Free Web NovelThe three before her were none other than members of Fairy’s Wings—Liufir, Yuancherin, and Kare.
“S-Sorry!”
It had been over a month since they last met, and Liufir was still just as stammering as before—not out of shyness, but out of the excitement and worry of reuniting with an old friend.
“We should have made an appointment first... but we’re leaving in a couple of days, and on the way we met the Hero. She told us that... you were also injured in that recent incident, so we thought we’d come visit you...”
Even though she spoke in fragments, Liufir still managed to express herself completely.
Between their surprise and concern, all three of them clearly noticed how much smaller Vieya’s body had become.
Combined with the Hero’s words, they immediately filled in the rest of the story in their minds—Vieya had encountered a powerful enemy, been gravely wounded, and had to use some forbidden secret art to save her life.
And this appearance before them—that was the price of that secret art.
“Wow, you’ve gotten so tiny and cute...” Yuancherin made a strange sound. “Can I pinch your cheeks?”
“No! Sister Lin, you should treat her like a wounded patient, not talk nonsense!” Liufir puffed her cheeks and protested at the tall girl beside her.
“I was just joking...” Yuancherin shrugged.
“You guys... huh?”
Vieya, who was about to speak, paused suddenly, took the lollipop Kare was handing her, thought for a moment, then unwrapped it and stuck it in her mouth. Looking up at them, one hand on her hip, she said,
“...Anyway, come in and talk. We can have breakfast together.”
“Miss Vieya, w-we already ate!”
“Then eat again!”
...
Inside the house.
“Vieya, are they your friends?”
Aislin, who was preparing breakfast, smiled and waved to the unfamiliar guests. “Then stay and eat with us?”
“N-no, please don’t trouble yourself!” Liufir bowed her head over and over, sweating nervously—this was far too much hospitality!
“It’s no trouble.” Aislin spoke softly, then quietly stepped up beside Vieya and whispered, “What do your friends like to eat?”
“Same as us is fine... You—you’re the one who asked me to help you cook, right?” Vieya answered quietly.
Aislin shook her head with a small laugh. “You go entertain your friends. The kitchen’s fine with me.” freeωebnovēl.c૦m
“Mom! There’s a lot of people in the house...” came Jasmine’s timid voice from the stairs.
“It’s fine. They’re friends. Come down,” Vieya said casually.
Liufir and the others froze in shock. Some members of Fairy’s Wings knew Vieya had a daughter—but not these three.
“Y-your child? That big? Adopted?” Liufir’s head was spinning.
“She’s my own. Sorry, I didn’t have time to tell you before.” Vieya bit through the lollipop and swallowed it. “There’s a sofa over here, sit.”
“O-oh...” Liufir nodded rapidly, but once she sat down, she sat up perfectly straight, stiff and proper, not daring to move.
“Are you really okay? Your body’s shrunk way too much,” Yuancherin asked. “You scared me just now—I thought the one who opened the door was your little sister or something...”
“I’m recovering. Give it some time.”
Vieya spoke calmly, watching the three seated across from her with curiosity.
“After finishing your last commission and being promoted to a Diamond-ranked adventurer team, where did you go next? I haven’t seen you around the city in a while.”
“Sigh, we adventurers don’t really have days off. We keep going—exploring unknown lands, bringing new monster data back to the Guild for upload...” Yuancherin sighed. “That’s our busy but exciting adventurer life.”
“Sister Lin, we do have vacation time in our group,” Kare said. “You just never take it.”
“If I rest, I’ve got nothing to do...” Yuancherin reclined on the sofa, staring at the ceiling and twirling a lock of hair around her finger. “A woman like me—getting older, not married—once I stop adventuring, I don’t even have anywhere to go. So of course I throw myself into adventuring.”
“How long do you plan to stay in the city this time?” Vieya sipped a little warm milk.
“Captain Luna’s arguing with her sister, so she gave everyone two days off. We’ll regroup on the third. So, barring any surprises, we’ll be here two more days.” Yuancherin sighed. “The three of us either live far from home, or have no home—so the guild’s all we have.”
“Oh, right...”
Yuancherin suddenly sat upright, pulling a small, still-warm notebook from her chest pocket and handing it to Vieya.
“...Menesis asked me to bring this to you. She had family matters today, couldn’t come.”
This was—
Flaviel’s diary.
Vieya was slightly surprised. She took it and flipped through the yellowed pages, then looked up at Yuancherin. “Didn’t you say you were going to exchange this for gold coins? Why bring it back?”
“Menesis said the Hero Armor fragments were enough to trade for gold. Since this diary belonged to a Demon King, she decided to leave it. She said you seemed to like it, so she told me to give it to you as a keepsake,” Yuancherin explained.
Did I really make it that obvious...
Vieya turned the little booklet in her hands, then sighed quietly.
She’d been trying so hard not to show any emotion, /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ yet somehow everyone could still read her thoughts. Honestly—this just made her look dumb!
“Well, Captain Luna actually wanted to invite you to join a commission this time,” Yuancherin continued with a grin. “But when she heard you were injured, she gave up on the idea.”
Kare jumped in excitedly, “Do you know, Vieya! Down south in Tarin, a dungeon appeared! A brand-new dungeon like never before!”
“The last dungeon appeared a hundred years ago. Back then, a lot of people became legendary heroes because they got divine treasures from it!”
Kare’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
“Vieya! Imagine if we could become that kind of legendary powerhouse passed down through the ages—wouldn’t that be amazing!”
