Seraphina walked towards the door but stopped abruptly, her lips twitching slightly.


    She turned back, hesitating as she looked at John.


    She had expected John to say something different, but...


    She stared at him coldly, yet John looked back at her sincerely, his voice still raspy.


    "I just woke up and I''m really thirsty."


    His demeanor suggested he genuinely saw no issue with his request and even appeared quite eager.


    For a moment, Seraphina was at a loss for words.


    She rolled her eyes, went back to fetch a ss of water, and handed it to John.


    "Can you—?"


    John''s face showed a trace of difficulty.


    He genuinely wanted to drink by himself, but his limbs were too weak at the moment.


    His fingers were still trembling slightly; holding the ss himself might have ended with it smashed on the floor...


    Seraphina took a deep breath to control her temper before it could re up.


    She managed a forced smile, her teeth clenched as she looked at John.


    "Don''t push it!"


    John blinked innocently, "I''m not! I really can''t hold the cup, otherwise I wouldn''t have asked for your help."


    "You should be thankful you really can''t hold it! Otherwise, I''d break your legs!"


    With gritted teeth, Seraphina held the ss to John''s lips.


    Her movements were hardly gentle, but at least she managed to let John drink the water.


    John choked several times before finally managing to finish the water.


    As hey back down on the bed, both of them felt a sense of relief.


    Seraphina set the water ss aside, and John looked visibly relieved.


    "Lucky for you that you''re ady of high standing, not having to work as a caretaker or something. Otherwise, your patients would have been tormented to death by now."


    Seraphina almostughed out of frustration.


    "Do you realize that thest person I tended to like this was my grandfather? You—"


    Before she could finish, she saw John''s face light up with a mockingly honored expression.


    "Ah? We''re supposed to be peers, and suddenly you''re calling me grandfather, that doesn''t seem quite right."


    "You!"


    Seraphina''s hands trembled slightly with irritation as she pointed at John, struggling to find the words.


    John, holding back hisughter, saw that Seraphina was indeed on the verge of losing her temper and cleared his throat, adopting a serious tone.


    "No more jokes, thank you."


    This serious demeanor from John somehow left Seraphina at a loss for words.


    "Why are you thanking me? I didn''t even want toe see you. If it weren''t for the task my father assigned me, I wouldn''t have bothered."


    Seraphina turned her head away, slightly awkward.


    "So how are you really feeling now? What''s the situation with your health?"


    John carefully assessed his own condition.


    Since his emergence, the small sapling-like tattoo on his arm had disappeared, but he could still feel its presence within his body.


    As for its exact location, that would need further exploration.


    Or perhaps it might reappear when he encounters another piece of the secret realm; all these were uncertainties.


    "I''m mostly okay, just a bit depleted in mind power, feeling somewhat faint overall, and..."


    John paused slightly, prompting Seraphina, now curious, to press further.


    "And what?"


    John shook his head and smiled, "Nothing serious, just a minor issue."


    "You''re a hero of the entire alliance now; you''ve saved so many children of wealthy families. They''re all eager toe and thank you. If there''s anything wrong, you can just say it. I fear there might be too many people wanting to help you soon, and you won''t be able to keep up."


    "Even your stay in this presidential suite is their arrangement; all the medical expenses have been covered by them," Seraphina mentioned lightly.


    John chuckled and shook his head, "Their thanks are not so easily epted."


    On the surface, it might seem as if they were thanking him because he saved their children.


    It was more a show for others, but there were downsides too.


    The families of the children who dide out would indeed be very grateful, but what about the families of those who didn''t? How would they cope?


    It was a double-edged sword: as much as some people were grateful to him, others would harbor resentment.


    Seraphina seemed to not fully understand, but didn''t wish to delve deeper, instead turning her head to look out the window.


    "Anyway, I just came to check on you. Now that you''re fine, I''ll be going."


    With those words, Seraphina turned and walked towards the door.


    However, she paused for a moment with her hand on the doorknob.


    "This time... someone from House Winters was also inside, and you could say you saved them too. If you need anything in the future, let me know—I owe you one."


    Her voice was very low as she spoke, and after finishing, Seraphina quickly left, seemingly reluctant to stay any longer.


    John was left speechless, watching the direction Seraphina had gone, a wry smile forming on his face.


    House Winters?


    Everyone knew that the only prodigy of this generation in House Winters was Seraphina herself.


    Although other children from the branch families might have participated in the Star Cluster Academy''s assessments, they were not significant, and their status was not high.


    It was unlikely that Seraphina would havee here just for that.


    It was more likely she was just using it as an excuse to owe him a favor, as the children from a branch family surely wouldn''t warrant a personal thanks from the main family''s heiress.


    Johny on the bed, leisurely biting into an apple, aware that the news of his awakening was bound to spread.


    He suspected there wouldn''t be many quiet days ahead.


    He wondered... would Principal Sophiae to visit? He hesitated as he nced at where the tattoo had once been on his arm.


    After all, he had essentially imed something that belonged to Principal Sophia for himself.


    Chewing on his apple, John''s thoughts began to drift.


    There was just too much he had learned in the secret realm, and now his mind was cluttered.


    How could he acquire other pieces of the secret realm? That was the most pressing question.


    But before John could ponder further, noise erupted at the door.


    Several nobles entered, armsden withrge and small packages, nearly blocking the doorway with the sheer volume of gifts.


    A number of servants followed, each carrying more gifts, all sporting faint smiles on their faces.


    As the nobles saw John awake, their eyes widened, and they hurriedly set down their burdens to approach his bedside.


    "Ah, our great hero is awake atst! You finally woke up; if you hadn''t, I was about to demolish this hospital. What kind of rubbish hospital takes so long to wake someone up?"


    Another noble noticed the ordinary apple in John''s hand and immediately frowned.


    "Didn''t I tell them to provide you with only the best? Here we are with just a regr apple. Don''t worry, I won''t let you down; I''ll get you some top-quality bingos right away."


    Bingos are a rare fruit exclusively from the Northernmost Realm, fetching tens of thousands per piece with no trouble, prized for their cooling effect upon consumption and their ability to repair mind power.


    With everyone aware that John''s mind power had been damaged, they had all tried their utmost to help restore it.


    After all, he was the savior of their children, and they would indeed be criticized by others if they showed no gratitude.


    Some others carefully inspected the various furnishings in the hospital room and couldn''t help but frown.


    "Didn''t I tell them to use fine cicada-wing fabric for the curtains? It softens the sunlight thates through. What is all this stuff they''ve put up?"