?


    "Of course I won." Ss smiled back.


    "Shouldn''t you be celebrating or something?" Nymira asked while inviting Ss in.


    "What do you think I''m doing here?" Ss raised a brow and took a step in.


    "Uh... Where is Alex?" She asked, looking away from Ss'' back and turning her head outside.


    "He''ll be here in a few minutes. Though, I would like to talk to you for a moment." Ss sighed while sitting on the couch.


    "Why? Did I do something?" She asked with a slightly worried voice. For some reason, Ss'' smell had been all wrong since he had shown up in front of her doorstep. If it wasn''t for the distinct smell of blood that emanated from him, she wouldn''t have recognized him or even opened the door.


    "No. Of course not. You''ve been nothing but delightful so far... I just want to ask you something before that Alexes and opens his mouth, thoroughly ruining my mood." Ss sighed while Nymira narrowed her eyes.


    "What is it?" She asked with a little bit of skepticism in her voice.


    "I''d like to know what you''d think of bing my apprentice." Ss asked.


    "Oh... Sure." She shrugged.


    "Alright, cool." Ss nodded.


    "..."


    "..."


    Sitting next to Ss on the couch, she looked at him with a worried expression and a tilt of the head before asking.


    "Is anything wrong?"


    "Nothing''s wrong." Ss smiled back.


    "..."


    "..."


    "You''re lying." She stated as if it was a fact.


    "Eh... Should''ve expected this. You''re quite good with that nose thing you do." Ssplimented.


    "Now you''re trying to change the subject."


    "..."


    "..."


    With a sigh, Ss was contemting what to do.


    He didn''t really want to exin what happened to his family, but he always knew that there was a high probability Nymira of all people, would understand that there was something wrong with him.


    After all, her blessing proved quite useful in situations like this.


    Throughout the next few minutes, Ss exined everything that happened... Not just about his family but about the reason he left dia in the first ce and epted Archie''s deal.


    He couldn''t believe that he was dumping his emotions onto a child, but he felt a certain sense offortability when talking to someone he knew would understand him. Sure, right now, she looked even younger than him due to not having eaten much in thest month or two since being captured, but she had still gone through much more than most adults triple her age.


    She had lost her only family, and then lost her adoptive family too. She was captured in this city and attacked on multiple asions by people who thought that they could take advantage of her.


    Hell, even Ss, in his current life, hadn''t gone through as much as she had. Sure, hisst life was particrly bad, but when you''re a psychopath like he was, he didn''t necessarily find his life that bad since it was the only thing he knew.


    Pain onlyes when you''re stripped. Of the thing that once brought you happiness, and since he didn''t know what happiness felt like until he touched a book in his previous life, he understood that he hadn''t necessarily gone through the same thing as Nymira...


    In a way, she was suffering much more than he ever did.


    And right now, she was the only person that garnered his sympathy<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "I''m sorry you had to go through that." She simply stated, but that was enough for him.


    "Wait... Does that mean when you first came here, you came with the intention of getting revenge on the royals for allowing such a thing to happen legally?" Nymira suddenly asked while looking at Ss with a slightly ufortable expression.


    "Yeah..." He sighed.


    "Oh..." She looked back at the ceiling, and they didn''t speak for a while.


    However, before anything else could happen, she turned to him again and asked something.


    "Promise me you won''t give me to them." Her eyes looked neutral. However, Ss could see her heart beating far more quickly than it usually did.


    "I promise." Ss smiled back before cing his hand on her head.


    "I promise that I''ll never betray you, as long as you never betray me... Deal?"


    "Deal."


    Not much happened afterward. Alex arrived and exined what happened to Nymira and how gruesome the scene was, but just as he had expected, she had the same aloof expression as Ss, as if she didn''t see what was wrong with the story Alex just told her.


    Ss extended his offer to Alex and asked him to be his apprentice and work for the Judgement faction with him. Of course, that didn''t really mean that he would have a high-paying job or a position of power. It just meant that Ss would be taking care of him as long as they were in the same faction together.


    At the same time, Ss would be able to help them both reach their full potential. He would train them, and he didn''t really ask for anything in return. Of course, the exchange, in reality, was that they''d help him in the future.


    They had already be his allies, and in training them, he would not only make his faction stronger, but he would also be making himself stronger.


    And just like that, the day ended, and they all returned to their houses.


    Of course, Ss would probably be getting an upgrade soon, but that was to be in the near future and was not something to be worried about in the current instance.


    However, there was one thing he wanted to do before that...


    *Ring RIng*


    Ss looked at the familiaryout and smiled slightly after entering a certain shop.


    He hadn''t been here since the end of the rebellion, and right now, he was certain that he would get a shouting at for noting sooner.


    "Where have you been, you rascal? You''re supposed to be paying me back for all those crystals I used for you!"


    "Sorry about that, Virack. I''ve been a little busy." Ss smiled joyously while looking at the cksmith that helped him make his axes.


    However, Virack could not help but narrow his eyes at Ss when he saw the smile on his face.


    "Boy... There is no need to attempt to deceive me with that smile... I can feel the turmoil within your heart, and I''ve heard about your family...


    You have my deepest condolences." Virack closed his eyes and lowered his head for a moment before looking up at Ss again.


    However, this time, when he looked into Ss'' eyes, he didn''t see any of the emotions he had expected to see.


    Instead, just for instance, he saw something else.


    A pair of emerald iris'' stared into his very soul from beyond the limitless void that was Ss'' eyes.


    Yet, when he blinked again, it disappeared like it hadn''t been there in the first ce.


    Ss lookedpletely normal again and still had the same smile on his face as he did before. His eyes were filled with life, and not a single emotion that emanated from him felt forced to fake.


    Walking forward, Ss stared at Virack for a moment before reaching into a pouch on his belt.


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