The Male Lead Is Obsessed With My Health Chapter 246

Near Gairen, Operations Command.

While they were observing the dome surrounding the city, checking for any unusual signs, a star suddenly appeared in the sky. Then the dome covering the city turned a deep, dark color, throwing them into confusion.

“We should dispatch more knights right now and find out what’s happening inside!”

“No. The Mage Tower’s investigation team has already gone in. Sending more people would be pointless. We should abandon the city, or at least prepare for the worst…!”

“What?! Are you saying we should give up on 1.5 million people, along with the knights and mages?”

“Hey. This isn’t a problem that can be solved by sending in more people!”

As the group arguing to send more people inside clashed sharply with those insisting there was no answer and they should give up for now, someone arrived who could end all the conflict.

“No. I’ll go in myself.”

“Y-Your Highness!”

All the knights and researchers at the operations command tried desperately to stop Pession.

Maybe before they hadn’t known better, but now Gairen was practically a place you went to die. And yet the Empire’s Crown Prince was saying he would enter it himself.

“Stopping me is useless. No matter what anyone says, I’m going in.”

But it was pointless. Pession, who had lost his mind because of Arellin abandoning him, wouldn’t listen to anyone.

Everyone tried to stop him, saying it was dangerous, but Pession thought that precisely because it was dangerous, he was the one who had to go.

There was no one in this country stronger than him in combat as a Sword Master, with on-site command authority, and able to enter Gairen immediately.

After Pession entered Gairen, the people left behind grabbed their heads and worried.

“What do we do now?”

“I don’t know either, so don’t ask me….”

 

 

 

****

 

 

As soon as morning came, the city returned to its peaceful daily life, as if everything that had happened during the night had been an illusion.

But maybe because of what had happened, the scene now looked strangely twisted, different from before.

And it reached its peak when Luka appeared.

“Luka, are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine. Why do you look like that? Did something happen?”

“You…”

I saw him get captured right in front of my eyes, so how on earth did he come back alive?

“What about me?”

I hadn’t seen him die with my own eyes, but someone I thought was dead returning alive gave me a feeling I couldn’t put into words.

Harun just nodded, as if he had expected this, while I was the only one groaning in confusion.

What the hell is going on in this cursed city?

“How did you come back? Did that guy let you go?”

“N-no. When that grim reaper–like guy grabbed me, I thought I was dead too. But then I opened my eyes, and it was morning. What on earth happened?”

“You’re asking me what happened, but….”

I had no answer to give.

All I could see was the number 1 written on Luka’s wrist.

“……”

Whatever it was, I was glad I had left Pession behind.

And then…

“…For now, let’s go back to the Mage Tower.”

 

 

****

 

 

 

The scenery of the Southern Mage Tower was exactly the same as yesterday. The only difference was that Jemelo had joined the group of groaning mages.

“Why are you groaning like that?”

Jemelo, who was standing on a magic circle for mana recovery and groaning while gripping his staff, looked at me.

“Why are you only coming now?! I seriously went through way too much. I’m exhausted!”

“I was exhausted too, you know.”

“I was more exhausted.”

“Fine. So what happened?”

According to Jemelo, as soon as the sun set, the amount of mana needed to maintain the barrier suddenly skyrocketed.

“It was weird! Normally it would’ve been fine, but it felt like someone was just sucking my mana dry.”

“Was there anything else besides that?”

“Anything else?”

Jemelo tilted his head.

With a serious expression, I told him everything that had happened last night. Jemelo, who had been groaning, straightened up and listened carefully with a grim face.

“If that’s true, we’re screwed.”

“I thought the same thing.”

“What about the knight? Did he come with you?”

“Yes. I brought him.”

And so, the three-way meeting between Jemelo, Harun, and me began.

“What is this ‘rule of the ruins’?”

“First, monsters don’t appear while the sun is up, but they appear after sunset. Second, the monsters look for sacrifices. People taken as sacrifices return in the morning. The same goes for people who were killed by the monsters.”

“What the hell? Ruins where dead people come back to life? I’ve never heard of that.”

Because ruins usually exist as spaces governed by powers different from reality, all sorts of strange things can happen…

“Is it reversing the time axis? Or life itself? The former is easier than the latter, but even that isn’t easy. That would mean that at least within this space, time is constantly being reversed… but I don’t know whether that applies to the entire city or to individuals.”

“There’s magic that reverses time?”

“In theory, it exists.”

“Then why does it only exist in theory?”

“Return magic does exist, but with modern magical studies, almost nothing about it has been fully understood. There are no mages who can actually use it.”

“Could your master do it?”

“I don’t know. I never asked….”

Anyway, the conclusion we could reach was clear.

“We have no choice but to protect the barrier.”

“So that’s why the Southern Mage Tower mages were so determined to keep the barrier.”

“Even if you can come back alive, if it’s a rule of the ruins, it still feels unsettling. It’s best to be as careful as possible.”

“I think so too.”

Just in case, I checked Jemelo’s wrist and Harun’s wrist, but both were clean.

 

 

 

*****

 

 

 

After talking for quite a while, Harun said the other knights were waiting and went back, while Jemelo urgently gathered the mages of the investigation team.

“It seems the rules of the ruins are being applied to this city. It would be better if no one goes outside today.”

The investigation team’s mages were full of enthusiasm.

“Then shouldn’t we investigate the ruins as well?”

“The knights are already exploring the ruins, so wouldn’t it be better for us to just protect the Mage Tower and the city?”

“Do we have any information on what kind of monster is inside the ruins?”

Even in all this noise, it was impressive how some of the Southern Mage Tower mages were still asleep and wouldn’t wake up.

The meeting went on for a long time, and before we knew it, it was almost time for dinner. Since I hadn’t joined the investigation team from the beginning, I quietly slipped out of the meeting room.

That’s when I ran into Luka.

“Ah, Luka.”

“Arellin-nim.”

Luka, who had been approaching with a bright smile, scratched his head with an awkward expression.

“Arellin-nim, did I do something wrong?”

“No, it’s not that Luka did anything wrong……”

If anything, the problem was me. I couldn’t forget the sight of Luka being dragged away.

“I thought we’d gotten a bit closer while walking around together yesterday, but when you started keeping your distance, I felt kind of hurt.”

“Ah……”

“I’m glad it’s not because I did something wrong. Haha.”

Seeing Luka try to brush it off with an awkward laugh made me feel even more guilty. Still, every time I looked at Luka’s wrist, I couldn’t shake this strange feeling.

“You’ve been looking at my wrist for a while now. Is there something on it?”

“Ah, well.”

“There’s nothing there, though.”

When I hesitated, Luka tilted his head and rubbed his wrist, where the number was clearly engraved.

“You really don’t see anything?”

“Yeah. Is there really something there?”

He can’t see that number?

I wondered if he was joking, but Luka’s expression was serious.

‘What is it? Do the people who have the numbers not know about them?’

Now that I thought about it, when we were walking around the city, I was openly staring at people’s numbers, but no one reacted at all.

As I frowned, feeling confused and unsure, the area around me suddenly went quiet.

“Luka?”

I had looked down for a moment, lost in thought, and when I looked up, Luka was gone. Looking around, I saw him opening the door and heading out.

“Luka?!”

No, everyone had gathered today specifically to avoid going outside, so why was he suddenly trying to leave?

I hurried after him and grabbed Luka.

“Luka, where are you going?”

“I’m being called……”

“Huh?”

“Someone… is calling me……”

Only then did I realize that Luka’s eyes were completely unfocused.

“No, Luka. No matter who’s calling you, you can’t go.”

I tried to drag Luka back into the Mage Tower somehow, but—

Wham.

I couldn’t overpower Luka as he shoved me away with strength I didn’t know he had.

Damn it, do I need to start strength training or something?

“Calling… this way……”

If I couldn’t take him by force, then I could use magic!

Piiit—.

“That doesn’t work either.”

Ah, what do I do? I can’t just leave Luka like this.

I felt like I was going to lose my mind. And then—

Shrrk—.

Grim reapers appeared, swinging long scythes.

I bit down on my lip.

“I’m seriously going crazy.”