20 Chapter 20: Skills and Abilities

H: "Tia! We're going to use Beast Soul Activation!"

T: "Yes!"

I placed my palm which has the symbol of a magic circle with a soul drawn on it on Tia's back. Then followed by an illuminating huge magic circle on our ground and a powerful surge of wind, blowing away the swarm of monsters that are coming straight at us.

T: "Phew…"

The skill is activated and now the casting is complete. Tia, who's been known for her small and cute stature, now stands proudly with her young adult form that gives off an aura of dignity. Much like a real princess.

But…

T: "…!! Kyaaaaa!!"

H: "Hm… We really need to do something about your clothes ripping when your transform, huh…"

Looking at her once more, she really develops into a fine young adult after transforming. If she was a human, maybe she will look like this instead of a small Faunalian? Hmm... But Tia's cute too when she's on her original form. A difficult choice indeed.

T: "Don't just casually stare at me with that serious expression! Look away!"

H: "Oops, my bad. My eyes were gravitated. I didn't had full control over that. You were just appealing and all."

T: "W-Well… I-It's not like I mind… Ehe…"

Saying that she held her cheeks while still covering her chest and uses her fluffy tail to cover her crotch.

H: "Here."

I gave her my leather jacket and let her use it for a while. I really need to think about how we could use the Beast Soul Activation without ripping her clothes to shreds.

H: "We're going in, Tia!"

T: "Roger!"

Hm. It seems like she's picking up things from me now. Does she even know what that means? We've been inside the dungeon for about 3 hours now with a rest of 1 hour while having lunch, so maybe she's been hearing such things from me and tried to use them.

H: "Hah!"

Mana Burst!

*boom!*

I used my fist to attack the incoming swarm of Ground Arachnia. Channeling my mana to my fist was a lot of hurdle than I thought and adjusting the output drains a lot of my energy.

I've been trying to use the skills since we've entered the Ground Dungeon to test its capabilities and use it perfectly without exerting much effort than when I first used it. Mana Burst uses my mana as an input and the effect of its damage depends on how much mana I use. The less mana I use, the less effort I have to give whenever I use it. I can just punch something using a pinch of mana but the effect is just above my usual strength. On the other hand, when I apply too much mana, my fist gets heavier than a 3 Rocket Propelled Grenade, like all those are weighing just on that hand alone. But the impact of it is much larger a hundred times my usual strength. To the point it creates an explosion.

T: "Hans! Look out!"

H: "… Hm."

T: "Hiya!!"

*fwoosh!!*

An incoming Unique Ground Monster came attacking me from behind so Tia rushed to my side and block the attack, returning a counter that obliterated it in an instant. I know I could trust Tia with it so I didn't feel the need to act.

Whenever we got the chance, Tia and I use the Beast Soul Activation to test where it can get us to. From what I've gathered so far,

1.) Tia's physical abilities triples from her original strength and adds half of my physical abilities to hers. Which means, half of my status points are shared with her. If she tried to punch a rock with her usual strength, she can leave a visible crack in it. But when she's in Beast Soul mode, she can make the rock crumble into small pieces. Aside from the Activation, I got a good grasp of her real strength now that I've seen it personally. She's strong for her small body.

2.) We can use it for about 10 minutes at a time. After using it, she will revert back into her original form and will turn sluggish for about 5 minutes because of the strain. We have to rest for a while before continuing. When she recovers from it, we can use it again for another 10 minutes. It seems like its energy input is my mana. As long as I have mana, the only problem is waiting for her sluggish state to cease. Though I just can't let her be that way all the time so I do it in moderation.

3.) In my case, it doubles my original Strength, Agility, and Defense, aside from the permanent buff that I received from the contract. With that, I gain triple of my original status whenever we use Beast Soul Activation. Other than that, I don't feel anything like whenever she goes into a sluggish state.

T: "Did you see that, Hans?! Haha~! When I get serious, that is just a walk in the park! Hehe!"

4.) Lastly, whenever Tia goes into her transformed state. Her personality turns a complete 180. From the innocent and pure, but sometimes a little bit flamboyant, now becomes completely flamboyant, befitting her title as a princess. Though, her smile is much brighter when she's like that. I guess, that's her real identity. Along with her golden fur covered wrist and ankles, her adult appeal is very discernible.

And that's mostly for the Beast Soul Activation. I've also tested a lot of things besides the power that I got from the contract when we entered the dungeon.

First my Strength. I'm going to use the example with Tia's.

When I punch a boulder with my bare hands, I can destroy it leaving it in crumbles without any problems. Just like the time when I bore a whole through a tree without any effort, I can use it without breaking a sweat. But when I use Mana Burst with its maximum capacity with my current abilities, I can leave the boulder disintegrated, leaving nothing behind along with the huge crater on the ground. But my arm would hella lot hurt after it though. When I use the Activation and punch the boulder, I can somehow achieve nearly the same result when I use Mana Burst. Though, I haven't tried using it with its full capacity when we're in Beast Soul mode. Up until this time, I only use a small amount of mana when I use it.

Now my Agility.

I can somehow run a lot faster than a regular athlete without any problems. I was fleet with my feet when I was a soldier and can do it when I put my hips on it. But this time, I can do that easily. But casting a skill is different with nimbleness and I still have a hard time making it fast enough to follow my speed.

As for my Intelligence.

I didn't get to test it for obvious reason. I still don't have any magic skills or the likes. I'm starting to get discouraged if I certainly used the crystal points correctly, putting it all in my intelligence. It seems like Mana Burst is based on my intelligence, but without properly increasing it to test it out, I can't be all too sure.

In my Defense's case.

The more I look at it the more I get depressed… Why is it only 15 when I started?? Is it because I was not from this world and was born a fragile and weak human?? It doubled from the contract but it's still 30 if you add it up! It's my weakest status! Though when I tried it, it seems its good enough, maybe it's the Damage Resistance and Harden skills doing their part. But I still feel the impact and the attack from the monster still damages me. I can't say it got me sturdy enough, but I can't also say that I'm still weak where I can be killed by bullets just like back when I died. Though I doubt it won't still hurt a lot. Whenever a Ground Arachnia uses its leg to strike a piercing attack, the leg will still pierce my skin but it stops after a centimeter or two. And those attacks can pierce a wall too to top it off. So it's in between the degree of weak and strong.

H: "Phew… That's it, I guess?"

*poof!*

T: "Y-Yeeesh…"

H: "Whoa there."

Tia sluggishly fell down so I catch her with my arms. It seems like the 10 minute limit have passed and now she's back to her original form. So now she's in her sluggish state.

H: "Good work out there."

T: "Ehehe~ Pat me~"

And selfish state. A state where she liked to be spoiled rotten. More than usual. Normally she really likes being spoiled by Anya. But now when she's like this, she does it even to me.

H: "Alright, alright."

I pat her head as per her demand and she flashed a delightful expression, contorting her brows to the middle with a huge trembling smile on her lips.

T: "Ehehe… I'm praised by Hans…~"

Kuh… What's with this adorable creature… I want to take her home…! Though we live together!

H: "Let's rest for a while. We'll continue after you recovered your strength. But with me saying that, I think we need to return now. It will be late if we take more time here."

T: "Oookaaay… Ehehe~ Pat my head more…~"

H: "Alright, alright."

She snuggles on my chest as she urge me for another head pat. Geez. This selfish Faunalian really is demanding when she's like this… Ehe… I'm being healed…~

While resting, I took the opportunity to check up on my bracelet terminal and status display. First my bracelet terminal,

[Name]: Hans Alius Schmidt

[Class]: None

[Sex]: Male

[Level]: 12

[Race]: Human

[Rank]: F

[Title]

Black Sheep

[Skills]

[Active Skill]

[Passive Skills]

[Quest/s]

I need Glow Stones! Gather me some!

Contents:

I want you to get me 20 Glow Stones from the Ground Dungeon near Florensia Town. Really need it for my experiment, ya hear me?? This is an easy quest, if you fail I'll come and find you and use your body for my experiment! Got it?! Just look out so that you won't be Arachnia feed!

Reward: 2 silver coins

Status: Ongoing

[Party Members/Raid Members]

(None)

No matter how I look at it, the contents of our quest is really bothering me. It's an easy task for me even without having to form a party but I just wonder if this quest was taken by other adventurers unknowingly what the contents are. But based from the contents, the client must be a magician then?

Anyway, after achieving the maximum rank of Rank G which is level 50, I got the approval of raising my rank to the next and now I'm a Level 12 Rank F. Usually there would be a test to qualify an adventurer to raise their rank, but they instantly approved mine since me defeating the Chaos Wolf is proof enough that I'm already qualified, or is what they said, no, it was what Florensia said. Though I insisted on taking the exam, I just got kicked out of the room and took the necessary procedures.

For 3 hours now, we've been killing monsters and gathering their monster crystals and some mana core that drops. And somehow because of that, my level now became what it is now. For level F, I have to level up to 100 to raise my rank once again. It's still far away now since I kind of feel like the leveling is starting to slow down after killing these many Ground Arachnias.

And from what I've heard from Lucia, it seems like the level has an actual effect on the adventurer. The higher the level, the stronger the effect. With each level, the bracelet uses a technology that enhances the wearer's abilities depending on the class. For example, if a swordsman raises his level, his strength and defense increase with each level. For magician, their intelligence and magic affinity raises with each level. The Bracelet gathers the exceptional mana for the wearer's class and purifies it to fit their bodily functions, amplifying their abilities as they level.

An adventurer can purchase a [Terminal Append] to add the information about the wearer's abilities, or status to be more precise. But it can cost quite an amount so not many adventurers buy it. On the other hand, the difference with mine is, they can't freely choose which status to increase and what to not. I was starting to wonder what was the difference of it with mine, so I was a bit baffled by why I even had the status display in the first place. But I guess it was a needless worry.

And because of how an adventurer can raise his or her strength by leveling up, I began to wonder how strong those in the Rank S's are.

I want to meet one.

Name: Hans Alius Schmidt

Race: Human

Class: None

[Title/s]

Contracted One, Black Sheep

[Status]

Strength: 206(+206)/9999

Agility: 82(+82)/9999

Intelligence: 171(+171)(+500)/9999

Defense: 15(+15)/9999

[Skills]

Mana Detect Lv. 10/10

Crush Strike Lv. 10/10

Beast Soul Activation Lv. 1/1

Mana Burst Lv. 3/10

Telepathy Lv. 1/1

Status Lv. 1/1

Harden Lv. 1/10

Damage Resistance Lv. 1/10

Beast Soul Link Lv. 1/1

Crystal Points: 0

As for my status display, it seems like the title I got was also registered in it.

I've already gathered a number of monster crystal to absorb and some mana core for me to level up Harden and Damage Resistance skills. I've got enough money so I plan to absorb everything.

Lucia explained to me how titles work before we go out for our quest. A Title is a form of second name that are acquired after getting recognition from many people. If a community unanimously agree and recognize the strength and authority of that person and somehow a nickname was brought out from those people, it will be registered by the bracelet as a Title. But if it's something just to mock a person because of a negative impression, the bracelet can read it and won't register it then. That way, the possible conflicts inside the Guild will be lessen. Really high-tech if you ask me…

It's somehow something like a mysterious phenomenon is what Lucia said to me. It was already occurring even before the invention of bracelets. So there's still not enough explanation about it.

I got a bit worried if my Title turned out to be lame… Good thing Black Sheep is a bit on the normal side, is what my heartfelt thoughts then.

It is still not proven but some say that Titles makes an adventurer stronger. And I can actually testify to that if I just use my status display as a basis. It turned out, after receiving the title, it gave me additional 500 status points in my intelligence. To prove it, I then placed my finger tip on the display where the title is.

<Title: Black Sheep. A title obtained by the recognition of the general public based on the children story, Sheep and the Wolf. Relentless planning and deception. Intelligence +500 points.>

Yep. It is the one responsible for that additional 500 points. But that relentless planning and deception… It makes me look like a bad guy here.

T: "Hans…? What are you doing?"

It seems like she noticed my wry smile and went to ask.

H: "Hm? I'm just making a mental record of my adventures."

T: "*giggle* What's with that?"

H: "Nothing much. Just rest for a while."

T: "Mm…"

She closed her eyes while I still continue to rub her hair.

Mana Detect. It looks like I've reached its maximum and it's no wonder since its range got a lot wider. Now I can detect mana even with the town's perimeter. That was huge power up if I say so myself. Crush Strike is also now at level 10 where I can use it to just strike the ground for an area damage. And the power is not something to belittle even if it does not hit the target itself. As for my passive skill, I haven't leveled them up since I haven't absorbed the mana cores that I've got. I'll have to carefully do them later.

H: "Phew… That's it for now, I guess."

After organizing the information that I've got in my head, I then relaxed my whole body and mind.

Oh right, I should contact Ceres.

H: "…"

Telepathy.

I asked a detailed explanation how Telepathy works from the receptionist. Registering someone only needs the user to think of the target receiver while recalling their name, face, and personality for specifications. It will then connect after chanting the word 'Telepathy.' The user can't register someone who he or she doesn't personally know or is acquainted with. On the other hand, if the receiver doesn't want to connect with the user anymore, he or she can go to the guild for it to be removed and blocked until he or she no longer want to. They say it's made like that for security and privacy purposes.

There's also how the receiver can use it to communicate with the user. But he or she can only use it to the user. Just like how it is used by the user, he or she just have to recall the requirements and chant the word. To cut the Telepathy, just think of an imaginary button and click it with the intention of cutting the call.

C: "What is it, slime…?"

I then heard Ceres voice loud and clear inside my head. When I left, Ceres and Anya were preparing for work so I thought they would still be working right now. But seems like she's nowhere near tired based on her voice. Though I can't deny the irritated tone in it.

H: "Nah, I was just wondering how you are doing right now."

C: "I'm fine. Is that all?"

H: "Well, it is but accompany me here for a while."

I tried to prolong the conversation. I can't remove the worry in my head after hearing the news from Florensia. I just can't seem to calm down now that I know Ceres may be in danger any time.

C: "*sigh* Isn't Tia with you?"

H: "She's sleeping right now. We're resting for a while."

C: "Hm. Don't you push her too hard, you hear me?"

I feel her icy cold expression from her voice.

H: "Don't worry, I keep that in check."

C: "Good."

H: "Are there no customers?"

Thinking that I left without helping them much, I feel a little bit guilty.

C: "Yeah. I closed the store for a short while. I had Anya rest. It seems like the fatigue is catching up to her."

She'd even go that far, closing the restaurant, for Anya, huh.

H: "I see."

C: "Mm."

I feel like she just leaned on something after heaving a sigh. Is that also one of the features of Telepathy?

H: "Don't you also push yourself too hard, okay?"

C: "… Didn't you hear me? There are no customers as of the moment."

H: "Haha. Right. But still."

C: "Hm… Well… Thank you. I make sure I won't. But it's not because you said so."

H: "…"

… Is it because we're not talking personally? Or is it because my concern got across? It really feels nice hearing her say those words…

H: "Yeah."

C: "And by the way, why did you use Telepathy on me?"

H: "… I just wanted to. Did I do something unnecessary, perhaps?"

C: "Totally."

Ugh... Without a second thought...

H: "Urk… It's just me being concerned, you know…"

C: "… Mm. I know."

H: "…"

C: "Is that all?"

H: "… Y-Yeah. I'll be hanging up now. I'll come home soon."

C: "Sure. Bye."

What in the world was that…? First, she's all thorny to me and just a little more, she'll want me dead. But then the next, she becomes honest all of a sudden. I just can't see her real intentions.

… But there is something that I want her to know in spite of that.

H: "Ceres!"

C: "Hm?"

H: "I just wanted to make something sure to you."

C: "What is it?"

H: "I'll definitely keep you safe. I promise."

C: "*cough!* Wha… What are you saying out of the blue…??"

I said so without a shred of lie. When I make up my mind with something, I will make sure to see through it until the end. And that goes the same with my promise with Anya to keep Ceres safe. And bring her back if something happens. Though nothing happening is still the best outcome that can happen.

H: "Haha. I just wanted to tell you that."

C: "H-Hm… I-I see… I'm not expecting from the likes of you, but…"

H: "Yeah."

C: "I-I'll be cutting it off now. Bye!"

H: "Bye."

And the Telepathy was cut off. But…

Was it because we're using Telepathy and not talking personally, so she could act like that? But if I use that as a conclusion…

Is there a problem with how I look? That's just the possible explanation I can think up for now.

…

We've gathered all the necessary Glow Stone and now, we're right in front of the reception desk. I place the bag of Glow Stones in the desk so the receptionist proceeded to check for the quantity. Before coming here, I took Tia home since she's all exhausted and could no longer stay awake because of the strain. I told myself that I would careful about that but it seems I pushed her too hard. I have to apologize to her later.

Receptionist: "We have received the requested materials certainly. We appreciate your good work."

H: "Yeah. It's no problem."

The receptionist bows and shows her gratitude.

Receptionist: "The reward of 2 silver coins will be sent to your bank, will that be okay?"

H: "Sure."

Since I didn't have anything in particular to buy in a moment's notice, I just followed her advice.

In the Guild, an adventurer can make an account for a bank and leave all his or her money there. I've gotten myself a bit of wealth from exchanging the monster crystal from the Chaos Wolf so I was given an option to choose. As expected, I can't just bring out those 270 gold with me. Florensia Town is a fairly safe and secure town but no one knows what could happened outside and a little bit of precaution would never hurt.

??: "Hey, you."

H: "…"

Now I'm done with my quest and have tested my skills and abilities, I can say I have my free time from now on. But I would still take my time from my day off to gather monster crystals to increase my status.

??: "Hey, I said."

Speaking of which, I didn't exchanged my monster crystals since I've already earned a lot so I will definitely be using them to increase my status. I better be careful which to use them though. I can't have another case with the Chaos Wolf where I could not made use of the Intelligence at all.

??: "… Grr… You keep ignoring me. Hey, I said!"

It's still past 4 in the afternoon so…

H: "I guess I'll just help in the restaurant."

??: "HEY, I SAID!!!"

H: "Uwah??"

The loud voice in front of me brought me back to reality.

??: "Finally!! *sigh!* Why did you keep ignoring me?? Do you have a problem with me, huh??"

H: "Uh… My bad. It seems like I was spacing out."

??: "Hmph! Forget it."

A woman wearing a red cloak, covering her whole body, suddenly appeared in front of me. I was a bit in a daze, maybe because of exhaustion but it seems like I didn't notice her calling out to me. She flipped her long and straight hair, which reminds me of Sofiel's because of its color. At first I thought she may be an elf because of her silver hair and only elves have that hair color. But the thought was thrown out of the box. As for the reason, after combing her hair with her finger to place it behind her ear, that ear is that of a human's. Her sharp stare from her slanted eyes gives off a courageous vibe.

H: "So, can I help you with something?"

??: "Yes. You're the one who took my quest right?"

H: "If you're talking about the quest to gather Glow Stones, yeah."

??: "Is that so? Did you finish it already? Or have you given up already??"

H: "Nah. I'm already done with it."

??: "Heeeh… In just less than a day? You're party members are strong then?"

H: "Well, if you're talking about my one member, she's quite strong. But I got into killing the Ground Arachnias so it got a bit late. Sorry about that."

??: "…?? You're done with it with only just two person?? And you already took your time with that??"

H: "Y-Yeah? That's right, but…? Is there a problem with that?"

??: "*mumble mumble* But I heard the Ground Arachnia's are getting violent recently and they've grown in number, and they're all becoming Unique too on top of that… I purposely chose this day since the Glow Stone's concentration will be much denser because of the monster's growth in population so I marked the quest to be a party recommended quest. At least, this should be quest for a party of Level 50 Rank F's for it to be done within a day, and less than half a day on top of that. A party at least should have a member of five persons but… *mumble* But this guy just did it with just the two of them. Well there may be a possibility that this guy is strong and that person he's with is strong. But still… No… That can't be… But if…. *mumble mumble*"

… This person's weird.

??: "Hm? Did you just think of me as weird?"

H: "N-Not at all."

She's sharp.

??: "Hey, you."

H: "Hans. You can call me Hans."

??: "Hmph! I'm not asking your name."

Ugh… I wonder why… She really reminds me of a certain someone. A chef at Lunaria Cafe...

??: "Well, Hans. What is your level and rank?"

H: "Hm. As of the moment…"

I checked my bracelet terminal and it turns out…

??: "Level 13 Rank F."

… I leveled just 1 more time on the way out, huh.

??: "… Are you taking me for a fool?"

H:"Why would I? I just answered your question."

??: "… Do you think a Level 13 Rank F could finish that quest with only one party member in just a span of hours??"

H: "But it's the truth."

I don't get her since I just did them as I was testing my skills and abilities.

??: "… Hmph. We'll meet again."

H: "Huh?"

Saying that, she turned around while flipping her hair backwards and went directly towards the reception desk.

H: "That's one weird girl."

Oh. I forgot to ask her name.

…

H: "I'm home~"

A: "Welcome home, Hans~"

H: "Just Anya?"

A: "Yep~ Ceres had some business to attend to~ And Tia is already asleep~"

I found Anya folding the clothes in the living room and went directly to the refrigerator to have a nice, cold juice. It really hits the spot after a long tiring day out.

It's already 8 in the evening and the restaurant is already closed for the day. Ceres is nowhere to be found and as Anya said, Tia is already sleeping. I really have pushed her too hard, I think. Well for now, I'll just help Anya with the clothes. She's the one who handles the laundry, even mine. This is the least I can do to help. I'm really grateful to her.

After talking with the weird girl at the Guild, Lucia called me to the Guild's office and got trapped by Florensia. I spent hours just to give her company, saying she's lonely all by herself or always wanted to be with me and other stuff just to make me stay. I told Anya that I will be late anyways, but I had planned just to use my time to help in the restaurant though. But I shouldn't cry over spilt milk.

H: "Thinking about it, Ceres is always out for that business. Is something up?"

A: "Hmm…~"

Anya paused for a while and placed her finger in her chin as she thinks.

A: "Don't tell her I told you, okay~?"

H: "Hm? Is it something I shouldn't hear about? Then I don't mind not hearing about it."

Thinking about how Ceres is around my presence, it can't be helped that she wants to hide something from me.

Hm… Or am I just getting TOO used to being hated now…?

A: "It's not like that. She doesn't want me to tell you anything, but…~ I'm always getting worried in when this season comes…"

H: "Is there something special going to happen?"

A: "Special… Or like, it's her parents' death anniversary. 10 days from now, actually."

H: "… I see."

A: "She's been gathering the flowers her parents really love. But they're all in dangerous places so I always get worried whenever."

I've already heard about her parents (in a worst possible way though), that they're not already in this world. And their way of passing is not pleasing to hear at all. They were killed by the robed man who kidnapped Ceres just recently and that it was done because of the killer's whim.

H: "Anya."

A: "Hm~?"

H: "May I ask when and how did Ceres lose her parents?"

I know this is something that shouldn't be casually asked, but I really want to know more about Ceres.

A: "… I also don't know much about what happened but… We found her when she's already 9 years old. But it seemed like she was wandering around the Kingdom for at least 4 years."

H: "I see… I'm sorry. It looks like it's not a fun story to talk about."

A: "It's okay…~ Fufu~ It's all in the past now~ And I really think Ceres recently have become cheereful."

H: "Really now…?"

I've recalled every encounter I had with her.

…

They're mostly all cold glares and punches…

A: "Yup~ And that recently is when Hans arrived~"

H: "Huh?"

A: "You see… I can't tell you anything from my mouth but… Ceres went through a lot. Like… a lot. So, she closed her heart whenever she meets, no… to anyone she meets. It's like she's had enough of people around her. So whenever someone tries to enter her life… You know the rest. Hehe…"

Anya then flashed a wry smile.

A: "That's why, Hans… I hope you don't get tired of approaching her. Please, don't hate her."

Saying that, she gripped the hem of her skirt like she's trying her best to suppress something inside her.

A: "If it's you, I think you'll be able to change something in her. That's because, she recently have begun having fun besides cooking…~ I now see her smile even when she's not in the kitchen. Something that I've been trying to do for her my whole life… I've tried my best to see her smile but… It seems like something's still missing. Something that bore a gap in her heart. I sometimes feel like she's still looking or waiting for that something. Was it because of her parents death, is what I don't know… I couldn't give her that 'something' even until now."

She could not hide anymore her painfully and lonely expression.

H: "Isn't that a bit off, coming from you, her sister?"

A: "Hans…?"

H: "And I don't really think I'm doing anything, I just want to get closer to her. That's all. But you Anya…"

I then placed my hand over her head and pat her.

H: "You've been by her side her whole life. Giving it your all just to keep that smile you were hoping you can give her. Out of all the person that she's been with, I think you, out of them, should know best that you're the one who gave her that best smile she could ever have up until now."

A: "…!"

H: "That's why, if you're thinking that she's having fun now or she can smile a lot more now, isn't that because you're still here for her all throughout this time?"

A: "… Hans…"

I don't know how she's felt all this time, or how she has been even before I arrived and entered their life. What Ceres have gone through, what Anya had to go through after meeting Ceres, and what they feel now that they support each other as sisters. But all I know is that they've come this far because they're…

H: "You're always thinking about each other, huh?"

A: "… Of course~! She's my beloved sister, after all~"

H: "I see. That's right, isn't it? Haha."

A: "But… Hans."

H: "Yeah?"

A: "Thank you."

Even before I noticed, I already found her face closing in to mine.

A: "*kiss*"

H: "…!"

A: "… Ehehe… My sign of gratitude…~"

H: "That was unfair. Kissing me on the cheek all of a sudden."

A: "Fufu~ *whisper* Then that's my revenge for making my heart beat faster…~ *whisper*"

H: "Hm?"

A: "It's nothing~"

She then playfully stuck her tongue out and went to bring all the laundry to their bedroom.

H: "That was a great surprise attack and revenge, even for an ace soldier like me."

I then placed my hand on my chest as I try to calm the now fast beating heart of mine.

…

??: "Phew… This will do."

Placing the freshly picked Lirica Flowers in container that preserves organic materials, she then wiped her forehead off from sweating profusely. The young woman who wanted to give the best possible gift, or a souvenir perhaps, the most loved flowers by her parents, stood up from the ground and carried the large bag where the container is placed, on her back.

??: "I have to go home soon or Anya will get worried."

The young woman tracked the mountain, where she have just gathered the flower, down leading to her home. A carriage is waiting for her at the bottom of the mountain which she also used to reach the place right after she closed her restaurant.

It has already been 15 years.

C: "It feels like it's been so long yet so short. I still feel like it was just yesterday."

The cry of her mother, the pleading of her father, the fear of her own. Like it was just the day before today, the terror, sadness, loneliness, anger, regret, hatred, and despair still lies on her chest like a thorn stuck deep inside. She have tried to forget the pain, focus on only her passion, cooking, into loving her non-blood-related sister, reaching the expectation of the sister's mother. But her wretched story is still ingrained in her body and mind, the tragic past that she knows, will never be gone for the rest of her life.

C: "Mama… Papa…"

The faces of her most beloved ones. She was just 5 years old but the warmth of their embrace, the sweetness of their kisses, and the enveloping love they had for her is still in her memory.

C: "…"

And the dreadful results that lead from their death.

Remembering those times made the tears trickle down her face. Like having lump of something being stuck in her throat, the constricting pain on her chest, and hot like boiling water, the tears continue to drip down relentlessly.

This always happens whenever she remembers her past, whenever she thinks of her parents. Whenever she realizes once again that…

C: "*sob* They're… *sob* no longer here… *sniffle*"

["It's okay…"]

C: "… Ah…"

A voice she have long forgotten. A voice of a child she believed in once. A voice that was once her only salvation.

C: "…"

And it was also the voice who betrayed her.

She wiped her face but not because of sweat but of tears, recomposing her mind. From her weak self, covering the truth with lies. The mind that won't bend no matter what. The heart that won't sway no matter what.

To the Ceres that she made as a front.

To herself that she made to protect. Protecting her scarred and broken heart.

C: "… Hmph."

…

Chapter 20 End

Name: Hans Alius Schmidt

Race: Human

Class: None

[Title/s]

Contracted One, Black Sheep

[Status]

Strength: 206(+206)/9999

Agility: 82(+82)/9999

Intelligence: 171(+171)(+500)/9999

Defense: 15(+15)/9999

[Skills]

Mana Detect Lv. 10/10

Crush Strike Lv. 10/10

Beast Soul Activation Lv. 1/1

Mana Burst Lv. 4/10

Telepathy Lv. 1/1

Status Lv. 1/1

Harden Lv. 8/10

Damage Resistance Lv. 8/10

Beast Soul Link Lv. 1/1

Crystal Points: 327

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