Cain turned his body to face his other comrades. However, instead of a welcome, the atmosphere froze as Abel, Rika, Peter, and Louise gasped, their faces wide-eyed.
Seconds passed in thick silence, wrapping around the neck of the boy who had just woken up from his sleep. It was so awkward. He raised his palm and opened his mouth.
"Yo, I'm relieved to see you guys are the same as usual, by the way, how long have I been asleep?"
There was no answer; his other comrades were silent like statues, not even blinking, as if time around Cain had stopped.
Cain wrinkled his eyebrows and walked around his bed to stand in front of Abel. He waved his hand in front of Abel's vacant eyes, but there was no response.
"Oi, what's wrong with you guys, why are you acting like statues!?"
His body felt a gentle thump as Abel wrapped his arms around his back, hugging him tightly.
"Cain, you're awake. Thank goodness."
Abel put a bit of strength into his hug, making Cain gasp as he lost a little air from his lungs. He looked down and found Abel's face wrinkled with tears streaming down his cheeks.
Cain took a short breath, and the two hands bound by Abel's embrace patted his back gently. The blonde boy loosened the wrap of his arms and stepped back, allowing the other comrades to come forward.
Louise stepped forward; she bit her lip as if trying to hold back the overflowing emotion in her heart, but it was useless. Her emotion leaked, flooding her face with tears.
The girl's delicate hand grasped Cain's left hand and shook it furiously. He was even worried that with the continuous jolt in his shoulder, his hand would fall off.
"Uuuu,, hiks,, I-I'm glad, leader."
From the other side, Peter patted Cain's right shoulder several times. His calm expression broke and softened as he parted his lips.
"Leader, I'm glad you're awake."
Cain nodded, he squeezed Louise's hand back and patted the hand on his shoulder to transfer a glimmer of warmth from his body, assuring them that he was still alive and present before their eyes.
"Abel, Louise, Peter, thank you."
The three exchanged glances; the dark cloud that enveloped their hearts in a gloomy storm had now vanished. They could hear the cracking sound of the invisible chains that sealed away their emotion, shattered, causing their tensed expression to smile in relief.
Yet despite the buzzing atmosphere brought by the three. There was one person who remained silent. Rika stood still behind the group, staring straight at Cain's face. Her expression was flat, not showing the slightest ripple in her red eyes.
The three people who shed tears swallowed. They understood it well, the burden and wretched feeling as they saw Cain lie on the bed for days without showing any sign of waking up.
It was nerve-wracking, as if their whole bodies were pushed to the edge of a cliff.
Rika, on the other hand. The trio saw what happened from the first day, as she received a shock that rendered her mentally unstable. Day by day, she could express some of her emotions, but they were flat and lacked warmth.
The three of them wanted to do something but couldn't, and they hoped Cain could wake up and fix the girl's condition.
Cain looked at the three as they stepped aside to give space for the two of them. The boy raised his foot to stand in front of Rika.
They stared at each other, seeing their own reflection in each other's pupils. Cain gulped. He tried to loosen his expression, knowing the girl must still be angry about the blood he vomited right in front of her eyes.
"U-Um..."
Cain scratched his cheek; his quivering lips squeezed out all the words stuck in his throat.
"Y-Yo, how are you?"
A deafening silence descended into the room, bringing a thick air that pressed Cain's chest until he was choked.
'W-What the hell is wrong with me. I can't even speak properly.'
His body flinched when he saw Rika shorten the distance between them, making Cain clap both palms together as he wanted to apologize. But things had gone haywire.
Without saying a single word, Rika approached and pressed her forehead against Cain's chest. Her action made the boy's expression stiff. His mouth stammered, hesitant about what to do when a girl suddenly acted intimate.
However, his hesitation vanished when he saw Rika's body shivering, and both her hands wrinkled the fabric on his clothes. Cain sighed softly, hearing the whimpering cry that came out of the girl's mouth, who always acted strong towards herself and others.
For the first time, Cain saw Rika show her fragile side, and it made his body move before his head could think. He wrapped his hands around her back and head, giving a gentle squeeze, afraid of breaking her frail body.
From her stifling sob, Rika tried to open her mouth, but her voice was unrecognizable, like a whisper.
"...Welcome back."
Cain pulled the girl's body tight and whispered the answer right into her ear.
"I'm back."
...
After a brief team reunion, Cain, who was sitting on the bed with Rika next to him, was told that he had been asleep for more than a month after the incident.
It made his pupils shrink, then whispered in his heart.
'A month!? No wonder I almost fell when I tried to stand up just now.'
A month was a long enough time for someone to sleep. A lack of physical activity and proper nutrition can cause serious health problems that worsen Cain's condition.
However, instead of getting sick, Cain's body showed no signs of illness other than fatigue. Whatever miracle the doctors had done, he was very grateful.
Even though technology was far advanced, the problem of sickness and health was still a world mystery that science couldn't solve until now. Or there was a time when humans could live without the fear of sickness, but that was not the case in this city of Babylon.
Abel, who was sitting in the visitor's chair in front of him, raised his hand and spoke.
"You must be hungry, right? Let's go to the cafeteria in this place."
Hearing the word food, his silent stomach suddenly contracted and let out a rumbling sound that echoed in the room. Cain held his stomach, rubbed it gently and replied.
"Yeah, I think I can get some food."
From the side, Louise, who was standing, shook her head. She clenched both her hands tightly to her chest and replied.
"I-I think, leader Cain still needs to rest, let me get something from the canteen."
Cain took a cold breath, and he chuckled softly while looking at Louise, who somehow reminded him of Abel version two. He could even see the shadow of standing ears along with a happily wagging tail. The boy shook his head.
"No, since I haven't moved for a long time. I have to take advantage of this to exercise my stiff muscles."
"Even so, asking to walk a bit far on the first day you wake up. As expected of our Leader."
'Um? Far?'
Hearing the statement from Peter, who was standing beside Louise, Cain clenched his fist. His expression hardened while looking at his two legs, which looked pale because they had been inside the room for a long time.
'With my current condition, can I reach it?'
Rika abruptly stood up and stretched out her hand to Cain. The boy peeked at the other comrades as they nodded, as if telling him to take the help.
He gripped Rika's hand, who pulled him gently and helped him stand up. Cain looked at her beautiful, calm face. The girl immediately wrapped Cain's arm around her neck.
"Be careful."
"I can walk by myself."
The girl froze; her hand that squeezed Cain's palm disappeared. Rika looked down, somehow exuding a black, gloomy aura.
'Eh, what's wrong?'
Cain shifted his gaze to the others, but the three instead knitted their eyebrows, causing the surrounding air to thicken with tension, reminding him of the battlefield. He swallowed to wet his dry throat.
The other three moved their heads as a gesture towards Rika, who radiated a negative aura when she received rejection from Cain.
From that, the grey-haired boy glared at the girl beside him, who was looking down as if the world had ended. He let out a long sigh, not knowing why Rika could have undergone such a drastic personality change.
Cain reached out his hand and opened his mouth.
"My legs might still be weak, when the time comes I will rely on you, Rika."
Rika looked up, and both her eyes widened. She nodded, her expression was bright, smiling like the summer sun that scorched Cain's intention to train his legs.
"Alright."
Seeing Rika's joy returning to her face, the group left the room to get their lunch.