Chapter 176: In Each Other’s Arms
[Investment Authority has met the requirements for an upgrade.]
[Would you like to initiate the advancement?]
[Yes / No]
Soren stared at the prompt, his mind racing. He paused, looking at the floating words while a wave of uncertainty washed over him. He had no idea what this process would actually do or how it would happen.
Yet, the answer was obvious. He needed to know the truth behind Ethea’s curse. He needed to eliminate those mocking ’insufficient authority’ warnings that blocked his path every time he tried to dig deeper. To save her, he needed more info.
Soren focused his mind on the options and made his choice.
’...Yes.’
The glowing interface instantly vanished. But before he could even register the change or form another thought, his vision began to blur. The room went completely black, and he slumped backward, falling unconscious.
───────
Many hours later.
"Dear, you’re awake!"
Clara cried out, immediately wrapping her arms around the figure lying on the bed.
"Urgh..."
The figure groaned, blinking in confusion before his eyes slowly focused on her. He stared at her, his mind a complete fog, until recognition finally broke through the haze.
"H-Honey?"
Clara only cried harder, hugging him even tighter as if he might vanish if she let go.
"H-Honey... b-be gentle..." he wheezed, his weak muscles straining under the embrace. "I-I can’t breathe."
Hearing his strained voice, Clara loosened her grip just a fraction, but she still refused to let go. She buried her face in his shoulder, her shoulders shaking violently. "I thought... I thought you were..." She couldn’t even finish the sentence, the mere memory of her grief choking out the words into a broken sob.
The figure, feeling a bit better as the initial fog cleared, smiled gently. He raised a trembling, weak hand and began caressing her hair, smoothing down the tangled strands with familiar warmth.
"I am sorry," he murmured softly. "I just wanted to find you and make sure you were safe."
Clara let out another ragged sob, her tears soaking into his shirt.
"But now, looking at you, I can finally put my mind at ease," he continued, his smile growing warmer as he anchored himself to the sight of her unharmed. "Seeing you like this makes everything worth it."
Clara slowly raised her head, her eyes red as she stared down at him.
"But what about you? You are just an ordinary person!" she cried out, her voice cracking. "You should have thought about yourself! You... you could have died!"
"I know," the husband whispered, his smile turning a bit wry as he reached up to gently wipe a tear from her cheek. "But I knew you were out there in danger. How could I just sit back and do nothing?"
Clara bit her lower lip, fresh tears welling up in her eyes. She wanted to scream at him for being so reckless, to yell at him for running headfirst into danger when he didn’t possess a single shred of mana or combat ability. Yet, looking at his pale face and the genuine relief in his eyes, the anger in her chest quickly deflated, leaving only a hollow ache.
She slumped back down against his chest, careful not to crush him this time, and let out a shaky breath.
"J-Just... Don’t ever... do that to me again," she muttered into his shirt, her voice muffled but fierce. "If you die... I’m going right after you."
"...Deal," he murmured, wrapping his arms around her as much as his weak muscles would allow.
The frantic tension that had filled the room for hours finally began to dissipate. For a long time, neither of them spoke.
Clara remained resting against his chest, listening to the solid beat of his heart, a sound she had feared she would never hear again. Her husband simply held her, slowly regaining his strength as the lingering fog of his unconsciousness cleared away entirely. It was a rare moment of peace they had shared since all that chaos, and they held onto it tightly, letting the minutes slip away unnoticed.
Eventually, the door opened, breaking the silence.
Carrying a bag of things and a bouquet, a figure stepped inside.
Clara hurriedly wiped away her tears and stood up to look over, her eyes widening. "S-Soren? H-How are you here?"
Soren, still wearing patient clothes, paused at the threshold, his gaze falling upon Clara’s tear-stained, shocked face.
"Good afternoon, Auntie." He greeted her with a smile. "As you can see, I’m fine now, so I decided to come by and visit."
Clara stood frozen, her mind struggling to process the sight before her.
’How?!’
The question echoed repeatedly in her head. Just yesterday, he was on the verge of dying from severe injuries and mana exhaustion. She had witnessed everything with her own eyes. Even the doctors had made it clear that his survival alone was a miracle. Yet... Here he was, standing on his own two feet and talking as if nothing had happened.
Suppressing her utter bewilderment for a moment, she gestured for Soren to walk into the room.
Soren smiled and then turned toward the man lying on the bed, bowing his head respectfully. "Good afternoon, Uncle Ben. Are you feeling alright now?"
"Thank you." Ben nodded weakly, a faint but grateful smile appearing on his face. "Please, come in, take a seat."
Soren nodded and walked over to the side of the bed. He set the bags down on the small table before pulling up the vacant chair and sitting down. Looking directly at Ben, his relaxed demeanor vanished, replaced by a serious expression.
"I wanted to sincerely apologize for what happened," Soren said, his voice heavy with regret. "If I hadn’t brought Auntie with me, or if I had handled things better, you wouldn’t have been put in such danger."
Both Clara and Ben immediately shook their heads in unison.
"You don’t have to apologize for anything," Ben said firmly. "It was my mistake for being foolish. Besides, I’m sure it was you who kept her safe. So thank you for that."
Soren fell silent, a wave of complex emotions washing over him as he knew the truth. Still, he kept his expression thankful and nodded. "No, it was Auntie who helped us a lot. If not for her, we wouldn’t even be here. That’s why I’m eternally grateful to her."
He looked toward Clara, nodding to her directly this time.
"Thank you, Auntie."
Clara smiled faintly, fresh tears threatening to fall all over again at his words. Then, as if recalling something crucial, she looked up, her expression shifting to one of sudden anxiety.
"W-What about Ethea?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly. "Is she alright? Has she awoken too?"
"No, she’s still sleeping." Soren shook his head. "However, her condition is fine, so don’t worry. She just needs some rest."
Clara let out a sigh of relief, the tension leaving her shoulders as she turned her gaze back to Soren.
"...You should rest too," she said, her tone softening with genuine concern. "You pushed yourself too hard."
"I did," Soren replied with a small smile. "And the doctor already confirmed I am fine, so please don’t worry about me too much."
"And here." He reached over to the table and began pulling food containers from the bags he had brought. "You must be hungry."
Clara and Ben looked at the warm meals, the savory aroma instantly filling the room and reminding them of how exhausted they truly were.
They accepted the food with grateful smiles, a shared sense of comfort settling over the three of them.
