Light Kaiser

[Rei, under Corola Village]

Both my hands were on the wall, my forehead touched the stone and a river of blood dripped down. I had been able to slam my face on the wall in order to regain composure. The black collar wasn’t around my neck anymore, I could move my body freely. The mind control had been lifted.

My head was still spinning from the impact. I couldn’t recall everything that happened after the first wave of Goblins. The only thing I was sure of was that I had been the one to kill Brad and Gray. Their bodies laid on the stone floor, the battle between us must have been fierce, seeing also countless Goblins around the room.

Lua was in the middle of it. I felt one of her spells moments ago, my wounds had disappeared for the most part. Clara was nowhere to be seen.

“Lua, are you still there?” no response. Her breathing was regular.

I had to bring her back to Lyria and inform Roxy of anything that had gone down during the job she gave us. I grabbed Lua’s staff and carried her to the exit, following a gust of wind to orientate. If there were still Goblins down there, now that the spells had broken off they were free to move as they pleased. Since different tribes worked together under Clara they would probably fight between themselves to death.

“Almost there. Lua, stay with me” I found the stairs and headed up.

A hand reached to me helping me out. Living Armor and Roxy were waiting in the KIng’s hut. The two Feather Drakes that we rode to the Village were roaming behind them nibbling the grass.

“What are you doing here, you should have come sooner instead of waiting here”

“Calm down Rei, we just got here” Roxy pitied me with her eyes seeing the state Lua and I were in “I’m sorry we couldn’t act sooner”

“Then how is it possible that you came just at the right moment? I can I be sure you’re not one of them as well”

“When the staff Armor showed you vanished from sight we knew something was wrong and came here in a rush”

They had plenty of chances to just get rid of me right there if they wanted to. Building this farce of coming to help would have been just a waste of time. I decided to trust them.

The torch in the hut lit Roxy’s face. She was worried, she didn’t know what was really under all that dirt and sent her mercenaries into unknown danger. Armor checked Lua’s conditions and stated that with some healing potions and rest she would be good. Once I finally felt safe, I took a deep breath and began telling everything, connecting it to the girl I had saved.

“So Clara was one of them too…” Roxy asked Armor to check the place underground for survivors

“Too?”

“We had a hunch that Brad and Gray were into sketchy business and I was personally watching every move”

“So you knew what they did to Lua and didn’t do anything”

“What do you mean?” Roxy opened her eyes in surprise. I told her “Oh you poor girl. Why didn’t you tell me sooner” she hugged Lua “How much trouble did I cause you two...I’m not sure of how I can repay you”

We were a hopeless bunch. Everyone had done something wrong in their lives and didn’t know how to make up for it.

“I checked the whole place. All mercenaries I found were killed in action, including Clara. I found keys on her and opened a vault hidden in the cells” Armor threw a leather bag at me “I guess this is yours”

It was full of Karses. I remembered Clara offered me money to spare her, was this what she was talking about? There were at least 30k there. I could have repaid my debt.

Armor handed the Brooches over to Roxy. After helping Roxy make Lua ride with her we got back to the city leaving that awful night behind us. I spent the rest of the short night with Lua in her room hoping she would wake up. Her hand was cold. She talked during the night, crying for me. I was there but she didn’t know that. Shortly after, it was morning again. I didn’t sleep at all scared that Lua might let go of my hand and fade away.

She opened her eyes, looked at me for a second, and ripped her arm off my hand. She curled up in her bedsheet distancing herself from me. I could only read one thing in her blue eyes. Terror.

“Let go of me you monster!” she screamed and threw at me the closest thing to her.

I was left speechless. I felt something inside me break.

“I’ll leave you alone”

Lua’s eyes turned back to normal, she was aware of who I was and realized the words she just spoke. She covered her mouth with the blanket.

“Rei I’m sorry...I’m sorry I didn’t mea…” I was out of the room.

Just as the night I heard and decided to carry her burdens, I heard her weep from the other side of the door.

“Roxy wants to talk with you” descending the stairs Armor laid a hand on my shoulder “Just give Lua her time and things will go back to normal”

“I think it might not be as easy as you say” I was holding in everything

I entered Roxy’s office and sat on the couch. The softness of the pillows calmed me down a little.

“I informed the Guild and they decided to reward you for your work. The deceased members of your Unit were apparently involved in major crimes in the capital, backed by Clara. They had bounties on their heads but no one was aware of their faces”

“I just killed three people and they are going to throw money at me?”

“They were criminals”

“This doesn’t change the fact that I got to know them thinking they were normal mercenaries” I raised my voice “Sorry, I’m still a little shaken”

“I can understand. But think of it this way, Lua can leave peacefully now”

“The only Unit which accepted her is gone to shreds. She’s Nameless, her future will not be so bright from what I can understand”

“But she has you Rei”

I clicked my tongue and looked away. Her reaction this morning surprised me but if she truly saw what happened down there it was normal for her to think that way. Who would have wanted to stay with a monster like me who didn’t even remember killing the ones he worked and had talks with.

“Considering the Rescue job I gave you, the Goblins you killed and everything else, The Guild has to give you 65.020 Karses. If we take in consideration the ones in the vault you are now moderately rich. You can pay your debt whenever you want”

“I’ll consider about it” having so much money all of a sudden made me uneasy

I left the office and opened the Door. Lua was standing outside, Roxy wanted to talk to her too. Maybe she tried to create a chance for us to be together.

“Rei, I…”

I brushed past her and left the Full Moon.

“Larce, are you awake already?” I knocked on his shop

“Hey, dude, what’s all this? I’m coming” he yawned, opening the door.

“I need a friend to talk with” I went straight to what I needed.

“Your face is not as handsome as the other days. Sure, come in. I didn’t want to work today anyway” he flipped the sign to ‘Be back soon’ and let me in.

I started from the beginning and let everything out. I didn’t leave anything behind and I even talked about my feelings seeing Lua’s face this morning. Larce was listening to me without interrupting, he must have been used to this.

“Man that’s a heavy load you have on you” he offered me a drink from one of his secret bottles under the counter “Have some of the good stuff to cheer up”

“I don’t know what to do” the drink was pure alcohol “I feel like I shouldn’t have come here at all”

“If you didn’t join the Guild Lua would have suffered even more, and Roxy wouldn’t have a personal Golden Mine” he laughed trying to play it down

“You’re right” maybe it was the alcohol but I felt better “You would have passed out somewhere in the slums if it wasn’t for me that night”

“Yeah dude, you’re my Hero”

“I’m no hero, Larce. I’m just a guy trying to survive day by day”

“Aren’t we all like that?” I downed my drink “Are you ready to go back now?”

“Yes, I’ll use some of the leftover money to buy stuff from you aha”

I headed back, ready to face Lua and tell her everything I wanted to. She was standing outside in the wind. Her blue hair was let down and flew in the wind, her eyes were searching around her and gleamed once she saw me. I waved at her as she ran in my direction.

“Huff”

She hugged me tight and we fell together on the road. Lua was in tears again.

“You’re such a crybaby Lua, can you do something else besides crying?”

“Stop being so mean. You avoided me all morning” she sunk her face in my gilet

“I had to think. And you called me a Monster. I was hurt, you know?”

Lua didn’t speak. She was aware of that and was surely sad about it. The people walking past us started giving me weird looks and I stood on my back still holding the girl. I wanted this moment to last forever.

“Can you tell me how the fight went?” I asked gently, I was ready to receive a no as a response

“I was planning to do that...Let me stay like this for a little while”

“Can you lovebirds do that inside?” Chevy called for us.

Lua explained the story after I lost my senses. It was a sight that a girl should have never seen. I was driven by bloodlust and didn’t even reconsider slaying Brad and Gray. Knowing that I didn’t kill Clara directly eased the guilt in my head.

“You talked, moved, and behaved like a totally different person. Clara said that you went berserk when your mind broke and that was the result of it”

Lua’s hands were shaking through the whole narration.

“It’s my fault you got dragged into this mess. If I haven’t met that Magnus guy, all this would just be a bad dream”

“It was my fault entirely...I had to get you out of the party sooner”

We both concluded that things went that way because of a strange series of unfortunate events and the fault relapsed only on fate and bad luck.

“I guess now it’s just the two of us in the Unit” it was best to forget the past and start anew.

We could have laid back a little with all the money from the rewards but we had to start working again someday. Lua kept her head down.

“The Unit disbanded. I-I...I decided to leave the Guild” she slid her Brooch on the table. I didn’t realize she wasn’t wearing it anymore.

“What...Why?”

“I just...this is not my place, Rei. I’m not cut out to be a mercenary, if I stay here I will only get you in a more difficult situation and hurt you, and I can’t stand even thinking about that”

“What are you going to do then?”

“I still wield magic and healing spells are really important. I decided to follow the other path the Guild offered me back then. I’ll find another work somewhere and save up for the entry fee somehow”

“But you will stay in the Capital”

“Just until I’m done with the studies, I’ll come back to the Full Moon once I’m a full-fledged healer”

“So you’re leaving to protect me?”

“It’s just one of the reasons. I would have liked to stay with you if only it was possible. I care for you too much for you, I cannot bear seeing you in that state anymore”

“I’ll just avoid getting in trouble, we’ll find a way...I’m sure we can”

“We both know that isn’t possible” Lua giggled “The part of you that doesn’t leave anyone behind is my favorite”

I grabbed her Brooch. The iron pearl on the feather reflected my face. I was the one crying now. I got up from the table after Lua stopped speaking and under the pretext of going to the bathroom I secretly met with Roxy.

[Lua, Lyria's North Gate]

Two days had passed since I told Rei I was leaving. I had gathered all the courage left to manage to go through that conversation without regrets. Rei was strong enough to recover from that easily, I had to leave him alone. The time we passed together had been enough for me to understand that by staying I would have only dragged him back.

“Did you bring everything?”

Roxy was standing next to me loading the wagon. She wanted to accompany me on the journey to the Capital but I refused. Rei needed her more than anyone this time.

“Yes. I had to leave the most important thing behind but I’m good to go”

I had hoped for Rei to come to see me off but I couldn’t expect much. I was the one who had betrayed him the most in the end.

“Do you want to wait a bit more? He might come” Roxy tried to cheer me up

“Yes, let’s wait”

I wanted to look at that scenery for the last time. Even if we were at the border of the city I could still see Lyria’s plaza in front of me and a tiny golden statue in the middle of it. The orphanage I grew up in was on the other side of the city in the slums. I asked the Headmaster to treat the girl Rei saved. Even if he didn’t admit it he kind of looked like a Hero sometimes. He didn’t come from another world like them and wasn’t as powerful. He couldn’t even use magic. But his spirit was enough for me to consider him one.

The sun was up in the sky. Summer was almost over but the heat still roamed free in the city. A breeze messed up my hair. I had decided to let them down since I could see Rei liked them more like that. My mercenary clothes were in one of the bags and I decided to wear just a simple white dress. I noticed the grip of my hands on the staff was getting stronger. I wanted him to come after all.

“I’m ready” I informed Roxy.

She helped me up on the wagon and handed me a small pouch. It had just enough money for the first day in Artoria, the Kingdom’s Capital and biggest city in Drak.

“Once you get there, look for the place I told you about, and ask for a man called Hawthorne. He will help you”

“Thank you for everything, Roxy” I smiled. I was happy to finally enter the Academy but, at the same time, sad to leave Lyria behind me.

“You do know it was Rei who paid for most of the tuition right?”

“Please don’t make this harder for me” I already knew that.

Rei wasn’t the type to spend all of that without even repaying Roxy. The wagon started moving as the gate opened. It would have taken the entire day to reach Artoria and I was in for a long ride. I took a book out of one of the bags and looked at the title.

‘Tales of Aurora’

It was one of the thousands of books about girls saved by heroes but this was one of the best. It narrated the story of Saintess Aurora and her journey across the land. She had been blessed with Lux magic just like me and used it to help people in need. In one of her adventures, she encountered a Hero and decided to join him in his journey. They fought demons and evil together as they traveled the land. The Hero Aurora joined reminded me a lot of Rei and made me appreciate the book even more. I was pretty sure there was a religion based on the Saintess’ actions somewhere outside the Kingdom.

“Lua”

A voice interrupted my reading. I had been caught up too much in daydreaming and was hearing Rei calling for me. My mind was giving up. The landscape around me was covered in wheat fields. I could even see a couple of Bovurs playing in the mud by a river. If they allowed pets in the Academy I might have bought one to keep.

“Lua!”

The voice appeared louder and nearer than before. I put my head out the window. A man was riding a Feather Drake and was heading toward the carriage. The creature was quick and raised a big cloud of dust from the road. Rei was bouncing on the saddle, waving at me. The driver of the wagon didn’t seem to care and kept going. The Drake sped up trying to shorten the distance with me. Rei noticed my head popping out and stopped screaming my name.

He was here at last.

The bipedal lizard caught up with the wagon and lowered its pace, following along a couple of meters in front of me.

“I didn’t know you could ride Feather Drakes” I spoke

“I had only two days to learn” Rei was sweating “It’s a miracle I held on this long”

“I thought you didn’t want to see me”

“At first I did, but then I felt terrible and punched myself in the face. Now I’m here. I couldn’t let you go so easily” he caught the reins trying not to fall

“I already decided. I’m not coming back even if you beg me” the words hurt me coming out of my mouth.

“Well, at least I wanted to see you off. Sorry if I’m late. I had to pay Roxy quite the sum to get one of these” even in that situation he made me laugh. I was truly happy.

“Then do you have something to say to me?” I crossed my arms and rested on the wagon’s window.

“You look cuter with your hair down” I knew it. Good job me “And...Good Luck! I want you to do your best at the Academy and become the best Healer in this Kingdom. If you don’t get the ‘Kaiser’ title I might get mad”

In all the rush a necklace popped from under Rei’s shirt. A metal feather with a grey pearl welded to the end of an iron chain. He was wearing my Brooch. My heart couldn’t handle it anymore.

“I’ve been meaning to say this to you since you joined the Unit...Rei, I-I really lo…”

In front of me, Rei fell from the Drake and tumbled to the ground. His body laid on the road and was getting further and further. I laughed out loud. I would have had another occasion to tell him how I felt. This wasn’t the right time. I was sure we would see each other again pretty soon. I balanced on the wooden door and leaned outside. I placed both hands around my mouth and shouted at Rei, who was just getting up.

“Wait for me! I’ll be back in a flash” I waved and slowly got back into the wagon.

Lyria became smaller and smaller behind my back. I let out a deep breath. I stretched my arms and laid on the seat. I should have used the time left to relax and prepare for my new beginning.

“‘Light Kaiser’ doesn’t sound bad as a title” I thought before falling asleep.

Hey! Ecspo here. Hope you liked this chapter!

Since this is my first serious work and also my first work in English I would very much appreciate any tips, critiques, comments of any kind. Tell me if the chapters are too long, short, or whatever, it would mean a lot to me.