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Airi's POV
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Ryu still lays in front of me, breathing much easier than he did not 20 minutes ago.

I've just been sitting beside him, my hand over his, thinking.

How does a kid, just two years younger than me, go through so much that he can say things like that? So that he can shake as much as he did?

It just makes the difference in our lives that much more apparent.

I certainly wasn't raised without discomfort. Being a woman while training as a Knight isn't easy by any means.

But it wasn't so bad to make me cry out, beg for someone or to someone.

Yet, even if it did manage to get to that point, I likely wouldn't be in the same position.

Ryu is... Alone. Probably always has been.

I've had the Captain to raise me, Astrid as a friend, Kana as an older sister, Etsu as an older brother. But Ryu probably hasn't had these people.

He has probably had to look out for his sister at all times, even when he was in the forest.

Even now, while he's asleep, he still calls her name, ever so softly.

I can't even do anything about it.

I can't say I understand because I can't.

I can't help because he doesn't say anything.

And any action I can think of will probably only raise the walls he's made around his heart even further.

It hurts. There's no way it couldn't.

"You're too kind." (Captain)

A deep voice calls out from behind me, accompanied by heavy footsteps and the slight clink of metal.

"I can't help it." (Airi)

"For a Knight, you need compassion, but too much... Too much may hinder you." (Captain)

"I know. I know, but... I can't help it." (Airi)

"Of course, that's how I wanted to raise you. That's how your parents would have wanted you to be." (Captain)

"Really?" (Airi)

"Well, they certainly wouldn't be happy that you already have blood on your hands, but that's something they likely came to terms with when they left you with me." (Captain)

He does this often, talk about my parents. He probably does it to remind me that he's not related to me.

"... How did they die?" (Airi)

"They were kil--" (Captain)

"'--led by bandits'. I know that. But how? You said my father was a man who fought alongside you in the war. How did he die by bandits?" (Airi)

"Because fighting beasts and fighting humans are different. Your father was too kind. He was different to me. He was raised well and not too sheltered. He understood people's emotions. I wasn't raised well. I struggled on the streets. I didn't care for other's emotions. That's how we differed." (Captain)

"... Then, does Ryu remind you of yourself?" (Airi)

"... No. He has someone he wishes to protect. I only had myself." (Captain)

"But you're going to disregard that feeling that he has. You're going to go to Greif, aren't you?" (Airi)

"Not me. We all are. Like I said, I didn't care for other's emotions." (Captain)

"That was before. What about now?" (Airi)

"..." (Captain)

"Can you say that you're the same person now as you were on the streets? After you raised me this well?" (Airi)

"..." (Captain)

"You don't even need to speak. I can already hear what you're going to say, but you don't mean it." (Airi)

After all, he does care about people's emotions. That's why he's struggling to answer me.

"I am the same person." (Captain)

"You're lying." (Airi)

"Ha, that was just like your mother." (Captain)

"Well, you always say I seem like her." (Airi)

"You do. Even more so than I may think..." (Captain)

"...? What does that mean?" (Airi)

"Don't worry about it. And don't worry about Ryu too much either, get some rest yourself." (Captain)

"Alright..." (Airi)

With that, he leaves the room, shutting the door behind him.

I could still hear his footsteps through the walls, and could still feel them shake the floor for a minute or so after.

But Ryu pulls my attention away again.

"... Akari... Trust in your... Older..." (Ryu)

Still asleep, Ryu's voice trails off again, his body wet with a cold sweat.

I don't do much, other than clench his hand harder, hoping for it to do something for him.

Doing this, I don't even notice the door behind me open again.

"How's he doing, 'riri?" (Astrid)

"Waah! Oh, it's you Astrid." (Airi)

"What's with that? And why'd I scare you so much?" (Astrid)

"I just didn't expect someone else to enter. But he's doing fine... physically, at least. Not sure about anything else." (Airi)

She looks over to Ryu on the bed, her eyes glazed with slight disinterest.

"Did his wound reopen?" (Astrid)

"No, it doesn't seem like it. But he's also not going to be in the best condition if he doesn't rest. He barely slept before Etsu questioned him on the letter." (Airi)

"Well, after this plot is all over, we'll have enough time to get rested before heading to Greif." (Astrid)

"We're heading after this is done? Hasn't that been decided too quickly?" (Airi)

"Hmm, not really... Captain should have already sent a letter to the King, so I'm sure it'll be fine." (Astrid)

"For us, maybe... But for Ryu..." (Airi)

"... I'm not sure what connection Ryu has with Greif, but if it makes him like this, then he needs to - I don't know - confront it, I guess." (Astrid)

"I wonder if he'll be able to... But anyway, why're you here?" (Airi)

"I needed a break from translating. Looking at all those letters hurt my head, and my back felt like it was about to break." (Astrid)

"Translating?" (Airi)

"Ah right. Me and Captain went to Count Poin's estate not long ago, I snuck in, stole some letters, and they're written in Lasten, so I have to translate them." (Astrid)

"Shouldn't you hurry up then? They could be useful to the investigation." (Airi)

"As long as I get them done for the morning, I'm sure it'll be fine." (Astrid)

She waves her hand as if she was blowing away an issue.

"Anyway, has Kana been back at any point?" (Astrid)

"Kana? Hmm, I haven't seen her since she left with you four... Have you heard from her?" (Airi)

"We haven't... She was supposed to investigate Duke Boule, right?" (Astrid)

"I think that's what Etsu said." (Airi)

"She'd be fine, right?" (Astrid)

"I'm sure she will be." (Airi)

We chat for a while long, mostly about things we'd want to do after we're free from this current mission, but some topics about Alzibria come up.

Before long, I could see the sun begin to rise, which alerts Astrid into going back to her room to finish off translating the letters.

Once again, it was back to me being alone in the room, with Ryu asleep on the bed.

I stay beside his bed for a while longer, before sleep starts to take grasp of me, and I feel my consciousness fade.

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Author Notes
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A normal sized chapter now. I think this is thee first normal one in a while, but that's mostly because this chapter didn't have much purpose other than skipping forward time and revealing some things about characters.

But with that to say, I really enjoyed writing this chapter. I'm not sure why, but writing the conversations between Captain and Airi was super fun and slightly fulfilling, and I'm glad that it kind of gave them the relationship that I wanted.

But anyways, I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter, and please follow me!