I’ll follow him.

I don’t care about safety if I can’t be happy. Staying with my father might be the best choice, but I’ll live for the rest of my life fearing for it. No matter how well hidden I was.

No… That’s not the main reason. This man and I made a connection like no other.

I need to learn more about him. His story is still a mystery to me.

I need to know what he’s planning. And help him if I can.

I need to know what’s going to happen. Whatever happens, it’s going to be big.

And I want to be there when it happens.

Maybe these reasons are vague. And maybe they are not good enough to follow him… But even so, I want to.

I want to be by his side.

If nothing else, I want to be with him. That’s enough for me.

I take a deep breath and answer “I’ll go with you.”

***************

“I’ll go with you.”

… What?

Her answer catches me by surprise.

What the hell is wrong with her? Staying here with her father is the safest option. Why does she want to come with me? Isn’t she tired of this?

“What are you saying Nora!?” Her father yells angrily. “Are you out of your mind!?”

“I’m going father. I’m sorry.” She answers with determination while looking at his eyes.

“No! I forbid you from going!” He yells again. I’m also noticing a bit of desperation in his voice.

I can’t blame him. I would react the same way if I was in his shoes.

… Except maybe I would drag and lock her in her room.

“I made my decision.”

She starts walking down the stairs.

“Look, Nora,” I call her. “you know I was kidding around right? You should stay with your father. If you come you’ll onl—”

“I’m going! I’ll order you to let me follow you if you try to stop me! So please shut up and let’s go!”

… Holy hell...

Well, her threat was kinda funny but her intentions got through.

“... Yes ma’am.”

Her father clenches his fists. More veins pop up in his head.

“Come back here! Come back here right in this instant!”

“No!”

He takes a few steps down the stairs, but as soon Nora notices him doing that, she runs to my side.

He stops.

“Do you have any idea how much I sacrificed for you!? Are you going to stupidly risk your life for that man!?”

“I’m sorry father! I know I sometimes was selfish and asked for many things, but this is what I really want!”

“You stupid girl!” He yells, even more desperate. “If that was only what I meant...”

If that was only what you meant?

“We’re going. I’m sorry father. Don’t try to stop us.”

He looks around frustrated and sits on the steps looking down with his elbows resting on his legs.

“It’s not like I can stop you, can I?”

She pushes on my sleeve and signals me to the exit. “Let’s go.”

I follow her.

“Fuck, fuckin fuck. Shit…” Her father mutters behind us. But then he raises his voice: “You come back alive you hear me!? You better bring her back alive! I’ll hunt you down to the Spirit World itself if you don’t you cretin!!!”

I look behind.

It’s not like I don’t understand his feelings. The man may have tried to kill me, but it was nothing personal. It was something he had to do.

I don’t hate him over what happened, but that doesn’t mean I’ll forgive him. No matter the reason, he did try to kill me.

But even so, I can’t say I don’t sympathize with the man.

“I’ll make sure nothing happens to her.”

The man nods at my words and rests his face on his hands.

I look again at the exit and walk beside Nora.

“You sure you want to do this?”

“Yeah.” She answers, with tears in her eyes. She's trying not to cry though.

We exit the mansion and head towards the gate.

Better question: Am I sure about this?

Bringing her will make things harder for me. Before I planned to use her for my plans, but now we had an opportunity to cut connections… Somewhat.

I could go about my life and she about hers. I could dedicate myself 100% to my goals without worrying about her. But with her coming along, I have to take care of her.

But then again… She is like an old ball and chain, no matter where she is. It’s probably for the best to keep her where I can watch her than the alternative. Because if something happens to her while I’m not present, I’m going to be caught by surprise and there would be nothing I could do about it. With me, I can at least prevent anything from happening with my own hands.

“Oh no…”

Her voice snaps me out of my thoughts.

I ready my bow immediately for precaution, even though I don’t sense anyone.

“What’s the matter?”

“Our horse, it’s gone.”

Just like she said, the horse isn’t anywhere to be seen.

I left him near the gate, but someone must have taken him.

“If you don’t have horses,” I grab her and carry her in my arms.

“Huh!?”

“Use Servants.”

With the 3 times Accel Magic still in effect, I use it to its full potential and start running through the roads.

“Hold on tight, I’ll get us out of here in an instant.”

“Ghhhhh!”

She’s holding on to my clothes as hard as she can.

It’s probably not the most comfortable ride she ever got.

As we move East, we reach poorer parts of the town. As a result, the streets start getting more crowded.

“What—!?”

“Whada—!!”

“Whooa!!”

As we pass, random people get scared by our speed. Screams and shouts of surprise can be heard as we run.

I’m doing my best to avoid going against someone, but that task is proving to be more and more difficult as the streets get busier.

If things keep going like this, I might be forced to jump onto rooftops.

No, it won’t be necessary! I can do this on the ground.

…

A few minutes later, we reach the docks.

Without stopping, I look at the North wall. To be more exact, the gate.

It’s still open, naturally. They didn’t have time to react.

“No point in giving them time then.”

I run towards the gate.

In few moments, I pass through it. Leaving the gate’s guards behind wondering what the hell happened.

“Just a little more Nora. Hold on.”

“Nhee!” She nods.

I run on the road until we are a safe distance from the city. Then I turn and run into the forest.

A few moments later.

“Ok, this is good enough.”

I slow down before stopping. Otherwise, I would do a number on Nora’s head.

“You alright?”

“Yeah, j-just need a minute…”

“Alright.”

I let her legs down, but she sits down immediately.

“Take as long as you need.” I sit down in front of her.

This way I can also take a breath.

“Ahh, what a day…” I lean backward and support myself with my hands.

"..."

We take a moment to catch our thoughts.

“So… Look, we are going to Qahs Holm. There’s a village North of here where we can get a ride. Supposedly. If we are lucky, it wasn’t just some random rumor.”

She looks at me. I can’t read her expression.

I continue: “I hope you know what you are doing, I—” tears start flowing from her eyes. “Nora?”

“You’re…” She tries to hold her tears.

“What’s the matter?”

“You’re, you’re…” She throws herself and hugs me.

“Oi!”

“Ku kuuu...” She starts crying as she buries her face on my chest.

“Nora?”

“It’s beating… *sniff* It’s beating…”

“...”

What’s she going on about?

“I saw you die… You died, right in front of me...”

… What…?

“It was my fault, I’m so sorry… I'll never give you orders again... Please, don’t ever leave me like that!”

“Look, Nora…”

“Please, don’t say anything. I know this sounds crazy, my head’s a mess right now. Just let me, stay like this… Kuuu...”

I… I literally don’t know what the hell is happening but… Something happened. And she’s…

I hug her too and put a hand behind her head. She replies by hugging me tighter.

No words need to be said here. Let the wounds heal for now. Later we’ll sort things out.

...

I realized... I'm becoming too attached to her... What the heck am I doing...?

*********

You're doing stuff, silly Servant >_>