Just as he had when he arrived, Gawain once again relied on Heragol's near-teleportation-like power to leave the upper sanctuary high in the mountains. As the pale golden radiance gradually faded, he and the High Rank Dragon Priest were standing on a platform plaza halfway up the mountain.
Grand, magnificent Holographic Projections and omnipresent neon lights illuminated the area. At the edge of the plaza, Gawain saw Melita Pernia waiting for him, with Amber and Veronica standing beside her.
They had probably come to wait at the plaza after receiving advance notice.
"It seems your friends are already waiting for you," Heragol said, turning to Gawain. "Then I'll see you off here."
As soon as the Dragon Priest finished speaking, layer upon layer of pale golden halos began to ripple around him. But before his figure could start fading, Gawain finally could not help speaking up. "Mr. Heragol—"
Heragol stopped. "Please, go on."
"Do you remember what happened before you became a Dragon Priest?"
"My apologies. It was too long ago."
Accompanied by the golden halos gradually dispersing into the night sky, the High Rank Dragon Priest's figure completely vanished from Gawain's line of sight.
Melita and the others hurried over from nearby. Amber was the first to plant herself in front of Gawain, her eyes wide. "Hey! You really were gone for a long time this time! What did you talk about? Oh, right, did you know there was a huge windstorm outside just now? There even seemed to be a thunderstorm in the mountains for a while. Too bad I didn't see it from Melita's house..."
Gawain looked at this disgrace of the Empire, and a faint smile suddenly appeared on his face. "...We talked about many things. I'll tell you about them slowly after we get back.