Being called old proved to be the best way to piss off Nio. She was 28, similar to Fiona, and wasn't old at all.

The main reason it angered her was that she never knew when she turned 28. She was ten, the last time she celebrated her birthday. She focused her entire life on training and studying, with no time for anything else.

People admired her, but nobody befriended her. Nor did she make any efforts to make one. At first, she didn't care, but now she only regrets not venturing out.

As an executioner, she had hardly any time to make friends, have tea parties, or have friends to hang out with. Now, her age and responsibility gave her no chance to do the things she once had chances to.

Realizing she was taking her deep-filled issues out on Levi, she stopped her mana.

"Forgive me."

She didn't explain why she did so, but Levi had learned his lessons. He just followed Nio, a bit slumped, and her pace slowed down. She looked at Levi and turned back, with the speed of a cheetah.

Levi just followed her, and Nio kept doing the same again and again. He couldn't help but ask, "Is anything wrong?"

"Nothing."

They remained silent. As the two walked around the town, heading somewhere, the island had lost its usual atmosphere. The nightlife of Barl seemed colder than usual.

Though most offices were closed at night, some bars would be open. One could hear a faint sound of people singing, shoes clacking down on the wooden floor, and men shouting "cheers" at the top of their lungs.

'The news must have gone out.'

The guards must have warned the entire city about it, which was a dangerous move on their part. Because the other kidnappers would try to flee. For that, they had already called in extra guards and kept a lookout in the city and forbid anybody to get out of their house.

But scolding Levi was out of the option. After all, nobody could raise their voice to someone accompanying Nio Dracon.

The street held an eerie yet warming atmosphere, though the chilly breeze sent chills up Levi's spine.

'Is she planning to keep on walking for the entire night?'

"Where are we going?"

Nio looked back, puffing warm breath on her hands and rubbing them together. She didn't answer, and after five minutes, the two reached an inn.

Nio walked in, and so did Levi.

"Do you have two separate rooms?"

She asked the man at the counter. His eyes were wavering, and his breathing was uneven. The beauty and presence in front of him had stolen the hearts of many men, even across a computer screen.

Nio disliked the man's stare, and her gaze became darker.

"Hey, did you hear what I just said?"

"Um-"

His voice refused to speak, and his brain had melted to form any words. The man went through a register on the desk and started flipping through it.

"S-Sorry, but we have run out of single rooms." Only one room, with two bedrooms, is vacant."

"Give us the single room."

'What?'

Levi thought and turned to Nio.

"We should go to another inn. I don't think it's best for us to stay in a single room."

Nio shrugged off his suggestion.

"Kids like you think weird about anything. Horny bastards."

'This woman doesn't like being called old, but calls me a kid. Hypocrite.'

Without explaining further, she paid the bills and grabbed the keys and walked with Levi. The clerk gave Levi quite an envious look.

'It's not what you are thinking, man.'

Both of them walked upstairs, looking for room number 69. Once they reached the door, Nio walked in, flicked on the lights, and went straight to the bathroom.

Levi looked around, and it was just a normal-looking room with two beds.

'But aren't those beds too close to each other?'

Levi just sat on a chair, and Nio came out, wiping her face with a towel. Levi also went to the bathroom, freshened up, and came out. By the time he stepped out, Nio had already got into the corner bed and wrapped herself up in the blanket.

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There was no other furniture except a chair for Levi to sleep on.

He turned off the lights and got into his side of the bed, a bit further on the left, so even if he slept and moved, his hands wouldn't be anywhere near Nio.

Putting both his hands behind his head, Levi watched the faint light reflect on the ceiling.

'What a hectic day.'

To think that Brian and that organization were involved in this cemented one thing for Levi.

'Now not just the plot is a mess, it is starting to change. The whole timeline and new events pop out of nowhere.'

Maybe it was because of him, or just someone else that God feared controlling this world.

Anyhow, he needed to find a way to solve this, and alone, it wasn't possible. He might train to be the strongest, but the title of strongest doesn't mean one is capable of being a savior.

'I didn't even smoke today.'

He didn't have time to take in a mana cigarette and cultivate. And these few weeks would be the same. Not giving him the time to even take a rest.

As Levi was deep in his thoughts, the blanket next to him kept shuffling, trying not to make a noise.

"It's too obvious if you move like that."

The movement stopped, and Nio popped her head out of the blanket. Even under the dim light, her bright red ears were visible. Her finger moved and fixed her hair, trying to gain composure.

She had never done this, and now, experiencing it with someone she just met was too much for her maiden heart. Right now, she wasn't the cool adult she acted with while accepting those keys.

"Have you done this before?"

"Yes, but not with someone who I met just an hour ago."

Levi's eyes really made her curious. Though she didn't ask and wanted to be nosy. But couldn't stop her curiosity. A much younger boy than her had more experience in this stuff than her.

And he also had an unexplainable adult kind of vibe to it. Someone whose life motto could be "It is what it is."

She covered her mouth with the blanket and spoke in a low voice.

"How did you guys...you know, get together? It's not like I want advice or anything. I have plenty of experience with this kind of stuff."

Levi just smiled. He remembered the annoying but cute personality of Nio from the game. An adult that craved the irresponsible and innocent life she missed as a child.

Nio's question did bring back a lot of memories to Levi, or back then on earth, Seiko.

Seiko was in a romantic relationship with one woman for the twenty years he lived. Romance to him was a word, not an emotion or commitment. He did it because that is what normal humans do. Argue, struggle, choose, and love a partner for their lifetime.

But not everything goes smoothly. Seiko had his fair share of relationship problems and fights, not physical. However, he ruined it, and also ten years of that girl's life as well, maybe even her future.

Levi thought of trees, to get rid of the rabbit hole of bad memories he was falling into.

"I can't tell you that. It's too personal for me to talk about."

"Oh." Nio said and pinched her arm for being too nosy.

"I was lucky to have her. That is the only time I have ever been lucky in my life. I must have used all of my luck to be hers. But my existence itself never allowed us to grow old together," a glint of light dimmed in his eyes.

'I said too much.' After that, he turned to the side and didn't speak any further.

For a second, his eyes showed something Nio did not want to experience. It was too shallow and deep, and that lasted for long. How painful was it for him to remember the pain to this day?

Did he ever try to get rid of the hole in his heart?

It bothered her, and this time, she had to ask.

"This…Um, I am crossing a line and you don't need to answer to a stranger, but- did you try to get her back?"

Nothing came out of Levi's mouth as he pulled the blanket over his head.

Nio turned to the right and closed her eyes, regretting asking that. Silence filled the room, suffocating them and their emotions.

******

Two hours after the conversation these two had, Nio was asleep. Levi was still up.

Mainly because Nio hugging his back and snuggling her face into his back was quite the sleep disturbance.

She kept murmuring

"Marshmallow"

And wrapped her arms around Levi.

That is why he also couldn't get out of bed. The moment he tried to move himself or her, she tugged herself even more to him. So much so that she, in her sleep, pushed him out of the bed, and both were on the floor, with a blanket over his head.

Another reason was the fact that he forgot about Rika and the central eye in another inn kept him up all night.

As the morning light let itself into the room and into Nio's eyes, she started squirming, and Levi finally got the chance to get out of the warm and squishy hug.

Levi just let her sleep on the floor and walked into the bathroom.

'Central eye?'

[Yes, master.]

Levi was glad to hear or get the telepathic message back instantly, though the eye never slept.

'Is everything okay over there?'

[Nothing has gone wrong here. This brain-dead parrot has been sleeping for the last ten hours, so my mental state has gone back to normal. And why didn't you come to the inn, master? Did something bad happen?]

'Not bad, but unexpected. I will tell you later on. For now, get ready, and I will come and pick you up.'

[Be safe, master, and have a good night's sleep]

Levi wasn't going to have any sleep at all.

*********

Next day, Levi and Nio were out of the inn they stayed at last night. Levi was already out of the hug before Nio woke up, so she didn't find out about her ridiculous habit.

'She would have killed me for her own weird sleeping habit.' Now they were right outside the inn. The street was crowded, so much so that they couldn't find a space to walk out.

Except for the two, all the people in the crowd had a sour expression.

"Someone must have spilled the news," Nio said as she turned to her left and watched the crowd make way at the same time and started shouting at the top of their lungs.

The 17 kidnappers and Lark caught last night, were tied together. They walked in a line, tied to each other with a rope. The guards had their shield up, in case anybody tried anything foul.

Though if they could, they themselves would have wanted to punish them for the deeds they committed

The awakeners wanted to take the criminals away without any sort of troubles, but someone among them must have a loose mouth or in a fit of rage leaked the information.

Everyone in the crowd poured out their anger. Their eyes filled with malice, except one.

A girl was in the front of the crowd. She held onto her dress and stared at the line of criminals walking to their death. She didn't speak, but her emotions asked many questions.

Everything happened too fast. The awakeners barged into her house and took her only family away. She retaliated, and once she knew the truth, she resisted acknowledging the truth.

It was the reality her dry heart wasn't ready to face.

"Why grandmother?" She mumbled and looked at her grandmother for the last time, being dragged away. Even though the old woman was far from her, she still heard her granddaughter, despite all those people shouting.

The woman turned back and mumbled.

"I love you, my child."

The girl didn't hear her, nor could even guess what she said, but the smile spoke enough for her. She held onto her dress and tried holding in her tears, but she wasn't strong enough to do so.

In the end, her tears won the battle, and she could only accept it.

Levi, watching the interaction between the girl and the old woman, lowered his head to the ground. 'Love really does make people blind.'