At the Silver Winter Merchant Guild branch, in the guild leader's room.

Serenade was asleep.

She was lying on the desk bathed in sunlight, buried in a pile of paperwork.

Already slender, she had lost more weight. Her disheveled aqua hair had grown a bit longer over the past half year, now quite lengthy.

Standing beside her, sleeping softly with her thin arm as a pillow, I was at a loss for words.

I could see the scar on her white forearm. It was from the battle with the goblin legion.

"..."

So much had changed in half a year.

Yet, the scar she bore because of me remained distinctly visible.

Quietly, I took off my coat and draped it over Serenade's shoulders. Even though it's still warm in early autumn, she might catch a cold sleeping like this.

'Should I leave my greeting for later?'

How tired must she have been to fall asleep like this? It felt wrong to wake her.

Just as I was about to leave after one last look at her sleeping face.

"Uhmm..."

Serenade's long eyelashes fluttered, and slowly, her silvery eyes opened.

Our eyes met.

"..."

"..."

Serenade blinked in a daze, then slowly raised her upper body from the desk. Rubbing her eyes a few times, she murmured in confusion.

"Is this a dream?"

I gave her a gentle smile.

"Would you prefer it to be a dream?"

"...Even if it's a dream, it's fine."

Serenade took my hand, brought it to her cheek, and felt the touch quietly.

"It's been so long since I've seen you, Your Highness, even in a dream."

"..."

"You cruel man... I've been waiting a lifetime for you, and you couldn’t even let me know you were alive..."

Murmuring sleepily, I tenderly asked her.

"What would you most like to do if you met me in reality?"

"..."

"Since we're in a dream, I'll let you do whatever you've wanted to do the most."

Serenade looked up at me shyly and then answered, a bit embarrassed.

"I want to kiss your forehead. Like I used to when you were very young."

Quietly, I knelt on one knee before her.

Serenade, with the carefulness of unwrapping a birthday present's ribbon, brushed my bangs aside, and then brought her pert nose to my revealed forehead.

"Do you remember? When we were very young, and we used to play and fall asleep together, I would give you a goodnight kiss on your forehead."

"..."

"Eventually, as you grew up a bit, you became embarrassed, and I could no longer give those goodnight kisses... but I've always missed that."

Her cool, soft lips then touched my forehead and slowly withdrew.

Thump.

Afterward, she pressed her forehead against mine. With closed eyes, Serenade murmured in a distant voice.

"How I long for those beautiful days."

"..."

"Those beautiful days, and you..."

...She really thinks she's still in a dream.

Maybe I should be a bit bolder then.

Slowly detaching our foreheads, I stood up and smiled at her as she sat in the chair.

"Serenade. Have you ever received a goodnight kiss from me?"

She widened her silvery eyes in surprise.

"No. But I was your elder sister, wasn't I? I always kissed your forehead and tucked you in."

"You were always the one giving."

I carefully brushed her bangs to the side.

"From now on, I'll start repaying you, little by little, for everything you've given me."

Then, I leaned in slowly and kissed her forehead.

Serenade quietly closed her eyes to receive my kiss. A faint, happy smile appeared on her lips.

"It's been a long time since I've had such a happy dream. Ever since Your Highness disappeared, my heart has been aching and restless... I couldn't sleep properly at night and only had nightmares."

"..."

"Having such a happy dream now, maybe when I wake up... Your Highness might soon return."Serenade's smile slowly turned a bit sad as she opened her eyes.

"Thank you, Your Highness. Even if it's just a dream, I was happy. But now I must wake up. Too sweet a dream... it hurts when broken."

I chuckled softly.

It seemed like time to wake her up.

"It's not a dream."

"What?"

"It's not a dream. This is reality."

"Ha, what are you saying? Look, even if I pinch my cheek, it doesn't hurt..."

Serenade lightly pinched her cheek, then blinked in surprise.

"Huh? It hurts...?"

"Right?"

"But, if this is reality, how can Your Highness be right in front of a girl like me..."

"Well, because I've returned."

Looking at me incredulously, tears began to well up in Serenade's silvery eyes.

I awkwardly smiled and stretched out my arms.

"I'm back, Serenade."

"..."

"I'm sorry for causing you so much worry. Here, since I've troubled you so much, you can hit me as hard as you..."

Serenade didn't hit me.

Instead, she leapt out of her chair, rushing into my arms and embracing me tightly.

"It's not a dream, it's not a dream, it's not a dream..."

Holding onto me, she wept.

"I thought I'd never see you again... I was so scared..."

As I gazed down at her trembling shoulders, I awkwardly lowered my arms and held her.

"I made you cry too much."

I gently patted her back, soothing her like comforting a child, and whispered.

"Thank you, Serenade. Thanks to your advice back then, I was able to find myself."

Your words that if I fall apart, I should just live as I am.

Thanks to that, I could find myself and return here.

Always... I've always been just receiving from her.

So, I should say it one more time.

"From now on, I'll start repaying you, bit by bit, for what you've given me."

I continued to stroke her back until Serenade calmed down.

Hoping that I can make her cry a little less from now on.

That I can create more smiles than tears for her.

With that wish.

***

Serenade didn't want to leave my side, but I managed to persuade her to let go. I had to greet the others as well.

Serenade seemed very worried that I might disappear again. I reassured her several times that I really wouldn't go anywhere.

"Really? Really? You won't disappear without a word again?"

"Of course. Shall I pinky promise?"

We pinky promised, nodding heads. I wiped her tear-stained cheeks with a handkerchief. She had cried so much that her beautiful face was a mess.

"One last thing, blow your nose!"

"..."

Serenade obediently blew her nose as I instructed. She seemed a bit regressed due to all the crying, but... well, she's cute, so let's leave it be...

Perhaps because she was exhausted from crying, relieved by my return, or from the lack of proper sleep, Serenade quickly fell asleep once I laid her on the bed in the room.

After one last look at her sleeping face, I stepped outside. I had to finish greeting the remaining people.

Flash!

I used the teleport gate to reach the base camp of the Lake Kingdom dungeon.

The Holy Grail Seekers were staying here, and I came to meet Kellibey and Nameless, among others.

‘It's working fine.’

I was worried the gate might malfunction again and throw me into the spirit world, but fortunately, it worked perfectly.

If it had broken again after all that effort fixing the system, I would have really had to take it up with the director.

"Ah! The lost lamb has returned!"

As I entered the base camp, Kellibey greeted me warmly.

Seeing the bald dwarf with his familiar and friendly demeanor after so long, my heart felt at ease. I laughed out loud.

"Why are you so cool about it? Everyone else has been crying and fussing over my return."

"I know a bit about physiognomy, and you don’t have the face of someone who would die abroad." (TL Note: Physiognomy is the supposed art of judging character from facial characteristics.)"What kind of death does my face predict?"

"Why don’t you look in the mirror, you primp? A face that will get stabbed by a woman while philandering."

Kellibey chuckled.

"Just kidding. Recently, there was an incident deep in the dungeon where two Nightmare Legion commanders fell simultaneously. I knew right away it had something to do with you."

"Your intuition is really something..."

I genuinely admired, and Kellibey shrugged.

"Since I've been here, no one has defeated a Nightmare Legion commander. But you took down four in just a year."

"..."

"When two more suddenly fell, it was only logical to think you were involved."

Listening to him, it actually seemed like quite a logical deduction...?

"So, having defeated two Nightmare Legion commanders... you must have brought back the magic cores, right?"

Kellibey squinted his eyes and extended his hand towards me.

"I’ll craft an incredible Nightmare Slayer for you. Come on, hand them over!"

"...No. I couldn’t retrieve the magic cores."

"What? Where did you lose such valuable things!"

I scratched the back of my head awkwardly. The situation had been such that I was thrown into the spirit world before I could gather anything like magic cores.

The last moments of Raven and Salome flashed in my mind.

I felt a bit heavy-hearted.

"What about the magic core of the Goblin God-King? At least give me that! I’ll craft something awesome! Hurry!"

"Why are you so obsessed with making Nightmare Slayers? That's dangerous equipment."

"Do you know how fun it is to work with materials like that? Besides, ever since you’ve been gone, I've had to make do with mediocre materials. It's been so boring!"

Kellibey swung his hammer above his head.

"Remember! From now on, you should entrust me with crafting difficult and rare equipment! Don’t disappear for such a long time again! Got it?"

"Got it, I got it..."

I promised myself to submit all the pending equipment requests soon.

"Ah, Prince! You've returned!"

That's when Kellibey’s assistant, Hannibal, emerged from the forge.

This boy with bangs covering his eyes had also grown quite a bit in half a year. Kids really do grow up fast...

Hannibal, who enchants equipment with spirits, was now openly carrying several spirits around with him.

During my absence, Kellibey had been churning out weapons and armor, and Hannibal had been enchanting spirits non-stop to supply Crossroad.

Apparently, these powerful spirit-enchanted gears had been crucial in holding the line of defense for Crossroad. I was grateful for that.

After praising the two and chatting about various things.

I looked around the base camp. I saw several NPC adventurers, but I couldn’t find Coco the Severer or Nameless.magic

"If it's those two, they went into the deep parts of the dungeon to handle something... It’s a usual thing for them. I'll pass on your story when they return."

"Thank you. I appreciate it."

As we were wrapping up the conversation, I saw five elves hurrying toward us from the other side of the base camp.

It was the Holy Grail Seekers. Verdandi, leading the group, saw me and screamed while pulling at her hair.

"Kyaaaah! Ashhhhh!"

This was the first time someone greeted me with a scream upon reunion. I waved back happily.

Soon after, surrounded by the five elves, we exchanged updates on recent happenings.

During my absence, these five had not only helped defend Crossroad but also carried out dungeon explorations on their own.

"We've managed to clear a path to the 'Mage Tower' in Zone 8. Now that you're here, Lord Ash, we can set out to conquer it anytime!"

The 'Mage Tower' in Zone 8 of the dungeon is said to house the Holy Grail.

We were finally ready to embark on the quest they had longed for.

Verdandi, with her trademark tear-streaked eyes and bright smile, then turned serious.

"Ah, of course... the Mage Tower dungeon itself is a formidable place, and with the next defensive battle in just a few days, we should think about it after that..."

"Don’t worry. We'll handle the defensive battle smoothly, and we'll conquer the Mage Tower and retrieve the Holy Grail."

"Sniff, how much I've missed your confident voice, Lord Ash..."

Verdandi pretended to wipe away a tear. I chuckled and looked around.

"But where are Burnout and Bodybag? I thought they'd be with you."

The Shadow Squad had been disbanded.

The only survivors left were Burnout and Bodybag.

I had hoped that Verdandi, being an elf herself, might have taken care of them, but they weren’t here.

As I mentioned the two, Verdandi’s face stiffened slightly.

"They've been with Lilly lately."

"With Lilly? Why?"

"Well, the thing is..."

Verdandi showed a bittersweet expression.

"...Lilly has encountered a major problem."

--TL Notes--

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