It was the second day after Flocia had been defended.
The temple, though still bearing the damage of the attack, buzzed with activity. Not only the Raven Warrior Corps, but temple staff and adventurers alike carried crates and barrels, helping prepare for our return to the royal capital.
Through the gaps between robed priests and armored adventurers, a pair of green-tied pigtails bounced energetically. It was Safi weaving back and forth. Finally, she puffed out her cheeks and spoke, her face full of exasperation.
“Honestly! We just got to Flocia, and now we’re already heading back!”
She crossed her arms, still pouting, then pointed toward a stonemason along the wall.
“You there! Watch that wall! The tower that collapsed the day before yesterday must have hit the outer beams out there!”
Though her body looked no older than a five- or six-year-old, she made orders like a seasoned adult. The adventurers stared in mild exasperation, while the stonemasons nervously returned to their work.
Safi shook her head with a huff.
“…These buildings are barely patched up. Honestly, if we had just one more day, we could’ve repaired them properly…”
Leaving half-finished work behind seemed to bother her a lot. The stonemasons kept shaking their heads at the child who somehow gave such precise instructions, their confusion growing with every command.
The secrets of the myths, the existence of dwarves and gods—these truths had only reached a few adventurers so far. Yet the craftsmen obeyed without question, perhaps because Safi’s crossed arms and determined glare carried an authority far beyond her size.
I stopped in my tracks, holding my own load, genuinely impressed.
“So… she really is a master, huh…”
In Alvis, she had led the Safi Squad—truly a skilled engineer of remarkable talent. Her dark eyes sparkled as she noticed me, and with a small, awkward hand she scratched her nose.
“Sorry. I know the situation… You’re the one in the biggest hurry, aren’t you? I’ll hurry too.”
“Huh?”
“You’ve been spaced out this whole time, haven’t you? Always looking north… don’t trip over your own feet!”
With a quick steps, Safi dashed toward the forge. I followed after her, deciding to help with the cleanup.
Indeed… she might be right.
Perhaps it was the aftermath of the fierce battle. My mind still felt strangely hazy. To have defeated the god Freyr, to have driven Ymir from Flocia—those echoes of the fight still lingered, heavy and vivid in my chest.
Yesterday had been spent re-examining Flocia’s dungeon and checking whether any enemies still lingered in the city. All the while, my body seemed to move on its own, carried by some strange, lingering energy.
Perhaps having fulfilled its purpose, the Lake Tower and the bridge that had thrown the city into chaos had, after the battle, quietly sunk back into the water. The projection of the goddess Freyja that had sustained the dungeon—and Freyr himself—were no longer in the dungeon. In contrast to their dramatic emergence, the tower and bridge had returned to the lakebed with a calm, almost secretive silence.
I loaded the blacksmith tools onto the cart waiting in the courtyard.
There were still things I needed to recall.
By yesterday, I had managed to establish a line of communication with the Odis Temple in the Royal Capital, using the Frost Orb. And there—
“…Lu.”
A quiet voice escaped my lips.
As I was about to head back into the temple, I ran into Mia-san. She’s lifting an object as large as a small child with one hand easily.
“Hey, Safi… are we bringing this back too?”
From the cargo bed of the wagon, the green-haired girl poked her head out.
“Of course. Just make sure it stays separate from the other supplies.”
Mia-san and I exchanged glances, blinking in surprise.
“…That’s a cage, right?”
“Yeah. And it’s got something inside.”
The cage was about the size of a small basket. Inside, a rat is sleeping. It was roughly the size of a palm, its fur gray and soft. Its eyes were tightly shut.
Safi spoke as she secured the blacksmith tools onto the wagon bed.
“I caught it with the blacksmith shop’s rat trap…! It’s weak, but it shows traces of magic. It might even be some kind of monster. I want to study it properly, so it’s in a special cage.”
Mia-san and I both twitched our mouths in disbelief.
So when she said “rat trap” before… she wasn’t joking.
Mia-san brushed back her red hair and set the cage down on the ground.
“Wait… we’re actually bringing this all the way back to the Royal Capital?”
“I hate leaving things unfinished. The healers have cleaned it up, and it’s fully quarantined. Besides… I can’t help being curious about this little rat.”
Safi tilted her head, staring intently at the cage in the wagon bed.
The gold coin trembled, and then Sigris whispered.
『There’s no trace of disease or curse coming from this creature…』
For some reason, Sigris’s voice had grown hesitant.
『I… am a little curious as well. Perhaps it really should be examined.』
In the end, we decided to add an extra wagon and bring it all the way back to the Royal Capital.
It would have been easier by boat, even with the extra cargo, but the return journey would be over land. Since we would be traveling upriver to the capital, a horse-drawn cart would actually get us there faster.
Once preparations had settled, I looked up at the northern sky from the courtyard. That was the direction Freyja’s projection had vanished toward.
Felix-san approached me, his narrow eyes squinting further as he offered a small, amused smile.
“The triumph is at last upon us. It was quite the fierce battle.”
I tilted my head, and Felix-san chuckled softly at my expression.
“They’re both quite interesting—Safi and Mia.”
“…Huh?”
“.…Perhaps I should be straightforward. Even in their own ways, they’re trying to cheer you up.”
Hearing that, I turned back to Safi and Mia-san, still fussing over the little rat.
Felix-san continued, his voice calm but knowing.
“…I understand. You’re concerned about your little sister, aren’t you?”
I froze for a moment, then lowered my head slightly.
“It seems… Lu has fallen asleep.”
Yesterday, I had spoken with Pauline-san using the revived Frost Orb. She told me that a pale green light had also appeared over the Royal Capital. The light had burst in the sky, raining magical power down upon the city.
According to the princess, just as the light faded, Lu’s body had been wrapped in a soft radiance. My little sister had closed her eyes as if to sleep and she had not woken up since.
I clenched my fists tightly, thinking of my skill, Alarm. It felt as though I alone could wake up Lu—using the power I possessed as someone who could awaken anyone, anywhere.
“…I…”
The words faltered. Could I truly protect her?
Such ominous doubts crept in like a draft through a crack whenever my attention wavered.
Preparations were finished. The courtyard gate swung open. As we stepped out with the wagon, a sense of exhilaration swept away the anxiety lingering in my chest.
“We’ve been waiting for you!”
The adventurers of Flocia had come out to greet us. People were even on the second floors and rooftops of buildings.
Up ahead, carrying a massive stone hammer—
“Lloyd-san… Melissa-san…?”
“You said you were heading back.”
The adventurers who had fought alongside us were going to escort us out of the city. Lloyd-san, the one with the hammer, slapped my back with a hand the size of a small shield and broke into a broad smile.
“Thank you for the horn!”
Every adventurer turned toward us, smiling. They all knew—it had been me who sounded the horn from the tower.
Unexpected words of encouragement.
Everyone spoke at once.
“It was Rion who went to the tower!”
“And then we heard the horn from the tower… it felt like you were cheering us on.”
One by one, they thanked me. The adventurers gathered around the Odis Temple, seeing us off as we prepared to leave.
“You’re amazing!”
“You’re chasing that light, right?!”
“Come back again, okay?!”
Wrapped in their voices, we pressed onward.
Even merchants drawn by the commotion, and adventurers in guild uniforms, had joined the crowd.
—Could it really be that this boy conquered that tower!?
—He’s the savior of the city!
—What level could he possibly be?
—I-I have to offer thanks as a guild…!
The adventurers all stepped aside, pushing the crowd back to clear a path for the wagon.
Lloyd-san’s voice rang out.
“We’ll be here, guarding the city for you, hero.”
My chest burned with warmth.
I climbed into the wagon and waved at them.
“Thank you so much!”
Laughter erupted from the adventurers—clearly, they thought it was my line to say. I didn’t fully understand what was happening, but my face and heart felt hot all at once.
From the gold coin, Solana’s voice echoed in my mind.
『Humans truly are remarkable. Your courage has been passed on to them as well.』
The goddess must be smiling.
『I… I am proud of you too.』
Hearing the goddess’s words, my eyes grew a little misty. Perhaps it was because I’d felt a trace of my father in her voice.
The wagon rattled steadily onward. Straight toward the royal capital, where my little sister slept.
“Let’s return to the Capital.”
This time, the words sank firmly into my chest. There was no use in dwelling on fear. The path would never open unless we faced it head-on.
Leaving the city we had protected in the hands of its adventurers, we departed Flocia behind us.
Mia-san repeated it loudly, her voice ringing clear.
“Right! To the Royal Capital!”
Safi, Felix-san, and the rest of the warrior corps joined in, their voices rising together in unison.
“Now, to the Royal Capital!”
As the wind blew through, the driver whipped his horse.
Let’s go home and see my family.
◆◆◆
From the heavens where the gods dwell, Odin gazed down upon the mortal world.
The two ravens he had sent to the earth pierced through the lingering clouds below and, cawing loudly, returned to rest on his shoulders.
Odin squinted one eye as he surveyed the land. Beneath waves of silver hair, his remaining right eye looked profoundly weary.
It was an eye that had watched over the earth for a thousand years, ever since the age of myth.
“…At last, they are assembled.”
Odin murmured to himself.
“The Power of Creation, the magic… and the hero who should carry them to the next stage.”
He continued in a low voice, staring intently at the world below, as if trying desperately to shape something in his mind. Yet for the weary Lord God, there was nothing left to see.
To wield the Power of Creation, one must imagine—to envision what one truly desires. But the Lord God no longer possessed that strength. To form a vision from thought—that was now beyond the reach of Odin’s heart.
“Please… you two siblings. Shape the vision with your own will, in my place.”
At last, Odin closed his remaining eye.In the depths of the god’s mind, a single tree—woven from strands of magic—loomed faintly, hazy yet unmistakable.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
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