The World's most Overpowered Side-Character

Chapter 285: I'm Sorry.

"How many more times can I be shocked in one ?" Cecelia thought to herself, staring at Ikaris who held a pout after thinking about the power they called mana.

"I have never heard of a being possessing the power to interact with fifth-dimensional entities, yet mana is something broadly accessible to everyone within this collective, not only that, but the fact that they speak of dimensional beings so lightly could only mean they regularly interact with them, how does one even fathom a being of a higher dimension in the first place?" She pondered in her head as she stared at the meal Sara and Alpha had served.

"Cecelia... This isn't going to be a regular occurrence, you should take in the moment and spend less time in your head," Sol looked up from his food at her while Ikaris once again ignored everyone in favour of Talia who was making gestures with her mouth and breathing mana's rawest form like puffs of smoke in the air. "Talia, don't do that at the table, we have guests."

"What the...?" Cecelia stared at the child shocked when she looked at Sol and then closed her mouth with a smile.  "She understood that?"

"We share thoughts all the time, even though her gestures of thought are basic she has no problem understanding what anyone else says," Ikaris stared at the woman.

"To an outsider, that makes no sense." Renia raised her brows. "You are not normal; Sol, Ikaris, Arla, Dina, Sara and now Talia, not a single one of you have any semblance of normalcy, the things you take for granted and do on a whim are what others dream of, even more than dream, it is what they fantasize about in the craziest parts of their imagination," She huffed.

"You are an oral and verbal race, it's not normal to be speaking to each other in your heads with nothing but thoughts, it isn't normal to read each other's minds and the minds of others at will."

"Well," Arla tapped her chin in thought. "Master is the only one who can read the minds of others, he is the ruler and absolute power over this collective, after all; the laws of nature and supernatural bend to his will," She pointed out.

"But what of the outside?"

"No, Arla is correct," Sol backed up her statement. "I can easily read the mind and hear the deepest wishes of everyone within my collective, but on the outside, it isn't something I can do without causing some kind of harm to them as was the case with Jenifer when we first met," He gestured to her.

"Something happened to Jenifer?" Chey asked, concerned.

"Don't worry, Mother, I'm fine-"

"What happened?" The woman defiantly looked around at Sol.

Stay connected through ???

"When I searched through her memories I did so carelessly, she couldn't remember who she was for a while, luckily I searched everything, so I could reconstruct all that I saw from my own mind and help her remember," He lowered his hand and stuck more food in his mouth when Sara came and started serving beverages. "C'mon, eat up, we've places to go."

"Places?" Ikaris raised her brow at him with a pout, sighing. "You do keep busy these days hm?" She poked his arm with a teasing and playful grin.

"I like closing loose ends; Chey and Jenifer are here, Keele's homeworld is safe, now what remains is Cecelia's family and Clan, when she asked for help that was one of the main points of her request, she needs help getting them out of the clutches of the Emporium; can't truly say that I helped her without helping them," Sol spoke with his mouth half full.

"Don't worry so much, Ikaris, I promised you I would be more careful, and I have been."

"Oh please; Sol, you hardly understand what that word means these days, you have made a hobby of over-the-top gestures of grandeur that is why your enemies and allies alike are afraid of you, I would rather you tell me you will not lose than saying you will be careful," Ikaris chuckled when he poked her cheek with his free hand. "Such a statement only works on the weak."

"Very well," Sol smiled and placed his hand over hers when she rested her palm against his cheek. "Come with me this time."

"Hm?"

"Is that a good idea?" Arla spoke up, immediately addressing her concerns.

"They have her energy signature locked, don't they?" Dina added.

"They have an old record of my Vatui power, if all I use is divine mana they will be entirely unaware of my presence," Ikaris objected. "Besides, this is a retrieval, right? So there will likely be little to no fighting as we prioritise those we have set out to save."

"That's right," Sol immediately agreed with her. "Let's finish dinner and get this ship rolling.

"Before then, I have to alert them, I imagine they will resist with their all if you just showed up and tried taking them away, not to mention..." Cecelia hinted at what might have probably been an obstacle.

"Go on,"

"...They are on an outpost Planet under the guise of a military unit."

"Huh...?" Chey stopped, along with Keele and Jenifer.

"You had them disguised as Emporium this entire time?"

"The best place to hide is always in plain sight, they're far enough from me that we never resonated and we usually spoke in random group chats about things unrelated to ourselves to keep in touch, it was a measure suggested by my husband; although it kept us apart, it kept them safe the general was none the wiser, and neither was my friend...

former friend, Sally," Cecelia explained seeing Sol nod in praise of the man's ingenious plan working for as long as it did.

"If that's the case then this simplifies things a little," Sol leaned his head and cracked his knuckles.

"Ever since you disappeared with the Godslayer, the Emporium has been in emergency mode, General Flint has been making a ruckus, I can't imagine he's gonna be pleased when he realises that your people were hidden right under his nose this whole time, it's almost a little comedic, hehe," Sol giggled. "We'll set out as soon as you're finished eating."

"Understood," Cecelia nodded with her cheeks turning red as she was overcome with excitement. "I thought it would be a little troublesome, but you have treated me well, with no hint of ulterior motives," She sighed. "I am relieved."

"Ulterior motives?" Ikaris paused and looked at her, placing her utensils on the table and staring intently. "Cecelia, even if I don't remember who you are, it's clear as day to me that I owe you an apology, I know enough of my past to know that the position you are in today is because of my disappearance..."

"Never," Cecelia shook her head. "I could never accept such a sentiment from Her Highness; I could never." She continued shaking her head. "Princess, Master Vestic, there are two things Vatui and Godslayer nobility never do, a Royal Godslayer never gives in; they will fight until their last breath even if the one they fight for is long dead they will never stop, and Vatui nobility are prideful.

I am also of noble blood, the sacrifices I made are my own weight to bear, and I will never apologise for what I did, I still think it was the right choice, as such, Princess, please refrain from any apologies, it is unbecoming of the Vatui Heiress; even if you do not remember, or choose not to; you are still the most feared warrior of our race, Ikaris; the War Angel."

"Hm, unexpected," Sol commented thinking what the woman had to endure for such a long time and then seeing her pride still intact.

"I see, I have always been overly prideful, but Cecelia, I am indeed a different person, relieving someone of responsibility by taking blame does not diminish your pride, it simply reinforces your maturity as a person, I find no harm in apologising, it is the right thing to do," Ikaris explained, thinking how her first apologies were on Arkadia to the party of heroes and how prior to that she had never done it.

"I'm sorry, Cecelia, understand that I would never change a thing, otherwise, I would have likely never met my beloved which I consider the greatest and most important event of my existence, but I apologise as the one who was your leader for abandoning you, I'm sorry for leaving you all this time to fend for yourself, I swear it on my soul, I will never turn my back to any of you again, together with Sol, we will reunite you and your clan, your husband; you'll be whole again."

Her words weren't heavy, at least they didn't seem that heavy, but everyone watched solemnly as Cecelia's hands quivered after she clutched and bent the spoon in her grasp at the binding vow of the one before her. "Her lips formed a smile and she lowered her gaze to the table when her tears began flowing uncontrollably.

"Is this the power of an apology?" She asked, staring at her tears forming a pair of pools before her. "I have never felt a weight lift off my shoulders like this before, there is so little tension, I could fly..." She smiled as she continued crying. "By the Fire...

Thank you, thank you so much, your Highness, thank you for coming back, thank you for saying those kind words, thank you for being alive," Cecelia rubbed her eyes and sniffled, looking up at Ikaris who shared an empathetic gaze.

"Thank you."

"Say," Dina broke the atmosphere with a serious tone. "How many of them are there?"

"About two thousand," Cecelia answered.

"Whaaaa~?"