Chapter 38 On The Other Side

"..."

"...What's wrong, big brother? You've been staring onto somewhere for a while now." Aoi looked at me with a puzzled face.

While having a quick breakfast at the Sandy Fish, it took me a while before I noticed that Aoi's been staring at me intently as if probing into the deepest parts of my soul.

"Wah--it's nothing, it's nothing." Blinking my eyes for a few times, I replied.

"...Muuuuuuu...while I'm here telling you about the meat bun castle I saw in my dreams last night, you just sat there with your eyes away from me. What are you looking at, big brother?!"

Whenever I see her pout like that especially in the morning, it makes me want to pinch her cheeks that hard.

"Sorry, my attention's drawn away towards that group of young people over there."

On the other side of the inn, a group of five people--two boys and three girls--around fifteen or sixteen years of age gathered around a table as they happily eat their breakfast while chatting. Judging from their armor and the weapons they placed against the wall, most probably they are adventurers just like us.

Following where my finger is pointing at, Aoi's expression instantly turned into a frown.

"...Heh...it was just a group of ugly humans. I don't see anything worth of your attention in them, big brother."

"Hey, watch your words, will you? Surely they might not be a strange sight to see, but for some reason I just can't take away my eyes off them."

I've already seen several parties in our short time here in Plate Town, with each of them unique to the other groups, but those guys right now tugs a special string in my mind, as if suffusing myself in a sense of nostalgia.

'Is it because they reminded me of my classmates I left behind in Arandel..?'

"...Hm? You're saying something, big brother?"

"Oh, never mind. Let's hurry before we get reprimanded for being late, okay?"

Aoi silently ate her food, while keeping her suspicious gaze fixed at me.

-----

City of Barchen, Kingdom of Arandel.

This large city on the south of the kingdom, is where the capital was moved after the destruction of Arteim. It's been almost three months since the demon attack happened, but there were still no signs of recovery in the old capital.

Compared to Arteim, Barchen is much more protected, due to the natural features surrounding it tuat proved to be effective deterrents from outside attack throughout the ages.

On its north and west sides there lies the wide Barchen River whom the city is named after in which the constant, fast-flowing downstream and the sharp rocks on the riverbanks made it risky for any invaders to dare crossing it. As the river flows even more south, one would reach the delta before making it all the way to the Lepana Lake. Although the lake doesn't pose any danger by itself and the currents are already placid by the time it reached the place, the lake is heavily guarded by the knights who are stationed to protect the city from any threats that come their way. Lastly, aside from providing protection from attacks coming from the east, the mountains of Midsor also serve as a cover against storms during rainy seasons. All of these protective landscapes made the city known as 'The Fortress of the South' and 'The Second Capital' after Arteim.

And just like the throne of the country, a certain group of young people moved to this city as well.

"It's been about four months since we came into this world, but even now I really can't make myself used to the living quality of this place."

The one who spoke was a petite-looking girl about sixteen years of age, with her hair styled with a tail on one side.

"Four months, you say...? I can't believe that we're here for that long."

Sitting on a floor, a tall young man with a sporty build replied to the girl.

"While we're busy making sure that the tragedy of Arteim won't happen again here in Barchen, time really flows fast if you keep your minds occupied by something else such as that."

Another young man replied as he meticulously cleaned his sword.

The petite girl pouted her lips and groaned. "If I only have my phone with me here in this magical world, I would be not bored to hell like this right now~"

Being stuck in a world where scientific technology's not that advanced compared to the one she came from and got accustomed with, four months is too much of a punishment for a girl of her age, who depends largely on smartphones in order to kill time.

"Too bad. Even if you managed to have your phone you still can't be able to use it since there's no place for you to charge it--unless you create a charger that could tap energy from the surroundings."

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"In that case...", the petite girl then asked another girl who is sitting by the window of their room.

"Hey, since today's our day off, would you like to buy clothes with me, Karen?"

However, the girl named Karen didn't said any word in reply, as she kept herself busy looking outside the window.

A serene beauty isolating herself in her own world, seeing her like that made the petite girl sigh deeply.

"You know, guys...I'm starting to get worried whenever I see her like that."

"Me too. While she seems okay on the outside, I really don't understand what's going on in her brain," The tall man, James, replied.

"Maybe she's just tired. We relied too much on her healing magic during our last battle against the demons, right?"

Just as what the person named Kai have mentioned, it was all thanks to her support that they defeated the overwhelming numbers of demons who tried to invade the city. Although each one of them could take down hundreds, or even thousands of demons at their peak forms, a healer would still be their most invaluable asset to achieve victory.

While ignoring the other fact about the girl's mental state, everyone seemed to agree with his reasoning.

"Ah, forget it. I'll just go to the town by myself!" Iza said as she quickly left the room.

James stretched his arms upward and let out a deep yawn. "Maaaan...it's so boring being holed up in here. Wanna hunt beasts with me in the mountains, Kai?"

"You're in charge of restocking our meat supplies for this week, right? Sure, I'll join but..."

While looking at the girl by the window, feelings of guilt and worry swarmed around him. He wanted to invite her to come as well, but seeing her motionlessly gaze at the horizon overlooking the lake made him hesitate.

James spoke, as he patted Kai's shoulder. "She'll be fine. Let's go."

After the three of her friends have left, Karen finally released a relieved sigh as she started to stand and move he legs after sitting near the window for a long time.

"Now that everyone has left, it's time for me to let it out." She said while loosening herself up.

While making sure no one will enter the room for a while, she opened a small, hidden compartment on the floorboard underneath her sleeping bag, and pulled out a meter-long object wrapped in cloth that is placed vertically under the floor. As soon as she unfastened the strings of the cloth covering, Karen finally let out a voice of delight.

"Yosh, you're beautiful as always, Pola!"

The Pola she's referring to was...a sword.

A sheath made of the finest bone of a large demon defeated in the past, carved with intricate engravings that signify beauty and strength; the handle, also made of bone and wrapped in high-quality resin; the well-tempered blade of toughest Zerethium that could easily cut through sheets of steel while giving off a blackish-purple shine against the sunlight--in her hands, is a sword that could easily make or break a person.

No one knew how Karen got hold of that sword; not one of them even found out about the sword's existence. It might be possible that she obtained it through shady means, but it would be inconceivable considering her personality.

Going as far as hiding it to her classmates and giving it a name which she based from the north star, Pola indeed became one of Karen's guilty pleasures.

"It's been only a few days since we met, so I'm not sure if I could use you properly this time. Anyway..."

Drawing the sword from the sheath, Karen's heart started to beat fast. The beauty of the sword made her emotions stir like that, as her cheeks gradually heating up from the excitement.

After taking a few deep breaths to calm herself down she made a few swings of the sword, making herself get used to the weight of the blade and its resistance on the air around it. A downward swing, a side slash, then a forward thrust--Karen did everything a few times until she got the hang of its usage.

"Next, we'll try to imitate Rin's [Three Needle Strike]..."

Three Needle Strike--it was an attack capable of effectively piercing through an enemy's defenses. Albeit simple to understand it theoretically, Karen knew that the execution was rather tricky especially for a beginner like her. Even so, she gripped onto her sword just as what her swordsman classmate do, and began preparing her stance.

"Nn. With this I think I could be able to properly pull off one of Rin's simples sword techniques--"

"Whose sword techniques again, Karen?"

"Uwaaaaaaaaahhhh--?!"

As she got startled, she unconsciously turned and swung her sword towards the person behind her. The person then, with reflexes faster than anyone, quickly drew her own sword to block Karen's surprise attack, creating a sharp *clink* upon contact.

That person's quick movements, along with her hair tied into a ponytail fluttering against the wind, made her heart race for a beat.

She gasped in surprise. "R-R-Rin?!"

Karen knew, only one person could parry her sword easily like that.

"Yo!" The person greeted her in a reply. "Looks like, I came in a wrong timing, am I?"

Realizing who the person is, Karen immediately sheathed her sword out of panic. "S-Sorry! I-I never meant to do that!"

"It's okay, it's okay. I'm the one who should be apologizing right now, you know, since I just entered your room without permission."

By the moment Rin sheathed her sword as well, her attention got focused on the sword on Karen's hands. "Nice sword you got there..."

"A-Ah, d-don't let Mari knew about this!!!" She immediately grabbed her shoulders and begged.

After her secret's been found out, she had no choice but to tell her how she got hold of Pola.

"Please, Rin...if Mari found out that I'm hiding a sword she'll get really, really mad at me!"

Inside her mind, if the class president were to find out about the sword, there would be a high probability that she won't let the situation slip easily. The image of a responsible person she had made all this time...would instantly crumble all because of that one mistake.

Seeing that her classmate looked so afraid of what would happen to her, Rin smiled at her with a comforting gaze. "Don't worry. I'll keep this a secret."

-----

With a kettle on one hand and a plate of cookies on the other, Karen happily served tea and snacks to the visitor whom she didn't expected to come.

With a low table between them, the two girls then sat on the floor facing each other, and their swords rested on the wall beside them.

"I'm just passing through when I heard strange whooshing sounds coming from this room, I don't actually mean to barge and see you having that sword." Rin explained the purpose of her sudden visit.

"S-So you saw me..."

"No, I just came at that time when you mentioned my name. I didn't saw anything, I swear." Rin answered solemnly.

Unbeknownst to her, Rin actually entered the room by the time Karen was about to prepare her stance for Three Needle Strike. She can't tell it in person at that time, but she felt flattered and embarrassed when she saw her classmate trying to imitate her move.

Karen poured tea on Rin's cup, seemingly relieved. "While I do believe on what you're saying...it's still not right to enter someone's room like that. At least knock the door or something before you enter."

"Ahahahaha! My bad, my bad." Rin paused to take a sip. "Also, if you're planning to learn how to use a sword you should seek help first. I'm willing to lend a hand, you know?"

"Really? I would be happy if you do that!"

Rin chuckled at her classmate's sudden change of expression.

"W-Why are you laughing?"

"You see, it's been a while since the last time I saw you smile like that." Rin replied.

Rin noticed, that in the past few months the girl in front of her seldom comes out of her room. If she does, however, it will be only during mealtime, or doing duties as one of the Promised Ones who protects the country from demons.

Everyone looked forward to see her radiant smile first thing in the morning, only to feel worried instead while seeing her serene, expressionless visage every single day.

"Everyone misses you and your cheerful attitude, you know? I know that for some reason you still can't forget everything that happened, but if you keep on blaming yourself--"

"I know. You don't have to say any more than that."

Stopping her hand midway while she's about to pour tea for herself, Karen spoke. The smile she had a minute ago instantly vanished just like that.

Seeing the abrupt change in her expression, Rin asked a question. "Karen, is there any reason as to why you're doing this?"

"D-Do I have to tell you...?"

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to, but I'll feel relieved if I know that there's a good reason behind your plans."

Being stared at with a gaze as sharp as Pola, she couldn't help but to sigh in defeat.

"Ahahaha...well...I just...want to be stronger, I guess?"

Rin curled her lips at her words.

"I-It's not that I want to steal your role as a swordsman, okay? I just realized that in order to become more helpful to everyone I must learn different disciplines aside from healing magic."

"An all-rounder, you say? I see." Rin placed her hand on her chin.

Rin thought, it might be good for her to step out of her comfort zone and further expand her skill set. Being a healer, Karen's offensive capabilities only comes from a few debuff spells she learned beforehand, but at least with her secret sword training, she could defend herself and others even more to some degree.

"I promised to myself...I won't let myself to lose any of my friends ever again." Biting her lip, Karen declared with a serious tone.

Left behind while being powerless at that time, the regret of not being able to protect that certain person still haunted her in her dreams. She would wake up suddenly in the middle of the night, only to find out that her hands raised and reaching out into nothing, as if longing to hold onto someone's arm.

And with her classmates apparently brushing themselves away from that matter intentionally, she was left with no choice but to keep onto herself the grief she's hiding in her heart--not only for that person, but to all the powerless people who lost their lives.

No. There's no need to grieve anymore, she thought.

"In this place where power determines the worth of an individual, I shall become the strength for those who are powerless." She said while placing her hands as if in a prayer.

"..."

Rin only listened to her, but she immediately realized the main reason why.

Thoughtful, kind, caring--those are some of the words that could describe the beautiful girl in front of her. Whether as an honor student or a Healer in another world, Rin knew that Karen's compassion didn't change much all this time.

But for some reason, her emotions would stir up because of one thing, or person--

'As I thought, she...'

Rin suddenly stood up from the floor, and spoke. "I almost forgot, there's some important matters I must attend to at this time."

"Ah, no worries."

After picking up her sword, she spoke again just as when she's about to open the door.

"Karen, about the sword training--I'll have you show to me how strong is that resolve burning in your heart."

After Rin left the room, Karen silently finished drinking her tea.

"'My resolve', huh..."

While muttering those words, she glanced at the sword resting on her side. Grasping its handle and pulling it from the sheath, it gave off a purplish-black shine when placed against the sunlight.

The blade that served as a guide towards one that is once lost--Polaris.

A relic sword that she invested with her own income through unscrupulous means, it is said that whoever holds it will soon find what he or she seeks the most.

"Just you wait, Ren." She whispered the name of that person again after a long time.

Grieving for weeks for someone that she firmly believed that is still alive--Karen could only smile at herself in self-mockery.

That person.

That person whose name is a part of hers--she wanted to see that person once again.

In order to fulfill that wish--

"I will find and save you, no matter what!"