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It was right after the sparring session with Leona had ended.
“Alt.”
“Hm?”
“Would you mind training the new recruits?”
I couldn’t help but look at Leona.
“Me?”
“Yeah.”
“Leona’s stronger than me, isn’t she?”
Leona shook her head slightly.
“Being strong and being able to teach are two different things.”
Hearing those words,
I recalled the past for a moment.
That was certainly true.
Leona had always been a genius.
But.
She isn’t that good at teaching.
A long time ago, Leona once taught a group of new recruits how to wield a sword.
[Like this.]
Leona swung her sword.
The new recruits tilted their heads in confusion.
[Um… what should we focus on?
[Like this.]
[No, I don’t get it.]
[So, like this.]
[W-what do you mean!?]
In the end.
[Just watch and learn.]
That was it.
Naturally.
No one could remember it.
A genius who swings a sword by instinct—
and someone who can watch and understand that are two different things.
Ever since that day.
I was usually the one teaching swordsmanship.
“Got it.”
I picked up the wooden sword.
“Everyone!”
I turned to face the new recruits.
“Gather around.”
The new recruits hurried over.
I could tell they were nervous.
“You don’t have to be so stiff.”
“I’m not going to eat you or anything.”
A few laughs broke out.
Good.
It seemed their nerves had eased a little.
About an hour passed.
Before I knew it, I was completely absorbed in the lesson.
“That’s not right.”
I tapped the ground with my wooden sword.
“Don’t look at the sword.”
The new recruits tilted their heads in confusion.
“Look at your feet.”
“Our feet?”
“Yeah.”
I nodded.
“You can fake the sword.”
“But you can’t fake your feet.”
Everyone’s faces turned serious.
“Step in.”
“Center of gravity.”
“Body alignment.”
“It all shows in your feet.”
I demonstrated it.
The new recruits looked surprised.
“I see…”
“That’s true.”
“That’s easy to see.”
“Right?”
I smile a little.
And then.
I teach them one more thing.
This is the most important rule for an adventurer:
“Survive before you get stronger.”
The new recruits look puzzled.
“Don’t take on impossible quests.”
“Run when you need to run.”
“That’s part of your skill, too.”
It gets quiet for a while.
Eventually.
One of the new recruits muttered.
“That’s totally different from Lady Leona…”
I burst out laughing without meaning to.
“Well, of course.”
“She’s been a monster from the very beginning, after all.”
“Who’s a monster?”
A voice came from behind me.
I turned around.
It was Leona.
“You are,”
I replied instantly.
The new hires laughed.
Leona looked a little displeased.
But.
She also seemed to be in a good mood, in a way.
Those days went on.
Mornings at the front desk.
Afternoons handling paperwork.
Evenings mentoring the new hires.
Before I knew it.
My days had become quite busy.
“Alt san.”
“Hm?”
“Could you take care of these documents for me?”
“I’ll handle these first.”
“Thank you!”
I’d become completely at ease with the receptionists.
The new hires, too.
And the staff.
Before I knew it, I’d memorized everyone’s names.
It was on a day just like any other.
“Alt.”
I heard a familiar voice.
I looked up.
It was Leona.
“What is it?”
“We’re going shopping.”
“Shopping?”
“Yeah.”
She said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
I looked at my desk.
There were still papers left.
“No.”
“I haven’t finished these yet.”
At that moment.
Leona’s eyebrow twitched slightly.
“It can wait.”
“But—”
“It can wait.”
Her voice was slightly lower than usual.
Why?
Then.
The receptionists nearby exchanged glances.
And then.
“Alt san.”
“Hm?”
“Please go.”
“Huh?”
“It’ll be fine.”
“But my work—”
“It’s fine!”
“That’s right!”
“Leave it to us!”
For some reason, they were all saying the same thing.
I didn’t understand what was going on.
But.
Leona seemed to be in a slightly better mood.
“Let’s go.”
“Okay.”
In the end, I was led away.
We walked through the streets of the capital.
It was evening.
The streets were bustling with people.
After walking for a while,
I suddenly remembered the past.
“It brings back memories.”
Leona looked at me.
“What?”
“Back then.”
I smiled a little.
“When we first started the guild, when there were still only five of us.”
“When three of them were away on a quest.”
“We used to go shopping together, just the two of us, right?”
Leona narrowed her eyes slightly.
“Ah, yeah.”
“That’s right.”
A brief reply.
But.
She seemed somewhat nostalgic.
“It was tough back then—we didn’t have any money, did we?”
“That’s because you were wasting money.”
“I wasn’t.”
“You were.”
I definitely wasn’t.
Probably.
We walked along, chatting about things like that.
Surprisingly, we never ran out of stories from the past.
By the time we finished shopping,
the sky had started to turn a little red.
On the way back,
a delicious smell wafted over from a food stall.
“I’m hungry.”
I muttered without thinking.
It was grilled skewers.
I’ve always loved them.
“Give me one.”
“Sure thing!”
I took it.
I took a bite.
Delicious.
It tasted just like it used to.
“Want one?”
I bought another one and handed it to Leona.
Leona accepted it without hesitation.
Seeing that,
the lady running the stall laughed.
“Is she your girlfriend?”
“No.”
I answered immediately.
I didn’t hesitate for even a second.
“Is that so?”
“She’s just a friend.”
A friend from way back.
A dear friend.
Nothing more, nothing less.
That’s what I thought.
That’s why.
I didn’t notice that the atmosphere next to me had grown a little cold.
“……”
Leona fell silent.
Her hand had stopped eating the skewers.
“I thought you two made a good pair, though.”
The old lady laughed.
“Really?”
I tilted my head.
To be honest, I wasn’t really sure.
At that moment.
Crunch.
A strange sound rang out.
I turned around.
Leona was crushing the handle of her skewer in her hand.
“…Leona?”
“What?”
“That’s wood.”
“I know.”
Her face was expressionless.
But.
For some reason, it was a little scary.
“Hahaha…”
The lady seemed a little taken aback, too.
Leona remained silent for a while.
Eventually, she muttered softly.
“Are you one of them?”
“?”
“Never mind.”
And then.
She ate the remaining skewer in one bite.
“Alt.”
“Hm?”
“Come with me again tomorrow.”
“For what?”
“Grocery shopping.”
Her answer was immediate.
I stopped in my tracks without thinking.
“We just went, didn’t we?”
“That’s irrelevant.”
“It’s not exactly irrelevant, is it?”
“We’re going again tomorrow.”
She was dead serious.
She really was dead serious.
“No, but—”
“We’re going.”
That was the third time.
Exasperated, I looked up at the sky.
The setting sun was painting the capital red.
I’ve always thought this, but—
Once Leona sets her mind on something, she really won’t listen.
“You’ve always been like that, haven’t you?”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah.”
She answered immediately.
Then.
Leona looked as if she were thinking for a moment.
“You too, Alt.”
“Me?”
“Yeah.”
“In what way?”
“Like how slow you are to catch on.”
I didn’t get it.
I really didn’t get it.
When I tilted my head in confusion,
Leona let out a small sigh.
“You really haven’t changed, have you?”
“So what are you talking about?”
“Nothing.”
There it was again.
I feel like that’s all I’ve been hearing lately.
We head back to the guild.
The moment I opened the door.
All the receptionists’ eyes turned toward us.
“Welcome back.”
“Hey.”
I raised my hand.
Then.
For some reason, the receptionists looked at Leona.
And then.
They looked at me.
Then back at Leona.
“Huh?”
I didn’t get it.
“What’s going on?”
“Nothing, really?”
“It’s nothing.”
There’s definitely something going on.
But.
It didn’t seem like they’d tell me even if I asked.
Leona walked on, seemingly oblivious to the commotion around her.
“Alt.”
“What?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Are you still bringing that up?”
“Of course.”
Her answer was immediate.
The receptionists burst out laughing.
“Leona-sama.”
“What?”
“What are you going to buy on tomorrow’s shopping trip?”
At that question,
Leona stopped.
A few seconds.
Silence.
And then.
“I haven’t decided yet.”
The receptionists exchanged glances.
I exchanged glances with them, too.
“You haven’t decided yet?”
“I’ll decide right now, so wait a second.”
“No, that’s not the point.”
This was getting nowhere.
It really was getting nowhere.
But.
Leona remained completely unfazed.
The receptionists were smiling wryly, as if they’d sensed something.
It seemed I was the only one who didn’t get it.
That night.
I returned to Wings of Dawn.
The guild was quiet.
Back in the day, I used to hear someone’s voice every day.
Serena.
Lilia.
Mia.
Leona.
They were all there.
But.
Now it’s quiet.
I feel a little lonely.
I sat down in a chair.
Suddenly.
I thought back on what had happened recently.
Training the new recruits.
Working at the front desk.
Organizing paperwork.
Running errands.
And reminiscing about the past.
It was strange.
To me, it felt like just the other day.
In reality, five years have passed.
The town.
The people.
My position has changed, too.
And yet.
When I was talking with Leona and the others,
it felt as if nothing had changed at all.
“It’s a strange feeling,”
I muttered without thinking.
Even though I’m told five years have passed, it doesn’t feel real.
But.
I did feel, just a little,
that those five years had indeed existed.
But.
It wasn’t an unpleasant feeling.
If anything, just a little bit.
It felt good.
As I was thinking about that.
I saw the moon outside the window.
I have work tomorrow, too.
At Leona’s guild.
With that thought in mind.
I quietly closed my eyes.
I don’t know yet.
That these peaceful days.
Won’t last very long.
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