Comeback

"Ugh, my head hurts so much."

Rubbing my head, I realized I was in my own room, still wearing my clothes from last night. Then, I noticed someone sitting on my sofa.

"Ugh, Kuroi? What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I decided to stay the night because you were acting a little strange yesterday."

"Ugh, is that so?"

"Yes. You were even crying last night."

"Yeah, it seems I really am a mess right now, huh."

Shaking my head, I ignored it for now and washed my face to fully wake myself up.

Looking into the mirror that still didn't show my reflection, I let out a sigh.

"Nothing has changed. I haven't changed at all."

Returning to the main room, I sat on the sofa next to Kuroi, just staring straight ahead before turning to her. It seemed she had already anticipated what I was going to say.

"You can take a few weeks off for a vacation, you know."

"...I haven't even said anything yet."

"Even if you don't say it, I am still going to give you time off because of your condition."

If she was saying that, my condition really must have looked terrible. So, I told Kuroi everything about what had happened.

.

..

…

"Hmm, is that so."

"Yeah, a lot of things happened, and it forced me to run away and come here."

Thinking about it again, I wondered why I ever thought I could do all of this. If I truly believed in myself, I probably would have done it a long time ago.

Staring at the ceiling, I realized that maybe I would just remain the same person, always doing the same things.

"It's not a problem, you know. Feeling awful and running away from it."

"Is it?"

Kuroi nodded, talking about bad days and things like that. Even so, I still couldn't stop feeling regret over what had happened in the past.

"I feel like slouching now, huh~"

"Isn't that normal for you?"

"Hey, that is rude."

What Kuroi said made it sound like I was always lazing around every day. But maybe she wasn't wrong; I did always look like that.

"Will the office be fine if I take a vacation?"

"It should be no problem. You know you can trust me and the rest of the staff."

"Trust... trust, huh."

When Kuroi said that, it made me realize that maybe I had a bit of a trust issue with everything—even with myself.

"Should I go back to my castle?"

"If it makes you feel better, why not?"

"Well, I really feel like if I go back, it's just like I'm repeating the past, always running away from something."

"That is fine, though, as long as you come back later. We have a saying: 'Fall seven times, stand up eight.' So don't worry about it."

"Yeah, maybe you are right. Then I want to go back to my castle."

"Do you need a car?"

"No need. I can just fly there."

Understanding my decision, Kuroi smiled and nodded. She helped me pack my suitcase while I took a shower, and then we had breakfast together.

"I am really going to miss the food here while I'm at my castle."

"You just have to fly over, you know. I'm sure you are fast enough to make the trip back and forth."

"I'll probably just be too lazy for that."

"Fufu, you're probably right."

After that, silence enveloped the room. Maybe it wasn't just me, but neither of us really knew what to say.

"I know this isn't a goodbye, but it feels like I'm disappearing again."

"I will just pray that you'll be alright during the trip and while you are there."

"Hahaha, thank you. Could you hold onto my keys, then?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm afraid I might lose them."

Handing over the keys to my apartment, I grabbed my suitcase. We walked out together as she offered to walk me out.

During the elevator ride, we talked about whatever came to mind—the past, and other things—though most of it was about my embarrassing moments.

"Make sure you contact me at least once every two days."

"I will try my best."

"The office will probably be much more productive while you're on vacation. Fufufu."

"Hey, that is rude."

Ding.

With that sound, we reached the lobby. The apartment staff greeted me, and I returned it with a smile. Once we were outside...

"Anyway, if anything happens, just contact me or Capsaicin. We will definitely come if you need anything."

"Thank you for that. Fufu. Well then, I will be gone for a while. Take care of yourself."

Before I could take off, Kuroi hugged me for a moment. Then she let go and smiled.

"Please be safe."

Nodding, I flew off. Looking back, Kuroi was still standing there as the city below grew further away. No matter how many times I saw this scenery, it truly was a fascinating place.

Not long after, the city disappeared, replaced by the forest. Feeling the cool breeze on my face, I saw the numerous hills in the distance, knowing one of them was my castle.

Seeing the tunnel I had created when I first emerged made me feel like it had been a very long time. Then, I looked at the top of the hill.

"You are still here?"

I saw a goat casually eating grass on top of my castle, which was still covered and looked like a regular hill. But I noticed the goat wasn't alone.

"Hmm, it seems you have a family now, huh."

Descending, I landed at the tunnel entrance. As I walked toward the main door, I manifested my blood sword, gripping it tightly.

"Someone broke my door."

I slowly walked inside, but all I saw was rubble scattered everywhere. It meant all my golems had been destroyed.

"Oh~ you are back already?"

"Who's there?!"

From behind one of the pillars, someone stepped out from the shadows. He was wearing the same robe as the monsters I had fought before.

"Oh, for you to forget about me makes me sad, you know."

Hearing that voice again, I gritted my teeth. Without a second thought, I lunged forward as fast as I could, thrusting my sword at the creature in front of me.

"MAELLL!!!"

"Oh, niece. We meet again."