But now, her savior, her beloved Master, himself had fallen into a deep slumber.
Although, Some might question why Hikari is making such a big deal out of it when Hiiro would likely wake up after a few days or weeks.
It was a practical yet somewhat insensitive question.
And In my view, those who asked such questions were first of all Jerks devoid of common sense, and were either people who lacked close friends or had left them at the first sign of trouble. Or perhaps they were in relationships that was bound to crumble before long. Such individuals needed a reality check and a lesson or two in empathy.
Hikari had nearly lost the person who not only saved her but also provided the light and warmth she so desperately needed when she had lost all hope and faith after losing her birth parents.
He was close to, no, He was the only family she had at the moment.
I couldn't fully grasp the depth of her emotions, but I could relate to the profound sense of loneliness.
Hiiro had a knack for attracting people who were emotionally lost, broken, abused, and despairing alone after all hope was lost. Perhaps he instinctively saw himself in them. Nevertheless, I was certain that in the future, he would continue to find and extend his hand to them without fail.
Hikari, in particular, was just the first among them.
I looked behind her, and there was Ranga, a wolf with his ears perked, his body coiled protectively around a blob of slime, as if using his body to shield it from any danger and provide warmth to him.
Ranga didn't say anything; he simply bowed his head to greet me. He was indeed very intelligent. I glanced at Hiiro for a moment before shifting my focus back to Hikari.
I was well aware of Hikari's deep feelings for Hiiro.
I mean, that much was obvious to most of the people in the village.
Admiration, respect, appreciation, thankfulness, and, most surprisingly, love. These were her true feelings, ones she had experienced once again after losing someone close to her in the past.
She had chosen to follow Hiiro because she knew he was strong enough to protect her fragile heart, to show her the light, to give her hope, to save her, and to shield her from darkness.
But over time, her reasons for following him had evolved into something much deeper and more complex than mere admiration and respect.
However, all of that came crashing down with an unexpected event that no one could have foreseen.
In that moment, when she saw Hiiro's motionless body, her heart began to shatter once more.
When he didn't respond to her, when he didn't comfort her as she wailed in the dead of night, her mind, which had only recently emerged from darkness, started to descend into the abyss of despair again.
"Why wasn't I there?"
"Why didn't I do anything?"
"Wasn't I supposed to protect him?"
"Is this the extent of my determination?"
Questions like these must have been clouding her mind so much that, I knew, she couldn't think clearly right now.
However, there was one doubt I needed to address at the moment.
Amidst the many questions that must have been racing through her mind – what, how, why – the answer to why she had just been watching instead of going forward until I arrived was simple.
It wasn't that she didn't want to help; she couldn't. Hiiro was a formidable being, and his aura and magicules were exuding uncontrollably due to the turmoil in his heart.
At that moment, the intensity was clearly greater than usual. Perhaps he had grown stronger in my absence, or maybe the turmoil had increased his power. The density of his aura was far greater. While the Link made it difficult for me to get closer to him, the reason his aura didn't affect me was that I was stronger than he was.
If that were not the case, I wouldn't have been able to save him; Hell, I wouldn't even have been able to approach him.