“...Lucean!!”

A name kept ringing in his ear as he drifted in and out of consciousness.

“...cean!”
A woman's voice, unfamiliar and yet, he felt a certain degree of intimacy towards it.

“—Lucean...ake up... I beg... you!!!”

He slowly opened his eyes.

Appearing in his hazy vision was the face of a beautiful woman. Someone he did not know but somehow gave him a feeling of closeness and longing.

“...Why?”

Why was this woman crying for me? He thought.

He whispered with a tone of affection as he held up his feebly hand and wiped the tears running down her cheek.

“...Why cry for someone like me?”

Slap!

His hand being violently slapped away— Yeung blinked repeatedly as the woman's visage slowly faded and overlapped with a certain bespectacled stutterer.

“—W-Who the hell is c-crying for who!?

Even the soothing voice of the woman had dropped down to the lowest octave.

“T-That blow to your h-head better not have made y-you retarded!!!”

Yeung's eyes shot open at the remark and saw Dokk's gloomy face looming over him.

He sighed disappointedly, “Huuu—How regretful. Twas' was a good while it lasted... Where am I?”

He felt the bandages wrapped around his head and the soft feeling of furniture on his back. Taking a glance, he saw that he was lying down on a couch.

“We're back at my house.” Dokk uttered.

“Your house? What-What happened? I remember, I was— who?”

After getting up and shaking his head, Yeung interrupted himself as he saw a young lady staring at them flushed and covering her mouth as she was sitting on another piece of furniture.

Yeung pushed his tongue to his cheek and squinted as he saw her attire. A camouflage sweatshirt and sweatpants that looked too big for her size, but gave out an erotic air as it accentuated the hidden lines of her body.

“Heuk! Dokk you traitor!” Yeung hissed.

Dokk furrowed his brows, “The hell are y-you going on about?”

Yeung raised his finger and pointed at the young lady, and then at Dokk, alternating between them rapidly— all while making a shocked face.

“I was right, wasn't I!? You got lai—“
Dokk hurriedly placed his hands on Yeung's mouth, “No, y-you idiot! You're m-making a big misunderstanding!”

The two argued for a few minutes while the young lady's face grew redder as they went on.

“So, if she's not with you, and you're not with her? Then who is she?” Yeung asked after he was placated.

“She's—“

“I'm sorry!”

The young lady cut in as Dokk tried to explain.

“I-I didn't mean to get in between the two of you...” She said, as she looked down apologetically while covering her beet-red face.

...What was she talking about? Thought the two men, before pausing and briefly assessing the situation.

-Yeung was holding onto Dokk's shirt with tears in his eyes.

-An unfamiliar woman's presence was in the house.

-They got into a heated argument.

All these, along with the fact that he woke up caressing Dokk's face, a lightbulb lit up in Yeung's head as he gaped at the young lady.

He turned his head to face Dokk. At the same time, Dokk turned his head to face him. Then they both turned their heads to the young lady and shouted,

“Wahh—T-This is—You're wrong!! We're not a couple!!!”

The young lady flinched and buried her head into her shoulders, not at all convinced.

...Anyways, putting the matter of this embarrassing misunderstanding aside, Yeung stared closer at the girl's appearance— short, light brown hair and amber-colored eyes.

“Damn it... Dokk, we have to go back to the school...” He groaned as he tried getting up.

“N-no can do b-brother, your head was j-just cracked open. Y-you're in no condition to be f-fighting goblins, m-much less goblin champs.”

“My brother!!! He's still at the school!” The young lady exclaimed.

“B-brother?”
“Yeah, her brother's holed up at the second-floor men's room.”

“You saw my brother!?”

“Yep, little Christopher. Thought his sister would be younger though. What's your name?”

“A-Anna...”

“...Dokk, we gotta go back. Besides, I'm feeling fine.”

Yeung got up from the couch and lightly stretched, before curling up from a sharp pain shooting across his body.

“Hey, Y-Yeung! I told you! Just lie down for now, w-we can't bring you to a hospital so just lie down and r-rest for now.” Dokk stressed, and made Yeung lie down on the couch again.

Yeung knew he was right. Besides, it was his own fault that he got that smack on the head from the goblin. He felt a bit overconfident after beating that first one at the bridge with one blow.

“...Just let me sleep for an hour or two... then we'll go back and rescue your brother...” He muttered, before falling fast asleep on the couch.

Dokk scratched his head, “Bastard's f-finally asleep.” He turned to Anna and asked her, “Hey, y-you hungry?”

Of course she was. She'd been starving for two days.

“I can't eat... Not when my brother's still stuck inside the school...”
Her stomach rumbled at the mention of food, but her worry over her brother had kept her hunger at bay.

“I d-don't know about your little brother's safety, but you don't need to worry about him being hungry. Yeung left my house with a bag full of food, he must've given it to your brother.”

Anna's stomach rumbled again, she finally gave in, “All right, thank you, mister.”

Dokk's eye twitched at being called mister, but he didn't refute.

His house— the first floor where they were at, was just one big room with separators. He led Anna to the dining table, brought out ingredients, and started to cook.

“—By the way, h-how did you two manage to survive for t-two days inside the goblin camp without being f-found?” He asked in curiosity.

Anna thought for a few seconds before hesitantly replying.

“Do you... Do you know about skills?”