I arrived early.
The square was too empty for that time of night. Only a few lanterns were lit, a light wind passing through the trees, and the distant sound of the city slowly winding down.
Scarlet hadn't appeared yet.
I leaned against one of the stone benches and watched the dark sky. I wasn't nervous. Nor anxious. Just curious.
The so-called "wish."
I knew it wouldn't be something simple. Scarlet never did anything in a simple way.
A few minutes later, I heard firm footsteps coming down the main path.
When I looked, she was walking toward me.
Red dress.
Loose hair.
No armor. No adventurer's posture. No serious expression.
She looked like a different person.
She stopped a few steps away from me.
"So you really came."
"You're the one who called me."
She smiled sideways.
"Fair point."
We stood in silence for a few seconds. The wind lightly moved her dress. I noticed she was taking longer than usual to speak.
"So… the wish," I said.
Scarlet took a deep breath.
"I thought about it a lot."
"I can imagine."
She crossed her arms, then uncrossed them. Clearly enjoying herself on the inside.
"Takumi, you promised you would do anything I asked."
"I did."
"Without complaining."
"Without complaining."
She looked straight at me.
"Then I want you to be my husband."
The silence that followed was absolute.
I didn't answer.
Not because I didn't hear.
But because my brain took a few seconds to process it.
"…what?"
"My husband."
I blinked.
I looked around the square as if someone would pop out yelling that it was a joke.
No one appeared.
"Scarlet."
"Yes?"
"Say that again."
"I want you to marry me."
I slowly ran a hand over my face.
This made no sense at all.
Her expression was far too serious.
"Are you serious?"
"Very."
At that moment, I felt it.
Presences.
Familiar.
Hidden.
Very poorly hidden.
Behind the trees. On top of the roof of a nearby house. Near the fountain.
Rai'kanna.
Elara.
Vespera.
Liriel.
Invisible.
But I knew each of them far too well not to notice.
Scarlet noticed too. And made a huge effort not to laugh.
"So, Takumi?" she insisted. "Are you going to fulfill the wish?"
I took a deep breath.
"Scarlet… this isn't something you ask like that."
"Why not? You promised."
"I promised thinking you would ask for something possible."
"Marriage is possible."
"Not like this."
She tilted her head.
"You don't want to?"
I closed my eyes for a second.
This was getting far too dangerous.
"Scarlet, this isn't a joke you should be making."
She finally let a smile slip.
A wide smile.
And she started laughing.
Laughing for real.
I slowly opened my eyes.
"You've got to be kidding me."
It took her a few seconds before she could speak.
"I couldn't resist."
I ran a hand over my face again.
"You're impossible."
She was still laughing.
"I needed to see your reaction."
At that exact moment, four distortions in the air appeared around the square.
Rai'kanna appeared first, with a murderous look.
Elara right after, clearly irritated.
Vespera with the coldest expression I had ever seen.
And Liriel crossing her arms, indignant.
"I KNEW IT," Rai'kanna said.
Scarlet tried to stop laughing, but it only got worse.
"You were there the whole time?" I asked.
"They were here even before I arrived," Scarlet replied.
Elara stared at me.
"You took too long to answer."
"Because I was trying to figure out if this was real!"
Vespera looked at Scarlet.
"Very poor taste joke."
Scarlet raised her hands.
"Calm down. Calm down. It was just to provoke him."
Liriel pointed a finger.
"You almost died just now."
Rai'kanna was breathing heavily as if she were forcibly holding back magic.
Scarlet finally became serious.
"Okay. Enough."
The atmosphere shifted.
She looked at me, this time without a smile.
"Now the real wish."
Silence returned.
I crossed my arms.
"I hope it's something normal."
She nodded.
"It is."
She took a deep breath.
"I want you to continue being my friend in the future."
I didn't answer right away.
Because that sentence didn't come as a joke.
It came clean.
Sincere.
Without irony.
"That's it?" I asked.
"That's it."
Rai'kanna slowly uncrossed her arms.
Elara relaxed her posture.
Vespera looked away.
Liriel blinked a few times.
Scarlet continued:
"You're going to get strong. Very strong. You'll end up leaving here. You'll end up going to bigger places. And I… will probably stay here."
She shrugged.
"I just don't want to become a memory from your weak phase."
That hit me more than the absurd marriage proposal.
"You won't."
"Promise?"
"I promise."
She smiled. This time, small. Genuine.
"Then it's fulfilled."
We stood in silence for a few seconds.
No tension.
No teasing.
Just a simple moment.
Scarlet took a step back.
"There. Wish concluded."
Liriel spoke first:
"Can we stop almost killing her now?"
Rai'kanna snorted.
"For now."
Scarlet looked at the four of them.
"You're scary."
"Thank you," Vespera replied.
I shook my head.
"You're all impossible."
Scarlet started walking away.
"Go back to the mansion. Early tomorrow I'll schedule the final test."
"Final test?" I asked.
She smiled.
"You'll like it."
And she left down the lantern-lit street.
I stood there for a few seconds.
Rai'kanna approached.
"I was really going to attack."
"I noticed."
Elara crossed her arms.
"Stupid joke."
"It was," I agreed.
Vespera looked in the direction where Scarlet had disappeared.
"But the wish was honest."
"It was."
Liriel tugged at my sleeve.
"Let's go back. That's enough excitement for today."
We began walking back to the mansion.
The path was silent.
But light.
I realized something had been closed there.
It wasn't an arc of tension.
It was an arc of bond.
Of trust.
When we entered the mansion, I felt that cycle was truly ending.
And that the next one would begin very soon.