The Male Lead Is Obsessed With My Health

Author: Asternkm

“Didn’t you say you pulled her out? She’ll be fine.”

“Right…?”

“…….”

“There won’t be any mental aftereffects, right?”

“…….”

“She won’t fail to wake up or anything, will she?”

“…….”

My master, who had been ignoring me and only checking my physical condition, finally frowned and asked back after the barrage of questions.

“Are you that worried?”

“I think it’s because I didn’t see her wake up.”

The feeling I had when I wandered around, scoffing at the Reverse World as it tried to lure me with all kinds of illusions, and then found a half-broken Pession—

I could see the illusion Pession was seeing too.

The sight of Pession holding my younger self and crying was pretty…

“Master, I think I like men who cry.”

My master looked at me with a deeply wrinkled expression, like he couldn’t believe what he’d just heard.

“I didn’t know before, but seeing him cry felt kind of… you know? Pitiful and sad, but also kind of nice?”

“…Disciple, is there any reason I need to know something like that?”

“Isn’t it better if we know each other well? You can speak freely too, Master.”

“Please, I really don’t want to know, so stop.”

“Why? Didn’t you become an immortal because you wanted to know all the knowledge in the world?”

“That’s not the kind of thing I wanted to know… ha.”

My master pressed a hand to his head.

Judging by the look on his face, he was about to lose yet another argument to his youngest disciple and chase me out, so I quickly changed the subject.

“How’s my body?”

“For a while, don’t use any magic.”

“Ah. That’s not good.”

I’d already learned how sweet magic was, and now a magic ban?

But my master was wearing a rare, stern expression, so I had no choice but to behave.

“It would have been better if you had no talent for magic at all.”

“I’m the monster you created, so endure it with grit and guts!”

“…….”

I ended up getting flicked on the forehead.

“Ow.”

*****

“Then, Master, contact me when you find Dad!”

Arellin disappeared after boldly setting down the relic.

As if to say her job was done.

The archmage frowned at the sight of her using magic again right after being told not to, then sighed when he realized there was no other way to leave this domain.

Left alone in the area Arellin had swept through, the archmage pressed a hand to his head.

“…….”

Had he gotten used to it already?

In the space that felt empty just because one person was gone, the archmage let out a faint smile.

It was ridiculous.

Since when had he gotten used to being with someone?

There was a time… wasn’t there.

As he traced back those now-distant memories, the archmage smiled bitterly.

“I want to grant your wish, Master.”

That cute disciple who had followed him so devotedly.

He’d had many favored disciples, but that one was the first with both magical talent and someone he truly cherished and gave his heart to.

The only existence that made him break the taboos he had set for himself.

The first archmage, master of the Mage Tower, the Star of Longing……

He had been called by many names throughout the long history of mortals, yet he was an immortal who wished to remain a recluse—until that disciple briefly pulled him back to the surface.

Thinking about it, the youngest disciple he had taken in unintentionally had many similarities to the disciple he cherished most.

Especially in the way she made him break both his vow not to interfere with the mortal world, and his vow to never take another direct disciple.

“Leaving things like this again……”

His tone was gruff, but the archmage’s eyes were warm as he looked down at the bread and drinks she always brought in large bundles.

As he chewed the bread, lights sparkled beside him.

They were all Star Words, carrying the will of the stars.

[The brightest shining star says it is envious]

[The star of knowledge and wisdom wishes to explore the world of taste]

[The star of the gentle wind strongly insists it wants to join as well]

As if they had been waiting, an astonishing number of the stars’ wills poured in.

In all these long years, there had never been a human who monopolized the stars’ love and attention to this extent.

The reason the stars were showing such frantic interest must be that frightening level of magical aptitude.

Mercedes ignored the flood of the stars’ wills and picked up the relic Arellin had left behind.

“Restoration… I should do it.”

Restoring the Sky Tower wouldn’t be difficult.

The reason he had her bring the relic was simply to save time.

And there was one more reason.

To make it easier to find Grand Duke Halvern.

This relic was strongly imbued with the aura of one of the immortals that Grand Duke Halvern had once carried.

‘Wandering Hope.’

Still, there was another reason he didn’t feel good about it.

“……It would be better not to find him.”

The archmage recalled the last time he had faced Grand Duke Halvern.

A burden and destiny far too great for a mortal to bear.

Mortals who become entangled with immortals always meet misfortune.

The archmage had already foreseen that this disappearance of Grand Duke Halvern would surely be connected to that.

“Even so, I have to find him.”

*****

A deep night where not even the sound of breathing could be heard.

Pession opened his eyes. It felt like he’d had an unusually deep sleep for the first time in a long while.

When was the last time he’d slept peacefully without even dreaming?

Out of habit, he ran a hand through his hair, then unconsciously pushed himself upright when a familiar scene entered his view.

“Ah.”

It was his room.

What had happened?

“Ugh.”

His head throbbed like it was about to split open. Something hovered on the edge of his memory, about to surface but not quite there.

He’d gone to the black market after being led by Shirua, something happened there, then he fell into the Reverse World……

“Ah.”

He had seen Arellin.

He knew it was an illusion, but it didn’t matter. Because it was Arellin.

‘Am I dead?’

Judging by what he could feel, he knew he was alive, but he couldn’t understand how he had survived.

How… exactly?

“Yes, I’m here.”

At the sudden resurfacing memory, Pession pulled his hand away from his head and fell silent.

“I’m sorry. This is my fault.”

“I won’t leave you again.”

Was that something he’d seen because he wanted it so desperately, or was it the real Arellin?

It had to be an illusion.

His reason whispered that it was obviously the former, yet strangely, Pession was convinced he had seen the real Arellin.

If it hadn’t been real, he wouldn’t have felt so utterly saved in that moment.

While he was lost in deep thought, the sun rose. Morning came, and the outside grew busy, but Pession remained sitting still on the bed, not moving at all.

He didn’t feel like doing anything. If Shirua hadn’t appeared, he probably would have stayed like that.

“What? You’re awake?”

Because she’d dragged him along and an accident had happened, Shirua had been feeling guilty in her own way and praying that Pession would wake up safely. Seeing him awake and calm, she puffed out her cheeks in mild annoyance.

“What day is it today?”

“Only two days have passed. They said there’s nothing wrong with your body.”

“I can tell that much by moving around.”

“Is your mind okay? They said there might be aftereffects.”

“…….”

Pession wasn’t confident about his condition, so he kept quiet, then asked absentmindedly,

“Who did?”

“Who else? The young lady who saved you.”

Pession’s body stiffened.

“Who… saved me?”

Shirua tilted her head.

“There’s only one young lady who’d save you, right? They say that young lady is a mage. Did you know?”

A mage?

It was the first he’d heard of it, and Pession furrowed his brow.

A vague, almost-familiar feeling came close enough to grasp, then slipped away.

“You and that young lady suddenly disappeared, do you know how shocked I was? Then not long after, you both reappeared, and you were passed out in her arms!”

“…….”

Pession’s expression tightened slightly.

“Are you sure that woman saved me?”

“Only the two of you got swept up. How could it not be certain?”

Shirua clicked her tongue.

“It’s bothering you, isn’t it?”

“…….”

“It’s bothering you to death, right?”

“…….”

Seeing his reaction, Shirua chuckled to herself. She looked like she was having the time of her life.

“Still, she saved you, so as a basic human courtesy, shouldn’t you at least say thank you?”

You couldn’t read much from Pession’s blank face, but Shirua figured his thoughts were probably pretty complicated.