All That I'm Living For

Chapter 1

Relief. That's what I felt knowing he'd kept his promise. He was alive! He stayed alive for me!

"Cadell...it's really you!" I rushed to his side and embraced him.

I felt myself being shoved back. I looked up at him in quiet confusion. Had he just... pushed me?

"Why did you...?"

No. Perhaps... I peered down past my unlikely outfit. From my long boots to my dirty tunic, everything suggested I was a man. Perhaps not wearing my usual attire was confusing. Before I could explain anything he fixed me with a cold glare. There was no doubt that he was prepared to kill me, and yet he looked troubled.

Not kindness, but perhaps...mercy?

"Touch me again, and I will kill you. Do you understand?"

I couldn't help but nod automatically.

There was no doubt he'd meant every word he said. He stared at me for a moment, then grimaced, and with a sigh put his sword away.

"Wh-What..?" I was too surprised to stop myself from speaking, and it quickly became apparent that I wasn't the only one.

"What? Wait, Cadell, are you sure about this? This kid saw...well, everything. That can't be good."

As the languid-looking man spoke to Cadell, his eyes narrowed. Cadell frowned back at him.

"Shut up." He said."If you keep that up, you know what we're going to have to do."

I wasn't quite sure what they meant, but it was clear enough that what I'd seen was something they wanted to keep hidden.

Still, the more they said, the more I understood, despite the fact that none of us wanted such a thing.

"I really think it's gonna come back to bite us in the ass if we let this kid go." The way he looked at me made me feel as if he'd read my mind.

Perhaps it would be best if I didn't think too hard about things I wasn't supposed to think about.

"So we should just kill people so they don't bother us later? No. I'll decide what we're going to do with this kid when we get back."

"I agree with the captain. If we remain here, we are likely to be seen. Again." The man they called Ken spoke with quite confidence. He glanced around, possibly looking for other witnesses. Then he looked down at the creature he'd killed, almost as though he'd forgotten the whole ordeal.

"If they have this sort of reaction of blood, then they don't seem like they'll be very practical."

"...Damn. I didn't think they'd gotten this bad." Cadell kicked down at the corpse, his face an emotionless mask. When he looked back at his companions, however, his eyes narrowed.

"As for you two... Drop the 'Cadell' and 'captain' stuff. We're supposed to be keeping a low profile."

"What?! Come on, you can't be serious... You don't think our uniforms are a bit of a give-away already?"

He was right... Even I had heard stories about a troop of cruel men in black coats who cut people down in the streets.

But-

No...no. Don't think. Ignore them.

I did my best to be stern with myself, but it came out sounding more pleading than commanding. I found myself staring at Cadell's back.

What made him change so much? Cadell had always been a gentle person..

In the past, he used to get angry with me and refused to forgive me no matter how much I cried and begged, but he would never have kick anybody, much less be part of such a troop. My mind swirled with thoughts and worries. I was being drawn into their world...