Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

  I wonder how I should answer that.

  "That is…" Azell trailed off.

  "Please, tell me."

  "Listen Noelle. What-"

  "Yes." I cut Azell off. "You were a part of a reason why I'm in my current condition."

  Noelle deserves to know the truth.

  "Oh my god…" Noelle burst into tears again. "What have I done…?" She cried for some time but then suddenly stopped.

  She wiped her tears and stared into my eyes with the ferocity of a Minotaur, as if commanding me to reveal everything to her.

  "Tell me. How did you save my life?"

  Oh?

  "Why?"

  What does she plan to do?

  "I'll do the same." She clenched her fists.

  Okay. Hmm. Now, how should I explain this to her?

  "By doing that, won't you end up in the same state as me?"

  "I don't care."

  "But I do." I couldn't help but sigh, which made my sides throb. "If you do that, we will go back a full circle and end up with the same situation as before."

  "I don't care."

  What is she, a parrot?

  "Even if that means trampling on my dignity and sacrifice?"

  "If that means I'll save your life, then yes." Her eyes continued boring into my soul.

  I…. actually respect that. She's willing to go to any lengths to save me. You don't see such dedication from youth nowadays.

  However, her vigour is meaningless.

  "Sorry to rain on your parade, but that method would no longer work."

  "Eh?"

  "What I did worked solely because I killed that Minotaur. Unless you can produce another 'being' with the same life force as the Minotaur within two minutes, you cannot save me."

  "I-I'll sacrifice myself-"

  "That isn't enough either."

  She would need around 100 years of lifeforce to activate that magical formation, and I seriously doubt that she was supposed to live that long.

  Even if she could, I don't plan to reveal that to her because I don't want to put the cart before the horse; what would be the point of going to such lengths to save her if she did the same?

  "No, no… this can't be happening…" More tears streamed down her eyes.

  "Geez, stop overreacting."

  Wait, did I say that out loud? Wow.

  "What-"

  "I mean there's nothing we can do, Ms. Noelle. So what I want you to do is remember my sacrifice and live a happy, fulfilling life so as not to waste it."

  "Samur, I-"

  "You just asked us to stop overreacting, didn't you?" Azell interjected.

  "No."

  "I'm sure you did."

  What the hell is wrong with him?

  "I don't think this is a good time to discuss the slips of my tongue."

  "…" He scowled.

  What is he thinking? Whatever it is, I don't think it's anything good.

  "Now, as I was saying, please continue living on my behalf, Ms. Noelle."

  That's the only thing I ask of her.

  Anyway, I suppose it's high time to end this journey. By saving her life, I have repaid my debt to Azell. It was short yet enjoyable, and I probably wouldn't forget them for some time.

  I was kinda excited by the prospect of being a R&D Head, but there's nothing we can do about that now.

  "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Noelle screamed as she burst out crying.

  She fell to her knees and kept pounding the ground. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She kept muttering.

  Okay, what the actual fuck? Jokes aside, she really is overreacting. It's as if she was the one dying.

  "Does she always act like this?"

  "…Are you seriously asking me that?" Azell's eyes narrowed.

  Alright, geez, stop being such a spoil-sport.

  "Hey, Ms. Noelle, you, uh, don't need to cry so much." I said in as gentle of a voice as I could muster.

  But she only cried even more.

  This situation has clearly gotten out of my hands.

  Noelle being this attached to me was a gross miscalculation, but in my defence, it make no sense for her to care this much for me.

  Maybe it is pity born out of my circumstances? That would explain her reactions.

  For her, I should be a child who was ostracised from the moment of his birth, who was ultimately left to die by his family. And when I finally found that one chance at salvation by joining their Guild, I had to give it up to save her life.

  She must find it unfair. She must think it's sad that I think nothing of it. And because she's so compassionate, she's shedding tears on my behalf.

  Wow.

  I dunno how to feel about that. I am slightly touched, however.

  Now, how should I handle this? Just dying here wouldn't be the most tactical decision, as in exchange for saving her life, I would leave her with a curse, making her blame herself for the rest of her life for being unable to protect me.

  It might be possible for Noelle to one day move on, but my death would still leave a scar on her heart that would never heal.

  And that is not how I repay debts.

  Not ideal.

  Also, her constant whimpers are tugging at my heart the wrong way. I don't want to move on the next life with a stifled heart.

  Looks like I have no choice but to once again save the day.

  "Alright, geez, stop crying! It's getting on my nerves." I said so with a strong voice to garner their attention.

  "S-Samur…?"

  Haah, poor me.

  I thought I could finally get some respite from these dumbasses, but I suppose I'll have to bear with them for a bit longer.

  "You don't want me to die, right?"

  "Y-yes." She nodded while wiping her tears.

  "Well, what are our options?" I turned to Azell. "Is there someone you know who could patch me up?"

  "One of our guild members could make you as good as new."

  "I don't want to turn into an infant."

  "You know what I meant." He smiled.

  "Okay, and how far is the Guild?"

  "If I try my absolute hardest, we could reach there in about 2 hours."

  Hmm… that should be doable, though I suppose I'm in for a world of pain.

  "Before anything, I would like to confirm; do you really want me as your comrade?"

  I probably shouldn't be saying this, but I'm not the kind of guy you'd want to work with.

  "Huh?" Noelle's eyes widened. "O-of course!"

  "Even though you probably won't enjoy my companionship?"

  "It doesn't matter!"

  You really shouldn't spout things without thinking them through first, Noelle.

  "Well, consider yourself warned."

  "Hah! I knew it!" Azell scoffed. "You did have a way to save your life."

  That was quite insightful of him. I just wish he used that ability in more constructive ways, like making sure that the medallion he obtained would actually work.

  If he had done the first step right, we wouldn't have been in this mess. Which reminds me, this was all his fault, wasn't it?

  Just you wait, Regressor boi, because boy oh boy, I will make sure that you never forget today.

  "I don't work well under pressure, thus forgetting things."

  "Yeah, right." Azell rolled his eyes. "Whatever, just do what you have to do."

  I was speaking the truth though.

  After all, not all of my memories are unlocked at once.