Published: January 24, 2026
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As the scenery before me changed, the rich scent of grass and trees spread around.
"…………This place is……"
This place evoked a sense of nostalgia, yet the sights were far from what I remembered.
"This is where the Village of Dawn used to be," Shion told me about this place.
"…………"
My hometown, destroyed by the cult ten years ago.
The collapsed buildings and the paved roads were now overgrown with grass.
Where once voices and sounds of daily life could be heard, now only the wind rustling through the grass and trees could be heard.
"Sorry, did you not want to come here...?"
Seeing me say nothing, Shion asked hesitantly.
"No, that's not it. I thought I'd have to come here someday. But I was scared for some reason, and kept avoiding it with excuses."
"I see."
Answering Shion's question, I took a step forward.
Walking without exchanging words, we reached an area where several clumsily made graves stood.
These were the graves Oliver and I had made.
"Orun, why don't you go and greet your parents and everyone in the village?"
"Yeah, you're right."
Following Shion's suggestion, I came up to the front of the graves, lowered myself, and knelt.
"Um... Dad, Mom, everyone. I'm home. Sorry I couldn't come back for ten years."
Facing them, memories of all the experiences I had gone through flashed before me one after another.
"I have a lot to say, but recently, I settled things with Belia. Though Philly interfered at the end again."
I thought my emotions would surge in some way when I came here, whether for better or worse.
But standing in front of everyone, I found myself surprisingly calm and able to face them.
"You know, I've had a dream since long ago. I was afraid to say it back then, so I never told anyone, but— I want to go out into the outside world. I want to see with my own eyes how the world has changed after hundreds of years since people vanished."
I confided in Shion about my dream, something I only dared to share with her.
I had been scared to say it before, but now I think it was better to have said it.
I might be ridiculed. I might be met with disbelief, or even anger. Yet I should have said it.
Because now, saying it brings no response at all.
Regret truly does cling to you no matter what.
"I know that to go out into the world, I have to break through the principles of techniques barrier. If I do that now, most people will die. So I will solve this problem. I also hate the idea of the world I was born and raised in disappearing."
I voiced my current purpose in front of everyone.
I hoped they were cheering me on from heaven.
"I'll come again when I set out for the outside world. See you then, everyone."
After finishing my greeting, I stood slowly and turned to Shion, who had been watching over me from behind.
"Is it okay now?"
"Yeah. Shion, thank you for bringing me here."
"W-Why all of a sudden? It's nothing special."
I expressed my heartfelt gratitude, and Shion blushed as if flustered.
"Hey, there's one more place I want to go to. Will you come with me?"
I asked Shion, who was fanning her face with her hands.
"Huh? A place you want to go? Sure!"
With Shion's agreement, we set off toward our destination.
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The place I brought Shion to was a forest near the Village of Dawn.
When we arrived, I stopped walking.
From the outside, it looked like any ordinary forest.
"This place is..."
But Shion seemed to recognize it.
"Yes. This is where we made a promise, just the two of us, that day. Hey, Shion, can I ask you again...?"
Even without my specifics, Shion understood.
She smiled broadly and nodded.
"Yeah! Leave it to me!"
Shion lightly extended her hand and activated magic.
The last time she showed me this, she had just learned the top-tier magic and it took time to cast, but now the spell completed in an instant.
"—[Extreme Cold Blizzard]"
The scenery around us suddenly changed.
A silver world of frost spread out before our eyes.
"Yeah, maybe I did better than last time," Shion murmured with satisfaction as she looked over the silver world.
"...It's still beautiful."