Everything Will Get Better

"Unbelievable."

Gilbert's voice rose and fell with the motion of the carriage.

Sitting opposite him, Tales leaned against the carriage wall and looked at the teacher he had been separated from for six years, feeling just as many emotions.

"I still remember, Little Sir. Six years ago, when we parted, you were only a child..."

Aside from his slightly excited breathing, his posture and manners remained refined and elegant, as if he had been carved from a nobleman's mold.

Tales shrugged and smiled.

"Perhaps I was more than just a child."

"Of course." Gilbert smiled knowingly. "You were certainly more than just a child."

"However, look at you now." Gilbert stared intently at him, his eyes filled with relief and emotion as he could not stop looking him up and down.

"You've grown up."

His voice wavered.

"At fourteen, by the standards of the Imperial Era, you're already a true adult. You can take up a sword and fight, marry, and have children..."

Fourteen years old, fighting, marrying, having children?

Tales scratched his head.

"Well, about that—as the times change and society progresses, I believe that's still up for discussion..."

Seeing his expression, Gilbert laughed heartily.

The wheels rumbled on, and the two fell silent for a while.

Until Gilbert let out a sigh.

"So, six years have passed, Your Highness. How have you been? How is the north?"

How had he been?

How was the north?

Tales had imagined many scenes of reuniting with his old friends.

He had also imagined how he would embellish his complaints to them, vividly describing the terrible food in the Northern Land, the freezing temperatures of the Palace of Heroes, the dumb Little Rascal, the annoying Female Official Jinx, the foolish Starfaller, the cunning Lisbon, the damned Lumba, the gluttonous Eda, and the