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Cortina had successfully obtained the Fan Wolf fangs and had a look of satisfaction on her face. Gadius was with her, after all. Monsters on the level of Fang Wolves were not opponents. All that was left was to carve magic circles while they waited for Maxwell to come and bring them back.

As it neared the dawn when she had finished the talisman, Maxwell finally came to pick them up.

She expected him to come sooner, given that she had taken Gadius along too, so she was surprised.

“You’re a little late, you know?”
“My bad, my bad. I had to take care of some minor business.”
“Gadius is here too, so you should have realized that you should have come sooner.”
“Hey, I was busy myself too, okay?”
“What, you aren’t gonna tell me something happened to Nicole, right?”
“No, nothing of the sort. I shall return her safe and sound.”

Maxwell evaded Cortina’s usual abusive language with indifferent conduct. Gadius sighed and commented in exasperation as he observed the two’s exchange.

“Hey, I should be the victim here, right? Why did I have to go along with Cortina’s selfishness?”
“Women have been selfish since times immemorial. It seems you still lack the understanding.”
“Do not lump me together with you withered Elves. Come, send me back already.”

Gadius, who could be said to be the biggest victim here, had been dragged out of his inn and taken all the way here. There were other employees there, so the Adventurer support inn should not have gotten hindered in any way, but it was still strange for the supervisor to be missing.

“Right. Then. I shall send Cortina first and then you.”
“I am not the first?”
“You would be fine alone here, but not Cortina. Lady first, as they say.”
“I cannot counter that.”

Ever since their Adventuring days, the female group had been the influential side, thus this was a long-accustomed reaction. Since it felt like he would be putting Cortina’s safety in danger, he could not object to this.

“Well then, I’ll go first then. Thanks, Gadius. I’ll repay this favor someday.”
“I shall wait without expectations.”

Thus Cortina had been taken to Maxwell’s mansion. After they got there, he prepared to go back to get Gadius right away.

“Well then, I shall go bring Gadius home, will you return back?”
“Yes, thanks Maxwell.”
“Still, for you to want a matching pair. What had you worked up?”
“I mean, it’s about my friend’s daughter. Of course I’d find it cute.”

She puffed her chest as she declared that, her previous gloominess was no longer being felt. Next, she looked around to check the surroundings.

“Finia is still not done with cleaning?”
“Yes, it seems I went a little too overboard this time. I shall take responsibility and bring her home, so you shall return first.”
“I feel like you’re strangely adamant on sending me home, aren’t you?”
“N-No such case.”

She suspected Maxwell after turning his gaze away so blatantly, but it was true that camping outside tired her quite a bit. Having a good sleep at home was a suggestion she found hard to go against now.

“Oh well. Don’t you put your hands on Finia now, you hear?”
“Who do you take me for…”
“You are a withered Elf according to Gadius, but your urges are still present, right? Of course I’d distrust you.”
“Well, I can not deny that they are still going strong. Oh well. Go now, shoo shoo.”
“Agh, hey! Don’t throw me out like that! Finia save meee!”
“My apologies, but I could not possibly oppose Lord Maxwell. I will return soon, so please go ahead first.”
“Damn you, did you brainwash Finia too?”
“Stop saying such scandalous remarks already!”

Thus, albeit a little dissatisfied, Cortina headed towards her home. It was dawn now, the time when pedestrian traffic was beginning to show activity. There was a low risk of getting involved with criminals during this time period.

Having obtained a matching talisman with Nicole, she hurried to her home with light steps.

“So this spell was assembled by Nicole, huh? There are some unpolished parts, but it’s well done.”

She tangled the talisman before her eyes, inspecting the make up. Since they needed to be matching, the magic circle contained within had to be the same.

Thus, she obtained the circle from Maxwell and carved it on her own.

“Ah, right. There’s one more fang left, so maybe I’ll give one to Maria.”

Fang Wolves naturally had two fangs, so there was one more left. She made up her mind to gift one to her friend, and chuckled as she imagined her surprised face.

But then, she stopped her feet. Because she saw a suspicious person.

One man, clad in black, with a long scarf on his neck, stood in front of her house.

He had a thin figure, easily discernible even through his long coat. He was not very tall, but his ruffled hair was something she remembered well.

Or perhaps, too well.

“…No way.”

Losing her words, she let go of the talisman.

That back… Was the back that she had gazed at many a time until twenty years ago. It was the figure of a man who, despite not having the most resilient of bodies, continued to protect his comrades, obediently following her absurd directions despite his sarcastic remarks.

He was a soft-hearted assassin, who, at times, would display courage that could be taken as recklessness, and also who lost his life continuing to protect her.

As the talisman hit the ground, he noticed her presence. As he turned around, his appearance was exactly what Cortina expected.

“Reid—!!”

Her self-control had reached its limit.

Thus, she broke into a run, unable to contain herself.

The ground under her footsteps felt soft, as if she was dashing on the clouds.

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