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“Time for a break.”
As soon as I said that, the new recruits all sat down at once.
Heavy breathing echoed through the training ground.
Lately, I’ve been teaching the new recruits how to wield swords more often.
I was a little hesitant at first, but once I gave it a try, it wasn’t half bad.
“Alt-san.”
Just then, one of the new recruits raised his hand.
“Hm?”
“Has Lady Leona always been like that?”
I couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
“Like what?”
“Well, um…”
The recruit glanced at Leona.
She was sitting a little ways off.
Leona was sitting in a chair, reading some documents.
“I mean, she’s kind of scary.”
“Or hard to approach.”
The other recruits around us nodded.
I see.
So that’s what it is.
I thought for a moment.
And then.
“She was tough.”
The new recruits nodded.
It seemed to be just as they’d expected.
But.
I continued.
“But you know…”
Perhaps sensing a bad vibe.
Leona looked up.
“Alt.”
“Back in the day, she was even more reckless than she now.”
“Alt.”
That was the second time.
I ignore her.
“When she was just starting out, she used to try to take on nothing but high-difficulty missions.”
The new recruits’ eyes widen.
“Huh?”
“She even took on missions where she was clearly out of the league.”
“It wasn’t a problem,”
Leona says.
“There were problems, weren’t there?”
I answered immediately.
“When we first met, you came back a total mess, didn’t you?”
The training ground fell silent.
The new recruits looked at Leona.
Leona looked away.
“Is that true?”
“It’s true.”
I nodded.
“Dislocated right shoulder.”
“A laceration on her left arm.”
“And a cracked rib.”
“And she was trying to take on another job the very next day.”
The new recruits froze.
“She’s an idiot.”
“She’s an idiot.”
“She’s an idiot.”
They were all in agreement.
Leona fell silent.
But she didn’t deny it.
“And there’s more,”
I continued.
“Leona used to have such a terrible sense of direction, it would blow your mind.”
The training ground fell silent.
Leona froze, too.
“Huh?”
“Leona-sama?”
The new recruits looked utterly incredulous.
“It’s true.”
I laughed.
“She went into the forest on a mission to gather medicinal herbs.”
“And then she didn’t come back.”
The new recruits burst out laughing.
“Did she get lost?”
“She got lost.”
“No, I didn’t.”
Leona immediately denied it.
“I didn’t get lost.”
“Then why didn’t you come back?”
“…Because it was dark.”
The new recruits roared with laughter.
“It was dark!”
“Are you a kid or something!”
“Shut up.”
Leona growled in a low voice.
But it was too late.
She was already the butt of everyone’s jokes.
I chuckled a little, too.
It must come as a surprise to those who only know the Leona of today.
But.
She wasn’t perfect from the start.
She made mistakes, too.
She got lost sometimes.
That’s why I am where I am today.
“That’s surprising,”
one of the new recruits said.
“What is?”
“That even Leona-sama had a time like that.”
The others nodded in agreement.
I looked at Leona.
“Of course I did.”
“No one is strong from the very beginning.”
“Everyone makes mistakes, and sometimes they fall.”
“But that’s when you get back up.”
The new recruits’ expressions turned serious.
Leona didn’t say anything either.
However.
She seemed to be reminiscing about the past.
Eventually, Leona stood up.
“Sorry, but I have to be going soon.”
“Oh, it’s today, isn’t it?”
The receptionist said.
“Yeah.”
Today is the day of the Adventurers’ Guild Association meeting.
Guildmasters from all over gather to share information and handle various matters.
I’d attended a few times myself back when I was the guildmaster of Wings of Dawn.
“It was a hassle.”
I muttered without thinking.
“I agree.”
Leona replied immediately—which was unusual for her.
Laughter rippled through the training ground.
Leona headed for the exit.
She didn’t pause even once along the way.
She simply opened the door.
“Oh, and one more thing.”
Leona turned around.
Everyone turned to look at her.
“Don’t slack off on your training.”
“Yes!”
The new recruits replied in unison.
Leona gave a slight nod.
Then she left the guild.
After that, everything went on as usual.
She taught the new recruits how to wield swords.
The receptionist asked her to organize some paperwork.
Before she knew it, it was past noon.
It was a peaceful time.
At least.
Until that moment.
BAM!!
Suddenly.
The guild door burst open.
Everyone reflexively turned around.
A young adventurer had burst in.
His clothes were caked in mud.
He had a wound on his shoulder.
He was gasping for breath.
And then.
I recognized that face.
“I-it’s an emergency!!”
His voice was trembling.
He looked like he was about to collapse at any moment.
The Deputy Guild Master stepped forward immediately.
“What happened?!”
The young adventurer shouted, panting heavily.
“The rookie squad…!”
At those words,
I furrowed my brow.
The rookie squad.
Those were the ones I’d been training recently.
“Calm down and tell us what happened,”
the Deputy Guild Master said.
The adventurer nodded repeatedly.
“W-we were on a herb-gathering quest—the four of us!”
“The location is the forest south of the capital!”
“And then…”
His words trailed off.
His face was pale.
His hands were shaking, too.
I had a bad feeling.
“We encountered a horde of monsters.”
The guild hall fell silent.
“A horde?”
The Deputy Guild Master asked again.
“Goblins!”
“There are way too many of them!”
A murmur rippled through the room.
I crossed my arms, too.
Goblins themselves aren’t rare.
But.
I’d never heard of a horde of that size appearing in the forest south of the capital.
“So what about the other three?”
The deputy guildmaster asked.
The young adventurer bit his lip.
And then.
He clenched his fist in frustration.
“I got left behind…”
The training ground fell silent.
“I was trying to act as a decoy.”
“But it backfired.”
“Everyone let me escape…”
His voice trembled.
“Before I knew it, I was the only one who’d gotten away…”
He kept his head down.
“Please help me…”
“I beg you…”
“They’re still alive…!”
No one laughed.
No one blamed him.
Because they could tell he was desperate.
I know that adventurer.
He was always serious during training.
He cared deeply about his comrades.
There’s no way someone like that would run away alone.
He must have truly been pushed to his absolute limit.
The Deputy Guild Master turned around immediately.
“I’ll assemble a rescue team!”
But.
The staff members’ faces were somber.
“The First Squad is on a dungeon expedition.”
“The Second Squad is on an escort mission.”
“The Third Squad is also outside the capital.”
Reports came in one after another.
The atmosphere grew heavy.
There were no main forces available to move right away.
Leona was absent, too.
It was the worst possible timing.
The Deputy Guild Master let out a small sigh.
And then.
He slowly turned to look at me.
I scratched my head.
I sort of understood what he wanted to say.
“Is that okay?”
I asked first.
Everyone’s gaze turned to me.
“Just to be clear,”
“I’m not an adventurer.”
Right now, I’m just a staff member.
I’m also someone who’s been taken in by Leona’s guild.
The deputy guild master nodded quietly.
“I understand.”
“But—”
He didn’t look away.
“There’s no one more suited for this than you.”
The guild fell silent.
Even the new recruits.
Even the receptionists.
No one spoke.
I looked at the young adventurer again.
Tears were welling up in his eyes.
“Please help me…”
Tears were welling up in the young adventurer’s eyes.
I let out a small sigh.
Then I asked.
“Who are the three who were left behind?”
Names were called out.
I knew them all.
We trained together yesterday.
We talked the day before yesterday.
I taught them how to grip a sword.
I taught them how to step in.
They’re still green.
They’re the ones who’ve only just started to look like real adventurers.
“…I see.”
I quietly stand up.
The Deputy Guild Master says,
“I understand.”
“But—”
“If there’s anyone who might be able to save those kids—”
His gaze turns toward me.
“I believe it’s you.”
The guild hall falls silent.
I scratch my head.
I make a troubled face.
But.
The answer had been decided from the start.
“Tell me where they are.”
The young adventurers look up.
In those eyes that had been filled with despair,
a little light returned.
I walked over to the wall.
I picked up the wooden training sword leaning against it.
It felt familiar in my hand.
It had been a long time.
Since I’d last gripped a sword to save someone.
I slung the wooden sword over my shoulder.
Then I gave my shoulders a light roll.
My body was fine.
Even with a five-year hiatus.
I don’t think my skills have dulled.
“Show me the way.”
I look at the young adventurer.
“I’m taking those guys back.”
At those words.
The atmosphere inside the guild shifted.
It was as if.
The man who once led the Wings of Dawn.
Had stepped forward once more.
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