PROLOGUE
A STORY FROM THE SEA
“That was so amazing!!!” Misha shouted.
Eina had heard her say that more times than she could count.
“Hestia Familia and Freya Familia’s war game was sooooooo crazy!!!”
“M-Misha, not quite so loud…”
They were in the Guild Headquarters and it was about noon. Most adventurers were already in the Dungeon by this hour, and there weren’t many visitors.
Inside the office next to the reception counter, Eina stopped her paperwork and looked up from her desk to ask Misha Frot to calm down a bit, but it was futile.
“Everyone’s thinking the same thing, so it’s fine! See? That’s just how impressive it was!”
The other Guild workers and receptionists were nodding earnestly. They’d spent every free moment talking about exactly one thing: the war game that had taken place five days ago. It had been the fight of the century, pitting a motley coalition up against the mighty Freya Familia.
“It was incredible no matter how you look at it! The first-tier adventurers were completely dumbfounded, too! And in all that insanity, that kid and his pals managed to defeat Warlord—the Warlord!”
Misha’s peach-pink hair bobbed up and down as she bounced around and gestured excitedly like a child. She had been like that ever since watching the fight.
How is she still this worked up about it?
“When Gale Wind joined the fight, it was like BABABABAM!!!”
“I couldn’t believe it when Hildsleif switched sides, but I was almost numb by that point.”
“Warlord is just way too strong!”
“But seriously, your Bell was the star of the show!”
And on and on it went. Misha kept recalling the explosive events with eager commentary.
Not that I don’t understand.
Nearly a whole week had passed, and the city was still roiling. It was probably the same wherever the news had reached beyond the city walls.
Defeating the legendary Freya Familia was worthy of that sort of uproar. Eina understood that on a logical level. At the same time…
“Aren’t you proud after seeing how well he did, Eina?”
“Proud? Of myself? It’s not like I personally did anything.”
“Oh come on, don’t be modest! I’m sure you’re finally going to get that raise, you being his adviser and all! Jealous!”
Misha praised Eina without a hint of irony. The other receptionists had also been teasing her recently, calling her the new rising star. All she could do in response was awkwardly smile.
“I wasn’t really thinking about any of that.”
“Eina…?”
“Even when I woke up today, I wondered if it was all just a dream and felt terrified. Or maybe worried? I’m not really sure myself.”
That was how she really felt.
An adventurer under her supervision had been directly involved in an incredible string of incidents that had led him straight into that massive familia war. Too much had happened too quickly. It felt like she was still walking on eggshells. Her heart hadn’t stopped racing since the war game had begun and she wasn’t getting any sleep.
Bell had faced impossible odds in the war game, and it had seemed like he was destined to lose. Eina had watched from start to finish, pale as a ghost, and there hadn’t been a single moment where some part of her body wasn’t trembling. She’d cried several times that day. And the moment Bell’s side had won, she remembered slumping to the ground on the spot.
Even now, after everything was over, she could not help wondering if her memories had been tampered with again…
In any case, she was far too tired to celebrate. The stress had been exhausting.
“Hmm, interesting. I guess you do love him a ton!”
“L-love…? M-Misha!”
It wasn’t clear how well Misha understood her friend’s true feelings, but she laughed at Eina’s red face and loudly said, “Looks to me like you should give Rabbit Foot a proper congratulations! Especially since you’ve been cheering him on all this time!”
Whatever angry retort Eina had been about to say disappeared like smoke the moment she heard that suggestion. Part of her still wanted to be mad, but she was already falling deep in thought, and her face was more pensive than pouty.
Misha’s not wrong. I was completely out of it and in no state that day, but…The next time I see Bell, maybe it wouldn’t hurt to tell him what a good job he did.
After the fighting had ended, Bell and Eina had both been too busy dealing with the aftermath to meet. She would have to think about what to say to him the next time they saw each other.
Should I go with the default good job? Or I was worried? You were amazing is also an option.
Or maybe…
You worked so hard.
My heart was racing.
You were so handsome.
I love you—
“Wait, what?!?!?!” Eina clutched her head and buried her face in her desk.
“Eina?!” Misha’s eyes were wide open. The other Guild workers looked just as surprised by Eina’s weird reaction.
The last of those thoughts was definitely too much, and she wasn’t totally sure where it had come from, but Eina knew that there was a very distinct possibility something crazy might slip out if she found herself near Bell with nothing more than a table separating the two of them. She might even throw herself at him.
After considering how it would be impossible to express any of those feelings if Freya’s plan to have Bell all to herself had succeeded, Eina decided to live without any regrets going forward. So hugging him or even making a pseudo-confession was in the cards, and maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to invite him out to dinner, just the two of them.
A-anyway, I need to plan this carefully so I don’t do anything weird.
Her long ears and her cheeks were just a little bit flushed as she adjusted her glasses and finally raised her head.
“Don’t take too long, Eina. The School District’s going to arrive soon.”
As Eina’s thoughts were filled with the boy, Misha’s comment stopped her in her tracks.
“Once it’s back, we’re going to be so busy again!”
“………”
In a sudden shift from her excitement, Misha let out a strange groan.
Eina looked silently out the window.
“Right…It’s already that time of year?”
It was almost the first day of winter.
Even Orario, on the westernmost edge of the continent, was starting to cool down, and it was beginning to feel like winter.
As the final traces of the autumn sun fell from the blue sky, Eina looked out into the distance, her emerald eyes narrowing.
“She’s coming to Orario…”
A tower rose in the distance. It was a white, marble spire that pierced the blue sky and reached toward the heavens.
This was Babel, the tallest building in the world, visible even out at sea.
And at its base sat the city of heroes. The one and only Labyrinth City, considered by many to be the center of the world.
That was her destination. It was a place she did not want to visit, even as she hoped going there would change something.
“Orario…”
Below her feet, a gargantuan ship intrepidly cut through the waves. She stood on its deck with a wistful look in her emerald eyes.
“Sister…”
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