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It feels like an eternity ever since I last came home. Thankfully neither my parents nor my sister visited while I was gone, it would've been pretty hard for the girls to explain why they were occupying my house while I was nowhere to be found.

Well, it's been almost a year since I last saw my sister, and way longer since I've seen my parents, so the chances of such a thing happening are pretty slim.

Given everything that has happened these days, I just want to sit back and relax.

Ever since I got my power, life has been a rollercoaster. Sometimes I wish it was just something simple that allowed me to become an average adventurer, just raid some dungeons, travel to new locations, get some items, and earn enough money to survive...

I definitely wasn't prepared to deal with wars and elaborate schemes. And don't get me started on comforting girls who've been through death or just lost their mother and world.

I just finished high school and I don't remember any book teaching how to deal with this kind of shit.

Can't really blame school though, even if there were classes about it I'd probably just barely manage to pass without ever learning it.

Either way, I'm actually glad that my Gift is actually interesting and exciting. It's just that having to deal with so many things in such quick succession is a bit too much.

Either way, I guess I should check the available events for now, at the very least.

And so, I open the [Available Events] menu that shows the events that I can select.

In this tab, I must decide between two different events:

[War! The One To Rule Above All

The three kingdoms on the continent of Myasia are fighting a three-way war for decades. After conquering every single smaller nation on the continent, the one who is last standing in this war will have no more enemies and will rule over all. As a king from outside the continent, you must ally yourself with either the human kingdom of Gaatilia, the Undead Empire of Luzia, or the Union of the Beastmen.

Time Limit: Eight Years.

Restrictions: All gacha banners are restricted except for [Weapons Banner], [Supplies Banner], and [Armor Banner].]

After the event description comes the bar showing the difficulty, this time, the slider is so far on the red edge that it looks like it's gonna break away from it.

Needless to say, even if that wasn't the case, I'm pretty much done with participating in wars for a while. If the other one also happens to be a war I might just let both of them pass by.

[Invasion! The Traveling Merchant Arrives

The traveling merchant is a being t-

Hm? What is this?

Strange... it feels like it's getting a bit stronger, although pretty slowly.

Oh, so you can't sense it, huh? Lucky me, I get it all to myself.

But I wonder... where is this connecting to...?

...Interesting.

I think I'll go for a walk, Pris.]

...

Okay, what?

This takes the cake for the strangest thing yet.

In a second, the whole text disappears, and then it gets replaced by a new one.

[Invasion! The Travelling Merchant Arrives

Due to outside interference, this event has been automatically selected.

As per the contract, the Traveling Merchant can be delayed for up to 6 days, although, if the user decides to, the event might begin immediately.

Protect your kingdom.

Time Limit: Unknown

Restrictions: None]

Alright... It's a little better now, but it's clear that something is wrong.

First of all, there was something wrong with the description. If anything, it looked like another person was writing over it. It also seems like they were talking with someone or something named Pris.

Well, given that I didn't get much information on this, my only guess for the culprit would be this Traveling Merchant

The description also states that the event has been automatically selected, and given the rules of the event tab, I can't select the other one now.

That last thing about protecting the kingdom also sounds ominous as hell, but alright, I would gladly do it anyway.

Thankfully there are no restrictions, so I can summon companions, weapons, and also get skills in the gacha.

Since it cannot be avoided, I'll just have to prepare myself for it the best I can.

I'll have to distribute my gacha rolls between weapons, armor, spellbook, and skills since I was giving everything to Melissa.

Also, this is technically a merchant we are talking about, so maybe I can get something good if he's willing to trade and fuck off. Hell, if I can give him some items and get him to leave, then it's all worth it.

But I guess all of that comes tomorrow, I don't have tickets today and the mana banners have yet to provide something good.

For now, what's truly important is the girls waiting for me.

And so, I start to walk around the house looking for them. Since the house is not that big to start with, I find them pretty quickly. They are watching Tv on the couch and have yet to notice me.

Luckily for me, they are watching a horror movie, and seem to be pretty into it.

So, while the tension in the movie starts going up to prepare for a jumpscare, I also prepare myself.

Sneaking behind them, I put my hands on their shoulders.

Miwen: "Hi?"

Licia and Claire: "Kyaaah!!!!"

Claire: "Fuuck! die!"

I see a fist coming into my face with absurd speed while flames start erupting from it.

Thankfully, due to the level of ice magic I reached, I can quickly form a thick ice block to stop that, but it ended up being pretty close.

Miwen: "I thought you knew better than to use fire magic inside the house."

Claire: "You!... bastard!"

If I wasn't faster I might've died, but it was all worth it for this moment.

Licia: "Seriously, how much of a child can you be?"

Miwen: "No way I'd let a golden opportunity like this pass by."

Claire: "So, if you're back, I guess everything is over now?"

Miwen: "... Yes. We ended up losing."

There's no way around it, and it's actually refreshing to be able to talk with the girls.

I do like Mia, but after being manipulated by her mother, I really wanted to be able to talk openly with them, knowing that these girls wouldn't really try to deceive me in any way.

The fact that her tribe wanted to fight even against impossible odds just goes to show how brave they truly were, I guess it's expected of the people who once drove away a dragon that terrorized a continent. I can commend her for choosing to fight alongside them, even if she also had her personal revenge against Normyu. And there's nothing to be said about the desire to protect your own daughter, I'd have to be mad to find fault in that.

So, while I can understand Melissa's actions, the fact of the matter is that while trying to help her, I ended up exposing myself, and she took complete advantage of it to deceive me.

I can't really tell Mia about my conflicting feelings about her mother right now, it just wouldn't be fair. So, Licia and Claire are the only ones I can be truthful with while also knowing that they'll be truthful in return.

Licia: "...Do you want to talk about it?"

Miwen: "Yeah."

The girls already know everything that was happening, so, all I need to tell them is what transpired today.

Given that it was quite a lot, I was expecting them to have a mix of feelings on the matter, but to my surprise, although Claire seems a bit infuriated, both she and Licia hardly seem shocked. At least in comparison with me and Mia, it's a world of difference.

Claire: "I can't believe it, I told you she was about to give up."

Miwen: "She didn't really, from the start she-"

Claire: "That's just an excuse! If she wanted to she could've thrown her people inside your place."

That's a pretty ambiguous way to put it and I'm not really comfortable with it.

Miwen: "I mean... yeah? But how would they survive in there? I can't really buy food for that many people."

Claire: "You can buy seeds and start a small farm in there can't you?"

Miwen: "It takes too much time for these to grow."

Claire: "Then I don't know! Bring them here and let them fend for themselves, throw them into the dungeons or whatever. Anything is better than certain death."

It's a bit unexpected to hear that from her, even more so considering she seemed like she had died fighting and was pretty satisfied with her own death.

Licia: "...She didn't want to run, she wanted to fight. I think... she was being sincere, that must have been the feeling of her people and she chose to follow them, even if it meant her end."

Claire: "...Not everyone wants a glorious death in battle."

Licia: "But everyone wants to protect their home, help their family."

Claire: "That's why they had to flee."

Licia: "No, that's why they had to fight. Because Melissa wanted to fight."

Claire: "Hm?"

Licia: "Think about it, if Miwen wanted to fight, would you have abandoned him? I'm sure most soldiers would've wanted to fight to the last alongside Melissa. Do you think their fellow men would've abandoned them? And after that, do you think their families would turn tail and run? The very people who decided to fight a dragon? I think... that's just how they were..."

As irrational as it might be, I end up agreeing with Licia. In the end, they were fighting for much more than their lives. Their history, pride, and place in the world were on the line. I can only go by Melissa and Mia and the story of their ancestor, but... everything points to them not hesitating to fight against whatever menace they were facing. That was why I was so sure Melissa would give her all to fight.

In a way, seeing that I'm about to face off against an unknown threat like never before, it's a bit reassuring to have someone from that tribe, who does not fear the strength of an enemy, on my side.

Claire: "Fine. Either way, I don't care. What I care about is..."

Licia: "... Yeah, I feel the same."

The conversation suddenly shifts direction, and then, Licia asks me:

Licia: "How do you feel about it, Miwen?"

Miwen: "... I don't think I would have fought like that. Call me a coward all you want, but to me, people's lives should have priority above all."

Claire: "That's not what she's asking you."

Miwen: "Huh?"

Licia: "I'm asking if you're fine Miwen. We know that you cared for her and that... well... from my perspective, you're very devoted to those you wish to help, so it must be pretty hard for you..."

Miwen: "I wanted to save her. I wanted to bring happiness to them. I didn't want to see her daughter suffering and crying. I didn't want innocent people to die. I thought that this time, I had agency... That maybe I could actually help someone."

Claire: "..."

Miwen: "I felt really proud you know? I was making progress and maybe everything was going to work out. I guess if Melissa's winning condition was to save her daughter, then mine would have been to save both of them."

Licia: "..."

Miwen: "I guess I'm feeling a bit lost right now... I'm ashamed that I was so weak... when you try your best and still fail... it's hard to cope right? I can't shake off this hopelessness...I wasn't capable enough to save her. No matter what, this is a truth that I can't deny. And that really hurts."

I really wanted to have done more for them.

Miwen: "... It's getting a bit late. I'm gonna go give Mia her dinner. You girls can go to bed if you want to."

No matter how much I'm hurt by the results this time, I made a promise to Melissa, and it is my own desire to be of help to Mia, so, even though I failed, I'll at least do what I can right now.