The two of us speedily separated from one another as Crystal looked at us with surprise. She was squished a bit, but it was only a bit that it didn’t look like it caused her a bit of pain. The incident was too sudden though that my heartbeat rose.

 

“Err…” I looked at Kaori with embarrassment.

 

“What’s wrong?” she simply smiled as if nothing had happened. I did not know what to feel about her reaction, it felt like my heart was a bit disappointed for some reason. I could not understand why I felt a bit disappointed by her reaction.

 

“Nothing… how about we head back now?” I asked while dusting off my dress in disappointment before turning my attention back towards her as a surprise suddenly came blasting towards me. On her face was a beautiful, soft smile; her cheeks were painted in pink as she looked away.

 

“Mhm…” she replied with the softest tone I had ever heard from her. There was a tint of happiness from the tone of her voice which intensified the surprise inside of me. It felt like the clouds of disappointment inside of me were blown away by a vacuum. A mysterious sensation.

 

Suddenly as she looked away, her hand suddenly held onto mine as she said, “It’s not like I want to… my hand is just cold for some reason…” while looking at me with the corner of her eye, her adorable dimples were clear. It was as if crying to be pinched.

 

“You can keep holding onto it as much as you want,” I unconsciously replied, smiling inside as she looked at me for a second before nodding as we walked out from the alleyway before a soft yawn came from Kaori’s side as Crystal looked at us with her drowsy eyes.

 

Her overall look was that of someone who really wanted to sleep but could not sleep because she must be vigilant. It was clearly something that a child of her age should be doing all the time… it felt like something inside of me was breaking apart seeing her constant endurance.

 

“Crystal, go ahead and sleep. You don’t have to be on alert all day long anymore,” I looked at her and poked her cheeks before she shook her head, rejecting my suggestion firmly.

 

“I can’t…” she replied in an exhausted voice.

 

“Children shouldn’t be stubborn if you have to sleep then sleep. The two of us are here to protect you from now on…” Kaori whispered in a soft voice, patting the little girl’s beautiful black hair as she looked at Kaori before turning towards me as if she were still not determined.

 

“I can’t…” she said in a stubborn tone.

 

“Why can’t you sleep?” I asked as Kaori and I moved to the side, looking at her as tears fell from her eyes.

 

“I am afraid… what if something happens?” she responded, creating cracks inside of me. I felt like hugging her tightly, the tears dripping from her eyes were real. It was as if she was afraid of both Kaori and I suddenly leaving her.

 

Kaori and I looked at each other for a second before coming to a conclusion as I lowered myself to the same height as her while smiling, “Then you can stay awake but once we reach OUR home, you must sleep okay?”

 

The two of us stared at each other for a few moments before she suddenly latched onto me, hugging me by the neck as she nodded with a smile while she wiped the tears on her eyes. Before a smile blossomed on our faces as we continued our walk down the street.

 

After some time, the three of us soon reached the exit point of the district where the guards quickly recognized us allowing us to pass through the gates speedily while others lined up for inspection. It was the privilege of the Queenshelm, to say the least.

 

To be honest, now that I think about it… I have been leeching a lot on the Queenshelm despite doing nothing at all these days. Imagine the situation had Aurora not taken me in as her disciple, the entire scene would be different for me… I would probably be out adventuring all day long or on the streets begging…

 

All of a sudden while the three of us silently walked down the streets, Crystal who was being carried by me suddenly heaved a long yawn before resting her head on my shoulder as soft snores entered my ears which surprised both Kaori and me for the infinite amount of times.

 

“Are you fine with carrying her, how about you hand her over to me?” Kaori suggested before I shook my head with a smile.

 

“I’ll carry her, I rarely carry children even Flora doesn’t usually get carried by me mainly because she prefers having Mana carry her. It’s a rare occurrence for me which is why I want to indulge in it for a while since I already know she will follow Flora’s steps and would prefer you over me,” I said before she giggled.

 

“You are like that one dad who despite being super kind is always hated unconsciously by his children,” Kaori joked which made me chuckle a bit.

 

“Yeah, I can totally see me like that,” I replied with a soft giggle.

 

“No need to worry about Crystal preferring me over you though, I will teach her well to become someone responsible unlike others,” she looked forward with eyes of determination. It was like she was mocking someone which confused me.

 

“I already know Crystal will be more responsible than most children, the fact that she endured the drowsiness just to help keep watch means she understands the harshness of the world more than most people here,” I said before she looked at Crystal with sympathy, combing the little girl’s black hair with her slender fingers.

 

“What kind of hardship this girl has suffered… I felt my heart fall apart seeing her tear up at that time… I didn’t know what to do at all, how to coax her…” Kaori looked at me with a wry smile, “Do you want to hear the actual reason why Flora avoids you?”

 

“Isn’t it because she has me on a lower hierarchy inside her heart?” I inquired before she shook her head.

 

“It’s because you are someone to admire at… even I could only watch in admiration over how you managed to coax Crystal; Flora always feels the same as me. She doesn’t want you to carry her around and all those other kinds of stuff because she feels like she isn’t worthy enough,” Kaori said which surprised me but shook my head afterward as I smiled at her.

 

“That girl, well… the chances of her thinking like that would be a little bit too little according to what I know about her. It is more likely she prefers being with Mana more than me which doesn’t really hurt me but rather it makes me happy since I know her heart is not closed,” I said before she suddenly flicked my forehead.

“As expected, you are as dense as you always are,” Kaori walked a little bit faster, skipping steps as she turned around and looked at me with a smile, “Well, even if you are dense. I wouldn’t abandon you especially after chasing after you for almost my entire life now.”

 

“If ever that pink-haired girl leaves you, there is another option right here,” she winked while pointing at herself with a confident smile.

 

“Yeah, yeah…” I said before she walked back beside me as she poked my cheeks, causing nostalgic feels inside of me. It felt exactly like that time when the two of us had failed a contest, walking down a cold snowy road depressed.

 

The way she walked a bit faster and turned around before leaving some encouragements, it really is like her. That simple smile of hers, a smile that brightens my day, it felt like we were back in high school once more… when the two of us were simply two people who carried each other’s backs.

 

After some time, the three of us soon reached the residence with Kaori carrying Crystal this time as I opened the door before a sudden fluff ball came bowling down towards me surprising me as the two of us fell to the floor as a cute cry echoed around the doorway, “Aywumi-me!”

 

The sudden cannonball was none other than Flora who was brimming with smiles as she hugged me tightly before Mana came running from the kitchen dressed on her apron together with Leisha as she peeled Flora away from me.

 

“Flora, you shouldn’t run around in the hallway!” Mana scolded before the little fluff ball nodded as she suddenly turned towards Kaori before her face paled as she stared at Crystal who was sleeping peacefully on her embrace.

 

“Aywumi-mwa…” she looked at me with her eyes wide open. It felt like a storm was brewing in this instant, the atmosphere around us had turned tense as she looked at me for a second before walking away silently upstairs.