Side Story 15. [After Story] Kuilan
Imperial Year 662.
Ten years after the final battle against the monsters.
Central Continent. Near the Great Forest. Beastkin Village.
Kuilan let out an excited shout when he saw the guest visiting his village.
“Oh ho! Look who it is! If it isn’t Bodybag!”
Daram, holding a letter from Ash, forced a polite smile.
“…I’m not Bodybag anymore. It’s Daram now. I’ve changed my name.”
“Ah, right. I heard about that. My bad, totally slipped my mind!”
“It’s fine… There’s someone I work for who forgets the name they gave me every single day…”Daram had long since let go of any attachment to names. After all, her current name was something like “Sunflower Seed-Lover” or whatever—it didn’t matter much to her.
She handed Kuilan the letter. Kuilan quickly opened it and scanned its contents before letting out a cheerful exclamation.
“A meeting of the representatives of the races, huh!”
“His Grace, the Duke, called it something fancy, but it’s basically just an excuse to gather everyone, share a meal, and catch up. He asked that you try your best to attend.”
“This sounds great. I’ve been wanting to see everyone again anyway. There are plenty of things we need to talk about too.”
Kuilan agreed without hesitation.
After exchanging some casual greetings, Daram hesitated for a moment before cautiously asking a question.
“How is Lady Yun doing?”
“Still sleeping soundly.”
Kuilan replied, crossing his arms and shrugging.
“She hasn’t woken up once. She’s like a proper Sleeping Beauty of the forest.”
Sleeping Beauty…
Hearing the well-known fairy tale reference, Daram tilted her head in curiosity.
“Then, wouldn’t a deep, passionate kiss wake her up?”
“Huh, you think so? Should I have tried that ages ago?”
Kuilan’s response left Daram staring at him in disbelief.
“What?! You haven’t kissed her all this time?”
“How could I? How do you think it’s okay to go kissing someone who’s unconscious and defenseless?”
It was a surprisingly sensible answer for someone who used to be a notorious Bandit King. But Daram wasn’t convinced.
“I mean, weren’t you two lovers? Or at least something before she fell unconscious? You two were all over each other back then. Adding one more kiss wouldn’t—”
Kuilan flailed his arms, leaping up in shock.
“W-Wh-What are you saying?! All over each other?! What kind of filthy phrasing is that?!”
“You know, like during that party where we caught the Grand Sorcerer… You both put on quite the show in front of everyone!”
“Ugh! Uuuuugh! Uuuuuuugh! I’ve worked so hard to forget that cringeworthy moment from my past!”
Regardless, it was a widely known fact among the Monsterfront that Yun had been pursuing Kuilan even before she fell into a coma. Kuilan had always been the one putting up walls and pushing her away.
And now, ten years after the war ended, Kuilan was still here, taking care of Yun in her unconscious state.
“When you give your heart to someone, you’ve got to see it through to the end.”
Kuilan murmured this as he idly twisted the long ribbon of his braided hair around his fingers.
“Even if we kept missing the right timing, in the end, Yun and I… we were always looking at each other.”
“You know, that sounds really cool, but the way you’re twirling your hair makes the whole scene kind of cute instead.”
Daram remarked, letting out a deep sigh as she pinched her own chubby cheeks.
“Haaa~ When will I find myself a proper boyfriend?”
“Didn’t His Grace introduce you to any good men? He does treasure his aides, after all.”
“For ten years, all he’s done is pile endless work on me. There’s nothing in the Bringar Duchy’s administration that I don’t know how to handle now! He’s such a wicked boss, wringing every last drop of effort out of his people.”
“Sounds like the mark of a good ruler to me.”
“Yeah, well, if that wasn’t the case, I would’ve run away years ago.”
After sharing a bit more small talk, Daram eventually prepared to leave. She was sent off warmly by Kuilan and the other beastkin villagers. After all, she still had other representatives of different races to meet and deliver letters to, so the journey ahead of her was long.
“Hm…”
Watching Daram’s figure grow smaller in the distance, Kuilan rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
“…A kiss to wake her up, huh?”
The Beastkin Village.
Though it was referred to as a “village,” it was, in reality, a sprawling network of settlements spread across nearly half the Great Forest. It was anything but small.
After the abolition of slavery, various freed beastkin gathered under the Leaf Wolf Tribe’s leadership and formed a community. Now, many different tribes and beastkin mingled together, living and thriving in this vast forest.
Kuilan stood as their representative, effectively ruling over what amounted to an entire nation.
Yet, Kuilan’s home was simple and modest.
It was a small wooden hut built around a large maple tree.
Entering the hut, Kuilan called out in his usual lively tone,
“I’m back! Yun~ You’ve been keeping the house safe, right?”
Of course, there was no reply.
Opening the door to the inner room, Kuilan found Yun lying on the bed, just as she always was, buried in the blankets and fast asleep.
She looked as if she had been preserved in time, perfectly still except for the faint rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. Her thin, frail limbs were warm to the touch, radiating a slight fever.
“Good evening.”
Kuilan adjusted Yun’s position carefully, ensuring she wouldn’t develop bedsores, then brought a damp cloth to gently wipe her body.
Having spent a long time caring for his sick brother before, Kuilan was no stranger to tending to patients. In fact, he had now cared for Yun far longer than he ever had for his late brother.
As he cleaned her, Kuilan began recounting the day’s events to her in a soft voice.
“Daram came by today. Ah, Daram’s the new name Bodybag chose for herself. Her old name was just a codename, after all. Anyway, she came and brought a letter—it was from His Grace, the Duke. He’s calling for everyone to meet up and catch up after all this time.”
As Kuilan continued recounting his conversation with Daram, he suddenly slapped his knee and burst out laughing.
“And get this—Daram said you were like Sleeping Beauty and suggested I wake you up with a kiss! Hahaha…!”
Then, Kuilan’s expression suddenly shifted, his face going rigid.
“Why didn’t I think of that?!”
“…”
“I mean… it should be fine, right? A kiss… I mean, purely for medicinal purposes, of course!”
At that moment, while Kuilan was deep in thought, Yun’s eyelashes trembled ever so slightly.
Completely oblivious, Kuilan continued rambling.
“Not that I have any ulterior motives! It’s just—what if, like in the story, you actually wake up? You never know, right?”
“…Mmm.”
“Of course, I know! Kissing someone in a coma is a no-go! It’s something a gentleman should never do. But still!”
“Ugh… Mmm…”
“Besides, you’re the one who kissed me all over ten years ago! So, technically, this would just be paying back that debt… yeah, like an honorable trade or something…”
“…Kuilan?”
Yun’s parched voice barely escaped her lips as her mouth moved slightly, but Kuilan was too absorbed in justifying himself to notice.
“Exactly, it’s totally fine. I just have to close my eyes and do it once. Just once!”
“What time is it…? Ugh. It’s so bright…”
“Alright, here we go…! Deep breath…!”
Huff! Huff! Huff!
After inhaling dramatically and even warming up as if preparing for battle, Kuilan—his face flushed beet red from nerves—leaned toward Yun.
“Mm-mm—”
“…”
Yun, now fully awake, watched silently as Kuilan, eyes shut tight, puckered his lips and leaned closer. Then, in a cold, dry voice, she asked:
“What exactly are you doing right now?”
“…Huh?”
Kuilan froze, his eyes snapping open in shock. Yun was staring at him with a disapproving, half-lidded gaze.
“W-Waaaaaaaah!”
Kuilan screamed and recoiled like a spring, launching himself backward.
“You’re really awake! Oh my gods, the kiss actually worked! This is incredible!”
Sleeping Beauty had woken up with a kiss.
Well… not quite. The lips hadn’t even touched.
“Ten years?”
Yun murmured in a dazed voice.
“It’s been ten years since I lost consciousness?”
“That’s how it is.”
Kuilan replied, bringing her a cup of water he had gently warmed.
Yun’s hands were still too weak to hold it, so Kuilan had to support the cup as she drank. She struggled to swallow before lifting her eyes to study him.
“You’ve changed a lot… Kuilan.”
The Kuilan before her was markedly different from the man she remembered.
The wolf-like fur that once covered his body was gone, as was the chiseled, muscle-bound frame that had once resembled a marble statue. His figure was now more streamlined, and his eyes—now deeper and more thoughtful—carried a wisdom they hadn’t before. Even the way he moved was more relaxed, exuding a quiet confidence.
“Well, I guess it’s from getting older and staying off the battlefield. My muscles have shrunk a bit. And when the curse lifted, all the fur disappeared too…”
As Yun silently examined this unfamiliar yet familiar Kuilan, a sudden thought struck her.
“Mirror… Bring me a mirror.”
“Huh?”
“I want to see myself. Where’s a mirror?”
Kuilan hesitated for a moment before finally retrieving a hand mirror.
Helping Yun sit up, he propped her up carefully so she could see herself. Still frail and weak, she managed to lift the mirror and look at her reflection.
Her eyes widened slightly, and her lips parted.
“This… is me?”
She examined every corner of her reflection, murmuring in disbelief.
“Gods, I look like nothing but a sack of skin…”
In her memory, she was still in her early twenties—young, full of vitality, and brimming with life.
But time had not been kind. Ten years in a coma had stolen much from her.
Her hair had lost its luster, her eyes were sunken, her skin was dry and pale, and her once-strong body was gaunt and frail.
“My abs…”
Her once-proud, perfectly sculpted abs were gone, replaced by a hollowed, flat stomach.
She raised her arm and examined her thin, shrunken biceps and triceps, gritting her teeth.
“…Still.”
Sensing Kuilan’s concerned gaze, Yun forced herself to smile.
“At least we saved the world, didn’t we? That’s what matters. You all did something incredible.”
Kuilan smiled faintly in return.
“And now you, who helped save the world, are back with us too.”
“…”
“Is there any greater miracle than that?”
Yun kept her thoughts to herself.
Inside, she felt utterly lost.
The ten years she had missed, the youth she had lost, clawed at her from within.
‘Maybe it would’ve been better if I’d just died back then.’
she thought bitterly.
To die in glory, to be remembered beautifully—that might have been preferable.
Rather than surviving like this, in a broken shell, only to burden this man further.
“Did you really… care for me all these ten years, Kuilan?”
“Of course, it wasn’t just me. Helpers came in shifts to assist, and the Ariane Kingdom kept sending supplies for whatever was needed…”
Kuilan started recounting in detail how he had cared for Yun over the past decade, explaining how many people had willingly pitched in to help.
From Kuilan’s perspective, he was emphasizing how much people cared for and thought about Yun.
But to Yun, it didn’t feel that way.
All she could hear was how much trouble she had caused for everyone.
How much she had burdened them.
And there was no way for her to repay it.
Not with this frail, weakened body. Not with a mind that had been disconnected from reality for a decade.
“…I’m sorry.”
“Hm? What’s there to be sorry about? I did it because I wanted to.”
“But because of me… you wasted ten years of your life.”
“Yun, don’t talk like that.”
Kuilan’s large hand carefully clasped Yun’s frail one.
“Those were the most fulfilling ten years I’ve ever lived. And it was all thanks to you.”
“…”
“Besides, if our roles were reversed, you would’ve done the same for me.”
At his words, Yun closed her eyes tightly.
Would she really have been able to do the same?
If it had been him lying in a coma, would she have been able to dedicate herself to caring for him for over ten years?
“I’m sorry, Kuilan. I… I just need some time to think. To sort through everything.”
“…”
“Could you leave me alone for a while?”
Hearing her words, Kuilan nodded as if he understood, though there was a bittersweet look in his eyes…
“Nope.”
He refused.
“What?”
Yun was taken aback.
“Wait, isn’t this the part where you’re supposed to give me space to think things through? Is this something else that’s changed in the last ten years?”
“I get that waking up to find yourself ten years in the future is confusing, but sitting alone and digging a hole in your thoughts is only going to make you feel worse, isn’t it?”
Kuilan gestured toward the door.
“Let’s go get some fresh air! The scenery out there is gorgeous.”
Though time had changed his appearance, the man’s breezy smile remained exactly the same.
“I’ve always wanted to see it together with you.”
–TL Notes–
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