Author's Note: Happy Chinese New Year! I will be busy for the next few days because I will be house visiting. There will be a lack of response from me.

It is more spread out due to COVID-19, my country here only allows up to a gathering of 8 people. 

It was in the wee hours of the night. 

Almost three days have passed. 

The wooden doors to the room where Shin and Cecil were sleeping in slowly slid. The person opened the door in the quietest way possible, clearly not wanting to wake the two of them.

The man stepped in, his ash blonde-hair highlighted by the moonlight streaming in from the opened wooden windows. His grey eyes which were usually indifferent gradually softened as he approached the raven-haired woman, sleeping right beside the midnight black-haired young boy that bore a resemblance to him. 

Cecil was breathing softly as she laid her head on the bed, her hand still interlocked with Shin.

Xue noticed it, frowning slightly but he did not make a move to separate them, despite his dissatisfaction. 

He did not want to wake Cecil up in any way. 

Xue sighed, a small smile curving his lips. “At least cover yourself up.”

He removed the outer layer of his kimono, draping it over Cecil’s shoulders gently. Just then, he sensed someone gazing intently at him, and he lifted his head, meeting Shin’s eyes. 

Shin wasn’t surprised to see Xue, and neither was the latter surprised. They recognised each other in an instant. 

“I...finally remember you--” 

Xue covered Shin’s mouth, pressing a finger on his lips. 

At that moment, Cecil groaned softly, shifting her position slightly. The outer layer of the kimono almost slipped off, and Xue hurried to push it back onto her shoulders.

Xue looked back at Shin. 

Keep quiet. 

Don’t wake her up. 
 
Shin understood Xue’s thoughts, remaining silent. 

He noticed Xue lowering his gaze to their interlocked hands, narrowing his eyes at it. 

“Just this once.” Xue muttered out, quietly leaving the room. 

He shut the door behind him, his steps and movements so quiet, one wouldn’t even realise unless they were an extremely light sleeper. 

Shin gazed at Cecil, admiring her beautiful mein and the way her hair gradually slid down her face. 

“So pretty…” he whispered out, his gaze moving to their entwined hands. “And warm.” 

So warm. 

It was the same warmth she gave to him, when she reached out to him with her hand that day. It enveloped him, like it was the safe, warm abode he had craved for. 

Ever since the day his parents left him, Shin could not feel any warmth from anyone. 

All he could feel was the cold that constantly reminded him of his loneliness, the lack of presence of his parents. 

It never made him shiver, but it made him feel empty as if it was rapidly eating him up. 

Shin observed Cecil closely once again.

“I won’t leave.” 

“I’ll be here beside you, always.” 

He heard those words in his sleep, it was clear and soothing. Somehow, he could instantly recognise her voice even in his sleep. 

Shin smiled to himself, shifting himself closer to Cecil. 

“Cecil, as long as you are here with me,” Shin muttered softly to himself, closing his eyes. “As long as...you are here.”

“...” 

“I won’t give in to the cold waiting to consume me.” 

That night, the system in Cecil started to make some noise. 

[ Congratulations, Cecil Lan! ]

[ One of the requirements for a secret mission has been met! There is one more requirement left to be met before activating the secret mission! ]

[ Secret Mission #7: The Lonely Painter
Requirement #1: Give him a reason to live
Requirement #2: ??? ]

Alas, the raven-haired woman was sleeping away like the dead, and thus, the beeping noises never woke her up. 

Just like this, the notifications slowly disappeared unbeknownst to Cecil. 

***

The celebration banquet was almost ready. 

Everyone was assigned to their own duties, especially Yun who was helping with the previous lord of this town. Many civilians rejoiced at their previous lord returning to claim his seat, and they would no longer cower in fear. 

The fighting tournament brought out the worst in them, but they had no choice but to obey Goro and Ephert. 

Their lives were in their hands.

Just like how Xue and K’xug hoped, the two ladies greeted them with a warm welcome and a bright smile.  

After everything had settled down, all of them were getting ready to head back to the ship. They weren’t departing just yet, but to visit a certain prisoner that they kidnapped and threw into the ship. 

With the help of Cecil and the healer, they kept Goro drifting in and out of consciousness. Of course, there were some interrogations that required violence from Haru’s end, but Cecil and the healer pretended not to know. 

Neither did they question Haru and his comrades about the answers behind the interrogation. 

This time, they brought over their final piece for the interrogation. 

“...what do you want?” Goro muttered out. 

“It’s not us this time,” Haru spoke up, stepping aside as he revealed Shin standing behind him. “It’s this little fella of ours.” 

Everyone of them was there, including Cecil and the others. 

It was strange to see such a huge group of people standing in front of the prison cell located inside the ship. 

Goro lifted his head up, his face haggard. However, he still looked intimidating since was just as muscular as ever, despite being stuck in this cell for three lengthy days. He was chained up to the walls, sitting on the ground. 

“What do you want, brat?” 

Shin remained silent, approaching the cell doors slowly. 

Everyone kept their eyes on Shin. 

“My...my parents.” 

Goro scoffed. “You wanna know about them?” 

Shin maintained an inexplicable expression on his boyish face, nodding.

“Fine, I’ll tell ya,” Goro sighed out. “Even if I go back now, all I would face is death from Master Ephert.” 

Shin waited, clenching his fists. 

“They are dead.” 

Shin released his fists, his expression blank as he stared at the ground. 

Haru and the others could only close their eyes in defeat, and Kiyae kicked at the doors of the jail cell, the anger apparent on her face. 

“You bastard! Can’t you say it in a better way?! He’s only a thirteen year old kid!” 

Goro ignored Kiyae, continuing on with his words. 

“Your father and mother helped a few slaves that belonged to master escape, and master, in a fit of anger, beheaded your father right on the spot.” 

Xue turned to look at Shin. 

Shin was only staring at the ground, trembling slightly as he clutched at the necklace given by his parents. His expression was inscrutable. 

Xue was indifferent. 

That’s right. 

This was exactly what I did, when I realised the truth. 

When I realised that truly, mother and father will no longer be by my side. 

Xue recalled the scene of him down on the ground, clutching his last keepsake of his parents to himself. He was unable to cry or yell, all he could do was stand there and accept it. 

It is exactly the same as me.

He continued looking at Shin. 

Kai: “How cruel.” 

Zasiok: “He’s only a young kid.” 

Alric: “It-it’s so sad…” 

Leonaut: “...” 

Sid was sleeping, not knowing the dreadful conversation happening right now. 

Isleif: “This is why the weak always loses.” 

The other soul fragments proceeded to beat Isleif up.

Oddly enough, Isleif’s words rang true in Xue’s mind. If he had been strong enough at that time, he would have been able to save his parents. 

Thus, Xue only wanted to know. 

He only wanted to know, if he had to go through this once again, what would his younger self have done? 

He observed Shin quietly. 

Meanwhile, Hana was horrified, her hand covering her mouth. 

K’xug seemed uneasy. 

“Your mother fainted from shock and fell ill right after, and the master did not send any healer for her since he deemed it useless--” 

Shin could see the miserable images of his parents’ suffering flitting through his mind, and Goro continued to speak without any tact. He had unconsciously clenched the necklace in his hands until blood started to seep out. 

He heard the prison cell door being kicked open and Kiyae storming in, pulling Goro up by the collar of his ragged kimono. Haru and Ryo had burst in as well, wanting to get a piece of Goro who was cruelly destroying Shin’s mind. 

Yun, Hana and K’xug rushed in to stop them individually. 

All of a sudden, the world grew quiet for Shin. 

A pair of hands covered his ears and someone crouched down in front of him, blocking his view of everything and everyone. 

It was Cecil. 

There was a sad smile on her face, and once she realised Shin was fully focused on her, she lowered her hands. 

“Shin.”

“Shin, can you hear me? Listen to me.” 

Shi nodded dumbly. 

“Let’s get out of here.”  

Shin was still clutching at the necklace, the blood from his hands dripping down onto the ground. Cecil simply held both of his hands, gradually pulling him out of the dark, prison cell and out into the open air. 

The sun was high in the sky and there was a soft breeze blowing past. 

Shin followed behind Cecil with a blank stare, and she eventually led them to the upper deck of the ship, sitting down. She pulled Shin down with her, grabbing his hands that were stuck together with the necklace around his neck. 

“Shin, let go of your hands.” 

Shin obediently did so, blinking with a dazed look. 

Cecil took out an ointment and a handkerchief from her storage ring, cleaning his hand and applying the salve onto his wounds. 

“I…” 

“Shh,” Cecil wrapped his hand with a bandage, to ensure that the ointment wouldn’t smudge. “You don’t need to say a word.” 

She had a sense of deja vu. 

This happened once, when Xue was speaking of his last keepsake of his mother and he had injured himself in the same manner. 

She smiled slightly and finished up with his wounds, before reaching her arms out and gathering Shin into her embrace. 

Shin widened his eyes, his face colliding against her chest. 

“It’s okay,” Cecil spoke soothingly. “You don’t have to say anything, just let it all out.” 

His lips started to tremble, and he found it hard to swallow his saliva. Tears gradually welled up in Shin’s eyes and he reached his arms out, wrapping it around Cecil as his body started to shake. 

Cecil lifted her head up, looking to her right. 

“You too, Xue.” 

He had followed them out of the prison cell without knowing. He saw the scene of Cecil gently applying ointment on Shin’s wounds and hugging him, and he saw as Shin broke down in tears, his tiny body trembling violently in her arms. 

He softened his gaze. 

Right after his parents' passing, he was on a run for his life. He had no time to grieve properly, no appropriate place to bury them and he had no one to comfort him in such a manner. 

He noticed Hana was suffering on her own as well, and just like how she could not afford to comfort the grieving Xue, he himself could not comfort her. 

The two of them did not have anyone to hug them like this, to comfort them and tell them it was okay. 

Xue managed a small smile. 

I see. 

Maybe this was what I needed. 

Just someone to lean on. 

Just someone to hug me as I cried. 

Xue settled down beside Cecil, his heart inexplicably fluttering and he laid his head down on Cecil’s shoulder. 

“It’s okay, it’s okay…” 

Cecil patted Shin on his back. 

“Pat me as well.” 

“If I do that, you are going to fall off my shoulder.” 

“Do it next time.” 

“Alright, I’ll do it as many times as you want.” 

Xue smiled and closed his eyes, relaxing himself into her shoulder. 

Meanwhile, Shin still hugged Cecil, crying his heart out as the two of them heard the mournful sobs from the young boy. 

***

Hana, Yun and K’xug barely managed to pull the other three back. 

Haru and Kiyae had destroyed the chains holding Goro to the wall, wanting him to stand up so they could give him a good kick at his stomach and a good punch at his face. 

Just one punch from Kiyae wasn’t good enough.

However, they still needed Goro alive and they needed to bring him back to their main base. Yun was the most rational of them all, understanding the importance of Goro’s life. 

“Haru, Kiyae! Calm down!” Yun exclaimed. “Ryo, you too!” 

“Let me punch him again!” 

“Yun Yun! Let go!” 

“How dare he say those words to our little brother!” 

Goro snickered to himself, wiping at his blooded lips. All of a sudden, he summoned out his soul weapon and they stiffened on the spot. 

“I gotta thank you idiots,” Goro grinned, lifting his claymore with his muscular arms. “From releasing from that energy-dampening chain.” 

“No, stop him!” Yun widened his eyes. 

K’xug was the first to rush forward, due to his advantage in speed and strength. 

However, they were just a second too late. 

Goro had impaled himself with his own claymore, blood spurting out from his mouth just as K’xug reached in front of him. 

“Now, I do not owe...the master...anymore…” 

Goro collapsed to the ground, his eyes glazing over and the blood pooled around the prison cell. 

Hana let out a shriek, covering her mouth. 

K’xug frowned deeply. 

To think that he would even go as far as to kill himself. 

He must have been very loyal to that cruel master of his. 

K’xug shook his head. 

Haru and his comrades could only look on at the horrifying scene, conflicted. 

“Damn it,” Yun sighed, his palm on his forehead. “How are we going to explain this to lord Kiba now?” 

Haru snatched his arm away from Yun, clicking his tongue. 

“I’ll explain to Kiba.” 

“Captain…” Ryo muttered out, hesitant. 

“He must have provoked us on purpose,” Kiyae hissed out. “Just to get an opportunity to be suicidal like that.”

“Indeed,” Yun adjusted his glasses. “To think he’ll go this far, how loyal is he to Ephert?” 

“Who cares, we’ll have to clean this up now,” Haru barked out before sighing. “I knew we should have waited until the banquet was over to do this.” 

Just like that, the mission to this town had ended. 

The tyranny that Ephert and Goro held over this town was now officially over. Ephert wouldn’t dare to send anyone back here, since he lost three powerful subordinates. 

The twins. 

Goro. 

Thus, the civilians here began their joyous celebration. Not knowing that the main party granted them their freedom was celebrating with a heavy heart.

***

Despite their initial reluctance, Haru and the others eventually got into the mood of celebrating their victory. The group was seated at a long table in the tavern, and the outside was equally boisterous. 

All around the town, civilians were celebrating their freedom. Moreover, this was to make up for the festivals they have missed over the years, due to Ephert’s tyranny and merciless way of killing people. 

Hana was busy explaining the ingredients inside the food she prepared, and the thought process behind cooking them to Haru and Yun who seemed interested. 
K’xug was simply enjoying Hana’s cooking, grabbing bites from here and there. He never knew how much he could enjoy food like this. 

Kiyae and Ryo were bumping their cups, gulping down their drinks one after another non-stop. It was no wonder they were the first to get drunk whenever they had a feast. 

Cecil was seated beside Shin, pampering him and helping him with food he could not reach out for. After all, he was still injured and getting dragged around by Ephert, Goro and now them, his injuries would not heal as quickly. 

Xue sat beside Cecil, stabbing his spoon into his parfait. Once again, Hana had specially made it for him, and in a different flavour. 

Despite the flavour, Xue still enjoyed just as much...but with how Cecil was fawning over Shin, the parfait had lost its charm as well. 

Whereas, Shin was a flustered mess with Cecil smiling at him and their hands brushing against one another with each passing second. 

“Cecil…” 

“Mhmm?” 

“I think...I had enough food.” 

“Alright,” Cecil smiled, patting his head. “Eat well.” 

Shin ducked his head, stuffing food into his mouth as his cheeks were slightly reddened. 

Xue scowled at the maiden-like Shin, still stabbing his spoon into his parfait. He shuffled closer to Cecil, his expression clearly unhappy. 

“Cecil.” 

“Mhmm?” 

“Pat my head.” 

Cecil blinked curiously as she lifted her hand, patting Xue on the head. 

“Like that?” 

Xue gave her a charming smile. 

Her heart skipped a beat, and Cecil hurriedly looked away. 

Shin saw this loving scene, and he huffed. 

“Cecil.” 

“Mhmm?” 

“Feed me.” 

Cecil tilted her head, taking a spoonful of food from Shin’s bowl, bringing the spoon close to his mouth and Shin instantly chomped down on it. 

“Like that?” 

Shin nodded. 

Xue glowered at Shin. 

“Cecil.” 

“...mhmm?” 

“Feed me too.” 

“...” 

Cecil took a spoonful of parfait, feeding it to Xue. 

“Li-like that?” 

Xue smiled once again. “More.” 

Cecil quietly fed Xue another mouthful of parfait, unable to meet his eyes. 

Shin glared at Xue, and Xue glared back at him. 

Cecil sat in between them, showing a troubled expression. 

Hana witnessed this entire scene, giggling to herself. The others have noticed it too, some were amused while the others were disgusted. 

“The three of you are so cute!” Kiyae laughed, gulping down her drink and she looked at Xue. “Well, you aren’t as cute as the other two.” 

Xue didn’t bother, still in the middle of a glaring contest with Shin. 

Cecil laughed helplessly. 

Kiyae stood behind Hana, throwing her arm around Hana’s shoulders as she leaned in. “But you are the cutest of them all.” 

Hana beamed innocently at Kiyae. 

Kiyae proceeded to push Haru and Yun out of the way, sitting down beside Hana. 

“Oof!” 

“...” 

Haru and Yun fell from their seats, collapsing on top of one another. Haru pushed Yun away as he narrowed his eyes at Kiyae.

“What the hell is wrong with her?” Haru rubbed at his shoulder, wincing. “Scary strong woman.” 

“Captain, I think she might be drunk.” Yun adjusted his glasses. 

“She definitely is!” Ryo popped in between them, grinning. “Look at her sticking close to Hana.” 

Haru widened his eyes, standing up abruptly as he dashed towards Hana. 

“Hana, look out! She’s going to--” 

Hana turned to look at Haru when she felt herself being pulled closer to Kiyae, and she made a confused noise. 

The next moment, she felt something soft touching her lips and she could see Kiyae’s face close-up. 

“...mmmmmmphf!” Hana made a shocked, muffled noise. 

“Crap.” Haru sighed, his palm on his forehead. 

“...” Yun pretended not to see anything. 

“Hahaha!” Ryo was laughing heartily, his earrings glinting in the light. “Our drunk kissing monster!”

“Oh my god.” Cecil covered her mouth in shock. 

“Big sister Kiyae is at it again…” Shin made a face, clearly a victim of this once. 

“I knew she was no ordinary woman.” Xue stated, raising his eyebrows. 

“Damn it,” Haru groaned out. “I was wondering why you haven’t appeared for a while.” 

All of a sudden, everyone felt something chilling sweeping past as they rubbed at their arms, except for Kiyae and Hana. 

The next moment, K’xug quickly separated Hana and Kiyae, hugging Hana in his arms as he glared at Kiyae. 

“Yikes.”

“She’s dead.”

“No one can save her now.”

Hana covered her mouth with her hands, her face growing warm as her blue eyes were wide in disbelief. 

Kiyae only hiccupped once, smiling as she winked.

The temperature in the room went down further. 

A second later, she closed her eyes, falling back as she snored away on the ground. 

“...”

“...”

Everyone was speechless except for Ryo who laughed even harder. 

***

Pt. 1

《 start 》

I…!

I was--

I was kissed! 

On the lips!

My first time!

Kya!

I am a little sad...

I wanted...I wanted it to be with...

Eeee! 

Ah, I-I am too shy to even think about it!

《 stop 》

***

Pt. 2

《 start 》

I...I never been this tempted to kill someone. 

In a very long time. 

...how does Xue handle this? 

I am going crazy with jealousy. 

…

Damn it. 

I can feel myself...wavering...right at the very edge. 

I need to chant something to calm myself down. 

Poop God. 

Poop God. Poop God. Poop God. 

《 stop 》