It was like a momentary dream, a ten-month long dream that felt too realistic; a dream surrounded with different emotions, whether it’d be sadness, happiness, or laughter but deep down, it wasn’t a dream but reality.

 

“Ayumi…” a soft voice whispered from behind the darkness as I turned around before Kaori stood there with a smile. A gentle smile that calms the heart; her hair weaved by the invisible wind; her blue eyes that looked mesmerizing.

 

Her hand reached out to me as if she was my guide. I did not hesitate and took the hand as she led me deep into the darkness before suddenly, the exit came to sight. A beautiful door that showed the night skies, the soft winds of the world blasting from the door.

 

“I will be watching from the shadows, be sure to call my name if you need help,” Kaori stopped before the door and looked at me with a smile as I looked at her a bit hesitant. I had a few questions for her, but it felt like it was not the appropriate time to ask therefore I could only nod as I took a step towards the door.

 

The outside world became crystal clear, it was late at night with the moon oddly red which was strange as I looked behind me where Kaori stood there with a questioning gaze. We were high above the clouds which makes me nervous as I asked, “How am I supposed to get down?” before she giggled.

 

“Here, take this first…” she said before taking out a rose that confused me as she took a step before pushing me out towards the door as she waved her hand.

 

I felt shocked as I looked at her who was smiling… I did not know what to say, was I betrayed again or is this joke she did… but not long after, two magnanimous white wings appeared on my back. The wings were nostalgic, it was the same wings that I used back during that battle against that serpent.

 

“Look towards your bottom left,” her voice whispered into my ear, making me curious as I looked towards my bottom left before both my eyes widened as two figures rested on a tree. I felt my heart skip a beat as I looked at the two of them.

 

They were none other than Mana and Flora who were resting under a tree; Flora had grown taller than before; she looked a bit different from the last time I saw her while Mana looked a bit exhausted which caused an ache on my heart as I looked at the two of them.

 

A sweet lullaby soon entered my ear, a voice that sounded sweet and soft to the ear. I felt tears fell from my eyes as the wings on my back flapped towards their direction, opening my mouth as I said in a soft voice: “I am back…”

 

In an instant, Mana looked towards my direction as a tear fell from her eye as I soon landed before them with a smile as the rose in my hand turned into a bouquet almost like magic. I felt like my view of Kaori changed, it was as if… no, she planned everything out which makes me happy as I looked at Mana with a smile.

 

“Ayumi…” Mana mumbled before the wings on my back vanished, turning into fireflies that surrounded the places, lighting each part of the field as an enormous amount of wind blasted through the place causing my hair to fly around.

 

The two of us stared at each other for a little while longer before suddenly, a fluff ball flung me to the floor, hugging me tightly as she shouted with pure happiness, “Aywumi-mwa!”

 

I felt happiness fill me as I hugged the fluff ball who was none other than Flora who had grown up a bit, her face was still childish, her speech is also childish, but she carried a more mature and independent feel around her.

 

“There, there… Ayumi is back,” I said while kissing her forehead before picking her up as she continued hugging me tightly which made me smile a bit more as I stood up before looking at Mana who had tears falling from her eyes as she said.

 

“Welcome back… dear!”­­­

 

I walked towards her and hugged her as well, kissing her forehead as well as she hugged back with a genuine smile on her face. It was as if the three of us were separated for billions of years, reuniting after a long time.

 

“The two of you have really changed a lot,” I smiled before Mana shook her head, wiping the tears on her eyes as she pinched me on the cheeks with an angry expression.

 

“What do you expect after the main money maker in the house suddenly vanishes?” she joked.

 

“Didn’t I leave behind around a few hundred gold coins for emergency reasons unless Flora spent it all on eating which shouldn’t be possible…right?” I looked at Flora who was averting her gaze. The answer to the question was already as clear as day.

 

“Well… without Leisha, the two of us might have a hard time sustaining…” she smiled wryly before a sudden realization came to mind as I looked around confused.

 

“Right… how is Leisha? If I remember correctly, she was kidnapped, right? What happened while I was unconscious?” I asked before she sighed, sitting back down on the tree as she smiled.

 

“Leisha was… rather than kidnapped, used as a negotiation material to keep you from entering the event which we should rather be thankful of as the event had a major accident where the entire building collapsed that left a few hundred civilians and almost sixty percent of the contestants dead…” she answered.

 

“The capital fell into a state of emergency in an instant, locking the entire place away even till this day… thanks to that kidnapping situation, the headmaster and also His Majesty ended up missing the contest… the two of them are now at the capital handling matters,” she added.

 

I couldn’t hold back my shock as another question popped inside my head as I asked, “Do you know what the kidnapper looks like?”

 

“According to Leisha, the kidnapper was someone who had beautiful white hair and red eyes that could turn into blue at times… she was also someone super powerful with swords that even she couldn’t fight against her strength… why do you ask?” Mana replied with her head tilted.

 

The description completely matches that of Kaori, especially that part that says white hair and her ability with swords. There is no one other than Kaori or Mana’s biological mother that I know who can convince Leisha to even admit that she could not fight against her… not to mention, I do not know much about Mana’s mother but for sure she doesn’t have white hair which makes me more assured that it was Kaori.

 

“I see… nothing, where is Leisha?” I inquired before she smiled.

 

“Leisha is currently at the house, watching over and preparing for dinner… speaking of which, how about we give her a bit of a surprise since she has been eager in waiting for you to come back,” Mana said while standing up as she reached a hand towards me.

 

“Okay!” I said while taking her hand before a sudden mouth bit my neck as I looked at Flora who was pouting angrily.

 

“Aywumi-mwa and Mwama forgetting about me…”

 

I felt a bit hopeless with this child who was a bit different from the cute and lazy Flora I knew but at the same time, I felt a bit happy as I kissed her on the forehead before answering, “How could we forget about our dearest daughter?” while smiling as she averted her gaze with a super cute pout.

 

“I want boar meat…” she mumbled as a loud giggle left Mana’s mouth as she pinched the cute little fluff ball’s cheeks.

 

“You already had boar meat yesterday and you still want more, how about giving Leisha a rest after she spent an entire day hunting for that boar?” Mana said before Flora pouted, even more, blushing a bit as she nodded.

 

“It seems like I have to owe her a bit more than I thought,” I intervened while Mana looked at me with a soft giggle.

 

“That still isn’t the end of everything Leisha did while you were unconscious… the list goes on and on, so be sure to treat her with more love,” Mana winked which caused shivers on my spine as I nodded before waving my hand as I said.

 

“Well then, let’s head back now.”

 

“Mhm…” the two of them replied before the three of us soon started walking towards our beautiful little house.