"Is everything alright?" I smiled as I asked.

  Of course, if one were to ask 100 people if Voloha is alright or not, all 100 of them would say no.

  That's how terrified she looked right now.

  And her fear was understandable; after all, she just saw someone (aka moi) who was outside of fate.

  She should have felt it in her bones that I was someone in an entirely different plane of existence.

  "…Y-yes." She stiffly nodded.

  She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The next moment, her trembling stopped and her expression gradually returned to normal.

  "Yes, I'm alright, Samur." She smiled at me, sweetly.

  …


  Did she just brush off that feeling like it was some run of the mill 2-minute existential crisis?

  Wow, this girl is scary. Mommy, please come pick me up.

  "Peeping isn't a good habit, you know." I sighed.

  "I'm truly sorry." She bowed her head. "I just had to confirm that you were Samur."

  Huh, so she had peeked at my fate before. No wonder she could calm herself down so easily.

  But what's with the people of this world, anyway? Do they enjoy checking someone's fate or what?

  First it was that Minotaur, now it's the Princess.

  I should probably hide my fate before I get into any trouble because of it.

  ??Why haven't you done so till now???

  [It acts as a bait.]

  ??Ah.??

  "I see. So, am I the Samur you know?"

  "Yes." She nodded as her eyes became moist.

  "Perfect."

  Now what?

  "…I heard that your family-"

  "Before that, did you reveal the identity of my family to these two wan- guys?"

  "Wanguys?" She raised her eyebrow.

  Bruh.

  "Did you?"

  "N-no." Her gaze alternated between me and them.

  "We respect your wishes, Samur." Noelle sighed.

  "Nice."

  I was totally expecting her to use this chance to dig into my origins. After all, I would have done the same.

  ??Not everyone is a piece of shit like you.??

  [A shame.]

  Being a piece of shit is definitely more enjoyable than being an upstanding member of society.

  Why honour your promise to a 12-year-old child when you can investigate his family behind his back and yeet it out of existence?

  That's what I would have done.

  ??In case you don't remember, that's what you did with Lecia.??

  [Oh my god, that was a fucking mistake. I don't want to talk about it.]

  Who would have thought that sniping someone's father from a distance would come with consequences?

  ??Anyone with an IQ above room temperature.??

  Will you shut up, man?

  Jesus.

  "Wait, you haven't told them?" Voloha frowned.

  "Nope."

  That should have been apparent from our conversation. Learn to read between the lines, Voloha.

  "But why?!" She exclaimed. "They tortured you, abused you, made your life hell! And when you were no longer useful to them, they threw you out and left you to die!"

  Bruh.

  "What?!" Noelle shrieked and instantly, a cold bloodlust flooded the room.

  B R U H

  "Well, I can't keep being stuck on the past, Ms. Voloha. I gotta move on." I shrugged.

  "Eh?" she stupidly eked out. "You forgave them? Just like that?" She asked with widened eyes.

  "Hmm? I did not 'forgive' them; I simply moved on."

  I don't think those words sound even remotely similar.

  "H-how can you just move on?"

  "Why can't I? I mean sure, they did some terrible things to me, but that was all in the past. I can't risk what I have right now to avenge what has already happened; the former is far too precious."

  "Aww…" The bloodlust emanating from Noelle vanished.

  ??Smooth.??

  Samur Ladies' Man Eckart, at your service.

  "…" Voloha's head drooped and her bangs covered her eyes. "I cannot accept it."

  Wut?

  "What do you mean by that?"

  What is there to accept about this?

  "I WILL not accept this! They wronged you, and they must pay!"

  …


  Hot damn, who would have thought that I was dealing with a Noelle 2.0?

  I leaned towards Azell and whispered, "Is it possible that Noelle and Voloha are long lost sisters?"

  I mean, their excessive concern as well as their willingness to overrule my decisions for their own satisfaction is almost the same.

  Voloha seems worse, however.

  "What?" He turned to me.

  "What?"

  "…" He scowled at me.

  Wow.

  "Anyway, like I was saying, I have no interest in making them pay." I turned back to Voloha.

  "But you must!"

  "Oh wow, I didn't know you were an expert on how I should live my life. Hold on, let me note that down somewhere."

  Oh shit, I don't have a pen and paper. Goddamnit.

  "Do you have a pen and paper?" I asked Azell.

  "…"

  "…"

  Both Noelle and Voloha looked at me like.

  ??Like???

  [I have no follow up; they are dumbfucks.]

  ??Fair enough.??

  Why should I waste my precious 'lines' on them? They are not worthy of them.

  "Check there." Azell rolled his eyes and pointed to his desk.

  "Kay." I got up, went to his desk and picked up a pen and paper.

  Alright, so for the title- ah fuck, the pen's not working.

  "Take one from the drawer."

  "Thanks."

  I circled around the desk, opened the drawer and took out a golden fountain pen.

  I tested it and thankfully, it was working just fine.

  Alright, so for the title, we should go with 'How to live my life 101'.

  ??You are not going to decorate it???

  [Why would I? I'm not some white girl writing a report on the Holocaust.]

  A simple, clean title should do just fine.

  I came back to my seat and turned to Voloha.

  "Alright, so you were saying?"

  "…" She glared at me. "Are you making fun of me?"

  "Me? Making fun of you? Oh, I'd never!" I exclaimed. "It's just that you seem like an expert, so I figured it'd be a good idea to take tips from you."

  Who knows, maybe she has something worthwhile to say. Perhaps she truly could teach me how I should live my life.

  The possibilities are endless.

  "Take revenge on your family!" She gritted her teeth, perhaps feeling humiliated.

  Why would she, though?

  "Okay, 'Take revenge on my family'." I noted it down with some exquisite handwriting.

  I should get extra marks for this.

  "Anything else?"

  "…"

  What, is that it? Sed.

  "Looks like there's nothing else." I capped the pen. "Well, thank you for your valuable input, Ms. Voloha. I'll make sure to consider your suggestion thoroughly and get back to you with an answer as soon as possible."

  ??By which you mean you'll throw the paper in a fireplace and never contact this dodgy wanker again.??

  [Huh, I never knew you had a future-seeing skill.]

  "Well, I told you he's kind of an asshole…" Noelle smiled wryly at Voloha.

  Ex-fucking-cuse me?

  "…Do you really don't want to take revenge?" Voloha asked.

  "Absolutely not."

  That sounds like a huge pain in the ass so just this time, I'll do the mature thing and let it go.

  Do remember though; maturity is overrated.

  "But why?" Her voice trembled.

  Hmm, I guess the concept of handling situations like a champ I mean like an adult is foreign to her.

  Like what, does she think I'm a Cultivation Protagonist who slaughters someone's entire family just because they looked at me wrong?

  It's not that entertaining, trust me.

  "I've said this before, and I'll say it again; it's not worth the trouble."

  "What?"

  "Exactly." I shrugged.

  To be honest, at this point I'm kinda regretting revealing my past to them.

  First of all, why are they encouraging a 12-year-old child to seek revenge? Isn't it usually the opposite of that?

  And I mean, sure it's a horrible past but why are they making such a big deal about it when I am not?

  ??That's precisely why.??

  [Oh?]

  ??To them, your indifference comes as fear, or perhaps trauma. They might be under the impression that you don't want to take revenge because you are still afraid of your family. And that's why they want you to take revenge, so that you can finally stop living in their shadow.??

  Oh my fucking god. They-

  "I have decided!" Voloha suddenly stood up. "I'm taking you to the castle with me!"

  Oh. My. Fucking. God.