I Have A Damn Family Again - Chapter 211

Chapter 211: Those Who Rage (11)

Chirp— Chirp—

-Rustle.

The chirping of sparrows and the rustling of sheets heralded the arrival of morning.

Harnie stirred, her body wriggling beneath the covers. Sleep clung to her, her eyes refusing to open.

She raised a hand, rubbing her sleepy eyes, and yawned softly.

“Mmm…”

Morning had arrived.

It was a typical morning.

Except… she felt incredibly refreshed.

As if she had slept soundly for the first time in a long time.

Why?

Had something changed? Had she done something differently?

She brushed against something warm and soft in the bed, and a question arose in her mind.

‘Did I sleep… naked?’

Her bare skin was pressed against something, and the realization startled her.

‘That’s impossible…’

She always slept in her clothes.

Ever since she had been threatened in her sleep, she had never removed the protective jewels she wore. They were her only defense.

There had been times when she had taken them off because they were uncomfortable, but only when she was safe, in the Plesia Trading Company’s headquarters or with Mina by her side.

Even then, she always wore her undergarments to bed.

Something felt wrong.

Trying to recall how she had fallen asleep, she cautiously opened her eyes.

And then, her body froze.

“…”

Warm…

Something firm, pressed against her…

Could it be…?

Harnie blinked rapidly, trying to clear her vision.

And then, she felt it. A warm, comforting heat radiating through her body.

She carefully pulled away, and saw it. Her naked form, and beside her, Carsein, fast asleep.

‘Oh… my…’

Had she… slept in his arms again?

And naked, no less?

She instinctively covered her mouth, her face burning.

Embarrassment flooded her, her legs twisting beneath the sheets.

And then, the memories of the previous day came rushing back, amplifying her mortification.

Carsein collapsing. The Depeshan Syndrome.

The memory of embracing him, skin to skin, following Talfon’s instructions… Her face burned even hotter.

“Mmm…”

“Gasp!”

But this wasn't the time to dwell on embarrassing memories.

He was waking up.

If Carsein woke up now, while she was still naked…

It would be a disaster.

-Rustle, rustle, rustle.

She scrambled to put on her undergarments.

And then, with lightning speed, she pulled on her dress. Just as she finished, Carsein’s eyelids fluttered open.

“Uh… Harnie?”

He sat up, his voice raspy, his movements sluggish.

He seemed exhausted, but Harnie was too preoccupied with her own embarrassment to notice.

‘I made it!’

She was dressed.

He hadn't seen anything!

She was about to breathe a sigh of relief when…

“Why are you sweating so much?”

“W-What?”

“Your face. It’s covered in sweat.”

There was something she hadn’t taken care of.

Oh no. She could feel it, the dampness on her skin.

She had dressed too quickly, and now, beads of sweat were clinging to her face.

It must have looked strange.

Carsein got out of bed and approached her.

“I-It’s nothing! Just…”

“Did something happen?”

“W-Wait… You’re too close…”

“You’re covered in sweat. What’s the problem?”

“…!”

Oh, this man.

He always did this. Approaching without warning.

It had only been a few minutes since he woke up.

No, it had only been a few minutes since she realized she had slept in the same bed as him again.

She was already mortified at the thought of having embraced him naked, and now…

‘He’s… He’s coming closer…’

-Thump, thump.

“Harnie?”

“…”

She had received countless acts of kindness, both genuine and fake. Men had offered her artificial pleasantries, fueled by their desires. Women had disguised their jealousy and envy with feigned concern.

But Carsein's consideration was different. It was genuine, a pure expression of concern.

That’s why she felt this strange sensation whenever he approached.

A nervous flutter in her chest, a warmth spreading through her body.

Was he looking at her strangely?

Could he read her thoughts?

Could he hear her heart pounding?

These worries made her feel strangely… tingly.

“It’s nothing! I-I’ll be outside!”

“Harnie? Wait…”

She rushed out of the room, closing the door behind her, and covered her face with her hands.

“What is wrong with me?”

Her flushed face.

The tingling sensation spreading through her skin.

The lingering worry that she had looked strange.

None of it would go away.

The tingling intensified, replaced by a burning heat.

Especially where she had touched Carsein.

And her heart, pounding like a drum, refused to calm down.

But there was one thought, one embarrassing truth, that she couldn’t even admit to herself.

“I’m crazy!”

Even now, she found herself wanting to return to his embrace.

***

He remembered collapsing after the duel with Talfon.

Had he failed to achieve the required Completion Rate?

Did falling asleep like that mean he had died?

These thoughts had briefly crossed his mind, but…

When he woke up, everything had been resolved.

▶ Third Agent registered. ◀

[ 3. Talfon ]

▶ Rank: A+

▶ Skills: Investigator, Peacekeeper, Combat Unit

[ Can directly investigate the Shatrain villagers. ]

[ Can maintain order within the territory, using force if necessary. ]

[ Can eliminate enemy units, effectiveness based on rank. ]

An excellent rank.

And his skills were top-tier.

▶ Episode VIII. Shatrain’s Agent cleared. ◀

▶ Achieved an outcome beyond the given choices! ◀

■ Reward

[ ??? ]

[ ??? ]

▶ Proceed to Shatrain to begin Episode IX. ◀

Now, all that remained was to return to Shatrain.

The next episode was predetermined anyway.

Having secured three Agents, the player’s next task was to respond to a series of incidents in Shatrain.

‘The problem is the randomness. I can’t predict what will happen.’

But it wasn’t entirely hopeless. Just like before, there were no choices to restrict my actions.

I could solve these problems my way. Using my own methods, my own knowledge.

…But what was she doing?

“…Gasp.”

Harnie took a sharp breath and quickly turned away.

She had been doing this lately.

Staring at him intently, and then, the moment he looked back, she would quickly avert her gaze and fall silent.

Should he ask her what was wrong?

“Harnie.”

“Y-Yes?”

“Did I do something wrong?”

That was the only explanation he could think of.

She must be acting this way because he had offended her somehow.

Harnie narrowed her eyes and turned away with a huff.

“Yes. You did something very wrong. You made me worry. Twice.”

So that was it.

He could understand her being upset about the Scorpion King incident, but this time… it seemed a bit excessive.

Whatever. He had to appease her.

“Well, thanks to you, I’m fully recovered now.”

“What?”

“You took such good care of me. I slept for an entire day, and nothing happened.”

“…”

Harnie’s expression hardened.

Wait, was that the wrong thing to say?

“So it really did work…”

“What? I can’t hear you.”

“N-Nothing!”

“You said it worked… Did you use some expensive medicine? I’ll pay you back, just tell me how much it cost.”

“It wasn’t anything like that! What are you even talking about?”

She was definitely hiding something.

“My apologies for keeping you both waiting. It took some time to gather my men.”

Talfon arrived just then.

Come to think of it… wouldn’t he know better than Harnie?

“Talfon, I have a question.”

“What is it?”

“What happened while I was unconscious?”

Frankly, I was concerned about the sudden drop in my status ailment levels after waking up.

It wasn't just from sleeping.

Something else must have affected those values.

That’s why I was asking.

What happened while I was asleep?

“Didn’t your fiancée explain?”

“Explain?”

“W-Wait a minute!”

Harnie rushed over and stood between us, separating me from Talfon.

“Th-There’s no need to explain! Everything’s fine now!”

“Hmm? That’s not true.”

“Huh…?”

“You have to explain. It’s important.”

So she was hiding something!

“N-No… It’s just… I’ll explain! So…!”

Talfon, looking annoyed, simply told him.

“Your fiancée came to me, worried because you hadn't woken up. So, I went to check on you, and you had a relapse of Depeshan Syndrome.”

“Ta-Talfon! Stop… Wait…”

“Go on, Talfon.”

Harnie was fidgeting, so I pulled her into a hug from behind.

That way, she couldn't move. Her arms were trapped.

She struggled, telling me to let her go, but I held on tight.

“D-Don’t say anything! Do you hear me?! Carsein, Carsein?!”

I had to hear his side of the story before making a judgment.

If she kept hiding it, I would feel bad.

Listening to their conversation, I pieced together the story. It was about Depeshan Syndrome and my constitution.

“So, Depeshan Syndrome has stages, and my body rejects the natural defenses against mana erosion, which is why I collapsed.”

“That’s correct. That’s also why you experienced the aftereffects. And you were about to have another relapse. But Level 3 is different.”

Talfon’s gaze shifted to Harnie.

“It rejects mana from anyone other than the person who first infused mana into you. If your fiancée hadn’t intervened, you would have relapsed.”

“Is that so?”

I finally released Harnie.

“Why didn’t you tell me? I should be thanking you.”

“You should regularly infuse him with your mana. Even a simple transfer from hand to hand will alleviate the symptoms.”

Harnie grabbed Talfon by the collar.

“Wh-What are you talking about?!”

“What? You did it, didn’t you? You already knew about this. That’s why he’s still alive.”

“No, I understand that. But… mana? Why are you talking about mana…? You said I just had to do what I did before.”

Now it was Talfon’s turn to look confused.

“Of course you infused him with your mana. You did the same thing when he first collapsed. You must have known. That’s why he’s still alive.”

-Thud.

“Oh my god.”

Harnie gasped, her face pale with shock.

“You’re saying… I did the same thing I did when he first contracted Depeshan Syndrome…?”

“That’s right. But what’s the problem? Don’t you remember what happened?”

“That day? Hmm… When I woke up, Harnie had taken the blanket and…”

Oh, wait a minute.

So that’s what happened.

That’s why Harnie had come to my room.

That’s why she was covered in sweat.

…She had undressed and gotten into bed with me again? And then she woke up and realized she was naked next to me, so she frantically put on her clothes?

“Car. Sein.”

A menacing voice echoed in my ears.

It finally clicked.

“I told you not to say anything.”

“N-No, I…?”

What am I talking about? I did.

“I specifically told you not to say anything.”

Harnie’s eyes narrowed.

That was a beautiful smile.

…But why was it so terrifying?

A chill ran down my spine.

I felt like something bad was about to happen.

I had to say something.

“Um… that’s… wasn’t entirely my fault, was it?”

“Huh?”

“Strictly speaking, I… I didn’t ask for… that…”

“…”

You idiot!

Why would you say that?!

“I told you not to say anything!”

…I’m screwed.

-Slap!

“Ow!”

The red handprint on my cheek seemed to linger longer than usual this time.

***

The carriage, followed by several horsemen, arrived in Shatrain.

It was currently Week 5 of the symposium.

In the game, I had usually managed to recruit Talfon by Week 6.

That meant I had less than two weeks left. But now, I had a comfortable three-week buffer.

More than enough time.

To investigate and solve Shatrain’s problems.

▶ Episode IX. The Internal Enemy has begun. ◀

▶ The Shatrain villagers, defying your orders, have been secretly purchasing fertilizer! ◀

▶ You can trigger the Clue and Proof event. Will you activate it now? ◀

As soon as I arrived in Shatrain, the first thing I noticed were the sacks of fertilizer. They had clearly purchased more.

‘So this is the next step.’

I had anticipated this. Dyke and the other guards couldn't control the entire village.

That’s why I needed Talfon and the Lilpet Tribe, to completely isolate Shatrain from the outside world.

In any case, I could use this fertilizer issue to increase my authority within the territory. I would have to choose the right moment.

But there was something strange about the quantity.

‘There shouldn’t be this many sacks yet…’

I was still pondering the unusual amount of fertilizer when Talfon erupted in a furious outburst.

“These idiots! What are they doing?!”

-Neigh!

“Hiya!”

There were no system messages, no choices.

But Talfon, his face contorted with rage, had stormed off on horseback. He must have smelled something.

“Harnie, let’s follow him.”

“Okay.”

There had to be a clue, a piece of information I could use.

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