[The Goddess of Flower and Fertility♥ is comforting you. She says it’s not your fault.]

[The Gatekeeper of Heaven♥ says you did nothing wrong. They’re not sure if this will comfort you, but they want to donate coins to you.]

[The Gatekeeper of Heaven♥ donated 10,000 coins.]

[The Mistress of the Holy Night♥ donated 5,000 coins for you.]

[The Mistress of the Holy Night♥ calmly says Raymond Bolt’s end was glorious and noble. She undoubtedly believes that this is an opportunity to grow.]

[The Wolf Crying Under the Crescent Moon is mocking you for being stupid.]

[The Lowest Abyss of the Abyss♥ says you don’t need to listen to some of the GENIUSES.]

[The Lowest Abyss of the Abyss♥ donated 10,000 coins.]

[The Crooked Guardian is ridiculing you for your incompetence and negligence that led to the incident.]

[The Gatekeeper of Heaven♥ is yelling at them to watch what they say. They’re crying out, saying that they’re heartbroken while thinking about how you’re feeling.]

[The Goddess of Flower and Fertility♥ swears on her name that she won’t forgive any of the GENIUSES who cross the line.]

[The Boy Adorned With Earrings of Truth is asking why you keep streaming. He suspects that you’re using the death of your comrade to earn coins.]

‘He’s annoyingly quick-witted.’

Of course, it was best to ignore the nonsense of some of these GENIUSES, as they were clearly just slandering me.

I was a twenty-year-old young man who had just lost his grandfather.

My eyes were blank, and I cried so much that I was no longer crying.

It had been exactly two days since I stopped eating and drinking.

I was hungry, but I couldn’t swallow anything.

Whenever I closed my eyes, I could vividly recall the incident on that fateful day. I heard loud explosions and voices crying out. It was a painful and sorrowful memory I wanted to forget, but I couldn’t forget it at all.

What broke my heart even more than the incident were the memories I made with Grandpa Raymond. His hand that patted my head, warm smile, gentle voice, and warm-hearted personality were things I couldn’t forget at all.

We hadn't spent a lot of time together, but we had a bond, and he was filling my heart with something. He was the first person I considered family after being summoned here.

We didn’t have a lot of memories together because our time together was short, but I couldn't stop recalling events that never happened.

Some events actually happened, but in order to get into character, I needed to fabricate memories—memories of us camping, sitting in chairs and watching the campfire; memories of us sitting in the garden in the backyard and eating fruits together; and memories of grandpa smiling in shame after losing a game of chess against me.

I also recalled the time when we went to a restaurant and talked about our lives back on Earth. I remembered asking him for advice back then, and there were also times when I cried after experiencing hardships with him.

Now, it felt like everything was all just a thing of the past.

The sense of loss was great due to the bond we formed in such a short period of time.

It was like… it had never happened at all.

“

Heuk… heuuuk…

” I sobbed.

The only thing I had to remember him by was the necklace. It was mine, and all I could do was hold onto it tightly as a memento of my grandfather.

It was the same back then.

I was incompetent and stupid.

The commander had to take full responsibility for the mission.

Although it was a catastrophe that human power couldn’t fix, I had to be capable of dealing with a variety of situations. Seeing an unknown enemy for the first time, I stood frozen and was incapable of making logical decisions.

I couldn’t properly check my party members’ conditions, and I couldn’t make reasonable orders.

Everyone could have died due to my incompetence.

Lim Chae-Ryeong and Nam Goong-Seon could have died as well. They had yet to make a full recovery, and it was already a miracle that they were still alive.

It was only natural for me to fall apart.

“I-It’s my fault,” I said.

It was all my fault.

“It’s my fault,” I repeated.

I was Raymond Bolt's murderer.

I was sure everyone thought that way.

“Mr. Lee Ki-Young, can I come in?”

I heard a voice outside my room, but of course, I didn’t answer because I wasn’t in my right mind right now.

The figure who entered was none other than Will, but I didn’t greet him.

‘I obviously have nowhere else to go.’

Where would Woo Hyo-Yeol’s party and I go?

Harizel had been completely erased from the map, and the party house was destroyed as well. We had no other choice but to come here because Lim Chae-Ryeong was dying, and Nam Goong-Seon had already reached her limits.

What was interesting was that Woo Hyo-Yeol was the one who brought us here.

The party was in such a bad state that Woo Hyo-Yeol bowed toward William, even though he never really liked the latter.

“Are you okay?” William asked.

‘Do I look okay? Would you be okay if you were in my situation? I lost my grandfather.’

“Mr. Lee Ki-Young…” William mumbled.

“

Ah…

M-Mr. William… I’m sorry. I-I didn’t know you were here,” I answered.

I noticed William belatedly, so I quickly bowed my head.

My voice was hoarse because I had been crying a lot.

I hadn't realized it yet, but I was in a horrible state.

My eyes were swollen, I looked messy, and my lips and skin were. I hadn't eaten nor drank any water for quite a while now, after all.

William obviously looked worried. I was sure his heart shattered when I pretended to be okay. Forcing myself to stay strong probably stirred something inside him.

“I-I’m sorry. J-Just a moment…” I stuttered.

I tried to greet him by quickly standing up, but…

“No, it’s fine, Mr. Lee Ki-Young. You don’t have to get up,” William said.

“But—”

“I told you to treat this place like your home. You don’t need to stand up just because I’m here,” William interrupted me.

“...”

“I want you to be comfortable… rather than greeting me just for the sake of being polite,” William added.

“I-I don’t know what to say… I-It’s just…”

“You don’t have to say anything. At least… not now,” William said.

Our Will was aware that awkward comfort would only aggravate my pain.

His actions were kind of different from Jung Ha-Yan, who had been constantly comforting me. I couldn’t say whose actions were correct, but I had a feeling that he had experienced something similar before.

Simply replacing the flowers in the vase or cleaning the room quietly while keeping a certain distance was the epitome of sincerity.

In the end, when a silence that wasn’t awkward filled the room, he spoke as if there was nothing wrong. Of course, he didn't even look my way.

“Miss Lim Chae-Ryeong is recovering faster than I thought.”

“

Ah…

I-I’m glad,” I answered.

“She's even training now. Miss Nam Goong-Seon is also focusing on her rehabilitation training. I don’t think it’ll take her a long time to return to normal as well,” William added.

“I’m really… really glad,” I said.

“...”

“...”

“Don’t you want to meet them?” William asked.

“Pardon?”

“If you’d like—”

“N-No. I’m okay for now…” I interrupted him.

What right do I have to see them?

Flower Ki-Young became a coward and remained quiet, not giving him an answer.

‘They might blame me for it.’

It was the common way of describing a broken heart.

I wasn’t as bad as Kim Hyun-Sung during the 27th Legion summoning incident, but I was cowering. This was a common sight among adventurers who had unfortunately lost their comrades or those forced to retire after an accident.

William had to have seen plenty of this sight as well, and I believed that was why he looked so worried about me.

He hoped time would heal everything, but…

‘Time might not be able to heal me.’

This was obviously what I thought.

“I-I…” William stuttered.

“...”

“So…” William hesitated.

“...” “Mr. Lee Ki-Young,” William said.

“

Huh?

Y-Yes…” I answered.

“You don’t have to push yourself. If…” William paused.

“...”

“If you don’t mind… the Flower and Fertility Familia can look after you. You don’t have to go to the front lines or lead the party,” William offered.

“

Ah…

”

“There are many things you can do for Rohen… even as a rearguard,” William added.

“...”

“You don’t… need to be in this kind of pain,” he said.

“...”

It was a sweet offer for the tender-hearted Flower Ki-Young.

‘I no longer have to fight, nor do I need to be in pain anymore.’

I no longer needed to be scared, either, but something was bothering me.

“M-Mr. Woo Hyo-Yeol…” I said.

“He hasn’t come back yet,” William replied.

“I-I see.”

“...”

“So… he left,” I mumbled.

“...”

“I-It’s to be expected. It’d be strange… for him to keep leading the party,” I said.

It was better to pretend like I was relieved.

If Woo Hyo-Yeol decided to return, I would probably have to return to the battlefield as well.

𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

I would probably lose someone important again.

‘But he’s going to come back—I'm a hundred percent sure of that.’

I went through all this trouble to film a drama about Woo Hyo-Yeol’s party growing stronger, so of course, he had to come back.

I wasn’t sure what he was up to, but I was sure he had many questions about me.

He was clearly filming a mystery drama all by himself while asking about the word "father" that the angels had murmured toward me. He definitely wanted to know why I knew Thronus’ sword technique and if I had any connections with this incident.

I was acting sad to prevent him from asking those questions.

‘There’s no way he'll just leave.’

I was sure he’d come back after organizing his thoughts.

I was certain of that, as I knew that he was more attached to the party than he could even imagine.

“This is the application form that you need to fill up to join the familia,” William offered.

“...”

“You actually don’t need an application form… but I simplified your role and the tasks you’ll be taking… so once you’ve calmed down, I suggest you take a look at it,” William explained.

“Okay. I-I’m grateful for your consideration,” I said.

“I hope you don’t think of this as just a consideration. In difficult times, family members ought to help each other out,” William said.

'You’re a warm-hearted child.'

“And…” William paused.

“Yes?”

“It’s not your fault, Mr. Lee Ki-Young,” William continued.

“...”

“I… wanted to tell you that,” William said.

“...”

After a long silence, William left the room.

The application form and some food were sitting on the table.

‘Maybe…’

'Maybe this is the right choice. I might not have to be in pain anymore If I go with this.'

“...”

“...”

Just as I had that thought—

Bam!

The door was kicked open, and then I heard a familiar voice.

“You…” Woo Hyo-Yeol said.

“...”

“How long are you going to stay cooped up in here?” Woo Hyo-Yeol questioned.

“...”

“Lee Ki-Young."