Chương 77: Chapter : 77

Ken Eliot was having the absolute greatest dream of his entire life. He was standing in the middle of a massive, beautiful green field. The sun was shining warmly on his face, but it wasn't too hot. A gentle breeze was blowing through the trees, making a very relaxing, rustling sound. There were no noisy nobles shouting in his ear. There were no arrogant Princes trying to show off their shiny armor. There were absolutely no giant, mutated bat-monsters trying to stab people with glowing green magic spears.

Best of all, there was no running involved. In the dream, Ken was sitting in a very comfortable, highly padded lawn chair. Right in front of him was an endless field of perfectly grown potatoes. A small, polite butler made of mashed potatoes walked over and handed him a giant plate of warm, crispy french fries and a tall glass of iced tea.

"Ah, this is the life," Ken sighed happily in his dream, reaching out to grab a handful of fries.

"No chores. No combat training. Just me and the ultimate snack food. I hope I never wake up." But, as always, the universe had other plans for the lazy farm boy. Slowly, the beautiful potato field began to fade away. The warm sun was replaced by the dim, dusty light of reality. The sound of the gentle breeze turned into the annoying, rhythmic ticking of a cheap wooden clock on the wall. Ken let out a long, sleepy groan. He didn't want to open his eyes yet. He nuzzled his face deeper into the softness of his pillow.

After pretending to faint on the floor of the Doom Tower, he had actually drifted off into a totally real, incredibly deep sleep. He had been so relaxed while the girls panicked and carried him home that he had completely passed out. Now, as his senses slowly returned, he realized he was resting in a very comfortable bed. He wasn't lying on a cold concrete floor anymore. He was back in his own dusty, slightly lumpy bedroom inside the 13th Unit's crumbling estate.

"Man, that was a top-tier nap," Ken thought to himself lazily, keeping his eyes shut.

"I feel incredibly well-rested. My shoulder feels totally fine, too. I guess catching some Z's really is the best medicine. I should probably just stay in bed until dinner time. Or maybe until tomorrow." He stretched his legs out under the thin blanket, letting out a quiet, happy sigh. He was ready to roll over and go right back to sleep.

"Are you awake?" a voice suddenly whispered. Ken froze. His lazy stretch came to a complete halt. That voice did not belong to a mashed-potato butler. It was sharp, slightly raspy, and very familiar. Ken slowly blinked his sleepy eyes open. The room was mostly dark, but a little bit of late-afternoon sunlight was peeking through the small window. He turned his head to the side. Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!

Sitting in a rigid wooden chair right next to his bed was Naomi. Ken stared at her, completely surprised. Naomi did not look like the fierce, unstoppable, wind-magic warrior he was used to seeing. She looked absolutely terrible. She was still wearing her dark combat uniform from the raid, and it was covered in dust and dirt. Her bright red hair, which was usually tied back perfectly, was a messy, tangled bird's nest. But it was her face that looked the worst. She had deep, dark bags under her green eyes.

She looked like she had been sitting in that exact same uncomfortable wooden chair for hours without moving a single muscle. She was biting her thumbnail nervously, staring at him with a look of pure, overwhelming worry. Ken blinked lazily and gave her a goofy, sleepy smile.

"Hey, boss lady," Ken mumbled, his voice a little raspy from sleeping so long. He rubbed his eyes with his good hand.

"What time is it? Did I sleep through lunch? Because my stomach is completely empty, and if nobody saved me a sandwich, I am going to be highly offended." For a split second, Naomi just stared at him. Her green eyes went wide, and her mouth dropped open. She looked like she couldn't believe he was actually speaking. Then, the relief washed over her face, instantly followed by a massive, explosive wave of pure anger.

Naomi jumped up from the wooden chair so fast that the chair tipped over and crashed loudly onto the floor.

"You absolute idiot!" Naomi screamed at the top of her lungs, her voice echoing off the dusty walls of the bedroom. Ken winced, putting a hand over his ear.

"Whoa, volume control! I just woke up! My ears are very sensitive right now!"

"I don't care about your ears, you fool!" Naomi yelled, stepping right up to the edge of the bed and pointing an angry finger directly at his face.

"Do you have any idea what you did?! Do you have any idea how completely stupid you are?!" Ken slouched back against his pillows, looking totally innocent.

"Uh, I took a nap? Is napping illegal in the 13th Unit now? Because if it is, I want to formally resign."

"You jumped in front of a deadly Curse magic spear!" Naomi shouted, her face turning bright red with fury. Her hands curled into tight fists by her sides.

"Vane aimed that attack at my heart! It was a highly concentrated, toxic curse! And you, a useless, untrained farm boy who trips over his own shoelaces, threw your body across the room to push me out of the way! You got stabbed!" Ken looked down at his left shoulder. His messy dark blue uniform shirt had been removed, and his shoulder was heavily wrapped in thick, white medical bandages. There was a small red stain on the outside of the cloth.

Sayma had obviously done a very thorough job wrapping him up while he was pretending to be unconscious.

"Oh, right. That," Ken said casually, waving his free hand in the air.

"Yeah, I remember that. It was very pointy. I am pretty sure it ruined my favorite shirt. I hope you guys plan on buying me a new one, because I don't have a lot of money." Naomi looked like she wanted to reach down and strangle him. She grabbed handfuls of her own messy red hair, completely frustrated by his lack of seriousness.

"You are not taking this seriously!" Naomi cried out, her voice actually cracking a little bit.

"That spear should have killed you instantly, Ken! It was a fatal blow! When you hit the floor and all that blood started pouring out of your shoulder, I... I thought..." Naomi stopped yelling. The fiery anger in her green eyes suddenly vanished, replaced by a deep, heavy sadness. She lowered her head, staring at the wooden floorboards. Her shoulders slumped forward, and she suddenly looked incredibly small and vulnerable.

"I thought you were dead," Naomi whispered, her voice shaking badly.

"I thought you died because of me. Because I was too slow. Because I was too reckless."