She would look up at the sky in a daze whenever she passed the city walls.
At last, she found you again.
"Kitten, I've thought about this for a long time." She sat beside you. "I... I still want to give it a try."
Your body stiffened.
"Let me finish!" Cipher hurriedly grabbed your hand. "I won't go to the front lines, really! I swear!"
"I just... just want to help protect Doloros." She bit her lip. "If the Black Tide really comes, I at least want to give those children time to run."
"Besides," she forced out a smile, "maybe I'll regret it halfway through? Then you can drag me away, okay?"
You looked at her and knew she had already made up her mind.
Cipher had always been stubborn. Once she decided on something, it was hard to change her mind.
"You promise you won't go to the front lines?" you asked.
"I promise!" Cipher raised her hand. "I'll just help out in the rear. I absolutely won't do anything dangerous!"
"If something goes wrong, we retreat immediately?"
"Immediately!"
You remained silent for a long time before finally sighing. "Then I'll protect you."
Cipher froze. Under the moonlight, her face flushed slightly.
"Stupid Kitten..." she muttered softly. "Who needs you to protect me..."
A few more days passed, and news reached the city that another small town had been consumed by the Black Tide.
This time, Cipher came to the weaving workshop on her own initiative.
"I can join." Standing before Aglaea, Cipher took a deep breath. "But let me make this clear—I'm not doing it for some damn hero's title!"
"I just..." She clenched her fists. "I just want to protect Doloros. If it gets destroyed, those children..."
"And," she said, looking seriously at Aglaea, "I won't