By the time Shuu reached his room, that feeling of things going wrong had not gone away. If anything, he felt like danger was even closer than Shuu expected, and he was not able to settle his heart.

Kaiden noticed his restlessness and wrapped his arms around Shuu to pull him back to the bed.

Listening to Kaiden’s heartbeat helped him a lot, but Shuu’s heart was still not settling down.

"Shuu, is something bothering you?"

Kaiden asked, forgoing his usual teasing for a more serious approach in asking Shuu what was wrong.

Shuu debated whether to tell Kaiden what was keeping him awake or not, but the tight grip Kaiden had on his middle made Shuu feel like he had to speak up. Otherwise, he was going to lose a lot.

"I...don’t know why, but I am feeling a little restless. This world feels like a dream that would burst any second. Also, what are you doing here anyway? Is it fine for you to abandon your previous world and come after me?"

Shuu asked all this at once, and Kaiden chuckled at his tense questions.

"I am fine, and the Kingdom is fine as well. I left it in Yunn’s and Danielle’s hands, and with the Goddess no longer interfering in it, the most pressing danger is no longer present. As for this world...it is tough to tell when it will start falling apart."

Even Kaiden’s words echoed the sentiment Shuu was feeling. This world was not stable, and their presence was making it even more unstable.

"Is there any way for us to leave before this world breaks down?"

As guilty as Shuu felt asking this, he also did not want to burden this world anymore. So going back was the best choice.

"Hmm, going back home is possible. But it will require a huge rift to stabilize my powers. We can try this during the next great dungeon break."

Kaiden proposed, and Shuu nodded before he settled against Kaiden’s body.

He was ready to head home after all that had happened. He might not have liked most of the people, but he did grow up there. He doubted he would ever be able to hate that place.

For now, sleep was starting to crawl up his eyes, so it was time for Shuu to fall asleep and no longer worry about anything.

__________

"Secretary Ann, is there something on my face? You are looking rather intensely at it."

Shuu asked as he sat in front of the secretary. But Secretary Ann looked unbothered by his question and continued to check Shuu out.

Finally, he pulled back once he was satisfied and took a seat.

"You look well-rested, so at least that is something. I was going to tear that man apart for taking you away as he pleased, but he at least values you, so I will let it go this time. But next time..."

Secretary Ann was muttering these words under his breath, and Shuu quickly took his seat without saying anything. He was thankful to have someone care about him this time.

The paperwork distracted Shuu enough to make him forget about his worries, and he looked down at the table, only to notice that he did not have a lot today.

"Huh-! We don’t have the same amount of paperwork as the past few days. Does this mean the backlog is finally finished?"

Shuu asked, and Secretary Ann’s expression turned into a mocking smile.

"Oh, you poor innocent child, let me tell you the story of our most dreaded enemy—the delayed paperwork. You might think that we are done with the backlog, but the only reason we don’t have any paperwork is because most of it got torn apart. It will come back soon enough and with a vengeance."

Shuu did not like the way Secretary Ann was saying this. He especially did not like the fact that the paperwork would come back.

But these were not things he could do anything about. So like a lowly grunt worker, he just nodded and got back to work.

Secretary Ann finished a few papers as well, but Shuu quickly noticed that Secretary Ann kept looking at him once in a while with a strange expression on his face.

It made Shuu feel troubled, but he was also not going to be the one to bring it up first.

The other party noticed Shuu’s avoidance, and instead of letting this go, Secretary Ann decided to ask Shuu outright about this.

"Hey Shuu, are you hiding any secrets from me? You are not secretly a guide or anything, right? First Kris and now that healer...why do they act so weirdly around you?"

Secretary Ann asked, and Shuu felt his heart skip a beat in fear.

"I-I don’t know. You will have to ask them about something like this. As far as I can tell, I am as normal as humans come."

Shuu assured Secretary Ann with utmost sincerity. The secretary also gave Shuu a searching look before he decided that it was of no use.

"Hmm, you must be right. After all, Boss Yuri would have noticed if you were a guide. But since he has not said anything, I don’t think that’s true. Anyway, we can relax for now and get back to work."

Shuu nodded, feeling his heart calming down. He felt like he could focus on the work a little more now that this worry had been settled.

But this had truly been a close experience for him.

’I don’t like to hide that I am a guide as well, but even Kaiden agrees that I should hide this for now. Somehow, I don’t have a good feeling about letting my designation out.’

Shuu sighed and finished his work. But when he got out of the room, he felt like he was being watched. He looked back, but he did not see anyone at first. It was only when he started to walk away that he felt someone familiar draping himself across his shoulder.