Chapter 22
I threw the spice jar from my hands and rushed straight to Kaizen.
What the hell is that?
Just moments ago, his gauge had been at three bars. Now it was at four.
Not only that—the normally black icon had turned red and was blinking, as if warning me that it was about to hit five.
“Why are you like this? When did this start?”
Kaizen’s sharp, disciplined eyes tightened, as if he were barely suppressing a rising impulse.
He slowly closed his eyes, then opened them and spoke in a clipped, breathy voice.
“In the cave… ever since I killed Hirata.”
“What? So this wasn’t just exhaustion?”
I didn’t know what had caused it, but I didn’t have time to analyse it. With a grim face, I grabbed Kaizen and dragged him out of the grocery shop.
When I tried to pull him toward the inn, he refused to budge.
He looked at me with a blank, emotionless expression… Then his gaze dropped to his wrist in my grasp.
“Kaizen.”
When he lifted his head again, there wasn’t a single emotion on his face.
A chill crept up the back of my neck.
A terrible premonition struck me at the same moment I saw his hand moving toward his sword.
“Hey. Wait!”
No way—again?!
The memory of what he’d done in the temple during the previous loop flashed through my mind. Panic surged.
Before his hand could reach the hilt, I grabbed him and hugged him tightly. I felt him flinch in my arms.
“Get a hold of yourself, Kaizen.”
“…!”
I stepped back and grabbed his shoulders firmly.
“You promised you wouldn’t die. You didn’t forget that promise, did you?”
“…”
The change on his face was immediate—like shattered glass falling away.
Watching it happen in real time sent goosebumps up my arms.
That curse is that powerful?
It was as if someone were puppeteering his mind like a toy. Like a marionette dangling on strings.
Kaizen finally snapped back to himself, scrubbing his face tiredly.
“…My apologies. I nearly lost control again.”
His face had gone pale.
Feeling a mixture of sympathy and worry, I spoke gently.
“Let’s go. You’re not in your right mind right now. You’re basically a patient.”
“Where are we going?”
“To the inn. We don’t have time to go home.”
He winced slightly, still struggling to suppress something inside him.
“And once we’re there… What do you intend to do?”
“What do you mean? Feed you, obviously!”
“Even in this situation… ha…”
Look at this guy.
Hands on my hips, I stared at him seriously.
“Hey. Because you’re like this, you need to eat. You know what my ability is. And anyway—food is how people survive tough times.”
Kaizen let out a hollow laugh.
He looked at me with a mixture of frustration and surrender, then finally slumped.
“…Let’s hurry. If I want to stay alive.”
We reached the inn.
I briefly explained the situation to the startled inn couple and borrowed their kitchen. I also made sure to pull up some mandragora from the garden—can’t forget that.
The couple gasped when they saw me yank it out so easily.
“Come on in, Kaizen.”
The skull icon had begun flashing an even brighter red. There was no time to tell him to wait upstairs.
“It’s a bit cramped, but just sit here.”
Kaizen’s gaze drifted past my shoulder.
I turned to see several kitchen knives sticking out from a rack.
Panicking, I quickly removed every sharp object from his view. And even that didn’t feel safe enough, so I hid everything that looked pointy.
Including the sword sheath hanging at his hip.
“No funny business. Just sit quietly. Got it?”
I seated him on a stone stool in the corner and rummaged through the pantry. Just as before, there was chicken left over.
No time for a proper ginseng chicken soup…
Fine. Fried chicken it is.
Once I made up my mind, my hands flew.
I deboned the meat cleanly, seasoned it quickly, and dropped it into the fryer.
While the chicken cooked, I made a sauce, grinding in the mandragora I’d brought.
Freshly fried chicken can’t taste bad…
It would’ve been perfect with a sizzling scorched-rice base beneath it.
Shame I didn’t have time for that.
I glanced at the bubbling oil—golden and crisp. Perfect.
I tossed the chicken in the sauce until it was glossy.
Then I murmured the spell.
“Positive lighting, positive lighting, positive lighting.”
A shimmer of light sparkled over the chicken and vanished.
Thirty minutes after stepping into the kitchen—it was done.
I plated the chicken and turned around.
Thankfully, Kaizen was still quietly sitting in the corner, eyes closed, taking deep breaths.
The skull icon was now turning from red to purple.
“Kaizen. I know you probably have zero appetite, but just try this.”
“…”
His lids lifted, revealing those cool, steel-blue eyes fixed on me.
Oh no… this looks bad.
There was a murderous sharpness in his gaze now.
It hadn’t been this intense earlier.
“Please eat it. If you don’t want to… then think of this as your life. Chew like hell if you feel like dying.”
But my words didn’t reach him.
His eyes had completely lost focus—he was gone.
Should I have just fed him raw chicken?
In just a few moments, the skull icon had turned fully purple. It blinked so fast it was almost invisible.
Then Kaizen slowly rose to his feet.
He scanned the kitchen quickly—like he was searching for something.
Is he looking for a weapon?
My blood ran cold.
Thank god I hid the knives, or he would’ve already been causing chaos.
What do I do?
He definitely wasn’t going to calmly eat if I simply offered it.
Desperate, I grabbed a piece of chicken and tried shoving it in his mouth.
It failed spectacularly.
“What are you doing?”
He effortlessly avoided my hand with a tiny motion, glaring at me in open irritation—and using informal speech!
Great. He changed again. Full-on Jekyll and Hyde mode.
He had to eat this, or nothing would work.
As I panicked, Kaizen strode toward the counter.
“No!”
I’d hidden knives there!
There was no time to think. No time to hesitate.
The moment he grabbed a kitchen knife—
SMACK!
I swung my fist and punched him.
CRASH—
The knife clattered to the floor.
Kaizen’s head slowly turned back toward me, eyes wide with shock.
He stared at me for a long moment before finally speaking.
“… Did you just hit me?”
Thank god—he was back.
I could tell by the fact he was speaking politely again.
“Sorry… but violent dogs need to be hit.”
While he was stunned, I took the chance to shove the chicken into his mouth.
Still frozen in disbelief, he didn’t move.
“Hey. Chew.”
“…”
I grabbed his jaw with both hands and forced it to move.
And then—
gulp.
His throat bobbed.
Yes!
Eyes glued to the gauge above his head, I watched anxiously.
One second… two… three…
And then—
We’re saved…
The gauge slowly blinked from four bars down to three.
The manic purple icon faded back to calm black.
Relief hit me so hard my knees weakened.
Kaizen reacted instantly, catching me before I collapsed.
The darkness had finally lifted from his eyes.
“… Are you all right?”
“Yeah. I thought we were about to reset again.”
I lifted my head—and his face was right there.
Close enough to feel his breath.
Close enough to see the deep, ocean-blue shade of his eyes.
“…”
Suddenly, Kaizen’s pupils trembled violently.
