"Ah, *ahem*... No, I can hear you fine."
The misunderstanding cleared before anyone could turn pale. As Rian tried to sit up, the room erupted in chaos.
Rian had to continue the conversation from his bed.
"Do you remember what happened before you collapsed?"
"Ah..."
Rian reflexively brought a hand to his jaw as the memory surfaced. His nose stung—the familiar precursor to a nosebleed.
Thanks to his recent history, he seemed to have built up some immunity; no blood flowed. Rian darted his eyes around.
"Uh, yeah. I remember."
"I see. Then..."
Myukan turned to Lily, Nero, and Noah, who were crowding the bed.
"I would like everyone to step out for a moment for the examination."
"What?"
"But..."
"I will assist from the side."
Except for Lily, who possessed some medical knowledge, the others were ushered out of the infirmary. Myukan pulled a chair to the bedside and sat with a calm expression.
It promised to be a long conversation.
"I heard you've been coughing up blood repeatedly. Since when has this been happening?"
"Ah..."
At Myukan's words, Lily, standing quietly behind, stiffened. Rian scratched his cheek, looking troubled.
"Hmm, if I had to put a timeframe on it... since I was born? I think so."
"...So, you've been in that state since your memories began forming."
"Right?"
As a reincarnator, Rian remembered his days as a newborn. To him, "since memories began forming" and "since I was born" were identical.
To Myukan, however, it sounded like: *I was experimented on when I was so young I can't even remember it.*
"Do you often cough up blood in your daily life?"
"No, not really. Only when I receive a mental shock, or if I stub my pinky toe. Ah, it might sound strange, but it's like a constitution of mine..."
"I see."
Myukan nodded calmly, as if she understood. Rian's expression relaxed significantly.
'To be able to maintain control over those terrible things... it must be thanks to his incredible mental fortitude. Stubbing his pinky toe causing him to vomit blood must mean... that's his fatal weakness.'
'As expected, there's someone who understands me!'
The two were talking at cross-purposes, but no one was there to point it out.
"What kind of situations were you in when you coughed up blood until now?"
"Uh, well... when I ate something strange without knowing what it was, or when I heard words that felt like a stab to the chest, or when I saw an unexpected scene... I think that was it."
Just as one might spill everything upon entering a clinic, Rian poured out his story.
"How did you hurt your forehead? It looks like you self-harmed..."
"Ah."
Myukan accepted his story at face value. He could tell her everything else truthfully, but he couldn't explain the reason for this.
'I can't exactly say I slammed my head against the wall because my lust spiked after seeing that scene with Noah.'
Rian's ears turned red as he racked his brain. Nothing appropriate came to mind, and Myukan's gaze was too intense to stall.
"Uh, I've been having some worries lately, so I did it without realizing."
"No matter how worried you are...!"
Lily, who had been keeping quiet, reflexively raised her voice, but she fell silent at Myukan's gesture.
"Does this happen often?"
"No, this was the first time."
"Hmm, could you tell me what the worry is? You'll feel better if you get it off your chest."
"Ah, um..."
Rian's eyes darted around. He couldn't bring himself to say that the soft... white... perky scene wouldn't leave his mind.
'W-what do I say!'
He could choose not to answer, but that would only make him look more suspicious.
'A worry, a worry... some other worry...'
Rian suddenly recalled a genuine worry. Before he could consider whether it was appropriate, the words spilled out.
"Actually... I think I've been marked by the Demon King's... army during this raid."
"..Excuse me?"
Lily couldn't even gasp, her mouth hanging open, and Myukan stared at Rian in shock.
Once he started, his worries poured out—perhaps because both Myukan and Lily would be joining him on his journey.
"I ran into one of the Four Heavenly Kings, and from what they said, the Demon King's army is targeting me and the Nest organization. It's a situation where it wouldn't be strange to be attacked anytime, anywhere, so the stress just piled up, haha!"
It was a much healthier and more normal reason than, 'The Boss's snow-white breasts won't leave my mind,' so Rian smiled with satisfaction.
"You should have told us!"
"Uh, huh?"
Rian's smile wavered at Lily's scolding. This time, Myukan didn't intervene.
After giving Rian a thorough dressing-down, Lily brought Noah and Nero into the room. Noah looked at Lily with a heavy expression.
"So... Rian is..."
"Sigh... This brother of mine always seems to be causing trouble."
Countless question marks appeared in Noah's head at the sight of Lily glaring at Rian. When Rian stuttered out what he had said earlier, Noah and Nero couldn't help but be furious.
"Brother, really!"
"How could you keep something like that to yourself!"
"W-well... I was going to tell you after the celebration party. Ah! More importantly, the celebration party! Let's go quickly!"
"Is that really the important thing right now..."
"I'm feeling great now! Right, Doctor?"
As Rian looked at Myukan desperately, she chewed on some herbs, arms crossed, and shifted her gaze toward Rian's stomach.
'Well, his condition doesn't look bad.'
She still couldn't think of a treatment method, and she couldn't examine him in detail—as if he were blurred out—but she could tell his condition wasn't critical.
'Above all, he doesn't look like he's going to die right away.'
In the cruel Demon King's Land, people rarely stayed in the infirmary unless they were on the verge of death. For that reason, Myukan readily agreed to Rian's wishes.
"Well, I suppose you could say that."
"See! Come on, let's go!"
The others wanted to keep Rian in bed, but since Myukan said it was fine, they had no choice but to head to the party together.
"I was going to throw a surprise party..."
"Brother, that's not what's important right now, is it?"
Lily said incredulously as Rian smacked his lips in disappointment. Noah felt the atmosphere lighten and thought.
'Yeah, that's the problem.'
Rian possessed a strange power. When you were near him, all problems felt trivial. The vomiting of blood, the fact that the Demon King's army was targeting the Nest—everything felt like no big deal.
This was due to the Gag Filter and Rian's relaxed demeanor, but there was no way for Noah to know that.
Rian changed his blood-stained clothes and headed to the dining hall with the three of them.
""Boss, congratulations!""
As they entered the noisy party hall, the heavy atmosphere from moments ago vanished. Noah felt conflicted, but facing everyone's laughter, her mind cleared.
'I said I wouldn't make the same mistakes as in the past.'
Remembering her past self, who had been buried in her own emotions and couldn't protect anything, Noah held onto her resolve. She looked at Rian with resolute eyes.
'Let's face it and talk properly. If there's something I don't know, I can just ask.'
She couldn't just stay sad while knowing nothing forever. Just as Noah hardened her resolve, Rian was being held captive by Jess.
"Master, this is delicious!"
As if bringing back prey, Jess piled everything delicious she had tasted onto Rian's plate.
"Jess, you've got something on your mouth."
"Hmm?"
When Rian picked up a napkin, Jess habitually leaned her face toward him. Watching her face draw near, eyes cast down, Rian thought.
'Her eyelashes are long.'
As he wiped her mouth, her soft lips squashed against the napkin. Because she had been eating greasy food, they were glistening. Rian found himself staring intently at Jess's lips. With her mouth closed and eyes cast down, Jess looked fully mature and incredibly sexy—...
THWACK!
"Hek?! Master?!"
"Ah, um. It's nothing."
Rian struck his own face with his right hand and raised his left to wave it lightly, signaling he was fine. A shocked Jess twitched her ears.
"Master, why? Why are you hitting yourself?"
Jess grabbed Rian's face to check his cheeks, which were starting to turn red.
"Uh, wait a second, Jess?"
"Your cheeks are red!"
"No, that... could you, uh, back up just a little?"
Rian's body leaned back as Jess's face rapidly drew closer. Facing her beast-like eyes, he stiffened like prey with its neck bitten. The moment he felt they were close enough to share breath—
"Move."
"Hnya!"
With a familiar voice, Jess's body flew backward. She spun through the air and landed on the floor in a perfect stance.
"Oh!"
"Did Jess just do a trick?"
"That's amazing!"
The crowd clapped at Jess's sudden maneuver. In the meantime, Iris approached Rian, wearing the face of a haughty noble lady, and naturally sat on his lap.
"Uh, Iris?"
"Yeah? Why?"
Iris looked up at Rian with a softly relaxed face. She was pretty even with her usual expressionless mask, but with that lovely smile, she was dazzling.
"...It's nothing."
"Okay."
The words that she was all grown up now and shouldn't be sitting on his lap stuck in his throat, but facing her sparkling gaze, they withered away.
"Brother, say ah -."
"Ah..."
Rian shed a tear while eating the food Iris fed him.
'Just a couple of days ago, I was the one feeding her...'
Rian was immersed in emotion, being showered with filial piety by Iris.