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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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A month after the entrance exam results were released.
The hustle and bustle of Hailen Street had lessened, perhaps because those who failed the exam had left. Of course, Heilren was usually noisy anyway.
‘Farewell to Hailen for now.’
Gwen thought as she looked out the window of the inn at the scenery of Hailen .
Hailen, the city of heroes. She would probably visit this place again at the end of the year. Until then, she had to keep herself busy.
‘But before that…’ She knocked on the door. “Elsie! Come out already!”
“Just a moment!”
“It’s been 30 minutes since you said ‘just a moment’! We really have to go now.”
It had been an hour since they started getting ready for the entrance ceremony. Elsie still hadn’t come out of her room.
‘What’s taking so long?’
Judging by the rustling sounds coming from inside, she seemed to be doing something.
But Gwen couldn’t think of anything that would take this long.
Even packing could be done by roughly shoving everything into her inventory.
“I’m counting to three and coming in.” She couldn’t wait any longer.
“One, two…”
“Gwen? No!”
“Three.”
Gwen inserted a dagger into the doorframe and forcibly released the latch. Then, she opened the door and went inside.
“Elsie?”
Her eyes scanned Elsie’s appearance. What could she say? It was a complete mess.
“You can’t even put on your uniform?”
From the blouse to the skirt, nothing was right. The clothes she had painstakingly ironed were wrinkled all over, probably from being constantly fidgeted with.
“But in the palace, others always helped me, and I haven’t worn these kinds of clothes since then…” Elsie began to make excuses, her face flushed red.
Gwen could understand her excuses to some extent. She knew that Elsie had been dressing as a boy for quite a long time.
But she didn’t expect it to be this bad.
“You should have asked for help sooner.”
She hurriedly closed the door she had forced open. Then, she began to examine Elsie’s clothes.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to ask for help with something as simple as getting dressed.”
“Simple? You’re entering the academy. How important are clothes to a girl?”
“But I don’t particularly want to be a normal girl or anything…”
Then, Gwen’s hands, which were adjusting Elsie’s clothes, stopped.
Elsie turned her head to look at Gwen.
“Gwen?”
Gwen had an expression she had never seen before.
But she soon forced a smile and said, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t force my thoughts on you. But clothes are still important. At the very least…”
Her hand lingered over Elsie’s chest area.
“You should wear underwear, don’t you think? Right?”
“…But it’s uncomfortable.”
Gwen’s hand went into her inventory.
Before her hand could come out holding the holy relic Ixys, Elsie hastily took off her blouse again.
And with clumsy hands, she began to put on her underwear.
“See? Now your height isn’t the only thing that’s bigger than mine.”
Gwen grumbled as she helped Elsie.
“But that’s only for now. Just wait until I find the Sword of Roses. I’ll catch up soon. I’ll definitely become a tall and glamorous beauty.”
“Yes, you will.”
Elsie had heard that countless times while following her, so she just took it in stride.
Finally, after she finished putting on her clothes, she stood in front of the mirror.
But her reflection looked strange to her.
“Is it really okay for me to be like this?”
It was the first time she was seeing herself as a girl.
Her blonde hair, though short, was glossy and smooth.
Her face, which had barely any baby fat left, was now slender.
And above all, the school uniform seemed to accentuate her figure. She just couldn’t get used to it.
But Gwen said to her, “You look pretty and nice.”
“But being pretty isn’t exactly helpful for revenge…”
“Allen promised to meet you again someday, right?”
Allen had apparently introduced Gwen to Elsie and left a letter saying that they would be able to meet again someday.
Considering he had said goodbye cleanly without such words when he parted with her, she felt a little jealous.
But it seemed to her that the promise was necessary for Elsie.
Her dependence on Allen had probably increased quite a bit while receiving his help. But Allen had to leave her.
He had his own things to do. In that situation, the promise to meet again was probably unavoidable.
It was a promise to give Elsie, who she now had to let go of, at least a little hope for the future. Whether that promise could be kept was another matter.
“Do you want to meet Allen again looking like that?”
“No, it’s not that.”
Elsie said, touching her short hair.
“It’s just that I’m worried Allen might not recognize me. That’s why I’m not growing my hair out.”
At those words, Gwen chuckled.
“You worry too much. Save those worries for after you meet him. You can recognize Allen first, right?”
Of course, Allen would have grown to some extent in the past two years. But he wouldn’t have changed as much as Elsie.
“I guess so?”
Elsie finally smiled, looking relieved.
Seeing that, Gwen thought, ‘But it’s still kind of annoying?’
But it was also true that there was no guarantee Elsie would be able to meet Allen again.
Allen had gone into hiding after becoming a high-ranking hero.
The only possibility was during Elsie’s graduation competition, but even that wasn’t guaranteed.
Gwen gave a bitter smile and said to Elsie, “Hurry up if you’re done. We’re late.”
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“Then, I’ll be going, Gwen.”
In front of the Hero Academy, where outsiders were completely prohibited from entering except during graduation competitions or festivals, Elsie looked back at Gwen one last time before going into the school.
The time she had spent with Gwen wasn’t very long, and they had bickered a lot, but still, Gwen was a precious teacher to her.
She had learned many things from her, not just swordsmanship.
Gwen was small, but even now that she was taller than her, Gwen felt like an adult.
Why had Allen refused to even become the disciple of such a person and gone somewhere else? It made her feel puzzled.
“Okay, see you at the graduation competition.”
On the other hand, Gwen was worried about Elsie.
She had seen her struggling to even put on her clothes in the morning, and Elsie, having grown up in the royal palace, sometimes showed a lack of common sense in many ways.
But that didn’t mean she could keep watching over her.
‘I feel like a parent.’
It was a strange feeling.
Still, she eventually turned her back on Elsie and started walking.
She had many things to do as well.
‘Come to think of it…’
Petals were flying in the warm spring breeze.
‘It’s spring.’
She had been so busy that she had barely paid attention to the seasons.
Only after meeting Allen had it stopped for a while.
From the autumn when she met Allen to the winter when she parted with him.
From the spring when she met Elsie through summer, autumn, and winter.
And now, spring again.
Then, a boy caught her eye.
He was a black-haired boy wearing the Hero Academy uniform.
He was definitely a boy she had seen before.
‘I saw him at the Order’s headquarters last time…’
He was the boy who was shooting arrows.
Judging by the uniform, he must have passed the Hero Academy entrance exam.
There would have been quite a few competitors this year because of Lyudmila, so he must have been quite skilled.
‘But why?’
It was something she had felt last time too, but there was a familiar aura about him.
Even if his physique had changed over time, his hair color and face were completely different. And there was no reason for Allen, who had already become a high-ranking hero, to enroll in the Hero Academy…
It was at that moment.
“Ah…”
The reason was sufficient.
For him, the Hero Academy would have been the quickest and easiest way to obtain a new identity.
Considering his preference for moving quietly due to his weaker physical condition, it made sense.
Moreover, it would explain why he was using a bow instead of a sword.
‘But…’
She asked the constellations, ‘It’s just a guess, right?’
There was no reply.
‘Yeah, I thought so.’
But she couldn’t just grab a passing boy and ask him.
Besides the similar aura, there was no other evidence.
In the end, she just passed by the boy without saying a word.
“It’s been a while.”
Words that seemed to drift by.
She hurriedly turned around.
But the black-haired boy was just walking forward.
Steadily, leaving the falling petals behind.
‘Allen?’
That back view was definitely Allen.
But she couldn’t stop him.
She knew his determination to enroll in the Hero Academy, even after catching three demon lords.
Suddenly, she felt envious of Elsie.
With this, Allen’s promise to Elsie would be kept. Of course, Elsie didn’t know that.
‘It’s a shame, but let’s meet next time.’
She was planning to come to see Elsie at the graduation competition at the end of the year anyway, so she would be able to see him again then.
She wanted to talk more then.
What he had been doing, how far his swordsmanship had progressed.
There were many things she was curious about.
But not now.
She also turned her head and started walking in the opposite direction from him.
A fleeting reunion.
And at the same time, a second farewell.
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