The Extra Works Hard - Chapter 23

“Well, I guess they’re sleepwalking.”

“Isn’t sleepwalking only for children?”

“There are not many, but some adults also get sick. Stress is usually the main culprit. But no matter how stressful it is, if you get sleepwalking. He must be having a really hard time right now.”

Matilda apologetically said. “We need to see the patient in person for a detailed diagnosis. I don’t think you want that.”

“That’s right. I was just curious, so I asked.”

“But if you help them, I’m sure they’ll get better soon”

Hazard laughed vaguely at the remark. ‘Well, I don’t think I’m very helpful.’

Anyway, Hazard defined Nathan’s unusual behavior as sleepwalking. But I didn’t bother to visit him during the day and tell him that you showed abnormal behavior at dawn. This is because it would only be difficult to find out, and Nathan seemed to have enough on his plate. Well, I was always awake at dawn, so there was nothing particularly troublesome.

It’s been quiet these days, but originally he hasn’t slept in peace anyway. Because gifts from his brothers would always come when he fell asleep. Therefore, it was not too difficult for him to find Nathan at dawn and send him to his room.

Nathan, who had already encountered him during the day, looked tired and threatened as if he were about to collapse. He didn’t expect a nosebleed all of a sudden. In addition, seeing Nathan call himself ‘Hazard’ in a friendly way, Hazard was a little surprised. Wasn’t it the first time we had a conversation two years ago? Come to think of it, he was strangely friendly to him then too. He was the prince of a nation, no matter how much Hazard behaved. In the academy, class consciousness was faint, so aristocrats and commoners used to mix together, but the royal family was a little exception. They didn’t call him naturally even though Hazard was normally mixed in with them. It was “Prince” or “5th Prince” or “Seoja” to laugh at him behind his back.

T/N: term “seoja” ― a child born between a “yangban” aristocratic father and a commoner or slave mother.

It was only Remburton and a few others who had become his companions that called him Hazard. So Hazard thought Nathan was unusual, but he just laughed it off.

These late night adventures, which only Hazard knows, have continued since then. Nathan still left the room at dawn and wandered around the academy aimlessly. Sometimes it was the back gate, sometimes it was the front gate, sometimes it was the library, and so one would soon return to his room.

But Nathan obviously moved like he wanted to go somewhere. Even though he seemed to wander without thinking in his sleep, he moved as if he had a destination. His behavior has been consistent over the past few days since the accident in the forest.

Hazard kept talking to Nathan at dawn. Nathan was mostly air-rushing Hazard, and sometimes he spoke, but their conversation was somehow off the mark.

One day he tried to wake Nathan up. But Nathan fell down and fell asleep, but he couldn’t break from his sleep. His face grew paler and darker under his eyes. I felt sorry for waking him up. That’s why I keep looking for him at dawn.

“Where do you want to go so badly?”

Hazard’s voice was sweet.

“Hoo, I got it. Just for today. I’ll help you just for today.”

In the meantime, Hazard carried Nathan and jumped on the main gate of the academy. It was not that difficult for a student of the department of swordsmanship with excellent physical ability. As soon as he stepped down lightly and dropped Nathan, who was carrying him, he ran forward.

It looked like a madman to Hazard. A pale object running in the dark, hair still untied in his night clothes. This time, there might be a ghost disturbance in the village. Even if I ran, it wasn’t that fast. Hazard followed Nathan in silence. Still, it’s only a relief that you don’t have to hurt your feet because you wear shoes.

After finding Nathan walking around barefoot, the first thing I did was put on his shoes. Surprisingly, Nathan kindly put on the shoes Hazard had prepared for him.

Tramp, trud.

There was only one road along the main gate, so there was only one place for Nathan to arrive. Only Nathan’s footsteps were ringing in the off-light train station. There was a long black shadow under the moonlight. Hazard chased Nathan to the platform. Nathan went to a bench nearby and sat down. Hazard sighed as if he were waiting for a train. Hazard sat with one knee in front of Nathan.

“Nobert, the train service is over. The train won’t come even if we’re sitting here like this.”

I thought there would be no answer to be heard anyway. Hazard could not understand why he was struggling. It can happen for a friend who feels sorry for the first few times. But well, it’s a day or two. From his point of view, he could have left Nathan alone, who showed abnormal behavior, or visited him during the day, told him the truth about what happened at dawn, listened to his troubles, and persuaded him to treat his sleepwalking.

But Hazard didn’t do any of that. At dawn, he just searched for Nathan wandering around the academy and repeatedly took him to his room if he collapsed.

“I want to go home.”

Then Nathan, sitting still, said quietly.

“Home? Oh…”

Hazard recalled Nathan’s current state of affairs by saying that. Nathan murmured blankly,

“I’m lonely.”

“I’m dying of loneliness.”

“So I want to go home.”

“There’s no one here.”

“I’m all alone.”

As if panicking, Nathan repeated his long words, pulling his long legs together on the bench, crouching in his arms. The defensive posture seemed infinitely shabby and pitiful.

“Norbert, wake up!”

He needs to be woken up. In an unusual response, Hazard held Nathan’s arms strongly, which kept shrinking to wake him up. I thought maybe there would be a handprint.

At one point Nathan slowly closed his eyes and opened them up. Eyes without focus stare at Hazard. As if to grasp the situation for a moment, Hazard smiled like a habit as he frowned as he saw his wide-open eyes immediately followed by a ripple, and his blank face quickly turned into embarrassment.

“..now I’m up.”

“Oh, be careful.”

Nathan, who was flustered and leapt to his feet, stumbled for a moment, prompting Hazard to sit back down, lightly holding his arm strong. The murky green eyes, which remained chaotic, looked around as if trying to grasp the situation, and stopped at Hazard.

“Oh, Hazard? Why are you here? Why am I here?”

A voice close to astonishment questions. Nathan rarely had an accident due to the sudden situation. He stared still at Hazard as if his shaking eyes were focusing. Nathan couldn’t understand anything about why Hazard was in front of him or why he was in the train station.

“I’m sure I was sleeping in my room, why am I…”

Nathan groped his memory in the midst of the raging confusion. Obviously, I fell asleep in my room. That was for sure. What happened just before I fell asleep was foggy, but I clearly remembered that I was asleep. Now that he was dressed in his pajamas, this was undoubtedly true. But then, of course, it’s normal to wake up in my room, so why did I wake up at the train station at this time of the night? And why?

‘And you’re with me?’ Hazard’s presence further confused him.

“Take it easy.”

Looking at Nathan, Hazard spoke to him like an old wise man.

“Why am I here, do you know?”

Nathan blinked in confusion. I had no idea what this was all about. He looked at Hazard, hoping for an answer. Hazard, who understood Nathan’s gaze, was in a lot of trouble and sneaked away from his gaze.

“It’s a kinda long story, so to speak.”

It wasn’t long enough to say it was long. Hazard took a moment to tell Nathan what had happened. Nathan was shocked by that. Sleepwalking? I was like this every morning? I can’t believe I’m the ghost that wandered around the Academy! I felt like I was losing my mind. A sticky dull pain crept up.

“Do you know exactly when this started?”