Chapter 1266: Chapter 1265: Pick A Door (2)

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    "Remember Anput, you''re looking at both Draka and Leone, alright? Keep your eyes on them, and only look away if you think the rope''s gone slack. We don''t want to just suddenly lose ourselves in this city, not without knowing how large it is just yet."

    She nodded, though the slightly annoyed expression she wore as she wrapped the rope around her wrist made me click my tongue as I stared at her, waiting for her to verbally give me an affirmation; I knew it wasn''t the most interesting and engaging thing to do, but it was a needed task, and one that we had all voted and agreed on.

    "Yes, I know, I can keep track of you two and of those two as well. Let''s just get this done quickly, alright? Standing around doing nothing is just..."

    Anput left it at that, and I nodded and said "I know, just be patient though. We''ll be getting our fair share of action soon enough when we find the trials we want to tackle, alright?", earning another nod from her as she planted her feet and turned towards the other two ''watchers''.

    Leone was already a bit of a ways away, as was Draka, so my worries weren''t unfounded either since this city was clearly utterly gigantic in ways that we hadn''t really comprehended just yet, and Anput knew that and understood the importance of what she was doing, but for an action oriented fighter like herself this really was quite the boring task.

    However, we had agreed that she would keep watch while Mom and I explored the streets, mainly because the Demoness demanded that she be one of the two walking around the unknown area while also making it clear she had something she wanted to discuss with me. Making sure that the ropes were secured and that we were prepared, Mom and I shared a look before glancing at Anput, who gave us a nod and watched as we dropped down onto the street below, entering the city once more and beginning our hunt for a door.

    The first thing that we both noticed was that there were not trials attached to every single door, and instead it seemed like a roughly one in four or five chance that there would be a trial on one of these doors.

    How much stronger would people like Lady Fenyras and Mom get after a few of the trials were completed?

    "All of this seems interesting. Really though, I was just... thinking. Kat... are you really fine with everything?"

    Mom''s question caught me a little off guard, and the older Demoness didn''t look at me as she added "Back then it was done via necessity and because the headache of politics demanded this sort of method... you being Soul Bound to Jahi to give Julie a reasonable out of what was happening to her."

    "I-"

    "There''s no reason for it to still be that way. If you wanted your... if you wanted to be completely, truly free, you just need to ask."

    Again, she barely gave me time to respond or comprehend as she instead just kept going, but instead I cut her off this time as I said "If I really wanted to be ''free'' of this, I would have asked. Back when I unlocked my Core everyone muttered the same things; when we were at the Academy for those three months or whatever everyone said the same things. Cali asked me that, Mother asked, you and Mother Ria have now asked... the answer is the same each time."

    Looking straight at her, I met those flawless rubies head on and grabbed her hand as I said "I am and always will be Jahi''s, no matter what there is to tie us together. If she owns me like she does now, or if I was ''free'', there would be no difference. I belong to her, all of me. So stop worrying yourself over nothing, please."

    Mom stared back at me for a few seconds before letting out a soft sigh as she nodded, and we left it at that as we continued to walk around, looking at the doors and leaving that moment as its own thing that didn''t need any more discussion or acknowledgement.