Troubled

'Where am I?'

I opened my eyes and saw someone in front of me.

"Sira Katsumi...."

She nodded and looked at me for a while.

'I feel like I'm gonna be scolded.'

I turned away and felt like crap.

She approached me slowly.

I started shaking and looked down.

*Tap.*

She put her hand on my shoulder.

"You should look people in the eyes when talking to them."

I flinched but, eventually looked up.

'Huh?'

Why was I worried?

*******

It has been 1 day since the corrupted being was defeated.

"Huh, so that's how you knew?"

Raijin was talking to Alius.

"Yeah, in this world it was advertised to have a regressor."

Alius said while eating something that looked like jerky.

Raijin was also chewing on something similar.

They were both on beds and recovering from their injuries.

"So did Kazumi really hunt two boars?"

Alius asked while staring at a box full of jerky.

"Yeah, you know, I even suspected that he was a regressor."

Raijin answered looking at a house through the window.

"Oh, what happened?"

Alius asked curious.

"I called him out. I revealed that I was a regressor. Quite stupid when I think about it...."

It seemed that Raijin realized something.

"I make a lot of assumptions don't I?"

Raijin sighed to himself.

Meanwhile Alius was staring into the abyss of nothingness.

"What's wrong?"

Raijin asked.

"You, just revealed that you were a regressor that easily....."

A very dark abyss.

*Knock knock.*

*Creak~.*

The door opened slowly and loudly.

In came Laura.

"How did it go? Will he be okay?"

Raijin asked.

Laura nodded.

"Yes, she'll be fine..."

It seemed like she thought something was strange but didn't ask.

Raijin visibly flinched and Alius not understanding the situation got confused.

Raijin turned to Alius and sighed.

Alius feeling like something was wrong wanted to get an explanation but decided to wait.

"I feel like I'm missing something."

Raijin nodded.

"Yes, you are."

An awkward silence lingered in the air for a while.

"Anyway, what was up with that spirit magic? Who's the contractor?"

Alius asked trying to continue the conversation.

"Ah! She did something reckless didn't she!?"

Laura said scratching her head.

"Don't worry, she didn't do anything dangerous. Her spirit only gave me a small blessing, and they were not involved in the fight."

Alius listened to this newly gained information with curiosity.

"Oh, who is she?"

*******

I opened my eyes silently.

'It's daytime.'

I tried to get up but couldn't.

'Sleep paralysis?'

I wasn't panicked. I had no reason to be. This was temporary.

'What are my notifications?'

[The calculation of information has concluded!]

'Fancy.'

I stared at the message silently.

[You have leveled up 12 times!]

[Your stats have been synced!]

[Swordsmanship(C+) has been upgraded!]

'Status screen.'

I stared at my information.

Character: Sira Katsumi(1st slot)/ Kazumi Quintius (Simplified)

Active title: [Saviour of corruption(EX+)]

Lv: 61

Class: Swordsman [Upgradable]

Stats: [STR: C] [VIT: B] [AGI: C+] [INT: B+]

Authority: [Slash that purifies(none)] [Slash that protects people(none)] 

Skills: [Swordsmanship(B)], [Swordsman's blade(C)], [Mana circulation(C)][Physical enhancment(C)], [Mana sensing(A-)], [Mana breathing(C-)], [Mana cultivation(C+)], [Cooking(D-)][sealed] 

Equipment: Threaded sword(A+) Broken watch(EX), Marked ring(EX)

'Class advancement already? It doesn't matter much though.'

It would make me stronger but it wasn't necessary right now.

'I guess I'll have to balance my stats again.'

I sighed lightly.

'Ah, I can move.'

I sat up and flinched a little.

'What's she doing here?'

Noora was sleeping beside me.

"Hmm? Ah, you're awake..."

She said still drowsy.

"Yeah, I'm awake. How have you been?"

I asked trying to smile.

'I'm tired. Have I not recovered enough?'

*Pat.*

Noora got up and patted my head.

"What are you doing?"

I asked chuckling a little.

"Head pats are good."

'Isn't that just wonderful?'

I nodded.

"Ah-."

Then Noora quickly jumped onto me.

I didn't understand why but I let it happen.

'Is there something wrong? She doesn't look injured.'

"Why are you so reckless!"

I briefly felt something stab me but ignored it.

'I'm not sure what makes me so reckless but I should console her.'

I was about to embrace her when I flinched.

'What's wrong with me?'

Something was off.

And when Noora faced me I flinched again.

"Ah."

She was crying a lot. 

"I don't want to lose you too! I want to live happily! Be it here or somewhere else! I want a home! A place to stay! A place where I belong!"

'Too..... yeah. She was being hunted right?'

I remembered back when I first met her.

A girl who could barely stand. Someone who only had the will to live but nothing else left.

'She, has grown a lot.'

She also spoke fluently now. No simple sentences, but full ones. 

'I didn't pay enough attention to her did I?'

I sighed internally.

'She's had a lot on her mind.'

But, I know I probably won't be able to stay.

'I have somewhere I need to go back to.'

Earth, ID 16379.

'I still don't know how to get there but I will.'

"I'll do my best. But there will be a time where I'll have to leave."

I said the truth. The truth that will happen.

"Can you, take me with you?"

Noora asked looking down.

It felt like she already knew the answer.

'No.'

That was the predetermined answer.

"Noora, I-"

"Forget it!"

Noora quickly stormed out of the room not closing the door behind her.

Behind her, a faint trail of wind followed.

'What is that?'

I sighed heavily and noticed someone.

'Jacob. What's he doing?'

"You can come in."

*Step.*

Jacob walked in sheepishly.

"What happened?"

I didn't know how to answer him so I stayed silent.

"Why did she leave like that? It was like she got rejected or something."

I nodded silently.

'I guess that's technically correct.'

Jacob looked extremely shocked but quickly calmed down.

"So, what are you going to do?"

Jacob asked looking at me.

"I don't know. Can I ask you a question?"

I asked looking down.

"Alright?"

Jacob answered surprised. 

"Have I not, paid enough attention to you two?"

I looked up silently while asking.

Jacob flinched and didn't say anything.

'Yeah, I've been neglectful. Even if you follow, that doesn't mean you do it for no reason. She even promised me to get stronger. Yet here I am being pathetic.'

I felt horrible. 

I wanted to escape this problem. But all my previous experience said that I shouldn't.

I sat up silently and went to leave.

"Katsumi."

I flinched and looked back.

Jacob seemed to have come up with an answer.

"You've shown us how to get stronger. How to continue living. And no matter what you think you've helped us. You even saved Noora. You've given us a goal in life."

I stared silently at Jacob for a while.

'He has also grown up.'

I was not paying enough attention.

"Thank you for your words."

I bowed slightly and left.

********

"So, what's the status report?"

Someone asked.

"This is 16379's report."

*Slide~*

A piece of paper was shown to a man with strangely coloured eyes.

"I see, why was this the rank given?"

The man asked staring silently at the big A in the corner.

"That is because of the damages incurred and the support he got. Fortunately no one died but the damage to 15362's forest of wish was immense. "

The man with strangely coloured eyes nodded.

"Then how did he get an A? You said quite a few flaws there."

*Gulp.*

A gulp resounded through the space they both occupied.

"That's due to his authority and title. He can fight back against corruption even without training. He also removed a root. His potential is unknown, I also heard that even 800 duo are interested."

The man listening leaned back in his seat, or did he stand up? It was hard to tell.

"That duo is interested? What were their recent activities?"

The man sat back down and circled around the room.

*Gulp.*

Yet another gulp resounded through the man's home.

"They recently requested aid. Although rank one, two and five rejected. Since then they have told at least one member of their group to keep tabs on him. You're the only one that hasn't heard this."

The man with long hair sighed and glared at the worker.

"Krgh! Gah-!"

In an instant the forest was silent. All the birds went silent, or did someone turn off the music?

"That last bit was unnecessary. I'll keep you alive due to being a worker here but don't do that again."

The man said while enjoying the sunlight.

"U-understood."

Then the man asked a question.

"Is that all?"

The worker nodded while shaking due to the cold.

"Y-ye-es! Also the world s-."

The man waved his hand and all sound was erased.

They looked around for a while on the island and eventually found something. Something strange.

"Ther-******

The sun shined brightly in the open sky.

If you listened closely you could even hear birds chirping.

*Chirp! Chirp!*

On such a wonderful day someone was sitting crouched down, crying.

*Sniff.*

*"P-please don't cry!"*

A bird that looked green said sounding nervous.

It was a part of nature. That is what a spirit is.

"Sniff.... but, home...."

The bird flying around Noora, looked panicked.

It had never been in a contract and it had only observed Noora for a little while.

It really wanted to cheer Noora up, but the only methods she knew were "words of comfort" and "food".

*'And I don't have food!!'*

And for some reason it didn't want to comfort this kid with empty words.

The kid was already damaged so if that happened again.

*'Ah! I have an idea!'*

The bird started flying towards another house.

It knew others couldn't hear it but it could still affect the world.

*'There!'*

*Whosh..*

A quiet wind.

"Huh? Is someone there?"

And the recipient was a woman with brown hair and green eyes.

It was Laura.

The men in the house also stopped talking, as if they noticed something.

"Hmm, you should probably check it."

Alius said dropping his guard.

Raijin nodded as well. They seemed well aware of the appearance of the visitor.

"I agree."

Laura looked confused and decided to check.

*"This way!"*

The invisible bird lead her and they eventually saw Noora.

"Ah, what are you doing here?"

Laura looked concerned and nervous not knowing why she was crying.

"Sniff, I had a bad dream."

Laura quickly composed herself and sat down beside her.

Having someone that listens to oneself is a wonderful thing.

"In that dream everyone left and I was alone."

In a world were everyone left.

"I searched around until I found a flower. But it looked like it was stepped on. I tried to water it but nothing happened."

A world that cannot be fixed.

"But then someone gave me some water. I wanted to thank them but before I could they disappeared."

*Drip.*

Was it raining?

"I felt... like I lost it all again."

Laura nodded silently and hugged Noora.

"It's alright."

Empty words would only hurt more, so that's all that could be said.

Everyone present understood that.