Homeward Bird

"I mean, even if you knew I would step in,"

"Wasn't that way too dangerous...?"

The three walked through the woods toward the cabin.

Duncan walked in front, smiling without a word as he listened to Galan complain behind him.

Lia followed at the rear,

her silky golden hair hanging down to her waist.

Her bangs fell over her forehead as she held Galan's hand, swinging it gently.

A blush crept over the tips of her ears, unnoticed.

"...Forget it, forget it... Anyway, now that your assessment is over,"

"When are you going to tell her about that?"

Seeing that Duncan wasn't responding to him at all,

Galan stopped making a fool of himself.

After a moment's thought, he asked the question that had been on his mind for a long time.

According to what Duncan had told him before, he would be leaving that afternoon.

But even now, he still hadn't formally told Lia.

If he kept putting it off and suddenly announced it when he was about to leave...

"I've known for a long time, Galan."

"Huh?"

Lia, who had been following behind them without saying a word all this time, suddenly raised her head.

"Duncan told me last night that he was leaving."

Hearing that, Galan's brain briefly shut down.

"Then you two... Huh?"

He suddenly felt as though the whole world had been playing with him, as if he were the only one being kept in the dark.

Wait.

If you both knew, why didn't you tell me...?

"Last night, while you were fiddling with those medicines of yours, Lia came and asked me about it."

Duncan, walking ahead of them, finally spoke.

"I told you not to underestimate Lia. She's not nearly as slow as you think."

"In fact, she's a lot smarter than you in some ways."

"Hehe—"

Hearing Duncan say that,

Lia couldn't help puffing out her chest, as if to say, "That's right."

"All right, all right... Lia, don't you want to ask Duncan to stay at all?"

The corners of Galan's mouth twitched involuntarily.

He seemed exasperated by the way the master and disciple were playing off each other.

He had been thinking of both of them all this time, yet they had teamed up to pull this on him.

"Duncan has his own goals to achieve, and I've already completed my assessment now."

Lia looked excited at the mention of the trial,

even forgetting that Duncan had nearly hit her head-on.

"I thought it would take me until next year to pass."

"Mm..."

Seeing how happy she was, Galan felt that his earlier worries had been unnecessary.

It seemed elves really weren't very sensitive when it came to partings like this...

"What about you, Lia?"

"Hm?"

"Do you have a goal?"

Galan turned to look at her and asked casually.

"My... goal...?"

Lia looked back at Galan.

They gazed at each other in silence, but a trace of haziness passed through her beautiful eyes,

as if she had remembered something.

"My goal... has already come true..."

"Hm? So what was it?"

She lowered her head without answering,

and whispered so quietly that only she could hear.

"...Dummy..."

Galan was thoroughly confused, his face full of question marks.

He had no idea what riddle Lia was speaking in.

Duncan heard their conversation and looked back at Lia.

When he saw the meaningful look that flashed through her eyes, he seemed to realize something.

Was this the understanding between master and disciple?

He turned his head back and sighed softly.

He, too, spoke quietly in a voice only he could hear.

"That's why I say you really can't compare to Lia in some ways."

"Even though elves should be far behind humans when it comes to emotions..."

Not far behind the three of them,

a pair of murky but sharp eyes peered out from the bushes.

He listened to their conversation and watched them leave.

From beginning to end, none of them noticed him.

Only when they had vanished from sight did he completely conceal himself.

"Such keen perception isn't something an ordinary warrior could have..."

While Galan had been watching the two fight earlier, he had felt the strange sensation that he was being watched.

But just as he was about to turn around and investigate the general direction the gaze had come from,

Duncan had unleashed that deadly blow, forcing him to act immediately.

That had also given the man a chance to completely conceal his presence.

The energy ripples caused by the two fighting earlier had made his aura somewhat erratic.

"That long blade..."

The man rubbed his chin. It seemed to have stirred a distant memory.

It looks so familiar.

I must have seen it many years ago.

When was it...?

"I see... So he's one of his people..."

Finally,

he seemed to recall that memory, and it all became clear at once.

But he soon fell into thought again.

"That's really strange..."

A breeze swept the withered yellow leaves off the ground,

scattering them freely through the air.

On a bare branch outside the cabin,

the last bird chirped.

After feeling around, it suddenly spread its wings with a whoosh

and flew off toward an unknown destination.

No one knew when they would see him again.

Perhaps in a few months,

perhaps in a few years.

"Now that I'm really leaving, I can hardly bear to go."

Duncan stood outside the cabin,

still carrying the same suitcase he had brought with him.

But compared to when he had arrived,

he now had a khaki scarf around his neck as he left.

He really did look much more steady and mature.

"You're probably the one who can't bear to part with your free tutor."

"...All right, a little of both, actually..."

The two looked at each other and said nothing more.

As they watched each other, somehow,

they suddenly burst out laughing.

"I don't know when we'll see each other again..."

Duncan's lips moved,

and his words rose with a thin mist.

"We'll meet again... Though I don't know how many years from now it'll be."

"Yeah. Come to think of it, I won't be staying here either."

"Oh?"

Duncan was a little taken aback.

After all, he knew Galan had settled in Rogley many years ago.

His livelihood and connections had taken root in this place, so it seemed a little unreasonable for him to suddenly say he was leaving.

"I'm planning to travel to the Royal Capital with Frieren. The journey will be training for Lia and me, and we'll also get a good look at the outside world."

"Besides, there's not much point in staying here forever."

"The elf mage from the Hero Party...? So you persuaded Frieren to become Lia's teacher?"

Seeing Duncan see through his little scheme at a glance, Galan couldn't help laughing.

"You guessed even that?"

"Isn't that how you tricked me into coming here too?"

A complicated expression appeared on his face, seemingly reproachful, yet tinged with nostalgia.

In the end, it gave way to a calm smile.

Though they were all right in front of him, perhaps their paths would part here.

"They're wonderful memories. You, Lia, and Reed too..."

"Yeah."

A sudden flurry of footsteps came from inside the cabin.

Lia emerged from the kitchen.

The scarf around her neck fluttered as she ran, rising all the way to her lips.

Though she was clearly in a hurry,

she looked unexpectedly cute.