Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/2912051601476634937
Even though it was nighttime.
The place was still bustling with energy.
The laughter of beastmen.
The clamor coming from the tavern.
Adventurers coming and going.
And at the center of it all, a massive building.
It was the guild led by Mia.
“Guild Master!”
“Welcome back!”
The moment she returned to the guild.
the guild members called out.
“I’m back!”
Mia waved with a smile, just as she always did.
But.
She headed straight for the training ground.
“Guild Master?”
The guild members tilted their heads in confusion.
It was rare for her to come to the training ground at this hour.
Mia picked up her bow.
And then.
She released an arrow.
Whoosh—.
The arrow flew straight.
It pierced the very center of the target.
Then the second one.
The third.
The fourth.
All right in the center.
The guild members gasped.
“Amazing…”
“They’re all right in the bullseye…”
“Just as expected of the Guild Master…”
Mia didn’t say a word.
She just kept shooting arrow after arrow.
Her heart wouldn’t settle.
She was happy.
She was in pain.
She couldn’t believe it.
That’s why she kept moving.
She also held a mock battle with the guild members.
But.
The result was a landslide victory.
“Y-you’re too strong…”
“What’s gotten into you today…?”
“Did something good happen?”
Mia smiled slightly.
“It’s a secret.”
That was all she said.
She didn’t want to tell anyone.
She wanted to keep those feelings all to herself.
Eventually, training ended.
The guild members headed home.
Mia put away her bow as well.
But.
Before she knew it.
Her feet were carrying her somewhere else.
She left the guild.
She walked along the night streets.
And then.
She arrived at a small hill overlooking the royal capital.
“So this is the place…”
A familiar sight.
The wind blew.
The lights of the royal capital shone beneath the night sky.
This was the place Alt had first brought her to.
Back when she had just become an adventurer.
Back when she didn’t know her way around at all.
Alt had said,
“There’s a great spot.”
He said that and brought her here.
On top of the hill.
The night view spread out before her eyes.
Mia still remembers that moment.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
Alt was smiling.
Mia nodded enthusiastically.
It wasn’t just because the view was beautiful.
It was because Alto was right beside her.
That’s why.
She loved this place.
Mia sat down on the grass.
The wind brushed against her cheek.
It was quiet.
No one was around.
It was at that very moment.
“Master…”
She murmured softly.
The words slipped out.
And then.
Tears began to fall.
One.
Two.
They wouldn’t stop.
“Ugh…”
She hurriedly wiped them away.
But it was no use.
For five years.
I’d been longing to see you.
I’d been searching for you all this time.
I’d always believed you were out there.
And yet.
I never thought I’d actually get to see you.
“He was alive…”
Her voice trembled.
“He really was alive…”
The scene from earlier that day came flooding back.
Alto.
That familiar scent.
Mia smiled slightly.
“There’s no way I could forget.”
Don’t underestimate a beastman’s sense of smell.
Even if five years have passed.
Or even ten.
I know.
That’s Alt’s scent.
The scent of the person I love most.
Mia gazed at the night view.
She’d come to this place countless times.
When times were hard.
When she was in pain.
When she wanted to see him.
Over and over.
Over and over.
She came here.
And.
She always thought to herself.
“When you come back,”
she murmurs softly.
“Let’s come here together again.”
Today.
That wish came true.
Alt has come back.
So.
It’s going to be okay now.
That’s what she thought.
But.
The very next moment.
A small sense of unease stirs deep within her heart.
What if.
He were to disappear again.
Five years ago
Alt vanished.
No matter how much I searched.
No matter how much I called out to him.
He was nowhere to be found.
For five years
I kept waiting.
I kept searching.
I kept wishing to see him.
And yet.
What if it happened again?
What if the same thing happened?
“Ugh…”
Mia’s shoulders trembled.
Her beast-human ears twitched.
Her tail wagged anxiously.
She didn’t want that.
She didn’t want that to happen.
Never again.
She didn’t want to go through that again.
“I don’t want that…”
The words slipped out quietly.
“I don’t want that to happen…”
Her voice trembled.
Mia hugged herself tightly.
And then.
She murmured, making sure no one could hear her.
“I want you to stay with me forever…”
The night breeze blew.
But.
Those words alone wouldn’t fade away.
“Forever…”
“I want you to stay where I can see you…”
It was a wish.
It was a prayer.
And.
It was the genuine, heartfelt sentiment
of a girl who hadn’t seen him for five years.
It was her true, unvarnished feelings.
Just then.
“…Ah.”
Mia’s ears twitched.
And then.
She stood up.
“That’s it!”
Her face lit up as if she’d just had a brilliant idea.
“I’ll just have master join our guild!”
Mia’s face lit up with a beaming smile.
That way, she could see him every day.
They’d be in the same guild.
She’d know where he was going.
They could even take on quests together.
It was perfect.
“I might be a genius!”
You’d never guess she’d been crying just a moment ago.
Her tail was wagging wildly.
But.
The very next moment.
Mia’s smile froze.
“…Wait.”
Leona.
Serena.
Lilia.
The faces of the three of them flashed through her mind.
They’d definitely object.
Or rather.
They’d surely try to recruit him into their own guild.
“Hmm…”
She puffed out her cheeks.
And then.
She muttered, looking just a little bit frustrated.
“I’ve got a lot of rivals…”
But.
She had no intention of losing.
Mia looked up at the night sky.
And gave a small smile.
“But—”
“I’m not letting you take my master away from me, you know.”
That smile…
looked somehow cheerful.
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