Male Lead Is Obsessed With My Health - Chapter 32

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 32

Dilan was witnessing something decidedly strange.
The crisp sound of turning pages pulled him from his thoughts.
“Dilan.”
“Y-yes?”
Mechen, flipping through a Pamphlet, fixed him with a stare over his Glasses.
“I asked you to make a recommendation. Why are you spacing out?”
“Ah, ah ha ha. A-ha ha ha.”
I still can’t believe what I’m seeing.
‘Can a person really change this much overnight?’
Fighting the urge to glance out the window and check if there were two suns in the sky, Dilan observed Mechen leafing through the Pegritsa tourism Pamphlet.
‘This doesn’t suit him at all.’
Even if he’d cleared a room full of documents in half a day, it would be less surprising than this.
‘Or is it? Maybe that’s something I see almost every day?’
In any case, the reason Mechen was doing something so unlike himself.
“Where would you say would be best for you and the young lady to visit?”
Thanks to his considerable experience, Dilan could recommend an optimal destination without hesitation.
“I would suggest Sharit Lake most highly. It lies south of Pegritsa, the capital, so it’s easily accessible by carriage, and the coordinated management between the Magic Tower and the Parallel Tree Family has earned it excellent reviews. And above all, the scenery is truly beautiful.”
“The proximity is what appeals to me most.”
Mechen nodded. Even in moments like this, he moved as though approving a quarterly business proposal or company policy.
“Will you be departing soon?”
“I suppose we should.”
Mechen rose to his feet in agreement.
“I hope you’ll make fond memories.”
Perhaps because he’d seen Mechen consumed by work since the day he first came to serve him, Dilan felt something uncanny about the sight even as he saw him off.
“What is happening here?”
Halbeorn’s specter.
Mechen, that workaholic, vanishing from his office—it was surreal.
Left alone in the empty office, Dilan scratched his head with a vague sense of unease.
Then, after some hesitation.
“I have no idea.”
He drafted a meticulously composed letter on parchment marked with Urgent Dispatch Magic and sent it off at once.
Whoosh!

* * *

‘An outing, not a business trip. How long has it been?’
As Mechen counted the days he’d never left his desk, he felt something like enlightenment. Despite the circumstances, stepping outside after so long felt like drawing a long, relieved breath.
“Couple’s outfits.”
Fortunately, Arelin seemed to be in good spirits as well.
“We’re simply wearing coats of the same color. That’s all.”
…….
Arelin’s face turned pouty. Not that it mattered—with her cheeks still soft with childhood, even that petulant look was endearing.
“Yes, they are couple’s outfits.”
Hee hee.
The Coats were merely similar in color. How could that be a source of such joy?
“Couple’s Hat too.”
“Yes, a couple’s Hat indeed.”
“This is the first time I’ve gone out like this.”
…….
That wasn’t true. When Arelin was younger, the Childcare Unit had taken her on outings from time to time. Though they were always brief, constrained by her health.
And even then, the mysterious illness gnawing at Arelin’s life had never relented.
Noticing Mechen’s silence, Arelin changed the subject.
“There are so many people.”
“It’s a famous tourist destination, after all.”
Watching her, Mechen thought how children could sometimes be unsettlingly perceptive.
“Does it bother you?”
“No.”
Arelin looked around with the fascination of someone seeing an unfamiliar landscape for the first time. What fascinated her most, though, was what lay beneath her feet.
“The water is right under me.”
“Yes, this is Sharit Lake.”
“The water is right there, but I can still walk on it. How?”
“A special Magical Barrier Field is said to cover the entire lake. I’m not a mage, so I can’t explain the details, but that’s how it works.”
“That’s amazing.”
Thanks to the barrier, she could see the ripples of the lake beneath her feet in vivid detail.
A city built upon water, standing atop a Magical Barrier Field.
Due to its unique environment, it had no resident population—it was developed purely as a tourist attraction. Yet visitors came from across the entire continent.
“Oh?!”
While Arelin’s attention was caught by the gently rippling waters, the magic woven into the city gathered the lake water into a mass.
The water rose and passed through the barrier, transforming into the shape of a dolphin that swam circles around Arelin.
“It’s cold.”
When the water dolphin splashed her, Arelin made a face of exaggerated distress.
Mechen found himself laughing without thinking.
“The sights are impressive, but shall we find something to eat first?”
“Okay.”
Arelin took the hand Mechen offered and walked carefully.
Even knowing it was safe, the visible presence of water beneath her feet made her instinctively cautious.
Legend held that the Great Magical Beast Sharit once slept in this vast azure lake. Now it was merely a famous tourist destination.
“Dad, I want that—!”
“Mom, mom!”
Naturally, families visited this place frequently.
…….
Everywhere he looked—here, there, all around—families of tourists caught his eye. Parents carrying small children. Fathers giving their sons piggyback rides.
Mechen was considering whether he should carry Arelin, when—
Her eyes were still fixed on those warm, affectionate families.
“Young lady.”
Her gaze was unwavering, and unnameable feelings stirred in him—frustration, a sharp stinging sensation, unfamiliar emotions.
Mechen pressed them down, forcing them back. He could ignore them, brush past them without a reaction, and she would follow along as if nothing had happened.
But he didn’t want to do that.
“Are you envious?”
“……It’s fine.”
Small fingers gripped his large hand tightly.
“Because you’re here.”
Soft rose-quartz eyes of a pale pink hue looked directly at him.
“You promised to be my mother.”
“I am not quite…a mother.”
The role of a mother was too high a wall for an unmarried man. Yet Mechen had already lost the right to refuse.
“Sigh. Very well.”
If that is what you wish.
Hee hee.
Arelin’s small laugh.
She found it endearing, and that was all that mattered—that he’d made her smile.
“But why a mother, and not a father?”
“Because I already have a father.”
“I see.”
“I’ve never seen him, but he exists, doesn’t he?”
……Why was she so logical?
It was sound reasoning, impossible to argue against. And he certainly couldn’t say he wanted to take the father’s place, could he?
“I suppose that’s true.”
“I like you more.”
“Pardon?”
“I like you more than a father I’ve never even seen.”
Worried he might be hurt, she’d added those last words boastfully. Mechen smiled bitterly despite himself.
“Of course you do.”
After all the hardship I’ve endured to raise you, to lose out to someone who hasn’t even looked at you?

* * *

After eating lunch at the most famous restaurant, the two of them headed toward the Central Square to watch the fountain show.
“There’s always a reason why people flock to see something.”
“Is this your first time too?”
“Yes, I was always too busy buried in paperwork.”
The Central Square was already packed with people.
“Flowers for sale!”
“Beautiful flowers! Buy some flowers!”
Though he normally disliked crowds, he found this kind of lively atmosphere wasn’t entirely unpleasant from time to time.
“Shall I buy you one?”
“Yes!”
He purchased a small bouquet easy for a child to hold and handed one to her. Arelin beamed.
Hehe.
The Beastkin calling out wares in various spots made for an exotic sight—something rarely seen in Albrecht.
“Has your mood improved considerably?”
“Thanks to you.”
Arelin answered brightly.
“I should cooperate since you’re making the effort.”
“Cooperate?”
“What a good child you are.”
……Heh.
Arelin reached up and gently patted Mechen’s head. It was the first time in his life he’d received such a thing, and he could only respond with a genuine, full-hearted laugh.
Whooom—
Light traced across a Magical Formation carved into the plaza floor. The fountain show began simultaneously.
Splash! Splash splash splash!
Water masses shot up from all directions. They gathered and transformed into countless shapes.
Rabbits, butterflies, wolves, dolphins, fish. An impossible scene of water-made creatures dancing across the plaza.
“Mechen.”
And then.
“If I die, don’t build me a grave.”
Arelin spoke quietly, holding a White Lily, her smile faint.
“I want to disappear without leaving even a trace of having been born into this world.”
Her voice was low and dry—emotionless, parched, utterly devoid of feeling.
“But please leave flowers along the path I take. I like this one.”
“Young lady.”
“It’s the first flower you ever bought me.”
Faced with this surreal and yet domestic scene, Mechen found he had no idea how to respond.
“Arelin…….”
Seeing Mechen stare at her like a lost child, Arelin laughed.
“It’s okay.”
“Young lady.”
“I know better than anyone that this is an incurable illness.”
“Who is it? Who dares to—”
“No one taught me.”
Sometimes you simply come to understand things without being taught.
“But you can see it too, can’t you?”
Mechen clamped his mouth shut.
“You were reluctant to grow attached to me because you thought I was a child who’d die anyway, weren’t you?”
“That’s not true.”
“It’s not?”
“……It’s not like that. Sigh…….”
He didn’t know where to begin or how to untangle it. His breath came in short, stifled gasps.
“I’m telling you it’s not.”
“Okay. I believe you.”
“Young lady, truly…….”
“But still, don’t build me a grave.”
Her clear, translucent eyes met his directly.
“I don’t want to be alone anymore in a place no one ever visits.”
In the moment when emotions too complex for words tangled within him, carrying only the melancholy sound of wind—
“—Well hello there, good father and fair daughter! How would you like to participate in an exciting new activity?!”
An opportune intruder had arrived.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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