05 - Clinic [1]
I saw myself standing in the middle of nowhere.
Looking around, I couldn't recognize this place.
There was absolutely nothing familiar.
However, I noticed something. I was standing on ice.
Seeing the ice, my mind sparked, taking me back to the battle.
Just now, I was fighting alongside Eris DeLorentis.
What happened?
Why was I the only one here?
Did I lose?
Am I dead?
I had many questions, but there were no answers to any of them.
'I hope she's okay,' I muttered in a low tone.
I was disheartened.
I had only just come into this world, hoping to start all over on a clean slate.
Now I was in the afterlife…again.
—Crack!
"What the—"
Cracks spread across the icy surface like a giant spider's web.
There was no outrunning it.
Suddenly, I found myself dropping into a body of cold water.
I struggled to swim out, my arms flapped against the water's pressure but to no avail.
The more I attempted to save myself, the more I sank.
Just when I started to give up, I heard a distant voice.
"Link."
It called out to me, getting louder each time.
"Link Remington! Wake up!"
Heeding the call, my eyes were forced open and my body shot up from where I was lying down on a bed.
I looked around, confused.
Buckets of sweat filled my face and body.
My heart pounded like a thousand drums as it hammered against my chest, threatening to shoot out in the panic.
My breathing was fast and unhinged.
"Wh-Where am I?" I managed to let out.
I could see people around me.
Some were lying down in bed similar to mine, and the rest moved up and down whatever this room was.
Still trying to process what was going on, I felt someone's hands grip my face, keeping me focused on them.
Long, orange coloured hair that was worn in a bob style.
A pair of pointy ears, and two short, beautiful tree branches that looked like antlers, poking from the sides of her head.
A pair of bubbly orange eyes stared right at me.
The gaze was piercing, as if it would see my very soul… and sad.
"Are you okay, Link?"
Her voice was as soothing as her presence right now.
As she spoke, she rubbed her hand lovingly over my chest to calm me down.
I didn't expect much from this but soon, I started to feel light and calmer inside, like I was hit with a sudden wave of peaceful feelings.
My heart rate gradually slowed.
My breathing started normalizing, and my chest heaved less and less.
Overall, I was in a better state of mind, able to concentrate and understand what was going on around me.
I knew this girl whose face was right in front of mine, so close that I could feel her breath softly brush over my nose.
One would think we were able to kiss.
The memories I had in my head of her were clearly defined.
"Wendy…" I mentioned her name slowly.
Wendy Arclight was my girlfriend—at least, the previous Link's partner, and one of the heroines of The Account of a Failed Villain.
"Yes, my dear," she answered me, her lips spread into a genuine smile.
"I'm so glad that you are okay, Link!"
Her voice was high and excited.
Before I could even say another word, she jumped over him and attacked my face with kisses, not giving a care in the world that we were in a public space.
"Ow! W-Wendy. I'm trying to breathe."
Wendy didn't care that I would probably die from her weight heavy on my chest, her big breasts nearly choking me out.
After she was satisfied, she sat upright with her buttocks on my thighs, using them as a cushion.
They were perky, making one wish to use them for soft pillows. Such a feeling would be luxury.
"Sowieee!"
Her eyes grew even wider, bubbling and beaming with profound cuteness.
I chuckled, scratching the back of my head. I couldn't figure out why, but I didn't mind this behaviour even when I wasn't the Link she knew anymore.
Staring into her eyes, I knew that I had to reassure her.
"I like it."
"Yay!"
Wendy's arms instantly shot up into the air in a grandiose cheer, her voice so loud that other people stopped and stared at us.
Seeing that it was nothing serious and worth their time, they continued with their businesses.
"Wendy?"
I playfully reprimanded her with my facial expression.
"Sowiee."
"What happened? Why am I here?"
[Ding…]
The system's chime instantly stole my attention away from Wendy.
[You have encountered an Intermediate Heroine—Wendy Arclight]
—
[Wendy Arclight]
[Race: Druid]
[Bond: 80 ❤︎]
"Damn!"
I didn't know when I shouted my thoughts out loud to her.
"Huh? What is it? Are you okay?" she asked, reclining a bit from me to examine well with her eyes.
I coughed once and shook my head. "I'm fine, Wendy. Don't worry too much."
I reassured her again.
This time, however, I played with her hair, rubbing over it gently while she sheepishly giggled.
She enjoyed it, maybe a little too much.
From what I recalled, Wendy Arclight has an intimate relationship with Link Remington.
However, witnessing and experiencing it firsthand, this is closer to obsession than it was to a normal relationship.
While I still played with her hair, my attention shifted to her panel.
Bond of 80 already? She must really love the old me like crazy.
'Sweet! It should be easy scaling up with her if I remain as her favourite person. After all, there was a dark side to this girl.'
My eyes narrowed as I critically looked at Wendy.
She was an intermediate heroine quite alright and she performed a lot of heroic deeds in the course of the novel but there was a dark story to her.
Light had come to be overwhelmed by darkness when her trust was broken, and her heart and genuine love shattered.
Then, Wendy Arclight's cheerful smile turned into an ominous expression where she couldn't distinguish friends and foes anymore.
I felt shivers thinking about it.
"Tch! Anyways, tell me what happened."
Wendy looked at me, confused.
She gave me the look like I was supposed to know how I got here or at least make a guess.
"What?" I sneered.
"You passed out, silly," she finally answered, poking my forehead with a finger.
"Passed out?"
Wendy bobbed her head repeatedly. "They say you were found on the ground with your attackers and everywhere was covered in ice with only you and Eris being the sole survivors of that incident."
Wendy's narration juggled my memory and Eris' face flashed through my mind along with what had happened with her ability.
'That's true. I used that ability…' I thought to myself, remembering what happened.
'…Absolute Zero.'