>>5859662>>5859765>>5859768(I'm gonna count those last two together)
<span class="mu-b">"You make it sound so permanent, Helene. I'll be back before you know it, with trophies and tales of my great victories."</span>
Still, she seems a little crestfallen:
<span class="mu-b">"But... but... then I come with you?"</span>, she asks.
You ruffle through the girl's hair:
<span class="mu-b">"Don't be silly. You belong here. An innocent soul in an innocent land. And that innocence is what I have to protect at the cost of my own... Don't worry, I will make sure to send you lots of letters of the adventure."</span>, you promise her.
Still, you let her accompany you to the edge of the village.
<span class="mu-b">"Wait! Herr Roland, take this. As a reminder of home... I made it myself."</span>
She hands you a crude carving an angel.
You grip it tightly in your hands.
<span class="mu-b">"Maybe... it will bring you good luck."</span>, she says and starts to sniff, almost crying.
<span class="mu-b">"Thank you. I'm sure it will.", you smile and put your hand on her shoulder to console her.
Hans is already waiting for you, and after a minute or so you turn around but Helene shouts:
"Wait! Actually, Herr Roland, two more things. Just one moment..."
You try to calm her down:
"Helene, I..."
But you get interrupted by a scream from one of the houses nearby:
"SHUT THE FUCK UP! People are trying to sleep!"
"We should go, Herr Roland.", Hans tells you.
But Helene grabs your hand one final time to pull you back, you turn around and she gives you a little kiss on the cheek:
"Stay safe...", she says with tears in her eyes.
You wipe the tears off:
"You too. Auf Wiedersehen, Helene."
[TN: Auf Wiedersehen is a german goodbye that can mean 'Until reunion' or 'To reunion', when you don't know if you will ever see each other again]
With that you saddle up and head towards the seemingly neverending road.</span>
