I arrived to where the place where I had first arrived.

This had been a valuable experience I thought wiping away my tears and slapping my cheeks, to calm down.

I knew full well that Franky and Romuald would mock me if they ever saw me crying like that. As I made sure I was as inconspicuous as possible, I sat on the ground.

As I waited, I thought about the future.

Until now I had only been driven by the idea of becoming so strong, that no one would be able to throw me away, to become someone my father would regret abandoning.

I both ran into danger and avoided it as if I didn't know whether I wanted to die or to live. Stating my goal out loud as if to gain compassion from others.

This goal wasn't a bad one, at heart. After all I had good reasons to harbor it, right?

Still while I had grown stronger in these past two weeks, and had acquired some weapons of my own like the universal pressure, I was still somewhat anguished.

After all, this was the last of my freedom. I wouldn't be able to train with nearly the same liberty I had now when I'd become a lab rat.

What's the big plan?

Part of me, just wanted to leave it to fate and grasp whatever came my way. But if my life until now was any proof, leaving it to fate meant experience both terrific highs and devastating lows, mostly devastating lows.

"No no no, I'll choose my path.. I don't want to be at the whims of anyone ever again..."

Thinking, and thinking, thinking and thinking, I ended up loosing my line of thought and reminiscing instead.

When I taught about it, I had lived more this past month than the five years prior.

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To the eerie but weirdly beautiful crimson clouds and dirt of the Bloodied Finger, to the the subterranean wolf I had fell, and the eating of moss and worms I was forced to do in the Abyss, to my meeting and training with Romuald in the Unyielding forest.

and

meeting Eva..

"What are you thinking about for your face to be this red?"

"UH? What? Nothing" I said as I coughed surprised.

Wait who? As I snapped back to reality, I realized the wait was over.

It was Albert speaking, accompanied by the trusty and bald Ogre.

"Hmmmm, alright if you say so." He then laughed and coughed himself,

"I didn't know Romuald swung that way."

I looked at him confused.

He looked at me with eyes.

Ogre looked at me with a significant smile.

And I looked back even more confused..

“What?”

[...]

Until it clicked.

"Wait wait it's not whatever you're thinking about!" I said confused

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone"

"Wait .. what? No--!"

#

Five minutes later,

"I know"

He knows.

I had spent the past five minutes frantically explaining myself, not touching upon the subject of Eva and the snakes as this was still a secret, but about how I wasn't thinking of Romuald or whatever, to be 100% honest I wasn't even totally sure what he meant but I could guess it wasn't something I wanted him to think was true. "Don't worry I won't tell anyone", being all I needed to be on my guards.

"Yeah, Romuald is not that kind of guy," he said as if this was the most obvious thing, "Hurry up, we're already 2 weeks late."

"Ah... yes," I stood up, and wiped my butt.

Then started the walk back.

Defeated.

Following after Ogre and Albert, all I could think was.

I'll never trust Albert again...

This was an exaggerated reaction, but still the mix of embarrassment, ridicule and sheer confusion had me steaming like a stew.

What the hell does he mean that kind of guy? What kind of guy?

As we approached, I could smell the familiar scent of the cart we had taken to get here, that snapped me back from my gloom.

"Woah.."

The smell of the alpine goats, the luster of the cart.

Somehow it looked smaller than before.

I waved at Ogre who while not a friend, had become a somewhat familiar face as he walked back to his own cart.

Then I followed after Romuald and entered.

Franky who was sleeping, and Hagrid who was reading both jolted back and acknowledged our entrance.

"Oh, I guess you're not dead yet, welcome back, kiddo." Franky said.

"Hardy like a cockroach... I suppose you' are fit enough." Hagrid shrugged.

I wouldn't tell it out loud, I knew that in not too long I would leave this cohort and become a lab-rat. I knew that like all things, this weird joy I felt at being back, at being recognized was ephemeral, still I couldn't help but be happy.

I laughed a bit too loud, not knowing how to control it.

"You won't get rid of me that easily!"