NOVEL WEB Chapter 227
“Warning: This ending is for the Amta and Sun-ae path.”
If you don’t like that genre, please be cautious while reading.
If Blanca chose to be with Minho instead of Lapiz…
– – – – –
Sometimes I wonder if I could have lived much more comfortably if I had accepted Lapiz’s proposal at that time.
I don’t regret my choice to be with Minho. Every moment with him was stunningly precious to me.
But… I just think about it occasionally, wishing I could have lived more easily.
Of course, even if I could go back now, I would choose to be with him again.
Today too, it seemed he pushed himself to his limits, as he fell asleep shortly after lying down on the bed.
He seemed to be overexerting himself lately, and I worried he might actually wear himself out.
I understood he was putting his heart into preparing a big strike against Heros Company, but I wished he would realize that his health was more important than that.
And that there was a woman who cherished him more than anyone else.
“You did well today, Minho.”
Even though he was deep asleep and couldn’t hear me, I wanted to say it to him since it didn’t matter anyway.
He deserved to hear such words.
His peaceful face showed no trace of the worries he had during the day. How wonderful it would be if he could wear such a carefree expression every day.
Though such a day might be a distant future, I hoped sincerely that one day he could spend every day happily.
That there would come a day when he wouldn’t have to worry about anything… and could look only at me.
With that wish in mind, I lightly kissed his cheek and turned my consciousness toward the slimes scattered around our home.
Someone had to keep watch to see if any intruders showed up.
– – – – –
To summarize the last three years spent with Minho in one word: ‘eventful.’
It was perhaps even more extreme than the days spent under the Liberators, especially for Minho.
Unlike me, who had nothing to lose but my body and some friends, he had a lot to lose.
His family, the friends around him, those kinds of things.
Ah, don’t get me wrong. Nobody died or got wrecked.
No matter how reckless Heros Company got, they wouldn’t touch the Academy students, including Ageha, Lapiz, Yeonhwa, and Jinhyeon.
If they did, they’d regret it because they had some serious backing, and even the reckless Heros Company wouldn’t dare cross students wearing their name.
And Minho was one of those well-known students who had made significant contributions to taking down Arman.
But just because they didn’t die doesn’t mean the people around Minho didn’t suffer seriously. Watching that took a toll on him too.
Maybe if I hadn’t been around, something in his heart would have gotten twisted.
Luckily, he held on by periodically meeting with friends, with me right next to him, helping his mental state, feeding him vital information, and trying to keep him from breaking down.
You should have seen how pale he got when he heard that he was a reader of his own protagonist novel.
Thanks to that, or because of that, he went through a bit of depression for a while, but it seemed he accepted things eventually while thinking about multi-universe theories.
Other than that, while passing along information, my true nature got revealed, and he accidentally found out I used to be a guy…
To my surprise, he told me he would stay with me even after knowing everything.
Because he loved me. That’s what he said.
…If I hadn’t heard that from his face, I wouldn’t have fallen so hard for him.
As I was absentmindedly waiting on the balcony, lost in thought amidst the morning mist, Minho soon appeared, jumping over the railing.
“You said you’d be here soon, so why did it take so long?”
“Well, all the stuff you asked me to buy from the nearby convenience store was sold out. I ended up wandering around trying to find it and lost track of time. Sorry, Blanca.”
He didn’t seem especially sorry, and it was clear he was trying to dodge it with a charming smile, but I decided to let it slide this time.
He probably did something weird again. But what can I do? I can’t scold someone who’s working hard.
Whatever it is, it’s still real that he brought back hot dogs, so I accepted them and told him to just find a suitable substitute next time.
“Don’t go wandering around trying to get me stuff, you might get caught.”
“Oh please, you’re the only one who would get caught. Where’s the tail for me to be caught by?”
It might have been a joke on his part, but it wasn’t a pleasant thing to hear, so I waved my tail and tried to smack his legs.
However, he didn’t even budge, avoiding me effortlessly, so I let go of my worry about getting tracked.
“Mmh…”
I didn’t want to take the hot dog out of my mouth, so I held it there and wrapped my tail around him, glaring at him. He quickly raised his arms in surrender and brought his legs closer.
Stinger, this guy.
I might have hit his legs a bit hard, but he seemed more than trained enough to not mind a little sting.
While I didn’t seriously intend to take him down, I decided to call it a day here… But it seemed he had become considerably stronger, both physically and mentally.
Watching Minho nibble convenience store food made me want to learn how to cook as well, so I let him know my thoughts.
“Don’t you miss home-cooked meals?”
“I do want to eat them, but I don’t have time. If I want something warm, I can just go to a restaurant.”
“But you said you need to save money to gather funds for the activities over the last month?”
“…Microwaving it is an option too.”
With our little banter, I thought I really should learn to cook.
It would be tough to learn from someone else, so I might just have to go the self-taught route through online videos.
But thinking about it wouldn’t give me a real answer, so I ended up sucking down the stick along with the hot dog and even digested the stick through the slime.
That wooden stick could be converted into nutrients somehow.
Minho, every time he saw me doing that, would complain that it felt weird, asking if I couldn’t just throw it away like a normal person—but hey, who was it that told him to save money?
“That’s one thing, but you remember we’re meeting the others today, right?”
“Who’s worried about whom? You were late last time because you overslept.”
Why is he acting so defiant today?
A flicker of annoyance crossed my mind, but considering he was busy running around to get hot dogs for me, I decided to let it go this time.
Next time he acts up, I’ll have to properly punish him.
– – –
Although it was just three weeks since we last met, the kids reacted as if they hadn’t seen family for ten years.
They told Minho he looked like he aged ten years, asked me why I looked so skinny, and that my eyes had dark circles.
Listening to them, it felt less like meeting friends and more like a family reuniting with someone who had been tortured.
“I just carried on like normal.”
As Minho tried to mumble through that, the kids looked at me like they couldn’t believe it, but honestly, nothing extraordinary had happened, so I had no words to say.
“Seriously, shockingly enough.”
“No way?! You look like you haven’t eaten in a week!!”
“Right, Blanca. It’s all your fault. You didn’t take good care of him. That’s a grave sin, punishable by death.”
It was especially Seolhwa and Ageha who caused a ruckus…
But that was just because they still cared a lot about Minho.
All I could do was to ask them to understand that the situation was tough, making it hard to take care of him properly.
“I know it’s a realistic problem, but still…”
“Still, it’s disappointing. If it were me, I would’ve stuffed him with food every day until he burst.”
Even though I had fallen behind in the heroine competition, I felt guilty knowing they still held onto feelings for Minho.
Is that what they mean when they say ‘out with the old, in with the new’?
“I know you’re trying to do something good, but don’t overdo it. Blanca keeps saying that, but how about taking care of yourself a bit too?”
“I agree with that. I don’t want to see someone chasing justice collapse because they overlook their own health.”
The duo was just worried about Minho.
“Honestly, both Minho and Blanca are just suffering. One’s sticking his head into things he doesn’t need to, and the other’s just following around…”
Lapiz clicked her tongue but also smiled a bit, asking Minho if he got the ring properly.
“…What ring?”
Not understanding what she meant, I looked at Minho, who was showing an unusually flustered expression as he stared back at Lapiz.
“Huh? What’s with that reaction? Don’t tell me… you haven’t talked about it yet?”
Watching that, Lapiz chuckled and gave his back a playful pat.
“I was trying to keep it a secret…! It’s, um, not what you think, Blanca. Ugh, what’s the use of hiding it? It’s a ring for you, Blanca.”
Minho shifted his gaze between Lapiz and me and then seemed to make some kind of decision, closing his eyes tight before looking straight at me, telling me just like that.
That it’s mine.
After giving me that cold look just a moment ago, saying it was my ring left me puzzled, and I asked what on earth that meant.
Then he muttered that it looked silly but dropped to one knee and handed me a box containing the ring.
“It’s an engagement ring.”