Help, I'm in Another World and All the Men Are Are So Dangerous! [BL]-Chapter 341: A Dream of Happiness

Saying that, he stood up and opened the small bedside cabinet.

Rocco simply stared at him, memorizing every single detail of this moment.

I’m sorry, Dad.

Even though I asked for a reward, even though you must have carefully chosen it for me...

I never got to receive it.

Because I died before that next surgery ever happened.

"Here! Look at this, Rocco!" His father beamed, holding up a plush toy.

"This time, I picked a wolf! It has fluffy ears and a bushy tail—I thought you’d like that!"

In his father’s arms sat a soft, round plushie—a chibi wolf with exaggeratedly fluffy ears and tail.

Rocco reached out and hugged it tightly to his chest.

"Thank you," he whispered.

Ah... how nostalgic.

This had been the last stuffed animal he had ever received in his past life.

"...Oh," he suddenly let out a quiet chuckle.

"Hm? What’s funny?" his father asked.

"...Nothing. It’s nothing."

Rocco kept his gaze locked on the plush, a smile tugging at his lips.

He had just noticed something.

The white fur, the striking red eyes...

Now that he looked at it again, this plushie really resembled Laxus.

So that’s why I liked it so much back then...

"Ah! By the way, I heard this book is getting a new sequel soon," his father said brightly.

"Should I buy it for you?"

His father gestured toward the novel Whispers of Steel and Starlights, still resting beside the bed.

Rocco looked at the cover, then let out a small, soft smile.

Back then, he had been so frustrated that he never got to read the new volume.

But now—

"Nah, I’m good. I think I’ll start reading a new book instead."

"Huh? Really?"

Rocco nodded.

Hugging the wolf plush closer, he gazed down at its red eyes and smiled fondly.

Yeah... I don’t need the sequel anymore.

Because now, I already know how the story ends.

This time, I’ll get to see the last Chapter with my own eyes.

"──...Mmm."

"Oh? Rocco, are you getting sleepy?"

His father’s gentle voice washed over him.

"It’s okay, don’t force yourself to stay awake. You just had surgery, so you need to rest."

Rocco let his heavy eyelids slowly drift closed.

The warmth of his father’s voice, the gentle weight of the plushie in his arms—

Even if this was only a dream, it was one he never wanted to wake from.

A heavy drowsiness suddenly crashed over Rocco, and no matter how hard he tried to keep his eyes open, his eyelids grew heavier and heavier, until they finally closed.

Oh right—he remembered now. After surgery, even if you woke up once, it was normal to get sleepy again almost immediately.

He hated it. He didn’t want to fall asleep yet.

Because if he did...

This dream would end.

And he knew—if he let himself sleep now, he might never see this precious, happy dream again.

He didn’t want to sleep. He wanted to stay awake, to stay forever by the side of his beloved family.

It was when those feelings started overflowing that it happened.

His father’s large, warm hand gently stroked his head, and a kind voice brushed against his ears.

"It’s alright, Rocco. You’re such a good boy. You’re going to be just fine. A kid as good as you—there’s no way you won’t find happiness."

His vision blurred.

His father’s kind smile grew fuzzy, and that made him feel even lonelier.

Still, Rocco desperately wanted to respond, to say what was in his heart.

Forcing out a trembling voice, he whispered, "You’re such... a dummy, Dad..."

He caught a glimpse of his father’s puffed-up cheeks, as if he were a child pouting in protest.

That sight made Rocco smile warmly again. "I was never... unhappy, not even once. I’ve always been happy... always."

Yes, he had always been happy—both then and now.

Even though his father’s face had grown too blurry to see clearly, even though everything was melting away, he could clearly tell—his father was crying, his large tears falling one after another.

With a faint smile, Rocco felt his consciousness beginning to sink into darkness.

Sleep was inevitable now.

"Thank you, Dad... Please tell Mom too... tell her not to worry."

In his very last moments, Rocco laughed again.

"I’ll always be happy, no matter what."

Something soft brushed against his cheek.

That tender sensation pulled him back into wakefulness.

The surface beneath him wasn’t the hard bed of a hospital.

Instead, he was surrounded by luxurious softness.

It didn’t take him long to realize he was lying on the Del Fiore mansion’s plush sofa.

Still half-dazed, he slowly shifted his gaze—and immediately, his face softened into a smile.

There, watching over him with gentle eyes, was a familiar figure.

"Good morning, Rocco," the man said warmly. freeweɓnovel.cøm

"You had such a blissful look on your face. Were you dreaming about something nice?"

Rocco leaned into the large hand that was caressing his cheek.

He gazed up into those loving, crimson eyes and smiled softly.

"Yeah... It was a dream just as happy... as right now."

...

A gentle breeze stirred the air.

Underneath a blossoming tree in the Del Fiore estate’s garden, Rocco sat while gazing intently at the drifting petals.

It was spring.

This tree in the garden, blooming with flowers much like cherry blossoms.

"Such elegance again this year..." he murmured.

He happily sipped from a thermos.

"Ahh—feels like I’m alive again!"

He swayed happily as he stared up at the flowers, when suddenly he heard footsteps approaching from behind.

"My, my, Rocco," a smooth, relaxed voice said.

"What are you doing all alone in a place like this?"

The voice reminded him a little of Laxus’s—but it carried a deeper, effortless calm.

Rocco turned around quickly—and found Makarov standing there, wearing a gentle smile.

Makarov, the head of the Del Fiore family.

The leader of the household, Laxus’s father... and Rocco’s father-in-law.

Strictly speaking, Rocco and Laxus were only engaged—they hadn’t actually gotten married yet.

So Makarov was technically his future father-in-law.