The World After the Bad Ending - Chapter 177

For now, I set aside the matter of Midra.

That bastard’s true nature was impossible to pin down.

And given how overwhelming he seemed beyond this point, I concluded it was best to leave him be for now.

‘This… I’ll have to keep a slow, steady watch.’

Since he wielded celestial magic, acting recklessly was out of the question.

So, for the time being, I decided to observe.

Right now, even moving forward with the scenario was overwhelming.

The Winter Labyrinth had begun in utter chaos.

For this place—the Winter Labyrinth—I needed to assemble a team in advance.

Professor Veganon left the team composition entirely up to me.

It was a sign of trust, having seen and acknowledged my abilities thus far.

I had to fulfill my duty faithfully.

To that end, the first person I asked was Sharin.

“Sharin, I need a search team for the Labyrinth. What do you think? Want to come with me?”

“Is that really something you can ask so casually?”

A lighthearted approach was easier than a heavy one.

Sharin stared straight at me after hearing my question.

“Nampyeon.”

Then, without hesitation, she raised her hand and began poking and prodding my cheeks.

“Don’t you remember almost dying in the Labyrinth not too long ago?”

She was right.

Though I’d made it back alive, I had genuinely been on the verge of death then.

“And now you want to go back down there? We made a promise, didn’t we?”

The promise I’d made with Sharin—that I wouldn’t return injured again.

When she reminded me of it, I could only manage an awkward expression.

“That’s why I’m asking you to come with me.”

“And what if you get hurt again?”

“I figured the genius mage Sharin would’ve already devised a solution by now.”

Sharin puffed out her chest, looking smug.

“Of course I have.”

I hadn’t expected her to actually prepare something.

Very much like her.

But despite that, Sharin’s face remained sour.

“Nampyeon, you’ve always had a tendency for this, but lately, you’ve been even more reckless with your life.”

Sharin clung tightly to my shoulder.

Her habit of increasing physical contact was becoming more frequent.

“It’s because of that.”

The bandages of the Veil I was using.

Sharin had long since seen through my true nature.

So, she’d noticed that the flaws manifesting in me were due to the bandages.

Come to think of it, I hadn’t told Sharin about the side effects of the Veil’s bandages.

I hesitated for a moment.

Should I really tell her this?

But Sharin had already helped me countless times.

Hiding this from her indefinitely wasn’t an option.

“Sharin.”

I explained the penalties of the Veil’s bandages to her.

At first, as usual, she listened quietly with a lazy expression.

But soon, her face gradually changed, eventually twisting into a deep frown.

Her brows furrowed sharply.

The flickering starlight in her pupils looked downright menacing.

“……Nampyeon.”

Sharin gripped my collar tightly.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“I guess I never found the right moment.”

“The reason I never pressed you about your true identity was because it didn’t matter to me who you were.”

This was the first time I’d seen Sharin so serious.

“But this is different. You’re heading toward an increasingly dangerous state.”

“……You’re right.”

In an instant, I became the guilty party, quietly listening to her lecture.

Sharin scolded me methodically.

“Do you know what happens when you lose even sorrow?”

I didn’t.

Because even the last remnants of sorrow were slipping away from me.

But lately, I’d been less aware of the dangers myself.

It was probably the influence of the vanishing sorrow.

“Even if I told you to take them off, you wouldn’t, would you?”

Instead of answering, I bowed my head.

In a few months, I wouldn’t be able to enter the Labyrinth anymore.

I had no other choice.

Sharin sighed deeply while staring at my face.

Then, she wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug.

“Fine. I’ll fix your emotional defects.”

My eyes met hers.

Sharin rested her chin on my shoulder and nodded.

“Supporting my husband’s goals is a wife’s duty. I’ll just restore all the emotions you’ve lost.”

She seemed genuinely determined to become my wife.

First Seron and Isabel, now Sharin.

All of them had declared they’d restore my emotions.

I no longer knew what love was.

But I could tell their heartfelt feelings stemmed from love.

Maybe that’s why I grew curious.

It was an emotion I’d always had before, so I’d never paid it much mind.

But now that it was gone, I wondered what love was.

What was it that moved these three so sincerely?

And how could they smile so happily just by looking at me?

I wanted to know, too.

‘I see.’

The emotions lost to the Veil’s bandages.

The first step to reclaiming them was curiosity about what I’d lost.

The emotion of love that the three had shown me.

Because I’d seen and received it with my own eyes, I could grow curious.

‘I can get it back.’

With these three, I’d surely reclaim love.

So, I reached out and lightly ruffled Sharin’s hair.

Maybe it was the first time I’d initiated contact.

Sharin’s large eyes widened in surprise.

“Yeah, I’ll leave it to you.”

A faint smile touched my lips.

If it was Sharin, she could definitely restore my emotions.

When I made my request, Sharin stared straight at me.

Then, she rose onto her tiptoes.

A soft sensation brushed against my cheek.

Sharin’s lips had touched it.

A moment later, her lips parted from my cheek.

“A reward for being good.”

Could one-sided physical contact count as a reward?

I wasn’t sure, but seeing Sharin’s beaming smile, it clearly was.

Even if I didn’t understand other emotions, I knew joy when I saw it.

Sharin’s happiness was my happiness, too.

“More than that, now I understand why you’ve been so indifferent to me all this time.”

Sharin nodded as if everything finally made sense.

“You liked me but didn’t know how to express love.”

What kind of nonsense was that?

“Since when have I liked you, Sharin?”

“From the beginning?”

“Where does that baseless confidence come from?”

Sharin propped her chin on her hand.

Despite the topic, her face was utterly relaxed.

“Because I’m pretty.”

Well, she wasn’t wrong.

“Men can’t help but like pretty girls, you know.”

“Who fed you that biased nonsense?”

“Mom did.”

“She wasn’t wrong.”

For a second, I almost disrespected her late mother.

Sharin grinned, then spun around and skipped away.

“I’ll go find the next person!”

It seemed she’d already agreed to join the Winter Labyrinth expedition.

I nodded and followed after her.

“We’ll make the best search team.”

“Where do I rank in that?”

“First place.”

“How sweet.”

Sharin and I were oddly in sync when it came to this.

The best mage was secured.

Now, it was time to find a warrior.

---

The next member of the Winter Labyrinth search team was easy to predict.

“You’re really something.”

The main heroine herself—Isabel.

Isabel’s Goddess Wings were especially specialized for the Labyrinth.

Adding her to the team was a no-brainer.

She stared at me with a face full of unspoken complaints.

Not long ago, we’d faced the Autumn Labyrinth and even Vulcan.

We’d barely made it through then, and now I was volunteering to dive back in? Unbelievable.

“Do my words mean nothing to you?”

Isabel glared straight at me.

Her expression made it clear she wouldn’t tolerate me throwing myself into danger again.

If she meant what she’d said before, it was about locking me up.

Judging by her eyes, she might actually do it this time.

“What did you say last time?”

Sharin, who’d followed me, tilted her head curiously.

When Isabel met Sharin’s gaze, she flinched and looked away.

An awkward tension settled between the two.

More accurately, Isabel was wary of Sharin’s reaction.

Sharin had long since openly declared her feelings for me.

In contrast, Isabel had only realized hers much later.

She must’ve been conflicted about liking the same man as her best friend.

Sharin, on the other hand, hadn’t cared at all about Seron’s feelings for me.

If anything, Sharin was the odd one—Isabel’s reaction was perfectly normal.

“Bel.”

Sharin called out to Isabel.

“I confessed to Nampyeon.”

Isabel’s shoulders jerked.

She clearly hadn’t expected Sharin to strike first.

Her eyes flickered wildly.

She couldn’t bring herself to meet Sharin’s gaze.

“I don’t really mind.”

At Sharin’s response, Isabel lifted her head.

Sharin maintained her lazy expression, unfazed by whatever reaction Isabel had.

Instead, she’d somehow ended up beside me, linking arms.

“It’s not like I’ll lose anyway.”

She acted as if I’d always been hers from the start.

Her audacity left me speechless, and Isabel stared at her in equal disbelief.

But Isabel didn’t admit to her own confession.

Instead, the warmth in her eyes cooled rapidly.

Soon, an eerily familiar blankness settled over her face.

Even I, who’d forgotten fear, felt a chill at how terrifying she looked.

“……Since when was he yours?”

“I’m his fiancée.”

“Yeah, just a fiancée.”

Isabel’s gaze shifted to me.

Then, she smiled sweetly.

“You’ve only promised to marry him, right?”

Was that really something she could dismiss so lightly?

I wasn’t sure, but the atmosphere was turning dangerous.

Sharin and Isabel glared at each other.

Two childhood friends, now locked in a silent battle over me.

This couldn’t possibly end well.

“Bel, why won’t you admit you confessed?”

Sharin pointed out how Isabel still refused to acknowledge it, even though the truth was out.

Isabel stiffened, then avoided Sharin’s eyes.

She seemed hesitant to confess her feelings openly to her best friend.

“…….”

As Isabel chose silence again, Sharin’s brows twitched further.

“If you keep being this evasive—”

Isabel’s defensive attitude only seemed to anger Sharin more.

“Isabel, Sharin, calm down. Why are you fighting over this?”

I quickly stepped between them.

Now, Sharin turned her glare on me, fuming.

“It’s because you’re like this that we can’t settle it!”

I’d only made things worse by speaking up.

Isabel glanced at me, then hung her head without another word.

She still seemed afraid to confess her feelings in front of Sharin.

Even though it was obvious, admitting it aloud was another matter entirely.

Acknowledging that she’d fallen for the same man as her dear friend.

Isabel’s morals were tormenting her.

“Bel, just look at who Nampyeon asked first.”

Meanwhile, Sharin peeked out from beside me and spoke up.

When I pushed her head back down, Isabel bit her lip hard.

“……He just goes to whoever’s closest. You just happened to be nearby.”

Her greed was starting to outweigh her guilt.

“…….”

“…….”

The standoff between Sharin and Isabel continued.

And the problem wasn’t just these two.

There was still the red weasel girl, who wasn’t here.

Right about now, she was probably blissfully unaware, eating dinner somewhere.

I sighed quietly.

I needed to reclaim love and end this soon.

Otherwise, this would escalate into something much worse.

Lucas, you endured this kind of environment in the game, huh?

Today, of all days, I respect you.