SRS 71

The task of scraping off Mikael’s wings was delicate and required careful handling, so even though Yohan tried to work as fast as he could, it still took him well over 40 minutes.

Yohan ran his hand over Mikael’s skin in the forest that had grown very dim after sunset. He could not see well, so he checked whether he had removed the feathers safely.

Mikael’s back trembled slightly. At some point, the student couldn’t even answer Yohan’s questions, and instead just lay there, eyes buried in Yohan’s shoulder, trembling.

“Sorry, just bear with it for a little longer.”

Yohan offered a brief apology and carefully palpated Mikael’s back. The bare skin beneath his fingertips felt slightly sticky, as if the wound had been soaked with pus, but was smooth.

“…Looks like it’s done.”

Only then was Yohan able to breathe. Relaxing his body, he looked down at Mikael. He seemed to have lost all energy, his arms hanging limply as he leaned his weight on him. He’d endured the pain without a single groan for the entire forty minutes, but his mental strength seemed to has reached its limits.

Yohan unconsciously patted Mikael’s shoulder and took a deep breath.

It was finally time to really put in the effort.

“Then now… I will try to heal you.”

After taking a deep breath, he released divine power and floated it into the air, illuminating Mikael’s back. The spots where he had scraped off the wings showed rising blood, and the skin was red. It looked as if even the slightest touch with a needle or something would instantly cause blood to gush forth.

Feeling sympathetic, Yohan frowned once before gathering divine power in his palm.

Pahaat!

The burst of light slowly and carefully wrapped Mikael’s back. Yohan raised the output as much as he could.

As he forced out a large amount of divine power to the point his heart hurt, the light grew stronger and blocked his vision. Cold sweat trickled down his neck and face. His breath turned rough and his sight blurred.

“Haa, haa….”

He hit his limit.

Yohan, who had been pouring out divine power at full power for over ten minutes, nearly fell backwards, but he braced himself with his hands on the ground and opened his eyes. The brilliant light faded, revealing the results.

“…Ah.”

A short sigh escaped Yohan’s lips. Exhausted and short of breath, Mikael did not ask his friend for the result. The sigh that escaped after a long pause already gave him the answer.

“…It isn’t working.”

Yohan spoke gloomily and touched Mikael’s back. He swept over an uninjured area and then over the wound, which remained exactly the same as before he used divine power. He closed his eyes.

He honestly thought his skill had improved enough to cause at least a small change, but the wall of the punishment given by a god was indeed high.

“…I am sorry.”

When he apologized with a sunken face, Mikael lifted his head a little to look at Yohan. The student’s eyes were red. After checking Yohan’s face, he lost words for a while, then gave a drained smile.

“It’s fine. It was definitely better than last time.”

It was a white lie that was so obvious it was pitiful

Yohan felt it difficult to see Mikael, who must have been in a daze from enduring the pain, pretending for his sake, so he shook off his gloom and smiled awkwardly.

“Yes. …Maybe it’ll get better if we keep trying.”

Trying to chant a hopeful tone, he took out the cloth he’d brought and handed it to Mikael. The perceptive Mikael used his magic to soak the cloth. Yohan purified and disinfected the damp cloth, then wiped Mikael’s back.

“Tell me if it hurts.”

Despite his words, Yohan knew Mikael wasn’t the type to show signs of pain. Therefore, Yohan observed Mikael’s reactions more carefully and meticulously than usual, wiping his back to remove the blood. He then used what little divine power he had left to bless him with a recovery boost. Given that Fantasiademia was a place enchanted with recovery boosting magic, it might have been a futile effort, but since the healing hadn’t been particularly effective, he wanted to do something more.

“All done.”

Yohan was about to grab Mikael’s shoulder to check his condition when something happened.

The student, who already looked like he was barely holding on, finally tilted to the side.

“…Mikael!”

Startled, Yohan hurriedly caught him.

“Are you alright?”

There was no answer to the question. Mikael, with his eyelids closed and his long eyelashes gleaming with divine light, was unconscious.

“Mikael….”

Yohan, who had muttered the name with a sigh, finally decided to lie down with Mikael held against him so Mikael’s back could rest on him. He couldn’t lay him on the floor, his back still not fully recovered, but he couldn’t have him lie face down either. If he had him lie on his side, he might have tossed and turned, it would cause trouble. So, after much thought, he settled on this method.

Yohan, holding Mikael’s shoulders and waist tightly in case he tumbled off him, checked his watch. There was only about an hour left until roll call. He hoped Mikael would wake up by then, but if he didn’t, Yohan would have no choice but to carry him.

“…Can I even do that?”

–Prrr!

As he muttered in self-doubt, Yohan’s griffin approached and rubbed its face against his. Yohan let out a small chuckle from the tickling, but then his golden eyes widened as a thought struck him.

“You can take us…!”

Why didn’t I think of this method?

Yohan felt as if he’d discovered the first fire, while he was overcome with joy, the griffin stopped acting cute and started spinning around, purring loudly. Unable to contain his laughter at the sight of its boastful face, Yohan reached out and stroked the amazing griffin.

“Thank you.”

Having raised it by diligently feeding it divine power, his griffin proved to be remarkably kind and intelligent. Thanks to this, Yohan, who had been somewhat relieved of his embarrassment, found hope.

If things were like this, he hoped Mikael would just sleep soundly.

Sound enough to forget the pain.

The student who had lost consciousness and fallen asleep did not wake again, maybe because he felt Yohan’s earnest wish. He was still asleep even while Yohan dressed him, rode the griffin with him, arrived at the dormitory, and went through roll call.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

Mikael, who had slept for a long time woke up right before midnight.

“…Oh, you’re awake?”

Yohan was about to fall asleep like usual, then stopped because he worried Mikael might sleep more than 4 hours straight and get attacked by the griffins, so he hesitated over whether he should wake him. The moment Yohan sat on Mikael’s bed, the student opened his eyes, startling Yohan, who then greeted him.

“……”

Perhaps he was dazed, because Mikael only blinked for a while. Suhyeok and Kylus had fallen asleep a few minutes before Mikael woke, so the room was silent.

After looking around for a moment, Mikael finally spoke in a hoarse voice.

“…We’re in the dorm.”

“Yes. We came back before roll call.”

“How did we get here?”

“The griffin carried you on its back and brought you to the dorm. It probably returned to the Griffin Hall on its own.”

“…That griffin is amazing.”

The student, who had seemed to ask, “Really?” when Yohan said that the griffin had gone back alone, was amazed. Yohan nodded in agreement, then carefully observed Mikael’s expression.

“How does your body feel?”

“I’m fine.”

“……”

“I’m really fine, don’t make that face. I actually woke up faster today.”

Yohan frowned, expressing concern. Mikael pressed his thumb against his friend’s forehead, smoothing out the wrinkles that formed from his frown. Yohan, whose head had been pushed back slightly by the pressure, tilted his head back, avoiding the touch. He then fixed his hair, looking like he had something to say.

Mikael insisted he was really fine, and his complexion and expression indeed looked normal. That was the part that upset Yohan.

He wasn’t naive or thoughtless enough to feel relieved the moment he saw that face.

If Mikael could make that kind of expression despite his injury not having healed yet, then he must be used to this level pain….

Swallowing his complicated feelings, Yohan laid him back down on the bed as he tried to get up to talk to him. Mikael, unusually weak, collapsed even at the slightest touch from Yohan.

That showed his true condition.

“You’re fine, just lie down a little longer. I’ll sleep soon too.”

Yohan looked down at Mikael with a bitter smile.

How many times had he gone through this?

Even when Yohan helped, Mikael still ended up fainting. When he handled it alone, it must have been worse. He must have suffered longer than today, fainted more times. Realizing that helped Yohan understand the anger Mikael had shown on the day they shared their secrets.

How could he not feel angry when he endured that kind of pain every year?

Yohan felt terrible for his friend who endured such pain. Even while he held Mikael’s hand and blessed him, he frowned.

Why did God give Mikael this punishment and refuse to lift it for so long?

He spent a long time thinking about this after Mikael fainted, and he could only come to one conclusion.

But if his guess was correct, then Mikael needed to realize it himself. It wasn’t something that could be taught to him by others, but rather something he had to recognize and realize as an angel himself.

If Yohan’s guess was right, God will not relent in punishing Mikael unless he himself recognizes it.

So, when his friend asked him with a puzzled expression if he had anything to say, Yohan hid his true feelings and shook his head.

“I just want you to have a peaceful night.”

In the end, that was all Yohan could say. Mikael looked unconvinced, then spoke in his usual calm tone to say goodnight.

“Yes. Have a good night.”

Yohan greeted him and spent the night suppressing his frustration.

And so time passed… Finally, the month-end evaluation week arrived, the week that had turned every student into a monster, or, as Suhyeok put it, a zombie, for the past two weeks.

“…After the evaluation is over, is that the day to submit the withdrawal application?”

Suhyeok, half-asleep, opened his eyes and checked the date, then muttered in a sleepy voice. Yohan, who had stayed up all night, nodded, washed up, and straightened his clothes.

It was the beginning of a week that was a decisive time in many ways.