The little girl led Glynne to a bench under a single cherry blossom tree. The place was a little further away from the village so it is a bit quiet. A gentle breeze passes through as it gives of a calming feeling. Glynne smiled, just like the girl said, this is a good place to rest.
"Here, Onii-san! Oka-san said that you need to drink lots of water if you are sick." the little girl said as she handed Glynne a cup of water.
He gave his thanks for the consideration and drink it in one go. The cold water passes through his throat as he felt refreshed. In actuality, he a bit thirsty since he has been fighting for quite some time.
Glynne returned the cup as the little girl put it to the side. She then also sat on the bench while staring at him.
"By the way Onii-san, are you a ninja?" the little girl asked with her eyes sparkling.
Glynne smiled bitterly. He guessed the reason why she asked that is because of his battle suit. In reality, he was not a ninja or even qualified to even be called as one. As far as he was concerned, he is more or less a scout.
Actually, his battle suit design was centered to the purposed of scouting. It has a light armor and superior honkai energy support to aid with overall movements. But in exchange, it lack support skills to help in battle.
Now that he think about it, almost battle suits for males are designed for support purposes. Well he is an irregularity after all so he can't help it. Most males, who has honkai resistance, tend to be weaker than their female counterpart. Because of this, they are usually given the support role. The battle suits reflect this reality.
Anyways, if he use the references on the book that he read about ninjas, he is definitely not one. Even so, he can't just destroy a kid's dream. Glynne put a finger over his mouth as he let out a shushing sound, "Shhh.., you shouldn't tell anyone about this, okay?"
"Ah...Shhh," The little girl cutely copied his gesture while also shushing.
"It's our secret, okay?" Glynne said as the little girl strongly nodded. He is smiling wryly inside as he can't help but think his actions are somewhat suspicious.
"Then Onii-san, you could do it right? Breathe fire or create copies of yourself or summoning a frog?" The little girl asked as her eyes are brimming with expectations.
Obviously, he can't do it. No matter how much he trained, he do not think it would be possible for him. Those techniques are already in the realm of fiction after all.
That said, he would not be surprised if someone crazy enough to train hard to be able to replicate it. The world is quite vast so there is still that possibility.
However, he can't say no the little girl. "... well, those are secret techniques so I can't show them." Glynne said, which is totally a lie. He is already lying after all so adding more would not change much.
"Eh, no fair..." the little girl sulked. "Please, please, pretty please, I want to see it. I want to see. I swear I won't tell this to anyone!"
Glynne was bothered by the constant begging. If he really could do it, he might have already done it. Unfortunately, he cannot. "...No, sorry. Our secret technique is not for show."
At Glynne's stern words, the girl look down dejected. A pang of guilt pierce through his heart. As he was about to comfort her, a sudden idea pop up into his head.
"But well, I could show you something else." Glynne said as the little girl look up to him with sparkling eyes. "It isn't that great as the secret techniques though. Are you okay with that?"
The girl vigorously nodded her head.
"Well then, look at my hand." As Glynne instructed, the little girl paid close attention to his open hand. He shows the back and then his palm. "There's nothing right?"
The girl nodded as her eyes follows the movement of his hand. Once again, he show the back, but when he turned to show the palm, there was a single small black ball in between his middle finger and index finger.
"Eh?! When did it get there?!" the little girl asked in surprised.
Glynne chuckled at his audience reaction but he did not stop to explain. As the girl was still puzzled, he continued on with his act.
Again, he shows the back of his hand. The girl's eyes are staring at it like crazy in order to not let anything get away. It was for a naught though as when he flip to his palm, another ball was added in between his fingers. He did not stop, he repeated it again and now there is three. He did it again and now there is four.
"Ehhh, how is Onii-san doing it?!" the little girl complained as she did not noticed how he did so.
"That's a secret." Glynne said while putting a finger over his lips using his other hand. One last time, he shows her the back of his hand. But when he shows his palm, the balls are already gone.
"They're gone?!" the girl exclaimed in disbelief. She quickly grab his hand and tried to examine it closely but she failed to find any. She look up to his face as her eyes are sparkling.
"How is it? Did you like it?" Glynne asked.
"Mhn!" the little girl vigorously nodded and shows a huge smile.
Glynne was glad that the little girl like his little party trick. If she hated, there is a chance that she might asked for something flashier. He cannot so anything flashier than this after all. That said, there is a slight miscalculation.
"Onii-san, Onii-san! Can you show me another one?" the little girl asked.
He did not factor in the possibility of her liking it so much that she is requesting for another one. Glynne is troubled by it as he scratched the back of his head. He pause to think for a second before arriving a decision. "No, I'm sorry but that's it for today." Glynne said and shakes his head.
"Is that so..." The little girl hang her head down, feeling dejected.
"Don't worry though." Glynne told to the little girl as he tries to console her. "The next time I'll visit, I'll show you another one."
"Eh, really?!" the little girl asked as Glynne nodded. "Then it's a promise!"
"Yeah, it's a promise." Glynne smiled seeing the little celebrate. He slowly shifted his gaze towards the village as he felt a number of honkai signatures disappeared all at once. "So the ceremony has ended..."
The little girl tilted her head when she heard his mutterings. Glynne quickly dismisses it by waving his hand.
"By the way, won't your mother look for you?" Glynne questioned.
"Oka-san..? Ah, oh no!" being reminded of her mother, the little girl quickly stood up and grab her stuffs. She left without a permission so her mother might get worried about her. She ran towards the village but not before she stop for a bit and wave her hands. "Bye-bye, Onii-san!"
Glynne smiled and also waved back. The little girl continues on towards the village.
Now that he is alone, he begun to think about the vision he just saw. No.., that might not the case. He look down on his hands as he tries to open and close his palm. He felt a bit sluggish than usual, the sign of the backlash of him absorbing huge amounts of honkai energy.
Glynne let out a huge sigh as he look up to the skies. His head is still in disorder. He closes his eyes trying to calm himself.
After a few minutes of rest, his ear perk up as there is a faint sound of someone approaching. Based from their footsteps, they seems to be in a hurry. He opened his eyes as soon as they stop by his side.
"Glynne..! There you are..." Theresa said in between her breaths. She seems to have been trying to find him for quite some time.
"Milady? What happened?" Glynne asked while he tilted his head.
"What happened? What happened?!?! I should be the one asking you that!" the boy was taken aback by the sudden outburst. Theresa took a huge breath to calm herself down before continuing. "Just a while ago, I was facing against a horde of honkai beast. Then all of a sudden, they all disappeared and it became morning."
"That is..." Glynne opened his eyes wide in surprise. He turned silent as he put his hand under his chin to think. He is not the only one who experienced it. Then that means that what he saw was not just a simple premonition of the future.
"So, are you telling me?" Theresa asked while crossing her arms.
"Honestly, I don't know either..." Glynne gave his opinion.
Theresa paused, she noticed a hint of sorrow on the boy's voice. "...Did something happen?" she asked as she moves closer to him.
Glynne look at her for a second. He seems to be hesitant as he clenched his fist. In the end, he decided to tell her what happened.
"I see," His story is a lot to take in at once. As much as possible, she wanted some time to process it in her mind. That said, Theresa had prioritized something more important. Moving closer to him, she grab his head and gave it a hug.
"Miss Theresa..?" Glynne was surprised. He cannot compression why she hug him all of a sudden. However, he felt his heart begun to calm down as Theresa pat his head.
"You're feeling guilty about it, aren't you?" She asked as Glynne meekly nodded.
The topic of death and loss, it was an unpleasant topic even for a grown adult. Much more so, for the boy who is still 16 year of age. He may have been in a battle field where death is common, but it does not make him numb of the feeling of grief and regret.
If only he had known about it earlier.
If only he had arrived sooner.
If only he could have helped.
Maybe, he could have prevented their deaths.
"Geez, you're really are hopeless..." Theresa complained. However, her tone was gentle as she continued to stroke his hair.
"I'm sorry..." Glynne apologizes in a low voice.
"Mhnn... Don't be." Theresa responded while shaking her head. "It's natural to feel that way but you shouldn't let it get to you."
"I know but... I could have at least save Kallen and Sakura." Glynne said in a sad tone.
"But you didn't." Theresa reminded him the harsh truth. "Usually, this is the time when I tell you to get over it but such is not the case."
"Eh?" Glynne was dumbfounded. He raised his head to see Theresa smirking.
"This isn't the usual, right?" She asked as Glynne widened his eyes in realization. He should have realized it sooner. His mind was so preoccupied with regret that his vision became clouded.
"Seriously..." A dry laugh come out of his mouth as Glynne held his head. Just like she said, it is not the usual. He was brought back to the starting line. However this time, he have now the knowledge of the future events.
He slapped his face in both sides. His cheeks turned red but he did not mind. He pumped himself as his eyes has regained their vigor.
Right, this reminded him of something. A type of game that they played before going to the summer dorm. A story type of game where in you first time playing the game, you are not that knowledgeable about the events thus often leads to bad ends.
However, you could restart from the beginning. Equipped with the knowledge and experience from the previous gameplay, you have a lower chance in getting the bad endings.
It need multiple restarts to get the best ending. However, Glynne is aware this is not a game. He do not know if he would get another chance. He cannot make any mistakes. This time, he swear it in his heart. He will save everyone else.
Theresa smiled once she saw how determined Glynne look. "Are you alright now?" She asked but she already knew the answer.
"Yep!" Glynne replied with a smile. There was a little pause, he scratched his chin as he felt a bit awkward at what happened. "...Honestly, I don't know what to do if you weren't here. I swear I will repay this someday."
"Don't mind it." There smiled. "This is the responsibility of a superior so I'm just doing my job... besides..."
Glynne failed to pick up her last sentence. He tilted his head as Theresa waved her hand to tell him it was nothing.
He was curious but he smiled as he just gave up on it. If she tells him that it was nothing then it means it really is nothing. That just how simple the logic goes.
Glynne let out a sigh. He begun to think of the increasing debts he has on Theresa. She had already saved him multiple times already. His current situation, it all thanks to her.
He felt like even if he did a lot of things in his lifetime, he could never ever fully repay her. At this point, he begun to think that being under her might not be a bad idea after all.
======================
Claire: Hmm, I feel like Miss Theresa and Glynne has some history together...
Eh? You just realized it now?
Claire: I had a hunch a few chapters ago but this one cemented it. Hey, can you tell me what happened between them?
Nope
Claire: Eh? Don't be stingy. Just a tiny little hint.
If you want to know then stay tuned for future chapters.
Claire: What a blatant way to advertise...