From the bedroom, the clatter of activity could be heard next door. Zenith and Lilia were preparing luggage for Rudeus, also packing the summer clothes they had just made for Alan but hadn't had a chance to give him. Downstairs, Paul was chatting with a towel-draped Philip about the past and present. Rudeus was in his own room, packing.
Though it was sudden, both of the Greyrat parents had been adventurers. Abrupt changes and a "get-it-done" attitude were commonplace for them. Just like in the original story, when they knocked Rudeus out and unceremoniously bundled him into a carriage. Very efficient.
Alan sat at his bedroom desk, clearing out drawers and packing them into a box. The drawers were full of letters and some gifts from Roxy. Behind him, Sylphie was putting his clothes into a suitcase.
With a click, the suitcase was latched.
Sylphie's characteristic, gentle footsteps approached. Alan smiled and clapped his hands. He had pretty much finished packing his desk. "Alright, that's about it. Now, next..."
His wrist was seized.
It was Sylphie's hand. Her palm was small, her fingers slender. But for some reason, Alan felt a 'strength' in her grip.
He was about to turn his head, but Sylphie's words stopped him.
"Don't turn around, Alan. I want to say something to you."
"? Uh... we can talk about this later..."
"I want to be an adventurer with you and Teacher Roxy."
Alan froze, the words he was about to say caught in his throat.
"I've thought about it for a long time. If one day, I can become as amazing as you and Teacher, can I join that adventurer team you promised to form, to explore labyrinths together as a companion?"
Alan was a bit stunned. He asked instinctively, "Huh? Weren't you always a part of it? That adventurer team we talked about..."
"...Was I?"
"Weren't you? And Rudeus too."
"...We talked about being adventurers together, yes. But when you and Teacher Roxy were talking, I didn't feel like I was included. And in the letters Teacher sent me, when she mentioned the adventurer team, your name was always there, but my intuition told me... I wasn't."
"...I can't quite explain this feeling, but I can see it."
"The 'adventurer' team you two promised each other... it seems different from the one we all talked about."
Alan was taken aback. "Don't be ridiculous, an adventurer team can't just be two people—"
A voice from behind him cut him off.
"It would be fine if Rudeus wasn't in your adventurer team."
"It would be fine..."
"If I wasn't in it either."
This time, Alan was truly dumbfounded. He stood there, dazed, not knowing what to say. The two of them were silent for a long while before Sylphie spoke again.
"Downstairs, when Uncle Paul, Auntie Zenith, and Uncle Philip were talking about adult things, it was very serious. I shouldn't have interrupted, but I really, really wanted to ask..."
Alan felt Sylphie's voice was faint, like a soft, gentle musical note that shattered amidst the sound of the rain lashing against the window.
"I really wanted to ask..."
"I wanted to ask you..."
"Are you going to exclude me from the adventurer team?"
"Because... seeing you and Rudeus going to Roa together, your expression seemed..."
"It seemed..."
"So happy..."
"Alan, you've met your long-lost father and you have a very cute sister, about my age..."
"I know, I know very well, and I understand completely that I shouldn't be a downer right now, saying selfish things..."
"But I feel like... the adventurer team would be fine without me..."
"I just couldn't help but ask you..."
"Is my feeling..."
"Correct?"
The bedroom window was shut tight, separating the storm outside from the room within. The wind and rain could not enter.
Yet Alan heard the sound of falling raindrops.
Right behind him.
The sound was faint, as distant as clouds gathering vapor in the sky. But it was also perfectly clear to his ears.
His gaze fell upon the desk, where the two holes burned by that "future sight" paper still remained. Last year, Zenith had insisted on replacing the desk, but Alan had refused.
Why?
His inner voice answered calmly.
'A disgusting future is meant to be kicked to pieces.'
'So now... is the situation I'm facing one that disgusts me?'
'Isn't the choice obvious?'
'Yes.'
'It's perfectly clear.'
'There is no need to hesitate.'
Just as Alan was thinking this, a commotion erupted from downstairs. It sounded like Paul exclaiming something. Urgent footsteps pounded up the stairs, heading straight for Alan's room.
Paul's voice, loud enough to almost shatter the door, grew louder.
"Alan!!"
BANG! The door was thrown open.
His next sentence followed.
"How could you tell Philip you're taking Sylphie to Roa with you?? What are you going to tell Laws?!!"
As his voice fell, the last ripple of thought in Alan's mind settled.
'Ever since falling from the snow valley...'
'I have never hesitated.'
Taking Sylphie to Roa.
This was the 'choice' Alan had already made.
When had he ever needed someone to 'remind' him?
Hearing Paul's footsteps, Sylphie panicked and started wiping her face. But merely wiping her face couldn't stop the words from reaching her ears. They were too clear. So clear it felt like they were hammering against her heart.
Her hand froze on her face. Her expression was one of pure shock.
The tears she had just managed to hold back now refused to stop, no matter how much she wiped, they just kept coming, pattering onto the floor. A heavy, ceaseless rain.
From the moment her heart had lurched that afternoon, sensing that Alan intended to leave Buena Village, the feeling had been building layer by layer with every smile he showed. Now, the tears she had held back for so long finally burst forth.
Why did she hold back from crying? Why couldn't she be like Eris and freely express her demands and thoughts? Why didn't she act like her original story counterpart, clinging to Alan and crying, begging him not to leave?
Why?
Because.
Alan didn't like it when children cried.
And Sylphie felt she was no longer a child. She didn't want Alan to dislike her.
Paul stood frozen at the doorway, blinking rapidly, completely bewildered. Just then, Zenith appeared from nowhere, grabbed him, and slammed the door shut with a loud BANG. So decisive!
Alan blinked, scratching his head in confusion. He turned around.
The white-haired girl was crying a river of tears, unable to stop. Sylphie's mind couldn't help but conjure an image of the usually calm and composed Roxy, and she felt a little ashamed. If Teacher were here, she wouldn't be like this, would she?
Thinking this, she looked through her tears at her stained dress and said, "My dress... is dirty."
"Ah, well, when we get to Roa, I'll buy you ten better ones."
"...One is fine."
"Ten."
"..."
"Okay."
Another commotion came from downstairs. It was the loud voice of a certain little lion, mixed with Rudeus's frantic shouting.
"You're so arrogant! I don't need you to tell me! I was going to have Sylphie be my tutor anyway!!"
"Please! Not
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