He Became the Only Ally of the Abandoned Warrior

The Past spoke to the Present and the Future.

It said that they had reflected and devoted themselves enough.

The Present added to the Future.

It said that they were still living each day with earnest reflection.

The Future replied to both of them.

Then, it said, they deserved to embrace the happiness it had promised humanity.

Four years had passed since the Age of Destiny began.

Arsil, with support from Lowellina, had established a small school on the former church-state land and was running an orphanage with Ruben and several other priests.

With Tigria's help, Arsil had safely reached the church-state land. She trudged forward and stood before the children.

"Saintess!"

"It's the Saintess Sister!"

The children, rushing out to greet her, froze when they noticed the empty sleeve swaying from her right arm.

"I'm sorry, kids," Arsil said with a bitter smile.

"It looks like I won't be able to teach you how to do hooks anymore."

At her words, Hemel was the first to run up.

"I believed you'd come back. I was scared you'd never return like my mom and dad, but I kept believing in you!"

Encouraged by Hemel's shout, the children who had hesitated came forward again and threw themselves into her arms.

"I'm different from Hemel! I believed in you the whole time!"

"Hey! You said yesterday that maybe she wouldn't come back!"

"No, I didn't! I never said that!"

The children, embracing the sinner that she believed herself to be, made Arsil cry as she hugged each one tightly.

"I'm back."

"Welcome home!"

"It feels like it was just yesterday when they welcomed me back so warmly."

But things were different now.

Today, Hemel had gotten into another fight with the other kids and was brought before Arsil, the orphanage director.

Sporting a swollen eye, Hemel pouted and refused to meet her gaze.

"Hemel, why have you been causing so much trouble lately?"

"…"

Arsil, who had become gentler and more serene than before, asked softly, but Hemel only pouted more.

"Won't you tell me?"

"…"

"I know you're not the kind of kid who picks fights just because you're in a bad mood."

"Ugh…"

Arsil knelt to meet Hemel's eye level.

Though he had grown significantly in the past four years, he was still smaller than her.

When she gently stroked his head, Hemel finally sniffled and opened up.

"The new kids… They called you a crybaby, Director. They said they could hear you crying every night…."

"I see. So you were angry because they were teasing me. But violence isn't the answer. If you lash out, they'll just talk behind your back instead of saying it to your face, won't they?"

"But they called you a one-armed crybaby!"

At that, Arsil felt a vein throb in her temple.

Oh, I really want to give those kids a piece of my mind.

Even so, she couldn't praise Hemel for what he had done. After all, the teasing wasn’t baseless.

"I can hear it at night too. You call out a name while crying—Lin. Who's Lin? That porter guy from back then, right?"

"Huh? Uh…"

"If you miss him so much, why don't you go find him?"

"I have all of you here."

"We're all grown up now. We help Teacher Ruben take care of the younger kids and even do farm work!"

"Does that mean you don’t need me anymore?"

At Arsil's calm question, Hemel shook his head vigorously.

But the words that followed were unexpectedly mature for a child.

"We're not little kids anymore. You and Teacher Ruben raised us well, so now it's our turn to repay you."

"How do you plan to repay me?"

"I want you to find your own happiness, Director. The others feel the same way. I don't have parents, so I don’t understand how it feels, but that man is alive, right? Then you won’t regret it if you go to him. We'll be fine. We have each other, so we’re not lonely."

Arsil was taken aback by Hemel's resolute words.

She wanted to go to Lin too.

But she still hadn't earned forgiveness, and she was a disabled woman with only one arm.

She couldn’t face him like this, without redemption.

"It's not time yet," she said.

"Then when will it be?"

"Well, instead of waiting idly for that time to come, I’ll live each day to the fullest."

Arsil dusted off her knees, stood up, and patted Hemel’s head one more time.

"So, you should also get along with the kids around you instead of fighting. Okay?"

"Okay…"

"Now, what do you need to do?"

"I need to go apologize to the others."

"Can you do it well?"

"I’ll make sure I do."

"Hmm~?"

"I’ll go right now."