Chapter 191: Ch 191: Have Sweet Dreams
The system’s reassurance made Rin suspicious at first. But thinking back, the system had always helped him.
Still, it was not only his life on the line here, but his companions’ lives as well. Could he truly trust the system with something like this?
[(╥﹏╥)]
[This senior feels betrayed! After all it has done for you, you still treat me like this? Can’t you have a little more faith in this senior of yours?]
The system tried to guilt-trip Rin, and it worked.
Maybe it was because he was too tired to think clearly, but the system’s words made sense to him.
’Hmm, maybe I did treat the system a little too harshly. I can trust it to keep an eye out...maybe...’
Even though Rin was not sure, his eyes were already drooping, and he knew that he would not be able to stay awake for much longer. So, in the end, he decided to go to sleep and stop overthinking things.
He closed his eyes, and within seconds, he was asleep.
...
[Rookie, wake up! Do you not see that this is an emergency? You need to wake up right now.]
Rin woke up to the system’s frantic calls, and it took him a few seconds to realize what was happening and where he was.
As soon as he became aware of his surroundings, he looked around for the danger. But Rin could neither see nor sense anything threatening.
All he could hear were ragged gasps of pain coming from someone nearby.
Rin immediately turned toward the source of the sound, and his eyes landed on Serena, who was clutching her chest and struggling to breathe.
Her condition looked terrible, and Rin immediately rushed to her side to try and wake her up.
"Serena, wake up! You are having a nightmare, and you need to wake up right now."
Rin told her as he reached out to grab her hand. But the moment he touched her, Serena jolted awake and grabbed his wrist tightly.
Her grip was strong enough to leave marks on Rin’s arm, but that was not what worried him.
What worried him was Serena’s pale complexion and the look of terror and betrayal in her eyes. She was staring at Rin, but he had a feeling that she was not actually seeing him.
"Serena, are you alright? Can you try to talk to me?"
Rin asked in a low but reassuring voice. He wanted Serena to calm down, so he waited patiently for her breathing to steady.
Serena blinked as she stared at him with wide eyes before looking around at her surroundings.
Awareness slowly returned to her gaze, and once she fully recognized where she was, she let go of Rin’s wrist with an embarrassed expression.
Rin rubbed his wrist, which had already started going numb from the lack of blood circulation. He gently massaged it to ease the discomfort.
"I...am sorry. I did not mean to hurt you like that. I think I overreacted when you tried to grab me."
Serena apologized immediately. It was obvious from her expression that hurting him had never been her intention, and she genuinely felt guilty about it.
It felt strange to see her acting so subdued. Based on what Rin knew about her so far—and what he had read about her in the original story—Serena was supposed to be bold and outspoken, someone who often clashed with Albus.
She was originally meant to have a rocky relationship with Albus because of the debt between them before they slowly became closer. But the situation here was completely different.
Right now, Serena looked like a wilted flower desperately trying to survive. And Rin had a feeling that it was somehow his fault.
’I need to help Serena regain her confidence before it’s too late. But how am I supposed to do that when I don’t even know what is causing her to become like this in the first place?’
Rin bit his lip as he thought over the problem, but no answer came to mind immediately.
He noticed that Serena was still looking at him, seemingly waiting for his response. So he decided to lighten the mood by waving his injured hand around dramatically.
"It’s fine. I am not hurt too badly. See? I can still move my hand just fine. You don’t need to worry so much about it."
Rin told her, though in reality, moving his wrist still hurt.
Serena either noticed his discomfort or simply did not believe him. The look on her face clearly told Rin to stop fooling around.
"Anyway, do you want to talk about what’s bothering you? Things must be pretty bad if you cannot even sleep properly."
Rin decided to stop beating around the bush and ask her directly.
His question made Serena bite her lip as she considered what she wanted to say.
She opened her mouth, and for a moment, Rin thought she was finally going to tell him what was troubling her. But in the end, she closed it again and acted as though she had never intended to say anything at all.
"I am fine. I just don’t think sleeping in this place or around other people suits me. I will try, but don’t expect too much from me."
She told Rin, and he could not help but feel sorry for her.
[It looks like your friend is in pretty bad shape. But if all she lacks is sleep, why don’t you offer her something from the shop? I heard the new sleep potions are much more effective compared to the previous batch.]
The system suddenly spoke up and startled Rin. But the suggestion was not a bad one.
Now that he looked more closely at Serena’s condition, he noticed the dark circles under her eyes and the unnatural paleness of her skin.
She was hiding it well, but it was obvious that she had not been sleeping properly for quite some time. And as both her companion—and someone who might partially be responsible for her current condition—Rin felt obligated to help her.
So he bought a potion and handed it to Serena.
"What’s this?"
She asked while taking the potion from him.
"It’s a sleeping potion. Take a small sip and store the rest in your inventory. I’m sure it will help you relax."
