Hiking up the wide and safe pathway in front of us, our group of four's side couldn't be described as anything but smooth sailing. I was kind of rushing to reach the top at the start, but I was quickly told off by Othelia and Aru, leading to our current laid-back pace.

"Hm, now that I think about it..." I looked up the side of the mountain, "How come there was an avalanche if Aru supposedly created a bubble barrier around the mountain?"

"You think you're onto something big with that, mortal, but it's really just science." Aru sighed, "You said it yourself, right? We're talking about a bubble, as in a spherical barrier."

"I don't think I'm following." I drew a blank as I carried the tired and sleepy Cene with me.

"Alright, seeing as you're so interested, I might as well explain it properly." Aru suddenly Materialized a water spire on the palm of her hand, "See this? Let's assume this is Mount Ivrys."

"That control over water is such a cool and scary aspect of you, Aru." Othelia chuckled nervously.

"Why, thank you!" Aru smirked before continuing hee lecture, "Alright, now when I put a spherical balloon over the water spire..."

Doing just as she said, a water bubble had manifested itself on the palm of her hand, its circumference encompassing the base of the mountain. Now, with the balloon being spherical and the water-spire representing the mountain being super tall, the balloon did indeed manage to encompass the spire to an extent, however the top of the spire...

"It's outside the balloon." Othelia remarked.

"Exactly, and that part outside the barrier has snow on it, just like the rest of Polaris." Aru closed the palm of her hand and shook all that water off, "Now do you more accurately understand how my barrier works?"

"Um, yeah, I guess." I still had one more question though, "But then why don't you just extend the balloon upwards?"

"Well you see, mortal, that's where the science comes in." She slumped forward a bit, as if already tired of getting badgered with question after question, "A balloon will always balance out as a sphere, no matter what, unless interfered with by a third party. And since this balloon barrier of mine isn't corporeal, per se, that means it will always remain a perfect sphere. Also, if I widened the circumference at the base to reach the mountain top, I'm afraid Polaris' icy floor would melt from the change of temperature."

"Huh, so probably a bad idea, then?" I chuckled.

"Well, unless you want the world to be plunged into the great pirate era, wherein only small landmasses will remain above the water level, I would guess it is." Aru cackled, "Now then, onto more important business - this bridge in front of us."

"Bridge?" Othelia and I both tilted our heads at her sudden statement, only seeing what she was talking about once we turned the corner, "Holy hell! This bridge is huge! A-And unsafe to boot! You're telling me this is the only way to advance up the mountain?"

"Yep! A rickety bridge is the only way forward." Aru then walked back to me and put her arms out, "Now then, hand me the boy. I'll safely take him to the other side first and foremost."

"Like hell I will!" I tightly hugged Cene as I refused her offer, waking him up in the process, "Let you two go on there alone? Cecily would kill me!"

"Bwuh? Uncle, whuz happunin'...?" Cene rubbed his Eyes with an adorable yawn, "Awe we thewe yet?"

"Now's not the time for such worries, Edward Saint." Aru kept talking to me, "The bridge is completely safe if we go one at a time, but since Cene and I weigh less than half a person each, it's only logical for me to carry him over!"

"No, we'll find another way." I shook my head as I started looking around for a secret path or something like that.

"Edward, now isn't the time for that." Othelia grabbed me by the shoulder, "Give Cene to Aru. This is her domain, she knows more so than anyone that there isn't any other way."

"Listen to the silver-haired beautiful mortal, Edward Saint, and hand Cene over to me!" Aru began getting feisty as she practically lunged at me to take Cene off of my arms.

"No, piss off!" I pushed her with a tad too much force, actually sending her falling off the edge as she slipped off of the rock she was standing on, "Shit...!"

Slipping back, she still had her arm outstretched to take Cene away from me, and that drove me insane. Even in such a perilous moment, when she was knocking on death's door, she still wanted to take Cene with her. It was as if she was telling me "Hey, he's better off falling off of a mountain with me than being alive under your care." and it made me livid. Angrily shoving Cene into Othelia's arms as I plunged down to save her, if not purely out of spite, I had realized just how much my emotions fucked me over once again.

"Grab on, you damned bratty bitch!" I yelled out to her.

"What difference does it make? We're both falling either way." She teased me, constantly switching between grabbing my hand and letting go, "Heh, just kidding."

At the very next moment, I finally got used to the sensation of falling. No, I didn't get used to it, we just stopped falling altogether. Looking around frantically to try and understand what was going on, I finally realized this was yet again another one of Aru's Abilities coming in clutch. As a water pillar slowly rose from the nearest ledge and reached right under our feet, she snapped her fingers with a wry smile before the top layer of the water immediately froze over, creating a proper platform to lift us back up.

"There we go!" She giggled smugly, "See, mortal? THAT is how you save yourself and the people around you from an untimely demise."

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"Edward, are you okay!?" Othelia immediately ran to check up on me.

"Uncle!" Cene too cried as he dug his face into my clothes, "Don't die, uncle...!"

Shit, I sent her falling down. I would've killed her and died trying to save her had she not used her powers! And even now, I'm being humiliated by the people around me for being weak... Shit, shit! Why the fuck am I like this? Is... Is Cene really safer in Aru's care than in mine, a literal adult? Fuck, I'm gonna puke...

"Woah, there! Take it easy!" Othelia helped me barf my nausea out over the ledge, "Just calm down, everything's fine."

"Aru..." I gasped and gagged as I finally gave up, "Take Cene and walk over the bridge. I-I'm sorry... for not... trusting you."

"...Yeah, pretty stupid on your part." She shrugged before picking Cene up into a princess carry, "I AM a Goddess, after all. You really ought to trust the people around you more, you can't keep doing things all by yourself."

"Y-Yeah, I see that now..." I chuckled in a self-deprecating tone, "Cheh, I'm the fucking worst, the lowest of the low."

"Don't say that-!" Othelia tried comforting me.

"I'm an idiot!" I shot back, startling them all, "I'm a fucking mistake! Everything I did in my life, it all went to shit! I tried proving to the world that I'm the main character, that I am capable of everything I set my mind to, but I'm not, dammit!"

"Edward..." Othelia sulked.

"Had it not been for Lune, had it not been for Meil..." I cried out as I kept pounding the grassy soil below my knees, "I would have still been back in that shitty village! No wife, no friends, no nothing! I cheated by riding off of their success when I'm nothing more than a dangerous bastard! A dangerous bastard that almost got us killed..."

Aru took the chance to take the now extremely distraught Cene and go across the rickety bridge. It was elegant and quiet, almost making me think the bridge was completely stable and safe to walk across, though I know better than to just assume the best possibility. Before long, they had made it to the other side. Aru turned around and motioned for us to get our butts over there as well.

"Edward..." Othelia looked into my Eyes before walking across, "That name you just said... You've... met Meil?"

"Whoever it is you're thinking of, it's probably not the same person." I got up, "The Meil I know is incredible. He thinks in ones and zeroes, purely logical with no margin of error. He's a genius in every sense of the word. A man like that comes once every few hundred years, I'll bet. He's great, he's charming, he-"

"He's got dark skin, white hair and an aloof aura around him?" Othelia smiled warmly.

Turning over to face her, I was suddenly hit with a memory of the past. Indeed, now that I think about it, when we were calling friends from all over the world to serve as reinforcements against the Carmen army, Meil mentioned two people - Lee and Issei. Yeah, reading Othelia's mind with Analyze, I can confirm we're thinking of the same person.

"Cheh, I should've pieced it together the moment that guy said his name at our doorstep." I laughed, "So you guys really are Meil's friends as well."

"Yeah, and that's why we both know that you're a good person by proxy." Othelia gave me a motherly smile before walking across the bridge, "Edward, you said it yourself - he's logical to a fault. That means he wouldn't befriend a person as wicked as the person you just described."

"Then..."

"Then that means you're not that wicked person." She giggled, "You seem to hold yourself to a particularly low esteem, when at the end of the day you're only human, just like everyone else."

"I see..." I stammered, "Sorry."

"No, that's not what I- Ugh, fine then." She pouted, "You're not like everyone else. You're above us, okay?"

"Huh!? No, not okay!" I got flustered, "I-I mean, certainly the way I've been acting might lead you to such a conclusion, but I assure you I keep it in check so that I don't offend anyone! B-Besides, no one would wanna hang out with a person who considers themselves better than everyone else..."

"Honestly!" Othelia shouted from the other side of the bridge, "I'd rather be friends with a confident and honest Edward that constantly thinks himself better than everyone around him than a timid and useless jerk like you!"

Hearing that, I was struck with an epiphany. As if the shackles binding me, chaining me and keeping me from progressing had come undone. Striking a stance only an athlete could strike, I had begun to rush through the rickety bridge haphazardly. The others were gasping and yelling for me to go slow and take my time, but I didn't care. I'm better than those ants, and they want me to listen to their demands?! Fuck no, I'll do things my way, and I'll succeed like no one else!

"And to top it off!!" I jumped a bit, using the rickety bridge's momentum as a springboard, "A flashy flip to end it on a high note! W-Whoa!?"

I did manage to do the flip, and it looked cool as hell, though I kind of slipped on the landing and fell on my butt. Still, everyone was laughing and having fun, but now I know that I was the one who lightened the mood. Had the old, timid me gone slowly across the bridge, the same outcome would've come to fruition, with the only difference being that the mood would still be depressing. I caused this change, no one else but me. I had created a new pathway for us, one in which everyone was going up the mountain with joy instead of sorrow, confidence instead of unease. I did it, because I am the one and only Edward Saint!