The Regressor of a Saint

Hidden Quest

There aren't many things in life that could stress Kallous. In fact, he took pride in his ability to stay calm in the face of almost anything.

Still, there were a few exceptions worth mentioning.

For one, he disliked loud noises. They made him feel uneasy, he'd rather stay in a quiet and calm environment.

The soft hum of Allyn when she was happy-that was one of the few things that truly soothed him. Her voice, like a gentle lullaby, had this magical ability to pull him back from the brink whenever he got too lost in his own thoughts. It was one of the rare comforts he allowed himself to indulge in.

Stormy weather was another thing he could do without. The howling wind, the relentless rain-it reminded him too much of unpleasant memories he'd rather not relive.

The feeling of being soaked to the bone, every inch of him chilled by the cold, wasn't something he ever wanted to experience again.

No, he much preferred dry, sunny days, where the warmth of the sun could chase away any lingering shadows in his mind.

Oddly enough, clouds were an exception to his disdain for the elements. Shameless as they were, clouds made for the nicest of beds.

Kal still vividly remembered the day Allyn presented him with his very first cloud bed, a gift she claimed had been prepared by the system itself.

He had been skeptical at first, but the moment he sank into the fluffy embrace of the cloud, he was convinced. For the first time in his life, he had slept comfortably, without a single worry.

Unfortunately, he couldn't use that bed now, not while he was at the orphanage. But it was too precious to discard, so he kept it safe inside the system storage, ready to be summoned whenever the situation called for it.

And then there was his aversion to touching things without his gloves on. He'd long forgotten the reason behind this particular quirk, and he never cared enough to remember. It didn't affect his life much anyway. Gloves were just... more convenient.

All these things, these little nonesense of his-they were just that. Small, unimportant details. None of them had anything to do with the current situation.

Or so he thought.

Now, Kal had found a new thing to add to his list of dislikes.

The butterfly effect, to be exact.

For those unaware, the butterfly effect is a popular concept suggesting that minor changes can lead to major, far-reaching consequences. A small flap of a butterfly's wings could, theoretically, set off a chain of events leading to a hurricane halfway across the world.

Consequences that Kallous hoped he'd never have to deal with in the future. Simply thinking about it made his head hurt.

The silence between them was deafening as they headed back to the orphanage. Allyn, who had been staring at Kal's oddly calm expression, couldn't take it any longer and spoke,

✿ 'You shouldn't worry about it much, it's not like you knew.'

Kal paused for a brief moment, then continued walking, his expression calm and unreadable as they reached the backside of the orphanage. He noticed the worry in Allyn's eyes and sighed softly.

─'that quest, take the rewards and accept them in my stead. Add the ticket to the rest of the collection and use the Glitch on the mission so I can get on with it.' he instructed,

'I need a snack, since I am not allowed to have pudding, give me anything that is as sweet and tasty as it is. And no, cookies won't do. I don't feel like eating them right now.'