Chapter 200 - To Care and Protect

That said, though, Rynold pushed himself off the ground.

It was an attempt to move — an attempt that would've brought Rynold off his ass and gotten moving. Although it wasn't anything special, Rynold knew that this single action would've dictated what they were to do next.

And, quite unfortunately, it did not go well. So much so that Rynold was still on the ground, and the push just agitated his cuts. The slight force Rynold out singlehandedly made him bleed.

"What the hell was that? What were you trying to do?!"

Neana saw what had happened and hurriedly helped Rynold stabilize himself. There was nothing she could effectively do to help out, but Rynold was more than glad she was there. But, ultimately, this was not how Rynold wanted things to go.

"I'm *cough cough* fine."

Rynold quickly played it off like it was nothing. Even though his voice was on the weak side, it was, for the most part, the truth. He really was fine, and he couldn't even feel all the blood coming out of him. Which, ironically, was far from a good sign.

"Clearly, you're not," Neana gave Rynold a condescending look, "Look. There's no problem if we stay here for a while. You're in no condition to move and, if you force it, you're going to end up a lot worse than you already are. Besides, there are better ways for us to move around."

Having heard that, Rynold shot Neana a doubtful expression. She was right about Rynold being out of commission that even he had to admit so. But, there was one thing Neana had left behind. And, by the looks of it, she had completely forgotten all about it too.

In which case, Rynold would say something that would make her remember.

"K-kid."

With his weak tone, Neana had no choice but to listen rather closely. And, the very moment that Rynold said that word, Neana took a full second to remember the thing she had forgotten. Or, in this case, the person.

"Shit."

An audible swear came from Neana's mouth, making Rynold inwardly chuckle. He knew this was no laughing matter, but hearing Neana swear was, admittedly, cute.

Anyway, Rynold's thoughts aside, he knew how bad the situation would've been. That is if they were dealing with an ordinary child. But, as Rynold knew so clearly before, the Undine's child was far from the ordinary. So, Rynold's sense of urgency in the situation was out of place.

"We need to go. Right now. We need to find the kid. Oh god, I shouldn't have left him behind."

Turning to Rynold, Neana saw his relaxed expression. He was calm as the morning sky, the direct opposite of Neana's panic-stricken face. Naturally, Neana would only end up annoyed.

"Why are you so calm? Aren't you supposed to be taking care of him?"

Rynold didn't react the way Neana expected him to. Instead of entering into a panic as Neana did, Rynold remained calm and unbothered. He placed his faith in the kid knowing better and keeping safe. Maybe, it was a bit too much faith.

Regardless, Rynold remained the same. He wasn't in a hurry to move. And, even if he were, Rynold couldn't move a single muscle. Doing so would've only put him in a worse condition than he already was. That said, it wasn't so easy for Rynold to get up and leave.

So, as much as Rynold wanted to, he was stuck here until he could recover.

There was no way around the situation anymore as he turned to Neana then turned back to his legs. He was signaling the fact that he couldn't move. Whatever Neana would do about that was something she should decide.

"Like I said. There are better ways for us to move around."

Neana received the message Rynold was sending and raised her hand. She didn't hesitate to use a spell at this very moment and summoned a golem big enough to carry both Rynold and herself.

"Wait," Rynold called out, his voice slightly louder than before. Then, he pointed at the spot where the remains of Dictum were. Rynold wanted to keep a part of the Accord Sphere with him. Especially the Mana Crystal that Dictum used.

"You want me to grab that? But it's just a pile of scrap."

She didn't bother to sugarcoat it. Neana knew Rynold wasn't the sentimental type, so this was somewhat irregular. Whatever Rynold was thinking, though, Neana knew he was serious. The annoyed look on his face said more than enough for Neana to do what Rynold asked.

"Thanks," Rynold answered as Neana handed him the parts of Dictum. Once he received them, he placed the items in his inventory, then settled in on top of the golem's shoulder.

With that over with, Rynold fell silent as Neana controlled the golem and led the way. Although Rynold wanted to talk to her now that the fight was over, he couldn't. Circumstances aside, there was another reason for that.

As insane as it sounds, Rynold felt guilty.

Rynold felt as though it was his fault for worrying Neana. It was his fault for risking Neana's life like that. He knew how dangerous things were, more so than anybody else. And yet, he still got beat up like this. If Rynold hadn't used the power to change fate back then, they would've both been dead.

Unfortunately, there wasn't anything Rynold could change at this point. He screwed up. He had to accept that he did. Even if he knew the risks in their entirety, it didn't mean that he would be safe from any dangers that may come up.

As of right now, Rynold got lucky. How the fight had ended wasn't what was supposed to happen. He singlehandedly changed the natural order of the universe without putting much thought into it.

That said, it doesn't mean he could do it again.

When things got out of his control, there was no telling what could happen. Rynold can't rely on changing fate over and over in case things go awry. He had to toughen up. He needed to be stronger, smarter, and more resourceful than he currently was.

Regardless, though, he couldn't really do any of that right now. Rynold opened his eyes and looked at himself once more. And, just like how he expected it, his body wasn't in good shape.

Rynold didn't want to admit it, but he needed help. He had no means of recovery aside from his own Mana. In which case, the pace of his natural recovery was far too slow to be considerable. Unless they were in a safe place without many unknown elements, Rynold needed to be back on his feet sooner rather than later.

But, as it stands, there was simply no way to do that. Rynold could only let out a more than frustrated sigh at this point. He then looked up at Neana, who was sitting on the golem's head.

She was silent.

Whether Neana was concentrating on moving on the right path or she was thinking about something else, Rynold could sense the uneasiness she felt. To which, Rynold felt incredibly guilty as he stared at the tense look on Neana's face.

At this point, Rynold could only wallow in self-pity as he closed his eyes once more. Remaining as silent as before, Rynold calmed himself down as he started to circulate his Mana at a faster pace.

As Rynold recovered silently, Neana maintained the pace of returning to the place where they had left the child. With each step the golem took, Neana let her mind adrift as she didn't need to put much effort into controlling the thing. That said, Neana proceeded to let her thoughts wander.

'This sucks.'

That was the first thought that popped into her head. Neana was tired. The fight just recently took a lot out of her Mana and Stamina reserves. She wanted to head to bed and sleep for a while.

But then, her thoughts seemed to have headed in a weird direction.

Somehow, Neana cursed herself for taking that much effort in annihilating one enemy. Sure, Rynold got his ass handed to him when fighting against the creature. But, Neana always thought that she'd have a much easier time against one opponent.

Neana was a summoner, after all, and her summons was more than capable of fighting against one opponent. That's what she thought. And, until recently, that was the foundation of her confidence.

However, as evidenced by the fight just then, Neana was clearly mistaken.

Her idea of strength somehow vanished as she saw her golems crushed at the force of one creature. Neana's confidence was shaken to its core. Luckily, her one-off attack managed to stop the thing altogether. As far as she knew, it was her strength that had defeated the creature.

Despite that, Neana still felt frustrated and wronged. It was as if her spells weren't enough to cut it out in the field. It was at this moment that Neana cursed her talent in Conjurer-type Magic.

But, alas, Neana was stuck with that, and there was nothing she could do about it.

As frustrated as she was, Neana had to deal with being like this. She knew full well that she had to become much better than she was now, much like Rynold had personally thought about himself.

Whether Rynold had rubbed off on the way Neana thought, she seemed determined to become stronger than she already was. The reasons of which wasn't anything complicated. If anything, it was the opposite.

Neana wanted to do so for the simple reason of defending herself and those she cared about.

At this point, that was the reason she was willing to help Rynold out in the crisis. It was the reason why she willingly risked her life like that. Because she cared for Rynold, she didn't dare hesitate to take the burden Rynold had.

While Rynold spearheaded the charge and took every problem for himself, Neana took it upon herself to stop things from falling through the cracks. It was her way of protecting Rynold, her way of being there for him whenever he needed help.

It was insane to think this way that Neana herself even admitted so. She knew how troubling it sounded for someone to live their life like that. To be an emotional support system would've brought nothing but trouble.

However, Neana was like this because this was who she was.

Just like how Rynold was always accepting responsibility more than he could handle, Neana was the same. It was just in the manner of caring for someone.

Neana's been like this for as long as she can remember. The source of which was something Neana hadn't told anybody about, not even Rynold.

Still, they both took more than they could handle. And that it even reached the point that did more harm than good. There were even some moments that the pain of doing so became unbearable. But, neither one bothered to change their ways. They were similar in this regard more than anything else about them individually.

Which, coincidentally, was why they got along so well.

Rynold's personality matched Neana's in a way like none other. And, it worked just as well the other way around. Neither one of them noticed this about each other, but they always felt a sense of calm and comfort that couldn't be so easily explained.

That said, the silence right now was more awkward than either of them cared to admit. Normally, it would've been calm and comfortable.

But, considering what had just happened, the two would need some time to think things through, even though they had essentially thought of the same thing.

The two remained silent for the rest of the way — the only sound heard was the stomping of the golem's feet.

While Rynold focused on his recovery and Neana focused on her thoughts, the two soon reached their destination.