“This is one tiring day,” I whispered to myself while lying on my bed.

We are now inside a room with four beds, one for each of us because we can now afford a room in a luxurious Inn. Of course, Ruby and I still share the same bed. Right now, everyone is sleeping soundly while I’m the only one awake.

“But that girl sure is mysterious,” I muttered and looked at Darkness’ bed where she is currently sleeping while being covered by the blanket.

Even though she follows us everywhere we go just like I requested, she still hasn’t uttered a single word since I met her.

“I wonder if I’m doing what Cyann would’ve done if he became Darkness’ guardian instead of me,” I whispered and once again opened my notebook.

Because I am now her guardian, I decided to buy a notebook where I can write all the information I learn about her. Since I started doing it, I managed to write entries about her. Here are those.

[Entry no. 1: Darkness hates carrots]

For some reason, she always set aside all the carrots she can find in the dish and always left it on her plate. Let’s go back to a previous day where Honoka and I talked about Darkness.

“I wonder if Darkness finds my cooking awful,” Honoka said sadly as both of us clean the dishes in a river one afternoon after training in a forest.

“Of course not. It’s the best in the world, you know,” I followed with a serious face.

Honoka then got surprised and her cheeks became slightly red.

“I-I still got a long way to go before I can cook better than Master Chen,” she replied after averting her gaze. She then made a serious face and announced, “I swear that one day, Darkness will finish every meal that I make! I will make that happen!”

“I’m sure you can do it,” I whispered with a gentle smile.

Well, until today, Darkness still refuses to eat carrots. But thanks to that, Honoka’s cooking improves steadily as days passes by.

[Entry no. 2: Darkness smells like flowers]

Whenever I get close to her, I always smell a sweet yet mature fragrance that reminds me of flowers. I don’t know if this information is trivial or not but I decided to write it here. Now, let’s go back to the night when Ciana saw me writing [Entry no.2] before going to sleep. I was sitting on a chair while making my lap as the table for writing on the notebook.

“What are you doing?” Ciana asked curiously as the others soundly sleep in their respective beds.

“Ciana? Well, I decided to write everything that I learn about darkness here,” I replied.

“I see,” she whispered and read what I’m writing. “But what kind of flower?”

“Maybe...lavander...I guess,” I said, still not sure on my answer.

“Then, what do others smells like to you?”

“You mean Honoka and Iwa?”

She then nodded with a curious smile.

“Well, Honoka smells like mixed spices, blended together harmoniously, producing a noticeable and pleasant smell.”

“I see. Then, how about Iwa?”

“Let’s see...Iwa’s smell reminds me of the fragrance of [strapple], a smell that induces a fair amount of sweetness.”

“Isn’t that because you’re always making her drink a [strapple drink]? You always rely on Iwa’s [special attacks] compared to Honoka and I after all.”

“Really?” I reacted with a slight surprised face. “Now that you’ve mentioned it...”

“Then, I’m going to bed too. Don’t stay too late,” Ciana said with a smile.

“By the way, Ciana...”

“Hm?”

“You smell like white lotus to me,” I followed with a smile.

To be more detailed, Ciana’s smell has a rich, intoxicating quality that evokes the warm, misty atmosphere of gardens and...I really like that fragrance.

“I...see. Well, for me, you smell like metal...and...I like that smell,” she replied with slightly blushed cheeks and immediately went to bed.

“M-metal?” I reacted with a surprised face.

“Good night,” Ciana followed and started sleeping on her bed.

Now that I remembered it, I wonder if it’s fine to smell like a metal.

[Entry no. 3: Darkness likes Ruby]

I wrote this entry because of a certain event. It happened one morning, when I woke up only to find Darkness petting Ruby who is right beside me.

*ruuu~* Ruby reacted with a smile as Darkness pet him in the head.

I immediately closed my eyes and pretended to sleep. But when I opened my eyes slightly after a couple of seconds, Darkness can no longer be found in the room.

“Is that a dream?” I asked to myself after lifting my upper body upright.

I then looked at Ruby and saw crumbs of bread on his mouth.

“That’s...unexpected,” I whispered.

[Entry no. 4: Darkness is always looking at me]

For some time, I thought that it’s just my imagination that Darkness is always looking at me but Iwa made me realized that it wasn’t. It happened when we just finished our training in the [Harlequin Valley]. Iwa was walking beside me while Ciana and Honoka were behind us talking to each other. Darkness was behind them. Of course, Ruby was still on my right shoulder.

“I wonder why Darkness always stares at Raiki,” Iwa whispered with a sigh.

“R-really?” I asked with a slight surprised expression.

“Th-that’s—” Iwa reacted, clearly surprised that I heard her whisper. “You...didn’t notice it?”

“I thought that it’s just my imagination.”

“I...see,” she said and made a somewhat sad look.

“Do you know what does that mean?”

“Maybe...because...she likes you too...” she whispered but this time, I couldn’t hear it properly.

“Come again?” I asked with a curious face.

Her shoulders then twitched and continued “I-It’s nothing” with a flustered expression. “I don’t really know why too. I’m sorry.”

“I...see...” I replied with a puzzled look.

[Entry no. 5: Darkness is strong]

Lastly, this happened recently when we’re training at the [Harlequin Valley].

“[Holy Sword]!” I shouted and slashed a [Duskhound], making it hit the ground.

Ciana then returned back to normal and asked, “Should we call it a day?”

“Everyone, let’s go back to [Taurus Empire]. It’s already getting late,” I announced.

We then prepared to leave the Valley when suddenly, the [Duskhound] from earlier recovered and prepared to attack the one nearest to it, Darkness.

“Darkness!” I shouted and drew out [Raiden].

Just before its sharp claws hit Darkness, she managed to bring out a fan made of metal and defended herself. The clash between the monster’s claws and her fan created an explosion of smoke because of the strong impact. When the smoke lifted, we saw that the claws of the [Duskhound] were now bended and its gaze was now fixated to Darkness with a scared expression. It then immediately ran as fast as it can.

“But still, that surely is a surprise to us,” I whispered and closed the notebook. “Well, her level is high after all. I wonder how she became that strong considering her age. She’s just around 10 if I’m not mistaken.”

I then stood up and went before her bed but immediately got surprised from what I saw.

“It’s just a pillow!” I reacted and immediately went outside the room. I then ran as fast as I can on the hallway and found the girl just after she exited the female’s comfort room.

“It looks like I’m over-thinking things again,” I said with a sigh of relief.

She then looked at me with her usual emotionless eyes.

“Uhmmm...Darkness...” I muttered with a hesitant look.

“…”

“Want to go outside for a bit?” I asked with a grin.

“…”

“I guess…I’ll take that as a yes?”

“…”

Don’t just look at me blankly, jeez.

“Okay, follow me,” I said and started to walk towards the exit of the Inn. She then followed me with unchanging expression.

After that, we walked outside with me taking the lead while she’s a couple of steps away from me. Because it’s just past 11, the bars around were still open, with its customers partying as loud as they can.

“It sure is lively around here,” I said while roaming my eyes around.

“…”

Still no reply, huh.

I took her outside now because she might be missing the night view of this empire but…I don’t know if I did the right thing. This will surely remind her of her [wielder], [Dark Ripper] after all.

“Uhmm…Darkness…” I said and look behind me but she’s nowhere to be found again.

Where did she go?

“Darkness?” I called and look around and saw only strangers walking. But when I looked at the top of the two-storey [weapon shop] before me, I saw her there while staring at me.

Is she telling me to follow her?

I then jumped up as high as I can and landed on the rooftop.

“Darkness,” I called.

There, I saw her sitting on a bench while looking at the dark sky.

I then walked towards her and asked, “Can I sit here too?”

“…”

“Then…” I whispered and sat beside her.

“…”

“This sky…sure is mysterious, right?” I asked and look at her.

“…”

She just continued staring at the dark sky in silence.

“…”

“You don’t need to worry about me,” she suddenly whispered in a serious tone without averting her gaze above.

She finally spoke!!!

“Wh-what do you mean?” I asked, nervous.

“I’m following you because I saw something ‘rare’ within you. Something I saw for the first time. So don’t mind me and continue your journey just like usual. I won’t hide nor run away from you. I’ll just continue following you,” she said and stood up. Her voice is cold yet beautiful to hear.

“I...see,” I responded with a slight surprised look.

She then started walking away from me and jumped off the building.

“So she wants to go back to the Inn now,” I said and stood up.

[Entry no. 6: Darkness doesn’t hate the night view]

“Something like that, I guess,” I said with a smile after writing those words in my notebook.

It looks like step by step, I’m getting closer on understanding Darkness. I just hope that someday, she’ll open up to me.