Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/2912051601476634937
The next morning.
I woke up early.
I exhaled deeply as I gazed at the morning sun streaming through the window.
Five years.
I still can’t believe it.
But it’s reality.
I got dressed and left my room.
As I went down the stairs, Emma was preparing breakfast.
“Good morning.”
“Good morning.”
I sat down and had a light breakfast.
Just as I finished eating.
Emma spoke up.
“Shall we go, then?”
“Yeah.”
Today, we’re heading to the Adventurers’ Guild headquarters.
First, we need to report that I am still alive.
I suppose the rest will follow from there.
The two of us left the guild.
As we walked through the streets of the capital, I looked around.
Unfamiliar buildings.
Unfamiliar shops.
Unfamiliar people.
It felt as if I alone had been left behind five years ago.
Soon, a massive building came into view.
The Adventurers’ Guild headquarters.
The kingdom’s largest organization.
A place I used to visit all the time.
“We’re here.”
I looked up at Emma’s words.
Right in front of me stood a building I should have been familiar with.
But.
Something was different.
It felt a little bigger than before.
The entrance looked nicer, too.
Five years.
The world has certainly moved on.
“This place has changed, too.”
I muttered that without thinking.
“It’s been five years, after all.”
Emma replied as if it were obvious.
I gave a wry smile.
“You’re right.”
Saying that, I reached for the door.
The moment I opened it.
The air inside seemed to freeze.
“…?”
The receptionist.
The staff.
The adventurers.
Everyone’s gaze was fixed on me.
A few seconds of silence.
And then.
One of the receptionists’ eyes widened.
“Huh…?”
Her voice sparked a murmur among the crowd.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“Wait, hold on.”
“Isn’t that him?”
“No way…”
I instinctively looked at Emma.
“What’s going on?”
“I told you so.”
Emma let out a sigh of exasperation.
“I told you this would cause a commotion.”
Amidst all this.
A woman emerged from the back.
“What’s all the commotion about—”
Her words trailed off mid-sentence.
My eyes widened too.
She looked familiar.
The receptionist I used to talk to all the time.
A woman around my age.
“Fina?”
The woman froze.
Long hair.
A calm demeanor.
She looked much more mature than she used to.
Five years.
I was forced to realize just how much time had passed.
Fina’s lips trembled.
“…Alt san?”
I gave a wry smile.
“It’s been a while.”
Thud.
The documents fell from Fina’s hands.
“No way…”
The next moment.
The guild erupted into a commotion as if it had exploded.
“It’s Alt Rain!”
“It’s really him!”
“You’re still alive!?”
“The one who vanished five years ago!?”
The staff members scrambled about frantically.
The adventurers started making a commotion, too.
I was completely left behind.
“Whoa, whoa…”
“I told you so,”
Emma said wearily.
Fina was still looking at me with an expression that said she couldn’t believe it.
“Is it really you, Alt san?”
“Who else could it be?”
“…You haven’t changed a bit.”
Fina muttered that and gave a wry smile.
Back then, we were about the same age.
But now, Fina is a full-fledged adult woman.
I was once again confronted with the reality of those five years.
Just then.
A staff member’s voice echoed from the back.
“Identity verification complete!”
The guild became even more chaotic.
“It’s Alt Rain himself!”
“Report to the Guild Master immediately!”
“Send an emergency notice to all branches!”
“This is a top priority!”
I had a bad feeling.
“Is it really that serious?”
When I asked that,
Fina and Emma sighed at the same time.
“It’s serious,”
Fina said.
“Alt san, do you have any idea how desperately we’ve been searching for you?”
Those words left me speechless.
And then.
In a town far from the capital.
A staff member burst into the room, looking flustered.
“Guild Master!”
The woman sitting at her desk looked up.
“What is it?”
“An urgent message!”
The clerk, out of breath, handed her a magical device.
The woman took it with an air of annoyance.
But.
The very next moment.
Her expression froze.
“Missing Person Alt Rain Confirmed Alive”
The room fell silent.
The woman slowly stood up.
The documents slipped from her hands.
“…Just now…”
Her voice trembled.
“What did you just say?”
The staff member, flustered, read it aloud again.
“Missing person Alt Rain confirmed alive.”
“Headquarters has confirmed his identity.”
The room fell deathly silent.
Leona didn’t move.
It was as if even her breathing had stopped.
And then.
The very next moment.
Crash!
A chair toppled over.
“Guild Master!?”
The staff member cried out in surprise.
Leona had already rounded the desk and was heading for the door.
“Prepare a horse.”
“Huh?”
“Right now.”
Her voice was trembling.
Was it anger?
Or joy?
The staff couldn’t tell.
“But our schedule—”
“Cancel everything.”
Leona didn’t look back.
“I’m going to the capital.”
The staff exchanged glances.
For five years.
She had searched for him more than anyone else.
She had never given up, more than anyone else.
That person.
Now.
She was about to run.
Leona murmured softly.
In a voice so quiet no one could hear her.
“I’ve finally found him.”
And then.
She broke into a run toward the capital.
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Repeated of last chapter
Fixed, sorry about that
This is a repost of chapter 6
Fixed, sorry about that