Chapter 82: Fools Never Rest

“Honestly! How can the lord treat his own body like this?”

On the way back to the bedroom, Anna supported Nolan by the arm. Feeling the weakness in his body and the unsteady lightness of his steps, she was suddenly overcome with heartache. To her, Nolan had always been the dependable figure who could hold up the sky itself, a man capable of anything. Whether facing a Gold-rank enemy or the relentless assault of the undead, he had never once taken a step back.  

Yet now, this same man looked like a dying candle flickering in the wind, so weak he could barely walk without support.

The contrast twisted painfully at her heart.

She could not help scolding him, but the moment the words left her mouth, she realized they sounded far too intimate for a subordinate. To cover herself, she hurriedly added, “You’re our leader, the pillar supporting all of Coldsteel City! If you collapse, what happens to the rest of us? What happens to the territory?”

That sounded much more proper and official.

“Exactly!” Vivi chimed in from the side, her voice equally full of worry and dissatisfaction. “Nolan, the way you looked just now scared us to death. You could barely stand! Sister Anna was practically about to cry!”

The tiger girl was far more straightforward with her emotions. Seeing Nolan so pale and frail had genuinely frightened her.

“I was not!” Anna’s cheeks instantly burned red, as if her thoughts had been exposed. Refusing to back down, she shot back, “And you have the nerve to talk about me? Who was it that started shouting for a doctor the moment my lord fainted? Half the manor could hear you!”

“I… I was just panicking because I was worried!” Vivi protested, embarrassed but unwilling to admit defeat.

“All right, all right, stop arguing, both of you.”

Caught between the two girls, Nolan might have been surrounded by softness and beauty on either side, but the nonstop bickering only made his pounding headache worse.

He interrupted them just before he felt ready to faint again.

“I’m fine. I know my own body. I know my limits. This was for everyone’s sake… it was worth it.”

His voice was still hoarse, but hearing him speak at all reassured the two women considerably.

“Besides, there’s nothing a doctor could do for this anyway. It’s just blood loss. A couple days of rest and some nourishing food will fix it. I’m a Silver-rank warrior. I recover quickly.”

The moment Vivi heard that, she brightened. “I’ll head to the kitchen right away and have them make blood eel soup! That stuff’s the best for replenishing blood!”

“Mhm.” Nolan nodded gratefully. “But don’t make too much noise about it. I can’t show weakness in front of the people. They’ve only just regained hope, and I can’t shake that.”

By the time he finished speaking, the three of them had already returned to the main building of the lord’s manor. Nolan’s bedroom was on the second floor.

It was only a short walk, yet Nolan was already breathing heavily by the end of it.

The moment he stepped into the bedroom, it was as if all the bones had been pulled from his body. Unable to hold himself up any longer, he collapsed straight onto the soft bed.

With a muffled thump, he sank deep into the thick feather blankets.

“I can’t… my head’s spinning… let me sleep for a bit…”

Days and nights of constant focus without rest, combined with severe blood loss, crashed over him like a tidal wave. The exhaustion swallowed him whole. The instant his head touched the pillow, he fell into a deep sleep before he even had time to remove his outer coat.

Soon, the sound of steady breathing filled the room.

Vivi and Anna stood beside the bed, staring at Nolan’s exhausted sleeping face. For a long while, neither of them spoke.

Eventually, Vivi crept forward, intending to help remove his coat so he could sleep more comfortably.

“Forget it. Don’t move him,” Anna whispered softly, stopping her. “Let him sleep. Ever since we left Rosenberg, he’s barely stopped moving. He’s either planning something or fighting. He’s exhausted.”

After thinking it over, Vivi agreed. Waking him now would only make things worse.

The two stood there quietly for another moment before finally leaving the room as softly as they could, carefully closing the door behind them.

The hallway outside was dimly lit.

“How can you just let him push himself like this?” Anna complained in a low voice the moment they stepped outside. “You got to the alchemy workshop before I did. Why didn’t you try harder to stop him?”

Leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, Vivi sighed. “I did. Of course I did. But you know what Nolan’s like. Usually he’s easygoing and jokes around with everyone, but once he decides something, not even ten earth dragons could drag him back. Do you really think I could stop him?”

Anna fell silent.

She knew Vivi was right. After spending so much time with Nolan, she understood his personality well enough. It was as though he carried some kind of mission on his shoulders. Once he believed something mattered, he would do it no matter the cost.

“Besides…” Vivi tilted her head and looked at Anna. “Nolan said he knows his limits, and I believe him. All we can do now is trust him and handle our own responsibilities so we can ease his burden, right?”

Anna was silent again. After a while, she gave a faint nod. “Yes… I just hope he stops pushing himself so hard all the time.”

The quiet sigh that escaped her voice carried unmistakable tenderness.

Vivi caught it immediately. Looking at Anna’s worried profile, something tightened unexpectedly in her chest. A strange bitterness rose from deep inside her. She had always known Anna admired Nolan, but she had never realized that admiration might contain something more. The discovery complicated her mood.

Still, the tiger girl had always been carefree by nature. She quickly shoved those thoughts aside and restored her usual teasing grin.

“Well, well. Is our dear Chief Steward Anna feeling heartbroken?” she whispered mischievously into Anna’s ear.

“What nonsense are you talking about?!” Anna jumped in surprise and denied it immediately. “I’m not heartbroken! I… I’m just thinking about the territory!”

“Oh? So as long as the territory’s fine, it doesn’t matter what happens to Lord Nolan?”

“How could that be? Lord Nolan is the most important…” Anna suddenly realized she had walked straight into the trap. Her face flushed bright red as embarrassment and irritation mixed together, and she reached out to smack Vivi.

“Hahaha! You’re blushing, you’re blushing!” As a Silver-rank Nightingale, Vivi naturally avoided Anna’s soft punches with ease. She spun lightly aside, dodging the “attack,” then burst into peals of laughter as she dashed away. “I’m going to check on the blood eel soup! You stay here and keep ‘thinking about the territory’ all by yourself!”

The hallway fell quiet again, leaving Anna standing there alone. Touching her burning cheeks, she looked in the direction Vivi had disappeared and stomped her foot in frustration.

After a moment, she muttered softly to herself, almost as though trying to convince her own heart, “I… I really am just doing this for the territory… for our shared ideals…”

Only then did she turn and walk toward her office, though for some reason, her steps were far less composed than usual.

***

Nolan slept like the dead.

By the time he finally woke again, the sky outside had gone completely dark. High above the continent of Vaughan, the moon of magic, Veils, hung in the night sky, casting cold silver light through the window.

Having slept too long, his mind felt foggy, as though he were still dreaming.

He immediately rolled over and sat upright, then hurriedly opened his status panel. For a moment, he was afraid everything that had happened before had merely been one long dream from falling asleep while gaming.

Still level 38.

Turning his head, he saw the familiar bedroom inside the lord’s manor of Coldsteel City.

Thank goodness.

Nolan let out a relieved breath.

Now that his mind was at ease, he realized most of the exhaustion had faded, though intense hunger swept over him and his limbs still felt weak.

Struggling upright, he discovered that someone had removed his outer clothes and neatly hung them on the rack beside the bed. He had also been changed into a clean, soft sleeping robe. On the bedside table sat a bowl of soup kept warm over low heat, its rich aroma filling the air.

Fresh firewood had recently been added, making it obvious someone had been watching over it the entire time.

There was no need to guess who could be this considerate. It had to be Anna or Vivi.

He picked up the bowl and drained the warm blood eel soup in one gulp. A wave of warmth slid down into his stomach, making him feel alive again.

“Haa…” Nolan let out a long breath.

Just as he was about to get out of bed and stretch, the bedroom door opened gently. Vivi walked in carrying a tray topped with fresh hot soup and several delicate dishes.

“Oh! Nolan, you’re awake!” Seeing him sitting up, Vivi immediately smiled brightly. “You slept for an entire day and night. How are you feeling?”

“Listen to you. It’s not like I was seriously injured.” Nolan chuckled. “I’m much better now. Thanks for the soup.”

“Hurry and drink another bowl while it’s hot.” Vivi set the tray on the table. “Sister Anna already had the kitchen prepare more ingredients. She kept reminding me to make sure you eat plenty.”

Nolan nodded without ceremony and picked up another bowl.

Sitting in the chair beside the bed, Vivi watched him devour the food and could not help complaining, “You really scared us this time. Master Leus feels so guilty he’s practically beside himself. He said that if your constitution weren’t so strong, he’d have become the sinner of Coldsteel City.”

“How could I blame him for this? It was my own decision.” Nolan set down the bowl and wiped his mouth. “By the way, Vivi, go inform Little Donnie and Renee. Tell them to prepare themselves. Two days from now, the four of us are making a trip into the Borderlands Forest. This is important, so tell them to get ready.”

“No, absolutely not! You’re still like this and you already want to run around outside again? Are you an idiot?” Vivi planted her hands on her hips and shook her head vigorously, her tiger ears flopping from side to side. “If I let you walk out that door before you’ve fully recovered, Sister Anna will kill me.”

“‘Fools never rest.’ The moment I chose this path, I became the fool who never intended to stop resting.” Nolan stood up and stretched his limbs. “A little dwarven proverb. Free of charge. All right, go on now.” Seeing Vivi about to protest again, Nolan hardened his expression. “That’s an order from your lord.”