Chapter 50

Honestly, I was really flustered. Of course, the answer that I gave without any pretense was true. If I were to meet my dad, mom, sister, and brother again, I would cry and make a big fuss. So what I couldn’t understand was the hearts directed towards me. Instead of blushing and raising the favorability stats, shouldn’t he run out and hug his brother?

While I was thinking about that, Radkiel’s gaze, who had been fanning the hearts with his hand over his face, turned towards the empty space.  As I followed his gaze, I saw his lips slowly parting and his eyes trembling fiercely. 

“Brother…?” 

I was even more flustered when I heard his words after he saw my thoughts in a small voice. 

“You heard everything. Why are you talking nonsense?” 

“Oh, no. What I heard was Yuri……. You, Yuri, said that my height is just right, that I look good when you look up at meand when I stand with you, and-“

“…Ah.” 

“I’m also smart and good at everything, and you said I have a strong will-” 

“…” 

“And, you said you like me a lot…” 

Oh, I see. Now I understand his intense reaction. When he read what Nois had written in the notebook, he would know that we were just praising Radkiel together, but when he heard my words separately, it felt like I was appealing how much I liked him alone. 

And the things I said just before… I was talking about Nois and Radkiel, but even when I put myself in instead of Nois, it fit perfectly…! 

We both suddenly lowered our heads as we realized that we thought of different things. The moment when hearts were rising again…. 

[Favorability Event – Starting ‘Nightmare.’] 

“…Huh?” 

Another favorability event? And this time, just like during the fever, it didn’t even give me an option. As I became worried, Radkiel’s body fell back reflexively as I raised my head.

“Rael!” I urgently reached out and pulled his arm. His body swayed towards me. I thought he had lost consciousness, but that wasn’t the case. His eyes were still open, but his pupils were dilated and he seemed absent-mindedly staring ahead. I helped Rael sit down on the ground and tried calling his name, shaking his shoulders and tapping his back, but there was no response.

“What’s going on…”

I felt more anxious seeing him like this than during the fever event. I nervously bit my lip and looked at the system window that was still open, waiting for more information to appear.

[Favorability Event – ‘Nightmare’ begins.]

◇ Rael suddenly acted strange. What should I do?

1. Keep tapping him. He will wake up! (Continue to stimulate him.)
2. Something seems off. It might be best not to touch him recklessly. (Leave him alone.)

During the fever event, there was also silly choices that made me emotional. Even if I kept shaking and calling him, choosing an option might be meaningless.

‘Last time, leaving him alone was the worst choice…’

But now there was no other option. It seemed like a bad idea to touch him carelessly. I gulped and chose option 2. Immediately after, I heard the sound of someone knocking on the door. Lost in thought about my choice, I instinctively turned around to see who it was.

“Yuri? Rad, kiel? Are you okay?” 

Nois came out with a trembling voice and called out to Radkiel. The options appeared again.

◇ Rael’s condition is not good. How should you tell Nois?

1. If I tell the truth, Nois will worry. He’s so fragile, what if he faints… It’s better to keep it a secret. (Act alone.)
2. It might be a shock and make him faint, but I can’t lie. Let’s tell the truth and find a solution together. (Act together.)

◇ Whatever choice you make, Rael will recover, but the process and rewards will be different. 

So it’s like a branching point. I hesitated because no matter which option I chose, Rael would recover, but the process and rewards would be different. Not telling Nois would be difficult since I don’t know when Rael’s condition will improve. But what if he actually faints?

It was natural to take care of both of them, but it would be troublesome if I fail the quest just because a week has passed. 

‘What should I do…’ I sighed repeatedly while alternating between looking at Radkiel and the door. 

Then, I heard a small sob with my sensitive ears. It was a voice coming from outside the door. 

‘Ahh… I can’t take it…’ 

These brothers are so different yet so similar. I closed my eyes tightly and took a deep breath. Yes, we live in the same house so it’s better to know and worry than not knowing what to do about Nois who is worried because of Radkiel. 

I was afraid Nois might faint, so I quickly opened the door and went outside.

Nois, with a worried look in her eyes, showed me the notebook he was holding tightly. 

[What’s going on? I heard a loud noise.]

 “Um, Zion? Please listen to my story without being surprised. Right now, Rael… um, it’s not that he’s sick, but he can’t come to his senses.” 

“Wh, cough! Um, inside, Rad… cough!” 

“Don’t worry! He’s really not sick! He’s fine! Anyway, come in. I put him down for a moment, but he’s definitely not dying, so don’t worry.” 

Just like when I was with Radkiel, it was difficult to explain in detail about the quest or the system window, so it was awkward.  Maybe Nois knows about it, but I didn’t have time to have that conversation. 

Nois, who was standing with a tense expression, asked for permission when I opened the door, and then ran to Radkiel like an arrow. 

A status window appeared behind Nois’ back. 

[Nois will be helping you. This event will proceed with free action.] 

If it’s a free action, there was no need to manage the hearts like during the fever event. 

That was a great thing in many ways, as there were many restrictions on actions. 

Nois, who sat on the floor, rub Radkiel’s cheek with trembling hands and bit his lips hard. 

Instead of saying that Radkiel would be fine, who had seemed healthy until a while ago, I sat next to him and whispered quietly. 

“It’s natural to be worried when someone who was healthy suddenly collapses, but Rael will be fine. It’s hard to explain in detail, but just like how Zion could use magic, I could see something strange… No, something amazing.”

“….”

“But to be honest, I don’t know the cause or solution. So, Zion. Help me-.”

“Fairy.”

“Fairy…. Yes? A fairy?”

Why did he suddenly bring up fairies? 

I absent-mindedly looked around, wondering if there was one nearby. Nois looked at the window with a stern face and then scribbled on the notebook.

[I saw a funny-looking fairy earlier. When our eyes met, it ran away, playing a trick on me.]

“A funny-looking fairy…? Oh, the fairy that was said to be flying around?”

[We have to catch it. Fairies love all living beings. Especially ones with pure souls. They love them like crazy, and I mean it. Perverts.]

Amidst the unexpected insults, a dark purple gemstone appeared next to Radkiel’s face.

[‘Radkiel’ has obtained the ‘Dream Fairy’s Unfortunate Gem’.]

As soon as I saw it, I remembered that the event was called ‘Nightmare’.

The fact that the gemstone appeared now meant that the fairy Nois saw was a dream fairy. And Radkiel was now suffering from nightmares, like the curse he had in the original story.

I called out to Nois, who was tearing the notebook with all his might, and asked.

“Nois, wait a minute. Calm down. Is that fairy still here?”

[It ran away. It’s like a mouse turd.]

“That mouse turd is most likely a dream fairy. It’s a fairy that sometimes comes and shows all kinds of dreams, and when you dream those dreams, a gem appears. Here, the dark purple gemstone that just appeared next to Rael’s head.”

[If I break it, will he wake up?]

“Oh, no. This is just a tool, so it doesn’t really have any meaning. But it’s unpleasant, so let’s get rid of it….”

As I squeezed the dark purple gemstone in my right hand and it crumbled with a crunch, I quickly brushed it off my hand and looked at Nois, who was standing still with the mechanical pencil in his hand, and continued my sentence.

“The problem is that this jewel appears when you dream sad and unfortunate dreams. And-“

[‘Radkiel’ has obtained the ‘Dream Fairy’s Unfortunate Gem’.]

Before I could finish my sentence, another dark purple jewel appeared. I impatiently smashed the gem and added.

“If my guess is correct, Radkiel is still having nightmares. Nois said he can see the fairy and even talk to it, right? Do you know how to end this prank?”

[‘Radkiel’ has obtained the ‘Dream Fairy’s Unfortunate Gem’.]

With a finger pressing down on the third appearing jewel, I asked Nois, who looked as if he was getting agitated, and he calmly flipped through the notebook and started writing on a clean page.

Read ahead here.