I slowly openned my eyes.

Once I did, the sight of the moon high in the sky greeted me.

I stood up without much wasn't next to me.

I looked around me, I could see the multitude of bodies on makeshift beds, recovering from their injuries.

In the silence of the night, I could hear slight sobbing. Once I looked at the source of it, I could see a female knight crying over the body of a male knight.

Once I walked closer, it was clear that the man had died and that the woman was grieving because of the loss.

But when I looked around once again, I saw that he wasn't the only one dead.

Contrary to the people around me when I woke up, these ones didn't get the necessary treatment.

All of them, every single one of them was dead.

"Hk."

This blanket of dead people seemed to be unending.

Stretching further and further until the dead bodies were all the way to the horizon.

I felt crushed. The sight of so many dead bodies, all of which were my fault, made me freeze in shock.

"Fuckin...dammit."

My breath kept getting stuck in my throat.

I hated myself, for making this happen, for letting so many die.

The dead bodies started piling up one on another until I was completely surrounded by them.

All of them were looking at me with hateful gazes, they despised me for killing them, they despised me for letting them die.

Those gazes bore into me, into my very soul. It felt painful, it felt agonizing to be under those gazes.

Under those hateful gazes, I could do nothing but-

"HAH!"

I sit up and start hyperventilating.

"Wait, what? Huh?"

I looked all around me, but I didn't see the dead bodies anywhere.

"That was... a dream?"

After calming down a bit, it was clear that what I saw was just a nightmare.

Cylob: "Hoo. Thank god. I was so scared." I wipe off the non-existent sweat on my forehead.

The hateful gazes of those dead people were burned into my head, I was hoping that I would forget about that dream just like I do with every other one.

Cylob: "Still, I haven't had a dream in a while, and a nightmare at that. It's kinda refreshing to finally have one."

Even though it was really scary and unnerving, the fact that I even had it at all brought peace to my mind. I haven't dreamt since coming to this world after all.

It meant that I truly did take a good rest.

I take a look around me. I was in a room. An unfamiliar room with multiple beds lined up.

Cylob: "A hospital?"

That was the best way that I could describe where I was.

I got up and noticed that my clothes had completely changed. I didn't have the time to properly look at them because everything was happening so fast, but they had changed just like my appearance.

I now had a T-shirt the colour of the sky and purple somewhat baggy pants.

These weren't just clothes that were put on me, no, they had the same enchantment as my previous ones did. Which meant that my clothes had transformed together with me. My sword had stayed the same though.

Cylob: "To think that even my clothes would change... this is surprising."

But just as I was admiring my new outfit, reality hit me.

Cylob: "No wait, what am I doing? I just saw a nightmare about the worst case scenario, why am I not worried at all?"

I get my mind out of the gutter and exit the room.

The exit led to a hall filled with a lot of doors, probably for rooms similar to the one I just left.

I didn't know whether to go right or left. I was completely lost.

?: "You're awake?!"

A very shocked voice came from my right.

When I looked, I could see a somewhat young girl in healer attire.

Cylob: "Nope, I'm sleep walking."

Even though I tried to joke, the girl just glared at me.

Come on, it wasn't that bad of a joke, right?

girl: "Do you know how confused all of us were because of you?"

Cylob: "Not really. I've been asleep this entire time after all."

girl: "You've been sleeping for an entire two weeks straight, and yet, you were completely healthy. We were starting to worry that we might've had another 'Sleeping Beauty' on our hands."

Cylob: "Sorry... I guess?"

I wasn't really sure what to say. I had no control over what happened after all.

girl: "Haah, whatever. It's good that you're awake now. The exit's that way." She pointed behind herself.

Cylob: "Thanks."

But just after we passed each other, I realized that I had something to ask.

Cylob: "What day of the week is it by the way?"

girl: "It's Sunday."

As I walked out of the building, I couldn't help but look back on the information given to me.

It's been two weeks since the attack. That shocked me, but it also made sense. I became a vessel for infinite power after all, who wouldn't be resting for a long time after that?

Now that I think about it, just what was that shadow and infinite power? I could think about that right now-

But I decided to stop that train of thought, I had much more important things to do.

Cylob: "I have to go."

I recognized the streets, so I had no problems walking to my desired location.

When I looked at the people passing by, it didn't look like they had suffered an attack that destroyed a fifth of the capital. All of them were merry, and the streets were full with the usual liveliness.

Which made sense. Everything was fixed and no civilians had died after all. There were no obstructions for them to stop living their normal lives.

This normalness brought peace to my heart.

At least I didn't mess up too much.

Still, I didn't allow the scenery around me to slow down my pace.

I had something I HAD to do.

As soon as I heard that it's been two weeks, I knew exactly what to do.

I was kind, so I sympathized with others, and there was one person who I sympathized with more than anyone else at this current moment.

It felt painful just thinking about what that person had to go through.

This isn't fast enough.

I sped up my pace. I was getting restless.

I quickly turned the corner-

"Ouch."

I bumped into someone and reflexively took a step back.

I saw very familiar orange hair.

Caroline.

She was looking down, with her face completely hidden. She had some groceries in her hands.

Caroline: "I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going."

Even when she said that, I couldn't feel even the slightest of guilt in her. Her voice was completely emotionless and she didn't look up at all.

At that sight of hers, I froze.

I wanted to say something, but no words came out of my mouth.

I opened my mouth, but no sound escaped my lips.

In my hesitation, she started walking away.

"Wait!" I hastily grabbed her by the shoulder.

Caroline: "What is it?" She said in an icy tone as she turned around to glare at me.

I felt a painful pang in my chest at her icy tone, and the way that she glared at me didn't help. I have never experienced her speaking to me like this, so it felt... wrong.

What should I say here?

She was clearly hurt. Who wouldn't be after their lover went missing in a massive catastrophe? But the bad part was that I had no idea on how to stop her from feeling like that. How do I make sure that she isn't hurt anymore?

This is not the time for social anxiety, Cylob. No need to make it complicated.

Cylob: "It's me, Cylob."

She took a step back.

Caroline: "H-how do you...? No, you know what, that doesn't matter. Don't joke with me."

She turned around and quickly started walking again, but I grabbed her by the arm to stop her.

Right now, she doesn't believe it's me. I have to say something that only I know.

Unfortunately, I had no idea on what only I knew. We didn't really have any secrets between us.

So instead of thinking about it, I just let my heart do the talking.

Cylob: "I'm not letting you go. Where did all of that determination to make me love myself go? Why are looking so downcast, so sad? Where is the serious or happy Caroline that I know? I don't care whether you believe me or not, but I'm not letting you go."

I could feel her shiver slightly. She didn't look back at me, but I could pretty much guess the expression on her face.

Caroline: "H-how can you explain your completely different appearance then?"

At those words, I felt relief wash over me. From her tone of voice it was clear that she had accepted that it was me, she just needed one last push.

Cylob: "I'm already a bundle of things that don't make sense. Having a different appearance is nothing too surprising, is it?"

She looked me in the eyes. She was on the verge of tears, studying my face, trying to determine whether I'm real or not.

Cylob: "You can cry all you want. No need to act strong." I open my arms wide, gesturing for a hug.

After a momentary silence, the dam finally broke.

She started bawling her eyes out and immediately hugged me with such force, that I stumbled a bit.

I quickly hugged her back.

She kept crying into my chest, I could feel it getting wet.

Some people around looked at us, which made me kinda embarrassed, but I erased them from my mind, I had more important things to focus on.

"I-I thought you were dead! No one knew what happened to you! You just went ahead and disappeared!"

I started petting her head to ease her worries a bit.

"I thought I'd never see you again! I searched for you, but you were nowhere to be found!"

The more she said, the weaker her voice grew. I could feel her emotions calming down.

"I didn't want to lose you so much. Why were you nowhere to be found? Why were there no records left of you?"

But just before her emotions could fully calm down, they spurred once again, yet this time, for a completely different reason.

"I'm... so happy to see you again. You have no idea how worried I was."

Happiness. She was feeling immense happiness and relief.

She clung to me as hard as she could. It was clear that she didn't want for me to go missing again.

...

...

...

This is getting really embarrassing!

While I did try to erase the people around me from my perception, it eventually became impossible.

Tens of people were staring at us with complicated faces.

It wasn't surprising, we have been stuck in this exact position for almost 3 minutes straight after all.

And no matter how much time passed, her grip didn't get any weaker. It was as if she was telling me "I'll never let you go again!".

I couldn't blame her. I worried her immensely, so she must be doing this because she was afraid of losing me.

I have been petting her this whole time as well, which didn't help my embarrassment (It did help Caroline though, which is why I kept doing it).

I wanted her to let go, but I wanted to do something even more than that.

"Thank you."

She looked up at me with wide eyes.

"You saved me. That's actually the reason for my look. I decided to copy my savior."

She looked at me with confusion written over her face.

But after a while, that look was replaced by a smile.

"I'll accept your thanks. You'll explain how I saved you later. Right now, I just want to stay like this for a little bit more." She burried her face in my chest.

What do you mean a little bit more?!

My embarrassment was reaching astronomical levels at this point. I could hear my heart beating faster even though I didn't have one.

"Keep petting me."

As soon as she said that, I realized that I froze in place in my embarrassment.

"A-ah. Yes."

I couldn't go against that tone of hers for some reason, it was too demanding.

I kept petting her head while being drilled by the gazes of the onlookers.

These gazes were a different kind of painful from the ones of the corpses.

.▒░▒░▒░▒░▒░▒░▒░▒░▒░▒░▒.

After a really long amount of time (which I don't want to mention the actual amount of), Caroline finally stopped hugging me.

We were walking side by side, hand in hand. Her grip was once again extremely powerful.

How is she so strong?!

I was genuinely surprised. If I didn't use mana enhancing, I would probably lose to her in arm wrestling, that was just how strong she was.

I'd still win in an actual battle though. I'm more skilled and experienced, so I would win even without my sword. It'd be scarily close though...

The sudden realization of Caroline's power made me feel an emotion I couldn't quite describe... so I decided to switch the topic inside my mind.

Cylob: "Are you planning on being with me even when I go to Crusch to explain things? Are you not going to be nervous in front of your employer?"

Caroline: "No problem. I'm not letting you get away again."

She said that with a determined look, but I could see the slight hesitation in her eyes.

It seemed like her love for me won over her nervousness, but that doesn't mean it was completely gone.

Cylob: "You do you."

I couldn't argue with her, not today at least. After seeing her crying face, I didn't want to go against anything she did.

Cylob: "Give me that, then." I point to her groceries.

She quickly gave them to me, and I Beelzebub-ed them. She widened her eyes at what happened.

Caroline: "Now that I think about it, you never explained how you do that."

Cylob: "That's the problem, I don't know myself how I do that. All I do is think, and it happens."

Once I explained it to her, her face made a serious expression.

Caroline: "Just a question, but... do you know anything about a little blue blob?"

Cylob: "A little blue blob...? I don't think so."

*pang!* *pang!*

Ashna was making a ruckus for some reason.

Then, a part of my face split and turned into a little blue blob.

Caroline was looking at me with shock, confusion and surprise.

Cylob: "Ah, that's right. I forgot to tell you, but I'm not actually a human. I'm a blue blob. I guess the little blue blob you saw was a part of me or something."

The little blue blob quickly melted into my face, completing me once again.

But contrary to my expectations, Caroline just sighed with an exasperated expression.

She wasn't confused, nor shocked, nor even surprised. She was just exasperated.

Cylob: "I thought you'd definitely be surprised for a bit more. What brought on that expression?"

Caroline: "You're from beyond the Great Waterfall, you don't have blood and you changed your appearance out of nowhere. It would be hard to keep getting surprised by you."

For some reason, that comment hurt. It was almost like she was saying that I was unreasonable.

Caroline: "Ah, right! You still haven't explained to me how I saved you!"

She was so enthusiastic, that I could almost see her eyes sparkling.

I had no idea why she was so happy, but I didn't mind.

Cylob: "I did say that, but I kinda don't want to. I feel like it'll end up taking too long..."

Caroline: "You promised." Her gaze bore into me.

...

I sighed in resignation.

Cylob: "Alright. You see, my mental state was not the best at the time. I'm massively understating it here, but my mind was completely broken. What got me out of that destructive state of mind was your letter. If not for it, not only this entire capital, but the entire world would've been done for."

Huh, that didn't take as long as I expected it to.

She looked at me with an expression I couldn't quite I had to, I'd say it was a combination of fear and denial.

Caroline: "W-what do you mean by the entire world?"

When she asked me that, I realized my biggest mistake.

Ah... I didn't tell her that I was the shadow that attacked the capital.

Cylob: "Well you see, I was actually the giant shadow that was attacking the capital at that time. Your letter saved not only me, but also everyone else in this world." (except Reinhard and Satella.)

To say that she was shocked would be an understatement. She had completely froze in place, I had to stop walking to not drag her with me.

She just stayed like that for a while.

After a minute of staring at me, she seemed to regain some reason.

Caroline: "Y-you're kidding, right?"

Cylob: "Unfortunately, I'm completely serious. It was actually exactly what I wanted to report to Crusch."

Another minute of silence passed. Her face changed into another incomprehensible one.

And then another minute passed, after which her face changed once again.

It was kinda fun to see her making so many weird faces. I hadn't seen her make those kinds of faces ever before after all.

After I'm not sure how long she regained enough sanity to walk again.

She was still making a complicated expression, so I was sure that I couldn't talk to her, I had to give her some space to think.

We just kept walking like that all the way to Crusch's manor.

.▒░▒░▒░▒░▒░▒░▒░▒░▒░▒░▒.

Crusch: "It's nice to see you Caroline. Who are you, might I ask?"

After a bit of manipulation, we managed to get to Crusch's office. Her desk was full of paperwork and she had eyebags, so I felt bad for her. She had clearly been working way too much.

Cylob: "To you, I'm Cylob Protsav."

The only reason I said it like that, was because Cylob wasn't my real name, so I had to twist my words a bit. If I just said "I'm Cylob" that would be a lie, and she would just kick me out.

Her eyes widened. She studied my face for a bit.

Crusch: "Haaaah. I see..." She started rubbing her temples.

Cylob: "You look quite frustrated there."

She put her hands down and looked at me with an exhausted expression.

Crusch: "You might not know this, but I promised to myself to fix you."

Cylob: "To fix me...?"

Crusch: "Yes. I purposefully made you go to Yosai, and I even made you and Caroline closer, so that you could stop the constant self-hate that you had."

Cylob: "..."

I couldn't say anything. I was shocked here.

To think that Crusch had been trying to help me all this time... yeah, I can understand why this situation is vexing now.

Crusch: "But alas, I never managed to. It seemed like the opposite was actually happening. And yet... and yet..."

She clutched hed hands in anger as she looked at me, but I couldn't see any hate in her gaze. If anything, she was more angry at herself than me.

Crusch: "The moment I take my eyes off of you... In just two weeks... You manage to look so much better. It makes me wonder where all my effort went."

Aahhh... She's pissed. I averted my eyes from her, I couldn't stand the pressure.

A pretty heavy silence descended upon the room.

Cylob: "...You might not accept this, but I don't think your efforts went to waste."

Crusch: "Why do you think so?"

Cylob: "Because I feel indebted to you." I look straight into her eyes.

We stared at each other, not saying anything nor doing anything.

And then, Crusch smirked.

Crusch: "So you've finally decided to join my camp?"

Cylob: "Yes."

Before this, I had never officially joined it. There were a number of reasons, but it was finally the time to officially join it.

I had gotten so close to everyone here, that not joining felt like a dick move.

Crusch: "You better not waste my effort then. I'm going to make you work until you drop."

Cylob: "That's fine. I was already doing that."

I was sure that nothing would really change. I had already been training my ass off, so there's no way there would be anything harder than that... right? ...RIGHT?!

I looked at Crusch in worry and she smirked once again. Her gaze slowly wondered from me to...

THE DOCUMENTS

I felt all strength leave my body.

She's going to make me do desk work! I shouldn't have agreed to join!

I fell to my knees and started banging on the floor with weak arms.

Dammit, dammit, DAMMIT!

Caroline: "What's happening?! Are you alright Cylob?!"

That voice brought me back to reality.

Ah, right. Caroline is here. I shouldn't overexaggerate things.

Cylob: "Yeah, everything is fine. I'm just overexaggerating things." I quickly stand up.

Caroline: "Don't do that again, okay?"

Cylob: "Yeah, yeah, I won't."

Crusch: "I'll stop your bickering there. What did you come here for, Cylob? You wouldn't come here just to announce that you would join my camp."

Cylob: "Ah, that's right! You see, I'm actually the shadow that attacked the capital two weeks ago."

She freezes.

The same reaction as Caroline, huh.

She hangs her head down.

After a while of her not doing anything, she starts rubbing her temples.

She rubs them for quite a while, before eventually looking up at me with a full glare. I could feel internal fear at her expression.

Crusch: "Cylob, you are bringing a chair here, and you are going to help me with my paperwork."

Het tone was emotionless, but it was one that I could feel I couldn't go against.

It's still doesn't feel as powerful as Caroline's tone though...

Still, I knew there was no choice but to obide it.

Cylob: "Yes, Ma'am!" I gave a salute on reflex.

I look towards Caroline with a complicated expression.

Cylob: "I'm sorry, Caroline."

I wanted to spend the rest of the day with her, but it seemed like that would be impossible.

Caroline: "it's fine. This'll be your punishment for worrying me and for troubling Crusch."

She looks at me with an steadfast expression. It seems like she actually felt angry at me.

Caroline: "Also, next time we meet, if you call me Caroline again, I won't forgive you."

With such a cryptic message and a small smile, she left.

...What does she mean by that?

I was confused. What the hell did she want me to call her then?

.▒░▒░▒░▒░▒░▒░▒░▒░▒░▒░▒.

It was now night. The glow of the moon was calming, but the light from the lamp in the room completely killed the calm atmosphere, instead replacing it with tension. I was completely exhausted.

Crusch wasn't in any better shape, but she kept working through the documents with breakneck speeds.

I can now understand why she was so angry.

Almost all of these documents were about the attack two weeks ago. And since I was the perpertator of that, all of these were technically my fault.

I had quadrupled Crusch's work, which is why I was made to help.

I had no idea how to do these at first, but after a few pointers from Crusch, it turned out to be surprisingly easy.

Who am I kidding, it's just that Crusch is taking all the hard ones. She knows what I can and can't handle.

I was impressed. She had perfectly read my abilities.

But just as I was lost in thought, Crusch's voice snapped me back to reality.

Crusch: "I guess it's about time to talk about the most problematic part."

For the first time since I started working, she looked at me.

Cylob: "What is it?"

Crusch: "What we should do with you, and what to tell the Council Of Elders."

...This is bad.

I remember what started this in the first place. A message from the Dragon Tablet to find ME.

It was clear that the dragon tablet predicted the whole attack, and it told them to find me to stop the attack from happening.

It didn't work as I was operating under a fake name and face, and I had credibility from Crusch, but that was the problem.

If we tell them the truth, then they would immediately take action by killing or sealing me. There's no confirmation that something like this won't happen again, so they will make sure that I won't be able to attack again, whether I want to or not.

Cylob: "Can't we just stay silent? I don't want to lose my life so soon after resolving to not hating myself."

Crusch: "That's... going to be problematic."

Cylob: "Why?"

Crusch: "We will be made to have a sort of conference, and no doubt one of the questions will be the reason for the attack."

I looked at her in confusion, what she said didn't seem that bad, what was the proble-

Crusch: "Reinhard will be present."

Oh...

If Reinhard will be present... then he would be able to tell lies from truths. If Crusch was asked the question directly, then it would be game over.

Cylob: "But you technically don't know the reason, do you? I mean, I don't either, you just know that I was the catalyst. That's not the reason, is it?"

Crusch: "Did you forget that my Divine Protection can see through half-lies?"

...

Cylob: "I'm dead."

Crusch: "Yes, and this is exactly why I wanted to talk with you about our plan."

We were both holding our heads in our hands. This was an issue that we couldn't ignore no matter what.

Cylob: "When is it going to be held?"

Crusch: "Tomorrow. Exactly two weeks after the attack."

Ah, that's right. I rampaged on monday. Only one day, huh...

We're so fuuuuuuuUUUUCKED!

Cylob: "Telling the truth is a hard no, but lying is a hard no either. Can't you avoid the question? Or maybe twist your words in some way?"

Crusch: "It would be fine if it was anyone else, but I'm the one who has the same protection as Reinhard. He will definitely get suspicious if I try to do that, since I posses it myself and know exactly what triggers it."

I wanted to start pulling my hair out, that's how bad the situation was.

Cylob: "Do I have to go into hiding? Do we try to threaten them with my abilities? I don't want to do that!"

Crusch: "I know and I understand. And it's because I understand that I'm talking to you like this. We have to come up with something."

At this hopeless situation, I descended into thought-

Cylob: "No wait, it's too early to descend into thought. Can we somehow talk with Wil-san or Ferris about this? The more heads the better."

Crusch: "Not a bad idea. You can go ahead and call Wilhelm."

Cylob: "What about Ferris?"

Crusch: "He's still reattaching limbs. Since this attack was a particularly dangerous one, the amount of detached limbs is way higher than normal."

So Ferris is still healing, huh. I bet he's overworking himself, but I don't have the means to help nor do I have the time.

Cylob: "I'll go get Wil-san then. Where is he?"

Crusch: "He should be training in the backyard. It seems like his pride has been hurt for not being able to do anything two weeks ago."

His pride got hurt, huh. Now that I think about it, I still haven't done anything about his relationship with Reinhard. I was too much of a coward to do anything.

As I step out of the room and head towards where Wilhelm normally trains, I couldn't help but descend into thought.

I have so many things I wanted to do, but I was too scared of changing the timeline too much, so I didn't do any of them. Now though... the timeline had definitely changed just because of my existence. I'm going to do everything I wanted to, I'm not going to be scared anymore.

Consequences are bound to follow, but I'll deal with those. I'll move carefully and slowly, but I'll actually move instead of standing in place like I used to.

But first things first, I have to ensure my safety.

Once I arrive at the place, I see Wilhelm gracefully dance with his sword in the light of the moon.

I wanted to admire the scene in front of me, but this wasn't the time for that.

Cylob: "Wil-san! Come with me to Crusch's office, we have something important to discuss!" I made sure to not raise my voice too much, it was already night after all.

At my voice, he turned around to look at me. Once his eyes landed upon me, a sort of pride welled up in them.

Wilhelm: "Cylob... It's been a while. How have you been?"

Cylob: "You don't seem the least bit surprised at the fact that I'm alive, huh. Well whatever, to answer your question: I've been good."

Wilhelm: "Of course I'm not surprised. I was sure that you were alive, you're someone who can survive almost anything after all. That's one of your best qualities."

He looked me straight in the eyes. Judging me.

I've had a lot of those stares come my way today. I'm kinda getting used to them.

Wilhelm: "I can also see that your eyes have cleared up a bit. You finally managed to take the first step, I'm proud."

He gave me a small smile, which I returned in kind.

Cylob: "I don't want to break this atmosphere, but that's enough dilly-dallying. This student of yours is in quite the precarious situation, so we would like to borrow your wisdom. Let's go to Crusch's office."

Wilhelm: "Of course."

After a silent walk back, we entered Crusch's office.

When we did though, we saw someone I wasn't expecting to see.

Cylob: "Seems like luck is finally on my side, huh."

There, in the middle of the room, stood a red haired boy clad in Royal Knight garments. The strongest being in the world-

Reinhard van Astrea.

./\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\.

Now that I think about it, I haven't talked with Reinhard even once, right? This is our first meeting, huh. Such stupid thoughts immediately filled my head.

Crusch: "It's good that you're finally here, Cylob. I convinced Reinhard to stay here until you came."

I nodded at Crusch, showing my appreciation.

Cylob: "I believe it's our first time meeting, Reinhard. Nice to meet you."I extended my hand towards him.

Reinhard: "Yes it is. It's nice to meet you too, Cylob."

He shook my hand, but I could feel the hesitation in him. It seemed like he was wary of something.

At first, I didn't realize why he was so on edge, but once his eyes went behind my back, I realized it.

He's wary of Wil-san... I'm going to have to do something about that. Maybe this is time to start working on their relationship. After I take care of my problem of course.

Cylob: "Sorry for making such a tense atmosphere, but I have to ask of you something Reinhard."

Reinhard: "Of course. I'll help to the best of my abilities."

Cylob: "First of all, promise to not attack me before I explain everything. Can you please do that? You can attack me after I finish, but until that, I want some peace of mind."

Reinhard: "...I promise."

He hesitated a bit, but still accepted it more readily than I expected him to. He had read my emotions with his Divine Protection Of Empathy no doubt.

Cylob: "Alright then. First of all, I'm the shadow that attacked the capital two weeks ago."

Reinhard staggered a bit. It was clear that he wasn't expecting this.

But contrary to my expectation, he wasn't the one to talk.

"Is that... true, Cylob?"

Wilhelm at my back was the one who said this. I could feel the multitude of emotions inside that voice of his.

Cylob: "Unfortunately yes, but it's not like I wanted that to happen. I will explain to every one of you exactly what happened."

I don't like it, but I have to earn Reinhard's pity here. It's my only way of getting out of this situation.

.▒░▒░▒░▒░▒░▒░▒░▒░▒░▒░▒.

"...-Once I used the last bit of my power to spread all my arms around, I immediately fell asleep. That's everything that happened."

Once I finished with my explanation, the one most surprised was - of course - Reinhard. Crusch already knew most of this, so she wasn't too surprised. Wilhelm had gotten used to me, so he also accepted and understood everything quickly.

The room descended into silence as I looked at Reinhard, waiting for what he would say. My livelihood was entirely in his hands, so I could do nothing but patiently wait.

...

Reinhard: "Why would you tell me all of this?"

Cylob: "Isn't it obvious? It's because I don't want to die. You see, there's going to be a meeting with the Elder Council, right? If truth were to get out that I was the reason for it, what would they do?"

Reinhard: "They would eliminate you..."

Cylob: "That's right. So my only choice is to beg for your mercy, as you're the only way my truth could get to light."

He looked at me with equal parts pity, guilt and hesitation.

He had a duty to protect his kingdom, but after hearing my story, he also wanted to protect me.

It seemed like he was weighing the options, trying to choose between them.

Either way, you'll be seen as a monster, Reinhard. I'm sorry for putting you in such a situation, it's nothing personal.

Just as I was wondering, a rude voice with hints of anger resounded in the room.

"Can you not forgive this young man here? Do you not have the heart to do that?"

It was once again Wilhelm. Even though I expected him to be negative towards Reinhard, it was still a shock, I had never heard him talk like that.

I could feel the venom in Wilhelm's voice, and it was not pleasant. I could also see Crusch making a complicated expression.

At that tone of his, directed towards Reinhard of all people... I felt pissed.

Cylob: "No need to butt in, Wil-san. This is a talk between Reinhard and I."

Wilhelm narrowed his eyes at Reinhard to show his disgruntlement. I could see Reinhard's face make an even more uncertain expression at that glare of his.

Wilhelm: "Guess you're still a monster." He said as he turned away.

...

I looked at Reinhard. He was hurt. He was definitely hurt by those words.

At that look of Reinhard's, I felt angry, I felt wrath.

Reinhard was the best person in the whole world. He always tried his best to save as many people as possible, even though he is heavily restricted in what he can do because of his power. Nothing could describe just how good of a person he was.

Even Subaru himself said that his good guy meter was off the charts, that was just how kind he was.

And yet... AND YET!...

...

"Wilhelm, you are my teacher, my mentor, so I ask you this... Is this how you wish for me to act? To spout hateful words towards a child who's trying his best? Do you wish for me to hate a child that has done nothing wrong? Is that what you want from me?"

At those words, not only Wilhelm, but also Crusch and Reinhard widened their eyes in shock.

"You may have already understood this, but I know exactly what happened. What happened to Theresia, and how you started blaming Reinhard when he was only 5. He was only 5, and yet you started blaming him, started hurling insults at him, you called him a monster, all because of things he had no control over. Tell me, is this the person that you want me to become? Is this the person that you want to be? I ask you this again... IS THIS HOW YOU WISH FOR ME TO ACT?!"

I was pissed at Wilhelm. I was absolutely livid.

But more than at Wilhelm, I felt anger towards Pandora, towards the world, towards... myself.

I had all the time in the world, and yet, I didn't even try to help them mend their relationship even a little bit.

I was too cooped up in my wish to save people to actually do things that matter.

I was pissed at myself... but there was no was just anger, nothing more than that.

So I used that anger, I channelled that anger into my words, to properly convey what I thought, to properly convey just how wrong Wilhelm was acting.

Let's see the consequences of my actions.

I looked at Wilhelm. He still had the same anger etched in his face, but this time around, it wasn't directed towards Reinhard, it was directed towards himself.

The seeds of doubt were there since Arc 3, I just had to make them grow. He already knew he was in the wrong, he just needed a push to accept it.

As I realized that I was done with Wilhelm, I turned towards Reinhard with a stern gaze.

"Reinhard, you're not off the hook either."

At that statement, he hanged his head down, while Crusch's and Wilhem's eyes widened once again. It seems like they didn't expect me to go after Reinhard.

"I understand your position and I understand that you were afraid of confronting Wilhelm, but that's not good enough of an excuse for inaction. You could've easily asked for help from friends or at least tried to send some letters. You didn't do any of that. Your fear and immature mind stopped you from doing what needed to be done."

As I stopped for a little bit, my gaze turned from stern to warm.

"Next time around: Talk. Talk your heart out, say everything that is weighing down on you to your friends. They will help, and even if they don't, you'll still feel better. Reinhard, rely on others more, don't shoulder everything yourself. I will repeat this once again:don't shoulder everything yourself."

...

A heavy silence descended upon the room. Everyone was wearing conflicted expressions, including me.

I was hoping that I did everything right, but human emotions aren't something that you can predict.

I anxiously awaited the consiquences of my actions...

...

...

"*sigh* This is way too tense. If only I had a knife."

Despite my earlier thoughts, my mentality was not built for this, so I decided to joke to lighten the mood. My mind just couldn't bear the tension that permeated the room.

Unfortunately, my poor attempt at joking didn't make anyone laugh, hell, no one even smiled.

They might just not know the saying...- was the thought I was masking my embarrassment with.

Everyone started staring at me, and I couldn't take being looked at by so many people.

Cylob: "Well, I'll be taking my leave now. I have nothing more to say to you, Reinhard. Remember that my life is in your hands. Take a decision that you will regret the least."

With that, I exited the room. I let out a sigh of relief as soon as I did, it felt like a load had been taken off my shoulders.

But I immediately tensed up once reality had caught up with me.

I still don't know whether people died because of me.

I had avoided that topic for the sake of my mentality, but running away couldn't be done forever.

I shook my head, I didn't want to think negatively right now.

Safety comes first. Safety. Comes. First.

With those conficted emotions, I departed to train.