NPC Fell onto My Bed C21

Chapter 21

“How have you been, Noah? Are you hurt anywhere? It’s been ages since the Last War!”
The embrace between Iron and Noah lasted only a moment, yet it carried the weight of years apart. Iron gripped Noah’s shoulders tightly, giving them a hearty pat, his booming laughter filling the room. Compared to Iron’s massive frame, Noah looked fragile—almost delicate—and each slap sent him swaying, but his smile remained radiant, filled with genuine joy at meeting his dear friend again.

“And you, Iron? Have you been well? I was so surprised when I heard you resigned from your knighthood!”
“Ha! Listen to you. That was ages ago! Living in the Tyrel Forest must make news travel slow.”
“I suppose so. I’ve always been there, after all—serving in the name of the goddess Eir…”

Iron looked down at Noah with gentle, fond eyes, while Noah—so animated that he rose onto his toes as he spoke—chatted excitedly. Every time he lifted his heels, Taeheon’s heart gave a heavy, answering jolt.

“Hey, hey, look at them. Doesn’t this feel straight out of some fantasy world where people travel between dimensions?”
“….”
“Taeheon? You even listening?”

Ignoring Jeonghyeok’s babble, Taeheon stood abruptly and strode heavily toward the pair. Noticing him approach, Noah turned and asked softly,
“What’s the matter, Mr. Taeheon?”

But Taeheon didn’t answer. Instead, he fixed his gaze on Iron, who stood nearly eye to eye with him. The fiery red hair and eyes were no cosmetic trick—no dye, no tinted lenses. Iron returned the look with equal scrutiny, the warmth he showed Noah replaced now by caution, sharp and measuring.

The first to break the silence was Taeheon.
“This door.”
“…?”
Taeheon’s chin jerked toward the mangled front door lying twisted on the floor, a silent demand glimmering in his eyes. Iron gave a short, amused laugh.
“Ah, I’ll fix it. For Iron, the Warrior of Steel, repairing a single door is nothing at all.”
Without another word, he stooped, lifted the heavy wreck of metal, and set it upright in its frame. A strange black glow flared from his hands.

Crack—grind—clang!
The warped metal straightened before their eyes, reforming seamlessly, even the hinges reforged. When the door was whole again, a light beep sounded—the automatic lock had re-engaged.

“Will that do?”
“As incredible as ever, Iron!”
“Ha! It feels strange to be praised by the Hildegart for something so trivial.”

Iron scratched the back of his head bashfully at Noah’s shining gaze, while Taeheon clenched his fists tightly at his side.

“Mr. Taeheon,” Noah murmured softly.
“…Yeah?”
“May I invite Iron inside? He’s… my friend.”

Noah’s tone carried embarrassment—not because of Iron, but because he was bringing someone else into a home that wasn’t his own. Taeheon bit back the urge to refuse and grudgingly stepped aside to let Iron in. Noah followed him closely as they moved down the hallway into the living room.

Jeonghyeok was already there, sitting on the couch. Taeheon sat across from him without hesitation, expecting Noah to take the seat beside him.
Instead—
“Well then, if you’ll pardon me.”
Iron claimed the seat next to Taeheon, squeezing in with his broad frame. Noah, after a moment’s hesitation, sat by Jeonghyeok. The latter clutched his chest as if his heart skipped a beat.

“Hilde looks even better from the side…” he muttered under his breath.
“Did you call for me?”
“A-ah, no! You’re just so beautiful, that’s all!”

At the compliment, Noah smiled smoothly, his expression serene. Iron let out a loud laugh.
“Ha! So the standards of beauty are similar here! During the chaos of war, there were countless fools who lost their minds just looking at Hildegart’s face.”
“Oh, I can believe that. Anyone who can stay calm staring at him isn’t human.”
“Still, I couldn’t keep such idiots under my command. If one got caught, it was a hundred laps around the training grounds!”

Iron and Jeonghyeok seemed at ease together, exchanging easy words, while Taeheon sat silent and dark-faced. Finally, Jeonghyeok cleared his throat, steering the conversation back to its pressing subject.

“So… what the hell’s going on? How are Last Chronicle NPCs suddenly dropping into reality?”

“Indeed,” Iron rumbled. “There are far better uses of one’s time than falling from the sky.”

Both sounded truly baffled. Noah, who had been quiet, suddenly spoke.
“I know why I came here.”

With that, he stood slowly, stepping in front of Taeheon. The man, suppressing his irritation, looked up at him, their eyes meeting. Noah smiled—a warm softness melting like snow beneath sunlight.
“I came here to protect your life, Mr. Taeheon.”

The words stole the breath from Taeheon’s throat. Iron and Jeonghyeok fell silent as they watched the air shift subtly between the two.
“I prayed earnestly to the goddess—that I might keep you safe.”

Iron frowned slightly, taken aback.
“Well, now, Noah. For you to pray to the goddess—that carries some weight.”
Noah turned to him and smiled benevolently. It was true; he rarely ever directed personal prayers to Eir. As the most gifted healer of the Holy Church, he was considered closest to the divine—too aware that selfish prayers might turn into greed. Yet this time, he had prayed purely for another’s sake, and he believed that act had brought him here.

“I can accept that for you, Noah,” Iron said, “but what about me? Why am I here?”
“Maybe you came to help me?!” Jeonghyeok blurted.
“Don’t be absurd, Jeonghyeok. I’m no self-sacrificing saint like Noah.”

Iron glanced at Noah, nostalgia flickering in his eyes. “You haven’t changed,” he said quietly. “Even after all you endured in that hellish chaos, you still put others first.”
“…”

Noah smiled wordlessly. Both men knew what that war meant—the Last War, a memory still carved raw in their hearts. It had left scars neither time nor peace could mend.

As they lingered on the bitter past, Jeonghyeok, ever oblivious, piped up.
“Oh, I know that one.”
“…What?”
“That thing, right? The betrayal of the Dark Knight Belmor. It’s official Last Chronicle lore.”

His carefree tone jarred against the heaviness in the room. For experienced players, the history of their world was common knowledge.

Belmor Ashard—the fallen paladin. Once a knight of the Holy Church of Eir, he had plunged into forbidden sorcery and sparked the war now remembered as the Last War.

“Wait,” Jeonghyeok continued, “isn’t he still canonically alive? Always sending underlings into dungeons and running off himself?”

Noah’s serene face faltered for only a heartbeat. That war had cost him his first disciple—Belmor Ashard himself.

Footnotes:

Last War – A cataclysmic conflict within Last Chronicle, begun by the fallen paladin Belmor Ashard, marking the end of Eir’s Age of Light.