The fire crackled low while the waves rolled in behind me.
I stayed put, pots lined up beside me like some night vendor waiting for customers.
Solaris came back first.
She walked out of the trees with her head slightly lowered, face still red, though not as bad as before.
She didn't even look at me.
She just placed the pot down beside me and speedwalked towards the shack with a defeated face.
It did not take long for the door to creak open again.
The rest of the girls had more or less the same reaction.
Well, in particular, Waffel was odd.
She looked composed, though the slight tension in her shoulders gave it away.
She was sweating bullets and had an incredibly pale complexion.
I leaned back slightly, watching the pile grow.
As expected, it's starting....
She placed the pot down neatly beside the fire and smiled shyly at me before going back to the house.
The boys were easier and more open with it, except Kenth and Maku.
Kenth was just a bit shy about it, but it did not take long for him to accept the pot and tissue without a fuss.
For maku...
He stepped out last, already looking tired.
"You going to take a shit?"
"…Yes."
He took the pot and wipes, then stopped.
"…You. I already knew it the moment they came back, and I saw their faces. But did you really ask them all like that?"
"Yeah."
He gave me that quiet look.
"You lack tact."
"Huh?"
"You are also making enemies."
"…Why, I'm even helping them."
He sighed and walked off.
"What did I do?"
I glanced down at the remaining pots.
"…Cwal's probably fine. I bet he would say something ridiculous like he could hold his shit for a week or two."
That left....
Right on cue, the door creaked again.
Nagi stepped out, slower than the others, head slightly lowered.
I looked at her, about to speak-
Then stopped.
Maku's comment lingered.
You lack tact.
"…Yeah."
I reached down, picked up a pot and the wipes, and held them out quietly.
No question this time.
She looked at me, then at what I was offering, then back again.
A small silence settled between us.
Then she smiled.
Soft. A little shy smile.
"…Thank you."
She walked past me, steps still a little awkward, though lighter than the rest.
I watched her for a second longer than I should have, then leaned back, exhaling.
"…Yeah."
My gaze drifted to the last remaining pot, then to the shack, then up toward the sky where the darkness was beginning to thin.
"…I definitely made every girl here my enemy."
....
...
..
.
The horizon was already starting to pale.
Dawn was coming.
I let out a long sigh.
"Yaaaaawn."
Emma was the first to wake up.
She blinked a few times, still half asleep, then noticed me sitting there.
Her face immediately turned red.
"Look… I'm sorry about last night."
"Why are you wording it like that!? It's fine. I just… don't want to talk about it."
"Yeah… sorry."
A brief silence passed.
"Anyway, can you switch shifts with me? I need to get some sleep." I said while stretching a bit.
She nodded quickly.
"Y-yeah. Of course."
She stopped, then mumbled something under her breath.
"Thank you for last night."
"Yeah? You say something?"
"Nothing! I'll take it from here."
"Yawn, alright, thanks."
I stood up and headed toward the marker I planted in the sand. From there, I moved toward the tree Kenth, which I had used earlier for shade.
In my storage, I pulled out a folded hammock and tied it between two sturdy branches.
The fabric sagged just right when I climbed in.
Finally.
I laid back, staring up at the leaves above.
"…Don't tell me you can actually hold it for a week," I muttered aloud.
"Obviously."
I tilted my head slightly.
Cwal was somewhere nearby. Of course he was.
"How the hell do you even train that?"
A pause.
"Do you really want to know?"
"…Not really."
He then appeared out of thin air.
"Hey, Matthew."
"What's with the sudden formality?"
"…Are you actually a demigod with foresight, or a Sovereign-ranked Weaver in disguise?"
I could see where he was coming from.
If my collaborator kept saying this will happen, do this, do that—and it kept working—anyone would start thinking something was off.
"Don't get me wrong, I didn't do a background check on you. It was given to me… on behalf of future candidates among class 1-A specially without any strong backing. To scout, brainwash, and make them join us."
Hah…
What do I even do here?
Should I lean into it and let him overestimate me, or correct him and risk losing whatever advantage I have?
Cwal was never a fleshed-out character in the story. He barely had any screen time. A tease character here and there when he appears, and a fantastic unexpected ally sometimes.
At least, that's the excuse I used.
Truth is, I never cared enough to learn who he really was.
He was popular, that's for sure.
He didn't just have fans, he had a full-blown cult following.
He had a massive fanbase and entire forums dedicated to him. Threads ran thousands of pages deep, dissecting every move he made. If I'd wanted to, I could've spent just a bit of time digging through that digital shrine, peeling back his character until I knew him better.
I just didn't.
And now he was here, in front of me.
Real.
I suddenly remembered something. I reached into my storage and pulled out the crumpled note.
"This is his story."
I smiled faintly and let it go. The wind carried it off.
Cwal's eyes followed it as it drifted away.
That note could be about anyone, but it feels like there's one story in front of me to read.
I stepped out of the hammock and stood in front of him, giving a relaxed smile.
"I'm sorry if I used you."
"No," he replied calmly.
"We both agreed it was a mutual benefit."
I shook my head.
"You asked if I'm a godkin with foresight, or a Sovereign-ranked Weaver. Someone who can see the truth of the world, right?"
I walked past him, toward the horizon.
The sun was just beginning to rise, its dim light stretching across the sea, slowly warming the cold air.
I stopped and looked at it.
"Let's start over," I said.
"From your perspective, without all the foresight… what kind of person do you think I am?"
There was a slight hesitation.
Then he answered.
"You're someone who builds castles in the air," he said.
"A person with grand ideas, visionary even, yet without a proper foundation or clear steps to achieve them."
He didn't stop there.
"You lack basic knowledge of how the world of Weavers actually works, how to properly fit into it. And yet, at the same time, you're strangely knowledgeable about it."
He hesitateded another time and then spoke.
"You lack focus. You get distracted easily, shifting from one idea to another. Like a child who learned about the world through books, and just stepped outside for the first time."
…
"Haha… that hurts, you know. Also, didn't I just say without the foresight"
Seriously, just how is he this sharp?
I scratched the back of my head.
"What you just said...is completely right," I admitted.
"I'm not some bigshot godkin nor a Sovereign-ranked Weaver either."
I let out a small breath.
"I'm just a brat who knows a lot about what's going to happen."
I hesitated for a moment, then continued.
"And that brat is still learning how to walk."
I turned to face him.
"If I'm going to move forward… I'll need someone to walk this world with me."
This time, I meant it.
No half-truths. No tricks.
I wanted to know who he was.
And the only way to do that was to be honest first.
I stepped closer and extended my hand.
The warmth of the rising sun brushed against my skin.
"I'm Matthew Pier Salinin," I said.
"Would you want to be my companion?"
For a moment, neither of us moved.
I could see my reflection in his eyes.
A version of me that felt… unfamiliar.
Honest.
A little awkward.
Yet standing firm under the morning light.
A version of me that I feel proud of.
Then he spoke.
"…Ever since I learned how my mother was treated like a lab rat by Roy, I promised myself I would never trust anyone."
His voice was steady. Yet there was an undeniable furry buried underneath it.
"I don't trust easily. I don't believe easily. And I don't follow anyone. That is how I complete my missions."
He looked at my hand.
Then back at me.
"Yes, you used me, just like Roy would."
His lips twitched.
"But…"
His gaze shifted slightly.
"You also healed me. And my mother."
"…Even if it's partial, that doesn't change the fact."
"I already made a promise to you that I'd give half my life in servitude."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"But trust? That's… harder."
He reached out.
His hand hovered just short of mine, fingers tensing like he was still deciding.
For a moment, the wind and waves filled the silence for him.
"…I can't give it all," he admitted.
Then—
He closed the distance and took my hand.
"But I want to try."
A small breath left him, almost like something he had been holding onto finally slipped free.
"I'll build it. Step by step."
The sunlight climbed higher, spilling gold across the water and catching in his eyes.
For the first time, they didn't look guarded.
"…Cwal," he said, a faint, genuine smile forming.
"Cwal Solace."
He gave my hand a proper shake.
"Let's see how far this goes, Matthew."