“…Huk! Wh-what happened to the Jibural team?!”
[What cock? Ah… never mind. I’m too weak right now, okay? Please get me out of here…]
The daisy mumbled in a voice drained of energy. Come to think of it, it looked different from how it had been in the dungeon when it was white and luscious. The tips of its petals had turned brown, and the once vibrant leaves had withered and drooped. Though the vase where its stem was placed was filled with clean water, the daisy was gradually withering.
“Flower, don’t you remember? Our Jibural team! I should have rescued them and brought them with me… Ah! How did you get out, Flower? Oh, and me…?”
[……]
The daisy was at a loss for words as Ye-sol blinked and spoke. It had thought from the beginning that this was a strange human, but Ye-sol was the kind of irritating person who only heard what he wanted to hear.
[Ah… fine, I’ll explain.]
At this rate, it really might wither and die. The daisy explained what had happened in the dungeon in a weakened voice.
To summarize, the dungeon had completely collapsed due to some external force, and the Esper who had last had sex with Ye-sol had carried everyone out of the dungeon in one swift escape. During this, the daisy had been in danger as it couldn’t find shelter, but the tree branches had helped until the very end, allowing it to barely escape outside the dungeon.
[Kugh! Wh-what is this polluted air…!]
But unlike inside the dungeon, the air in the human world was on a different level. The center had been destroyed by monsters, and flames had risen wildly due to explosions. Outside the dungeon, only the terrible smell of burning permeated the air. Even in the midst of this, the daisy had somehow managed to survive by hiding in the crevice of Ye-sol’s chest.
[…A nurse found me when they were changing your clothes at the hospital. Satisfied?]
“Aah… so that’s what happened. Then what about the Jibural team?”
Though the daisy thought that was a sufficient explanation, Ye-sol kept asking the same thing. Momentarily irritated, the daisy trembled its petals and shouted.
[I don’t know about that either! Whether it’s Jibural or whatever, how would I know! Now that I’ve told you, please get me out of here…!]
Rattle.
While the daisy was throwing a fit, the hospital room door suddenly opened. Ye-sol quickly sat up in the bed.
“Grandfather?!”
Ye-sol shouted loudly, firmly believing that his grandfather would be the first to visit him in the hospital. However, the person who entered the room was Dr. Oh in a white coat.
“…Dr. Oh?”
“Ye-sol. I came right away when I heard you had regained consciousness.”
Dr. Oh was an old friend of his grandfather’s and an active researcher affiliated with the center’s research institute. Originally, he had been an S-class Esper who had worked alongside his grandfather in his younger days, but after his grandfather got married, he retired and had been working only at the research institute.
“Dr. Oh…”
Perhaps because of this, just seeing Dr. Oh’s face reminded Ye-sol of his grandfather, making his nose tingle.
“Our… how is my grandfather…?”
“……”
At the question asking about his grandfather, Dr. Oh briefly closed his mouth. Then he slowly approached Ye-sol and stopped. It was a bit far for a conversation.
‘Hmm…? The hospital room…’
Only then did Ye-sol realize that the structure of this place was a bit different from a regular hospital room. The white ceiling, the guiding treatment machine connected to the patch on Ye-sol’s forearm, and the shelf on the wall weren’t particularly unusual, but the center of the room was blocked by a transparent glass wall. Dr. Oh, who was on the other side, watched the confused Ye-sol with a sympathetic gaze.
“Ye-sol… Please listen carefully to what I’m about to say.”
Seeing Ye-sol flustered by the unexpected change, Dr. Oh continued in a calm tone.
“Currently, the center’s association chairman is in a very critical condition and is receiving treatment at the research institute. It’s not so dangerous that his life is greatly at risk, but he needs to take extreme rest.”
“G-grandfather? N-no… why…!”
Shocked by Dr. Oh’s words, Ye-sol trembled. His face flushed red as if he was about to burst into tears.
“Ye-sol. Calm down. As you know… the chairman has been an EX-class guide whose abilities couldn’t be evaluated from the beginning. The chairman used all his abilities to destroy the dungeon in order to save you, who had entered it.”
“Huuk…! S-stupid grandfather! I could have done it on my own…!”
Finally, Ye-sol burst into tears like a child. Dr. Oh, unable to comfort him by stroking him due to the transparent glass wall, watched Ye-sol with sympathetic eyes. Afterward, Dr. Oh also detailed his grandfather’s current condition. Although he hadn’t regained consciousness yet, Dr. Oh encouraged him by saying that using the cutting-edge equipment made by the research institute, both his body and mind would fully recover within a few months.
“Huuk… Still, that’s really fortunate. Grandfather… hing…”
“Ye-sol.”
“Huup, hup… yeeees…”
Dr. Oh, who had waited for Ye-sol to calm down, called him in a gentle voice. After wiping away his tears and snot with his hands, Ye-sol sniffled and raised his head, and Dr. Oh sighed softly and said.
“In this situation… it’s awkward to say this, but since the media is already buzzing about this dungeon incident, I think it’s better to inform you in advance.”
“What…?”
Ye-sol paid close attention to Dr. Oh’s words. It seemed like he was about to say something very important.
“This dungeon was destroyed, and hundreds of casualties occurred. Many buildings were also destroyed… Starting with the center’s headquarters, the damage was severe…”
He conveyed that because of this, the damage to the Esper and Guide Association was even greater, and they received government assistance for financial support. This was not a decision made solely by Dr. Oh, but one of the disaster guidelines established long ago by his grandfather, the center’s association chairman, he explained.
Ye-sol didn’t fully understand about half of what Dr. Oh was saying, but he interpreted it to mean that many people had died and been injured, and that the buildings had been completely destroyed, causing the government to burden his grandfather with a lot of debt.
“Uh… what do we do now…?”
Having become a debtor overnight, Ye-sol asked with drooping eyes.
“So, about that…”
Dr. Oh, who paused for a moment seeing Ye-sol comprehending the situation better than expected, spoke with a very serious face.
“Would you be able to work with the Jibural team from now on, Ye-sol?”
Sparkle.
As soon as he received the proposal, Ye-sol’s eyes gleamed brightly.
“Still, it’s a relief. That grandfather is safe. I’d like to go see him right away if I could, but they say I can’t because I’m in isolation after being in the dungeon for too long. And grandfather’s condition isn’t good, so it’s not possible right now… If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have greeted grandfather like that. I should have at least said I love him… Huup, hic… what do I do. I’m so saaad…”
[……]
After Dr. Oh left, Ye-sol held onto the daisy in the vase and poured out his grievances. The daisy, now completely drained of energy and drooping, had to listen to Ye-sol’s story even though it didn’t want to.
“Huh? Flower. What’s wrong? Should I change the water…?”
Completely forgetting what the daisy had said, Ye-sol looked puzzled and searched for a water bottle. Fortunately, the refrigerator was right next to him, so he could easily take out water.
[W-wait…!]
“Hmm?”
As Ye-sol was about to change the water in the vase, the daisy urgently shouted.
[I’m… I’m also… saaad…]
“Huh?”
Ye-sol opened his eyes wide when the daisy suddenly (at least that’s how Ye-sol perceived it) expressed emotion.
“Why…! Why are you sad! Huuk… don’t be sad, Flower…!”
[……]
As Ye-sol shouted with a helpless expression, the daisy was dumbfounded, but right now, its life was more important than anything.
[Right now, not that… do you have anything sweet and fizzy…? Human drinking water is too… bland, so I don’t have any energy at all….]
“Huk, really?!”
Ye-sol was surprised and quickly put away the water bottle and looked in the refrigerator. Something immediately caught his eye.
“This would be good!”
Ye-sol took out a can of cola and opened the lid.
[Aak! What’s that impure color! Put it away!]
“Hmm? You don’t like this? Wait a moment.”
When the daisy was terrified, Ye-sol, as if to say not to worry, took out another can from the refrigerator. This time it was a soda. When he opened the lid and poured it directly into the vase, the daisy trembled at the sparkling carbonation.
