Author: Hey there guys, due to the slow update rate of this story, “many people” are having difficulties in keeping tabs on it, so I will be making a character chart in the near future so you guys don’t have to go through re-reading the story to remember!

Anyways, enjoy! 😀

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There’s currently 4 enemies in front of Elinalise’s party, and the other 2 are at a distance with good space in between them. Kiur is currently watching over the situation in standby.

The moment I saw Elinalise approaching the party and taking out that equipment from her pouch, alarms immediately rang in my head.

I have to intervene.

On the other hand, Kiur was incredibly irritated.

It looks like the mere sight of humans was enough to create negative emotions in him, and with him watching them for a prolonged period of time, moreover, giving me reports of them, his patience was already at his limit.

I could feel he was grinding his teeth.

…

(Kiur, we will be fighting.)

(Oh? Finally grew the fangs huh. Here I g—!)

(Stop!)

I stop Kiur who was immediately going to jump in without a single thought.

His body stopped abruptly the moment this command was issued.

This fight will be very dangerous.

Looking back at the fight we had in the alley against those two thugs, Kiur’s fighting style is way too wild. No pun intended.

Way too straightforward, way too impulsive, and most of all, way too predictable. In the alley fight, I was able to cover up for him, but in this battle, the chances are high that he will be fighting that group of 4 alone for a period of time.

That fighting style will prove fatal against a group. It leaves openings that are easily exploited no matter how bad we assume those guys are.

In that case…

(Kiur, put both hands to your front like a cat.)

“Eh?”

Kiur voiced out his surprise…as his body moved on his own. He lifted both arms, and clenched his hands into a cat paw.

(What in the world did you…)

(Lick your lip… throw a punch… blink three times… move your head to the left.)

The body of Kiur responded to my orders one by one as they came out.

There was obviously stiffness in those movements though.

Ignoring the confusion of the person himself, his body obediently carried out the actions. It is responding in a pretty fast manner. As if those movements were completely separate from the person himself.

…Honestly, it feels terrible.

“YO– (COVER YOUR MOUTH! I forbid you from speaking out loud.)asdf—?!”

His body immediately responded.

Looks like the more authority I put in my orders, the faster he responds, and conversely, the less authority I order him with, the slower he responds, and there are even times where he can outright resist it.

Kiur was about to shout in rage. This action would have been fatal, it would have uncovered our only advantage that is a surprise attack.

But…to be fair, I would have shouted if I were in his shoes. Actually, he is being controlled by a human who he despises, there’s no way he wouldn’t snap right now.

This will definitely be counterproductive in having Kiur get used to me. It beats the purpose of why I left him in the forest to give him some space.

But right now, I can’t afford to do anything else.

The situation has gone too downhill. At this rate, not only the life of Elinalise and her party might be lost here, even if she managed to survive, I don’t know if she will be able to maintain her mental state anymore.

It might even cripple her forever as an adventurer.

This time, I also grind my teeth.

(…Sorry Kiur…at this point, no errors are allowed. I don’t want to lose you here.)

(Huh?! You, I don’t know what’s this, but stop this bullshit right now!)

I could feel Kiur trying to force his mouth open and shout, but he was unable to.

The power of this slave crest is a lot higher than I expected.

With this, I might be able to manage something even with the wild and straightforward Kiur.

(…I’m sorry Kiur, just bear with me for this instance. Once this is over, I will atone for it.)

With those words, Kiur began cursing in the thought link.

I ignore it and have Kiur check the location of the 2 that are separated from the group.

They are definitely the ones we have to strike first.

(Let’s do this, Kiur.)

(Kgh! When this is over, you will get it! I will definitely make you pay for this!)

(Okay. When this is over, I will pay for it in full! That’s why, please, help me out here!)

(?!)

I could feel my own head lowering down unconsciously as I said this.

Of course, Kiur wouldn’t be able to see this.

But maybe my emotions managed to get through, after a long pause, Kiur reluctantly said: (Tch, this is my long awaited chance to kick the ass of some humans, there’s no way I would let it go. I have no choice here anyways. You are still going to do it even if I don’t accept, right?)

(…Yeah, even if you don’t accept, I can only rely on you right now. By the way, my senses are currently shared with yours, so I can see and hear everything from your side. My directions will be on point!)

There was no point in lying to Kiur. This was something that would be discovered almost instantly once the battle begins. And when that happens, it might create an unwanted opening. It was better to clear this up now.

(YOU…!!)

I could feel a vein was popping on the forehead of Kiur, but he soon made some deep breaths…and I could feel his blood flow relaxing.

(…Let’s go. Once I kick these guys asses, I am going to thoroughly destroy you for what you are making me pass here and for all the shit I have gone through till now.)

(Yeah, as long as I keep my life, limbs, and eyes; you can do anything you want. Boil me, break my bones, rip out my hair; your choice.)

“…I won’t be going that far.”, a small mutter came out from the mouth of Kiur. It was most definitely directed at himself, but I clearly heard it.

Even when I ordered him to keep his mouth shut. Maybe because my order was specifically done to counter any loud voices he could make, mutters don’t count? If that’s the case, these orders are incredibly precise.

Anyways, I could tell that Kiur shuddered at the mention of those things. Even if his mouth is foul and he has justified hate towards humans, he still retains kindness in his heart.

Man, Kiur is more mature than I thought. Just a little bit though.

(Let’s go, partner!)

(Don’t push it!)

* * *

Now then, it is good that I got Kiur to cooperate but…how will I go about doing this?

Complicated techniques will be too hard to execute with simple orders, and what I am looking for is to knock out those 2 watching.

……Okay.

(Kiur, get as close to them as possible, make sure not to let them notice. Then, cover his mouth with your left hand and wrap your other arm around his neck. Keep the strength moderate.)

(Again with your underhanded methods. Is fighting fair not in the human vocabulary?)

Kiur once again talks about fairness.

Does his Pride have some sort of rule when it comes to fights?

I am the type that would prefer tricks in order to secure safety. If it will increase the chances in my side, I won’t hesitate on taking it. It is the fault of the one allowing to get caught by it, and if that does happen to me, the same applies. I might complain a bit though -human nature.

Well, I don’t think Kiur will be taking that sort of explanation. So I have to find a different way of approaching it.

(Kiur, when you hunt, do you challenge the mana beasts to duels?)

(Huh? Of course no. You sneak and take them out swiftly. If we get close to them stupidly like that, they would only run away. You humans might not know, but the mana beasts we hunted at my homeland were a lot faster than your whimsy ones here.)

(I see. Then that makes things easier. When fighting, just think of humans as mana beasts.)

(No, I think of humans as lower than that.)

…

(Uhm, I’m starting to get confused by how your ideology works.)

He hunts mana beasts by using sneak attacks and views mana beasts as higher than humans, yet, he complains about underhanded methods.

(Uh? I am just saying that you humans fight among yourselves in such dirty ways. In my Pride, a fight between our people is a matter of honor and should always be done front to front. Seeing how you humans deal with each other honestly makes me want to puke.)

Ah, I see. He wasn’t complaining about the actions in itself. He was disgusted at the way humans fought between themselves. A fight between people of the same race is viewed in a different way in the eyes of Kiur.

(Then, you yourself have no complains in doing what I just mentioned right?)

(None. If I had the chance, I could even stab a human on the back.)

Okay…I suppose that makes things easier.

I give the ‘go’ signal and Kiur jumps into action. He approaches the closest one, the light-armored guy, and swiftly carries out my instructions. Covering the target’s mouth from the back, Kiur wrapped his other free arm around his neck into a blood choke. Compressing the carotid arteries, the lack of blood to the brain soon led to unconsciousness.

Of course, I didn’t expect a perfect choke from Kiur, but to my surprise, it was a pretty decent one. Maybe it was the power of the slave crest at work here.

I don’t know how resistant humans are in this world, but without any preparations of ‘Battle Armor’ and his guard down, the result it led to was the same. It may also lead to brain damage, but well, damage to an already rotten fruit is basically the same anyways.

Though the strength Kiur used worried me, it seems it properly managed to knock him out.

Once that was done, I ordered Kiur to tie them up in vines and cover their mouth so they can’t activate any spells or skills. The vegetation here is really lush, so finding strong enough vines wasn’t too hard.

Looks like the second one was taken out easily as well. This time it was the cloth-armor one, so I suppose his defense was lower.

But really, his skill in stealth is actually quite decent. As expected of a hunter by nature.

It probably has something to do with an actual skill [Muffled Step] he possesses, his movements didn’t make much sound.

Good.

Looks like while we were at it, the situation had made a turn for the worse, just as expected.

Elinalise had been cut on the shoulder, and I could see blood on the blade of the sword that big man is holding. It was easy to understand what happened even if we weren’t watching it all.

Soon after, the man began shouting to where Kiur is, several times. He even called out two names of what’s most likely the two guys we just knocked out.

…Now, there’s two choices I can make here.

Keep hidden, or come out.

Hiding is an advantage, but a surprise attack will only be effective to take out one person at most, on top of that, the chances of succeeding are lower since they are currently cautious now that their comrades are not responding. And the only method of attack Kiur has is close combat, trying to take out one would mean he would be in a dangerous spot surrounded by a group of enemies.

The other option is to come out. I will lose the element of surprise, but there is a different advantage to this. I will let Elinalise and her party know of Kiur’s presence. This way Elinalise and her party can react faster to Kiur rather than falling right into solo combat and waiting for them to get out of their confusion.

…Yeah, coming out is better.

This is also for the sake of Elinalise’s growth after all. Having Kiur fight them all might be possible, but this way is safer and will definitely help Elinalise more.

(Kiur, show yourself.)

(Now we are talking.)

…I really don’t understand Kiur.

When we leave Arnesti, I would like to have a good talk with him.

***

“A beast brat?”

“Beast race?”

“What is a beast kid doing here?”

Expected reactions came from the party of hoodlums.

Now, how is Elinalise reacting.

“Kiur?!”

A question came out from her mouth. Probably blurted out unconsciously.

(Kiur, tell Elinalise that you are here to help them), I give out an order filled with authority.

“I am here to help you?!”, and the order was carried out, but…

“Huh? That beast brat said something.”

“No, more importantly, did this brat do something to Caras and Votz?!”

As expected, even if I give an order with the intent of having him use human language, it was still impossible huh. Good to see magic is not that illogical.

But hm…this might be troublesome.

I don’t know how to communicate with sign language or anything like that. Oh well, let’s test out some basic ones…but, spoiler alert, I suck at this.

Kiur flexes his right arm and points at himself with the other, flashing a really strained smile.

The order was carried out, but it looks like Kiur was seriously against it, his whole body is trembling in resistance.

Now, how did it work out…

“?”

She showed an expression that was so clear I could even see a question mark popping on top of her head.

Looks like it didn’t work. Right, even I wouldn’t understand that.

But it seems it showed effect in a different place.

“Hey, that beast brat is pointing at himself and smiling arrogantly!”

“Is that him saying he took out Caras and Votz?!”

“Who cares why a beast brat is here! It is a perfect target to test our weapons!”

The party of hoodlums snapped. It looked like a taunt to those guys huh.

Well, I knew Kiur would have to fend them off for a while anyways. Elinalise is shocked by too many things right now. I don’t expect a swift participation from her.

…But as long as she manages to fight, moreover, stand up against humans, it might make a big change in her.

(Kiur, prepare yourself. We are both gonna fight here.)

(Che! I can take them on easy.)

Kiur clicks his tongue and begins to rotate both arms respectively and do some basic stretches. He is literally warming up.

I could feel his heartbeat growing faster and his mouth warping into a smile.

(Don’t jump in, check out their weapons.)

With that order, his eyes quickly swept through the enemies. 4 left, and all of them are armed. I can see equipment they didn’t have before too.

The sword in the hand of what seems to be the leader of this party, there’s also the bow held by the leather armoured one, and it seems no one is able to use the staff, it is lying on the ground with no signs of anyone picking it up. I can only tell apart the new weapons. About the armor, those armguards do look like they weren’t there before.

I don’t know what any of those items do since my [Appraisal] doesn’t work with [Shared Senses], but I am glad I took out what seemed to be their only mage.

Assuming their objective this time were those items Elinalise had…

(Be specially cautious against the silver sword with yellow handle, the big bow, and those weird flashy armguards.)

(Yeah yeah, I get it.)

…Do you really?

(Let’s wait. Just stay alert.)

We are stalling here. The longer it takes for them to take action, the better.

“Is that leather armor? And…isn’t that a slave collar?”, the girl with the big bow says with a puzzled expression.

“A slave collar, yet, those clothes are not slave clothes at all.”

Yeah, I bought Kiur some clothes when I went shopping with Lylian. I was reluctant to do that, but she said something creepy like: ‘I know the exact measurements of Kiur, you know. Every millimeter of his body’, and sadly, that’s information that I was not really detailed about. However, the moment she brought me to the clothes shop, I was shocked. It felt like I had entered a store for torture tools. The clothes for the slaves were placed at a corner, and they were practically rags.

There’s no way I would let Kiur wear that.

So I went to the store I usually go, one that has simple and cheap clothes, and gave them to Kiur the day we had dinner together.

Kiur was against it and showed off his self-made clothes made of mana beast hide. It was smelly and really badly made. He basically only cut it to fit the size and wrapped it around his waist.

That sight warmed my heart. He is definitely a strong boy that would survive anywhere (aside from human society). BUT going around like that was a definite no.

That’s why I gave him an order to put on those clothes at least in the moments I tell him to, and also gave him the leather armor that had finally been completed at the tailor store.

“Hey, doesn’t that mean he is the slave of a noble? Wouldn’t it be bad if we kill him?”, the light-armored girl stepped back as if her body was showing her rejection to that prospect.

“Calm down, even if it is one, the Forest of Beginnings is a restricted area where only newbies are allowed in. Meaning, the deaths in this area are incredibly hard to trace. Even if it’s a noble, the amount of effort to try and trace the death of one beast brat would cost that said noble a lot… Do you really think someone would go that far for a slave?”

The leader gave a calm and thorough explanation of the system here. Though, even if I say calm, I could clearly see his hands were shaking slightly.

Well, with that important core in this place, they would definitely want to avoid the entry of any potential threats, so his explanation is pretty sound I suppose.

“I-I see.”, the light-armored girl recovered and took a stance with her spear again.

Looks like the others were also worried about the same thing, they breath out in relief.

Time buying is over it seems. Not like we did much on our side anyways.

(Kiur, get ready. Put on your gauntlets. With those, it will give you more room in your actions.)

(Tch.), Kiur simply clicked his tongue for the thousandth time, but obediently takes it out from the travelling pouch I gave him. He probably understands deep inside that he can’t match all four of them, and more so now that he is right in front of them.

“Oi! That brat is taking out something!”

The moment Kiur places a hand in the small travelling pouch, everyone immediately reacts to it, placing their weapons in front of them.

And from the travelling pouch, Kiur takes out a steel gauntlet that was a size bigger than the pouch itself.

“Armour, so he really does intend to fight us! Phiris, keep an eye on Black Cat’s party. The other 2, let’s take out that beast brat.”

When Kiur finished equipping one just as I taught him and was about to equip the other…

(Make a small hop to your left and guard with your right!), I throw those orders immediately at the distracted Kiur.

His body unconsciously carried out those orders.

Once he hopped, an arrow flew straight by where Kiur previously was, and with his right hand equipped with the steel gauntlet, he quickly blocked a sword that came right after, the force allowing Kiur to easily take distance.

“Oh! I heard the beast race had incredible reflexes, but this is honestly shocking! Maybe I gotta reevaluate the race of Black Cat. Who knows, she might be some kind of new mutation of mana beast!”, the man roared in boisterous laughter. Even when faced with Kiur, he was still hurling insults at Elinalise. I have to give it to him, he is a persistent one.

I also can’t feel a single trace of worry for their 2 missing comrades. Goes to say a lot about their relationship.

(I won’t be thanking you for that.)

(No need. This is our battle after all.)

(No, this is my battle!)

Oh! Nice follow-up. It even made me question if he actually knew the reference.

***

-In Elinalise’s side, right after Kiur appeared-

“Freyhart, you know that beast boy?”

Frank was the first one to ask, but Alfred had the same question in his head.

Right now, they were at a lost at the sudden appearance of a beast boy, and the only one that seemed to know who he is was Elinalise.

But Elinalise was also as confused as them, if not more.

“Kiur is…the slave of Youma, I think?”

She couldn’t really call Kiur a slave. Youma didn’t treat him that way and he most definitely didn’t view him as one, but she couldn’t find a more understandable word than this at the moment.

“Youma? I see, he did give off the scent of a lone wolf. Having a beast race accompany him wouldn’t look that out of place.”

Alfred immediately knew who she referred to. Not only him, Frank as well. There’s no way they would forget the person that brought them the headless corpse of Julee.

But Alfred didn’t dwell into it and continued onto the matter at hand.

“Judging by the timing he came out and the fact that he is the slave of Youma, it would be best to assume that Kiur took out the 2 party members that were in hiding and is now planning to assist us here.”

They already knew that Youma can’t enter the Forest of Beginnings from all the Youma talk they were inevitably forced to face when partying with Elinalise.

“In that case, we have to fight as well!”, Frank shouts with determination.

Elinalise also wanted to do that, but her legs weren’t responding and her eyelids were as heavy as her breathing.

She was definitely not in a state where she can fight.

Alfred and Frank looked at each other with worry, and after a brief silence, Frank couldn’t take it anymore and tried to place his hand over her shoulder to comfort her, but…

“I’m sorry!”

Elinalise jolted the moment his hand touched her and her body quickly retreated back.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry for being born!”, and began to apologize madly; her pupils shrunk, her hands were holding her head, her body was shaking intensely, and she was hyperventilating.

The both of them were shocked at this abrupt turn in her. They both stood there with their mouths open, unable to say anything.

This didn’t look like it was simply from the constant bashing of that party there, it felt as if it was an old wound; an old wound that opened up after a knife stabbed into it and twisted it open.  

The two were at a loss, they didn’t know how to handle it at all.

“Oi, that brat is taking out something!”

That shout reminded them of the current state of events. The fight was beginning. They definitely didn’t have time in their side. But they also couldn’t rush her into action; looking at the state of Elinalise, the two of them were sure of this.

Right now, Elinalise is like a cracked vase that’s about to fall. The slightest touch might break it, but at the same time, if they don’t grab it, it will fall and shatter to pieces.

“Oh! I heard the beast race had incredible reflexes, but this is honestly shocking! Maybe I gotta reevaluate the race of Black Cat. Who knows, she might be some kind of new mutation of mana beast!”

And in the same exact moment they were thinking about how fragile her state was, the leader of the party once again hurled insults at Elinalise.

The shoulders of Elinalise quivered and she began her storm of apologizes once again, her eyes had lost focus, and it felt like she was not there anymore, as if she was currently somewhere else, curled into a corner, hoping that, in this way, she would stay away from everyone’s lives, as if she had never been born to begin with.

“That bastard! Even at this time he is going for Elinalise!”, Frank immediately cursed him, however, he didn’t move from his place. He definitely wanted to punch that guy’s face, but right now, Elinalise worried him more.

Alfred breathed out as if preparing himself, and then, approaches Elinalise. Of course, he stops at a decent distance as to not alarm her, and crouches there, placing himself at the same height as her.

“Freyhart.”

Alfred said in a gentle voice, and with that, Elinalise raised her head slowly. Her eyes still showing no sign of returning. Frank is at the back, his head hanging down.

“I know it must be hard to believe, but I really don’t blame you, Freyhart.”

“There’s no way that’s possible.”

Thoughts ran rampant in her head. Because of her, Julee died. The fiancee of Alfred, a childhood friend of both, and also an important party member.

“Don’t keep blaming yourself, Freyhart!”

“Kya”, she let out a small cry.

Alfred had suddenly grabbed her face and forcefully turned it towards his eyes.

The body of Elinalise shook in fear, but her eyes couldn’t help noticing the eyes of Alfred. They were serious eyes that held no malice, no reproach… they were completely different from the eyes Elinalise was used to receiving.

“Good, it seems you are finally back at least.”

Alfred nods as if satisfied and takes off his hands from her face. And then, he sits beside her.

“You know Freyhart, the three of us actually came from a far away village at the south called Lolorin Village.”

Alfred began talking about their childhood and his home with a smile on his face. They all grew up together, learned together, and faced hardships together.

Hearing all those experiences, Elinalise’s heart ached.

“Then, one day, Julee proposed to me. How shameful. Even though I am a man, she was the one who proposed. Of course, I was also in love with her, but she was the daughter of the Village Chief, you know? There’s no way someone like me could be worthy of her. That’s why… I decided on being an adventurer. To one day be strong enough to proudly protect her and the village she treasures so much.”

As he said this, he stood up and lifted his fist up, a pose showing strength and pride.

Incredible. He really has a lot of courage and resolve.

It is so different from me, who took this Journey of Comprehension and was actually lazing about, using this chance to escape from that household. Causing trouble to my guardians Ethan and Lylian.

Once she heard all this, she couldn’t help comparing herself with him. The difference in resolves…and the fact that she took that important person away from him…

“That’s what I thought, but as shameful as it can be, our village didn’t have any adventurer guild and the areas around were filled mostly with either strong mana beasts or just nothing at all. So it wasn’t suited for beginner adventurers.
That’s why, I decided to travel to the closest town and take a carriage heading to Arnesti which is considered the best place for beginners.”

Because of the distance, Alfred had to use all the money he had stored and borrow money from his parents as well.

“Hehe, and somehow, Julee and Frank caught wind of my departure and tagged along.

Julee took all her savings and Frank used the money he had gotten from fishing. Both of them were fools, just like me. My plan on sneaking out and having my parents give the news later to the village was all ruined.”

The smile of Alfred grew wider as he laughs about his comrades.

“I tried to stop them, but in the end, they still ended up accompanying me. Actually, I didn’t really try to stop them; I pretended I was trying to stop them. In truth, somewhere inside of me wanted them to come along. I was scared.

Knowing that the job of an adventurer is dangerous, I still selfishly dragged my two most important friends because of my lack of courage.”

Elinalise hung her head down. She understood that feeling as well.

If it weren’t for Ethan and Lylian, there’s no way she would have survived the outside world she was so oblivious of. That’s something she was sure of.

Even now she was still scared of heading to the Forest of Beginnings without company.

Alfred then looks at her. His eyes carried a tint of sadness.

“That’s why, Freyhart, the one that is really at blame for Julee’s death, is me.”

“!! That’s not true!”

“No, it is. If we go by your logic that you couldn’t protect your party members, then I hold as much blame as you do. Everyone in the party holds a part of that blame.

Let me tell you something. I don’t believe in that so called curse of yours. I have been in this party with you for more than a week, and what I learned was that, it is true, you are unlucky, but you also hold enough strength to fight against it. You are a very strong person, Freyhart.”

Alfred stretches out his hand towards me, at its ring finger, a small and simple ring shone with the reflection of the moonlight.

“Frank and I don’t blame you, and I’m sure Julee is also the same. If she had the chance of knowing you a bit more, that would definitely be the case.”

Is it really okay?

Can I really take that hand?

Those words rang inside of Elinalise, her hands trembled, not because she doubted the sincerity of his words; it is the exact opposite, she believed in him and Frank, and that’s exactly why she feared dragging the both of them with her.

“…Hey Frank, are you going to space-out there the whole day? I think you have more important things to do right now.”

Only moving his eyes, Alfred looks at Frank who still has his head hanging down.

The voice of Alfred was low, but travelled easily through this forest, even amidst the noise of the battle that seemed as if it were occurring in a far away place.

Frank lifted his head as if woken up from a dream, and it slowly turns towards Elinalise.

“Freyhart, I am sorry.”

“It’s okay. I understand.”

Frank weakly shakes his head.

“No, you don’t. What I was trying to say was that, Julee did lose her life. At first, deep inside, I held blame for you. But that completely disappeared after these few days of adventuring with you!

This is something that those idiots don’t understand. And most likely, not even you understand yourself. That’s why I have to tell you!

I am bad with words, so I did mess up, but please keep in mind that there’s no need to blame yourself!”

The desperate face of Frank as he said those words, the deep feelings that were mixed in them, they clearly reached the heart of Elinalise.

Frank stands beside Alfred and stretches out his hand as well.

Alfred then added one more statement.

“Also, we are not the only ones who understand this. Youma is also there for you, right? He even went so far as to bring his beast slave to save you. And that said beast boy is currently fighting for you. Let’s help him out, together.”

They knew from Elinalise’s many stories just how important Youma is to her.

At that moment, a clear reaction appeared from her.

The dried eyes of Elinalise slowly regained their previous luster, different kind of tears rolling down from her eyes.

That’s right, I have to help Kiur! He came to save us, he is fighting for us right now!

She lifted those weak trembling hands of hers, and held both of the outstretched hands. The hands of the people that believed in her and confronted the adventurers. The comrades that tried to protect her even with their lives in danger.

“Ah! Why are you all leaving me out of the group?! I want to be in the picture too! I like kitty and Youma as well!”

Suddenly, a voice calls out from Elinalise’s back and quickly jumps to the side, placing both hands on top of the hands that were lifting her up. It was Ryan.

“Ryan! I completely forgot you existed.”

“Where were you all this time?”

Both Frank and Alfred were as surprised as Elinalise. He has been completely silent and it felt as if his presence had been gone, to the point that they had forgotten he was together with them from the very beginning.

“How rude! I have been here all this time! But you know, you guys were getting all riled up, and I had no room to interrupt, HOWEVER, if you are going to go all groupie groupie, I am definitely in it as well! Kitty, we will help that beast boy and earn some points with Youma!”

Ryan asserts himself and tightens the grip in his hands. It felt as if steam was coming from his nose as he said this.

Everyone…

Elinalise could feel strength flowing back inside her body.

Her mouth curved into a smile and she opens it to voice out her honest feelings.

“I have been blessed with great comrades.”

Maybe… I am not that unlucky after all.