A New Year, a New Beginning

[52 years before the death of the hero Himmel]

The winter morning sun streamed into the room through the window.

The morning in [Äußerst] was still bustling with activity, and even though the [Winter Festival] lasted until the next day, the city's residents did not get much rest.

Time waits for no one; it flows relentlessly forward like a stream.

A new year, a new beginning. Everyone's face was radiant with dazzling light. When Galan woke up, he felt as if something was pressing down on his face, so tightly that he couldn't open his eyes at all.

My cheeks were itchy, which was very uncomfortable, as if someone's hair had been haphazardly scattered across my face.

Enduring the intense light piercing his eyes, Galan forced his eyelids open. His vision was filled with gold, like an endless sea of golden flowers.

He instinctively raised his hand, wanting to move the thing away, but the soft touch of someone's body at his fingertips made him feel uneasy. The "thing" pressing against him seemed to be a person?

How could there be someone on me?

At this moment, Galan's mind was in complete chaos. He always slept alone in a single room, so how could this have happened?

But as his consciousness gradually cleared, a familiar, fragrant scent made him realize something.

Last night, he and Lia stayed outside for a long time. When Lia became sleepy and started to stagger, Galan carried her back to the Inn.

As Galan climbed the stairs, she felt drowsy and each step was difficult.

Lia nestled in his arms, mumbling something in a daze. Galan didn't hear her clearly, assuming she was talking in her sleep, and carried her back to her bed before returning to his own room and lying down on his own bed.

After an unknown amount of time, Galan vaguely heard his bedroom door open, and then a petite body slipped into his bed.

Without even opening his eyes, he could tell it was Lia just by the scent and the touch of her body.

How did this guy end up in my room...? Was he sleepwalking...? Or does he just not want to sleep alone...?

Well... we've already reached this point in our relationship... it's all over now, so it shouldn't matter anymore...

Galan didn't open his eyes or try to wake Lia. He simply hugged her naturally, as if nothing had happened.

Sensing the faint fragrance emanating from the other person, he quickly lost consciousness and fell into a dream.

Hmm?

Seemingly awakened by her own initial actions, Lia mumbled something, placed her hands on the bed, lowered her head, and slowly sat up.

Galan then realized that he had actually pinched Lia's waist from the start, which explained why he had woken her up.

"Lia?"

"Um?

Galan looked at Lia with some concern, wondering if she would panic upon discovering she had woken up in her own bed.

After all, no matter how you looked at it, the other person didn't seem to be doing this while sober last night, and I was too tired to carry her back...

Although the two had already established a relationship, Galan still felt that it was somewhat "taking advantage of someone in distress"—even though it was Lia who had come to him on her own.

After a brief response, she rubbed her eyes, squinted, and looked around, seemingly not finding anything wrong with her being there.

Then she rolled over, arched her body, and lay down again, pressing half her face against Galan's chest, seemingly unwilling to move away from Galan.

Right now, Lia looked like a curled-up orange cat, completely nestled against Galan. It was hard to imagine what kind of sleeping position she had that allowed her to sleep like that for an entire night.

However, she had indeed gone to bed quite late, and since this world doesn't seem to have any concept of staying up all night, Lia was probably still in a daze. If she lay down, she would have to go back to sleep, and she probably wouldn't be able to get up for a while.

The still-burning wood in the fireplace crackled in the lingering warmth, and the room was comfortably warm, enough to make even those reluctant to get out of bed feel drowsy on such days.

Galan sighed softly, not saying he wanted to disturb her, and let Lia fall into a deep sleep on his body.

Although such a lifestyle is indeed quite "degenerate," Galan thinks it's not so bad to indulge in such a whim once in a while.

Lia's body temperature wasn't very high, but even through two thin layers of pajamas, Galan could clearly feel the warmth emanating from her.

Feeling the rhythmic breathing coming from her rising and falling chest, Galan smiled and stroked Lia's head. He turned his head to look out the window. It was dawn again, just like countless days in the past, yet everything seemed completely different.

"What's going on today? It's already this late and it still hasn't come down..."

In the Inn lobby, Fitz sat in a chair, frowning, holding a naan bread in one hand and looking towards the stairs, waiting for Galan to come down.

This is usually work hours, and Galan is rarely late, but why today...?

Could it be that I slept too late and haven't woken up yet? Hmm... that seems quite possible.

Fitz thought to himself, but then something else came to mind.

Even after I was kicked away last night, I still managed to watch what happened next.

He vaguely remembered that Galan had taken the Elven Girl back with him in the end. Could it be that the two of them had gotten together?

Hiss...

The thought of it made Fitz feel like he had truly lost.

How come that guy, a fellow Apothecary, has beautiful girls throwing themselves at him, while I, so handsome and talented, can only admire myself from afar?

However, when he thought of the "extraordinary talent" aspect, he immediately felt relieved. After all, geniuses are always so lonely, and his current state is the best explanation.

"Well, since Galan's doing so well in love, I won't bother him. I'll just do some work for myself today, something I haven't done in a while."

Although he was used to Galan making medicine for him, Fitz felt a little uncomfortable going back to doing it himself. However, for Garland's happiness, Fitz decided to risk it all for the greater good. He wondered if the boss would be moved to tears if he saw Fitz like this.