After walking through six countries, we’re back home.
We managed to find Sera, but I wish we could have come back after finding Eris.
No, I should be happier that we managed to find Sera at all.
Nahal, our second hometown, has changed a lot. There are more buildings and more people.
However, having more people didn’t necessarily come about through development of the town. People rushed here to investigate ruins that were found nearby.
And with that, came a problem. Food. I knew even back then that this land wasn’t suited for agriculture, but there are many such places in this country.
The Republic of Eldo simply has a lot of land like that, which is something I came to realize after going to various towns.
And because of that, when we went back to the home to tell them we found Sera, we found many of the kids looked too thin.
I even heard some stomachs growling while we played with them, and some were too weak from hunger to want to move around a lot.
Sora shared wolf meat and vegetables, but that is only a temporary solution.
Afterwards, he used alchemy to create a medicine to improve the quality of soil, and Hikari, Mia, and Sera hunted wolves to get more food, but it’s still not enough.
Not to mention that other places might get upset about the favorable treatment Filo’s home is receiving. I am particularly scared about looting. I don’t think anyone would do that, but I cannot say I’m absolutely certain either.
During the war, we saw it happen many times with our own eyes.
Still, we must do what we can.
I still have concerns, but we have something we have to do.
I wish we could stay and check on the results of Sora’s soil medicine, but we can’t afford to hang around here for long.
Defeating the demon king. We saw that quest when we stopped by the guild.
We don’t know when this is going to be executed, but preparations are steadily advancing.
And before that, or maybe as it is happening, we are going to enter the dark forest.
And just as I’m thinking about this, I receive a pendant from Filo.
I remember seeing it a lot when I was younger, on grandma Morrigan.
I thought it was beautiful, and I remember that when I asked who gave it to her, she looked sad, and all she said was that she got it from someone she couldn’t see anymore.
◇ ◇ ◇
“Grandma…”
I whisper without thinking, and suddenly, I don’t know where I am.
I talked with the others about our plans for tomorrow, and I was lying on the bed, but now I’m in a place I don’t recognize.
I look around, but there’s a mist of sorts that won’t let me see very well.
But strangely enough, I don’t feel anxious.
I do feel that someone is calling me, for some reason.
Who?
I suddenly feel something warm, and when I look down at my chest, I see the accessory in the tip of the pendant is shining.
When I notice it, the light stretches and creates a line.
I follow the line, but the mist is preventing me from seeing where it’s going.
“…Ruins?”
And yet, for some reason, I feel like I know what it’s pointing to. I immediately realize they are the ruins discovered near Nahal.
“Are you telling me to go there?”
There is no one to answer my whispers, but I somehow feel like I’m being told I’m right.
Ruins… But how?
From what I heard in the adventurer guild, some important people in the country have taken over investigations, and are barring non-authorized people from entering.
There are also adventurers who accepted a quest, but I think I heard they are high rank adventurers who accepted designated quests to accompany those people.
I can’t go… It would be a waste of time. And yet, the feeling that I have to go keeps growing stronger and stronger. It’s like my feelings of thinking I can’t do that are being purposefully negated.
Tomorrow… When we wake up, should I talk to the others about this?
As I think about this, my vision starts getting hazy, and I’m assaulted by this feeling, like my consciousness is sinking.
Is this a dream? Reality?
Eventually, I hear someone calling me, and wake up.
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Thanks for the treat.