章 33: 『Pillar Of Support』
"Kill...! I'll! Kill you all!!"
Burning.
The flames surrounded the screaming little girl—the fire deafened her screams of manic anger. In her hands, the last person that she could call her "Loved one" lies motionless, not a trace of their original warmth had remained.
"It's time to go, he had resisted to the end it seems—what a waste. Leave the kid, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth to kill her." An oddly calm man declared.
"Yes, we will follow your orders, captain."
"Dad...! Please...! You're... You're the only one that I—!" Tears flowed from her eyes, as her voice slowly lost its coherence.
She called out to the person who took care of her over the years—who shouldered her all alone when her mother was nowhere to be found.
"Do you seek power?"
"Eh...?" She wiped her tears, searching for the origin of the voice.
"Really, I'm finally getting an owner with great potential." The voice sighed.
A violet pendant suddenly flashed out from the chest of her dear father—a sigh of relief could be heard from its voice.
"What did you do to Dad!?" The young girl glared.
"Relax, you know it's not me who killed him—don't you want to get revenge on those guys?"
"...?"
"I'm Violet, the Soul Armor that's been around since your first ancestor. Unfortunately, I am to be passed around like a plaything within your lineage—so there's that."
The young girl had always wondered why her father was so strong—no one could match her father in one-on-one combat, after all.
"So, back to my question, do you want power?"
"...I do." The little girl hesitantly agreed.
"Great! I can finally unleash my full potential with a female owner—honestly, this old man was such a pain, he's so pathetically weak for a great being like me."
"Don't... Don't call my dad like that!"
"Yes yes, your name is *****? With this, our contract is sealed." As it said that, a flash of violet light emanated from it.
Soon, rays of violet light could be seen in every direction—even the flames that surrounded the little girl had vanished. She stared at the mystical object in awe—To her, it was a bit scary, but oddly enough, she somehow found comfort in it.
"Revel in joy! For I, the Space Pendant, one of the 7 mythical objects of this world, choose you! *****!" The voice pompously announced.
On this period of the Lizean calendar marks the ascension of the little girl—for her to seek the answers that she ought to find. Tonight, she is not the little girl that always relied on her father, that always asked him for food that she loves—tonight, she will be Nadia Walter, and she will reclaim back what was rightfully hers, with her newfound power.
Ever since then, she had not cried once—she had sworn to herself that she wouldn't be the same weakling that she was, so that she may never lose anyone again.
<<----------->>
"It seems that even in her memories, I am not able to figure out her real name, huh?"
Naoki was just outside the door to their room in the inn and as he knocked on the door, he can't help but feel extremely bad—it seems Astria was crying earlier.
"Where have you been... peasant?" Dorothy had a look of disapproval on her face.
"I'm sorry..."
"It seems you can't say, huh? I understand... though you have to talk to Carol."
Naoki couldn't help but feel a pang of sharp guilt in his chest. After all, this was different from when he visited Leariz for alchemy lessons—as their marriage connection was not actually cut but rather, a false memory was put in place instead of nothing.
"..." Naoki sat beside her, but had said nothing—words couldn't come out of his mouth.
"Idiot..."
"...I know."
"Good thing you know."
"I'm sorry."
"Sorry not accepted."
"Why...?" Naoki grimaced.
Silence followed, not a single one of them could break the stifling air that surrounded them. Even their connection was also hazy and muddled—Astria had so many things to say, it seems.
"I'm so pathetic..."
"Eh...?"
"When I couldn't sense you, I immediately crumbled—I couldn't even function properly. Mother would be extremely disappointed that I let a man control me this much. Even now, I still want reassurance—reassurance that you'll not disappear just like that. It's really funny, I'm proud of my intellect yet I'm this needy."
"...I don't think that's a bad thing."
"...?"
"Like for me, when I saw you in an illusion that you were gone—I've lost it, as if a part of me had suddenly vanished. And to be honest, I probably wouldn't know where to go without you, Carol. See? I'm also hopeless without you."
"That's so stupid... what's up with that? It's like we're just relying on each other for guidance. Isn't that a bad thing?" Astria slightly smiled, donning a troubled face.
"Well, who cares? Whether it's because I'm relying on you or it's because of my ability—it still doesn't change the fact that I want to stay together with you, Carol."
"You tried to sound cool but what you said made no sense." Astria snickered.
"Hehe."
They both laughed—the awkwardness had eased a little. Before they met each other, the two had nothing to strive for: Astria had already given up, accepting her death. Naoki was lost, wandering aimlessly in this new world; Even back in his old world, he couldn't find a place to belong, a "reason to live". This had all changed when they met each other, they've found someone to guide them along their path—and while it was too cliché for both of them to admit it, they have often relied on each other for support.
"Hah... but still—is it too much to assure me once again? I know that you're doing it for your cultivation and all but—"
"I got it." Naoki held her in his arms, putting her doubts at ease.
"Hah... what am I going to do with you...?"
The two had looked passionately at each other—and if it wasn't for Dorothy's timely interruption, they would have likely gone further. The two could only embarrassingly laugh, it seems they got so into it.
Another night ends in the Lizea Kingdom, as the three spend the last of it together. It seems that a proper conversation was due—talking about various important things that need to be clarified. They can't just let Naoki worry them like that again, after all.
クリエイターの想い 
Lacyan
Lacyan Hi everyone!!! Another filler chapter that has no action, ehehe!
In all honesty, though, I love writing stuff like this so please do forgive me. I just love building characters and making them feel "human". In any case, this marks 50 thousand words in my novel!!! I've come a long way in telling the story of Naoki in the world of Zenia.
Is it too corny? I'm still wondering whether I've been sharing their moment of romance too seriously/often—though actually, I'm just having fun with any scene that involves the three.
Next up, a class assessment! All classes at the beginning of the quarter are to take practical fighting tournaments within the class to calibrate their class ranking!
"Do not kill the part of you that is cringe, kill the part of you that cringes"
週次パワーステータス
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