12.44 cycle eighteen, Ca’thir, of calendar Moonrachia

  She raised the fork with the meat on it to my mouth

  “I could eat fine by myself.” And she just looked at me with her usual expression, “It’s not like I couldn’t use both of my hands.”

  The fork still hovering near my mouth…

  “Alright, alright.” As I eat a piece of the meat on the fork

  While chewing, I can’t stop thinking about how many things have happened in these past months

  Becoming someone else entirely, from 2 different memories I bear with me, before I could accept them

  Acting normally as if nothing happened, get a job, and somehow become an assistant

  And then everything turned upside down in the blink of an eye

  Something was connected to me without my knowledge, or without me knowing it, and accidentally taking many innocent lives in a short span of time

  Opening my palm and staring at it

  Just how many more accidents will happen?

  “Something in your mind?” As the sounds of Kiara's voice and the steel of the fork hitting a plate reached my ear

  “Nothing much.” Once again, a fork with a piece of meat hovering near my mouth, before I slowly lean forward and eat it

  The more I eat it, I could feel how tender the meat is, pretty sure it’s pretty expensive

  I really can’t live off someone else's wallet, while closing my eyes and swallowing it

  “Right, I lived my entire life in the Arnentia kingdom, from my book knowledge alone, Vaelthoria is a harsh kingdom to live in.”

  “It’s… a difficult question.” Slowly, Kiara turned her gaze toward the windows and stared beyond the horizon of the sea

  “It’s not something that can be answered as easily as the two sides of a coin.” Then she turned back and looked at me again, “You will understand it soon.”

  “I see…” Then she shoved a piece of meat into my mouth

  “Just eat already.” Kiara said

  After chewing and swallowing it, “…I don’t think I could finish all of them.”

  “Alright, we will take a short break first, then.” Kiara slowly put the plate back down and then moved the tray of food to the table

  Looking through the small windows in our room, I could see how far the sea stretched, beyond the horizon

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Soon, I will start a completely new life, a new identity… and everything

  I will be fine, is what I want to say to myself, but I really can’t help but feel something is lurking beyond somewhere I could perceive and understand

  Noah… an angel who replaced and died for the sake of strangers like me

  I really couldn’t understand a thing from him, as if there was a big reason behind all of this

  “How long did you know, uh… or work for Noah?”

  “We have been working for him since we were around 15 years old, so it should be around 7 years now.”

  “We…?” I tilted my head in confusion

  “Yes, WE, or to put it simply, it was both Maya and me. Maya is my sister.”

  The answer threw me off a bit, as it made me blink a few times, “…I see?”

  “And yet, you look surprised.”

  “Well… you both don’t look alike, that’s why.”

  “You’re right, we are not, since both of us aren’t blood related, but she’s my sister.” Then she put the glass of milk into my hand, “If you’re not eating the food, at the very least drink this.”

  While holding the glass, the warmth and its faint steam rose to my nose, with a warmth that could easily make anyone sleepy

  “One of the few reasons why we worked for the Orlier family is because they’re saving us.”

  I could see how she clenched her hand at the corner of my vision, and I feel it’s not the right moment to ask her about that

  Slowly, I raised the glass and took a few sips of the milk, before slowly holding them down again, “This might sound rude, but why did it feel like none of you were close to him?”

  She tilted her head once more, “You probably already know the answer yourself.”

  But I, too, just tilted my head to her, “What do you mean?”

  “Ever since we met him, he’s always putting a wall between himself and others, even Alias, except Eisya, I think.”

  I see… so he was always like that, huh?

  She then stood up and then walk few meters away from the bed

  I'm just looking at her, before she slowly sat down on the couch, “What are you-“

  Then the door of our room opens, it’s so loud that I feel the door itself might give up

  “Yo! Isn’t this our hero!” “You finally woke up, huh?!” “What kept you asleep for so long! You ain't no Sleeping Beauty!”

  The old man with the beer from before...

  Shortly, they walk closer to the bed, one of them putting a beer bottle onto my table with a loud thump. “Just drink! And the scar’s gone!”

  After putting the glass of milk on the table, I just stare at him blankly, “I don’t think that’s how human biology works, but thanks, I guess.”

  “So! How’s your body?!” As they’re patting my shoulder pretty hard…

  The old man, who looked like Captain Jack Sparrow, then hit the guy who patted me, “Fucking hell! You might have killed him, you donkey!”

  Shortly, more and more people will be entering our room, The room became busier and more bustling, given how many people were inside

  Then the man who looked like Captain Jack bowed his head at a ninety-degree angle, and the room grew quieter, so that the only things I could hear were the waves of the sea and the chirping of birds

  “Thank you for saving all of us.” Slowly, the rest of the people also bowed their heads

  … I really couldn’t say anything

  Never once have I felt this way, either as Kaleth or Aronn

  It feels nice I guess, but do I deserve all of this? They didn’t know my real identity

  Would they act the same and feel this grateful too once they know that I was behind the summoning incident?

  It’s so confusing… or perhaps I'm just afraid that I would repeat the same thing all over again

  “You’re welcome.” Is the only thing I could say to them, “And please raise all of your heads.”

  I definitely could save more people, and faster

  If I only knew how to use that vision, with that, no one…

  When they raised their head, one by one, all of them placed something on the bed or on the table

  Both the bed and the table were now full of all sorts of things, from fruit, potion etc.

  One by one, they thanked me once more, before leaving the room slowly

  The last one now walks toward the side of my bed, “I’m really grateful.” Then he offered his hand. “Because of you, we could at least bring back the corpse of our fallen brother.”

  His voice… was too quiet and soft, I just can’t imagine how heavy his shoulders were with all of that responsibility he had.

  Shortly, I take his hand, “…I’m just doing what I think is right.”

  I couldn’t save them, no, I could save them, if only…

  Then he slowly walked away after that, before reaching outside the door, “Oh, right! If you ever need something, just head into my office or ask those pirate folk.”

  As I stared at the door, the bed slowly shifted as Kiara sat on the edge of it again

  “…Don’t you know that I was behind the summoning incident?”

  “Yes, I do know it.” Kiara leans and takes an apple from the table and peels the skin off, “Why did you ask?”

  “You’re not even mad at me, and just been acting normally ever since we met. And it confused me a lot.”

  Then her hand stops moving, and she just stares at me with her expressionless faces

  After a while, she said, “You don’t need to know anything.”

  “…It’s the same as Maya, neither of you is staying away; you just act normally as if I wasn’t some sort of criminal. It’s as if both of you were hiding something from me.”

  “Yes, we’re definitely hiding a secret from you.” She slowly continued peeling the apple skin, “But soon you will know it, once we arrive at the village Noah said before.”

  Then, after cutting the apple into a few slices, she picked a piece with her finger and tried to feed me again, “Just eat already, you haven’t eaten in a few days, even if you don’t have an appetite, force it down.”

  “As I said before, I can still use my hands just fine,” While letting out a heavy sigh

  “I don’t think I could let our hero eat it by himself.”

  … So this person actually knows how to tease others, huh

  Then, slowly, I leaned forward once more and bit the apple slices, as I made a promise deep inside my mind

  This time, I will be the one who will protect them

  ---VOL 1 END---