"Waaah, are you a princess?"
A young girl exclaimed as she tugged on Amanda's shorts. Looking at the young girl, Amanda blinked a couple of times.
'Who is this child?'
She wondered as she observed the little girl before her. Long black hair, deep ocean-like eyes, and soft and puffy cheeks.
The girl looked adorable.
"umm, are you a princess?"
Once again the young girl asked.
"No, I'm not." A warm smile appeared on Amanda's face. Looking around, she asked, "Are you alone?"
"No, I'm with big bwuddar."
The little girl shook her head and turned around. However, to her dismay, no one was behind her.
"Bwuddar?"
Looking around, the girl frantically called out for what seemed to be her brother.
"Oh, no. Bwuddar!"
Tears started gathering in the corner of the girl's eyes as she realized her brother wasn't with her.
"It's okay calm down, I'll help you find big brother"
Seeing the young girl's state, Amanda decided to step in.
Taking out a handkerchief and wiping the tears that were threatening to fall from the corner of the young girl's eyes, Amanda reassured her.
"Everything will be alright, so don't worry. You can rely on me"
"Weally?"
Feeling the warmth coming from Amanda's hand, the little girl finally seemed to have calmed down a bit.
"Yes, don't worry"
Amanda once again reassured as she caressed the young girl's head.
"How about you sit with me"
Amanda patted the seat next to her. The young girl nodded her head in response.
"Um"
"What's your name?"
Once the girl sat down, Amanda asked for her name.
"Nola"
The young girl answered.
"I see, what's your brother's name?"
"Ben. Big bwother Ben"
"Ben?"
"Um, Ben"
Amanda's brows slightly knit.
She didn't know anyone that went by that name, but she didn't think too much of it.
There were over a thousand students in the academy. There was no way she would know the names of every student present.
Furthermore, she wasn't too keen on knowing who her brother was. She didn't have the best impression of him.
Who in their right mind would be so irresponsible to lose sight of such a young child? Amanda didn't have any good feelings for whoever Nola's brother was.
As such, after thinking for a bit, she decided to just contact the staff regarding a lost child. She wasn't too keen on letting Nola be with her brother as the situation might repeat again.
"Are you sad?"
Nola suddenly asked as she sat next to Amanda.
"Sad?"
Dialing a number on her phone, Amanda's finger suddenly paused. Looking at Nola, she asked.
"What made you think I was sad?"
"Your face. Lwuk sad"
"Ah. I'm sorry"
Amanda apologized.
She didn't realize that she was showing such a face. Her father's situation really dealt a huge blow to her.
She really didn't expect such a thing to happen to her so unexpectedly. It caught her off-guard.
"Here"
Rummaging through her pocket, Nola suddenly took a small object and gave it to Amanda.
"What's this?"
Amanda curiously asked as she looked at Nola's hand.
"Candy. Nola is no longer sad when get candy"
"I see, thank you"
A gentle smile appeared on Amanda's face as she took the candy. Under Nola's eager look, Amanda unwrapped the candy and put it in her mouth.
"Mhh, it's delicious."
"hehehe"
Seeing Amanda enjoy the candy, Nola giggled in satisfaction. Amanda warmly smiled in response as she turned her attention back to her phone.
"I will now call for someone to look for your br'”"
"Nola!"
Startling Amanda was a loud voice coming from the distance. It sounded quite familiar to Amanda who tilted her head to the side and looked at where the voice was coming from.
"Bwudar!"
Nola's eyes lit up as she jumped off the bench and ran towards where the voice came from. Soon a pale youth with black hair and blue eyes came into vision as he dashed towards Nola's direction.
"Nola!"
Rushing towards Nola, the youth hurriedly hugged the young girl who hugged him back.
"God, where did you go No'”"
"Ren?"
Cutting the youth off was Amanda who stood up. She had recognized the identity of Nola's brother.
Ren Dover. Her classmate.
Looking up, Ren froze for a second.
"Amanda?"
***
"Scuse me, coming through"
Forcefully pushing my way through a crowd of people, I hastily followed the GPS tracker on my phone.
"Hey watch it"
"What are you doing?"
"Sorry"
Because of how much of a rush I was, I didn't even bother holding back. I just pushed anyone that stood in my way, much to their displeasure.
"She should be here"
Looking at my GPS, I frantically looked around. Soon my eyes brightened up as I spotted a little girl in the distance.
"Nola!"
I shouted out loud.
"Bwuddar!"
Hearing my voice, Nola's head snapped towards my direction. Her eyes soon interlocked with mine.
Because of how relieved I was at seeing Nola, I didn't pay attention to the fact that she was sitting next to someone and just rushed towards her.
Soon, Nola appeared before me and hugged me tightly. I hugged her back.
"Thank god you're fine..."
Had something have happened to Nola, I wouldn't know how to face myself. Hugging Nola's body tightly for a few seconds, I breathed a sigh of relief and looked at her.
"God, where did you go No'”"
"Ren?"
Cutting me off mid-sentence, a familiar pleasant voice called out for me. Turning around, I was surprised to find Amanda here.
"Amanda? What are you doing here?"
"Is this your sister?"
Amanda asked as she pointed at Nola who was in my arms. Completely disregarding my previous question.
"Yes, were you taking care of her?"
"Mhm"
Though Amanda was usually cold, her words sounded unusually cold today.
"How old is she?"
Amanda expressionlessly said as she patted Nola in the head.
"Ehm, two. She's two years old"
"Two. I see."
Amanda's eyes grew even colder. For a short period of time, an awkward silence enveloped the area Amanda and I were.
Munch. Munch. Much. The silence was soon broken by the sound of Nola munching on some sweets.
"Should we go sit down?"
I suggested. The atmosphere was a bit too uncomfortable for my linkings.
"Yes"
Amanda coldly replied. It seems like she was mad at me.
"Great"
With Nola on my lap, I sat on a nearby bench. Amanda who was next to me quietly observed Nola munching on some candy in my embrace.
"You guys seem close"
After a while, Amanda spoke.
"Ah, well. She's my only sister after all."
"I see..."
Amanda brushed her hair to the side.
"I wish I also had a little sister."
Amanda softly muttered.
Her voice carried hints of jealousy as she looked at Nola in my arms.
In response to Amanda's statement, I smiled slightly.
Knowing Amanda's story well, I understood where she came from. If she had a sibling, her days of loneliness would've come to an end.
With her practically living by herself, having a sibling with her would've made her days that much more enjoyable.
'Right, this should be the right time to ask her, no?'
Since I couldn't find out too much regarding the situation back in the Demon Hunter guild as all of the information was sealed, perhaps I could try to get a clue about the overall situation by asking Amanda in a roundabout way.
I couldn't be too blunt about it as I wasn't supposed to know this information.
"I've been meaning to ask, but, are you okay?"
"...Mh?"
Amanda tilted her head to the side.
"Eh, like you know. The past few weeks you've been looking really on edge, I was just wondering if there was something bothering you." Pausing, I added, "Emma was quite worried about you too."
"..."
Amanda didn't respond immediately.
"It's okay if you don't want to answe'”"
"No, it's fine. Don't worry about it" Amanda shook her head, "There's just a slight problem back in the guild."
At her words, I closed my eyes slowly. Though she didn't say much, these words were enough to confirm my suspicion.
'It seems like my worst fears came true...'
Amanda's father really did get stuck into the portal a few years in advance than the original timeline.
Right now, the Demon Hunter guild no longer had a head running the place. Within a few years, the threat of them being pushed down would rise significantly.
By then the deal I had made with them would come crashing down.
"But, it's really nothing to be worried about. I believe that everything will be solved soon."
Amanda put on a brave smile as she said those words.
"Everything will definitely return to normal in a couple of years, there's no need for you to w-worry. excuse me."
But this did not last for long as she suddenly turned her head away from me.
Her voice shook slightly, and her shoulder trembled. At this moment, she looked extremely lonely.
"I see, I hope everything gets sorted..."
Staring at Amanda's broken figure, I felt a lump stuck in my throat. I wanted to comfort her and tell her that everything was going to be alright.
I wanted to make her feel better, but...
Things weren't that simple. I knew that.
With her father stuck in the demon world with dangers lurking everywhere, I knew that the possibility of him dying was high. I also could no longer rely on the fact that the world was following the plotline as it no longer was.
I could no longer count on the possibility of her father making it back alive. The possibility of him dying was quite high and I didn't feel like lying to Amanda.
In the end, all I could do was pretend to have not seen anything. I didn't want her to waste her efforts in preserving her dignity.
"Sorry, about that"
After a couple of seconds, Amand turned her head gratefully looked at me.
It appears like my efforts weren't in vain as she appeared to have fully recovered. At least on the surface. She then gently caressed Nola's head.
"You did nothing worth apologizing for."
Watching Amanda caressing Nola's head, I shook my head.
This situation wasn't her fault. She was merely someone who got dragged into a scenario that I had designed beforehand.
Right now, she was just a young girl suffering from a loss. The fact that she managed to keep her feelings bottled up till now showed how mature she was.
"huuu..."
Suddenly Amanda exhaled.
Staring at Nola for a couple of seconds, Amanda lifted her head slightly until our eyes met. For a brief moment, she didn't speak.
She just quietly stared at me, seemingly struggling to find the right words to say.
After a while, as if firming herself, Amanda opened her mouth and said.
"After the tournament is over, I'm dropping out of the academy"
A massive bombshell was suddenly dropped on me.
