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'There was no way I could bring you with me on this fight, Garovel. Not when I was so uncertain that I would even be able to DO anything. Exposing you to that kind of danger would've been pointless.'

'The point, my dear friend, is so that I could have helped you. Hector, I realize that you want to keep me safe, but you must also realize that I want to keep you safe, as well. And I can't do that if you keep pushing me away like this.'

Hector finished the journey to his bedroom and closed the door behind him. He flipped the light on and found it just as he'd left it. More space than he would probably ever need. His armor continued to clink as he went straight for his bed and sat down.

He didn't start taking off his armor yet, though. He just looked up at the reaper there.

At his best friend.

'Garovel, I don't...' Agh. How was he supposed to put this? He scratched his brow. 'Look. I'm happy that you care about me so much that you're willing to risk your own life in order to protect me. But... you also don't need to act like I am as important to you as you are to me.'

The reaper's skull reared back a little. 'What are you talking about? "Act like?" I'm not acting. You ARE that important to me, Hector. Do you not realize--?'

'No. It's okay. I'm not saying that to be mean. But let's be honest here. I'm just one of... twenty-two servants that you've had, right? So you've been through this song and dance before. Plenty of times.'

'Hector, that doesn't--'

'Listen! It's okay, Garovel! It really is!' Hector almost wanted to laugh. The reaper truly didn't get it, did he? 'I'm not saying that you think of me as just some tool to be used and thrown away or anything like that. Okay? I understand that you're concerned about me. But it's not the same from my end, Garovel. Not even close. To me, you are... you are more important than anything. I mean, you... you saved me.' He shook his head and laughed faintly. 'And I don't just mean with the whole undead thing, either. I mean... when I had no one, I had you.'

Garovel made no response.

'And you're still there for me. You haven't stopped being there for me this whole time. So to say that I'm as important to you as you are to me... well, that's just not true. Because it can't be. The impact I've had on your life doesn't even compare to the impact you've had on mine. Understand? Garovel, if something ever happened to you, like if you were to get captured by Abolish or something, then I... I don't know what I would do.'