It's been two months since that event in the alley. The boy, now known as Umbra—named by the guard chief—had been taken in and had been under nonstop training. Right now, he was stopped in front of a sign—a sign that had a wanted poster on it. The person wanted was Auro of the Nine.
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With sharp pointed rocks, he stabbed his own eyes. By the time the rocks came out, they had already been replaced. The snow hawk soaring in the air cried out before falling down, splattering on the ground.
"Ugh, this is giving me a headache… let me get this over with quick."
Jumping up a mountain with legs whose muscles contracted at a rapid pace before each jump, he practically hopped his way up. To the east, there seemed to be a cart where nobles in this world were being escorted. No—it wasn't nobles. Rather, it seemed to be a farmer transporting crops with some people in power. That was good for him, as nobles would have no use to him. Jumping down from the mountain, he dove into the bushes.
Hearing the noise, both the farmer and, presumably, the noble looked around, trying to see what animal was there. Sadly for them, that animal was already behind them, stabbing a blade through the farmer's chest and then slashing out his own eyes. Before the noble could react, his world disappeared—and then his life did.
Taking his cloak off, which he also used as a makeshift bag, he filled it with food before tying it with a small rope.
Opening the carriage to see what else was in there, he saw it. Or rather, he saw her.
A young girl, crying and shivering, her black hair adorned with green bows. Sunny knew what he had to do… but he hesitated. Perhaps the last bit of what remained of him was speaking out. That last bit didn't matter, though. What mattered was survival.
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He supposed that last bit did matter, though. In the end, he took the girl on his back, saying a monster had attacked the carriage they were in, and now they had to run. Crying and scared, she had listened, not looking back in fear to see what had happened to her father. By the time they got to where Sunny was staying, darkness was approaching.
What was he doing? He already had trouble feeding one mouth—how could he attempt to feed two? Also, why did he take her? It's not like she could help him with anything. All she would be was a burden, and that's something he couldn't afford right now. Maybe he could drop her off at a village or something of the sort.
Wait a second… why did it even matter? It's not like she's real, is she? That had been his justification for all the murder he had committed. If they're not really real and are all an illusion granted by the trial, then was it really wrong? Perhaps that was the only thing keeping him sane, if you could even call it that. He remembered that day where the black-haired boy stood across from him, telling him he was a monster. Why was it just now that the words actually found him?
Still, it was far too late for any change. This was the life he had chosen until he found out how to beat this first nightmare. Are they all like this? Or is this just due to his terrible luck? The black-haired girl was sniffling, her eyes swollen and red, and it was only then that he realized why he had taken her.
It wasn't out of the last bit of humanity he had left, but rather… she reminded him of someone… someone he had almost forgotten. She reminded him of his little sister, Rain.
"Are… are you a hero…"
Between sniffles, the girl managed to get those words out. How should he respond? After all, he was the furthest thing from a hero. But maybe… even if it was just to comfort this girl, the girl whose image overlapped with his little sister's… then, just maybe…
"Yeah… I am a hero."