Remorse and forgiveness.

"H-sister, help me, save me, you are very strong! TRUE?! I don't want to die, I want to continue playing with Yong, with my family and playing with you-!"

"No...not again, not anymore!" Kayla felt her legs lose strength at the sight in front of her, the scene that had been etched in her retinas that day...

He watched as Elli's headless body fell to the ground, her blood making a scarlet pool...

"I'm s-sorry... I wanted to help..." Kayla approached Elli's corpse as she staggered. "I really wanted to... Do something!"

Her body seemed to lose strength as she fell to her knees in front of Elli's body, crying...

"Did you really even try, did you really give it your all the you?"

Suddenly, a snake made of Elli's blood materialized and wrapped itself around Kayla's neck, choking her.

"O-of course I did!" Kayla started to turn pale. The town, where she had been at the beginning, had disappeared and total darkness dominated the place.

"Kekeke, well how useless then, you had two chances and you couldn't save her?"

The goblin general suddenly appeared from the darkness, laughing like when he killed Elli.

"Y-you, it's your fault!" Kayla screamed with tears in her eyes.

"Him, but why?" The snake tightened its grip on her, choking Kayla tighter. "He wasn't the one who arrogantly told an innocent girl that she was strong, he didn't ask Elli to run to her death... In any case, you..."

Kayla's face paled. She knew what the snake was going to say, but she didn't want to hear it... She tried to cover her ears, but her body had no strength due to lack of air.

"You…" The Goblin General materialized his sword from darkness and raised it as he approached Kayla.

"No..." Tears streamed down Kayla's face. As much as she wanted to move, her body had no strength...

The goblin general brought his sword down hard, ready to split Kayla in half.

"You're to blame for everything!"

The goblin general, Elli's blood snake, and even the darkness itself that surrounded Kayla, screamed at the same time...

"Nooooo!"

...

"No!"

Kayla opened her eyes with a start. Her chest rose and fell. Tears began to form in her eyes as she murmured.

"Again..."

She had been having the same dream for the past three days since she came into this world and that accident occurred...

Kayla sat up and looked around the room where she was, lethargically.

The room they had given her was neither big nor small, perfect for a teenager like her. It had a personal bed, a nightstand and a large closet. Just enough.

A beam of light suddenly entered the room, making Kayla squint. Waking up at dawn... Again.

Kayla shook her head and stood up, she had to do some things today.

He changed into the clothes they had given him. Black cloth pants, a long-sleeved white shirt, and a black hooded tunic that she specially ordered.

Yes, what's coming will be exhausting... Kayla smiled bitterly as she opened the door to her room.

Behind her door was a living room. The house they gave him temporarily was one story with a living room, a kitchen and...

"Nmm?" A head peeked out of a door on the other side of the room. "You're up early again, Kayla!"

... Two rooms.

"Good morning, Zinon..." Kayla nodded at the beautiful priest in front of her.

Zinon was a twenty-year-old looking girl with strong blonde hair who was always cheerful or at least had given Kayla that impression.

"Good morning too! And come on, I've already made breakfast, so help me serve it!" Zinon urged Kayla with his hand.

"Sure" Kayla nodded. She also had to help, no matter what she just went through... She wasn't that useless.

They both had breakfast in no time and tidied the house before leaving.

"Are you ready?" Zinon asked, concern evident in his eyes.

"It's not a question of whether I'm ready or not, this is something I have to do" Kayla spoke as she hid her trembling hand under her tunic.

Zinon seemed to have something to say, but she stayed silent and guided Kayla towards a particular house in town.

As they walked through the half-destroyed town, some of the families of the women and children she saved greeted her.

Although most of them had a dark air around them... That day there were many people that Kayla couldn't save. It was not possible for these people to recover so quickly...

Kayla gritted her teeth at that. If only she had done more, if she had been stronger... If only she weren't so useless!

"We arrived!"

Zinon suddenly shouted, snapping Kayla out of her self-deprecating spiral.

They were standing in front of one of the few two-story houses in the town. Kayla shivered a little when she saw the house.

"Hello wake up!" Zinon knocked on the door loudly.

They both waited for a while before the door opened, revealing a man with dark circles in his eyes.

The man had long golden hair that hid his somewhat feline ears, similar but somewhat different to thosecat. The man had come out shirtless, showing off his scarred body.

"They're early..." The man spoke with an incredibly hoarse and deep voice.

He looked at Zinon with some respect, before passing his gaze over Kayla with some... Resentment.

"So you are the one for whom my daughter- Ouch!" The man narrowed his eyes and was about to say something but Zinon hit him hard on the back of the head.

"You better think carefully about what you were going to say, Leo!" Zinon smiled kindly.

Leo shuddered and spat on the ground. "Well, ok, come in..."

Zinon nodded and stepped inside while he complained about Leo's lack of clothing.

As for Kayla, she had been a little paralyzed as soon as she saw Leo's look. Although it was momentary, she was able to realize it. Leo felt some resentment towards her.

Of course, anyone would feel that way if they were faced with the useless she who wasn't able to save her daughter in front of their eyes...

Kayla forced a smile and entered the house.

She had learned that the goblins had not attacked this house because there was no one here at the time they came, so she was quite intact.

The house was quite cozy. With furniture around a fireplace in the living room, a dining room, a kitchen and... Photos of a family of three.

As they sat in the living room, one photo in particular caught Kayla's attention.

Was from Elli's entire family. Her mother, her and Leo. Her mother was an intense red-haired cat anima. At that time Elli was still a baby and Leo had a huge smile on her face...

I... I ruined this family... Tears began to form on Kayla's face.

"Kayla..." Zinon gently rubbed her back. She couldn't stand to see a girl like Kayla carry so much blame.

Even Leo, who had some resentment towards Kayla, felt bad when he saw her crying. True, she's a girl too... How can I resent a girl?

"Ah... Sorry, I got carried away, haha..." Kayla quickly wiped away her tears. Idiot, you're not the one who's mourning!

Leo sighed. Seeing Kayla in her eyes, he realized that the girl was not much better off than him...

Yes, between the two of us, I am the adult... And as she always said, it is our duty to protect the children.

Leo slapped his cheeks hard. The loss of his family almost led him astray, but he was an adult, he had to show an example to the younger ones!

"Brat... You shouldn't feel guilty for what happened" Leo spoke in the gentlest voice he could muster.

Kayla looked at Leo confused. Why did he hit his cheeks?...

"You are just a victim of all this, you don't even belong to this town and you fought for them, saving countless lives..." Leo spoke calmly. "You can't always save everyone..."

Even if it's my daughter who was unlucky...

Tears ran down Kayla's face. "Why?... Why are you comforting me!"

Leo smiled gently. "Oh, what should I do then? Blame the person who saved the lives of the people of my village?

"Yes!!! You should hate me, I was the cause of your daughter dying! I was the useless one your daughter sacrificed her life for!" Kayla screamed at the top of her lungs. She couldn't hold that in anymore...

Leo and Zinon looked at her with pity. They exchanged glances and both thought the same thing.

This was no longer just guilt that Kayla felt... She already had a pretty strong inferiority complex ingrained in her.

What did she have to endure... For her to think that about herself? Zinon thought remorsefully. Seeing the poor girl in front of her, a plan formed in her mind.

As for Leo, he also noticed that Kayla wasn't doing very well mentally... So he consoled her the best way he could... Like she would have done.

"Girl... No, Kayla" Leo approached Kayla and knelt in front of her, wiping away her tears with his hand. "You are not useless. You gave everything of yourself to protect these people when that should be the responsibility of us, the adults, not the children."

"Be proud and don't think that you let someone die... Think that you managed to save dozens of people. Why was that what really happened, you are a hero who faced adversity, not useless"

Kayla couldn't take it anymore and hugged Leo while he cried uncontrollably...

"T-thank you!..."

...

"Thank you for everything..." Kayla murmured with a red face.

How could I cry in front of other people like a girl?!

"Don't worry, I think I needed this talk too" Leo smiled with amusement at Kayla's embarrassment. "Girl, stay strong, I'm sure"If you keep moving forward, you will become an incredibly strong person."

Kayla smiled a little. "Of course, I won't let Elli's sacrifice go to waste!"

They both smiled melancholy and said goodbye...

"Well, see you Leo!" Zinon smiled at the sight of the two and dragged Kayla towards her temporary home.

"Hey zinon! Why the rush?!" Kayla complained. Zinon was much stronger than her despite being a priest.

"Why did I just have a great idea!" Zinon stopped, causing Kayla to crash into her back.

"...Great idea?" Kayla asked while rubbing her nose.

"Yeah!" Zinon smiled brightly and spread his arms. "Let's enroll you in an academy!"

"Academy?!" Kayla screamed in disbelief.