98 Ch. 98 'Starting To Remember'

"Well, if you want to protect them all, you could do it at this point. You are way stronger than you used to be. You are not a baby girl, aren't you?"

"Yes, I'm not a weak little girl I once used to be," confirmed Niken in an unshakeable voice.

"Then you don't mind the harshness of your upcoming training, do you?"

"Ah?"

Lionel raised an eyebrow hearing the teasing tone of his friend. What is Danzel doing?

"Yes, I don't mind." for some reason, Niken's voice was not as firm as before.

She was excited to grow stronger, she was eager to have trained with these mentors, yet she didn't like to move a muscle in a tough quest.

How harsh would the training be?

"Xiao Yue, I presumed you knew about the black knight? You are aware that you are inamorata, right?"

A gentle smile appeared in her face. "Yes, I'm aware."

"And you don't mind it?"

"Should I?"

Danzel and Lionel looked at each other for a moment then decided to leave it be. If Niken didn't mind being an inamorata, why would they make a fuzz?

The problem was, they won't be able to separate the lover birds. Their original plan was to take Niken away from the knights so the girl could focus on her training. At the same time, Kazuto and the others would be guided by Danzel to control their energy source until they reach their limit.

Now, they had to improvise their plans. Lionel would bring Kazuto, making his job increase as he needs to teach the man to control his source while also training Niken.

Hhhh... Lionel hoped everything will end smoothly as soon as possible.

***

The next day, Danzel and Lionel explained their plans to everyone. Lionel will take Niken away to train her in a secret place, while Danzel will guide the other knights to maximize their potential power.

Kazuto, who does not want to separate from Niken, will also go along with Niken and Lionel. As for Richard... He doesn't want to let his little sister go away from him. So that Richard wanted to be alone away from home and sit by the riverbank.

Niken was sad to see her brother's low-spirited, slowly approached him. She also did not want to be separated from her brother as they were inseparable, but the place where they were going was not a place anyone could enter. Only the Elementalist knight and the Time Master could set foot in safely.

"Brother..."

Richard turned to his sister with a smile, letting his sister sit next to him.

"Brother, I'll be fine. Sir Lionel and Kazuto will take care of me. I'm not a kid anymore."

"I know. Sooner or later, I have to let you go, but I didn't think I should let you go this fast."

Niken laughed. "We will meet again. You also know it, right? Only one year, I'll train hard and end it faster than one year. We might reunite for less than a year. Who knows?"

"After this, Kazuto will protect you. I'm sure he will protect you. And you already know the reason." Niken wondered what her brother wanted to say. "So, it seems like I'm no longer needed," whispered Richard more towards himself.

Niken gasped and clasped her brother's hands in both hands.

"That is absolutely not true. I need you, brother. I need your presence. If you are not here… If you are not with me, then I…" Niken whined in broken words as she began to hold back her tears.

'Brother... brother... sobs...wake up... don't leave me alone.'

All of a sudden, a figure of a child crying crossed his mind. Richard wondered who the child was? Why is that little girl had a similar face to Niken? Richard instantly shook away the memories from his mind when he felt water-like was dripping on his grasp.

Richard gently wiped his sister's tears with his other free hand.

"I'm sorry. I promise not to say that again. Even though I say it as if you don't need me, I still need you. You're the only family I have in this world. I don't know who and where our family is. But from the beginning onwards ... You are my only family. I will not leave you."

Niken wiped her own tears then smiled with relief. Niken hugged her brother tightly, Richard returned her hug and stroked his sister's back gently.

"But I was wondering something. Lately, you call me 'big brother' instead of my name."

Niken let go of his arms. "You don't like it?"

Richard was stunned by his sister's question. It's not that he doesn't like it. He doesn't even bother with her vocation, whether his sister wants to call him brother or Richard, he didn't mind at all.

It's just something that was bothering him. Ever since his twin sister called him "brother," a strange image often appeared, like the shadow of a child who had just crossed his mind. He had seen the child... he saw it in one of his nightmares.

He often had terrible nightmares. His family was attacked, he had to run away and hide. And moreover, his body was stuck with dozens of arrows. Even more horrifying, he also dreamed of bad people he did not know seized Niken.

These nightmares were the reason he wanted to be strong and get stronger. Since he entered Bieger Academy and got stronger, his nightmare which had come to haunt him almost every night had not disturbed his sleep. He could feel relieved and calm.

But now, why did that image surface again? And instead of appearing in his dream, but emerged during the day when he was fully conscious?

"Brother?" called Niken, interrupting his thoughts.

"Hm? No. I don't mind at all. I just feel weird. You've been used to calling me by my name all this time, suddenly you didn't call my name. Only that. You can call me any way you like."

Niken smiled, and the two of them were chatting a little bit longer before finally deciding to return to their home.