Chapter 22: Goodbyes

[Warning! Fluff and heartaches ahead]

Mikael walked with an awkward gait toward the center of the plaza.

Now that he had been a mere spirit for months, walking on two legs proved to be more challenging than floating. Despite this discomfort, Mikael felt ecstatic at the fact that he came back to life, albeit temporarily. He took deep breaths, relishing the cold wind that entered his lungs. He touched the blooming flowers, memorizing their velvety texture. He turned his head to the sky, feeling the warmth of the sunlight on his new skin. – all the things that he took for granted when he was alive now brought him great pleasure.

Truly, one can only realize the value of things when they are gone.

His life that he took for granted—thrown away, even—now seemed so precious.

At the sound of approaching footsteps, the children turned their heads to Mikael.

"Whoa! Mister! Is that really you?" George, who knew the appearance of Prince Deon, gasped in surprise.

"Huh? Why? Is there anything strange?" Mikael touched his face, trying to determine any changes that occurred due to his possession of Deon's body.

"Yes, your eyes… If I remember correctly, the prince's eyes were brown but now they're pale green! Like the color of young leaves." George looked at him in awe.

"Really? That's great! I rather liked my green eyes." Mikael's eyes swept the group with an affectionate gaze.

He could not imagine how lost he would have felt, thrown in an unfamiliar world, if not for these kids' company. In the past two months, Mikael lived—or rather haunted-- more meaningfully than he did on his last years on Earth. There, he followed a monotonous schedule of waking up, going to work, and sleeping. But here, he made new friends, had fun, and saved people.

However, there was one face that he did not expect to see. It was the face of the first girl he saved. The one who ran away as soon as Mikael revealed himself.

"Uh…Umm… I heard that the d-demon of the orphanage was coming to say goodbye so…" She trailed off, fidgeting as she looked at Mikael with upturned eyes.

"I see… Do you have anything to tell me?" Mikael knelt on one leg to talk to the girl at eye level.

Seeing the little girl hesitant, the second eldest placed her hand on the child's shoulder and gently smiled as if urging her to continue.

"I'm s-sorry I ran away when you saved me… and thank you." After saying her piece, the girl hid behind the second eldest and shyly peeked at Mikael as she clutched the older girl's skirt.

Her big round eyes and flushed cheeks overloaded Mikael with her cuteness, "It's okay. By the way, why were you there that night? You do know that the forest is dangerous, right?"

But the one to answer his question was George.

"Actually, we had other friends from that orphanage, but one day, everyone just disappeared. So, we decided to find them, but then the goblins abducted us."

"You mean, the orphanage was running not long ago? I thought it was abandoned for years…" Mikael's brows creased in contemplation.

"No, mister. People lived there until half a year ago."

"In that monster-infested forest? Who in their right mind would establish an orphanage in that location?" Incredulity showed on Mikael's face as he thought those people basically served the orphans to the monsters on a silver platter.

"Nope. That place was also safe half a year ago. In fact, it was only after our friends disappeared that monsters started to gather in that forest." George corrected.

Then the youngest joined the discussion, "Now that Mister is leaving, no one will subjugate monsters anymore… can you not go, Mister?"

"Hush! Didn't we agree to send Mister off with a smile? Why are you saying that now?!" the snot-faced boy admonished the youngest, who cried in return.

"It's fine… but I really can't stay here anymore since I can't be away from my partner." Mikael carefully explained as he patted the crying girl, "Don't worry… I'll tell my partner to send some soldiers to protect the village, okay?"

Sniff... Sniff…

The girl held her pinky finger up, "Promise?" she asked while wiping away her tears with the back of her hand.

"I promise."

Hic… Hic!

"Uwaaah!"

All the kids burst out crying as they clung to Mikael. Even George, who liked pretending to be mature, bawled his eyes out, wailing, "Mister! Don't forget us! If the prince doesn't treat you well, you can come make a contract with me instead!"

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"Haha… I told you the contract is permanent, Stupid runt." Mikael laughed weakly, "Be good to your mom, okay? And don't be such a troublemaker!"

For all the long speeches that he prepared, Mikael could not remember a single line. Now, he just said what his heart told him to. 'what the heck? Have I become Casper, the friendly ghost? What's with this cringey situation?' he asked himself before grinning, 'Well, with sleeping beauty as my partner, maybe becoming Casper would suit me nicely.'

Ping!

<System Notification: Due to MP depletion, Active skill: Integration Lvl. max is forcefully canceled.>

Ping!

<Alert! Preparing for Player Mikael Lee and Co-Player Deon Hensworth's soul swap in T-10 seconds>

The system began its countdown.

<T – 9 seconds>

Mikael stood up and wiped his moist eyes.

<T-8 seconds>

He ruffled each child's head as he gently smiled.

<T-4 seconds>

He turned around and walked away.

<T-1 second>

He took one last look back and waved goodbye.

<T-0 second>

Mikael's soul left the host and he returned to the white world, feeling miserable.

Life… Life was such a precious thing and now it was also fleeting.

As Deon returned to his body, he continued to watch the village children waving at him with tears streaming down their faces and He thought, 'What a beautiful sight.' He wondered if he could also gain friends like Mikael did. Despite being a spirit, Mikael had friends and saved people. Compared to him, Deon felt so small… so insignificant. It didn't matter that he was alive nor did it matter that he was a prince because Deon did not have any feat to be proud of. At the end of the day, he was more useless than the dead.

It was ironic how Mikael was jealous of his life when Deon was jealous of his.

Deon returned to the inn where Sir Edmund was and found that his guard had recaptured their runaway horses.

"Your highness! Where have you been? I have been looking all over for you." Sir Edmund was obviously nearing the end of his patience. His expression showed extreme annoyance at the Prince's behavior. To Deon, Sir Edmund looked more concerned about his guard position than he was of him.

'Haah… it's okay. This is nothing new.' Deon thought. It was normal for royalty to be surrounded by those who only saw them as monarchs, not people. But having witnessed the existence of people who genuinely cared, Deon became unsatisfied.

"Let's go back." He snapped at Sir Edmund, suddenly in a bad mood.

Clip! clop!

They rode their horses in silence but after a while, Deon asked Mikael the question that has been bugging him for the past night.

"Why didn't you choose George? From what I saw, you two were close and I heard that he also offered to become your partner."

"It's precisely because we're close that I didn't choose him. I know for a fact that my future will be an arduous one. George… he's an innocent kid. I don't want him to lose that innocence by plunging him into dangerous situations just so I can ascend." Mikael answered, his voice through the direct message still colored with sadness.

"Hah! You're so bad, Sir Mikael… you're basically saying that it's okay for me to be in danger." Deon scoffed, feeling even worse after hearing Mikael's reasoning. He had hoped that Mikael chose him because he was himself. Not as a substitute. Not as a royalty. However, it turned out that he was chosen for the two reasons that he despised.

"Well, that's because you're a prince. Whenever you get into trouble, there will be lots of people to help you. But for commoners like George, luxuries like that don't exist. Even minor struggles may cost him his life."

"I see…" Deon said nothing more. He wanted to end the conversation to at least spare himself from more misery.

--Chapter end--

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