“I don’t know. But judging by the sound of footsteps, it’s probably right.”

“Hmm, why, uh, uhh?”

After answering the whispering voice and focusing all my senses on Dulahan’s footsteps, suddenly a strange sound was heard.

If you scratched glass with your fingernails, would it sound like this? A sound close to tinnitus roughly scratched the inside of my head, and all the candles in the room lit up at once.

“Aaaaaaaaah!”

At the same time, Myung Hak started screaming. The loud sound ringing in my ears right next to me made me nauseous.

Why? I had questions, but couldn’t find answers. Something hazy fluttered between the candlelight. The strange ringing settled in my ears. A chill brushed my back.

“Mom, Mom? Myung Yun, Myung Yun! Ah, please. God. God, oh God…”

Why so suddenly when everything was fine…?

While I was bewildered, the ringing in my ears spoke to me.

-Why are you unaffected?

The moment I felt a sense of déjà vu in this situation, all sounds ceased.

The surroundings sank into silence. The sound of wind was cold.

A man who had fainted with his eyes rolled back. Candles that had all gone out as if they were never lit, and with a creaking sound of an old door opening…

“…!”

The Black Knight.

The Black Knight was right in front of my eyes.

A knight wearing armor consumed by pitch-black death energy, holding a helmet glowing with a bright red light. He was staring at me intently, holding a jet-black sword in his hand.

I could no longer hear the clanking sound. Because that monster had stopped in front of me.

“Ha, haha…”

Someone once said that when facing death, a moment feels like an eternity. It felt like every sense in my body was awakening. Dulahan raised his arm. At the same time, the sword rose.

I’m going to die. I will die by that sword.

Will it hurt? It probably will hurt a lot. The cut wound will be hot like a burn, and that death surrounding Dulahan will now consume me.

From the beginning, hoping for survival in an S-rank gate didn’t make sense. I, I…

I don’t want to die.

“Hey, miss! Get out of the way!”

My body moved reflexively.

Huk, huk. Breathing heavily, I looked at where I had just been standing and saw a sword mark. Dulahan, who had lightly pulled out the deeply embedded sword, turned his head to look at me again.

“Found a survivor! In a standoff with Dulahan! I see some ghosts too, so we need support from the mental and light attributes… Hey, you! If you’re not a hunter, come this way immediately…”

The voice that had awakened my senses shouted again. But I couldn’t say anything.

The sensation dominating me felt unfamiliar. At the same time, it was familiar.

When I raised my head, Dulahan was still there. A pitiful knight who no longer moved, with his gaze fixed on me.

How dare you try to attack me. But even that angel of death must be bound by the grudges of this castle.

Dulahan approached me with slow steps. A crooked smile formed at the corner of his mouth.

“You, why didn’t you dodge…”

I will not die. Because I must not die here.

So I…

“Judgment.”

A low voice was heard. Along with it, a light that burned my vision white flashed.

Lightning so powerful it could burn even death energy struck inside the castle.

Beyond the light, a tall figure walked steadily.

With just one lightning strike, Dulahan was already on his knees, smoking, but the approaching figure didn’t seem to intend to end it there.

“I used it in a hurry, but… Hmm.”

But something was strange. The moment the lightning struck, that monster stood in front of me as if to shield me. As if to protect me. When the light flashed, the red glow of the helmet turned blue.

Cheon Shin Woo, looking at the pile of armor, spoke in an indifferent voice. A ringing echoed in my ears. I felt nauseous.

“You deliberately took the hit, huh. Shin, …are you okay?”

The man who approached, no, Cheon Shin Woo, reached out his hand to me. As if telling me to grab it and stand up. I tried to grab his hand but ended up slipping and falling.

My whole body went limp. Was it the relief of surviving? I couldn’t muster any strength. Ha, haha. The laughter that escaped didn’t sound like my voice.

Cheon Shin Woo frowned as he looked at me. Why so displeased? Using that handsome face badly.

My vision blurred. As I tried to stand up again, I touched my nose in embarrassment and was startled. A moist sensation was flowing along my hand.

“Uh, uhh?”

“…”

Cheon Shin Woo’s expression turned to shock.

A buzzing ringing sounded in my ears. It seems like he’s saying something, but I can’t hear. What on earth are you saying?

Just as I was wondering, something rose in my throat.

Cough. Clots of blood covered my hands.

“Ah…”

No. If I lose consciousness here…

“…!”

My vision went dark.

‘Mom! ██ ate my ice cream again!’

‘Sigh. Not a single quiet day. Can’t your younger sibling eat some ice cream? ██, you’re the older one, you should be a bit more understanding.’

‘Damn it, hey ███. If you eat my ice cream again, you’re dead.’

Beyond the hazy memories, there was a warm time.

We fought a lot and cried a lot, but I thought they would always be on my side, my kind family.

Now I can’t remember their names or even their faces, but sometimes I dream.

My older brother who often took care of me in place of our busy parents. My brother who didn’t abandon young me even after our parents died.

‘I hate you, elder brother!’

‘You shouldn’t make that expression if you can help it. It’s ugly.’

‘I don’t like you, elder brother!’

‘Yeah, yeah.’

The voice that’s now faint and crumbling.

The caressing hand was affectionate. My brother, who teased me every day saying I was ugly but always bought two ice creams, would smack my head but then gently stroke it.

Do I miss it?

I don’t know. How could I miss those I can’t even remember?

I was missing some of my past memories. Not only my memories from the other world, but also my memories up to age 7 in the original world were a mess.

Even the fragments of memories that remained had disappeared without a trace as I lived.

“Sleep more.”

A gentle voice rang in my ear. The soft and calm voice soon became a lullaby.

I have no family now. No friends either. No place to lean on.

I had to live in this world all alone.

What did I think when I realized that piercing loneliness?

“…Okay.”

So this is an illusion. An illusion created by me longing for my childhood.

A gentle hand stroked my head. My consciousness hazily blurred.

When I opened my eyes, I saw an unfamiliar ceiling.

It seemed like the opening of a common novel, but fortunately, it wasn’t that kind of development. The scent that enveloped my nose was pungent. It’s a hospital ceiling.

When I tried to raise my body, my head throbbed severely.

Ugh, my head. Only when my blurry vision fully returned and I could think properly did a certain sensation brush past me.

I survived.

I hurriedly checked my nose and hands. Both my nose and hands were clean. Moreover, the clothes I was wearing were white hospital gowns.

Looking around, I couldn’t see any other beds. I tried to move more, but my body just sagged like a wet rag.

As I barely raised my upper body and assessed the situation, another reality crept in.

This looks like a private room… How am I going to pay the hospital bill?

It was sad yet funny that my first thought after surviving an S-rank gate was about hospital bills, but I couldn’t just laugh it off. I haven’t received my paycheck yet…

Should I break into my savings? Do they consider gate syncs that occur on guild premises as work-related industrial accidents?

As I was lost in my own thoughts, a voice called out to me.

“Oh? Patient Park Ha Young, are you awake? Just a moment. I’ll call the Guild Master for you.”

“Pardon?”

“Please wait a moment!”

The person who seemed to be a nurse left as soon as they entered.

Instead of calling for a guardian, they’re calling the Guild Master? What does this mean? Before I could even express my confusion, the nurse returned. And with them was Cheon Shin Woo, the Guild Master of Cheonrang.

“Currently, Guild Master is listed as Patient Park Ha Young’s guardian. There’s nothing unusual about your current condition, and it seems you can be discharged after resting for a day or two more. Well then, have a chat!”

“Excuse me…”

The person presumed to be a nurse spoke cheerfully and quickly disappeared again. I didn’t even have a chance to ask anything. My hand hanging in the air felt awkward.

As I was bewildered, Cheon Shin Woo spoke in a low voice.

“You look like you have a lot of questions.”

“Pardon?”

“The person who just left, he’s actually a doctor. He said you’re fine, so your body should be okay.”

“Uh… Thank you?”

What kind of situation is this? The person just now, not a nurse but a doctor. Even so, can they tell the condition just by looking?

My overloaded brain couldn’t come to a proper conclusion. Only after a moment did reality start to sink in. I gaped at Cheon Shin Woo.

“Since you don’t have a guardian, I’ve been listed as your guardian for now. Is that okay?”

“What?”

“Hmm, maybe not…”

“Um…”

I dare say, my current appearance must look quite dumbfounded and stupid. Despite my reaction, Cheon Shin Woo maintained a consistently serious attitude.

He was even pondering something in front of me!

After being flustered for a while, I finally recalled that Cheon Shin Woo was the last person I saw in the gate.

Did he clear the gate?

As I was carefully organizing the situation and thinking, Cheon Shin Woo spoke again.

“The hospital bills will be paid by the guild. It’s a guild-affiliated hospital to begin with.”

“…I’m sorry, but may I ask what’s going on?”

“Ah.”

It’s better to ask about things you don’t know. At my question, Cheon Shin Woo let out a short sigh and touched the corner of his mouth.

After a brief murmur that he should start explaining from there, he began to summarize the situation.

“A gate sync occurred within the guild premises. It’s a situation that shouldn’t have happened originally… 30 people were caught up in it. 13 non-combat awakened were also involved, and while there weren’t many injuries, the problem is that there were three fatalities. Anyway, since it’s a situation that shouldn’t have happened under normal circumstances, we moved everyone to the guild’s affiliated hospital for examination and…”