Chapter 272: Wet Sand

The door clicked shut behind Boren, and the room settled into a quiet that felt softer than before.

Faint sounds from the lower floors drifted upward, boots against wood, distant laughter, and the low murmur of Adventurers debating rewards but here on the third floor, they seemed far away, almost dreamlike.

Sunlight streamed through the tall windows, warm and steady, casting a gentle glow over the bed where Sage lay propped against the pillows. The light had moved across the floor, a silent hourglass marking how long they had been here, together.

Mina had shifted slightly after Boren left; no longer clinging to him in panic, she remained close, her small body curled toward him, golden hair spilling across the sheets like scattered sunlight.

Sage looked at her and smiled not his usual teasing smirk around others but something gentler and more sincere. He lifted his hand and brushed his fingers through her hair again, careful and unhurried.

The strands slipped easily between his fingers, soft and warm. When he met her clear golden eyes, still rimmed red from crying, something tightened in his chest that had nothing to do with weakness or injury.

He recalled the choice he made to split his soul without hesitation, fully aware that he potentiall lose his magic. At that moment, he hadn’t weighed the consequences; he had only seen her falling into danger and acted instinctively.

Now, looking at her alive before him, breathing, blinking, pouting slightly because of her blocked nose, he felt that whatever price he had paid was worth it.

“What?” Mina suddenly asked, narrowing her eyes at him suspiciously. “Why are you staring at me like that? It’s weird.”

Sage raised an eyebrow. “I’m just making sure you’re still ugly after crying so much.”

Her mouth dropped open in outrage. “I’m not ugly!”

“You were earlier,” Sage replied calmly. “Your whole face was swollen! I thought someone replaced you with a crying pumpkin.”

Mina gasped and immediately touched her cheeks as if checking for damage. “You’re lying!”

Sage let out a weak chuckle; even that small laugh strained his ribs. “Am I? I saw it with my own eyes.”

She glared at him for a second before crossing her arms and turning away in exaggerated anger. “You’re the one who’s ugly! Sleeping for a whole month! Do you know how scary you looked?”

“I looked handsome,” Sage corrected without missing a beat.

“You looked like a dead fish!” she shot back.

Sage blinked once in surprise. “A dead fish?”

“Yes,” Mina insisted firmly as if delivering an undeniable fact. “Big sister said your face was pale like you lost a fight to a ghost.”

Sage clicked his tongue dismissively. “Valeria has no taste.”

Mina leaned closer now; her earlier tears were almost forgotten as their familiar banter returned. “Well, big sister also told me something else.”

Sage narrowed his eyes slightly. “What?”

Sage narrowed his eyes slightly. “What?”

Mina smiled slowly, clearly relishing the moment. “She said you cried when I fell into a coma.”

Sage froze.

For a brief second, silence stretched between them.

Then he scoffed loudly. “That’s nonsense.”

Mina’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “So you didn’t cry?”

“I did not,” Sage replied firmly, lifting his chin slightly. “It was sand.”

“Sand?” Mina echoed, unconvinced.

“Yes! There was sand flying everywhere during the battle. It got in my eyes.”

“There was no sand,” Mina shot back flatly.

“There was,” Sage insisted.

“I thinl it was raining at that time.” Mina glanced at him mischievously.

Sage paused for a moment. “…Then it was wet sand,” he finally declared.

Mina burst into laughter despite herself, covering her mouth with both hands. “You’re lying! You cried!”

“I am a man,” Sage said seriously. “A man does not cry.”

Mina leaned forward and poked his chest lightly. “Then what about when I woke up and saw your eyes were red and your nose was sniffing?”

“Allergies,” he replied nonchalantly.

She laughed again, shaking her head in disbelief. “You were crying!”

Sage narrowed his eyes at her playfully. “And you just cried for half an hour.”

“That’s different!” she argued quickly.

“How so?”

“I’m not a man.”

Sage opened his mouth to retort but then closed it again, clearly searching for a comeback.

Mina grinned triumphantly. “You lost,” she declared proudly.

Sage groaned and let his head fall back against the pillow slightly. “Unbelievable. I wake up from a month-long coma only to get bullied.”

“You started it,” Mina replied without missing a beat.

“I regret saving you,” he muttered lightly.

She gasped dramatically. “You can’t take that back!”

“I might,” Sage said with mock seriousness. “Next time you find yourself in danger, I’ll just stand there.”

Mina lunged forward and lightly hit his shoulder. “You wouldn’t!”

Sage let out a quiet laugh and gently caught her hand before she could hit him again. “Relax; I’m joking.”

She stared at him for a moment longer before her expression softened gradually, the laughter fading from her face as something quieter took its place.

“I thought…” she began softly, her voice losing its playful edge, “…I thought you wouldn’t wake up.”

The words were simple yet heavy with all the fear she had tried to mask behind tears and jokes.

Sage looked at her carefully now, how her fingers tightened around his sleeve again and how her eyes shimmered faintly even as she fought back tears once more.

“You were gone for so long,” she continued, her voice dropping to a whisper. “Everyone kept saying you would wake up. Big sister said you’re too stubborn to die. But… but you didn’t move. You didn’t talk. I tried calling you. I tried shaking you. You didn’t answer.”

Her lip quivered slightly, but she held herself steady this time.

“And then I found out…” she added quietly, “that you split your soul. For me.”

The room felt heavier again, but not in the same way as before; this was not fear, it was weight.

“You knew how dangerous that was,” Mina said, her voice small yet firm. “They said you might never wake up. They said you could lose your magic or even lose yourself. Why would you do that?”

Sage looked at her without a smile this time and let the silence linger between them for a moment.

“Because,” he finally replied, his tone calm, “I didn’t want to have regrets.”

Mina blinked in surprise. “Regrets?”

“Yes.” He glanced toward the window briefly, sunlight reflecting softly in his eyes. “There was a time when I hesitated, when I overthought everything and focused on consequences instead of acting. I convinced myself it was logical; that it was the smart thing to do.”

Mina listened intently.

“And someone paid the price for that hesitation,” Sage continued softly. “I promised myself I wouldn’t make that mistake again.”

He turned his gaze back to her. “When I saw you in danger,” he said firmly, “there was no calculation or hesitation, I just moved.”

“But you could have died,” Mina whispered.

Sage shrugged lightly, though the movement was slight due to his weakness. “Maybe.”

“That’s not a small thing!” she protested, her eyes wide with concern.

“It is when compared to losing someone and knowing you could have acted,” he replied gently.

Mina lowered her gaze.

“And besides,” Sage added, his tone softening once more, “you’re like the little sister I never had.”

She looked up at him slowly.

“I don’t have many things in my life that feel simple,” Sage continued thoughtfully. “The Guild, the battles, the politics, they’re all complicated. But you? You’re simple, you laugh too loud, cry too much, talk back, and steal food when you think no one is looking.”

“I do not!” Mina protested automatically.

Sage raised an eyebrow at her. “…Only sometimes,” she admitted quietly.

He smiled faintly. “You’re family.”

That word hung in the air between them.

Mina stared at him as if hearing it applied to her for the first time in that way.

“You’re not allowed to disappear like that again,” she declared suddenly, her voice firm despite her small stature.

Sage raised an eyebrow playfully. “Disappear?”

“Yes. If you ever do something that reckless again, I won’t be able to forgive you.”

Sage let out a soft chuckle. “That’s pretty harsh.”

“I’m serious,” she insisted.

He studied her face closely and realized she meant every word.

“I’ll try,” he finally said.

“That’s not good enough.”

“It’s the best you’re going to get,” he replied calmly.

She pouted slightly but chose not to argue further. Instead, she leaned in again, resting her forehead gently against his chest this time without tears.

They remained like that for a while, the room enveloped in quiet except for the faint sounds drifting up from downstairs. The sunlight had shifted, casting longer shadows across the floor.

Sage looked down at her small frame nestled against him and felt an unexpected sense of peace wash over him.

The pain in his body was still present, and exhaustion lingered on the edges of his mind. He knew the future held challenges, nobles, politics, power struggles but for now, none of that weighed heavily on him.

Mina lifted her head slightly and met his gaze again; her big golden eyes were clear now, no longer clouded with tears.

“You’re really not going to leave again, right?” she asked softly.

Sage offered her a faint smile. In the void, there had been only darkness and a voice. Now, there was warmth, and weight, and the smell of her hair. This was infinitely better.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep