Ugh…

I…

Am I not dead?

Assuming I’m fully conscious, it’s almost guaranteed for my survival.

Or my consciousness is in the afterlife?

I tried opening my eyes to test which possibility was correct. A ceiling greeted me as I soon realized my situation. The healer really did do their job. I almost believed that I was going to be left dead by her behavior.

When I slightly moved my body, soreness immediately stopped any movement. It was so unbearable to the point where I didn’t bother scanning my surroundings.

From my tiny movement, I inferred that I was most likely laying on a bed, by the mattress, and my body was bandaged, a snug feeling embracing me.

I blinked over and over.

I managed to survive, huh…?

To be honest it’s surprising how my body sustained such damages without me being crippled. Clearly attesting the fact of how capable the healer was. Aside from the soreness, there was no other pain bothering me.

But if my body recovered without leaving visible injuries is another story. My eyes slowly closed again, drifting to sleep. My body’s energy still needed to be replenished.

The presence of someone entering my room, broke any thoughts of sleeping again. Eyes opened, I waited for the mysterious person to speak.

“You’re finally awake.”

“Ah, Serge. Hello there,” I said, staring at the ceiling the whole time. “How long was I out for? You did say finally,” I asked.

“Uhm, it wasn’t that long. Just a couple of hours,” he responded, for some reason nervous.

“Serge.” I called his name. “Are you good? You seem to be acting strange.”

“I…” Serge’s words trailed. “I’m sorry.”

He suddenly apologized out of nowhere. This caught me off guard since he had no role in the predicament I faced. There wasn’t anything he could do to be prepared. I don’t really see why he’s apologizing.

“I’m sorry,'' he repeated. “It’s my job to catch runaway slaves yet…!” he shouted.

The sound of ruble being crushed made its way to my ears. I assumed Serge was taking his frustration out on something.

“You shouldn’t apologize for something like that. At the end of the day, it was all due to my carelessness and miscalculation. Who knew that such a thing would happen!” I joked, trying to lighten the mood.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

“But it happened due to my incompetence…” he replied, taking the joke the wrong way.

“Like I said, don’t blame yourself. It’s pointless, I’m alive and well. I’m not going to die against someone like that.”

“I guess you have a poin—“ he suddenly gasped. “Then…why…it doesn’t make sense…?” he muttered to himself.

I closed my eyes, bracing myself. With a grunt, I forced myself to sit upwards. Groaning in pain, I managed to not fail as I leaned against the wall. I could now get a decent look at my location. The building was the same one I entered when I met up with Serge as he kicked a slave.

“By the way, where is the woman who healed me? I would like to thank her personally for giving me a second chance,” I said.

“Oh, Andreana? Well, she said she had duties to attend so she left once your treatment was down,” he explained, crossing his arms. “But honestly…” he smirked. “I think it was due to another reason. Her having duties to attend was merely an excuse.”

“Is that so?”

“Let me go get you something to drink.”

Serge left the room, leaving me alone. I signed, feeling horrible. A headache appeared the moment I woke up. And it would increase if I focused on the fact that I still have to attend the academy tomorrow.

Well, maybe not tomorrow because of what I heard, this is a whole new day. It sure feels horrible knowing this one information.

Soon, Serge came back, a glass of water in his hand. He handed me warm water. I accepted like any respectful person, drinking it in big gulps. I was quite thirsty.

“Oh, and where is the attacker? I remember telling you to send them to a safe place. I can’t recall much after, so mind telling me?” I politely asked since he gave me water to drink.

“Yeah, about that,” he said, nodding.

“Nothing important. I sent her away as you said. She’ll be having fun there…” he chuckled, a sadistic smile forming on his face.

“To where?” I asked, definitely not ignoring his smile.

“Huh? To that place.”

“Yeah, what is that place?”

Serge stood there frozen as if not understanding anything. We both stared at each other in confusion. He scratched the back of his head, awkwardly smiling.

“Uh, are you sure you are fine?” he asked, finally speaking.

“Yes, is there something wrong?” I asked, raising my eyebrows.

“N-no. I mean, I don’t think so? Yeah…”

Hm? Why is Serge acting strange all of a sudden? He’s fidgeting as if he’s nervous. What’s gotten to him? He never acts like this. Did I really say something strange? I mean, from what I could tell I didn’t, but maybe he had a different view than me.

“Sure…” I said, definitely not believing him.

“Doesn’t The Gate to Enlightenment ring a bell? That’s where I sent her.”

“The Gate to what—? I never heard of a place with that name. Are you sure I should know that place?” I answered his question with another question.

“Actually now that you mention it…”

“Forget it,” he said, waving as he left.

“Way to leave me confused,” I mumbled.

Apparently there is this place called The Gate of Enlightenment that I’m not aware of. This is the first time I’m hearing about this thing. So why was Serge expecting me to understand?

Eh, I need to be ready to attend school tomorrow. For that I need to rest my body up. As such, I laid back down, much to the pain of my body, and I closed my eyes.

I wonder what Serge was talking about?