and was ultimately discarded by the people.
When I read it, I couldn’t comprehend how it could still be called “The Happy Prince” despite such a sad ending.
But now, I understood the prince.
Surely the prince valued the happiness of those who had become happier than himself.
I too might one day become like the prince if I continue using this power.
However, just like the prince, I would not regret that choice.
While I was lost in such thoughts and smiles,
“Ugh....”
I saw Yoon Si-woo’s eyelids fluttering.
Seeing him as he seemed to be waking up, I quickly turned to Lucy with a sudden thought.
“Ah...! Can you keep my ability a secret from Yoon Si-woo? If he finds out, he’ll definitely not let me fight again, so please...!”
If Yoon Si-woo learns that every time I use my power, my body suffers in some way, he would certainly prevent me from using it, even in absolutely necessary situations.
However, I realized too late that if Lucy told him, it would be game over.
So, I pleaded with Lucy, who sighed and said,
[...Now I understand why I keep getting irritated when I see you. You two are very much alike. You don’t hesitate to sacrifice your own body for others. Watching you is quite exhausting.]
What she thought of me didn’t matter much, so I silently conveyed a pleading gaze toward her.
Then, Lucy sighed again and said,
[But since I can’t dislike you for being similar, fine. I’ll keep it a secret.]
“...Thank you.”
[...You foolish one.]
And right after that conversation,
“Ugh... S-Scarlet?”
Yoon Si-woo opened his eyes.
“Yoon Si-woo! Are you feeling alright?”
“How... What about the Witch of Sloth?”
“Don’t worry about the witch. I managed to take her down somehow.”
“Really...?”
He still seemed to be a bit dazed and unclear, but I diligently answered his question.
During this moment, Yoon Si-woo asked,
“...Scarlet, why is your eye like that?”
And I smiled in response to that question.
“...This? I’m fine, it’s nothing.”