Chapter 6 – Farewell

(Sakura pov)

It's been a month since we've been living in the orphanage. Dad said he would only be gone for a week, but it's been so long.

I'm worried, but I don't know what to do. I asked to Illya, but she doesn't know what to do either. So, we just keep doing what Dad told us to do before he left.

We keep learning Magecraft, we keep staying at the orphanage, we keep going to school. We do exactly as Dad asked.

But why hasn't he come back yet?

I... don't want to be left alone again.

I'm worried. No, I'm scared.

Just when I thought I could live well, with a new family, Dad left us.

I don't want to be left alone.

"No, No! What was I thinking! Dad won't leave us."

Right, what was I supposed to do earlier? I forgot.

"Oh..." suddenly I realized why I came back to our house.

I came back to clean the house. Because Dad could come back anytime, I didn't want him to find the house dirty and never cleaned.

So, I came back.

Illya will also come later, she said she wanted to do something with her classmates. I envy her, she can make friends with others very quickly. While I...

"No, No! Don't think negative." I shook my head trying to dismiss what I had previously thought.

As Dad said, I have to be more cheerful, I have to be more honest with my feelings.

It's been a year since we've been living in this house. This is our small family home. Although small, it is a very precious home to us. Or not? Actually, I don't care too much about the house itself, as long as we stay together, it doesn't matter where we live.

That's why I hope Dad comes back soon.

"Heum~ Hehhh~" I clean the whole house slowly.

I'm used to cleaning this whole house. I mean, Dad never really cared about cleanliness. As long as he doesn't see things too cluttered, he won't even sweep the house.

And Illya? Well, no need to mention. She just adds to the mess. Most of the chaos that happens in this house, she's always the culprit. So, in the end, it's only me who will clean the house.

Oh, just because I complain doesn't mean I don't want to do this. Honestly, I'm happy to be able to do something for our little family.

As I was enjoying my own thoughts, someone rang our doorbell.

*Ding!*

"Yes! I'm coming!" I immediately stopped the work I was doing and ran to the front door.

"Is this the Wood family residence? There's a letter here." The guest who came visiting said. He seemed to be a courier.

"Ah, yes! That... Dad is not here right now, can I accept it?" I said unsure, usually only adults are allowed to accept it, right? I'm not sure.

"It's okay, just make sure to pass it on to your dad, okay?" the courier spoke with a smile.

"Yes, thank you."

I don't know who this letter is from. Maybe Dad's acquaintance? I don't know.

As I looked at the letter more closely, I found a sentence at the bottom.

<For Sakura and Illya>

"So, this is from Dad?" I became curious about what was written inside.

Before I opened it, I suddenly realized something...

"No, No! I can't! I have to wait for Illya." With that, I put the letter in the drawer.

I returned to the task I was doing. Cleaning the house.

Living together, I'm having so much fun. Although Illya is too excited.

Even so, sometimes I still get nightmares. Like when my birth parents abandoned me, like when I was tortured in the Matou family.

But every time I have a nightmare, Dad always hugs and comforts me.

And because of that... we always sleep together. Even though Dad keeps saying that we're no longer children now, so we should sleep separately. But he gives in after Illya whines and cries.

I don't know how, but every time Illya cries, she always gets whatever she wants.

It's the same when she asked me to call her sister. Even though she's shorter than me. Hmph!

"Sakura! I'm home!"

Suddenly a voice came from the front door. That once again interrupted my thoughts. I quickly rushed there and found Illya's brother had just returned.

"Welcome back, sister!" I welcomed her with a smile.

She said this and that, about what she experienced with her friends. Then she said she would take me with her next time. Illya is a good girl.

"Oh, right! There's a letter from Dad. Let's look at it together." I suddenly remembered about it.

"Eh, really?" she was surprised, but quickly went to the table and waited for me to take out the letter I had stored earlier.

We sat side by side and prepared to read it.

But for some reason... it felt very uncomfortable. What is this? Why do I feel like this? Am I sick? I hope not.

As the letter was taken out, we began to read it together.

<For Sakura and Illya>

It seems this is indeed from Dad. After reading the greeting part at the beginning of the letter, we could tell it was from Dad.

<If this letter reaches you, it means I will not return. failed, and have passed away.>

Huh... is this a joke? This is just a joke, right? Dad couldn't possibly leave us.

But the uncomfortable feeling I felt grew heavier. To the point where I didn't realize that Illya had hugged me tightly.

<Let me explain briefly. About three years ago, I received a curse. This curse made only able to live for more years. tried find way survive and overcome this problem, but it seems all in vain. So, took the last step could, as mentioned earlier at beginning, fact that letter is now your hands... means failed.>

I didn't know about that. Why didn't Dad ever mention anything about his curse? He always smiled when we were sad, he always accompanied us when we were sad, he... was always there for us.

So why... why is this happening.

Just when I felt like I had a new family, Dad disappeared just like that.

At that moment... I heard crying next to me. Whether I liked it or not, tears began to flow from my eyes.

Am I being abandoned again? No. Illya is still with me right now. Dad also didn't want to leave us, he just couldn't accompany us any longer, not because he didn't want to.

<Behind the wardrobe in my room, there is a door that leads to Basement of this house. I conducted research there, so... if fail... body might be there. applied Preservation Magic ensure does not decay quickly. So please bury when you find it. This difficult and cruel request, but hope both can fulfill have prepared hole backyard. You use place.>

Without reading further, I ran to the place mentioned in the letter. When we arrived there, we found Dad's body lying on the sofa in the middle of the room.

"Uuh..." a hoarse sound came out of my mouth. I wanted to cry, but it felt so hard even to make a sound.

"Uwah..." Illya next to me had already knelt down and hugged Dad's body and cried, releasing all the sadness she had been holding back.

Why... why is this happening... why now...

I don't want this.

I hope this is all just a bad dream.

"Hiks." I fell because my legs felt so weak. I wiped my eyes with both hands, but in vain. Tears kept flowing.

This is just a bad dream. When I wake up, Dad will hug me and smile at me. Like he always does.

"Uwaaa...."

But why... it feels so painful.

Please...

Don't leave me again.

I don't want this...

Why...

Why is this happening to me...

Why...

* * *

"Hey there! Hold on. Your mind will disappear if you continue thinking like that. Even though your soul is eternal, it doesn't mean your mind cannot vanish."

A voice suddenly appeared, disrupting my thoughts.

'What was that?' I quickly realized something was wrong.

Random thoughts popping into my mind, and a woman's voice appearing out of nowhere. Various strange things happening in the short time I've been in this place.

I even forgot what I wanted to say earlier.

Damn.

At that moment, a light orb suddenly appeared in front of me. The light orb was the size of a grown man's head. Pure white and somewhat dazzling. Other than that, there was nothing special about it.

'Is this the one that spoke earlier?' reluctantly I felt doubtful.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Light! Pleasure to meet you, Nor!" she spoke cheerfully.

Nornian. That was my name before. It seems she already knows about it.

"Yes, pleasure to meet you." If she had hands, then this would be the time we shake hands.

"I'm the one who saved you!" The light orb suddenly spoke proudly. I was somewhat confused. While she did save me from the strange thoughts earlier, I don't think that's what he meant.

"Can you explain in more detail? What do you mean by saved?" I asked the light orb. She did save me from the strange thoughts earlier, but I guess that's not what she meant.

"I'm the one who gave you the Eternal Soul!" her tone was still there, full of pride. She must be grinning right now.

"You mean you are the System?" I asked hesitantly. From the start, I didn't have a good feeling about the system that came with me. So, I quickly became suspicious and wary of this random orb that suddenly appeared.

"Ah, no, no! Don't misunderstand. Specifically, I saved you from that System." The light orb answered nervously. How do I know she's nervous? Well, his light was slightly flickering, so that's my guess.

"I thought I got that Skill from the System?" I asked further.

"Hm... How should I put it. Let me explain from the beginning then." She said before clearing his throat.

"Ahem, Ahem. So, there's this evil organization that wants to conquer the world. They are really evil, truly evil. They carry out their plans by disrupting the order of fate. After fate deviates, then taking or stealing the Universe Core would be very easy. If that happens, then Bam, everything disappears!" she paused for a moment to take a breath before continuing.

"Of course, if there's an evil group, then there must also be a good group, right? That's us. Well, even so, the good group basically only has three members. Compared to the evil group that has more than thousands of people, we're really insignificant." She sighed.

Listening to all this, I wasn't sure how to respond. From what I understand, I've messed up this fate, right?

"Aren't I the one who messed up this fate?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Yes, what you've done so far has messed up many things. But that's where your next task comes in. You will fill the void you've caused. Well, actually you're just filling in because you've erased the existence of that role." She said it seriously.

I think I'm in trouble. If she's indeed hostile to the person who gave me the system, then my fate might not go well. Luckily, I'm in astral form right now, if not then I can say that cold sweat will be flowing down my body right now.

"It seems you've misunderstood once again." She removed her serious tone this time.

"Just because fate deviates from what was originally there, doesn't mean it's enough for them to take action. They're still lacking a lot before they can act. And now that can't be continued. Unless they look for new people, and doing that is not an easy task. Although it doesn't mean they won't do it. So there's still nothing certain." I don't know what she's trying to convey, but why is this Orb wandering now? Can't you stay still in one place while talking?

"While the task you have to complete is not to fix the messed up fate you've caused. But rather to guide the deviated fate so it doesn't deviate further or return to its original path."

"Hm? Isn't it good if it returns to its original path?" I asked, isn't this a good thing?

"Not exactly, currently fate has accepted a new path it has received. So, if you change it back to the original path, it will consume more energy. In short, currently fate is investing in something unknown. It could be profitable, but there's also a chance it will incur losses. But if fate returns to its original path, then it will definitely incur losses." This time the color of the Orb changed to gray for some reason. Does this signify something? I'm not sure.

"So, what exactly should I do?" I asked this just to make sure I didn't misunderstand.

"Your first task is to stop the next person who is sent. It's uncertain, so they might no longer send new people to this Universe. But just to be safe, please pay attention if there is indeed one."

In other words, I have to eliminate the Transmigrator or Reincarnator who comes to this world.

"Okay, I understand." I nodded.

"Wait, if possible try to save them. Their case is likely to be similar to yours, so it's best if you can help them if you can. But don't force it too much. Or it will end badly for you." She made a request and a warning.