He Needs A Beating

"You, I like you," Before anyone else could talk Queresha spoke a bit louder than her usual calmer tone while pointing at Alea.

"M-Me? Thank you," Seeing that Queresha acknowledged her answer, she was half expecting to be punished but it was too good of a chance to let go. But what happened was the opposite.

Everyone in the room was a little stunned by Queresha's outburst. And it took her a bit to notice everyone's stares.

Queresha noticed Haru was looking at her and her whole face turned red with her eyes darting around the room. Her mind was trying to come up with words to explain.

"W-W-Well it is a wife's duty to be by her husband, yes that is it," that was all Queresha could muster up.

'I talked about a knight though?' Alea thought but didn't voice it since it wouldn't end in punishment if she did.

"So you all have not going to listen to me?" Haru asked and all of them shook their head saying no.

"Sigh* What a troublesome bunch you lot are," Haru sighed heavily sinking into the sofa.

"Not as troublesome as you," Hae-in chuckled.

"You have some nerve to think you can go alone, Who knows what trouble you'll cause if I am not around," Kanae spoke unhappily, but everyone knew she was really just worried about him.

Alea and Jin-ah sighed in relief seeing that Haru didn't continue to argue. Zenobia looked at Queresha who was practically beaming and shook her head.

"Alright then all of you start preparing we'll go back to meet everyone back home before leaving, Also Alea and Zenobia take your time there is no need to rush things," Everyone nodded at Haru's words before leaving the room to get their things in order.

Haru stood up and walked to the second floor making his way to the balcony and standing near the edge looking at the sky.

[Why are you acting like this? Didn't everything go as you thought it would?] Kurumi's voice rang into Haru's head.

"Even then a part of me wanted them to stay out of danger," Haru said with a long sigh.

[Don't you want them to be strong though?] Kurumi asked.

"But I don't want them to be in danger even more you know?" Haru crossed his arms pouting a little.

[It is frightening how much you take after your mother,] Kurumi laughed dryly, even if Haru acted like this she knew that he had many things going in his head.

Watching people you care about being in danger isn't a pleasant feeling which she knows all too well.

[It is not like I can't help you with it,] Kurumi sounded a bit sad that Haru wasn't asking for her help.

"Didn't you say that it would be harder since you have to guard the seal with more attention after what happened?" Haru said while shaking his head.

[Well if you ask for my help, you know...] Kurumi spoke cutely.

"That won't do, from what you said we needed to have a 'stable foundation' there or it would get us in trouble. So, if we keep hopping in and out it would create inconsistencies in our identity which will bite us in the ass later on, being an inconsistency will most probably trigger the world to correct itself by trying to erase us, and if you intervene on a larger scale that would only make us the bigger target while making it harder for us to achieve what we want," Haru sighed heavily since he had to do a lot of thinking to come up with his own scenarios.

'Well, looks like he is on the right track at least, but what is with you denying my help outright? At least hesitate a little, Hmph! I am so not talking to you for.....a minute straight, Hmph! Hmph!' Kurumi was sulking and hit Haru with her tail making him sigh again.

"I know you mean well like always, But I guess it is about time for me to do things myself as for them, I'll figure things out," Haru smiled while hugging Kurumi who was in her fox form.

'Gunu~ Gunu~ it is so hard to stay mad at him~~~~~, Why is he so cute~~~?' Kurumi tried to resist the head pats but it got to her in the end and she wasn't able to stay angry even for a minute.

[Ahem* So were you able to see their resolve?] Trying to get back her majestic form after the not-so-majestic expression she was making before Kurumi asked a question about the main reason for the talk before.

"Yeah, I saw it clearly," Haru nodded.

[You still believe in that 'Will' your father talked about?] Kurumi asked.

"I do, I think what he said makes sense, All of us are driven by the will to wake up another day and try to achieve our goals no matter how people mask it, All of us are affected by a blind will no matter if they are humans, animals or objects," Haru said slowly while tapping his chin.

"Though he believes it is a mysterious force that drives everything in the universe, Why are you silent Kurumi?" Haru looked at Kurumi who wasn't saying anything.

[I was thinking how to smack your dad in a way to get his bearing right again, Because it looks like studying too much has turned his brain into mush,] Kurumi said flatly.

"Haha, that might be true, He talks weirdly sometimes but I believe in this will that drives us to do better each day for our family or for our own," Haru said with a smile.

'Yeah, that guy definitely needs a good punch to the face, Has he not learned anything from last time? He was nearly erased that time and he is still spouting these words to Haru no less,' Kurumi was furious but it'll have to wait.

Seeing that they have gotten a bit off-topic Kurumi asked a question.

[But leaving them here is the right choice, don't you think?]

"That I agree but the right choice doesn't always have the best outcome, and I can't say no to them when they look at me like that, they want to get stronger so that they can be with someone they love, I get that feeling very well," Haru said with a gentle yet sad smile on his face.

'It is nice seeing him come out of his own shell albeit a little,' Kurumi watched him and smiled softly.

"So will you stop acting like this when you meet your parents again?" Kurumi questioned in a slow tone.

"I'll have to after Mom tells me off for being too childish, but I'll need to meet them first," Haru scratched his head with a smile.

'…He really takes after his mother an awful lot, he doesn't question anything whatsoever and only sees that he will be able to meet them again, That is the sole reason he never asked any question after he knew he could see them no matter how strange the situation seemed,' Kurumi could easily tell what he was thinking, on a matter of fact she understood him more than she did herself. It was a unique bond that they shared.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure you meet them without any problem," Kurumi said proudly raising her nose.

"I am sure you will, Kurumi is the best after all," Haru smiled brightly.

"FuFu'n~, It is good that you know," Kurumi nodded with a smug smile.

Haru stayed on the balcony for a little while longer before he went down to sleep.

In the next few days, everyone in the house was running around trying to pack their things as quickly as possible aside from Haru and Jin-ah as they just watched anime.

Why?

Well, Queresha won't let Haru pack his belongings since she always took care of them, as for Jin-ah…..

'I didn't unpack so I don't need to pack up, Hehehe~ I am a genius, aren't I?' Jin-ah ignored the straight faces she got from the others, her laziness was off the charts. Not even bothering to unpack her things and only taking out what she needed from her inventory.

Hae-in, Kanae, and Queresha were far too organized people to do what Jin-ah did. Although Hae-in is lazy but that is only in the morning, they all have a habit of keeping their belongings in order and well placed.

Leaving that aside, Alea went back to meet the elven royal family and her fellow lances the last time telling them that she would be going on a journey with Haru's group. She had very few people who she could say are close to her so it didn't take long for her to meet them.