As his hazy consciousness drifted back to the surface, his eyelids fluttered open to reveal an unfamiliar ceiling.
"Where is this...?"
He shook his groggy head a few times to clear the fog, and the nightmarish reality finally came rushing back—
"Laila!"
Somni shot upright in bed, frantic to confirm the safety of the girl he had risked the last shreds of his pride to protect.
Stark white sheets on the mattress, and the sharp, distinctive sting of disinfectant in the air. Was this an infirmary?
"Hey, you bastard! What nerve do you have, waking up and screaming Lady Laila's name?!"
With a cold, piercing glare, a handsome brown-haired youth grabbed Somni by the collar. In a sense, this boy was famous enough that Somni couldn't even begin to compare. Roman Heinemann—one of the superhumans blessed with the Spear King Gift.
He possessed an overwhelming caliber of talent that put him in an entirely different league from Somni.
"That's right! I'm the only one allowed to call for Big Sister!"
A girl's furious shriek cut through the room. Somni turned toward the sound and saw a girl with a blonde bob cut glaring daggers at him. And standing right beside her was—
"I see... You're safe..."
Standing next to the bob-haired girl with a gentle smile on her face was a maiden with long, wavy blonde hair—Laila Helner.
Thank goodness. If she was unharmed, then sacrificing his left arm had been worth it. In a way, his sacrifice had been rewarded.
"Wait... My left arm?"
His severed left arm was completely intact, without a single scratch. Had that all been a waking dream? No, it had felt far too real. It had undeniably happened. Nine times out of ten, this was thanks to the Tower of Babel's restorative technology. In fact, looking closely, a faint bruise lingered right along the line where it had been sheared off.
For now, assessing the situation took priority.
"What happened to us?"
Laila shook her head softly.
"I found myself lying here when I came to as well. Right, Lumine?"
"Yeah! Exactly, Big Sister!"
The bob-haired girl turned to Laila with a bright, innocent smile and nodded enthusiastically.
"That damn bee bastard... Next time I see him, I'm gonna tear him apart!"
His face twisted with hatred, Roman slammed his right fist into his open left palm.
"Hey, Big Sister... What about that guy?"
Lumine fidgeted with her intertwined fingers and peered up at Laila through her lashes.
"Kai is fine. He came by to see me shortly before you two woke up."
Laila answered with a smile radiant with unadulterated joy. As Lumine let out a visible sigh of relief, Laila's smile deepened with affectionate amusement.
"H-Hmph! It's not like I was worried about a guy like him or anything!"
Catching on to Laila's knowing look, Lumine turned away petulantly, planting both hands on her hips as she yelled.
"Yes, yes, I know."
As if soothing a small child, Laila merely nodded and stroked her head with a warm, gentle smile.
"I-It's the truth!"
Lumine protested, her cheeks flushing bright red. I see, so she knows Kai Heinemann too. If Somni remembered correctly, Kai hailed from the Fortress City of Lamoor. That meant the Spear King was probably an old acquaintance of his as well.
"Laila, what happened to Egg's body?"
Even if only his head remained, Somni wanted to return his remains to his parents. He would stand before the corpse, explain everything to them, and beg for their forgiveness. Somni genuinely felt that this was his duty and burden for dragging Egg into danger in the first place.
Laila furrowed her brow and tilted her head in bewilderment.
"His body? Egg isn't dead."
She spoke the impossible so matter-of-factly. Egg had been decapitated right in front of him. Somni had witnessed it clearly with his own eyes. There was no question that he had died.
"No, I distinctly saw—"
Just as the words left his mouth, the door burst open.
"I brought food!"
A solidly built, black-haired youth stepped into the room, holding a cloth sack in his right hand. The moment Somni laid eyes on him—
"E-E-Egg?!"
Somni jumped to his feet, pointing a trembling finger as a shrill, hysterical screech tore from his throat. And understandably so. Egg was standing right there, perfectly whole and unharmed.
"Hm? Whatcha talkin' about?"
"Ha! Apparently you kicked the bucket."
The Spear King—Roman—tossed the remark toward Egg in a mocking drawl.
"That's harsh. I ain't dead, you know."
As Egg pouted in protest, Somni stumbled over to him on unsteady legs.
"..."
He began frantically patting down Egg's entire body.
"W-What gives?! Somni, you're seriously creeping me out!"
Looking at Egg's deeply unnerved grimace, Somni felt a wave of relief so overwhelming that it seemed to drain the despair straight out of his pores. His legs gave out, and he collapsed onto the floor, bursting into helpless laughter.