Chapter 29: of Soul Expansion: Dreaming Reality

Everything was white.

That was the first thing I noticed. White. An endless white.

An all-consuming white.

Where... is this...

This place was unknown to me. Well, of course, it was. There was no way I would ever know a completely white place, was there?

And yet, it somehow felt familiar. Despite it being empty, it felt warm. Comfortable. As if I just came home after a long, long time.

I tried taking a look around, but then I noticed that I wasn't even standing. I was floating. And it was hard to move. Or more like, it was impossible.

After a few minutes of fruitless attempts, I gave up. There was nothing I could do except floating around mindlessly.

Is there nothing here? And why am I even here in the first place?

My memory was a bit hazy, I couldn't quite remember what had happened before. I was sure I went looking for Korwen and Karen with the three girls, but everything after that eluded me.

I'm sure it was something really important, too...

Panicking wouldn't help me now, I was sure of that. Maybe I should have been more anxious, but losing my memories wasn't exactly something new to me. It was my second time. Yet, even though it was my second time, it was still frightening. It certainly would never stop being frightening.

Let's think of something else... Ah, if only there was something to do at least... Nn? What's that?

While I was thinking about how to distract myself, the white space in front of me started swirling. It was slowly getting stronger until everything around me was swirling and slowly changed in colour.

What is this? Is something happening? Nn... There are... people?

People appeared. Buildings appeared. Trees, animals, everything. All with slightly white tint.

What is this... I know this...

The scene in front of me was clearly of modern earth. The modern buildings, as if carved from a single stone, glass windows, ornate doors, and all the other little things that made it distinct from the place where I currently was.

I wanted to reach out, to touch it, but I couldn't. My small arm didn't move. It couldn't move.

Like a scene being played on a screen, it felt close Close enough that I might have been able to touch it. That was the feeling I got.

A room was shown to me. A family of five sat there. Two adult men, an adult woman, a teenage girl and a preteen girl. They were sitting around a table, eating silently.

I know this scene... This... is my memory, isn't it? But why am I seeing this now?

"Thank you for the meal. It was delicious," suddenly said one of the adult men, the younger one.

Nobody responded to him. The only sound was him putting down the tableware, indicating he was finished. Then he sat there, waiting.

After a few more minutes, the teenage girl finished as well and copied almost exactly what the young man had done before. Some more minutes later, the scene repeated almost completely with the preteen girl. Shortly after the adult woman finished as well and put down her tableware. In contrast to the others, she stayed completely silent.

Now, only the older man was still eating. Nobody said a word until he finished. Once he put down his tableware, the adult woman and the two girls both stood up and began cleaning up the table.

"I heard you passed the exam."

The older man addressed the younger one.

"Yes, Father."

"Don't embarrass our family."

"I won't, Father."

"Good."

And then the discussion ended right there. Both men were still sitting, while the women were cleaning up. Once the table was cleaned up, they left, leaving both men alone.

"I spoke with the Bruddens. Their daughter is a pretty girl. I'm sure you will get along."

"I understand, Father."

"Good. Now, leave."

"Yes, Father."

The young man stood up and left the room, taking care to make as few sounds as possible.

Once he left, the scene slowly dissolved.

Was that young man... me? And what's up with that family...

If I could actually move I would surely furrow my brows right about now. That's how odd and cold the scene was.

The white space distorted once more and a new scene formed in front of my eyes. A different room appeared. A desk, a bed and a bookshelf filled with technical books. Nothing else filled the room.

The young man was sitting there. He was alone in the room, sitting at the desk, a book opened in front of him and a notebook next to it. He was clearly studying for something.

Nothing else happened for a good while, then the scene dissolved again.

What's this... This is... a dream, right? Why is a dream showing me my memories? And... why these memories?

A new scene formed. Once again, it was a single room. It was similar to the previous one, mostly barren, but there were two beds and two desks instead of just one. The teenage girl and the preteen girl were both sitting at a desk, studying, just as the young man was previously.

They were not saying a word. Not even turning around to look at each other.

That's no comparison to that girl trio. Emily alone would easily be more energetic than this entire family together... Children should be playing around... Especially such a young girl, she shouldn't be sitting there, studying...

Once again, nothing happened for a while until the scene finally dissolved. This time, the young man wasn't even there, so why did I see this scene? Weren't these my memories? But if that wasn't the case... Then whose memories were this? And why was I shown them?

Just as expected, yet another scene began taking form. It wasn't a room this time, it was outside. The young man together with the two girls, walking along a street.

"Hey, Big Bro," addressed the older one of the girls the young man.

"What?"

"Why do we have to study all day?"

"Because Father wants us to."

The girl looked down to the ground. The young man watched her reaction stoically. Then he returned his gaze forwards.

"Big Bro... Will you leave like Big Sis did?"

The young man stopped abruptly, then turned around to face the girls and squatted down. He held the shoulders of the young girl and tried to smile at her.

"I won't. I won't leave you two, I promise."

On the girl's face bloomed a smile. It was the first proper emotion I had seen from her. The preteen girl also smiled and hugged the waist of the young man.

The young man patted the girls' heads and rubbed them gently. Then he pulled them close and hugged them.

"Big Bro, I love you!"

The scene dissolved once more. Yet, this time no new scene appeared. Everything turned back into the white space.

What the heck was up with that? This family... It was just... wrong... What was the purpose of showing this to me?

Just what had been the meaning of this? I didn't know...

I stared into the white space. I didn't want to see this anymore.

I want to go back to Karen... We finally got together, it's not fair that I have to waste my time here now... Just let me wake up already!

As if hearing my complaint, the space shook. Though I said it shook, it wasn't really a sensation I could feel. But somehow, I just knew, that it shook. I would have loved to ponder on that, but the white space was changing once more. Rapidly. The space became muddled and turned darker and darker.

A deep black. A black that seemed as if it would devour everything. I could do nothing to stop it and before long, all the white was devoured by it. Everything was gone, except me.

Then, something appeared in my field of vision. The three siblings were walking along the darkness. Nothing else appeared, except those three. They walked and walked and walked. Endlessly. Tirelessly.

After what felt like an eternity, a change happened. A new person appeared and the three siblings stopped in front of them.

"Father, welcome back."

"I'm home."

The new person was the old man, the father of the siblings. He stood in front of the siblings, looking down on them. He appeared even larger than before, imposing, dangerous.

"Where's your mother?"

"I do not know. I haven't seen her yet today, Father," replied the young man.

"Is that so."

The father walked away, once more disappearing. The three siblings began walking again, endlessly, and alone.

After a while, the siblings disappeared. Then a new scene formed, but contrary to the ones before, it was a dark, bizarre and distorted scene.

The father stood in what I presumed was the living room. Behind him were the three siblings.

"Where's your mother?"

"I do not know, Father."

"Don't lie to me. Where is your mother?"

"Father, I really do not know."

The father turned around, his face distorted from rage. He walked up to the young man and slapped his face with enough force to make him stagger and fall to the ground.

The girls immediately rushed to him. The teenage girl glared at her father, who promptly snorted.

"Where did that woman run off to?!"

"Father, Big Bro doesn't know and we don't know either, isn't that enough?"

The teenage girl rebuked her father, with tears in her eyes. The father clearly disliked that and slapped her face, just as he had done to the young man.

"Are you talking back to me?! I'm your father!"

The girl fell to the ground, coughing violently and spitting blood. The preteen girl started crying.

Seeing this, the father clicked his tongue and left the room.

The young man heaved himself up and crawled over to the girl that was coughing up blood.

"Yuu, are you alright? Yuu!"

"I'm, I'm fine, Big Bro."

The girl stopped coughing and faced her brother, tears running down her cheeks and blood dripping down from her mouth.

"Let's go to a doctor, someone has to take a look at it."

"Don't, Big Bro. Father will get... angry again."

The man fell silent, but even from my point of view, I could see that he was biting his lips in frustration.

The scene dissolved once more, only to be replaced by a new one. A white room with a bed in the centre.

A hospital room. And on the bed, the teenage girl. Unconscious. Some machines were attached to her.

The young man sat on a chair next to the bed, holding the girl's hand.

This... This couldn't be... Could it?

Was it because she was hit and they didn't get it treated? Or was it some other reason? Just what happened? And... what will happen?

The scene switched with a new one. Again the hospital room, the girl was still in the bed, but she was up and awake, reading a book. The young man was still on the chair next to her, but he was cutting a single fruit in pieces and presented them on a little plate to her. The girl laughed awkwardly and took a piece.

There was a deep scar running along the girl's cheek. She was alive. Alive...

Just... What is up with this. Stop these... Stop showing me these things!

Ignoring my outcry, the scene changed again.

The young man and the younger, preteen girl were in a room, packing their few belongings.

"Big Bro, is this really alright?"

"It has to be. At this rate... Who knows what else Father will do."

The two silently finished packing and left the room. There was no sign of the other girl.

Stop! Just stop showing me this! What do you even want from me?! Let me go back! I don't want to see this anymore...

Another scene.

The young man was travelling alone. Walking endlessly through the black space, without a destination. I knew. He had only one goal. To get away from that house and his father. But it wasn't easy. He was alone.

Then, in a new scene, he was sitting at the side of a street, looking listlessly at the sky. His eyes looked dead as if he had given up. Given up on everything.

And then, the final scene. A train. Screams. People being squished into compact sizes, others being torn apart. The smell of blood, oil and fire. And in the middle of it, the young man.

"Ahhh... I wish... I wish I could ** **** **** *******," muttered the young man, the last part inaudible between the screams, the screeching of metal and his own painfilled groans. He was stuck between metal parts, bleeding, from various places where metal wreckage had pierced him.

And that's where the scene ends. Everything dissolved and the black nothingness returned.

Why... Why did you have to show me this...

I did not know what happened to the two girls. I probably never knew.

I want to go back... Big Sis... Where are you... Big Sis...

Space stirred. I was sure, the memories had ended. They had to end. There was nothing to show afterwards. And yet, another thing was coming into my view.

A forest, a vast forest. And a very familiar forest.

This... Isn't this... the forest where I woke up?

I got the feeling that was the case, though I couldn't quite make out why. I simply got the feeling that I had been here before.

In the middle of the forest was a clearing. Light shone through the gaps between the trees. It was a truly idyllic view.

If not for the sight in front of me.

A familiar person was standing there.

No... No way... Why is she here? Why is this monster here?

The person I saw there was none other than Yumias herself, standing in front of a rather tall, pinkish rock.

"How curious," muttered Yumias, gently caressing the rock.

"Truly curious."

A loud cracking sound could be heard, accompanied by a large crack running through the rock. Only then did I realise, that it wasn't a weird pinkish rock, but a large, human-sized egg.

The eggshell burst violently and whatever was inside fell out, falling right in front of Yumias and lying motionlessly on the ground.

No... No way... But... How?

There was a naked girl on the ground. Small, with pink, waist-long hair.

Is that... me? No... No, that can't be... I... I...

Yumias squatted down, reaching down for the girl on the ground. But before that happened, the scene disappeared.

How? How?! This makes no sense! After that train accident, I became like this already. And then I was thrown here by those weird exorcists! I clearly remember that!

My memories were contradicting the scene I just saw. When I came here, I was sure I was still wearing my clothing from that world which I tried to sell to a merchant. There were no weird eggs and no Yumias involved.

No... Wait... That's wrong... Didn't Yumias say she was involved in changing me? And bringing me here? But then... what does this mean? Just... Just what is the meaning of this?!

I couldn't make heads or tails out of this. Nothing made sense.

Just... what is going one? Someone, please tell me!

I felt like crying, that's how helpless and confused I was feeling. Yet, this place didn't even allow me to do that. It forced me to silently watch.

Once more, something changed in the space around me. But this time, it wasn't a scene that appeared.

Something was approaching me, here in this lonely space. Within but a moment someone was right in front of me. I couldn't make out their face, no matter how hard I tried to look. It reached out to me.

And then, once more, my consciousness cut off.

Somewhere, far away, a laughing voice echoed through the empty space.

"Yumi! Yumi!"

"... Big Sis?"

"Yumi!"

Someone was embracing me strongly. I could see a flash of silver in my view.

"... Sis?

"Yumi! Don't scare me like that! Really!"

I was being squeezed strongly. It was comfortable, calming. I could feel some tears in my eyes.

I'm back... I'm back with Karen...

I wanted to cry and bawl, like a child. I was just that glad to be back. Back with the person I loved. I wrapped my arms around Karen and returned her hug. I could feel my rapid heartbeat calming.

Sis... She looks worried... I... Maybe... Maybe I should tell her later... Later...

I was still unable to make sense of what I had seen there. And it seemed I had to calm down Karen first.

That said, I tried taking a look at my surroundings.

This is... the warehouse? What were we doing here... Nn? Speaking of which, something feels... nice... really nice...

An incredibly pleasant sensation. I was still being hugged so I couldn't exactly take a look, but being hugged by Karen felt a lot better than usual. So much that I felt like I could bury myself in this feeling and never come out.

Still, I tried to concentrate on the matter at hand, for now.

"Sis, what happened?"

"... You don't remember?"

"Nn..."

Karen let go of me, but still holding onto my shoulders, and took just enough distance that she could look at my face.

"You suddenly collapsed and didn't wake up, Yumi. I... I was so worried!"

There were tears in the corners of her eyes.

I was still a bit groggy from just waking up. Raising my hand to her cheek, I caressed it gently.

"Sorry, Sis."

"No..."

Karen shook her head.

"I should apologise... Because I... Because of me..."

Falling silent, Karen looked down to the ground, depressed about something.

Nn? Did Karen do something? Actually, why did I collapse? What did we... Ah.

Finally, after way too long, I realised what was going on. In the corner of my eyes, I spotted some scattered clothes. Following that, I also saw the source of the very comfortable sensation I was feeling earlier.

The reason was simple. Incredibly so. After taking a quick glance at Karen, a certain feeling made itself apparent. Embarrassment, and desire.

No, get yourself together. Now's not the time to get... distracted...

"Yumi?"

Karen called out to me, staring at me with a worried look on her face.

I took a breath, trying to calm myself. We had done something way more... intimate already. I was a bit overwhelmed by the sudden realisation, yes, but that was it.

"Sis."

"Yes?"

"There's no need to apologise."

"No, Yumi, I..."

"Sis."

I called out to her forcibly. Karen twitched in response,  and her gaze returned downwards, to the ground. She probably felt horrible about what had happened. She was always so caring, so being the cause of my collapse must've hit her really hard.

Leaning forward, I hugged Karen again, our naked skin pressing together. It was comfortable, but more importantly, it was a calming sensation, a feeling filled with warmth and love.

"Sis, I don't mind. Really. Everything is well now, isn't it?"

I gently rubbed her back. A few seconds later I could feel Karen's arms wrapping around me as well, squeezing me.

We stayed like this for a while, silently. There was no need to break the silence, as long as we could feel each other's warmth.

A few minutes later we separated. Taking a look at her, I could still see tears in the corners of her eyes, but she looked visibly better than before.

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"Sis, next time, let's just bring along a mana crystal or two, okay? If I can just replenish my mana, it shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"..."

Karen nodded weakly. She was cute in her weak moments and I felt happy that she showed them to me, but I still wanted her to cheer up.

That's why I leaned forward, to this precious girl of mine, until our lips met.

"Yumi, don't move so much."

"That's easy for you to say. I can't help it."

"Your hair tickles."

"..."

I can't exactly do something against that... I'm sorry...

A few minutes, after we enjoyed a little bit simple intimacy, we remembered that we still had work left to do. Thankfully, it was simple work, so we could do it rather quickly. Though, even so, I would've certainly preferred to spend more time cuddling with Karen. Cuddling naked like this was a rather addictive sensation.

"I'm still a little bit surprised that the captain just left us here alone," I wondered out loud.

"Well... When I asked, uhm... He just said 'leave it to me'."

"... Asked what?"

"Whether there was... any place where there weren't many people around."

"..."

"We can't just, uhm, leave the fort in the night, right?"

That guy totally knew. He totally knew. There was no way he wouldn't know what we'd do alone together.

My face was instantly heating up upon that realisation

"Sis..."

"Yes?"

I leaned back, resting my head on Karen's shoulder. I was currently seated in her lap, as we only had one chair. Additionally, our clothes were still lying around somewhere, nearby. But neither of us suggested to wear them right now.

"Why did you ask the captain..."

To be honest, I wouldn't have expected her to ask someone a question like this... And not Korwen of all people.

"Well... That's because... I couldn't wait..."

"Nn? Couldn't wait... Oh."

A little grin found its way on my face. I looked up a bit and rubbed my cheek on Karen, whose face had become a tinge red. A happy feeling spread in my chest.

"Yumi, stop that... What are you, a little animal?"

"Nn, maybe."

I continued rubbing for a while. It was fun. It was warm.

"Yumi... We should continue working. It'll get late."

"Ehh... Do we have to?"

"Yes, we do."

It seemed I couldn't escape reality. How unfortunate.

I reluctantly stopped rubbing my cheek on her and turned back towards those documents. It was just some mind-numbing calculations, nothing really hard, just boring.

"Mhh... You're so fast with this, Yumi."

"Am I?"

"Yes... It's already rare to see someone able to do calculations, but this quick is impressive."

"Nn? Why is it rare?"

I stopped for a moment because I was curious hearing about that. I already knew that it wasn't common, judging from Korwen's problems with finding an accountant. But hearing that it didn't seem to be an issue unique to the mercenaries.

"Ahh... Mostly only merchants and academics care about it apparently. I was taught it was an important skill to have when I was still with my family. Same for reading and writing, though I had to learn it mostly by myself."

"You taught it yourself?"

"Yes, I did have some help from an older woman at the time, before she passed away, but it was mostly by myself."

"Huh..."

I thought she was taught it before she was exiled, but to think she actually learnt it afterwards.

"Yumi, you stopped."

"... Nn."

Suppressing another sigh, I returned towards the mostly boring calculations. Every little calculation I finished meant I was a step closer to the end of our little private time.

Maybe sensing my unwillingness to continue, Karen embraced me from behind and squeezed me, her breasts pressing on my back.

"Yumi, we'll still have plenty of occasions to have some time for us alone, won't we? You don't have to worry."

"Nn, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate our time right now. And right now, I want to stay like this."

"... You sly little sister."

A little giggle echoed from behind.

Of course, I knew Karen was right. But I really didn't want to separate right now.

I wonder, is this what it means to love someone? It... sure is something.

"Mh? Yumi, there's a mistake there, I think?"

"Nn? You're right."

I shouldn't get distracted...

I shook my head to chase away the distracting thoughts. Though that might have been a futile endeavour. I actually didn't to chase them away anyway.

"Ah, Yumi, stop that. Your hair is tickling me."

"... Sorry."

I continued working, still being embraced by Karen. A smile naturally found its way onto my face.

After a few minutes of silent working, something tugged at my hair. I took a quick glance and saw Karen playing around with it.

"Sis?"

"Mh? Oh, I was just playing around a bit. Do you want to change your hairstyle?"

"Nn, I didn't really think much about it, to be honest."

I was already glad when I managed to retain my current one.

"Mh, maybe we should ask Wanda a bit about hairstyles."

"Well, we can, I guess."

"Yes, let's do that when she recovered. But for now, how far are you with those?"

"..."

"Yumi?"

Karen's face appeared on my side and she was staring into my eyes.

"Nearly done..."

"Is that so. That's good, though also a bit sad."

"Nn."

Her face disappeared again from my view.

I finished the last few calculations rather quickly and put down the pen.

"Sis, I'm done."

"Is that so..."

She strongly squeezed me one more time.

"I wish we could at least sleep alone together."

"Nn..."

Alas, that was a wish that couldn't be fulfilled. If we were to camp outside, we might be able to share a tent alone together, but we'd probably still stay inside the wagons. And the wagons were shared with quite a few people.

"Nothing we can do about... Let's get ready."

"Do we really have to?"

"Yes, Yumi. Now, up with you."

"Nn... Wait, Sis?"

Karen stood up from the chair, still embracing me. Which naturally meant, I was lifted up and hanging in the air. It was actually a bit breezy like this. Karen seemed quite reluctant to let me go, squeezing me and the loosening her embrace only to squeeze me again. This obvious reluctance made me way too happy.

It took her a bit until she finally let me down to the ground.

"It's a bit sad it ended..."

"Nn."

With a sigh Karen let me go and began collecting her clothes. I followed the same, though contrary to Karen, who had a few different articles of clothing, I only had the one-piece dress. I quickly got dressed and waited for Karen. Wearing clothes after a while somehow felt uncomfortable.

"Yumi."

"Nn?"

"Your sandals."

"... Oh."

Karen pointed at the sandals that had at some unknown point left my feet and were now lying to the side.

I walked over and put them on as well.

"Got everything?"

"Nn."

"I see... Then, let's go."

Karen grabbed the finished documents with one hand and held out the other to me.

Taking her hand, we slowly made our way outside, back to everyone else.

"Oh, there they are!"

When we left the warehouse it was already rather dark outside. It had already been late before, so that much wasn't quite surprising.

We leisurely walked back to the wagons, where we found a few familiar faces. Korwen, Fenna, Rina and Lily sat close to our wagon at a table. Together with them were our three little rascals, though they were already sleeping. Maya and Emily were occupying Rina's sides, while Sele was using Lily's lap as a pillow.

"Yumi, Karen, that took a bit," commented Lily with a smirk on her face.

"We have some of the leftover dinner here for you," added Fenna, with a similar smile on her face.

She pointed at a large pot next to the table.

"Oh, sorry. We're a bit late."

"Nn, sorry."

We apologised, but the only responses we got were some suppressed laughter and warm smiles. Honestly, it was a bit uncomfortable, but on the other side, we didn't have to hide it from them. That alone actually relieved me quite a bit.

Korwen turned towards us as well, pointing at the documents in Karen's hand.

"You two, I hope you have finished working on those documents. Regardless of whatever else happened in between."

"Nn, we did."

"That's good. Was there anything weird among them?"

"Nn... I don't think so, no?"

"Mh..."

Korwen stroked his chin. Karen handed him the documents and he quickly glanced over them.

"Mh... Did you figure out that weird code while doing these?"

"No, I'm sorry. I think a few of those numbers coincide with the notes but as to what it exactly means..."

"Well, can't have everything. In any way, good work. Take a rest."

Korwen stood up from his seat and was attempting to leave. He probably only stayed to collect the documents. It made me feel a bit bad that we kept them waiting for so long. Still, if I was given the choice again, I was sure I'd again choose to spend as much time as possible with Karen.

When Korwen walked past us, he suddenly stopped and turned towards us.

"There's one thing I have to warn you two about. Considering you behave mostly like sisters there shouldn't be really many problems, but you should keep your relationship as hidden as possible. Especially from the families, my men probably won't care much. We soldiers are the practical sort, but that does not mean everyone is like that. Just a little warning. Good night."

He turned back forwards and continued walking away, raising his hand once more to say goodbye. After a few seconds, he disappeared behind the other wagons.

"Not everyone accepts it, huh..." murmured Karen.

I squeezed her hand that I was still holding.

"Now, that flirting couple there, don't get depressed, come and eat something."

Lily called us over with a smile.

"Lily... Ah, well... Whatever."

Karen apparently wanted to say something but decided against it. Lily grinned at that.

She still handed us two plates. Taking them meant we had to stop holding hands, though.

"Ah, right. There's something we have to apologise for first, Yumi."

"Nn? What do you mean, Lily?"

"Well... Sele found out."

"..."

I froze. Sele found out? Wasn't that... bad? Yes, it certainly was.

I took a glance at Sele who was sleeping peacefully in Lily's lap.

"Lily... What did she say?" I asked cautiously.

"Well... She threw a bit of a tantrum. She was up and ready to rush to the warehouse."

"..."

"Calming her down was hard work, so praise me!"

"Yes Lily, you did well. Thank you."

Karen put some food onto my plate and we sat down at the table. The food, some kind of stew again, was cold already. It wasn't the most delicious but it still tasted pretty good, despite being cold.

"But she got a bit depressed, so you have to cheer her up if you can," added Fenna.

"Nn... I'll try."

I honestly wasn't quite sure how I could cheer her up though.

"Well then, I'll take my leave too. Good Night."

"Nn, good night."

"Good Night, Miss Fenna."

"Good night."

Fenna stood up and left as well, waving once more before disappearing into the dark.

"Guess only us three are left, huh."

"Us three? What about Rina?"

I was a bit confused at Lily's words. Rina was sitting here too, even though she was oddly silent.

"That girl is sleeping."

"Eh?"

I turned towards Rina and took another look. She was sitting upright, but her head was hanging down a bit. Looking closely, between her hair that was covering her face a bit, I could spot her closed eyes.

Next to me, Karen was also leaning forward, trying to take a good look.

"Well... she certainly is skilled at sleeping... Sitting and sleeping like that."

"Ahaha... She sure is."

Lily let out a dry laugh.

"Still, she did help with calming Sele, so..."

A gentle smile flashed floated on Lily's face while looking at Rina.

"Hey, Yumi," whispered Karen.

"Nn?"

"Is it just my imagination or..."

"I don't think it's your imagination."

It seemed Karen was suspecting something as well already.

"You two, I can hear you just fine. What do you mean?"

"Mh... Well, Lily, I'll support you," murmured Karen.

"Huh?"

Just the girl in question was apparently still a bit oblivious to it. Or she thought we hadn't noticed. It was a bit amusing, considering she was the most proactive among us.

Still, if Lily and Rina would end up as a couple as well. That wouldn't be all too bad. Rina seemed to be rather fine with the idea as well. Though it was a bit unclear how much of it she actually understood.

"Good luck, Lily."

"Nn, good luck."

"I don't get you two..."

We don't get you either, Lily.

Well, she would surely notice it with enough time. Just like we did.

We finished up our dinner and cleaned up. Afterwards, we carried the girls into the wagon and made ourselves comfortable as well.

While we couldn't have our little private time here, we could still sleep comfortably together.

Lying in the sleeping Karen's arms, I took a look over all these sleeping girls, huddled together.

Everyone here is dear to me. I don't want to lose a single one of them. I want to protect them with all I have... If what I saw were really my memories... Then I might have failed to protect my own family... I... I cannot allow that to happen here... I can't.

It was something I had to absolutely avoid. This family was all I had. If I were to lose them... I didn't even want to think about it.

I will protect you all. I definitely will.

And slowly, I drifted off from reality to the land of dreams.

Rinne

If you like my story, I hope you could consider supporting me on Patreon!

Some other little news now. I originally intended to get the fourth advance chapter for patreon out this week, but that didn't happen. Why? Because of past mistakes.

Since I finally had some time and energy on my hand I decided to take a look and proofread and edit the newest patreon chapter, the one that comes out today. I used to do that for pretty much all chapters in the first arc but with the second arc, I spent most extra time on writing.

Well, long story short, I spent a really long time editing that chapter. And it made me realise, that I really shouldn't have skipped on this.

So, in other words, I'll spend the coming week editing all chapters from the second arc.

That will only delay the fourth advance chapter for now and not affect the regular schedule, but I hope the chapters will be more comfortable to read afterwards.

But no worries, this chapter was already edited as well. Thankfully I managed to do that in time.

Sorry about the inconvenience. Lesson learnt.

Thanks for reading!

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