CHAPTER 2.5: TRUST AND LETTING GO

***The Dupree Palace library…***

“Hey.”

Kuro was awakened when he felt something shook him. It was the Human Saint, floating beside him, who fell asleep on the chair in his private study. “M-Maddie!” he tried fixing himself the moment he saw her, but Her Holiness only laughed.

“I like your sleeping face better,” she told him while wiping his unruly hair off his forehead. “And also, I’m not alone.”

“!!!” It was only then that Kuro realized that the Beastman Saint and the Demon Saint were at the same room. He was about to ask them, when…

“Lady Braunhauer told us you were here,” Natasha explained. “And she also said that it’s been several long sleeps since you entered and never came out. I hope you’re taking care of yourself, Sir G!”

“Eh, I did!” Kuro countered. “At least, I still go out whenever I take a bath! And you know us both; we always take a bath every single day!”

Laughter ensued in the study, as the former teacher and student traded banters, much to the amusement of Maddie and Ruro. However, Kuro brought them back to the topic at hand…

“I…would like to say sorry for worrying you,” he accompanied his words with a bow. “I mean, I drafted those plans without even considering your feelings. And really, I’m scared to tell you guys; I know you won’t allow me to do it once you caught a peek of what I have in mind.”

Ruro heaved a sigh. “Master,” she leaned towards him, “I won’t deny I’m pissed at what you did. I mean, after all what happened? Who wouldn’t?”

“Yeah…it was my mistake.”

“True! But it’s not like we can’t understand why you did that,” Maddie backed her beastwoman friend. “We all have our fears, and I’d say, our concerns for you was dwarfed by your fears for us.”

Kuro remained silent as he listened. Deep in his mind, the scenes of the dark, and cold Cherflammen repeatedly flashed. The echoes of the howling wind, blowing aimlessly in that dead world, played in his ears. And the sensation of the coarse, dry sand creeped on his arms once again, that it made his hairs stood on its end. This living nightmare kept on repeating, as if he was watching a movie. And with every loop, Kuro would see the bodies of the people he loved, bloodied and lifeless, their eyes opened as if looking towards the dark skies for relief, scattered everywhere as far as his eyes could see…

“Kuro!”

“!!!” He was brought back to reality by Maddie and Natasha.

“Master,” Ruro stood beside him, and gently wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “It’s all over. Calm down.”

“Ah, yes…sorry,” Kuro massaged his temple. “My traumas from that place always haunts me.”

The three saints exchanged odd looks. Ruro spoke, “Master, look. Honestly, if we can dissuade you from fighting that monster, we will do it. I think every friend you have out there will have the same sentiments. However…”

“We’ll still support your decisions, Kuro,” Maddie continued, and heaved a sigh. “We’re just surprised at what we learned earlier, that’s why we refused your plan. But well, Lady Seirna…she convinced us that there’s no other way. While she is willing to go in your stead, her god-powers are more limited. And she also admitted that she has no knowledge in military matters.”

“Fighting the Seductress requires the god-powers,” Natasha added. “Trust me, I fought her with Seirna and Gaius before. The latter was still a god back then, so he used all of his god-powers in the fight. And we helped him; Seirna and I—as Cassandra David—set aside our differences just to defeat that monster. I’d say we beat her by a hair’s breadth, even with all our abilities combined. That’s how powerful the Seductress is; though Seirna did say she was greatly weakened last time they fought.”

“Yes, she told the same to me,” Kuro acknowledged. “That’s why, I’m banking on that possibility to strike at her while the Seductress is still relatively ‘weak’. Who knows? The god-powers I have might work on her.”

Another moment of silence. What could only be heard in the room were the exasperated sighs of the saints, and the duke himself.

“Honestly…” Kuro said. “I’m also tired of dealing with this problem. If I can only give it to someone else, I would do so.”

“We know,” Maddie smiled, pinching his face a little. “That’s why, we’ll support you. We’d like to see you get some well-deserved rest after working to protect us all.”

“Why don’t you take a vacation in my place once you’re done with your war, Master?” Ruro offered. “You know how relaxing and beautiful the Cauldron is right now, with all the improvements by that Insetus, Konka.”

“Haha! I shall take that offer then, Your Fluffy Holiness,” the duke replied. “Besides, it’s been a while since I last visited Cherwind; might be a good change of pace.”

The Beastman Saint, while she just smiled, couldn’t keep her excitement at his answer. Maddie, Natasha and Kuro could see her tails wagging, much to their admiration.

Then, the duke requested, “Your Holinesses, can you stop reading my mind for a bit?”

“Uh, sure!”

When he was sure that they were not peeking in his thoughts, Kuro put up his question, “I think this is long overdue, but…after all these issues are resolved, can I ask your permissions to stay beside and protect you forever?”

Silence. Maddie and Natasha were unsure of what the duke had said, but at the same time, they felt it would be out of place to ask what he meant by his words. Nevertheless, it was Ruro who spoke for them,

“Master, isn’t that what you always do?”

“No,” Kuro chuckled. “I got my roundabout way to do it…but damn, it’s kind of awkward to say it straight. What I mean is, uhm…you know, I’d like to ask your hands in marriage.”