As they finally stepped out of the Exonory Guild Bar, the warm afternoon sun cast long golden shadows across the stone path. The streets bustled softly with life, a gentle breeze ruffling cloaks and ears alike.
Dila stretched her arms up with a small sigh of relief.
"That was a blast!" she giggled, then imdiately winced, clutching her left side. "Ouch... okay, maybe a bit too blast-y..."
Sarios walked a few steps behind her, arms crossed. His face was calm, collected... but internally?
"Blast my ass..." he scread in his head. "You almost died, Dila! How am I supposed to explain to the king Harvey that the daughter of Albedo decided to punch a two-story brawler and then nearly nuked a guild bar to win a glorified ID card?!"
His inner monologue paced around wildly, practically biting its nails.
"No, no, it’s fine. I’ll just tell him... she tripped. Really hard. Off a cliff. Into a golem. That exploded."
anwhile, Fran skipped beside Dila, humming as if everything had been perfectly normal. She glanced at the bandages on Dila’s ribs.
"Sister, next ti... can I be the one to explode a building for fun?" she asked sweetly.
Dila chuckled and ruffled Fran’s hair with her good hand. "Maybe. But only if I’m not on the sa floor, okay?"
Fran gave a little salute.
Sarios sighed audibly. His mouth said nothing.
But his eyes said everything.
"This is the most unmanageable royal elf I’ve ever seen..."
And the sun continued to lower gently in the sky... as chaos walked calmly beneath it.
As they walked slowly down the quiet stone road, the golden light of late afternoon still painting the world in a warm hue, Dila gently patted Fran’s head once more.
"Alright," Dila said softly, managing a smile. "This is where we part ways, Fran."
But suddenly—
Fran’s expression darkened.
Her cheerful glow dimd. Her ears drooped slightly. And her eyes... shimred.
"Eh...?" Dila blinked, caught off guard. "Wait...?"
Then— hic!
Fran’s face crumpled as tears welled up in her big blue eyes. She began rubbing them furiously with her sleeves, sniffling.
"S-Sister..." she cried. "Are you leaving ...?"
Dila panicked slightly, kneeling down with both hands raised. "Wha—wait, what? What do you an, Little Fran?"
Fran’s voice cracked between hiccups. "Please... don’t leave ! I-I don’t have anybody else...!"
Her soft crying echoed lightly in the quiet path.
Dila was silent for a mont, caught off guard.
"...You don’t have... anybody?" she asked gently, her tone shifting.
Fran sniffed, nodding weakly. "I-It’s because... because I don’t know where my ho is. I’ve been with strangers, questing with random people just to survive... I don’t even rember my parents’ voices anymore..."
Sarios, who had been standing quietly nearby, glanced toward them.
He didn’t speak. He didn’t move.
He just watched, his red eyes dimming slightly with sothing like understanding... or guilt.
Fran’s voice trembled. "But then I t you... and you didn’t yell... and you smiled at ... and you even patted my head..."
She clung to Dila’s sleeve like a child refusing to let go of a warm blanket.
"...Please don’t throw away too, Sister..."
Dila’s lips parted slightly.
For once... she didn’t know what to say.
The wind passed softly through the trees nearby, and the world fell quiet—except for the quiet sniffling of a little cat girl who finally found soone who made her feel safe.
Fran’s fingers trembled as she clung tighter to Dila’s sleeve.
"Please, Sister..." she whispered again. "Take with you... wherever you go."
Her voice was soft—but pleading.
Her cat-like ears drooped even more, and her tail curled around her legs, trembling. She wasn’t smiling anymore. There was no giggle, no playfulness. Only the quiet desperation of a girl who had been left behind too many tis... and didn’t want to be forgotten again.
Dila didn’t answer.
Her face darkened slightly—cast in the shadow of her silver bangs. Her blue eyes, usually calm, were now unreadable beneath her long lashes.
Even the air grew still.
Fran stood there, sniffling, her hands holding Dila’s sleeve tightly like it was the last safe thing in the world.
Then finally... Dila spoke.
Her voice was quiet. Barely above a whisper.
"...Why?"
Fran looked up, surprised.
Dila didn’t look at her—just slightly to the side, her face still hidden. Her tone was cold, almost detached... but sothing about it trembled.
"Why would you want to follow soone like ?"
Fran opened her mouth, but Dila continued before she could answer.
"I don’t have a ho either. I don’t have a purpose. I’m not a noble. Not a leader. I just... walk where my feet go."
She lifted her head just slightly—just enough that Fran could see her faint, tired smile.
"I’m not soone you should cling to, Fran."
But Fran shook her head.
"No," she said. "You’re wrong."
Dila blinked.
Fran wiped her eyes, trying to steady her voice.
"You may think you’re nothing, but to ... you’re already sothing. You’re the first person who made feel like I’m not just... a dagger-for-hire. You talk to . You smile. You call ’Little Fran’."
She stepped closer, her head now pressing softly against Dila’s stomach.
"...Please don’t leave behind."
Sarios, still standing off to the side, turned away slightly—hands in his pockets, looking at the sky. "Tch..."
Dila looked down at the girl leaning on her... the one who called her "Sister" like it ant the whole world.
And in that mont...
Sothing in Dila’s expression softened.
She slowly, wordlessly, lifted her hand—and gently patted Fran’s head again.
"...Fine," she said at last. Her voice was quiet. Calm.
"But I’m not holding your hand when we walk."
Fran’s head shot up, her eyes lighting up through the remaining tears. "Really?!"
Dila sighed. "You’re too clingy..."
Fran grinned wide, suddenly forgetting she had even been crying. "Yaaaay!!"
She hugged Dila’s waist with a little squeal of joy.
Dila twitched. "...Too clingy."
Sarios’ jaw dropped.
"W-Wait, wait—hold on!" he stamred, waving both hands like he was trying to stop a runaway cart. "Are you... are you adopting Fran?!"
Dila raised an eyebrow, then smirked.
"You heard right," she said casually, crossing her arms despite her bandaged side. "I am."
Fran lit up like a lantern behind her. "Yaaaay~!"
Sarios opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again. His eyes twitched like he was buffering. "...But—but—!"
He scratched his head furiously, trying to find logic in the chaos. "But she’s... she’s an assassin! A literal—like—claw-and-dagger assassin! You’re a mage! A... support mage!"
"And?"
"And! I an—ugh!" He turned away, eyes wild, muttering to himself. "I’m the hero here, and I feel like the responsible adult now. This is upside down."
Finally, he spun around and pointed a dramatic finger at Dila.
"Fine!" he declared. "But if you’re adopting a cat girl, you clean her litter box!"
Fran froze.
She turned slowly toward Sarios, eyes squinting.
"Excuse ?" she said flatly.
Sarios looked away, covering his mouth to hide the smirk trying to escape. "Y-Yeah... soone’s gotta clean it..."
"I use a toilet, you knight-brained fossil," Fran said, glaring. Her tail flicked sharply like a whip.
Dila sighed, rubbing her temple. "You just had to say sothing dumb."
Sarios gave a helpless shrug and laughed. "I couldn’t help it. You two together are like a walking cody play."
Fran grinned proudly, stepping beside Dila and puffing her chest. "Well, we are a family now!"
Dila glanced at her, then looked away with a tiny smirk. "...Don’t push it."
Suddenly, the air shifted.
A cold breeze swept through the trees, brushing past like whispers on skin. The laughter and bickering stopped in an instant.
Dila’s ears twitched first. Then Fran’s.
In perfect sync, both of their expressions changed—alert, focused.
☆ Warning... hostile presence detected. Similar mana signature to the previous encounter inside the Exonory castle... ☆ Nari’s voice rang urgently in Dila’s mind.
Dila’s eyes narrowed. "Tch..."
She raised her hand and summoned her [Archane Staff]—
Fizzle...
The staff flickered with a weak blue light, then vanished in a tiny pop of failed magic.
☆ Mana completely depleted, Master. ☆
Dila winced. "Ugh, right... i forgot I’m running out of fus."
Fran had already leapt forward, dagger in hand, eyes serious and body crouched low. Her tail twitched sharply behind her like a whip ready to snap.
Sarios unsheathed his sacred longsword in a flash, the silver edge gleaming even in the low light. His red eyes scanned the dark trees around them like a hawk.
Then—
A voice.
Smooth. Cold. Familiar.
"Will, will, will... so the little princess has grown so teeth."
A figure stepped forward, the shadows around him parting like mist.
Leaning with casual arrogance against a tree, the masked man revealed himself. The sa unsettling aura... the sa dark clothing and long, pointed ears poking through ssy black hair.
His crimson eyes glowed beneath his mask like coals in the dark.
Sarios’ knuckles tightened around his sword. His voice was low and bitter. "You again..."
Fran stepped protectively in front of Dila, despite Dila trying to push her aside.
The masked man let out a small chuckle, tilting his head slightly.
"You looked pitiful last ti," he said, staring directly at Dila. "Now... you just look exhausted."
He pushed off the tree, his movents graceful and predatory.
"And yet... you’re still interesting."
Dila clenched her fists. Her mana was empty. Her side still hurt. And yet...
She refused to look away.
The Exonory village kingdom held its breath.
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