Rose lowers her head again, the anxiety clearly visible on her face.
"He's a fugitive with an extremely high bounty, Hiro. I'm afraid he'll be executed."
Far from the coastal ruins of Zepharia, deep within a dark castle, the doors of a chamber swing open.
Two figures sit around a long table. They immediately recognize who has returned—Albert.
Yet his return is striking. Someone hangs over his shoulder.
"What about your mission, and—" the first begins.
"Who is that?" the second cuts in.
"His name is Oliver," Albert says, laying the body across the empty space—the seat usually occupied by Jiza.
"That legend?!" the second exclaims. "How did you manage to capture him?"
"Answer in relation to the crystal," the first adds.
Albert exhales heavily. "The Paragon has appeared. I returned, just as I said I would. However, Oliver the Legend stood in my way. For reasons I do not understand, he was already that weak."
He drops into his chair, placing his staff beside him.
The second figure smiles with pride. "I never underestimated your intellect, Professor. I understand," he says quietly. "Of course—execute him. That will draw them out and lead them straight into the trap…" He shakes his head at the end.
The first responds softly, "Is that truly so, Albert?"
Albert lifts his gaze to the shadow-filled ceiling. "It is."
---
"Don't dwell on it too long, Rose. Like I said… calm down. We'll find him, Rose."
Rose nods slowly. We are almost done climbing the hill. I do not expect a miracle beyond it, but we climb it all the same.
I turn to her and smile faintly. "Rose, do you know what I just saw?" I say.
"What? What did you—" she begins.
"A village."
Since the journey begins, the dove perched on Rose's shoulder never makes a sound and never seems to bother her.
I glance at her. Rose is busy teasing the dove as it tries to sleep. "Can't it move to your hand?" I ask.
Rose nods and raises her left hand to stomach height. "Of course. Watch this."
The dove does not move at all.
I smile faintly. "Not like that. Watch this." I lift my left hand to chest height.
WUSH—the dove hops onto my hand.
"Hmph. Favoritism," Rose mutters.
When we arrive at the village, I think there is no need to hide our faces. At Rose's suggestion, she does the talking—we go to the market to buy supplies.
"Our food and drinks are running low. Besides, we can ask the sellers where the harbor is, right?" she says.
Of course. I do not need to worry about the journey when Rose is beside me, smart enough to plan everything. "I'll go along with whatever you want, Rose," I say.
She nods. The market is right in front of us, crowded and noisy with buyers.
"First, we buy canned food and milk…" she says as she heads toward a shop. A fruit stall stands nearby.
"Do you want some fruit?" she asks.
I shake my head lightly. "No."
"All right, then we'll just buy two items," she says.
"Very well, young master and miss. What would you like?" the vendor asks.
"Please give us some canned food and a few bottles of milk, sir," Rose replies.
"Alright. Anything else?" the vendor says as he puts them into a bag.
Rose shakes her head. Everything is packed. The vendor hands it over, and Rose trades it for a pouch of coins. "Thank you, miss," he says.
Before we leave—according to the original plan—"Sir, may I ask you something?" Rose asks.
The vendor nods slowly.
"Where is the harbor?" Rose asks.
---
Night falls after a full day of travel without a carriage. The help from the market seller truly matters—we reach the harbor, but no ships wait along the shore.
"Huh, we'll have to wait until dawn. It's always like this," Rose mutters, stretching beneath a leafy tree.
I sit quietly beside her, rubbing my shoulder. Of course—another challenge is coming.
Earlier, we agree on a watch plan while we rest: Rose sleeps first, I keep watch, then we switch.
"It's fine if I go first, right?" Rose murmurs, her eyelids already too heavy to keep open.
I nod without looking. I watch her with half-closed eyes.
Three or four hours pass. My eyelids grow heavy. I reach out to wake her, but she moves first and sits up.
"Hoaaam," she yawns, stretching. "My turn, right?" she asks, her face bright and awake.
Before she finishes speaking, I am already lying flat and asleep.
"Eh—Eh?!" Rose blurts out, startled.
Hiro sleeps. Rose keeps watch.
She does what Hiro does before—circling the area, gazing up at the star-filled sky washed in moonlight, finding small ways to stay awake.
Rose wanders a little farther from the shelter. Then—
"Huh?!"
She spots someone in a cloak near a tree, standing in front of where Hiro sleeps.
"Wh—who is that—?!"
From beneath the cloak, a massive sword rests on the figure's back. As expected, the figure draws the long, heavy blade, preparing to cut Hiro down.
"No—no, no, no way—!!" Rose sprints as fast as she can toward Hiro, but the distance is too great.
The cloaked figure moves, slow and deliberate, raising the blade.
"HIIROOO—!!" Rose screams, but the attack does not stop.
BAAAM—a brutal impact slams into the tree Hiro is leaning against. The trunk splits cleanly in two and collapses.
DUAAR—as the tree crashes to the ground, Rose's legs give out as well. She falls, convinced that Hiro has died because of her.
Unbeknownst to Rose, Hiro vanishes from the cloaked figure's sight. Confusion sharpens the figure's caution.
Then—a strike from above.
Hiro has shifted into the trees. He launches downward, flying toward the cloaked figure.
Rose lifts her head without hope—then sees Hiro descending from above, attacking the black-cloaked figure in midair.
"HIRO?!" she shouts, scrambling to her feet and running toward them.
I clench my fist, brace myself in the air, and—
SWASH—the cloaked figure reacts instantly, slashing toward my attack.
"DON'T—!" Rose screams as she closes in.
She reaches toward her back, only to realize her bow and all her gear are still on the tree.
I react at the same time, stopping the strike with both feet.
The long sword is wrapped in bandages, its edge not fully sharp—luck saves me from losing my life to that critical blow.
I cannot hold it long. I kick off, forcing myself away from the black-cloaked figure.
But the wind from Hiro's force tears at the hood covering the figure's face, exposing it clearly beneath the moonlight flooding the night. Rose, already running and now very close, slows to a stop the moment she sees the face beneath the cloak. Her expression freezes in disbelief.
"Is that… you?!" Rose cries out.
Both our gazes snap toward her.
"Olivia?!"