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* * *
Samin chattered about many things while facing Doun, who was lying using his arm as a pillow.
“Wouldn’t it be nice if we occasionally duel like today? Even though I lost, seeing you give out so many points like this, I’m starting to think it’s more profitable than expected.”
It was a one-time duel, and since Samin hadn’t been seriously hurt, it was awkward to nag him. At most, his hunter clothes had been slightly burned, so there was nothing to find fault with. But Samin seemed to have developed a taste for it more than expected.
“Once is enough, why do it again? Where’s the guarantee you’ll give this much next time too? And the reason I just laughed it off today was because you weren’t seriously hurt.”
Doun had no choice but to immediately express his reluctance. He was already concerned about the hand-to-hand combat where he hit Samin’s back and forearms these days, so there was no way he could welcome duel floors where he could skillfully beat him to near death.
“When I look at hyung and me at times like this, I sometimes think we have different tolerances for acceptable injury sizes, you know? Honestly, I think injuries like severed arms and legs or ones that heal with potions are fine, you know? Getting smashed feels like just a scratch to me.”
“What did you say?”
Doun was horrified. He had felt that there were times when he had strangely mismatched conversations with Samin during conquests. However, he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was bothering him, so he had buried it. But it seemed like he might have found a clue to the solution at an unexpected timing.
“Just thinking about how you completely broke your arm after receiving mana sharing from me last time makes me feel like I’ll have nightmares. If you do that again next time, I won’t share mana with you. This is real.”
Samin’s expression became subtle. Honestly, the way Doun just brushed it off back then was suspicious. Since he only said it was fine and didn’t reveal his inner thoughts, he had no choice but to believe him without further questioning. But seeing him say he might have nightmares, it seemed he had been blaming himself.
‘Anyway, Lee Doun, he really makes me want to go learn mind-reading skills somewhere, not saying anything again…!’
Who could he blame? It was his own fault for not being more perceptive. Samin swallowed his resentment while blaming his own shortcomings and widened his eyes.
“Should we have a serious discussion this time? Making judgments according to each situation is fine once or twice, but we need to go to the 56th floor now. How far do you hate me getting hurt, hyung?”
“Like that time – coughing up blood, having your side blown away, and arms and legs dangling limply is absolutely not allowed.”
The answer came quickly as if there was no room for consideration. The range of injuries Doun could tolerate was narrower than expected. He wasn’t someone who didn’t know that moving without such injuries while conquering high floors was nonsensical in itself, yet he would set such conditions.
“I object! That level heals right up if I get treated by a healer and drink potions. Coughing up blood is honestly just like a light cough, isn’t it?”
“What do you think the human body is?”
Doun raised his voice while widening his large eyes. No matter how much potions could heal without scars, people died more easily than expected. Knowing this fact better than anyone, Doun didn’t want to easily let it slide. But Samin also showed no signs of backing down easily.
“Hyung. We’re not a large guild but a small guild with only thirteen people including you. Among them, there are only six attack-type hunters including you and me.”
“So?”
“Do you think conquest will proceed properly if we give up conquest and go to the waiting room every time a dealer gets their arm smashed while attacking?”
When he calmed his excitement and listened to Samin’s explanation, it made sense again. Doun, who had belonged to conquest teams of over twenty people, often couldn’t adapt to Yeoun’s small-scale operations.
He had been surprised to learn that they celebrated all guild members’ birthdays together, but even when resting and maintaining during conquests, he had often felt uncomfortable due to the too-small number of people.
“But I still hate seeing you get hurt, so what should I do?”
“Part of why I requested the duel was to show that I have enough ability to take good care of my own body even without hyung protecting me. Was it insufficient?”
It seemed like his doubts were finally being somewhat resolved. He had been puzzled about why he suddenly suggested a duel, but there had been such an intention.
“But when you get hurt, it feels like my fault…”
“Wait!”
Samin quickly interrupted, taking advantage of Doun’s momentum being deflated.
“I’m going to properly address this. Hyung, let’s say we go to the tower to conquer and guild members get seriously hurt. But if hyung blames himself there saying he’s sorry because they got hurt due to his inadequacy, do you think they’ll be grateful to hyung?”
“Huh?”
“It’s true that our guild members really like hyung and are fans. But they have pride too. I might be fine since I’m someone who would give you my liver and gallbladder, but they might feel bad someday if hyung just keeps blaming himself like that.”
Doun felt like he’d been hit in the back of the head.
“From hyung’s perspective, they might be kids you want to protect, but they do their best when conquering. They’re the type who hate being carried by others too.”
He couldn’t easily continue speaking. He had just wanted to protect precious people from getting hurt, but it seemed he still hadn’t escaped the fixed notion that he had to take responsibility for everything alone.
“I’m not saying you have to accommodate everything unconditionally. I’m asking you to understand that I and all the other guild members are people who clearly recognize the risk burden and conquer, and we’re definitely not people who would blame others just because we got a little injured.”
“…Yeah.”
“How far do you think I can get hurt before I can’t conquer anymore, from hyung’s perspective?”
Samin asked carefully. Though it was awkward, it was a problem they had to confront once if they were going to continue conquering. He knew well that if they covered it up and patched it with temporary measures, it might explode big someday.
“I…”
Doun just moved his lips blankly while lost in thought. He had only vaguely thought that he didn’t like Samin getting hurt at all, but had never considered the size of injuries individuals had to bear in small conquest teams or various other factors.
“I hate seeing you bleed a lot. Like last time when your side got like that… I can’t stand seeing blood flowing like that.”
Who would like blood? Especially blood shed by someone they liked. When Doun gave a slightly more specific answer, Samin raised his arm.
“Is it okay if just my arm breaks and dangles limply like this? Ah, the prerequisite for all injuries is that a healer is ready to rush over and treat immediately after the injury. A situation where I can drink a potion right away if needed.”
He carefully added conditions in case Doun might feel uncomfortable. Doun, who was lost in thought for a moment at Samin’s explanation, nodded.
‘As Samin said, hunters getting hurt during conquest is daily life, but if I nitpick about each of these things, we might only be able to go around low floors.’
His desire to personally go see the 56th floor and the floors beyond it still hadn’t changed. Recently, he had also become curious about the existence that created the tower.
He was curious about why they continued to provide such interest-oriented functions, and wanted to know for what reason they saved all videos. Going further, he wanted to ask about the reason for the tower’s existence.
“Hmm. If someone among the conquest team members bled a lot but said they were fine after treatment and wanted to continue conquest, would hyung be willing to continue?”
Samin asked meticulously to establish a clear action policy for how he would approach battles in the future.
“That’s something the expedition leader, you, should decide and we should follow…”
“What’s so special about being expedition leader? When hyung is the main dealer, if hyung says you can’t conquer, will conquest proceed? We’d have to fold. There’s no other choice.”
“Is… is that so?”
Doun tilted his head and blinked. Then Samin nodded while making eye contact as if giving him confidence. Then Doun, who gained a little confidence, muttered.
“Then as long as there’s not a lot of blood… really not a lot of blood, getting hurt to some extent is okay. But I can’t compromise on bodies getting holes punched through them.”
“I’ll be careful not to bring up bad memories. I also know that potions and healing skills aren’t omnipotent, and I hate pain too.”
“Yeah.”
“So as long as there’s not a lot of blood, getting hurt is okay? Then I don’t think I’ll have nightmares anymore?”
“…I can’t be certain, but for now.”
“You must have been more shocked than expected, our baby. I think back then was the first time I briefly borrowed hyung’s mana, so I couldn’t control it. I didn’t know overload would come and just recklessly went at it without any plan.”
“Everyone acts like you when they first receive mana sharing. I should have warned you to be careful not to get hurt beforehand, but there was no time for that then.”
Doun felt like the discomfort that had been bothering one corner of his heart was melting away. Peace of mind came just from the conversation he shared with Samin.
“What did I say was our guild’s policy?”
“Safety first.”
“You finally memorized it?”
“Someone kept saying it next to me.”
“Hehe. It might seem contradictory to go into conquest while breaking arms and legs and getting hurt, but there can’t be a hunter guild that coddles from the start. Compared to other places, we’re really a guild that fits safety first.”
His face looked serious as he added supplementary explanation in case Doun might be reluctantly agreeing. Doun understood what Samin wanted to say. When he silently nodded, Samin finally smiled brightly.
“Ah, talking like this makes me feel completely relieved. I hope we can have lots of conversations in the future and adjust things that don’t match. Hyung shouldn’t accumulate things alone inside either. You have to say when it hurts and say when you don’t like something for me to know. Even if I’m quick to catch on, I haven’t obtained mind-reading yet.”
“Got it. I’ll try to speak up as much as possible.”
“What are you thinking right now?”
“Just thinking that I’m happy being like this with you.”
Doun smiled bashfully, and Samin slowly embraced Doun while looking at his two pupils dyed pitch black. A happy night was ending.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
