I wake up. More accurately, I get pulled from my thoughts by Carol slowly stirring awake.

As soon as I make sure that she was actually waking up, I quickly escape from her embrace and run away outside.

Finally escaped!

Jesus Christ. It was torturous for so many reasons, but it was finally over!

The relief I felt couldn't be described.

I mean, I probably said "Pure thoughts" to myself over 200 times during that night. Time flowed really slowly, even though I made sure to turn off Thought Acceleration.

But it was over!

Right, since I couldn't do anything during the night, I should start working myself to the bone right now.

I wanted to do a lot of things, but-

"It's already sunrise."

It was time to teach Chis.

Whether I liked it or not, Carol took away all of the time I was supposed to be working.

It was a truly saddening development.

...Hold up, since when was not working a bad development?

Have I been... spending too much time with Crusch?

Did her overworking tendencies rub off on me?

I shiver.

That was a really dangerous line of thought. I didn't want to become a work maniac like Crusch.

Let's just... go bully Chis for now.

Yeah, that was going to keep the bad thoughts away. All of the bad thoughts. All of them.

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After three rounds of reluctant running, Chis went to breakfast.

This time around, I joined in on the meal.

During the run I had already surmised that nothing was out of order, and... I also wanted to pamper myself.

I mean, who could blame me? It was my birthday for (g)od's sake.

I was also scared of becoming a working masochist like Crusch, but let's not think about that, shall we?

So I graciously ate the breakfast. It was kinda nostalgic.

Back then, I had even forgotten how to eat due to how bad my mental state was.

This time around, things weren't quite as bad. Carol had been making food for me non-stop lately, so even if I wanted to, I couldn't forget how to eat.

She truly is the cornerstone of my mental health.

With a thought like that - and almost crying at the homely taste - I finished my breakfast.

We sat at the table for a bit more, talking about this and that. I had spent the entire previous day on Chis and only Chis after all. We had a lot of things to talk about and catch up on.

Unsurprisingly, Seira was still asleep, so I couldn't catch up with her quite yet, but that was fine. She needed the rest, and badly.

After a while, Chis got bored and started training outside. I didn't hurry after him, letting him train by himself for a bit.

With Chis away, I gave an alarm clock to Shurua. I explained to her how it works, and advised her to make Chis wake up early each day to train.

She was a bit hesitant, which made sense considering it was a completely new product in this world, but her trust in me dwarfed her hesitance by a mile.

I didn't miss the jealous look Carol had. After all, this was the first and only alarm clock I had ever made. I was planning to make more, but the fact that it was the first would remain.

After all that, it was time to train Chis.

I could feel my head spinning a bit, but I ignored it. I willed my mind to keep steady and on course.

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This time around, Chis performed way better. While his skill with the sword didn't improve at all, he was now much more cautious, much more decieving and much more efficient.

It was almost frightening how much better he got at using his surroundings and at creating opportunities.

Even I almost fell for one of his traps. Granted, that trap would've invalidated my left arm at most, but it was still surprising, considering that I was about two times stronger than him in that battle, while on the flat field.

Honestly, I was scared of his improvement... mostly because I didn't want him to end up like Reinhard.

Maybe it was just me being overprotective, but I couldn't help but have that worry.

I understood that he was nowhere near Reinhard's level, but he didn't really have to be to recieve shackles, did he?

Just having talent on the level of Julius was enough. They would put a lot of resources into making you stronger... and would expect something in return.

He might even be separated from his family, to recieve better education, even if he's unwilling.

And that's... because of me.

I had alerted what dangers awaited the kingdom. I had told them how to deal with most of them, but not all, and now that they knew just how despairing their opponents were, they couldn't help but grasp at any chance of power they could have.

And Chis was exactly that chance.

The thought that I was the reason for why that could happen... left me with a bitter taste in my mouth. But I was determined, I wasn't going to let that happen.

If they try to do something to Chis that he doesn't want, I might even play the Shadow card.

Well, for that, they'll have to learn of his existence first. And I'm pretty sure he won't grab their attention for a while.

Maybe I was just trying to run away from reality again, not considering the worst options... but being a bit optimistic wouldn't hurt, right?

Soon, our training session came to an end and Chis ran off to eat.

Unlike breakfast, I decided to not go. There were a lot of things to think about and do.

I wanted to check the surroundings of Obuch first. That way, I could be at least a bit sure that nobody was going to attack it today.

Before I could start running though, my legs grew weak. I managed to keep my balance and remain standing though.

Get a grip, Cylob. Don't... Just don't think about it.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and ran off in search of any abnormalities.

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Nothing seemed wrong... and that made me feel uneasy.

I have lived in this world for months, and I knew that it would give me some kind of trouble on my birthday.

Because there's no way it wouldn't, right?

This world was harsh, unforgiving and full of dangers. It killed people I cared about right in front of my eyes, it forced me to take human lives and to get used to such a vile act.

Just the thought of nothing happening on my birthday made me laugh. There was no way this world could be that merciful.

So the fact that I didn't notice anything off was making me restless.

There has to be at least something.

I had already made numerous circles around the village, I had even checked every centimeter inside of the village with Mana Sense, but I still found nothing.

Well... I wouldn't give any tells if I was planning an attack either. But if the attack is going to come out of nowhere, my preparations are going to be lacking.

I could prepare for an unknown attack, but most - if not all - of those preparations will end up useless.

So... what was I to do?

...Nothing, I guess.

I was just going to make sure that I always had the maximum amount of mana possible. That way, no matter when someone attacked, I would be as ready as I could possibly be for it.

I had even let Void Energy pile up inside my stomach for the last couple of days. Yes, it was a power that threatened to overtake my mind, but it was powerful. Not using it in a battle felt like a stupid decision.

I sighed. It was about time for Chis to finish eating, so I had to go back to training him. I was still a bit apprehensive, but I wouldn't find anything even if I continued searching, so I begrudgingly ran back to the three training fields.

Chis came back, and our training resumed.

I could feel my face wanting to twist into a grimace. I kept a smile on my face, making sure Chis wouldn't see my face making that expression.

Ignore it. Ignore them. Forget about them. You're never going back.

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Chis was laying on the ground, his chest heaving up and down. A blue sword made of my cells was laying far away from him, broken.

Cylob: "And that's why you should always pay attention to your sword too. I had specifically targetted the same spot every single time, so it inevitably broke. In fact, this doesn't concern just swords, but everything ranging from other equipment all the way to your own body. If you use the same muscles over and over again, they too, will break. So, even if you don't see any external wounds or don't feel any pain, you should still be careful."

I look down at Chis with complicated emotions.

This bastard... he's ambidextrous too.

At first, I had thought that he was a righty just like me, but now I realized that he used his right hand only because he was copying me.

When in this fight he switched from using his right hand to his left one, his strikes didn't lose any of his sharpness. Oh, he switched his hands to confuse me, by the way.

Is it even possible for him to get even more talented? No, scratch that. Is it even possible for anyone to be more talented? I think not. (We don't talk about Reinhard.)

Still, I continued to think optimistically. In Re:Zero, no one found Chis. My meddling might mess something up, but I was sure it would take a long time before anyone noticed the boy's existence, let alone his talent.

I allowed myself to relax on that topic. Thinking any more about it wouldn't really do me any good. It would just increase the pressure my mind was already under.

By the time I finished thinking that, Chis was already starting to get up, ready for another spar.

I repaired my 'Cell Sword' that I lent Chis for this specific training, and then threw it at him. To be honest, keeping two Cell Swords active at the same time was pretty draining. In fact, a Cell Sword is nothing more but a copy of myself that has no functions, except for hardening, so it's no wonder making them was taxing. Luckily, it was only draining for the mind, so I wasn't wasting any mana.

My brain was on fire (metaphorically in both ways), but I still kept it up. I didn't really care how much I abused my mind, it had become pretty clear to me in the past weeks that the mind of a slime is inexhaustible, as far as mental strain goes.

I didn't need sleep, eyebags literally didn't exist, and I didn't really feel any problems in mental excercises. Even after a marathon of work, my mind was functioning perfectly and my ability to calculate wasn't diminished either.

Which was why I was fine with keeping a couple of clones around the village who were only capable of sight.

What did you say? Paranoid? No, I wasn't paranoid at all. I was just taking completely normal percautions, that's all.

I inwardly sighed and raised my sword against Chis.

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I decided to join everyone for dinner. Mainly because Seira finally woke up.

Yeah, she slept for almost a day straight. Even I was shocked. Just goes to show how tired she must've been.

After that... things were quite comical. Seira was so wide-eyed when she saw the pile of money I gave them, that me and Chis couldn't help but burst into laughter.

She didn't look like she took offense to my laughter, but I could guess better. The incessant teasing of me and Carol - but particularly ME - was beyond annoying and embarrassing. She clearly wanted to laugh back.

Well, I wasn't one to go down without a fight. We kept trying our best to get the other party embarrassed, and then laugh in their face. Unfortunately, Seira had much more dirt on me than I did on her, so I was losing in this war. It didn't help that Carol added some embarrassing stories of me too! Traitor!

I wanted to grit my teeth in anger... but I couldn't really be angry. It was actually nice to see Seira without massive eyebags, for a change. She still had eyebags, of course, but they were much smaller, and looked like something a human could actually have.

So at the end of it all, we just ended up laughing at each other, no harm meant or done. I could feel my spirits lifted by this.

Right, I'm a dumbass.

In truth... I had been bothered the whole day. I had been bothered by just how different my birthday is in this world compared to my old one.

While in my old world it was a day for me to actually relax for once and truly feel happy... in this one, I couldn't help but be anxious and afraid.

I could understand the difference, I could feel the difference, and that made me sad.

I wanted to feel happy at my birthday... but I couldn't. I had seen the dangers, I had felt the pain. So on a monumental day like my birthday, of course I'd feel scared of whatever this world has in store. And whether I liked it or not, that was a constant that would never change. I doubt I would ever not feel anxious on my birthday again... but that was fine.

Yes, as I laughed with Seira and at Seira, I understood that I was being stupid. Being anxious was fine, as long as I still had fun.

It was my birthday. No matter how much this world beats me down, I will spend my birthday however I want, and no one is going to stop me.

So right now? I was just going to be happy. I wanted to be happy, I wanted to laugh, so that's what I was going to do. I wasn't going to let this world lower the worth of my birthday.

Right, because I'm not that big of a dumbass.

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I sat on a hill, watching over the entirety of Obuch. Everyone was already asleep, and the sun was going to peek out from the horizon not long from now.

'At the end of the day, nothing happened.'

I breathed a sigh of relief. Yes, I said that I was going to laugh and be happy... but I was still anxious, so I made sure to keep tabs on everything even when the moon left my field of view.

I would have to pick up all the clones I scattered about, but that wouldn't take long.

I stood up and stretched - only because of my previous habits, as my body didn't need stretching - and looked as the sky slowly filled with shades of purple, red and yellow.

And then, I immediately frowned.

A carriage was moving in the direction of Obuch, but it wasn't just any old carriage. It had the symbol of lion embeded into it. It was a carriage of the Karsten estate.

Well, well, well. What the hell has happened that they needed to fetch me so soon?

I could smell the trouble in the air, and I did not like it.