After we finished eating, just before they could wash the plates, I told them to go straight to the living room and leave the plates for later. I said we’re gonna have a discussion, and this made the girls nervous, as this was the first time I called them for such.

Back in the living room, I sat on a one-person couch while they sat on the longer one; both couches facing each other. They are nervously waiting for me to start the discussion.

“We’re being targeted.” I went straight to deliver the news, shocking the girls.

“Wha, why?” Rogue asked, not knowing I confronted a gang when rescuing Eliza.

Meanwhile, Eliza….

She’s looking down, feeling dejected. She might be thinking that she had brought us problems. I knew that this will happen at any time soon, but it is indeed too soon. Trouble is already looking for us, and she thinks that it’s because of her.

“Eliza, come here.” So I beckoned the dejected girl, and she slowly stood up and came towards me, head’s lowered.

While she was still feeling dejected, I pulled her into my lap, hugging her back. She was surprised at first, but quickly held the hand embracing her waist tightly. I felt her body trembling ever so slightly.

“Master… I-I…” (Eliza)

“Don’t worry. It’s not your fault. Those thugs brought you up, but they never did touch you, did they? They might’ve had a reason for doing so. But, now that I have taken you from them, their plans might’ve gone to waste. They were gonna find us sooner or later, so it’s not your fault. I was already preparing for it ever since I accepted you.”

I said to her soothingly while caressing her hair, attempting to ease her mind. I am not aware that my feelings for this girl are already this deep.

“Mhm…” She nodded weakly, her trembling noticeably lessened.

“Yeah. Leave this stuff to me. You can just focus on doing what you’re normally doing at home. Clean, play games and do other stuff. If ever I come home tired or wounded, you can just heal me, right?”

“Yes, got it, Master!” Eliza said, turning around and hugging me from the front. She then sobbed in my chest.

“Yes. We can solve this problem easily. Me and you…” I gently patted her back.

As I said that…

“Hey, what about me? Where am I in your plans?”

I heard a voice from the front. Looking up, I saw a fuming Rogue. Oh, so I created a world of our own while trying to pacify this little girl. Thus, we forgot this leech here. That’s right, leech.

I looked at her coldly, causing her to shrink.

“You are not good at fighting, are you? You didn’t even start practicing your powers yet. So, tell me, what can you do?”

“I-I… uuuu,” (Rogue)

“You can’t support me in battles either. You might even throw up when you see blood. So, you…”

Her figure shrank every time I blurted a sentence. And then, I delivered the final nail.

“You go wash the plates and throw the trash tomorrow.”

I stood up, cradling the resting girl in my arms; her breathing has already turned steady. She fell asleep while crying. Then I left Rogue on the living room.

I locked the doors in my bedroom and laid down the girl in my bed. I caressed her cheeks and kissed her forehead.

“Hmm… Master…” Eliza muttered under her sleep. I caressed her cheeks one last time, and then I stood up.

Walking towards one corner of the room, I opened the windows. I went out and closed it afterward. I was hanging to the railings of the fire escape ladder. I jumped down; the four floors height didn’t daunt me in the least. I landed softly, and then I dashed out.

In the night, my figure was quickly swallowed by the darkness.

------------------------

Back in the apartment, Rogue stomped her feet while heading towards the kitchen, visibly agitated.

“Hmph! That Agnus!”

She said while cursing out to him internally. She started washing the plates roughly.

“Wait till I got stronger. Let’s see by then who will come asking for my help--!”

She laughed like a madman. Rogue was busy thinking of such a triumphant scene in her head, thus, her head was flying in dreamland and she didn’t notice that one plate fell towards the floor. The sound of the plate breaking woke up the fantasizing Rogue. She immediately stopped laughing, her face turning pale.

She quickly looked left and right, checking if someone saw. Then, she crouched down in a panic and picked up the pieces one by one. She threw them towards the thrash bag that’s somehow getting full. After she’s done, she patted her chest and released a relieved sigh. She looked just like a criminal after disposing of the evidence. She quickly washed the remaining plates and went straight to her room, locking the door afterward. Then, she let herself fall in the bed, planting her face in the pillow.

“Uuuu. Why am I annoyed in the first place? Is it because of what he said? Or… is it because of-of him hugging Elizabeth in front of me?..... Arrgghhh I don’t know anymore!”

Rogue punched the pillow under her, huffing and puffing at the same time.

“You idiot! Agnus is an idiot. Idioooot!”

She imagined Agnus’ face in place of the pillow while she threw curses and punches on it. A little while later, she stopped and panted heavily.

Then, the next instant, she hugged the pillow tightly and giggled like a fool. No one knows what’s on her mind…

------------------------

I went to the rooftop of the abandoned building that I have always practiced on. The night sky is devoid of stars, spreading darkness in the surroundings. Even the moon was hiding behind the dark clouds, creating a foreboding feeling.

I just stood there, in the middle of the quite wide rooftop, letting my hair flutter.

Then, a flash, and something appeared on my hand. The previous dark surrounding now gave off an icy-blue light. The source of which, of course, is the sword I held on my hand.

The sword looks slender as it measured at least two and a half inches in width and a meter in length. Its blade is sparkling in a diamond-like manner, all the while releasing an icy coldness around it. The sword hilt, on the other hand, is just at the length that it’s fitted in my hand. It has the same material as the blade, and the cross-guard is adorned by snowflakes. The sword has a feminine appearance.

This sword is one of the unique-sword series I made back then; the Nameless sword series. It was the ice-type one, a variation from the water element. Of all the type of swords I made, this one became my favorite. I stared at the sword as it first appeared in this world.

Swiish

A blue diagonal line was drawn in the air.

I was still looking at the icy blue sword in my grasps when the stone pillar in front of me slid off each other, cut in half. I was thinking of nothing else but the sword, seeing nothing else but the sword, and feeling nothing else but the sword.

Before I notice, I was already in a trance. The memories started to flood me.

------------------------(flashback start)

I’m running in a forest. I’m heavily panting, my clothes drenched in sweat. My legs are already numbed and my mind is telling me to stop and just lay down on the soft grass.

But, I can’t do that. I can’t give up. They will catch us.

I don’t care about my life but I can’t let her die.

I need to save her.

I gazed at the girl breathing weakly in my arms as I convince myself.

“Hang on, just hang on. We’ll lose them soon.” I said as I tried to shake off our pursuers. I ran deeper into the forest.

------------------------(flashback end)

I kicked the floor and dashed towards the still falling pillar.

Then, crisscross cuts filled the space in front of me. The air moved away from the path of the sword.

Wherever it went, it would draw a blue line. Whatever it touches, it freezes. I slashed like a madman.

The reality in front of me and the memories started colliding.

------------------------(flashback start)

The three figures chasing me can already be seen. They were sent by the Upright God Sect. They were supposed to be a good-natured sect, but here they are, prepared to kill someone to satisfy their greeds.

Their figures are slowly catching up to me and will reach me after a few moments. I stopped below a tree and laid down the girl in my arms. Next, I covered her with a blanket I took out from my storage ring.

“Wait for a little, Bing’er. I will finish this quickly. Don’t stand up. Just wait there.” I said as I kissed her forehead.

“…Mhm”

I heard her weak reply as I turned around and faced the pursuers.

They immediately rush into me and we engaged in combat.

------------------------(flashback end)

I stepped a few meters left of the falling pillar and slashed it at that side, and then I moved to the other side and did the same.

I danced around the pillar but I only looked at my sword, not taking my eyes off even for a moment. At that instance, I felt my heart turn cold, not unlike the sword I’m wielding.

------------------------(flashback start)

Ding!

A crisp sound resounded as I deflected a slash aimed at me. The source of the slash is enraged, and the cause is the two bodies that littered the ground; lives I reaped.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

The opponent sent a barrage of frenzied attack towards me, so I deflected it all and I started counterattacking. I slowly pushed him back, making the difference in our cultivation clear.

Although I’m already exhausted, I’m still higher in cultivation compared to him. I managed to fling away his sword and was about to deliver the last strike.

But then, I saw him grinned wickedly. As soon as I looked into his eyes, I saw another figure rushing towards my back.

I immediately turned around, but…

“No!”

I was already late when I heard Bing’er’s voice.

Blood splashed across the ground as the sword pierces a stomach. Not my stomach. But the girl who shouted.

I saw her smiling faintly as she looked at me, and then she fell to the ground.

------------------------(flashback end)

Tears ran down my cheeks as I slashed the broken pillar into smaller parts, then into smaller parts, and then into even smaller parts. The tears that ran down my face turned into ice crystals before it even drops to the ground.

When the pillar reaches the ground, it was already cut into countless pieces. Each piece was coated in ice, reflecting the light coming from the diamond-ice sword.

------------------------(flashback start)

The ground is littered by dead bodies by the time I was finished. I quickly ran towards Bing’er.

“No, no, no. Please, hang on, don’t close your eyes. Please. I beg you.”

I immediately broke into a run towards the outside of the forest to seek a healer. As my battered body was pushed even further, I started to feel my eyelids grow heavy.

Then, the girl in my arms spoke a word, but not a voice came out. I immediately understood it as I laid her down.

She stretched out her hands to wipe out the tears falling in my cheeks. Then, her storage ring lit up and a diamond-ice sword came out. It was the sword I gifted her. She weakly pushed it into my arms.

I grabbed it off her hands and told her not to move anymore. ‘Treasure it’, her mouth says.

“Yes, yes, I will treasure it. I will keep it by my side forever so you just hang on there, alright? We’ll still unravel the mysteries of this world together, right? You promised me. You wouldn’t leave me alone, would you?” I heard my voice trembling.

She smiled at me apologetically and closed her eyelids.

“Don’t do this to me. Come on. Don’t do this to me” I held her closer, wanting to share the heat of my body. She caressed my cheeks, which prompted me to look at her paling face.

‘Sorry’, was the last word she said.

I held the girl in my arms as I started to sob. Her body was as cold as the sword in my hand.

------------------------(flashback end)

After that, I was left panting. I broke my stare at the sword as I slowly regained myself. The tears that came out of my eyes are frozen in the ground, appearing as little crystals. I slowly took a deep breath and exhaled it afterward.

When my mind steadied, I quickly ran the simulation of the actions I just did. That simple demonstration of mine already caused me so much energy, and I still haven’t used any of its available features.

It seems like I would have to practice even more to get myself accustomed to this sword.

This sword is my most treasured item. And I will not hesitate to use it.

Because,…

I have someone to protect now.

And I will protect them with the sword you gave me. I promise.

This time, I won’t let anyone go.