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“So—”
Emma spoke up.
“What are we going to do now?”
The cheerful atmosphere fell silent.
Leona.
Serena.
Lilia.
Mia.
Everyone’s gaze turned to Alt.
Alt exhaled slowly.
To be honest.
Until yesterday, he hadn’t even thought about it.
He’d been able to see everyone.
I was alive.
That alone was enough.
But.
Last night.
And this morning.
I thought about it alone.
About those five years.
About all of you.
And.
About myself.
“Yesterday…”
Alt speaks quietly.
“I said I wanted to start over, didn’t I?”
Leona nods.
“Yeah.”
“I meant it.”
Everyone present listened in silence.
“My feelings haven’t changed.”
Wings of Dawn.
The place that had been their home.
Back when they were just starting out as adventurers.
The guild they’d built together.
Laughing.
We’d fight.
We’d do silly things.
We’d risk our lives to complete quests.
A place that grew little by little.
For Alt,
it was an irreplaceable place.
“But—”
Alt looked at the four of them.
“I’ve been thinking about a lot of things.”
His voice was quiet.
“Leona.”
Leona, who had been called, looked up.
“You’re the guild master now.”
“…Yeah.”
“Serena, too.”
“Yes.”
“Lilia, too.”
“Yes.”
“Mia, too.”
“Yeah.”
Alt gave a small smile.
“You’re all amazing, aren’t you?”
No one said a word.
“Five years ago…”
“After I left…”
“Each of you started your own guild.”
“It wasn’t easy, was it?”
Leona lowered her gaze.
Serena, too.
Lilia, too.
Mia, too.
No one denied it.
“You all worked hard in your own ways, didn’t you?”
Alt continued.
“Leona too.”
“Serena too.”
“Lilia too.”
“Mia too.”
“Much more than I ever did.”
“I think it must have been really hard.”
Silence.
Five years.
Only they know the weight of that time.
“So…”
Alt bowed his head.
“Thank you.”
Everyone’s eyes widened.
“For looking for me.”
“For waiting for me.”
“Thank you so much.”
Leona’s shoulders trembled.
Serena bit her lip.
Lilia looked down.
Mia remained silent, staring at Alt.
“And—”
Alt looked at Emma.
“Thank you, Emma, too.”
“Huh?”
Emma looked surprised.
“This guild…”
Alt looked around the room.
“For protecting it.”
Emma said nothing.
“The place I call home.”
“All this time.”
Alt smiled slightly.
“Thank you so much.”
Emma remained silent for a while.
Eventually.
She gave a small smile.
“…Not at all.”
Her voice trembled just a little.
Silence fell once more.
No one rushed her.
Everyone was waiting for Alt to speak.
Alt slowly opened his mouth.
“So, you see…”
“I was thinking…”
He looked at Leona and the others.
“Everyone has their own place.”
“Everyone has their own five years.”
“Just because I’m back…”
“There’s no need to throw everything away and go back to the way things were.”
The air seemed to freeze.
But then.
This time, Leona spoke up.
“No one said anything about throwing anything away.”
“Huh?”
“I have no intention of throwing anything away.”
Serena nodded as well.
“Me neither.”
“That’s right.”
Lilia chimed in.
“Don’t just decide that on your own.”
“Yeah.”
Mia laughed, too.
“We’re not that good at juggling things.”
Alt couldn’t help but let out a wry smile.
“Is that so?”
“That’s right.”
Lilia replied immediately.
“If anything—”
Leona says.
“It’s precisely because you’re back that we’re worried.”
Serena adds.
“You’re special to us, Alt.”
“That’s why it’s not easy.”
Mia nods.
“We’ve been looking for you for five whole years, after all.”
Alt falls silent.
He couldn’t find the words.
Their feelings…
They must have had a hard time when I, their guild master, suddenly disappeared.
That’s exactly why.
He couldn’t come up with an easy answer.
“But—”
Alt says slowly.
“I’ve made my own decision.”
At those words,
all eyes turn to him.
“I—”
Alt looks at Emma.
And then,
he looks at the guild.
The weathered walls.
The battered desk.
A familiar sight.
A place that had remained unchanged even after five years.
“I want to start from here.”
His voice was quiet.
But.
His resolve was stronger than anyone else’s.
“Wings of Dawn.”
“Once again.”
No one spoke.
Not even Leona.
Neither did Serena.
Nor Lilia.
Nor Mia.
Nor Emma.
They just looked at Alt.
“Of course.”
Alt gave a wry smile.
“I don’t expect to make a difference right away.”
“It’s been five years, after all.”
“A lot must have changed.”
“And I still don’t know anything.”
Having said that.
Alt laughed.
“So—”
“I guess we’ll just take it one step at a time.”
At those words,
Emma gave a small chuckle.
“You haven’t changed a bit.”
“Huh?”
“That part of you.”
Alt tilted his head, not understanding what she meant.
Just then.
Knock, knock.
Suddenly,
there was a knock on the guild door.
Everyone looked over.
“Who is it?”
Alt stood up.
Then he opened the door.
Standing there was
a woman he didn’t recognize.
The woman looked at Alt.
Then,
she took out some documents.
“Excuse me.”
Her voice was businesslike.
“I’m here from the Adventurers’ Guild.”
He had a bad feeling.
“You’re Alt Rain, aren’t you?”
“Yeah.”
The woman checked her paperwork.
And then.
She said matter-of-factly.
“Since you’ve been missing for five years,”
“your adventurer’s license has expired.”
Silence.
“…Huh?”
Only Alt’s dumbfounded voice.
Echoed through the guild.
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