Stitching (3)
Chapter 109
Ray was in excruciating pain.
While spirits are generally lighter than they appear, Karga, the spirit as large as a house, pinned Ray down so that he could hardly breathe.
As Ray struggled with Karga, a brown-haired girl approached quietly and bent her knees.
“Does it weigh a lot?”
“Does it feel light to you?!”
Ray reflexively snapped at Johanna before groaning in discomfort.
“It’s unbearably heavy, so can you help me get out of here?”
“Hmm… I don’t feel like it.”
Johanna smiled brightly and shook her head.
Ray’s expression immediately soured.
However, Johanna wasn’t afraid of Ray when he was trapped under Karga, even though she had always been intimidated by him otherwise.
Johanna then boldly reached out and began touching Ray’s face.
“Tch, tch.”
Johanna poked Ray’s cheek with her fingers.
Having only ever known defeat against Ray in physical confrontations, Johanna found immense enjoyment in teasing his face without resistance.
Eventually, Ray called out to the real culprit behind this predicament.
“Luna!! Let me go!! I’m really dying!! Agghh…!!”
As Ray continued to complain, Luna finally appeared from the darkening streets, cloaked in a robe.
Bathed in the fading sunlight, Luna exuded an ominous aura.
Upon seeing Luna, Johanna wisely stepped back.
With his barely freed right arm, Ray tapped Karga’s head and shouted.
“Luna!! Stop fooling around!! Get this thing off me!”
Luna silently approached Ray.
She carefully examined his face and first pulled his cheeks apart, something Ray often did to her when scolding her.
Ray intended to say something about how unusually harsh Luna’s antics were today but stopped upon noticing her unusually red eyes in the twilight.
“…?”
In Ray’s memory, Luna had shed tears only twice. Seeing her now, visibly struggling to hold back her emotions, left Ray momentarily speechless.
Luna gripped Ray’s cheek tightly and whispered through restrained emotion.
“Ray, you must not leave.”
Luna knew well that Ray had no immediate plans to leave Phillip’s County. However, she also understood that his presence there was merely due to favorable circumstances. If needed, Ray would leave Phillip’s County without hesitation. The mere thought of waking up one day never to see Ray again caused Luna immense pain.
“You should stay with us.”
A tear from Luna’s eye fell onto Ray’s face.
“Without Ray…”
If you leave us…
If you stop guiding us…
“I won’t be able to become a good mage.”
“…”
Hearing Luna’s strained voice, Ray had few words to offer in response. He forced a smile to mask his unease, resorting to a comforting lie.
“I won’t leave, so don’t worry. After all the trouble I’ve gone through taking care of you guys, why would I leave now?”
“I don’t believe you.”
Luna frowned seriously.
Caught off guard by her unexpected reaction, Ray stammered.
“Eh, eh, you don’t trust me?”
“I don’t trust Ray.”
Verbal promises, after all, could easily be broken. Luna understood this all too well by now.
“So let’s make a binding contract.”
Tzzt!
Without warning, Luna activated a magic circle.
By the time Ray regained his senses, the circle was already inscribed with strange runes.
Turning to Aptel who appeared holographically, Ray asked about the nature of the contract.
“What does this contract entail?”
Aptel hesitated unusually.
[Hmm…]
“What does it say?”
[It’s a contract where if one party’s heart stops, the other’s will stop as well…]
“Damn it.”
Ray struck Karga’s temple with the hilt of his knife.
Wham!!!
Karga let out a cry of pain.
[Keeek!!]
Ignoring Karga’s cries, Ray continued striking its head with mana-infused force.
“Hey, move aside! Move aside, brat!”
Punch!! Punch!! Punch!!
As Karga writhed in pain, Ray managed to slip out from underneath it and stood up shakily.
Taking deep breaths, Ray grabbed Luna’s cheeks and pulled her towards him.
“Luna, Luna!”
“Auuu…”
“Are you in your right mind? Who taught you about such a contract?”
“…”
“Who taught you?! Did you think this up yourself?”
Avoiding Ray’s gaze, Luna mumbled.
“Teacher Ropheiren…”
Luna had asked Ropheiren what the most reliable type of binding contract was to keep someone close. Ropheiren had suggested connecting their lifelines. With interconnected lifelines, neither party would dare leave the other for fear of the other’s sudden demise. It was efficient and effective, Ropheiren explained.
This answer was quintessentially mage-like—rooted in distrust and efficiency.
Hearing this, Ray kicked Karga nearby and shouted.
“Luna!”
Wham!!
[Keeek!]
“Learn only magic from Ropheiren! Just magic! Not his bizarre logic!”
After venting his frustration on Karga a few more times, Ray sighed deeply.
Even if Ropheiren had egged her on, seeing Luna resort to such extreme measures indicated significant emotional distress.
Running his hands through his hair, Ray looked at Luna who still maintained the active magic circle.
Reading the deep anguish and sorrow in her expression, Ray hesitantly opened his arms.
“Come here.”
“…”
“Come here.”
Luna slowly approached and embraced Ray.
As Ray gently stroked her back, he murmured softly.
“Don’t worry.”
Don’t worry.
Even if I’m not there, you’ll all do just fine navigating the world.
Ray didn’t finish his thought.
‘Have I been too overprotective?’
Even when Jimmy Orphanage was tiny, Ray refused to turn away normal orphans, accommodating them despite the difficulties. While sympathy played a role, his decision was also purposeful. Ray wanted the children to interact with each other, developing humanity and social skills beyond their own struggles. Through this process, he hoped to prevent overly self-centered personalities and foster unity and reliance among them.
However, contrary to Ray’s intentions, some children came to rely solely on him rather than their peers. Given Ray’s constant heroic endeavors, this was somewhat inevitable.
‘Well… things will gradually improve over time.’
Humans are creatures of forgetfulness. Emotions fade quickly, memories get overshadowed by new experiences and eventually forgotten. Admiration and attachment erode over time. Certainly, the children who once depended on Ray would gradually gain independence.
But.
What Ray didn’t know was that forgetting didn’t apply to Luna.
Luna vividly remembered every detail, even the harsh breathing sounds Ray made during a rainstorm long ago. She recalled those feelings nightly. She would cherish these memories forever.
Unaware of this, Ray playfully pinched Luna’s cheeks.
“I won’t leave without telling you, so don’t worry.”
“…”
Luna firmly grasped Ray’s hand, silently urging him not to break today’s promise.
Smiling faintly, Ray patted her head.
The commotion ended there.
*
About two months after Ray got pinned by Karga, winter waned and spring approached. Ropheiren completed the method for Dragon Heart transplantation.
Though incomplete in some areas, improving it further was currently impossible without accessing exclusive royal information. Thus, they relied on the data provided by Aptel.
Ray reported the matter of the Dragon Heart to the Count, who readily approved its transplantation at the Manor.
After receiving approval,
On the day of the Dragon Heart transplantation, a knight, Ray, and Jimmy gathered. Ropheiren stood among them, having put Lea into a state of suspended animation.
“Well… let’s proceed with the Dragon Heart transplantation.”
Everyone nodded.
As Ray watched the preparations, he was overwhelmed with mixed emotions. There was definitely a chance the transplantation could fail, and Ropheiren couldn’t guarantee the success rate since it was their first attempt.
That’s why Bella wasn’t present. They couldn’t risk her witnessing any potential harm to her child.
Ray massaged his cheek.
Perhaps failure would be better for everyone.
This fleeting thought crossed his mind, but he quickly clenched his teeth. No, it had to succeed. Remembering Bella’s expression as she looked at her child, Ray resolved himself.
Despite the heavy atmosphere, Ropheiren calmly inspected the surroundings and produced a fragment of the Dragon Heart.
“Now we begin.”
Swoosh!
Everyone drew their swords, ready to respond if the Dragon Heart went rogue.
In the tense silence, Ropheiren initiated the magical procedure for transplantation.
Crack!
The process wasn’t surgical but required intricate precision. The dragon blood had to fuse with the subject’s bloodstream and penetrate the heart. One wrong move could puncture the heart or cause burns.
Ropheiren, aided by Aptel, focused entirely on the task.
Time passed in silence, the tension palpable.
Yet, Ropheiren remained cool and collected, embodying the essence of a true mage.
Crack!
Finally, the Dragon Heart disappeared into Lea’s skin.
There was no turning back now.
At the peak of tension,
WHOOSH!!
Suddenly, two spiraling streams of red mana shot upward.
Everyone instinctively tensed.
Could the Dragon Heart be going berserk?
Just as the doubt arose, the red mana streams halted mid-air and descended back onto Lea’s chest.
WHOOSH!
Lea emitted a gentle warm breeze that heated the room.
Though everyone remained tense, the mana settled and disappeared.
Lea continued to sleep peacefully, breathing steadily.
Relieved, Ropheiren stepped back.
“It seems successful.”
The latent dragon blood within Lea separated from human blood and stored itself in the Dragon Heart.
Ray approached Lea first, lifting her eyelids.
Her eyes were completely normal.
“Phew…”
Running his hand through his hair, Ray looked down at Lea again.
“Ultimately, it’s come to this.”
He felt relief that Bella’s child was safe but couldn’t fully celebrate the reality.
Still, what’s done is done.
As people gradually dispersed, Bella entered the room late and picked up Lea.
Apparently anxious, Bella’s eyes watered as she thoroughly checked Lea for any issues.
Fortunately, apart from changes in her eyes, Lea appeared very healthy.
“Blessed be, our daughter.”
Watching Bella tenderly caress Lea, Ray remained silent.
After a storm comes calm.
Though this resolution was temporary, peace was precious nonetheless.
Time continued to pass as everyone fulfilled their roles.
Three years had passed since the successful Dragon Heart transplantation.
