Help, I'm in Another World and All the Men Are So Hot! [BL]-Chapter 226: Damien’s Resolve

"What!? No, that’s..."

Oh no, Theo had misunderstood.

Damien wasn’t sure exactly how Theo had misunderstood, but it was clear that Theo had completely gotten the wrong idea.

As Theo spoke, all the eyes in the room turned to Damien.

Everyone was either smiling or looking puzzled, but being stared at by more than ten people at once was still a lot of pressure...

"Um... what I was going to talk about at lunch was just asking Theo about how to live in this world from now on..."

It was just about discussing work and things like that. He didn’t need to make it into such a big deal...

"Damien, could you please tell us a little more about the process that led you to think that way?"

When Damien thought they’d respond with something like, "Oh? Is that all?", instead, they all looked at him seriously and asked for more explanation.

But when it came to explaining how he arrived at his current thinking...

The events with Theo from the previous day came to mind, making his cheeks flush with heat.

"...You can skip over that part," Theo said, as if reading Damien’s thoughts.

Theo’s expression was serious, though his own cheeks were slightly red.

Skipping over that part, then...

"Um, the other day, I came across the diary of an Earthian who had apparently come to this world a long time ago. It’s embarrassing to admit, but it finally gave me the push I needed to let go of the idea of returning to Earth ."

It was truly pathetic.

Even though Damien had known, deep down, that returning to Earth wasn’t possible, he just couldn’t bring himself to accept it.

He couldn’t fully commit to the idea of living in this world.

Even after reading Yegor Tretyakov’s diary, it had taken Damien quite some time to solidify his resolve.

"Again, it’s embarrassing to say, but after days of thinking about it, I finally came to terms with it. I’m ready to live in this world."

He still couldn’t forget about Earth —his family, his friends—and he had no intention of doing so. But now, he had everyone here with him.

For the sake of the people far away whom he cared about, he couldn’t neglect—or worse, take for granted—the people close to him.

He had finally realized that.

"I want to be happy in this world with all of you. At first, I thought it was enough if I could just make everyone happy. But yesterday, Theo taught me something important. To make everyone happy, I have to be happy too."

For someone like Damien, who couldn’t return to Earth, the question now was: What does happiness really mean to me?

For Damien, someone who couldn’t fully believe in this world—this otherworld—happiness meant one thing: the feeling that he was making the people he loved happy.

When he felt he was bringing joy to the people he cared about, when those he loved truly needed him, that’s when Damien could feel undeniably happy.

So, he had resolved to do everything in his power to make everyone happy.

...But then Theo told him that in order for everyone to be happy, Damien needed to be happy himself.

And when Damien thought about it, that made perfect sense.

After all, if his lovers lived only to make him happy, he wouldn’t feel happy at all—he’d feel sad.

Honestly, Damien suspected Theo might actually fall into that pattern if he wasn’t careful.

But since Theo had brought it up himself, Damien had to believe he was aware of the danger.

Anyway, he was straying off topic.

The point was, if Damien tried to focus on his own happiness, his lovers might not be happy, and that would ultimately leave him unhappy as well.

Was it hopeless, then?

He’d seriously thought about it that way for a while.

But in the end, the solution was surprisingly simple.

"That’s why... I want to get used to this world. I want to reach a point where I can truly feel confident that I can live here."

In the end, all of Damien’s struggles boiled down to one thing: his inability to fully believe in and accept this otherworld.

Damien couldn’t fully believe in this world, and because of that, he couldn’t fully believe in his lovers.

The truth was, though, he no longer doubted that his lovers, even as people from another world, genuinely cared for him.

But somewhere deep inside, a part of him doubted himself.

You don’t know anything about this world, do you?

That thought haunted him.

And so, unless he threw himself into something with all his might, he would quickly become consumed with insecurity.

That’s why Damien decided he needed to understand this world.

He resolved to adapt to it, to become someone who could truly live in it.

When he reached the point where he could feel confident about living here, maybe he could love his partners more naturally, without reservation.

...And if nothing changed, then perhaps it would just mean he was always destined to be a somewhat heavy-hearted guy.

Honestly, Damien wasn’t sure about that sort of thing since he’d never had a romantic partner back in Earth.

Though... he did recall how his first love in kindergarten had lingered in his heart for years, even after that person had gotten a girlfriend. Maybe he really was the type to feel deeply attached.

Well, for now, he decided to set that aside.

If nothing changed, so be it. At that point, Damien figured he’d at least be able to declare confidently:

Working tirelessly for the happiness of the people I love is my happiness.

Even if it made his lovers worry, he would take the time to discuss it with them and figure out compromises that worked for everyone.

"And so, as the first step toward us all being happy together, I thought I’d consult Theo about how to live in this world—mainly about work-related stuff..."

What had been intended as a simple discussion about jobs had somehow turned into a massive ordeal.