Chapter 9:
Awakening
“YOU AWAKE?”
I vaguely made note of the unfamiliar ceiling above me at the sound of Heidemarie’s voice from somewhere to my right.
“Yeah.”
“Morning.”
I could barely speak, and my body felt heavy. Heidemarie gave me some time to get my thoughts together, and I finally remembered what had happened.
Oh, yeah, I dived into the labyrinth with Nachtlibelle. Then, we were attacked by the floor’s boss, and then—
I jumped up from bed. “Is everyone okay?!”
That’s right! Where am I, a hospital room? The sheets were white, and so were the curtains and everything else.
“Heidemarie! Are they all okay?!”
If I’m here, that means they saved me, and, um…
“Calm down, Wim. The members of Nachtlibelle are slightly wounded, but we’re all alive. You’ve been asleep for five whole days.” She grinned at me. “You did well. Got it?”
All the strength seeped out of me. “Thank goodness.” Relief swelled from my chest as I collapsed back into bed. I was really glad to hear this. Throwing my own life away had meant something.
“Camilla asked me to call for her as soon as you woke up. Do you mind?”
“Of course not.”
So, Camilla was fine too. Of course she was—Heidemarie had just told me that everyone was fine. Since I had woken up, she filled me in on what had happened, like how we had escaped, and what they had been doing for the past five days.
“Hey, Wim?” she suddenly asked. “Did you have fun?”
It sounded like there an underlying meaning behind her words, as if she had seen all the circumstances surrounding me to declare, “I can see right through you, Wim.” I was kind of angry at the fact she had me wrapped around her finger, but I didn’t find it unpleasant either.
And so, I decided to tell her exactly what was in my heart. “Sort of, yeah.”
“I see,” she said, flashing me an honest smile.
“Boy.”
“Oh, um, right.”
Camilla’s back was bent at a ninety-degree angle, her head pointed toward the floor. It was an odd sight. Part of me was impressed that someone as tall as her could do such a perfect bow, while the other was preoccupied at how weird and paradoxical it was that a bow could look so forceful.
Wait, this isn’t the time for that.
“Um, if you could raise your head that’d be… Aha ha ha. I don’t know what to say.”
“You have my thanks. I’m not certain I’ll ever be able to make it up to you, but for now, at least allow me to extend my gratitude. Thank you.”
“Not at all, um…”
I didn’t know how to react to her formal display. I panicked and glanced at Heidemarie, as if trying to escape. She was grinning. Yup, she had zero intentions of helping me out of this.
“I’m glad you’re all okay.”
“Wim, you’re truly…” Her eyes locked on to me, filled with deep emotion.
“Um, you can be a bit more casual, and… Agh!” A huge frame filled my vision. Camilla was hugging me. “Agh! It hurts! Save me! I can’t breathe! Aaagh!”
“Ha ha ha! Wim’s getting crushed by the commander!” The voice came from somewhere behind Camilla. He sounded cheery, but I could swear he was crying. It was Mark, and he wasn’t alone. There was Abel, Hans, Simon…everyone.
“Wiiim!” Now Abel was hugging me, too. I thought they were going to kill me!
For a moment, all was silent.
“All right, everyone. As you can see, the boy has yet to fully recover. Let’s avoid doing anything that could further harm him, and just settle with simple handshakes for today. Don’t worry. We have all the time in the world now.”
“You’re contradicting yourself, commander.”
“Did you say something, Mark?”
“Nope.”
They all took turns thanking me and gripping my hand in a firm handshake. Some were so grateful to me I started to feel bad for them.
When I was finally alone, I basked in the afterglow. I was proud of myself. This was the first time so many people had extended so much gratitude towards me, and my heart soared at the thought that even someone like me could contribute.
I began to think about what would happen next. The guild master apparently wanted to speak with me. Some strangers even came to my hospital room, whom I had the others turn away. I was sure I was in trouble.
That’s right. I guess I was an official member of Nachtlibelle now. I was going to be fine. I had someone as strong as Camilla backing me on all the procedures that were about to follow, and since I had plenty of people around me now, I was sure they would help me out.
Yeah, I had plenty of allies now—people who had just thanked me and extended their appreciation. But…
I mentally stopped myself. I couldn’t think that! They had been so kind to me.
However, I couldn’t stop the rapid beating of my heart, nor could I hide the true feelings that were spilling out of me. No, these aren’t my true feelings! I can’t be having these thoughts!
I took a deep breath and hid under my covers.