As I was saying that, even if it wasn’t a secret, we were still friends, Yoon Si-woo was smiling.

“Ahem, Si-woo. Sorry to interrupt the good atmosphere, but can you spare a moment? I have something to tell you.”

Lucy, who had been quietly sitting next to us, cleared her throat and called out to Yoon Si-woo.

Sylvia, seeing Lucy for the first time today, flinched at the sudden sound that echoed through the room, then muttered to herself with a look of wonder at the talking sword in front of her.

“You’re the Witch of Pride, Lucifel, right?”

“Yes, just call me Lucy if you wish. Anyway, Si-woo, this is important, so don’t let it go in one ear and out the other.”

As Lucy emphasized the importance of her words, Yoon Si-woo looked at her with a puzzled expression.

It was as if he was wondering why they didn’t just communicate through thought if they could, instead of saying it out loud for everyone to hear.

“I need to make sure these guys hear it too, so that Si-woo will take it more seriously. You have a tendency to treat your body too roughly, after all. I didn’t mention it earlier, but I’ll make it clear now.”

Giving a jab at Yoon Si-woo’s previous question, Lucy murmured and then added,

“Si-woo, from now on, try to refrain from using my power as much as possible.”

Then she followed up with something very serious.

“If you keep using it thoughtlessly like before, you will die.”

Hearing those words, my mind went blank for a moment.

…Die? Yoon Si-woo?

What kind of nonsense was that?

Yoon Si-woo was right here, perfectly alive.

How could I have a conversation with him again like this?

However, no matter how much I denied it, unless I had misheard, Lucy definitely just said that.

That Yoon Si-woo would die.

As the realization sank in, a scene slowly unfolded in my mind.

The image of Yoon Si-woo collapsing.

But this time, it was the sight of Yoon Si-woo who could never open his eyes again, cold and lifeless.

“W-What do you mean?! Yoon Si-woo, he’s going to die?!”

I still vividly recalled how he had been unable to move like a corpse not too long ago.

Feeling chills at the thought of Yoon Si-woo never opening his eyes again, I almost convulsed in fear as I shouted towards Lucy.

Then, in a calm voice, Lucy spoke to me.

“Calm down. I’m not saying he will definitely die, just that it could happen if he abuses my power.”

“Not die, huh…?”

With Lucy’s calm demeanor soothing me, I managed to gather my scattered thoughts and regain my composure.

However, since Lucy wasn’t denying the possibility of Yoon Si-woo dying, I felt compelled to clarify that doubt, so I asked her.

“…Now that I’m calmed down, please explain properly.”

“You know, being a witch, you understand that magic is not something humans should wield. For ordinary humans, magic is nothing but a ferocious energy that harms the body.”

As Lucy said, magic was a power that humans shouldn’t handle.

If I had to find a comparison with my meager knowledge, it would be something like nuclear power.

If utilized, it could produce great strength, but touching it would lead to radiation exposure, making it unusable; magic was that kind of power.

“Si-woo is an exception. He possesses the Holy Sword of Protection, which greatly enhances his body’s healing abilities and increases his resistance to magic, allowing him to endure it. So until now, he could use my power without much trouble, as long as he didn’t overdo it. Even if he used magic beyond his body’s limits, he had means to recover.”

As expected from the protagonist of the original work, Yoon Si-woo was someone who could wield such magic.

He also, like me, was human but burdened with the power of the Holy Swords.

Perhaps the means of recovery Lucy mentioned was the ability of the Holy Sword of Resilience to restore the body at the cost of its own lifespan.

Realizing that, I couldn’t help but stiffen my expression.

I knew how high the cost Yoon Si-woo had paid to save me when Evanjelin had taken my body just the previous day.

But what was terribly ironic was that I only knew that fact because of my knowledge of the original story.

Originally, I shouldn’t have had any way of knowing that.

Yoon Si-woo had woken up after paying such a cost but hadn’t uttered a word about it to me.

He hadn’t mentioned how high of a price he had paid, nor had he indicated that I should be grateful for it.

But I knew.

I knew it all.

How much Yoon Si-woo had sacrificed for me.

Knowing that he didn’t mention it because it would have weighed heavily on me made me even more thankful and apologetic.

It was a ridiculous farce.

Some wanted to keep it a secret, while others had to pretend not to know, even while fully aware of everything.

In that moment, as I smirked at the absurdity in my mind, Lucy spoke up, seemingly reading my thoughts.

“However, that is no longer possible. The girl named Scarlet. Do you have any idea how much Si-woo sacrificed to save you?”

At that moment, Lucy’s words startled Yoon Si-woo, who had surely wanted to keep it a secret from me.

“Lucy, you…!”

“Si-woo, I know your feelings, but I can’t compromise on this. For both you and that girl, this must be said.”

“Ugh, don’t say it…!”

Yoon Si-woo vehemently opposed Lucy’s intention to speak.

“Sacrifice? What do you mean?”

But I, already knowing everything, thought it was good either way, so I immediately asked.

And Lucy answered my question before Yoon Si-woo could intervene.

“Most of his lifespan. The Holy Sword of Resilience that Si-woo holds has the ability to restore the body at the cost of lifespan. However, during the time Si-woo helped you, he ended up sacrificing most of his lifespan because he overused that ability.”

“Ugh…!”

When Lucy revealed everything, I could see Yoon Si-woo looking at me with a panicked expression, as if he really didn’t want me to find out.

Considering my position, I found myself in a rather awkward situation in knowing something I shouldn’t have.

It felt strange to be surprised and flustered after already knowing the full story.

Fortunately, before I could react, Sylvia, who had been listening, exclaimed in shock.

“W-Wait! If you’re saying most of his lifespan, doesn’t that mean Yoon Si-woo won’t live long?!”

“Fortunately, that’s not the case, so you can relax. Even though Si-woo won’t live long, he won’t die anytime soon. And you there, the one frozen in place, remember that Si-woo can live like this because of you, so don’t feel too guilty about what he sacrificed for you.”

I was relieved to hear that the issue regarding Yoon Si-woo’s lifespan that I had been worrying about had been resolved, but I couldn’t help but feel puzzled by the following words.

What did she mean, “because of me”?

“What do you mean, ‘because of me’?”

“Literally. The sacred relic, wasn’t it? Using that item, you put the strange power of that elf girl into Si-woo’s body, right? No matter how much he exhausted his lifespan, he’s able to stay alive thanks to that. To put it simply, it’s like you glued together a cracked bowl and refilled it with water.”

Following Lucy’s explanation, I started to understand the situation.

I took it that while Yoon Si-woo had exhausted most of his lifespan because of me, I had brought the sacred relic to fill the moment he spent that lifespan, so it worked out in the end.

I suppose it was fortunate that we had managed to salvage what could have been a dire situation.

However, there was still a part that couldn’t be explained, so I cautiously asked Lucy.

“So, what about what you said earlier about Yoon Si-woo dying…?”

“…It’s a somewhat contradictory statement, but the power you filled him with is the problem.”

After a brief pause, Lucy replied to my question.

With both Sylvia and me unable to comprehend it, we stared in confusion.

What could possibly be the problem with the power we filled him with to save him?

Noticing our perplexed expressions, Lucy began to explain.

“Well, lifespan—somewhere it’s called innate capacity or another name—but it’s something that normally can’t be refilled through normal means once it’s spent. I previously compared lifespan to water in a cup, but of course, lifespan isn’t like water. The fact that it could be refilled is already a miracle.”

As we nodded our heads, Lucy continued her explanation.

“The problem is that the power you inserted instead of lifespan isn’t exactly the same. You could say you poured different contents into the vessel instead of the original water. And rather peculiarly, a very unique type of liquid.”

Lucy then turned to us, continuing her explanation.

“The force you put in instead of lifespan seems to be one that is antagonistic to magic, right?”

“Ah…”

At Lucy’s question, Sylvia let out a soft sound.

Indeed, Sylvia’s ability was antagonistic to magic.

It dawned on us that this was bound to create some problems.

In the sudden silence that fell over us, Lucy’s voice returned quietly.

“Even in the current state, Si-woo should still be able to use my power. However, if he continues to use it for an extended period, it’s only natural that his body will be affected. Then a situation will arise where he must use the ability to heal his body. But that healing relies on the power of lifespan.”

“….”

“Here lies the problem. If he tries to heal a body that’s been thrown into chaos by magic and uses that power, which is antagonistic to magic, what do you think will happen?”

I recalled the incident from yesterday when Sylvia had used her powers to purify the sacred relic that had been tainted with magic.

At that time, I could still remember Sylvia trembling as the sacred relic resisted her ability.

“It won’t work. If we keep going like this, it’s bound to break.”

The recollection continued.

I thought of Yoon Si-woo, who ended up in a disastrous state after forcing himself to use the witch’s power, filled with magic.

And what if he tried to use the ability to recover from that, only to end up shattered…?

Ugh—

I barely managed to suppress the wave of nausea that rose from that horrific imagination and looked at Yoon Si-woo.

No, no…

I couldn’t let that happen to Yoon Si-woo.

That thought made me shout out.

“I-If he doesn’t use the witch’s power, then it’s fine, right?! That should work…!”

“That’s exactly what I was trying to say.”

Lucy replied with that, then advised Yoon Si-woo.

“Si-woo, as I said, if you want to live, you should refrain from borrowing my power. Well, given your tendency to mistreat your body, I don’t expect you to heed my words… but now that others know, there might be someone to stop you even if I’m not around.”

“Lucy, you… you’ve been saying this from the start…”

Yoon Si-woo muttered as if taken aback by Lucy’s words.

But I immediately grew anxious at his lack of a clear answer.

Why…? Why wouldn’t he say he wouldn’t use it right away…?

As the thought of Yoon Si-woo being shattered and unable to respond came rushing back, I quickly grabbed both his shoulders and asked.

“Yoon Si-woo… you won’t use it, right? You know your life’s at stake…!”

“……”

There was no answer.

I felt my insides heating up as I yelled out in frustration.

“Hey!! Why aren’t you answering! Promise, promise me! Promise that you won’t use it, like before!”

I released his shoulders and grabbed Yoon Si-woo’s right hand.

I clung to him, pleading for him to promise, trying to link my pinky to his.

I felt like I would go mad if I didn’t do this, out of anxiety.

If only he would say he promised, I could relax.

Yoon Si-woo hates lies.

That’s why a promise made with Yoon Si-woo would be one I could trust.

So all I wanted was to hear that one word of promise.

“…Sorry, Scarlet. I don’t think I can promise that.”

But instead of a promise, Yoon Si-woo said that while smiling apologetically, grabbing my struggling hand with his other.

I stared blankly at Yoon Si-woo’s face in shock and asked,

“Why… why…?”

“I won’t use it if possible, but still, if the moment comes when I must borrow it, I will.”

“But… you’re going to die…”

“I know. But if it’s to protect something more precious than my life, I believe I’ll have to fight.”

Yoon Si-woo’s words made me feel betrayed.

He had just promised not to leave me behind.

I had been relieved because he had agreed, but now he was saying he’d be fine dying…

I turned to Yoon Si-woo, my expression wounded by betrayal.

“You promised earlier… that you wouldn’t leave me behind… but now you’re saying it’s okay to die…?”

“Ah…”

Yoon Si-woo let out a bitter smile, as if he hadn’t considered that.

“I suppose I can’t take that back…?”

“…If you say you’re taking it back, then it’s a breakup. Even if you break the promise, I’ll consider it a breakup.”

“That would be troublesome, haha… I don’t want to be dumped…”

When he said something nonsensical, I shot him a serious glare as he laughed sheepishly.

I felt that it would be impossible to change his mind, but I still pleaded one last time.

“…Just promise you won’t use it?”

“…I don’t want to lie. Not to you, my friend Scarlet.”

“No matter what it takes…?”

As I wondered how I could turn Yoon Si-woo’s heart around, he asked me.

“If you were in my place, could you promise not to use it?”

If I were Yoon Si-woo…

I couldn’t help but close my mouth at that question.

Of course, I couldn’t.

I could have responded and said I could do it even if it was a lie, but what would be the point of saying it to someone who wouldn’t accept a lie?

Moreover, after hearing him say he didn’t want to lie to me, I wouldn’t want to do so either.

So, as I sat quietly without a reply, Yoon Si-woo smiled as if he expected this.

Seeing that infuriating smile, I stood up and shouted.

“…Fine, I’ll just take care of everything, so you don’t have to fight!”

I pouted, feeling slighted by Yoon Si-woo not saying a single promise, and was about to walk away when I turned around just before exiting.

“…But still, keep the promise you made earlier, okay? If you don’t, I really will consider it a breakup.”

To that, Yoon Si-woo replied.

“Hmm, I’ll try my best to keep that promise.”

…Truly, he was an infuriating guy to the end.