Author's note:

I suggest reading Prologue to reincarnation first to avoid confusion.

Forgive me for not rewriting it fast enough.

If you're asking why Nero's part is confusing (or at least somewhat), it was on purpose.

Nero was very confused the whole time. And the author is having a meltdown.

This message again:

I'm just a newbie author writing for fun~

Help me by pointing out mistakes you see in the chapter as it will help me improve~

Thank you and enjoy the chapter~ I made this for you guys~ I needed the practice anyway~

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Volume 1 Chapter 15: Problems

~Third Person~

Turning the clock a few hours back~

We see Nero and Feru inside the nearby forest.

Nero explained his next actions to Feru.

He told her about an odd skill and that he wanted to test some stuff out. He wanted her to act if something bad were to happen.

As Feru continues to listen, her expression darkens bit by bit.

She couldn't hide it, she wasn't able to. Her guilty conscience was slowly eating her.

Feru was suppose to be dead, to spend eternity inside the void. But she was given a chance.

Obtaining her second life, she decided to dedicate herself to the person that revived her. Even though she knows that her revival was purely an accident, she was still thankful for it.

She gave it her all in order for that important person to be happy.

But it caused more problems for him.

You see. In her former life, she was cursed by a certain God.

The curse stayed with her even after she died. When she revived, the curse came along with her.

That curse was somehow passed onto Nero.

It was a very special curse.

A curse that bestows the power of Calamity.

The skill Cold-Hearted was the manifestation of that power.

And Feru understood it completely.

It was all her fault.

Her guilt was slowly eating her heart.

It was because of her that the person important to her will suffer.

Nero ordered her to stop him if something were to go wrong.

And Because of that, the complex feelings inside her heart became heavy.

She was so confused at what to do that she became afraid.

She was afraid of him disappearing, she couldn't even bare the thought of it.

That's why she never told him anything about herself nor about the curse.

It was her decision keep it a secret and that decision is haunting her.

She wanted to stop Nero from using the skill.

But it was already too late.

Nero became lifeless and started started walking towards Feru.

He was empty handed, so it was quite easy for him to be restrained.

But…

She was hesitant.

She was too afraid.

She was too confused.

Feru could only watch as the zombie like figure approach her.

Her emotions are starting to break down. She didn't know what to do anymore.

And when he finally reached her, Nero swings his hands as to attack her.

The swing full of strength and it was impossible to dodge.

Feru reflexively blocked the attack with her scythe.

But the force ended up breaking his hand.

Nero kept attacking while Feru kept blocking.

She was confused at what to do.

She can't just leave Nero in that state and if she distanced herself too much, Nero might ran away.

They continue with the war of attrition until his body is in an awful state.

What do I do? How to do it? What do I want? How to obtain it? When will it end? How will it end?

Her head was filled with all these questions.

Finally her fragile heart finally gave in as she walks towards Nero.

She couldn't bare seeing him in this state. For her, it was better for her to die just to save him.

While crying, she embraces him with all of all of her might.

The lifeless Nero continued to struggle in her embrace.

Maybe it was because of the injuries Nero has on his body, he was unable to escape nor injure her.

The two of them stayed like that until Nero collapses and stops.

She finally felt relieve. But that relief only lasted for a measly second.

The healing spell she cast was completely ineffective on him.

She could only place him on her laps to rest, giving him a lap pillow.

Waiting for him to wake up, Feru continued crying.

The moment Nero opened his eyes, Feru screamed his name repeatedly without stop.

A voice full of worry, regret, guilt, confusion, fear, and despair.

His hands groggily moves towards her face and wipes her tears.

With his blood leaving a mark on her face, she wanted to cry even more but held it in.

On his face, an expression of consoling her.

He smiled and said:

"Why are you crying?" (Nero)

Nero continue consoling her until she stopped crying.

Since it was already dark, it was decided that it was best to head back.

As Nero was unable to move, Feru carried him on her back.

On the way, Nero fell asleep on her back while healing himself.

When they arrived, everyone inside the mansion were worried because of their current state.

But as they tried to help, Feru stopped them as she said that she'll do it herself.

Feru carried him all the way to his assigned room and place him gently on the bed.

Feru would usually sneak inside his room in the middle of the night in order to console him from his nightmare. This action started the moment they stayed over the Sylvitus Household. She was doing it secretly while he was asleep.

But this time, their roles are completely reversed.

She's going to use Nero as a way to console herself.

That night, Nero was sleeping soundly while Feru was embracing him as she quietly cry out her emotions. She knew that it was wrong for her to do it but she was unable stop herself.

Morning finally came.

Feru was nervously walking back and forth outside of Nero's assigned bedroom.

She decided to come clean and tell everything that she knows.

But…

Today is the day for the important meeting.

The two of them are joining in with Struct's permission.

But Nero was still sleeping soundly.

Feru checked on his condition earlier and found no problem.

Taking matters into her own hands, she went alone with Struct.

She was filled with the thought "I want to be useful to him".

She wanted him to rest a little bit longer.

Nero has already explained his plans for the meeting a few days ago.

So, there was no problem if Feru were to go alone.

Before she left, she asked the servants to deliver a message to Nero when he wakes up.

And a few minutes after she left, Nero woke up.

●●●●●

~Nero~

I woke up in the room I was assigned to…

Looks like Feru carried me all the way here, I have to thank her properly later.

I remembered yesterday's affairs…

Thinking about it makes me feel all irritated all of a sudden…

I need to be careful and think.

Let's check my status first!

………

……

…

Nothing's happening!?

The status window is not showing up!?

Wait… does that mean I can't use my inventory or skill anymore?

Let's calm down… although I still feel irritated… Let's calm ourselves down.

Checking everything… It looks like I can still access my inventory window and use my skills.

But the problem is that I can't see my status and skill list.

This might prove to be troublesome.

Does this have some kind of connection with the God of calamity?

I remember her saying something about living inside me…

I released a deep sigh…

This sounds very disturbing…

Since I was feeling cold, I wrap myself with the blanket.

I still feel cold though? Why is it so cold? Feels like I'm going to freeze to death…

Let's ignore the cold for now, thinking about yesterday's events are more important.

That girl… she referred herself as the God of calamity. We also share a lot of similarities…

She appeared when I fully activated Cold-Hearted, is there a connection between these two?

I believe that some books referred to me as the calamity. In fact, I have a title named The Silent God of Calamity. I received after I used Cold-Hearted…

Hmm~ Hmm~ What if…

Everything is connected to each other?

The reason behind all of it is because of her!?

Ah no, I'm not really sure about it but I can't rule out any possibilities.

Both of our appearance and attitude are indistinguishable… could she be…

Again, I can't rule out any possibilities.

Sigh~ I really need more information in this kind of situations… being too ignorant is bad.

Maybe I should test it out the skill again? I'll call Feru for help later.

Speaking of which, Feru had this face when I explained the skill to her.

Hmm~ Hmm~ so many mysteries~ so little clue~

………

……

…

"Gyaaaah~! Why am I in such a bad mood!?" (Nero)

Is stress building up inside me or am I just in a bad mood?

I just want to scream everything away~

But I heard some sort of crashing sound behind me.

Looking back, I see the floor covered in food and two maids near the mess…

Was it because I suddenly scream that I startled those two? I'm really sorry.

When I went near them to help, they moved farther away from me without looking away.

If I were to look closely, their eyes are full of fear.

Because of their action, I thought that there were enemies behind me…

But I soon noticed that their eyes were focused solely on me…

Damn… What's happening?

It was already confusing the last time and it's still confusing right now…

After a few minutes, everyone in the room finally calmed down.

Was it because I was in a bad mood that the atmosphere around me was also bad?

When I asked the two maid, they described some sort of mysterious figure surrounded by some kind of dark smoke. That figure was somewhat girlish and was clinging on my back… SCARY!

But still, I really feel sorry for these two…

They remained stuck on the floor for quite a while now. I'm guessing that they still don't have enough strength in their legs to stand up… but that wasn't it at all… the floor was wet…

"I'm really really sorry about this…" (Nero)

I gave the two maids some towels to dry themselves..

But before I could leave, one of the maids stopped me.

"U, um… T-The mistress(Feru) left a message for master(Nero)…" (Maid)

Eh? What's this all about? But you know, it think it's better if you tell me that later… with our current situation and all. Every servant here are all elite but still… This is somewhat uncomfortable… and please stop calling me master.

"[I already went with Struct to the meeting, I will fix all the problems myself. I wish for you to rest easy and leave everything to me. I will tell you everything I that kept a secret when I come back. I really sorry for causing you trouble…] is what she said" (Maid)

Meeting? Wait!? That's today!? Why did she go alone!?

And judging from the content, it seems like she's feeling somewhat guilty from the stuff that happened. Is this her repentant? I'm not really angry at her or anything~ But she really did have some secrets with her…

I sincerely thank the two maids for delivering the message like a professional and apologized again.

I feel like bad person right now… Am I a villain now?

Before leaving, I took out Zodiac from my storage and equip it. But again, a problem has occurred… Why am I not surprise anymore? I tried calling it out (changing forms)… but there was no response.

Just how am I gonna listen to my music without [Pisces (Headphones)]?

Jokes aside, this is quite troublesome. The only form I could call upon are Virgo and Libra… Their appearance was different than usual…

Leaving the matter of Zodiac aside for now, I took out the clothes that I came here in.

A simple black jacket, T-shirt, pants, socks, shoes, and the skull cap…

Using the skill Customization, I added a Burning status ailment for each part.

I feel like I'm going to freeze to death if I don't do something!

Why did I use a Burning status ailment instead of the normal Warming effect?

Because the latter effect was not warm enough!

Now these clothes feels like some kind of cursed equipment.

I could've just use my current attire (Assassin Equipment).

But there was no option of Burning status ailments.

And creating new clothes would take more time. I'm currently in a rush!

With everything settled, I left the mansion and headed straight towards the meeting place.