A few hours later, Ley and I were in front of a hospital.

When we arrived, a middle-aged woman received us with a gentle expression.

“You are here. Karen will be happy to see you.”

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Mattew.”

“H-Hi.”

“Good afternoon, Jane, Ley. Come, follow me.”

After the greetings, the woman led us to a room in the hospital. She then stopped in front of the door and gestured for us to enter.

“Go in. Karen is inside.”

Ley and I nodded.

When we entered the room, we saw a beautiful girl with blonde hair and blue eyes.

The girl had a gentle smile on her face, and her eyes were as deep as the sea, but her skin was slightly pale and her eyebags were noticeable. She was the perfect description of a sickly beauty.

She was lying on a hospital bed and chatting with a familiar young man seated beside her. My friend, Andrew Mattew.

The girl was Andrew’s big sister, Karen Mattew.

When Karen noticed us, her expression brightened.

“Jane, Ley!”

“Hello, Karen.”

“Hi. Long time no see you.”

“Yeah, since I left the city one year ago.” Karen chuckled happily. “You two have grown a lot. Jane is much more handsome and Ley is a lot cuter.”

“And you are just as beautiful as always, Karen.”

“My Jane is still so sweet. Come, give me a hug.”

I touched my nose embarrassedly, but seeing Karen’s happy smile, I was unable to refuse her.

“You too, Ley. Come, a hug.”

Ley giggled and nodded.

“Right, I heard that you broke up with Karime, Jane,” Karen spoke up after that embarrassing hug. “Everything alright?”

I chuckled.

“Of course. Did Andrew tell you?”

Andrew scratched his head embarrassedly. I did not blame him, though. I was not planning to hide it anyway.

“It looks like you really are alright.” Karen smiled after seeing my reaction. “If you are searching for a new girlfriend, I am available, okay?”

I felt Ley pinching my waist.

My dear little sister, it’s not the time to be jealous.

“Stop teasing me, Karen. Andrew will kill me if I touch his sister.”

“Actually, I don’t mind it. We are best friends already, there is no problem if you become my brother-in-law.”

I coughed. Hey, can’t you see that Ley is about to bare her fangs to me?

Karen giggled when she saw my reaction and stroked my head.

“Okay, I will stop teasing you. Andrew also told me that you awakened. Congratulations.”

“Thank you. But what about you, how did the treatment go?”

Immediately, Andrew and Karen’s expressions dimmed.

I see, so it didn’t work, huh.

“… Sorry, I should not have asked.”

“It’s alright.” Karen shook her head. “I did not have much hope anyway. Plus, there are many other treatments I can try yet. Don’t worry.”

I nodded and stopped talking about the topic, Ley did not mention it either again.

Inwardly, though, we were feeling a bit guilty.

Just like Andrew, Karime, and Jessica; Karen is one of our childhood friends.

When we were children, Karen was like the leader of our small group. She was the eldest, so she always behaved like a big sister.

However, everything changed ten years ago.

Back then, none of us was older than seven. We were just children, and our friendship was very innocent.

That was the day when the monsters invaded the place where we were living.

That day, the protector duke appeared and saved our lives, however, before that, some monsters managed to attack us.

And Karen risked her life to protect us.

She awakened at that moment and used her newly gotten abilities to face one of the monsters.

But as a consequence, she acquired a very strange illness that is slowly consuming her life.

After ten years, Karen can barely walk, and she often suffers from high fever and headaches.

That is the reason why Ley and I feel so guilty.

Back then, if Karen would have not followed me, she would have not had to face that monster.

“You know that I have never blamed you, Jane.” Karen suddenly said in a gentle tone. “I never thought that it was your fault.”

I smiled wryly and at the same time, Andrew and Ley looked at us with concerned expressions.

None of us liked to talk about what happened ten years ago.

Ley felt guilty because if she would have not run away, perhaps nothing of that would have happened.

I felt guilty because I thought that I was partly responsible for Karen’s illness.

And Andrew, Karime, and Jessica felt guilty because they did nothing but watch while Karen protected them.

In truth, it was not the fault of any of us, but it was impossible to not feel guilty.

Fortunately, I managed to awaken again thanks to the demon, so Ley stopped feeling guilty towards me.

But we still feel guilty for Karen.

We chatted for a bit more before leaving.

After we left the hospital, I talked to the demon in my soul.

‘Demon, is there any way to heal Karen?’

[… If you become stronger, perhaps. But it won’t be easy.]

Stronger, huh.

'How strong?'

[Much stronger than now. Strong enough to not fear anyone in this world.]

I was startled, but the next second, I nodded and clenched my fist with a determined expression.

As expected, Karen's illness is not simple.

It looks like there is another reason to become stronger.

At that moment, my cellphone rang.

When I took it out of my pocket, I saw a familiar name on the screen.

[Mary]

I hesitated briefly before answering the call.

[Hey, handsome. Did you miss me?]

“I suppose I did. How are you?”

[Same as always. I have good news, Jane. You will take the admission exam for Sanctuary’s First this weekend, right?]

“Yeah. Why?”

[Well, I have something that will help you. Come to see me tomorrow in the morning.]

“Huh?”

[Hehe, this big sis will give you a gift that you will surely like. Well, see you tomorrow.]

After saying that, she hung up directly.

I was dumbfounded.

A gift? What did she mean?

“This woman… Sigh…”

I guess I will have to go to see her tomorrow, huh.