[Vol 5] Chapter 3: Compassion

Just when my consciousness drifted back from the world of dreams, I was grabbed by a frantic-looking Angie as she demanded me to tell her everything I know about her father, “Sylvia, please! Tell me anything you know about my father! Anything at all!”

I was caught totally off guard by Angie’s sudden assault, “An…Angie… please… please calm down… I… I have… no idea… wh… what you’re saying!” Angie was shaking me with so much force that I couldn’t tell left from right anymore.

It was the first time Sheena saw Angie losing herself like this, so she was quite dumbfounded, but after she noticed my plight, she tried to stop Angie in a fluster, “A-Angie!! Stop! Stop this at once! Sylvia can’t talk if you keep shaking her like this!”

However, since Angie was very agitated, Sheena’s words didn’t reach her properly. Even so, she still stopped shaking me and said with a shaky voice, “Sylvia! Please! Anything at all… just tell me anything you know about my father!”

Angie was looking very despondent, I was honestly lost for words. Since Angie gave me the impression of a stern and dutiful older sister type, I never imagined she’d ever show her weak side. Seeing Angie like this, I really wished I could answer her question, but I am more confused than anyone else here.

What was that about her father, who is her father? Why ask me?
“Uh…” I looked at Sheena with an imploring gaze.

“Ah… geez!” Sheena scratched her head as if it was troublesome to deal with us, “Angie, just cool down for a moment. I’ll explain things to Sylvia from the beginning.”

With that, Sheena began to explain about Angie’s circumstances to me, “Um… you see… Angie actually don’t have a father… she grew up hearing heroic tales of her father, she admires him and aspire to be a great warrior like him. However, whenever we tried to pry for his whereabouts, our parents would remain silent. That’s why… we always thought Angie’s father was lost-in-action, but just recently, we heard a really disturbing news.”

“A disturbing news?” I parroted Sheena while tilting my head.

“That’s right,” Sheena continued, “Recently, we’ve heard rumors of a warrior wandering in the dungeon near Swinford Township. All description of the warrior’s conduct and attitude matched the content the stories we’ve been told, so we believe…”

“…that warrior might actually be Angie’s missing father in question?” Sheena couldn’t finish her sentence since she was half in doubt, but the ignorant me didn’t notice that and finished her sentence for her.

“Sigh… that’s right. To be honest, that’s actually the reason why I didn’t bring Angie with me to Swinford Township,” Sheena lowered her voice so that Angie couldn’t hear it as she whispered in my ears, “As you can see, she lose herself every time when it concerns her father.”

After finally calming down, Angie took a few deep breaths and apologized, “Sorry, I’ve shown you something unsightly. I was under the impression that you’ve met my father when you were at Swinford Town a few days ago, but after thinking about it calmly, you wouldn’t have asked me such a question if you’ve met him. Miss Sylvia, let me ask you again properly, do you know my father?”

“Uh… this is… a little awkward, but…” I clapped my hands together and said apologetically, “I’m sorry! I have no idea why you’re asking this of me. I don’t know who your father is, I know not his name nor his appearance.”

“B-But that can’t be—! Just a moment ago, you were asking me how is my father doing!” Angie was in disbelief. On the other hand, as the only one who knew the full story, Sheena felt a pang of headache. Since she had to be the one to explain everything to both parties.

Sheena really wished she could just leave us to settle this on our own, but she couldn’t really do that either. “Sigh…” Sheena heaved a helpless sigh as she looked at both Angie and I, then she said earnestly, “Angie, Sylvia, the both of you listen to me carefully.”

With those words, Angie and I turned our attention to Sheena. After confirming that she has our full attention, Sheena began to explain about my circumstances to Angie, and told us about what had transpired this morning.

I was shocked beyond words, to think that the original persona had taken over this body, even for a brief moment. It made me shudders at the thought of my future. If the original persona of this body was to reclaim her body, what would happen to me? Will I stay in eternal slumber within her body? Will I get expelled from her body and continue to roam aimlessly in the Spirit Realm?

On the other hand, Angie was openly disappointed. Just when she thought she was finally going to get some solid information about her father, it appears that the person herself was actually in slumber. She too was surprised that I have two personalities in one body, she had mixed feelings about this, but regardless, she still warned me;

“Miss Sylvia, I understand your circumstances now. I apologize for putting you through so many harsh situations while you’re still adapting to this world.

I will be sure to go easier on you until you get used to your new life. But know that you are still the retainer of a Royal Princess. You will constantly be confronted by human’s ugly nature. Your misconducts will reflect badly on Miss Sheena, the opposing factor will use that as an excuse to make things difficult not only for Miss Sheena, but for you as well. At worst case, they might even go as far as forcing you to keep your distance from Miss Sheena.”

“Ah~hhh, yes, yes, that’s enough.” I suddenly raised my voice to stop Angie in her track, “I’ve heard this dozens of times already, I’ll just have to behave myself when I’m in front of the public eyes yes? Just spare me from another one of this lengthy lecture, please.”

The opposing factor that Angie spoke of, was a group of aristocrats who were not very fond of the Hero King. More like, they were afraid of the Hero King’s military power. Not only was the Hero King hiring commoners as soldiers, he even gave them weapons of mass destruction. They were afraid that the Hero King might rise up in a coup d’etat.

Since humans are already used to peace, they’re now shifting their attention from the threat of the demon’s invasion to the military strength of each respective country. In fear that a super power might appear, everyone was undertaking all kinds of underhanded tactics to make sure the power balance remained on a very subtle equilibrium. Such was the nature of human.