"You're awake!"

"Mm, yes." I eked out.

Hmm, wait, that voice seemed a bit unfamiliar.

Bah, I must be imagining it. It might be the effect of being knocked out and operated upon.

Anyway, time to find out whether I lived or died.

So I opened my eyes (after much difficulty, of course). I looked down and saw the Shadowlord.

"…"

"…" The Shadowlord was staring at me like a curious cat witnessing an entirely new type of creature.

Well, at the very least, this confirms that I haven't died, which is actually impressive considering all the shit I went through.

And it also leaves me with a stifled heart, because that means I actually have to stay in this Guild and make efforts to live, or whatever normal Guild members do.

"You're my elder brother." The Shadowlord blinked her yellow eyes,

Looks like I have already been made a part of that dysfunctional family. Like, bruh, at least give me some time to enjoy my moments of peace and serenity.

"So it would seem. What's your name?"

"Clementine." She replied in a rather monotonous tone.

"That's a nice name."

Quite surprisingly, the Shadowlord- no, Clementine looked like a normal girl aged 7.

A Shadowlord should have an ashen skin with tattoos of the Shadows, and her voice should be like the cacophony of nails scratching on a board, an opera singer and a strangled Chupacabra.

But then again, the Shadowlord is supposed to have the knowledge of magic pre-installed in her. I supposed she used it to conceal her identity as the Shadowlord.

"Thank you." Clementine smiled slightly.

"How do you feel?" Neia, who was standing behind Clementine, asked.

"I can feel my arms."

"That's a given." She smiled. "What about the rest."

Oh, confident, are we?

"I still feel delirious, but there's no pain. All my senses seem to be functioning normally as well."

"Perfect. I shall inform the others then."

Wut?

"Can I have a bit of rest first?"

I literally woke up just now. I don't think I'm in the condition to meet people.

I mean, I am, but a normal person wouldn't be. Given that I'm trying to embrace normality, I should play the part.

"Sure, if you want to, but… they were really worried about you during the past three days." She cupped her chin.

"Wasn't I supposed to wake up the next day?"

Unless my memory has been tampered with, I remember her saying that I would regain consciousness within a day.

"That was if you needed to wake up as soon as possible. Noelle and others had handled the situation with the hunters, so we figured we could let you rest for some more time. You deserved it."

Hmm, makes sense.

"I understand." I nodded.

I tried sitting up and was swiftly lent a helping hand by both Neia and Clementine.

"Thank you. By the way, what happened to the hunters?"

I hope they did the job as I asked them to.

I definitely don't want my family to suddenly pop up with an army and say, "Peekaboo, motherfucker!".

"I don't know the details, so you will have to ask Noelle about that."

"I see."

"So, should I send them in?"

She sure is excited about letting me meet people, huh.

Oh well, I guess there's nothing we can do about it.

I would have liked some time to cry at my ridiculous situation I mean ponder over my future course of actions and develop a strategy to maximize my efficiency in helping Azell out, but it looks like we'll have to do it at a later date.

"Sure." And so, I reluctantly nodded.

"You heard him." Neia turned around and called out at the door.

The next moment, the door opened up with a bang and Noelle marched in, closely followed by Azell, Arteria and the blue haired lady.

"HOW ARE YOU?!" She shouted worriedly.

"Shhh!" Neia shushed her.

"Oh, uh, sorry." She turned back to me. "So, how are you?" And whispered.

"As good as new."

Hmm, should I be using the phrase 'As good as new' for myself, though? I mean, the time I was 'new' was when I was a foetus in my mother's womb, and I definitely don't want to return to that period.

I do not want to go through that again.

"Thank god…" Noelle heaved a sigh of relief.

Umm, no, thank Neia for her spectacular skills and my quick thinking, the combination of which allowed me to live. God definitely had no part to play in this.

"Thank you for saving him, Neia." Noelle gave her a quick hug.

"Mention not. I was just doing my job."

"Still, thank you."

Yupp, that's the way to go, though now it makes me look like a dick for thinking those things earlier.

Shit.

"It took you some time to wake up." Azell chatted up to me.

"So it would seem. What happened to the hunters?"

"We just did what you wanted us to do." He smiled.

"So they were tortured until they begged for their deaths and you released them on the condition that they won't reveal my escape to my family."

"Mmm."

Noice. F for the hunters though.

Hmm, but they did try to kill me in the forest so I guess they deserved it.

I hope they enjoy their lifelong trauma and have to sell their organs to pay for the cost of psychologist they would have to hire to deal with it.

"Can I assume that you also respected my wishes?"

If not, then I'll have to think about how to handle my family as well as ways to make Azell and the others feel guilty about not listening to the words of a dying child every damn day.

"Yes." He sighed.

"Perfect."

The ties to my problematic family have been severed. Time to enjoy my new life.

Hopefully.

"..." Azell stared at me for some moments. "Do you really not want to take revenge against your family?"

Silence descended upon the room as all conversations ceased. They were probably waiting for my answer. Which makes me wonder; what would happen if I said that I wanted revenge?

Would they immediately prepare for an all out war, or would they try to convince me otherwise by explaining to me things like the emptiness one feels after fulfilling their revenge?

I'm incredibly interested in finding that out, but I'll reserve it for a later date.

"No, I do not."

"Really? Do you not hate them?"

Haven't we been through this already?

"Nope."

Their pathetic actions really don't mean anything to me.

Like what, they just tortured and abused me since my moment of birth. I can't be such a baby about it

"...I see " His eyes drooped. "Tell me, Samur. What is the value of life to you?"

Hmm?